This feeling of powerlessness severely upset Wuding in the beginning, as it gave him a deep feeling of despair. But he lifted it with both hands. As the man of Yinshang and the nephew of Tianyi, he could do so much more.

　　This time, Wuding would no longer entrust his hopes on another person like before. Even if he was earlier in time compared to Lei Jing, Wuding obtained a greater victory, and he would not plead to Shen Lian for help in saving Tianyi.

　　The movement of heaven is full of power, thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring. This was told to Wuding by Guan Longzi himself. Only then did Wuding understand the meaning of it.

　　He continued to display for Shen Lian the knife techniques he thought were not worth mentioning, a slice here and a slice there, with no pauses in between. The last gap did not decrease with the gushing of the water but instead slowly increased, bearing the tendency to cut rivers and break the flow of water.

　　Shen Lian thought about uttering some words of praise, but having seen Wuding’s concentrated look, he knew that an enormous change had occurred in the young man’s psyche.

　　It could be foreseen that in the future, Wuding would be reticent for a large span of time. He would speak less, but he would spend his energy in deep thought. He would witness all kinds of worlds and comprehend the Dao that belonged to him.

　　“How about it? Have you now come to bear some regrets in pushing this student to me?” Guan Longzi chuckled.

　　Out of nowhere, he appeared beside Shen Lian, with movements that were both silent and devoid of vital force. This was the state of ‘Great Stability’ told in legends.

　　Contentment enables stability; stability enables quietness; quietness enables calmness; calmness enables thought, and thought enables achievement. Stability comes after contentment, but before quietness, calmness, thought, and achievement. This is the state of the Sage.

　　Guan Longzi could be known as the ‘saint’ of the holy deities, and furthermore, he was outstanding amongst the sages.

　　Shen Lian spoke without looking back, “Why should I be? Teaching a person of such high talent is your pleasure, not mine. Moreover, Lei Jing will surpass him.”

　　Guan Longzi replied, “That remains to be seen.”

　　“I am certain, for she is a student of mine,” Shen Lian replied with words full of confidence, and naturally so. For if Shen Lian did not have such confidence, he would not be Shen Lian anymore.

　　“Perfect! Why don’t we continue to raise the stakes? I know you want to see my treasured ‘Lianshan’. If Lei Jing wins, I will show it to you. If Zi Zhao wins, I would like to know the Taixu Strategy,” Guan Longzi suggested.

　　‘Lianshan’ was the most treasured hidden book of State’s Academy, all the more it as it was the summary of everything Guan Longzi studied throughout his life. Even though Guan Longzi himself compiled it all to this one book, he himself felt that there was no lacking in the knowledge contained and thus it was difficult to completely understand.

　　Shen Lian’s curiosity perked up after hearing this, but Guan Longzi was reluctant to show it to Shen Lian, and instead used it as a gambling chip.

　　Shen Lian smiled, “The Taixu Strategy is my past cultivation technique. As precious as it is, I am not obverse to giving it away, but there is an inherent difficulty in doing so. This technique was established by Founding Master Qingshui, which Grandmaster Ziling made into the essence of Dao. They were both my masters. By right others should not see it. However, I have with me a scroll of ‘Huangting Scripture’, the Yellow Court Classic. It is not so much a cultivation technique as it is an extreme mystery of cultivation. If you are willing, my friend, I will bet you ‘Huangting’.”

　　Guan Longzi replied, “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

　　“There’s no going back,” Shen Lian muttered those words without the slightest hesitation.

　　Guan Longzi let out a hearty laugh and headed back to the academy. He knew the origins of ‘Huangting’, as that was where all the Daoist techniques could be traced from. Many years ago, he heard that if one recites Huangting daily, you could fly and become a celestial.

　　Of course, it remained to be seen whether there was still a complete Huangting Scripture when it was likely that even the environment spoken about in the rumors at the time might not be found anymore. Even if the Qi of vitality in the Netherworld could be considered abundant, it was extremely thin now compared to when the forefathers of the Xia Clan lived in this world.

　　Shen Lian stood on the bridge and kept his gaze on the Xia Canal. A smile formed at the corner of his lips. The world was huge and full of interesting things.

　　Black tiger, Xiao Hei, strode over, turning its head as it walked. It appears that Lei Jing’s Pegasus snorted to chase the black tiger away.

　　Xiao Hei scolded, “Go to hell. I will not argue with someone with low intelligence.”

　　What actually happened was that all this time, the Pegasus had bullied Xiao Hei. Therefore the latter made a determined effort and evolved his transverse bone. Now he could speak.

　　Pegasus kept silent and only coldly looked at the black tiger.

　　Xiao Hei moved backwards one step at a time. Finally, he bumped into Shen Lian’s trousers.

　　Shen Lian lazily said, “Stop bickering you two.”

　　Xiao Hei immediately fawned on Shen Lian and licked his shoes even though there was no dust on them, guiltily smiling, “Master Shen, I do not want to debate with him.”

　　Shen Lian unrelentingly replied, “On the contrary, I want you to do just that. Are you able to?”

　　Xiao Hei lowered his head, “Master Shen, I was told that Dongcheng will organize a lantern festival at night. How about I carry you there on my back?”

　　Shen Lian replied, “We’ll see.”

　　Having said that he walked past Xiao Hei and patted Pegasus. The white Pegasus had a deliberate arrogance.

　　It wanted to become the most remarkable Pegasus in history, and so could not be as degrading as Xiao Hei, who completely lacked integrity.

　　The black tiger deftly followed Shen Lian from behind. As they passed Pegasus, Xiao Hei looked at Pegasus with disdain, as if to say, “Master Shen will surely ride on my back tonight.”

　　Having returned to Zhiwei Temple, Shen Lian received a greeting card. Originally he could choose whether to attend or not attend the lantern festival, but the contents of the greeting card explicitly invited him to the event. There was no other inscription on the letter save for the invitation and a line of words, “Yun is the sweetest and cutest girl I’ve ever met.”

　　‘Yun’ was the name of the youngest aunt of Shen Lian’s current life. He told Chen Qing before that he would bring her home. Shen Lian was not the type of person to go back on his word, so naturally, he had to go to the lantern festival.

　　The most renowned influential authorities of Diqiu gathered here in Dongcheng that night. That was the reason for the lantern festival. The atmosphere was indescribable.

　　That night, Diqiu had an endless charm. The lantern lights in the city were enough to shine with the starlight in the night sky. It was hard to discern the starlight from the lantern light at the time, all that could be seen was the bright rays of light which illuminated all its surroundings.

　　Most of the young men and women of Xia were out. They were told that this event would be organized by the High Priest, and that the power of the Moon God would be harnessed. If fate looked kindly upon the young men and women, the night would end on a high note for them.

　　Love transcends the boundaries of clans and the boundaries of space and time. All these young aristocrats hope to achieve the same thing that night, they hoped for a marriage destined by fate.

　　Within the lantern festival itself, there was another particular attraction. Each lantern had its own lantern riddle. If one can break all of these lantern riddles, one could reach a particular place. Upon reaching that place, one could make a dream come true, albeit that dream must be a reasonable one.

　　Xia Canal was at the edge of Dongcheng. The lights brazenly flowed into the Xia Canal. Many boats came and went on the misty surface of the canal waters. Under the quiet and still moonlight, everything looked like a beautifully painted scroll.

　　The noblewomen were all dressed in beautiful clothes. They took a ride in the boats. Many young men stood at the edge of the canal and whistled at the young ladies. Still more were the many young men from other countries, who came to the event out of the allure of the Xia ladies. These men looked from afar. They knew that if luck were on their side, they might just catch the attention of a Xia woman that night.