Imperial Scepter

The news that Gao Changhe had taken four children to the Southern Wilderness Forest for training spread like wildfire in Gaojia Village.

The villagers discussed the matter, each expressing their own opinions, their voices rising and falling.

There was a lot of envy and admiration.

"These children are all geniuses; it's truly remarkable that the village chief personally took them out for training!"

"The village chief did the right thing. These kids need to be properly trained so they can support the future of Gaojia Village when they grow up!"

"That's right! Children need more experience! Besides, they are all multi-colored Dao Seeds, with top-notch talent. It's only right to hone them from a young age!"

"Sigh, I'm so envious! I wish the village chief could take my kid along too; he's about the same age as Gao Chun and the others!"

"Your child only has a single-color Dao Seed, how can he team up with Gao Chun and the others? Look at the four little ones, two have three-color Dao Seeds and two have two-color Dao Seeds, your child is not qualified..."

There were also many who held opposing views and were filled with worry.

"The children are so young, what if they encounter danger in the southern wilderness? They are the future of our Gaojia Village, we can't afford to let a single hair on their heads get hurt!"

"Yes, even though the village chief is the top expert in our village and a well-known Silver Realm expert in Jiuyang Town, it's not necessarily safe for someone at the Silver Realm to go to the Southern Wilderness Forest!"

"The village chief was too careless this time! With his cultivation level, what if he had taken four genius children and they had all perished? What would our village have done then? He was too hasty; he should have waited until the children were older!"

Various sounds mingled and spread throughout the streets and alleys of Gaojia Village.

Huang Xiaoming at home.

Upon hearing the news, Mr. Huang looked at his son with a face full of regret.

Although her son is a rare dual-color Dao Seed, he is only at the first-star Bronze Realm.

We can only wait until he breaks through to the second star level before asking the village chief to let him join Gao Chun's team.

In this way, even if their son doesn't amount to much in the future, the Huang family will never decline because of the bond they share with the team.

Mr. Huang knew perfectly well that the key to success in life was not how talented one was, but who one associated with.

If your child is of average talent, then follow the path of a genius. In this world, following the right person is far more important than having talent yourself.

Huang Xiaoming also looked regretful.

He awakened his Dao Seed late, and is now only at the first star of the Bronze Realm.

But he was confident that he would be able to break through to the second star of the Bronze Realm in at most another six months.

When the time comes, I'll have to shamelessly join the Gao Chun team.

Whether you pester them relentlessly or offer small gifts, you have to squeeze in no matter what method you use.

After all, their team only has four people right now, while a standard team needs five.

Once you join, your life will be completely different, bright and never dark again.

This team brings together the village's top talents and will become famous throughout Jiuyang Town in the future.

Even if the team disbands in the future, the bond forged through life and death will never fade.

With this bond, I have no need to fear a hard life; I will surely live a comfortable one.

He had long ago decided to cling tightly to Gao Chun and Gao Chengzhi.

Both of them are exceptionally talented individuals with three-colored Daoist seeds, and their future is limitless.

By following them, one can naturally benefit as well.

Thinking about the bright future, Huang Xiaoming's mouth almost stretched to his ears.

His saliva almost dripped down his chin, and he couldn't help but chuckle foolishly, his eyes filled with anticipation for the future.

Mr. Huang looked at his son with satisfaction in his heart.

What pleases him most about his son is that he is just like him—he knows how to curry favor, knows how to behave appropriately, and is particularly good at managing interpersonal relationships.

He taught them all these skills with great care.

Moreover, his son had awakened an extremely rare dual-color Dao Seed.

This has really brought honor to the Huang family!

Although the Huang family is the largest surname in Gaojia Village and has the most members, they have never produced a person with a dual-color Taoist lineage.

Huang Xiaoming is a one-of-a-kind, unique individual.

Who knows, Gaojia Village might turn back into Huangjia Village in the future.

This village used to be called Huangjia Village.

Eleven years ago, Gao Changhe and his family came to the village. Gao Changhe was appointed as the village head by the town, and the village was renamed.

Gao Chun is a three-colored Dao seed. As the Gao family develops in the future, they may move to the town or county.

When the position of village chief becomes vacant, his son, being a dual-type Daoist, might well be qualified to compete for it.

As for Li Quan and his son Li Daoqiu, they only came to Gaojia Village six years ago.

This father and son look like they have a distinguished background, and they will definitely look down on the position of village chief in the future.

Sooner or later, we'll have to go to the town or county to develop our business.

Mr. Huang had calculated all these variables clearly.

Since his son was the future of the Huang family, he was determined to pave the way for his son's future and plan every step of the way.

