“Sir, I have another question to ask you.” Lei Jing displayed a slight uneasiness as she looked at this man that was made of starlight. The good thing was that Shen Lian did not come in the flesh and thus the mood was much more relaxed. Lei Jing looked at him and felt just slightly braver.

　　“Speak.” Shen Lian emphatically and succinctly replied.

　　Lei Jing took a deep breath and straightened her body. Her beautiful swanlike neck was showing, and her eyes were like water from a cold spring night. She faintly asked him, “Sir, do you treat me this well because you want me to help you, or because you like me?”

　　Shen Lian replied, “In the end you still managed to ask that question. Let me tell you this. Since you are my student, as long as I have not chased you out of the martial sect, my duty is to teach you. You are not the first person to feel this way towards me.”

　　Shen Lian spoke of Zhang Ruoxu, who used the last days of his life to teach his Dao practitioner. It enabled Shen Lian to understand that there was something so heart-warming as to transcend life and death.

　　Even though the cultivation experience was no different between now and before Zhang Ruoxu’s birth, but regardless of how time passed, Shen Lian could never get rid of the reverence given to him.

　　Lei Jing felt disappointed, but at the same time she was happy. She was disappointed because Shen Lian neither had important plans for her nor had feelings towards her. She was happy because at the very least she could receive his sincere concern.

　　She firmly nodded, “I will not let you down.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “As a matter of fact, it cannot be said that I have no plans for you. There is much that I can gain from you. Do not be touched as a result of assuming that I am selflessly investing in you.”

　　Lei Jing looked at him in earnest, “Sir that is not important anymore. Please continue to teach me.”

　　She gave him a slight and sincere bow.

　　Shen Lian nodded, “Have you not always wanted to learn spells? Now I will teach you.”

　　Lei Jing was elated. She had always been curious with spells, but not many amongst the Xia clan could practice and cultivate spells. The problem was that they had no mana, and their spirit could not be compared a Qi cultivator.

　　Shen Lian contently said, “In essence, spells are just a method of using strength. At the start of ancient times and before the birth of civilisation, there were thunderstorms, thunder, and lightning. This was the nature’s mighty power. The small, weaker beings trembled in fear. But some of them were brave and they pondered the hows and whys as well as the origins of the rain and storm.”

　　“They succeeded then?” Lei Jing was curious.

　　“Who knows? But you must always bear this in mind. The steps to become something from nothing is the hardest. Even if they succeeded, they would surely have spent an immense amount of time to do so. That is the reason we are lucky. From the very start we need not fumble over things. The spell I am going to pass on to you is called ‘Summoning of Wind and Rain’. Once you have mastered it, the wind and rain of heaven and earth will become your friends,” Shen Lian leisurely answered.

　　Lei Jing pouted, “That sounds so unsophisticated.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “If you do not wish to learn the spell, then so be it.”

　　“No. I will learn it.” Her face immediately changed.

　　Even if Shen Lian taught her the most ridiculously easy spell, she still would be willing to learn. At this point she could care less about what she gained from the whole exercise as long as she could spend some time with Shen Lian.

　　As unsophisticated as it sounds, the Summoning of Wind and Rain was actually an incredible supernatural power. It originated from the Tiangang Thirty-Six Transformations of ancient times. For thousands of years, only a few people of Qing Xuan managed to cultivate this branch of supernatural power.

　　Yanxu was one of them. So was Shen Lian.

　　The key to practicing ‘Summoning of Wind and Rain’ was to feel about the reasons behind the formation of wind and rain. Naturally this was connected to lightning and thunder. Wind and rain were like the dark, and the dark was a consequence of dark clouds. Dark clouds produce lightning and thunder. A flash of lightning and thunder would immediately result in wind and rain, and the mighty power of this kind of wind and rain is extremely high.

　　Lightning and thunder originated from the interaction of Yin Qi and Yang Qi. This is the plainest of all powers that originated from heaven and earth.

　　The Netherworld contained a lot of Yin Qi, while the pure and grand appearance of Yang Qi could be obtained from the sun.

