Chapter 207: The Beginning of Talisman Dao (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Yi Qing)

The Tuolong, that is, a crocodile.

"Crocodiles naturally have souls too, so they can also be strengthened."

Tang Zhao watched from below, thinking: He is certainly wealthy; one crocodile after another, they are endless.

Zhu Yang squatted down, stroked the crocodile's rough skin, and said, "This crocodile is just an ordinary wild beast, not some exotic species or Spirit Race, and apart from its soul, I haven't made any changes to it. I didn't strengthen its body; I only opened the shackles at its source. Then, it grew naturally on one hand, while attempting to train its body using the Training Technique I modified. By now, it has completely exceeded the limits of a wild beast. And its soul is also able to independently display power. Come—let go and try!"

Upon hearing this, the crocodile slowly propped up its body, and a profound aura rippled out silently.

Tang Zhao gave a slight jolt, feeling a sense of heart-palpitation, somewhat like facing dragon might; it was the instinctive fear of a low-level soul facing a high-level soul.

Of course, this feeling was not intense, at least only slightly, and far from comparable to dragon might. But it also proved that the soul of this Tuolong had indeed undergone an elevation in level.

As for its body, skin armor, and the sharpness of its claws and teeth, one could see the clues just by looking at its appearance, and those eyes were even more full of spirituality, filled with wisdom that did not belong to a wild beast.

Such an existence could not simply be called a wild beast; if one called it a Fierce Beast, it lacked that eerie Yin Calamity; if one were to set everything aside and look for something similar, perhaps only... a Heavenly Demon could compare?

"Don't look at it as massive; in fact, it is not old and is still in its growth period. I let it train and cultivate using a beast's body to imitate a human body, but I did not reinforce its skin, bones, claws, or teeth. If there are any who do not believe it, please come up and examine it yourselves."

The crowd was silent for a moment; some wanted to say there was no need to examine it and to just start the lecture, but at this time someone said, "Then I will go up and take a look!"

It was actually Jiang Shenyi.

Not to mention others, how could Tang Zhao not understand: this was a plant.

Zhu Yang smiled and gave his permission. Jiang Shenyi stepped onto the stage and first grabbed the crocodile's claw, examining it unscrupulously. The crocodile showed no signs of ferocity, actually acting as lazy as a fat cat, and even retracted the pressure it had revealed from the inside out, letting him examine it in detail. Finally, he even used his Gang Qi to clash with the crocodile's claw. The powerful Gang Qi was unexpectedly unable to break through the crocodile's thick skin.

After the examination, Jiang Shenyi performed a salute and said, "It is indeed an unpolished crocodile. Libationer's divine skill, I am convinced."

Tang Zhao almost laughed out loud, thinking: Hey, hey, hey, this is too blunt. Senior Brother, you with those thick eyebrows and big eyes...

But apart from Tang Zhao, others did not feel this was an exaggeration; at this moment, Zhu Yang had already conquered most of the young Talisman Sword Masters.

Zhu Yang corrected him: "It is not unpolished, it is just not manifested externally. When the soul is strong, the shackles that limit the physical body can naturally be broken. Whether it is lifespan or life level, how can it not break through? The crocodile is like this, and so are people. It is a pity that it is still young and cannot verify its lifespan, but I believe its lifespan will definitely have a breakthrough. Even if it cannot achieve long life and eternal vision, it can still enjoy several times more than before."

He lifted his head, looked at the sky, and said, "The day is getting late, and I will not be able to finish all my concepts after all. Fortunately, I have another class the day after tomorrow. Then, for the remaining time, let us first talk about how I polished this crocodile."

The crowd was disappointed at first, but immediately became focused, listening to how Zhu Yang created this magical crocodile.

Zhu Yang was not only an excellent speaker, but also very outstanding as a teacher, lecturing with profound insights and explaining difficult things in simple terms. He took out an Art Tool that emitted phantom light and placed it on the stage, releasing pictures one by one, with charts listed alongside, explaining the process of him kneading the soul with both pictures and text; it was not only clear and detailed, but also completely unreserved.

