Chapter 779: 314. Elder Lei’s Imperial Capital Dragon Tour (10,000-Character Grand Chapter)_4

However, he thought it was not all that surprising.

Although the prestigious families like the Qingzhou Ye Clan made heavy bets on Crown Prince Zhang Hui, they all knew that achieving great deeds required support from many sides.

At the very least, they could not afford to make enemies of everyone around them.

Many times, it was not necessary to have most people on your side, but if you could keep them neutral and not against you, that was already a favorable environment.

This point was also true for the Qingzhou Ye Clan, the Suzhou Chu Clan, and others themselves.

Lu Zhen said, "I heard that Your Highness has often sought instruction from you over these years"

"Your Highness is a peerless talent, I have merely exchanged a few ideas with him, I dare not claim to have instructed or guided," Shangguan Qing replied,

Lu Zhen nodded slightly and did not continue speaking.

In recent years, Crown Prince Zhang Hui’s sharpness had begun to show.

For the Great Tang’s world, however, that had added a bit more uncertainty.

Because Her Majesty the Empress was also extremely young.

*Two suns in the sky, that was never a favorable omen.* 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

It was just that the Empress’s actions in recent years did make people frown, and it was not only the Confucian families like Ye, Lin, Chu, and Fang who were displeased...

"Dragon Tiger Mountain’s Celestial Master Mansion has risen too quickly from the depths."

Lu Zhen changed the topic, "But there were signs, it’s just that before, no one expected that apart from Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang, Lei Jun would also emerge so recently."

At present, looking at it from the surface, Celestial Master Mansion at Dragon Tiger Mountain only had Xu Yuanzhen, a single Ninth Heavenly Layer High Real in the Taoist Sect.

Tang Xiaotang and Lei Jun still only had Eighth Heavenly Layer cultivation.

But the momentum with which they had soared was simply too fast!

The latest intelligence was that Tang Xiaotang had already reached Perfection in the Eighth Heavenly Layer.

At this rate of progress, how long would it be before Dragon Tiger Mountain had several experts at the Ninth Heavenly Layer?

"At least for now, it can be confirmed that Celestial Master Mansion won’t become like the so-called Mortal Tao Country." Shangguan Qing said slowly.

Lu Zhen said, "Thank heavens for that."

Shangguan Qing, standing in the room, gazed in the direction of Lianyun Temple, "Xuanxiao Zi, Lei Chongyun, appears to be a tranquil and self-restrained person; if he took up the role of Celestial Master, I believe Dragon Tiger Mountain would behave more conservatively."

............

No matter how others speculated about his situation, Lei Jun did not pay it any mind.

He personally was interested in two matters at the moment.

The first was to listen to Meng Shaojie speak of his insights and progress from his deep research in history.

The second was that, when Lei Jun was a guest at Lu Zhen’s mansion earlier, he met someone new.

The other person’s name was Yu Cheng, the master of Hui Tian Hall, a renowned physician in Imperial Capital Luoyang and a disciple of the Medicine King.

In the Martial Tao lineage, it was generally believed to have three branches: Weapon Strike, Body Refinement, and the healer’s path.

Yu Cheng and Hui Tian Hall were famed throughout the world as the healer lineage.

At the Lu Residence banquet, Lei Jun had an enjoyable exchange with Yu Cheng, who specifically invited Lei to visit Hui Tian Hall another day.

Today was the day for that visit. In the morning, after Lei Jun checked on his disciple Zhuo Baojie’s studies, he prepared to leave.

At that moment, Lin Shan happened to come by, "Lei, are you going out?"

Lei Jun replied, "I was invited by Hall Master Yu and plan to pay a visit to Hui Tian Hall."

Lin Shan asked, "Have you set an exact time?"

Lei Jun replied, "Not exactly, we only agreed on today. Hall Master Yu said any time was fine, so I intended to go earlier in the day. Do you need something, Senior Brother?"

Lin Shan answered, "Nothing particularly urgent, I just have an invitation for a ritual conference, inviting both you and me."

As he handed Lei Jun the invitation, he explained, "The host is a princess from the royal family, inviting representatives from the great Sacred Lands and prestigious families to gather. Taoists, Buddhists, and Confucians will all be present, discussing the world and the Way. It’s happening during the day today, and in particular invites you, Lei, to speak at the altar. If you’re interested, you could attend the ritual conference at the outskirts first, and then honor Hall Master Yu’s invitation to Hui Tian Hall in the evening."

Such gatherings for discourse were common in the capital, and Lei Jun had heard of them.

For others, it was an opportunity to further build their reputation.

*Lei Jun himself didn’t particularly care about that aspect.*

Still, with the heirs of various Taoist heritages coming together to discuss scriptures and trade insight, events like that always interested Lei Jun a bit.

He was just considering, when suddenly, a globe of light flashed in his mind, and lines of text appeared,

[Fulfill the promise, follow your heart, each with its own subtlety, all returning to the same source.]

What followed were three lots,

[Moderately good lot. Arrive at Hui Tian Hall at noon—chance to obtain a third-rank opportunity. No immediate risk, but there may be some minor karmic entanglements afterward. Handle cautiously. Lucky.]

[Moderately good lot. Arrive at the White Horse Mountain Ritual Conference outside the city at noon—chance to obtain a fifth-grade opportunity. No risk, no repercussions. Lucky.]

[Neutral lot. Go anywhere else before noon except Hui Tian Hall or White Horse Mountain—no gain and no loss. Calm.]

*Hmm, overall, not bad divination—two moderately good lots.*

*One had a higher-grade opportunity but perhaps some small downside.*

*One’s opportunity was a bit lower in grade but was purely beneficial with no drawback.*

*As for the neutral lot, that meant doing nothing—no gain, but no loss either.*

*The former matched fulfilling the promise.*

*The latter matched following one’s heart.*

Of course, strictly speaking, choosing the latter and going to the White Horse Mountain conference first couldn’t really be considered a breach of promise.

But...

*Each with its own subtlety, all returning to the same source.*

*What did that mean, exactly?*

*Were the two opportunities pointed to by the two lots coming from the same origin?*

*Countless thoughts flashed through Lei Jun’s mind, but his face remained expressionless.*

After considering it for a moment, he politely declined Lin Shan, "I won’t attend the ritual conference today. I’ll go to Hui Tian Hall earlier instead."

However, he called over his eldest disciple Zhuo Baojie, "But, Senior Brother, if it’s convenient, how about letting Hua Jie go with you and broaden his horizons a bit?"

"There’s no inconvenience at all. Nephew Hua Jie can set out with me a bit later." Lin Shan saw nothing amiss in this arrangement.