　　Those who have Youhu’s blood naturally bore slight essences of lightning and thunder power. Therefore, when Lei Jing practiced Summoning of Wind and Rain, she would surely possess the foundation for it.

　　Of course, only a rare and remarkable talent such as Shen Lian could dissect this branch of technique, since he was not at a disadvantage to begin with. He could complete the cultivation of Summoning of Wind and Rain with Lei Jing’s understanding and her ways of doing it.

　　If Lei Jing could complete the cultivation of Summoning of Wind and Rain, she would equally have cultivated parts of Taixu Strategy and obtained the power of wind, water, and thunder. Even if the peak of a Qi cultivator’s Daoist techniques were not counted in, it was already valuable enough.

　　Perhaps the Summoning of Wind and Rain and this branch of supernatural power had been noticed by talents from the past dynasties since its first conception in the ancient times up till it came to the hands of Qing Xuan. And for the analysis of its success and failure in being cultivated, it could even be said to be thoroughly tried and tested. If Lei Jing had sufficient spiritual wisdom, it might even be possible for her to derive from it a new branch of cultivation and Dao formula. This new branch would not be under the one hundred and eight techniques, but it would be enough to teach people to cultivate to a higher state. Much of it would be smoother down the road.

　　The more concentrated she was, the faster time passed. When tomorrow came, Shen Lian along with his starlight dispersed and he vanished.

　　Lei Jing was still engrossed in exploring this branch of spell. A new world was opened to her by virtue of the mysteries within. As it turns out, aside from being able to topple mountains with one fist or stepping on rivers and seas with one’s feet, there existed such a technique of force manipulation that was this fascinating.

　　In comparison to using one’s own flesh and blood to battle the heavens, the spells of Qi cultivators were more exuberant, and mesmerising.

　　Wind and rain are not solely forces of destruction. They bring vitality too, just like the sight of almond blossoms in the morning after a night of spring rain at the quaint tower.

　　…….

　　The light of dawn scattered its rays on the Xia Canal and turned into rays of red light, rippling with the waves of the water.

　　Wu Ding woke up early every morning and today was no different. He held a thick back knife in his hands, and he looked at the Xia Canal. His spiritual senses rippled with the waves of the water and he fully experienced the minutiae of the water movement.

　　Suddenly there was a downward swipe of the knife, and then he retracted. A gap unexpectedly appeared in the fervently galloping flow of water. A layer of shapeless blade Qi parted the water continuously for quite some time.

　　He heard the sound of clapping. It rang clearly in his ears.

　　“Zi Zhao, your knife technique is marvellous, slicing a gap in the flowing water. You let the knife take its course with a swift movement, and you parted the continuously flowing water. If the assassin from Dongyi (or is it Eastern Barbarians? cause the databank has both) the other day met the current you, life and death as well as success and failure would be 50/50,” came the words, clear as the wind. At the end of the bridge not too far away stood a brightly elegant Daoist.

　　Wu Ding said, “My prince, you woke up quite early. And it appears my knife technique has become your source of humor.”

　　Shen Lian took one step and was immediately beside Wu Ding. Not even the slightest gust of wind was present, as if Shen Lian did not pass through space or time and immediately appeared at one point from another.

　　After having experienced Shen Lian’s celestial power, Wu Ding had a yearning in his heart.

　　“The journey of a thousand-miles begins with one step, a terrace with nine-storeys must be built from the bottom up. As long as the path you walk is the correct one, the distance could be levelled by years and months. I walked the same road to reach where I am now. I will not laugh at you.” Shen Lian replied.

　　Wu Ding mustered a smile. As true as those words may be, not many have lived long enough to reach their destinations, even if the road they set for is the right one. The path of human life is long and not easy. As of now, he could be considered to have profoundly experienced that.

　　Ever since the day of the palace banquet, the Shang people of Yin Shang received a tremendous amount of oppression, to the point where such oppression spread throughout the whole of Da Xia and the neighboring countries that were obedient to Da Xia. Do not be fooled by his leisurely outlook in the early morning, in actual fact he had to meet many Shang people each day and placate them. Placating them was all that he could do, and as for the situation, there was nothing that could be done about it.