654: Chapter 654 Talent

Every shift in balance is a redistribution of benefits. There are conflicts of interest among the high-ranking members of the Dao Court, and there is no absolutely clear line between the middle and high levels. Even if the gentlest methods are used, it will still stir up internal waves.

Except for the high and mighty Lord of the Dao Court and those few Soul Transformation Late Stage Cultivators whose status cannot be shaken, every balancing process could potentially be an Opportunity or a disaster.

Death is unlikely, but it might affect their path of cultivation, which is equally unacceptable to them.

Liu Xuan strongly suspects that many Dao Lords in the Dao Court don't care about the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the Southern Territory at all; they are just using this Opportunity to divert internal conflicts and, by the way, see if they can make a profit from this undeveloped land of the Southern Territory.

"Let them use it if they want. One is only used if they have value. Am I not using them as well?"

Utilization is sometimes mutual. Liu Xuan doesn't care if he is being used; he only cares about whether he can get enough benefits from it.

...

The backyard of the Liu Family residence.

Fishing Pavilion.

Liu Xuan was not fishing on the shore, but sitting cross-legged on the back of a huge black tortoise.

The Myriad Longevity Black Tortoise. This guy had only just advanced to a Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beast after decades. Apart from being able to serve as a platform for water activities, it was a waste of space the rest of the time.

Before his daughter Ling Meng advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage, this guy could serve as her spirit pet. Since Ling Meng advanced to Foundation Establishment, and the Family did not lack other Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts for the children to contract, Liu Xuan couldn't be bothered to care about it and threw it into Biyou Pool to fend for itself.

"Dad, this Plum Blossom I Ching is so hard. I can't understand it at all. Can I not learn it?"

On the back of the black tortoise, Liu Xuan was fishing leisurely, surrounded by dozens of children of various ages holding a Secret Manual, flipping through it. Some were engrossed, some were scratching their heads, and others had looks of agony on their faces.

The first to speak up was Liu Jingchun, ranked 822nd. This kid was in his early twenties, at an age full of youthful vigor. He advocated overpowering others with strength and had no interest in complex and uncertain arts like divination.

"You don't want to learn this, you don't want to learn that. Are you looking for a beating, kid?"

Liu Xuan had a real headache with this kid, Jingchun. His Spiritual Root was third-grade, and his Comprehension Ability was quite good, but he just had no interest in anything.

Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman, Formation, sword Dao... including the Plum Blossom I Ching they were currently learning. He said he couldn't understand it, but Liu Xuan could see that among the many brothers and sisters present, he was the only one who had truly gained some insight.

"How could I not want to learn?" Jingchun retorted: "If I'm going to learn, I'll learn the strongest Cultivation Technique. I want to be like Big Brother and comprehend the Great Five Elements Hunyuan Method, and be invincible among my peers!"

Liu Xuan resisted the urge to slap him and asked in a deep voice: "Even if you really comprehend the Great Five Elements Hunyuan Method, you can't beat your Big Brother among your peers, so how can you be called invincible among your peers?"

"The so-called 'all paths return to one origin' means that if you want to surpass your Big Brother and become invincible among your peers, you must master more means than your Big Brother, integrate many Dao techniques, and comprehend a Dao that belongs only to you!"

"Really?" The kid was half-believing.

"Believe it or not. Get lost now, don't disturb the others who are studying seriously."

Because he discovered that there was no backlash when he used divination techniques, Liu Xuan was very interested in the path of divination.

Unfortunately, he was a bit lazy himself, and his talent in divination was not top-notch. So, he took a different approach, planning to teach divination techniques to his talented children. Once they learned something and their cultivation improved, they would feed it back to him through Epiphany.

No matter how difficult the path of divination is, he now has over two thousand offspring; he doesn't believe that not a single one of them has talent!

Even if there isn't one now, he will continue to have children in the future. Once the number is large enough, a child with good divination talent will eventually be born.

Jingchun stared at Liu Xuan for a while, but in the end, he didn't choose to get lost. Instead, he chose to trust his old man once, after all, his old man had always been quite reliable.

He quickly flipped through the "Plum Blossom I Ching: Introductory Chapter" in his hand, then closed the book, walked up to Liu Xuan, and asked: "I've finished learning it. Dad, is there any more complex part?"

"Finished learning?" Liu Xuan's fishing rod shook, then he used his mana to fix the rod in the air, turned his head, and lectured: "Learning must be done step by step. Being ambitious and impatient will only waste more time."

Jingchun looked blank, spread his hands, and said: "It's just introductory basics, is this very difficult?"

Liu Xuan was amused by his appearance and pointed at the dozens of children around him. "Although the Plum Blossom I Ching is just a Foundation, it is the most difficult divination technique to learn. Look at your brothers and sisters, how many of them dare to say they have fully comprehended it?"

In the crowd, Liu Daozhen, ranked 200th and already at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, smiled and teased: "Little brother Jingchun, finishing reading and learning are two different things. Your cultivation is only at the Late Qi Refining Stage, and your Divine Sense has just been born. It is even more difficult to comprehend such profound techniques as divination. If you want to achieve something, it is best to first solidify your Foundation."

The Foundation of entering the path of divination is mastering Divine Sense; otherwise, it is impossible to understand those profound and illogical twisted contents.

Liu Xuan only brought out the introductory basics to determine if they had talent, so he could cultivate them slowly later.

Jingchun had not yet advanced to Foundation Establishment. Although he had practiced Divine Sense in advance, it was not strong enough. Even if he had talent in divination, it shouldn't be possible for him to learn and master it so quickly.

Jingchun turned to look at his Big Brother Daozhen, his face showing three parts confusion and three parts doubt, "Brother Daozhen, you wouldn't be lying to Dad just because you didn't want to learn like I did before, right? Is it that difficult?"

Daozhen was slightly stunned. He also stared at his young brother, examining him carefully. He wasn't sure if this kid was showing off or if he really had the goods.

"Little brother Jingchun, since you are so confident, then this brother will test you on behalf of Father."

Daozhen chose the most difficult question from the problems he didn't understand himself and planned to ask his father about later, to test Jingchun.

"Brother Daozhen, you look down on me too much. To test me with such a simple question, it only requires..."

Jingchun answered Daozhen's question concisely. All the children present were confused. Daozhen felt that what he answered seemed to make some sense, but he didn't know if it was correct, so he had to turn his inquiring gaze to Liu Xuan.

After hearing Jingchun's answer, Liu Xuan's expression changed. Ignoring the inquiring gazes of the other children, he immediately asked a few more difficult questions to test Jingchun's true level.

"Father is still the capable one; this is a bit difficult!" Although Jingchun said it was difficult, he answered Liu Xuan's questions easily. His answers were so concise that even Liu Xuan was inspired.

"Dad! Can you give me the follow-up part now? It's boring because it's too simple." Jingchun said casually.

"Follow-up... I don't have the follow-up part here either. In a couple of days, I can take you to a place where you can learn as difficult things as you want!"