Gao Changhe led the four children straight toward their destination.

As he walked, he explained the details of the Southern Wilderness Forest to the children.

"You learned about world geography in the Fan Tong class and know that our cultivation planet is composed of five major plates: the Dongchen Empire in the very center, the Northern Wilderness Grassland, the Southern Wilderness Forest, the Western Plateau, and the Eastern Ocean."

"But you only know its name, not its wonders. The territory where the Eastern Chen Empire is located was formerly called the Nine Provinces Continent, where the Xuan Vein is nurtured underground. On the Xuan Vein, not only can all kinds of rare and precious materials be nurtured, but also Xuan plants and herbs can be planted."

"That's why the Nine Provinces Continent has become a sacred cultivation ground that cultivators flock to. More importantly, the Xuan Veins continuously release Xuan Qi. Mortals living in this place full of Xuan Qi can also have their lifespan extended."

"As for the other four major regions, they are all extremely rare lands. There are no rare veins underground there, so naturally they cannot nurture rare and precious materials, let alone rare plants and rare objects. There is not even a trace of rare energy, so it is impossible for rare people and rare beasts to be born there."

"That is why mortals rarely go to live in the four great mysterious lands. Without the nourishment of mysterious energy, their lifespan is difficult to increase. They only go there when they are desperate and have no other choice but to flee from their enemies."

"This is all knowledge from your textbooks. Today, I'll tell you about the past of the Southern Wilderness Forest."

"Five hundred years ago, the Southern Wilderness Forest was also a secluded and mysterious place, without mortals or even mystical beasts, only ordinary mortal beasts lived there. But starting five hundred years ago, this place suddenly became mysterious, and mystical veins emerged from the ground, beginning to release mystical energy."

"Where the mystical veins are located, rare and precious materials, mystical plants and objects gradually emerge. Ordinary beasts in the forest, nourished by the mystical energy or accidentally consuming these rare and precious materials, slowly transform into mystical beasts."

"The Southern Wilderness Forest is vast, larger than half of the Nine Provinces continent. It is filled with countless rare and precious materials, but it is also fraught with danger. The deeper one goes into the forest, the more dangerous it becomes. What secrets lie hidden in its depths remains unknown to this day."

"The wooden figure you saw more than three years ago, the Void Shepherd, came from the depths of the Southern Wilderness Forest. The depths of the forest are filled with three major dangerous places: the Xuan Absorption Land, the Black Mist Land, and the Void Rift Land."

"Besides these natural dangers and mystical beasts, the most terrifying thing is actually humankind."

"The Southern Wilderness has become a treasure land, attracting people from all walks of life who come here to search for treasures and fight for territory. There is no order here, and it is a mixed bag. There are all kinds of cultivators, and killing and robbing are commonplace here."

"Today we're heading to the outer edge of the Southern Wilderness Forest. We won't encounter the three major dangerous areas, but we might run into other Xuan practitioners."

"So when you are hunting black boars, how to deal with other people is entirely up to you."

"They could be treasure hunters passing by who want to steal your credit because you're young; they could also be a team hunting mystical beasts who want to fight you for your prey; or they could even be villains lurking in the shadows who specifically target lone or young mystics."

"You have no magic to rely on, and your cultivation level is also very low. A head-on confrontation is definitely not the best strategy."

Should we retreat or defend? Should we share the prey or argue our case? Should we form an alliance or keep our distance?

There are no standard answers to these questions; it all depends on your judgment at the moment, and whether you can cooperate effectively to protect what you have gained and safeguard those around you.

The four children listened with great interest, their little faces full of seriousness, sometimes raising their hands to ask questions, sometimes responding to them.

"Uncle Gao, what if we encounter robbers and can't beat them?" Wang Hu asked anxiously, clenching his fists.

"If the other side wants to team up with us, can we agree?" Gao Chun frowned, revealing the captain's concerns.

Gao Changhe was very patient, answering their questions one by one. He neither gave them direct answers nor denied their ideas, but guided them to consider the pros and cons and figure out how to deal with them.

In his view, these survival skills can broaden children's horizons, and this broadened horizons are part of the experience.

True experience is not about teaching them how to defeat powerful enemies, but about teaching them to weigh, make choices, and collaborate in the face of unknown risks.

Every encounter, every test, and every crisis resolution in the Southern Wilderness Forest is a lesson more vivid than cultivation itself.

He wanted these four children to understand that the path of cultivation is never about working behind closed doors; the wisdom of recognizing people and situations and assessing the times is just as important as one's own cultivation.

These experiences honed in real combat, and the tact they learned in dealing with people, will ultimately become their most solid foundation for navigating the cultivation world in the future.