Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 399 - 228. The Third Rank May Expand Opportunities, Balance of Motion and Stillness (Combined Chapter)_3

Chapter 399: 228. The Third Rank May Expand Opportunities, Balance of Motion and Stillness (Combined Chapter)_3

"Your Sect is the sacred Ancestral Court of the Taoist Talisman Sect. Talisman Scriptures can connect with spirits, gods, Heaven, and Earth, tracing back to ancient times. This shares many similarities with our scholarly pursuits," Zhang Hui remarked. "I hope to have the opportunity to learn from Master Lei about these studies in the future."

Lei Jun replied, "Your Highness is too kind. It would be my honor."

The Crown Prince mused, "I’ve heard that the Southern Witch Sect also has its rites and music. Like the Taoist and Confucian teachings in the Central Plains, they achieve similar ends through different means, possessing a unique charm. I truly hope for an opportunity to study them in the future." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A tall young man in Confucian attire beside him nodded. "It’s mainly the Divine Dance Lineage of the Witchcraft Sect."

Zhang Hui’s eyes lit up. "Zhengqing, I remember your second uncle went to the Southern Wilderness with the Great General, didn’t he?"

The young Confucian scholar replied, "A letter from the Capital City has arrived. Thanks to Her Majesty the Empress’s and Your Highness’s blessings, my second uncle has already returned to the Capital City."

He clearly knew what interested the Crown Prince, so he had specifically consulted his family elders in previous correspondence. "According to my second uncle, while the ritual dance and music of the Witchcraft Sect’s Divine Dance Lineage are not as flourishing as the ceremonial rites and civilization of our Great Tang, they possess unique qualities. The Ghost God Sacrificial Array they create, which communicates between Heaven and Earth, also holds the marvel of borrowing from the laws of nature."

Zhang Hui listened intently, nodding repeatedly, an undisguised yearning apparent in his expression.

Lei Jun observed quietly, his gaze sweeping over the young men beside Zhang Hui.

The young Confucian scholar who had just spoken was Shangguan Zhengqing, a scion of the Shangguan Clan and one of the Crown Prince’s current Personal Readers.

The Shangguan Clan was the foremost martial family of the Great Tang, with profound ancestral teachings, and could almost be called the leading Martial Tao family in the Great Tang today.

The Zhang and Shangguan families were deeply intertwined, with generations of marital alliances making them almost indistinguishable. Furthermore, many of the Martial Arts Supreme Skills possessed by the Tang Imperial Court were shared with the Shangguan Clan.

However, the Shangguan Clan did not restrict its members solely to the practice of martial arts; a few exceptionally gifted individuals pursued different paths.

Shangguan Zhengqing, for instance, cultivated the Confucian Orthodoxy. He had been a Crown Prince’s Personal Reader since childhood and was close in age to Crown Prince Zhang Hui, practically growing up with him. His mother was a daughter of the imperial Zhang family.

In terms of kinship, it was difficult to say whether he or Zhang Ziye, the youngest son of Prince Xun’an Zhang Mu, was closer to Crown Prince Zhang Hui.

A total of four young men had accompanied Zhang Hui out of the Capital City as Crown Prince’s Personal Readers on this trip.

Besides Shangguan Zhengqing and Zhang Ziye, there was Ye Song, a descendant of the Qingzhou Ye Clan.

This young man was, strictly speaking, Crown Prince Zhang Hui’s first cousin. Zhang Hui’s mother and Ye Song’s father were full siblings, both children of Ye Yan, the current Clan Chief of the Qingzhou Ye Clan. Thus, Ye Song was Ye Yan’s direct grandson.

However, compared to these three, Lei Jun found himself more focused on the fourth individual.

The reason was not that this person possessed an extraordinarily significant background; on the contrary, his background was quite ordinary.

His companions were all imperial scions, descendants of nobility, or direct heirs of prominent families.

This last young man, as far as Lei Jun knew, came from a humble family. He had been studying at the newly established Scholarly Mansion a year prior and had only recently been transferred to the Eastern Palace as a Crown Prince’s Personal Reader.

It was said that the Crown Prince had met this friend while attending classes at the Scholarly Mansion, under Her Majesty the Empress’s decree.

Considering the Empress’s recent establishment of the Scholarly Mansion and her efforts in recent years to promote children from commoner families, this young scholar named Meng Shaojie was bound to attract attention.

Given how well he got along with the Crown Prince, it was natural for many to speculate that His Highness was influenced by his aunt.

But there was a minor issue: Meng Shaojie’s talents were relatively mediocre.

This was not to say he was genuinely incompetent. Strictly speaking, Meng Shaojie was not lacking; while not a prodigy or a monster of talent, he was considered to have potential.

The Longhu Mountain Celestial Master’s Mansion had Lin Shan teaching at the Scholarly Mansion.

Although Meng Shaojie was not his student, Lin Shan had paid special attention to him after he became a Crown Prince’s Personal Reader.

This young man wasn’t an exceptional talent whose brilliance reached the stars, but his Wenhua Qi was quite strong. He was diligent and earnest in his studies. Furthermore, with a good teacher’s guidance and sufficient resources, barring any major mishap during the Heavenly Moat Tribulation, he had a chance of reaching the Middle Three Heavens realm.

If he had profound luck and blessings, he could even strive for the Fifth Heaven Layer or perhaps the Sixth Heaven Layer.

Among the myriad cultivators in the world, the vast majority remained stuck in the Lower Three Heavens for their entire lives, with many unable to progress beyond the initial stage of the First Heaven Layer.

Someone like Meng Shaojie was already a talent one in ten thousand.

But everything is relative.

Take Crown Prince Zhang Hui, for example. A cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Heaven realm at nineteen was rare, even among the major prestigious families and Sacred Lands throughout the world. The reason he was considered to be falling short of expectations was simply because he was the Crown Prince of Great Tang.

In contrast, Zhang Hui’s study companions—be it Shangguan Zhengqing, Ye Song, or Zhang Ziye—were all outstanding talents of their generation. They were exceptionally gifted and nurtured as key prospects within the talent-rich imperial family, the Shangguan Clan, and the Qingzhou Ye Clan, all of them aiming for the Upper Three Heavens.

As long as they did not meet an untimely end, they were destined to become pillars of their respective families.

In such a setting, throwing Meng Shaojie into the mix, to put it bluntly, was like a chicken among a flock of cranes.

At the moment, he kept a very low profile, blending into the group as if he were invisible.

It was Zhang Hui who moved over to him and asked with concern, "Shaojie, are you feeling unwell again?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Your servant is fine," Meng Shaojie replied hastily.

Zhang Hui turned to Lei Jun and asked politely, "Dragon Tiger Mountain is the foremost Sacred Land in the Daoist arts of alchemy and medicine in this era. Would it be possible to ask Master Lei to examine Shaojie?"

Lei Jun asked, "What happened?"

Meng Shaojie hesitated before explaining, "Elder Lei, it’s like this. After our party left Bashu, we encountered a Great Demon causing chaos, which made the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi erratic. I accidentally fell into a cavern and was afflicted by the subterranean qi, leading to a serious illness. Fortunately, the accompanying Imperial Physician helped me recuperate. My body has recovered, but... well, just now, while walking in the mountains, I felt a bit dazed again."