You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Family-inherited Taoist practices?

"Chen Yang? I've never heard of such a master in our Xixia Prefecture's Daoist cultivation circle... but why does Master Huang treat him this way?"

A Taoist practitioner secretly pondered this.

Indeed, many "family-inherited Taoist practices" circulate among the people of Daxia. These "Taoist practices" originally came from various Taoist sects, or were practiced by the ancestors of some people in Taoist sects.

Generally speaking, such Taoist techniques are not too profound, since the major Taoist sects would never allow profound Taoist techniques to be passed on to outsiders.

In addition, the more than 600 years of the Dharma-ending Age have caused most of these traditions to be incomplete, so many people who practice the "family-inherited Taoist methods" are only half-baked.

The so-called "folk masters" are roughly equivalent to the "free spirits" in fantasy and martial arts novels.

As for the saying that masters can emerge from the common people?

There are indeed many skilled individuals among the common people, but they are still somewhat inferior to the martial artists and Taoist cultivators trained by the Taoist sects, clans, aristocratic families, and the Special Administration Bureau.

As for Master Huang?
Master Huang is a disciple of Pingluo Yuhuangge!

It should be noted that the Yuhuang Pavilion in Pingluo County practices the Maoshan lineage, which is different from the Wuyue Temple in Gucheng, where Qi Ruifeng and his disciples claimed to be "Quanzhen disciples".

The former was granted the title by Maoshan and bestowed with Taoist magic and techniques.

The latter is eager to embellish their image...

It's not entirely Qi Ruifeng and his disciples' fault; it's mainly because there are too many "Quanzhen" sects in the Great Xia Dynasty.

It's possible that the Quanzhen School has never produced a "Celestial Master-level" expert like Zhang Daoling, the patriarch of the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain; Xu Xun, the "Divine Power and Miraculous Salvation True Lord" of the Jingming School; Ge Xuan, the "Chongying Fuyou True Lord" of the Lingbao School; or Sa Zhenren, the patriarch of the Shenxiao School. However, in terms of influence in the Great Xia Dynasty, the Quanzhen School is now in no way inferior to the Taiyi School, the Jingming School, the Lingbao School, the Shenxiao School, or the Maoshan School.

Addressing someone as "Master" is a polite way of addressing them among Taoist practitioners...

However, Master Huang's respectful, even somewhat obsequious and ingratiating, attitude toward Chen Yang aroused the curiosity of many people present.

This Chen Yang...

What is the beginning?
During the conversation, He Wanzhong strode forward and said respectfully, "Master Chen, I received a call from Director Wei yesterday, saying that you were going to bring your disciple to participate in the competition."

Chen Yang said modestly, "I just brought the child here to broaden his horizons."

Old He laughed and said, "Since he is Master Chen's disciple, he must be outstanding. Perhaps he can represent our Xixia Prefecture in the national competition of the World's Number One Taoist Magic Tournament."

The two exchanged pleasantries.

The curiosity of the others grew even stronger, and they whispered questions to Master Huang—

"Master Huang, just who is this Master Chen?"

"Master He is an official, yet he is so respectful to him?"

Master Huang smiled and said mysteriously, "I cannot reveal Master Chen's identity, but I can assure you that Master Chen's strength is absolutely the best in Xixia Prefecture!"

"what?"

"Number one in Xixia Prefecture?"

"Is he even better than that Director Wei?"

"Director Wei is a martial arts grandmaster. Could it be that this Master Chen has already 'entered the Dao' at such a young age... Wait, didn't Master He just say that he received a call from Director Wei? Wasn't Director Wei already dead? We even attended his funeral a while ago!"

soon.

The Taoist Dharma Assembly is about to begin.

He Wanzhong invited Chen Yang, Yang Shuai, and Gu Jinghui to the front row.

Seeing that Wang Xuan looked reserved and was obviously nervous, Yang Shuai immediately covered his mouth and laughed, "Wang Xuan, don't be nervous... With your strength, even if Old Chen doesn't make a move, there aren't many people in Xixia Prefecture who can defeat you."

After a pause, Yang Shuai added, "Of course, I'm talking about living people..."

Wang Xuan took a deep breath to calm his nervousness and said earnestly, "Uncle Yang, don't worry, I will definitely not let Commander Chen and my master down."

Yang Shuai: "Fight well, and if you win first place in Xixia Prefecture, Uncle Yang will treat you to a foot bath!"

"Ah!"

Just then, a disdainful laugh came from the side: "Number one in Xixia Prefecture? What arrogance!"

He was a young man in his mid-twenties.

He was dressed in a black and yellow Taoist robe, with a peach wood sword hanging at his waist. He sat not far away, clearly having overheard Yang Shuai and Wang Xuan's conversation. Seeing Yang Shuai, Wang Xuan, Chen Yang, and Gu Jinghui looking over, the young man snorted coldly—

"Humph!"

