A max-level player in Jade Dynasty: Awakening the Innate Dao at the start.

The moment the lightning struck, the entire canyon was blindingly white.

It wasn't the soft light of normal daytime; it was a stark, destructive white that could burn your eyes.

The lightning bolt swallowed Zhang Xiaofan whole, along with his fire poker and the ground within a dozen feet around him.

Tian Buyi was perched on a tree branch, his fingers almost digging into the trunk.

He dared not breathe, his eyes wide open, staring intently at the center of the blinding lightning.

Three or four seconds passed.

The lightning began to dissipate.

It was as if someone was holding an invisible rag and wiping away the white light bit by bit, starting from the edge.

The first thing to be revealed was the fire poker—the poker was still pitch black.

But its surface was covered with tiny purple electric snakes, crackling and darting about, as if they were alive.

The electric light illuminated the dark red bead at the tip of the stick, and something seemed to be moving inside it.

The red light flashed back and forth, echoing the electric lights outside.

Then came the human figure.

Zhang Xiaofan remained standing in the same spot, his feet sinking half an inch into the ground.

His Taoist robe was charred black, with several tears in the sleeves and hem, revealing his pale golden skin underneath.

Fine electric lines were still moving across the surface of the skin, like some ancient tattoo pattern, but they quickly disappeared beneath the skin.

He raised his head.

His face was expressionless, but deep within his eyes, blue and gold lights flashed alternately a few times before slowly subsiding after a few seconds.

He stretched out his right hand, and the fire poker flew back into his hand with a "whoosh".

The moment I gripped the stick, it trembled violently, as if it had just drunk its fill of thunder and was incredibly excited.

He looked down at the stick, then looked up at the sky.

The clouds in the sky hadn't completely dispersed, but the thunder had already faded into the distance.

The thick, lead-gray cloud began to churn and disperse, its color changing from dark to light, eventually transforming into an ordinary rain cloud.

A few raindrops fell, hitting the scorched ground with a hiss, and a small puff of white steam rose up.

There was a slight accident, but not even a scratch.

Even the meridians didn't feel any vibration.

Zhang Xiaofan took a deep breath; the air was filled with the pungent smell of rainwater mixed with scorched earth.

He could clearly feel the surging power within his body—

Most of that lightning bolt was attracted or absorbed by the fire poker.

The remaining small portion traveled along the stick into his body.

The power of the Buddha in the Great Brahma Prajnaparamita Sutra gradually dissolved and tamed it, eventually transforming it into pure energy that nourished the flesh and bones of the entire body.

Lightning-forged body? I didn't expect to gain anything from this unexpected turn of events.

Practice both Buddhism and Taoism.

This is my true trump card.

On the old locust tree in the distance, Tian Buyi slowly loosened his fingers that were digging into the bark.

He stared at Zhang Xiaofan, his gaze indescribably complex.

He saw it clearly just now.

As the lightning struck, the golden aura surrounding Zhang Xiaofan abruptly receded.

It turned into a thin, almost invisible, yet seemingly real, golden film that clung tightly to the skin.

When lightning struck this membrane, it was like water splashed on tarpaulin; it slid away, split, and was eventually guided into the ground.

That is not the protective true essence of the Taiji Xuanqing Dao.

What exactly is it?

And the golden light in Zhang Xiaofan's eyes...

Tian Buyi lived for over three hundred years and had seen countless martial arts techniques and strange phenomena.

But he had only ever seen that kind of golden light in Buddhist temples—

There are also legends that when eminent monks who have attained the supreme Buddhahood use their supernatural powers, their eyes will be filled with "Buddha's light".

But Zhang Xiaofan is a disciple of the Qingyun Sect, and he cultivates Taoist techniques.

Where did the Buddha's light come from?

Tian Buyi frowned deeply.

But he didn't move.

I didn't ask.

Everyone has their secrets.

Just like himself, after that incident at the ancestral temple, he also had some things he couldn't say.

Since Zhang Xiaofan chose not to talk about it, his master shouldn't keep asking.

As long as the child has a righteous heart and walks the straight path, that's enough.

Tian Buyi glanced at the middle of the canyon again.

Zhang Xiaofan raised his right hand and pointed the fire poker forward.

The lingering electric currents on the staff "whooshed" to the tip, condensing into a three-foot-long, purplish-gold sword aura.

As soon as the sword energy took shape, the surrounding air was cut open like cloth, producing a sharp "hiss" sound.

With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a sword aura that slashed towards the Blackwater Pool.

There was no sound.

The sword energy silently disappeared into the pool, without even a ripple on the surface. But the next moment—

"boom!!!"

The entire pool exploded!

It wasn't the kind of explosion where water splashes everywhere; it started from the bottom of the pool, as if the entire water was being torn apart from within by a terrifying force!

The pitch-black pool water shot skyward, leaping several dozen feet high.

The water jet was mixed with silt and gravel.

