In the quiet chamber of the private residence.

Lei Jun sat amidst a pool crafted from Yin-Yang Warm Jade.

His body did not enter the water but floated above the surface as if weightless.

Behind him was a large Spirit Talisman shimmering with light, his very own Original Talisman.

Upon the Original Talisman, one could vaguely make out patterns interwoven to depict numerous Spirit Talismans of ordinary size.

All were Basic Spirit Talismans that Lei Jun had cultivated before.

Now that they were engraved on his Original Talisman, he could effortlessly conjure Basic Spirit Talismans out of thin air without the need for a dedicated altar.

High-grade Spirit Talismans were also carved there.

Although Lei Jun still had to adhere to strict protocols to craft High-grade Spirit Talismans, once they were on the Original Talisman, they possessed a Spiritual Nature that would allow him to use them more and more freely in the future.

After silently cultivating for a moment, the giant Original Talisman shimmering behind Lei Jun retracted, and he sank back into the water.

After a period of Warming and Nurturing his mind and body, Lei Jun emerged from the water, his body free of any droplets, and he changed his clothes directly.

Stepping out of the quiet chamber, he began to stroll leisurely around the courtyard.

But as he strolled, his hands were also in motion.

One hand formed a spell gesture, held steady before his chest.

The other hand's spell gesture constantly shifted, moving through the air.

As Lei Jun walked a full circle, specks of luminous dust began to manifest around him.

The dust, as fine as millet grains, was as enchanting as starlight.

Though sparse and limited in quantity, these points of light swirled around Lei Jun, already revealing a nascent wonder.

After completing a circuit following specific footwork, Lei Jun continued walking without pause.

As he kept moving, the starlight-like dust around his body became more numerous and dense.

Eventually, it resembled a brilliant nebula.

This was the True Transmission Secret Skill of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Star-stepping Spell.

Lei Jun had only recently begun his practice and had just entered the gateway to it.

Therefore, the effect was slow, and his motions were exaggerated.

In the future, as his Cultivation Strength increased and his mastery of the Star-stepping Spell grew, he would be able to execute this method within a square inch, in the blink of an eye.

Lei Jun practiced into the night.

The points of light on the ground seemed to resonate with the All Heavens Star Fighting in the night sky, each possessing its own mystical quality.

When dawn approached and the morning sun began to rise, Lei Jun stopped.

He silently focused his spirit and retracted his qi; the luminous dust around him gradually withdrew into his body.

Lei Jun opened his eyes and, facing the morning sun, let out a long breath.

「The new year had passed.」

The fifteenth day of the first month of the new year was soon approaching.

For Lei Jun, it had been about eight years since he came to this world, and a full six years since he officially became a True Inheritance disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion.

The Transcension Ritual took place every three years.

Six years ago, as a disciple, he had personally participated.

Three years ago, after he became a True Inheritance disciple, he assisted his Master Yuan Mobai, who presided over the ceremony.

This year, he could relax and merely observe the ritual.

Yuan Mobai had presided over the last Transcension Ritual and the Talisman-bestowed ceremony last year.

It was natural that he need not be involved in this year's Transcension Ritual.

But he would still attend.

Because this year, Yuan Mobai would act as the Du Shi, accepting disciples once again.

Over a year had passed, and the now fifteen-year-old Chu Kun had achieved the Perfect Level of Qi Refinement, reaching the twelfth floor of the Twelve Floors.

This didn't come as a particular surprise.

When Chu Kun entered the mountain, his cultivation was already beyond the first layer of Qi Refinement.

After all, he was a descendant of the Chu Clan; his upbringing was incomparable to those of ordinary origins.

Although there were major differences between the various cultivation Dao systems, many shared similarities in the initial stages; it was not too late for Chu Kun to transition from Confucianism to Taoism.

However, the higher the cultivation level, the more difficult the transition became.

If one had already passed the Heavenly Moat Tribulation between the First and Second Heavenly Layers, thereby reaching the Second Heavenly Layer, the choice of path was generally final and nearly impossible to change.

Therefore, it was unsurprising that Chu Kun was ready for this year's Transcension Ritual.

Comparatively, many were more curious about whether Chu Kun, after becoming Yuan Mobai's disciple, could showcase a dazzling talent like Lei Jun had not long ago.

"How can I compare?" Chu Kun shook his head vigorously. "Lei's talent and ingenuity are among the top-notch in the world."

Lei Jun replied, "Top-notch is too much to claim. If I could even match the second tier, I would be very happy."

From the current perspective, that statement is correct, but… Chu Kun blinked. Both Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion and his native Suzhou Chu Clan were teeming with talent. Objectively speaking, to claim Lei Jun was already among the very top of the younger generation was indeed an exaggeration. But Chu Kun had noticed something. The cultivation progress of Master Lei, who was about to become his senior martial brother under the same master, didn't seem to be advancing at a steady pace…

Lei Jun cultivated inconspicuously, but some major benchmarks were generally known to the outside world.

He began his Taoist journey at eighteen, entering the Tao Boy Court and first encountering Taoist Laws. Within two years, he reached the full twelve layers of Qi Refinement.

Then, after the Transcension Ritual, he entered the Mansion and successfully established his foundation within the same year.

Subsequently, in no more than four years, he progressed from the initial stage of Foundation Establishment to its Perfection. He even overcame the Heavenly Moat Tribulation to achieve the Third Heavenly Layer of the Altar Stage. Lei Jun's progress was unexpectedly rapid.

If his progress up to this point was already somewhat unexpected, though still within the realm of normalcy, what followed was truly astounding.

He progressed from the Third Heavenly Layer Altar Stage to the Fourth Layer of Heaven Original Talisman Stage in even less time than it took him to go from Foundation Establishment to the Altar Stage.