Some in the audience were so fascinated that they thought this seemed simple and that they could play with it themselves. Others were like listening to heavenly books, gradually becoming bewildered.

There was no help for it; although Zhu Yang had explained it in sufficient detail, this was still an extremely complex, obscure, and profound knowledge. Even though everyone present could be considered a potential Disciple of their respective sects, there was still a distinction between high and low. Most of the Talisman Sword Masters in the Heaven District listened with great relish, as if drinking fine wine, and even began to gesture, while starting from the Earth District, there were more people who could not understand. Most of the people in the Human District had already let their minds wander and were contemplating life.

Zhu Yang talked until the sun set behind the Xishan, and finally analyzed the crocodile from beginning to end, before saying, "The soul of the crocodile is just like this; let's stop here for today. The day after tomorrow, I will continue to talk about how to improve the human soul."

There was a slight commotion below, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhu Yang keeping them in suspense like this, but it also showed everyone's impatient mood. However, many people also showed expressions of relief. But no matter what, everyone still gave warm applause to this Libationer who still looked weary but had gained recognition.

By the time Zhu Yang's figure slowly merged into the night that had already descended, the main exchange of the first day finally ended.

Just as everyone was still immersed in the previous lecture, the surrounding lamps lit up one after another; it was the start of the evening banquet.

Bang, bang, bang—

Countless fireworks shot into the sky.

That day on Jiugao Mountain, Tang Zhao had prepared fireworks for Flower Junior Sister's birthday banquet, but compared to today's fireworks, they were too amateurish. More than ten kinds of fireworks of different colors and shapes shot into the sky one after another, not extinguishing for a long time, illuminating the night sky in five colors; it was truly a night of fire trees and silver flowers that never sleeps.

Immediately after, the tables and chairs in each district, along with the flower beds, moved on their own, forming a large ring-shaped table. This kind of district movement was like the old tricks of Maze City; if the buildings of a whole city could be swapped back and forth that day, let alone mere chairs.

The ring-shaped table no longer distinguished between high and low positions; everyone sat side by side, drinking wine at the same table. The high platform of the cloud seats also descended and merged into part of the ring-shaped long table, with distinguished guests and young people sitting together, and the atmosphere was naturally more enthusiastic and intimate.

And the seats at the ring-shaped table were actually random; Tang Zhao was not sitting next to Wu Yunfei, whom he was originally sitting across from, but instead next to two young people from afar. One of them Tang Zhao only had a slight impression of, remembering him as a Disciple of a medium-sized faction in the south, ranked in the top twenty of the Heaven District, while the other was Yue Shen of the Qingqu Academy; although they had only met once, they had a great liking for each other.

Yue Shen was also very happy; after hurriedly greeting the people on the other side, he pulled Tang Zhao and said, "What do you think of what the Libationer said?"

Tang Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Although it is only a small half, it has already revealed a world-shaking side."

Yue Shen said, "Great minds think alike. It is precisely to shock the heavens, or rather, to reach the heavens. The Libationer actually intends to open another path to the heavens besides the Sword Guest."

Further over was Zhuge Yudan. She was not originally in this seat, but had changed over temporarily, saying, "Whether it can reach the heavens is still a matter of debate. He only proved that this is a path; who knows where the end of the path is? Is it in the sky? Or is it a dead end?"

On the other side, one could hear Chu Shanxia say, "That is exactly the point. And he uses Rune Formulae to bless the soul; not to mention the danger, isn't that an external force? And he even despises Sword Guests for using external forces?"

It turned out that those Disciples of the major factions had unknowingly changed seats together, leaning towards Tang Zhao as the center. And those with lower rankings were unknowingly squeezed out.

Tang Zhao heard the words of Chu Shanxia and Zhuge Yudan, and it seemed they were not as certain about the Libationer as others, and he realized in his heart: compared to their small factions which focus on Talisman Dao and also seek Sword Casting, the Seven Great Factions are based on Sword Casting. They have always established their sects by Sword Casting, and everyone learns Sword Casting, only to be pointed at by the Libationer who says, "What future does a Sword Smith have?" Can they be happy in their hearts? Even if they listened to the practical knowledge that followed, the grudge at the beginning had already been formed.