There are also stark white bones left behind by some unknown thing that has been buried at the bottom of the pool for who knows how many years!

The water column reached its highest point and then collapsed with a loud crash.

"Splash—"

It was like a black rain had fallen.

Zhang Xiaofan stood still, raising a layer of cyan-gold light shield to keep the falling black water three feet away from him.

Rainwater mixed with black water flowed down the surface of the light cover, as if brushing a layer of flowing ink onto the cover.

He put away the fire poker, and the light shield dissipated as well.

The rain was still falling, drizzling down, which diluted the burnt smell and metallic odor in the air considerably.

The canyon was a scene of devastation, with charred lightning strike marks covering the ground.

The pool was piled with blasted mud and broken bones, and the cliff face was cracked in several places, with rubble rolling down with a clatter.

But apart from the torn Taoist robe, Zhang Xiaofan had no other injuries.

Even his breathing was very steady.

Learning by analogy feels really great! (Body Tempering, Storing Energy for Another Attack)

Tian Buyi jumped down from the tree branch and landed without making a sound.

He took one last look at the canyon, turned around, and left silently.

His back looked a little hunched, but his steps were very steady.

Tongtian Peak, Yuqing Hall.

The wisps of smoke from the incense burner rose straight up, reaching a height of about three feet.

The smoke was scattered by the wind blowing in from outside the hall, turning into tangled wisps of tobacco.

The smoke from the tobacco pipes drifted through the hall, entwining themselves around the carvings on the dragon-carved pillars.

It clung to the hem of the Three Pure Ones' robe and finally disappeared into the shadows.

Dao Xuan Zhenren sat on the futon in the main seat, holding an ancient book in his hand, but he did not read it.

He lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on the rosewood coffee table in front of him.

A cup of tea sat on the coffee table; the tea had long since gone cold, and a thin film had condensed on the surface.

There were three people standing in the hall.

The Taoist Cangsong stood at the very front, the hem of his moon-white Taoist robe still damp with dew from the Rainbow Bridge.

His face was so dark it seemed to drip water, and his eyes were like poisoned knives, staring straight at Dao Xuan.

Behind him, Qi Hao stood with his hands hanging down, his face deathly pale and his lips almost bloodless.

He changed into a clean, light blue long robe, but the outline of bandages could still be faintly seen on his chest—

Beneath the bandages lay a lingering wound left by Zhang Xiaofan's palm strike, which had not yet fully healed.

He lowered his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the tips of his shoes, his posture respectful.

The fingers hanging by his side would twitch from time to time, as if he was enduring some kind of pain.

Lin Jingyu stood next to Qi Hao.

He was dressed in the standard blue martial arts attire of a Dragon Head Peak disciple, with a sword at his waist, and stood ramrod straight.

The boy's face was expressionless, his eyes calm.

His fists, hanging at his sides, were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Sect Leader, Senior Brother."

The Taoist Cangsong spoke, his voice cold and hard, "I've come here today to seek justice."

Dao Xuan raised his eyelids: "What is it?"

"Zhang Xiaofan, that disciple of Dazhu Peak, relies on his some skills..."

"They have no respect for their elders, ambushing their fellow disciples and severely injuring Qi Hao, the eldest disciple of Dragon Head Peak."

Cangsong spoke each word slowly and deliberately, as if each character had been pulled from an ice cave.

"We implore our Sect Leader to uphold justice and severely punish that brat!"

Dao Xuan put down the ancient book in his hand.

His gaze swept over the outline of the bandage on Qi Hao's chest, then over Lin Jingyu's tightly clenched fist, and finally returned to Cangsong's face.

"Explain the specifics of what happened."

Cangsong took a deep breath and began to speak.

From Lin Jingyu's loss to Zhang Xiaofan in their duel, to the conflict between Tian Ling'er and Lin Jingyu...

Qi Hao "intervened to stop" Zhang Xiaofan, who then "ambushed Qi Hao from behind," severely injuring him with a single palm strike.

He spoke very quickly and excitedly, almost spitting out saliva.

By the end, his voice had risen:

"Qi Hao is my eldest disciple from Dragon Head Peak. He has been cultivating for almost a hundred years and is about to break through to the Upper Clarity Realm!"

Now that Zhang Xiaofan has ambushed and beaten him like this, his cultivation has regressed, and he won't be able to make any progress for at least three years!

"Sect Leader, how is this behavior any different from that of the demons of the Demonic Sect?!"

The hall fell silent.

The only sound was a faint hissing sound when the smoke rose from the incense burner.

Dao Xuan remained silent.

He picked up the glass of cold tea and took a small sip.

The tea was bitter and astringent, the bitterness spreading from the tip of the tongue all the way to the throat.

He put down his teacup and turned his gaze to Lin Jingyu.

"Jingyu".

He spoke, his voice flat, "Was everything your master said just now true?"

Lin Jingyu raised her head.