It was only one or two years!

This was truly a bit exaggerated.

Even Chu Kun's own clan members back in Suzhou were discussing this.

Chu Kun recalled the conversation he had had with Chu Yu about Lei Jun and sighed internally:

Little auntie, your grandnephew now finally somewhat understands what you meant back then!

"Master," Lei Jun then asked Yuan Mobai, "Mr. Li—whose disciple will he become this time?"

Yuan Mobai replied, "Feng He will become Chongshan's disciple."

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun nodded slightly.

The so-called Mr. Li, named Li Fenghe, was the direct grandson of the Third Master, Li Ziyang.

His father was Li Xuan, who had left the mountain for the capital not long ago.

There was quite an age gap between the siblings. As the eldest brother, Li Xuan was over forty years older than his younger sister, Li Ying.

In the secular world, this was a gap of almost two generations.

Li Ying herself was only in her early twenties this year, just a few years older than her own nephew, Li Fenghe.

However, such a situation was not typical.

Because in this cultivation world, while marrying late wasn't unusual, having children later in life was common.

Childbearing was not challenging, but it was a matter that could damage one's foundation.

For women, this was particularly true.

The time of childbirth was the most vulnerable moment in a female cultivator's life, comparable to a serious injury, requiring considerable time to recover afterward.

As for damaging one's foundation—to put it another way—it could impact one's cultivation progress and potential.

This concerned not just the present moment but also the future.

Thus, very few cultivators had children during their Golden Opportunity Period of cultivation, typically the first quarter of their lifespan.

Even if they had a Dao companion, they usually wouldn't consider children yet.

At the very least, they would wait until their mature years.

Some even forwent having children during their prime years if they still harbored hope for progress.

A considerable number only began contemplating such matters as their prime years waned and they approached middle to late age.

Li Xuan, with a lifespan of four hundred years, was still some distance from a hundred years old, in the golden period of his cultivation.

For him to have a child with his wife so early, as with Li Fenghe, was extremely rare in the cultivation world—almost an exception to the exception.

How Li Xuan and his wife came to that decision was unknown to the outside world.

However, counting from Grand Martial Uncle Li Song, down through Li Ziyang and Li Xuan, to Li Fenghe, it was akin to four generations under one roof.

Therefore, Li Fenghe also had the nickname "Mr. Li."

Regrettably, Mr. Li had not been very fortunate in recent years.

As far as Lei Jun knew, for many years Li Fenghe had been designated as the first disciple of the former Yong Celestial Master, Li Zhengxuan.

Once Li Fenghe reached the appropriate age and met the criteria for the Transcension Ritual, he would be initiated into the Mansion to become Li Zhengxuan's leading disciple.

Then the incident with his second uncle, Li Ming, occurred.

Afterward, the Li Family had been working hard to quell the dissatisfaction within the Mansion and to soothe the sentiments of the disciples from other lineages.

During the Transcension Ritual held three years prior, when Li Zhengxuan officially accepted disciples, it was a Tao Boy from an outside lineage who became his chief disciple.

Young Mr. Li was deeply hurt.

Alright, alright, not being able to become the Yong Celestial Master's first disciple was one thing, but surely becoming his disciple at all would be acceptable, right? …Unfortunately, no!

Li Zhengxuan had lost the Celestial Master's Sword, not only costing him his position as Yong Celestial Master, but also resulting in his confinement to the forbidden area of the Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb to reflect.

Young Mr. Li could certainly have persisted with his devoted wish to become a disciple. Even if it meant accompanying his master to the Ancestral Tomb, he wouldn't have lacked any other due considerations. However, Li Zhengxuan himself would not have wanted his nephew to share his downfall at that time.

Thus, the path as the Yong Celestial Master's disciple, for which Li Fenghe had been preparing since he was old enough to understand, had turned into a shattered dream.

This year, it was time for him to officially join the Mansion and become a True Inheritance disciple.

Li Fenghe's final choice for a master was Lin Shan, the chief disciple of Elder Shangguan.

Though Elder Shangguan (Shangguan Ning) rarely made a show of herself, she hailed from the noble Shangguan Clan, a lineage of true royal kin.

On Dragon Tiger Mountain, it was debatable whether her connection to the Tang Imperial Court was closer than that of Commandery Princess Zhang Jingzhen.

Li Fenghe ultimately joined her lineage.

Combined with his father Li Xuan's royal summons to the capital, the implications became quite intriguing.

Chu Kun had also heard some related news.

Though out of habit, he often subconsciously considered the impact of such matters on the Suzhou Chu Clan.

But over the past year or more, he had been adapting, viewing developments more from the perspective of a disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion.

When Chu Yu left the Celestial Master Mansion, his parting words were:

"Just like An Dong, from the moment you entered the mountain, even if you leave Dragon Tiger Mountain—unless it is to return home for ancestral rites—you must always remember that you are a True Inheritance disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion, not any other identity."

Chu Kun neither disliked nor opposed this; in fact, he deeply agreed.

"Chu, please prepare. Later on, send out your application along with your incense letter to the Recommending Master and the Supervising Master," Wang Guiyuan said with a smile.

He happened not to have participated in the Transcension Ritual three years ago, as Lei Jun had accompanied Yuan Mobai then.

So, this year it was Lei Jun's turn for a break, and Wang Guiyuan would serve as his master's "Tao Boy."

Chu Kun went with Wang Guiyuan to meet with the other two masters, while Lei Jun stayed beside Master Yuan Mobai, waiting for the grand ceremony to begin.

「However, after the door opened, a sudden chill pervaded the atmosphere.」

A petite young girl, wrapped in a dark cloak, entered from the doorway. It was the long-absent Xu Yuanzhen.

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