"Young man, you haven't even grown your hair yet, and you already want to be number one in Xixia Prefecture? We may have few powerful Taoist masters in Xixia Prefecture, but we're not all dead. Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew with your big talk!"

Chen Yang turned his head and glanced at the young man, then looked away.

He's just a little guy at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and his Divine Soul Realm has only just condensed into Yin Spirit. Wang Xuan could take on 100 of these "Daoist cultivators"!
The reason he dared to make sarcastic remarks was because his cultivation level was too low. Even if Wang Xuan, the weakest among Chen Yang's group, concealed his aura, they still couldn't see through him!
This little carambhava isn't worthy of Chen Yang's attention.

Gu Jinghui and Yang Shuai didn't have Chen Yang's level of understanding; they wanted to retort, but Chen Yang stopped them.

The game starts soon.

This "Number One Taoist Cultivation Conference Under Heaven" was hosted by the Special Administration Bureau. Although there were no age or cultivation level restrictions for the participants, very few older people or those who had "entered the Taoist realm" signed up.

The competition process involves each prefecture holding preliminary rounds, and then selecting 10 people from each prefecture to go to Kyoto Prefecture to participate in the national finals!
In Xixia Prefecture, a total of 216 people registered this time.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the official match schedule for the "first round" was sent to the mobile phones of all participants, and the match order was also displayed on the large screen in the stadium.

soon.

The game started.

Surprisingly, the one who had previously mocked Wang Xuan was the first to step up.

His surname is Yu, and his name is Yu Feilong.

His opponent was a middle-aged man with a full beard, around forty years old. According to the information on the match list, his name was Tian Li.

The two stepped onto the ring, approached each other, clasped their hands in greeting, and bowed.

when!
The host rang a bronze bell, signaling the official start of the competition.

Yu Feilong smiled faintly and said, "Brother Tian, ​​my name is Yu Feilong. I cultivate the Zhengyi Daoist arts and practice at Panlong Temple on Qinglong Mountain in Gucheng..."

boom!
He was met with a powerful punch from Tian Li!
How could Yu Feilong react in time?
He only felt a fist the size of a sandbag fall on him, his vision went black, and his body felt light. When he landed again, he was already on the ground outside the ring, spitting out a mouthful of blood and passing out.

Tian Fei sneered, "The competition has already started, and you're still babbling on... Don't you know that I, Tian Fei, cultivate both martial arts and Taoism?"

He looked at the somewhat dumbfounded referee and asked, "Referee, do I win?"

The referee, regaining his composure, said, "According to the rules of the Daoist Magic Competition, a player loses if he concedes, becomes unconscious, or falls off the stage... Congratulations, Mr. Tian, ​​on winning first place in the Daoist Magic Competition!"

Inside the stadium, in addition to the participants from all over Xixia Prefecture, there were also "Jianghu people" from the "Jianghu circle" like Chen Yang who came to watch the game. The remaining seats had already been filled by the general public.

Someone shouted, "Referee, this is a Taoist tournament, shouldn't it be about Taoist arts? How can he win by using a sneak attack with his fists?"

The Taoist robe worn by the person who spoke was quite similar to that of Yu Feilong, suggesting that the two must have studied under the same master. Several other people helped Yu Feilong up, indicating that their Taoist temple must have quite a few disciples.

The referee said calmly, "It's perfectly reasonable for cultivators to study martial arts in their spare time. Besides, I rang the bell, which means the duel has begun. How can you call it a sneak attack?" Yang Shuai sneered, "He was all cocky just now, but he turns out to be a coward. This Yu Feilong... he's just a clown!"

"Ok?"

Yu Feilong's fellow disciples all looked over. The one who had questioned the referee earlier frowned and said, "Does this brother have a grudge against my junior brother Yu?"

Yang Shuai: "It's not that we have a grudge, it's just that your junior brother has a really sharp tongue."

Yang Shuai covered his mouth while speaking, afraid that his tongue would stick out and scare people.

"Humph!"

"Junior Brother Yu was merely ambushed... If it were a real battle, the outcome would be uncertain."

Chen Yang frowned.

Are these young people... so blind to reality?
A real battle of wits?

If it were a real battle of magic, Tian Li's strength would be enough to kill Yu Feilong in an instant!

It's not that Tian Li is that strong...

His martial arts cultivation might not be as good as Wang Lin's, but in the end, Yu Feilong was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. With such cultivation, he could be instantly suppressed by a martial artist at close range, making him unable to even use his Dao techniques.

soon.

The second match begins.

Having learned from past mistakes, the two Daoist cultivators were very cautious this time. After the referee rang the bell, they attacked at the same time. They had both practiced martial arts, and although their martial arts skills were not great, they still managed to put up a good fight.