He glanced at Cangsong, then at Qi Hao, and finally at Dao Xuan.

The boy pursed his lips, his Adam's apple bobbed, and then he spoke, his voice clear but with a suppressed tremor:

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, Master's words... are only Senior Brother Qi Hao's side of the story, and there are many misunderstandings in them."

"..."

The air seemed to freeze for three or four seconds.

Cangsong suddenly turned his head, glaring at Lin Jingyu with wide eyes: "What did you say?!"

Lin Jingyu ignored him and continued speaking only to Dao Xuan:

"Xiao Fan is honest and kind-hearted; he's definitely not the kind of person who would ambush someone for no reason."

At that moment, Senior Brother Qi Hao suddenly channeled his energy and rushed forward; the movement was too sudden.

Xiao Fan must have thought that Senior Brother Qi Hao was going to harm Junior Sister Tian Ling'er, and in his anxiety, he intervened to stop him.

He paused, then took a deep breath:

"If we're really going to argue who's wrong, it was I who provoked them first, and the conflict with Junior Sister Tian Ling'er happened later."

Xiao Fan intervened to protect his fellow disciples.

If there is to be punishment, this disciple is willing to bear it all alone!

After he finished speaking, he knelt down on the ground with a thud, his forehead pressed against the cold white jade brick.

The hall was deathly silent.

The expression on Cangsong's face went from shock to bewilderment to anger, and finally became unrecognizable.

He pointed at Lin Jingyu, his fingers trembling, his lips quivering, and it took him a long time to finally manage to utter a single sentence:

"Traitor...traitor! What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Lin Jingyu remained kneeling, without raising her head.

Qi Hao's face turned even paler.

He glanced at Lin Jingyu, his eyes filled with complex emotions—anger, resentment, and a hint of panic that even he himself might not have noticed.

Dao Xuan stared at Lin Jingyu, who was kneeling on the ground, for a long time.

Then he spoke slowly, his voice very soft, but it fell into the hall like a pebble dropped into a deep well:

"Three months, Jade Purity Realm Level 3."

In three years, he defeated Lin Jingyu, who was at the fifth level of the Jade Purity Realm, and injured Qi Hao, who was at the eighth level of the Jade Purity Realm.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the pine tree, then over Qi Hao, finally settling on the air above, as if recalling something:

"Back then in this Jade Purity Hall, out of seven people, six thought he was mediocre, so only Junior Brother Tian accepted him as a student."

Looking back now... it wasn't that Junior Brother Tian got a good deal, it was that we... all misjudged him.

He looked at the pine tree with a deep gaze:

"Junior Brother Cangsong, your disciple Qi Hao has been cultivating for nearly a hundred years and is at the peak of the eighth level of the Jade Purity Realm."

Zhang Xiaofan had only been a disciple for three years, yet he was able to severely injure him with a single palm strike...

What do you think Zhang Xiaofan's cultivation level is now?

Cang Song's throat moved, but he didn't say anything.

"At least the seventh level of the Jade Purity Realm."

Dao Xuan then spoke up himself.

"Three years, seven levels. This talent, this progress..."

Our Qingyun Sect has been established for a thousand years. Apart from Ancestor Qingye, who else can compare?

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the churning sea of ​​clouds.

"Top-notch talent, decisive, calm in the face of adversity, ruthless yet measured in action."

He muttered to himself, as if talking to himself.

"Such talent... if he had stayed at Tongtian Peak back then, I would have personally taught him..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

But the meaning was conveyed.

Cangsong's face turned pale.

Qi Hao lowered his head, his fingernails digging into his palms until they bled.

Lin Jingyu knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the brick, and did not move.

Dao Xuan turned around, looked at the pine tree, his eyes calm and unwavering:

"I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Until the matter is fully investigated, no further disturbances are permitted on Dragon Head Peak and Dazhu Peak.

He paused, then added:

"As for Zhang Xiaofan... the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is coming soon, tell him to prepare well."

I'm really curious to see just how far this child can go.

Cangsong wanted to say something more, but Daoxuan had already waved his hand:

"You may all leave."

Cangsong gritted his teeth, bowed, and turned to leave.

His footsteps were so heavy, it was as if he wanted to stomp through the floor.

Qi Hao followed behind him, his back looking a little hunched.

Lin Jingyu got up from the ground, bowed deeply to Dao Xuan, and then turned and left.

The palace doors were closed.

Dao Xuan stood by the window, gazing at the sea of ​​clouds for a long time.

Then, he sighed softly.

"Junior Brother Tian...you've struck gold!"

Dragon Head Peak, Crimson Flame Palace.

The palace doors slammed shut with a bang, causing dust to fall from the roof beams.

Cangsong turned around and stared at Lin Jingyu, who followed him in, his eyes red as if about to bleed.

"Traitor!"

He roared, and his voice echoed in the empty hall:

"Kneel down!"