Tang Zhao also had a grudge with the Libationer, only bigger than everyone else's, but to tell the truth, he was actually very touched, perhaps even more than everyone else, because his worldview was different. Adhering to the principle of not deceiving his heart, he said solemnly, "There is nothing wrong with borrowing external forces. In ancient times, when the Primordial Ancestors were struggling to survive in the Great Wilderness, wasn't it by relying on external forces like fire and stone spears that they gained a foothold? Being able to use one's hands to create weapons and create external forces is instead proof of our constant self-improvement. From this point of view, using Talisman Dao knowledge to improve the soul in order to go further is indeed worthy of the theme of 'self-improvement'."

Yue Shen chimed in, "I read history books, and the appearance of the sword did not start from the beginning of the world, but rather seemed to appear out of thin air one day. At the same time, the appearance of the sword was also accompanied by the appearance of the Yin Calamity. It is as if the sword and the Yin Calamity are both things from another world, only accidentally appearing in this world. Since it is accidental, who knows if they will last as long as the sun and moon, or if they will disappear suddenly just like they appeared? Opening another path to the heavens that human power can climb besides the Sword Dao, I think is correct, and even necessary."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "If Talisman Dao can solve the path to the heavens, perhaps it is not as magical as the sword, but it is more suitable for the masses, and it is also a good thing; maybe this will be the right path in the future."

His previous project was for Art Tools to benefit everyone, so if Talisman Dao opens a path of self-improvement, isn't that also benefiting all living beings? Although the two were enemies, their aspirations were, in a sense, different paths leading to the same destination.

A woman with a solemn expression next to him suddenly said, "Compared to this, I am worried about another thing. If the soul strengthens itself, will it have any connection with the Spirit Official Dao? If that is the case, I fear there are taboos..." This was Shang Chisu, another attendee from the Qingqu Academy.

The crowd suddenly went quiet. The Disciples of the Seven Great Factions changed their expressions at the same time, and the atmosphere suddenly became subtle.

Immediately after, Zhuge Yudan smiled and said, "Why mention such things? It's a perfectly good Talisman Conference, even the Snow Mountain Wangfu has come, how could there be such a thing?"

Wu Yunfei immediately chimed in, changing the topic, and after a few sentences, no one mentioned this matter again.

After chatting for a while, Zhuge Yudan suddenly handed each person a pouch and said, "Since we are all like-minded and friends of the same generation, why not communicate often? In this bag, I have placed the Xuan Su Jade of my Xuan Su Pavilion, exclusively for the few of us to send messages; everyone should keep in touch often."

Tang Zhao took it and saw that everyone had meaningful expressions. Obviously, everyone had noticed the undercurrents of the Talisman Conference and felt uneasy in their hearts; rather than calling it keeping in touch, it was more like watching out for each other and exchanging information.

Just as they were talking, the grand banquet began, and all kinds of delicacies were brought up one after another. In particular, since this place was deep in Kungang, there was actually a large amount of seafood, which could be called a wonder, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this place was an island, and it was surrounded by the sea, so that was not strange.

At the banquet, naturally, everyone ate and drank well; although there were segments like the Hall Master's speech and toasts, it did not hinder everyone's interest. Later, the areas like Heaven, Earth, and Human opened up to each other, and people came and went, becoming chaotic.

Tang Zhao was already nearly sixteen years old, and being away from home, no one controlled his drinking anymore; however, new friends and old acquaintances all came to toast him, and having drunk seven or eight cups, he felt a bit lightheaded. At first, he took the initiative to chat and toast with his Senior Brother, but later he just sat in his chair, only taking a sip when someone came. By the end, the world was spinning, and he had to leave the table to find a quiet place to sit and blow in the wind.

Just after being quiet for a while, he heard someone say, "Tang Xiansheng, may I toast you a cup?"

This form of address was slightly strange; Tang Zhao turned his head and saw a strange face, saying dazedly, "Who is your Excellency?"

The man smiled and said, "I am Wei Se; I wonder if you have an impression of me, Xiansheng?"