After exchanging dozens of blows, both sides retreated several steps and then pulled out talismans to smash each other.

Sudden.

One of them pulled out a handful of lime, sprinkled it out, and quickly threw out a "fireball talisman" before his opponent could dodge it.

Wow!

The talisman burned, turning into a fireball that slammed the opponent out of the arena.

"........."

offstage.

Wang Xuan's expression was somewhat strange.

He glanced at Chen Yang, hesitated, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Commander Chen, Master, Uncle Yang... why is their battle... different from what I imagined?"

Chen Yang smiled and asked, "So what kind of magical duel do you imagine?"

Wang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "I believe that when Daoist cultivators fight, they should focus on their own spells, with Daoist talismans as a supplement, engaging in battles across distances, comparing magical treasures, and fighting with Yin spirits... That's the right way!"

Unlike now, with close-quarters ambushes and lime-sprinkling, how is this any different from a street brawl?
Chen Yang: "Perhaps the battles between cultivators with higher cultivation levels are similar to what you described, but these people are still weak in cultivation, and most of them are independent cultivators from the common people. Their spells and techniques are limited, so for them, the best outcome is to defeat their opponent."

After a pause, Chen Yang added, "Besides, who says a battle of wits has to involve magical spells or magical artifacts? No matter the outcome, as long as you can win, it's a good move!"

"For example, eye gouging and groin kicks in martial arts can be brilliant moves if used properly."

Wang Xuan wasn't the only one with this question.

The audience members who bought tickets to watch the game live also had dark expressions...

What the hell!

This Taoist Magic Tournament is such a rip-off! It wasn't as exciting as the martial arts tournament last month, where we had fistfights and weapons!

"Next match..."

"Qingwei Dao, Wang Xuan!"

“Panlong Temple on Qinglong Mountain in Gucheng, Zhengyi Sect, Xu Ze.”

The one who made the choice was Yu Feilong's senior brother.

He clearly also practiced martial arts, but instead of focusing on fist techniques and physical training, he diligently practiced a graceful movement technique. He would leap off the stage, use his feet to gain momentum, and land elegantly on the ring.

Xu Ze looked at Wang Xuan and saw that he was a young and inexperienced boy. He couldn't help but feel amused, but on the surface he put on a cold expression and said indifferently, "Young brother, you make the first move... I'll give you three moves first!"

This was Wang Xuan's first time fighting someone, and he was very nervous. Upon hearing this, he quickly said, "Thank you, Brother Xu..."

He activated his cultivation...

boom!
The immense magical power of the seventh level of Qi Refining erupted within his body, creating a surge of energy around him!
What the hell!

Xu Ze's eyes widened suddenly. Before he could react, he saw water vapor emanating from in front of the youthful-looking Wang Xuan, which quickly condensed into a huge water sphere!

The water sphere compressed and transformed into a water sword in less than three seconds.

Wang Xuan formed a hand seal and pointed forward—

"go with!"

call out!
The water sword transformed into a streak of azure light that swept across the arena and hovered three inches between Xu Ze's eyebrows!

Xu Ze was so scared he almost peed his pants. His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, and his pupils were somewhat unfocused. In that instant, he seemed to see his great-grandmother who had passed away many years ago!

His jaw was chattering as he said, "I admit defeat!"

Wang Xuan dispersed the water sword, and remembering Chen Yang's teachings, he immediately clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your humility."

Inside the stadium, all was silent.

Everyone was astonished by Wang Xuan's magic of condensing water into a sword.

The stadium erupted in cheers again only after the referee announced "Wang Xuan wins"!
"Holy crap, turning water into a sword, that's divine skill! This is the kind of magical combat I've always imagined... This is so cool!"

"Who is this young man? He looks very young, yet he's so skilled?"

"Hmm... why does he look so familiar?"

"Wang Xuan... Wang Xuan... I know, wasn't there a news report online a while ago? It said that a child became the disciple of the mountain god of Helan Mountain, and that child's name was Wang Xuan. There were photos of him online... It really is him!"

Most of these viewers are ordinary people who can't see the trick.

Master Huang and his group of Taoist practitioners were deeply shocked.

"Seventh level of Qi Refining Realm?"

"This kid instantly unleashed the Five Elements Water Technique and even transformed water into a sword. I'm afraid his spiritual realm isn't too bad either. His strength is comparable to yours or mine, isn't it? When did our Xixia Prefecture produce such a young master?"

"The disciple of the Helan Mountain God... Could it be that Master Chen is the Helan Mountain God?"

"No wonder Master Huang said Chen Yang's identity was not to be revealed. It turns out he is the incarnation of the mountain god of Helan Mountain... It's not surprising that a god could teach such an outstanding disciple!"

Master Huang shook his head and said, "Please don't speculate. Master Chen is not the mountain god of Helan Mountain." (End of Chapter)