"Young General, Young Generalâs arrangements are all set, but isnât that her son? Itâs just the Young General."
The temple master remained unmoved, smiling as he slowly spoke,
"As long as they come from their motherâs womb, if theyâre not the motherâs son, whose son are they?"
"Thatâs true. The son that comes from oneâs own womb, how could a mother not recognize him."
Chen Xuantian nodded, suddenly turning his head to gaze at the Deaf and Mute Taoist who was staring blankly at the flying butterflies while munching on the red fruit hidden in the basket,
"How old is he? Thirteen?"
The temple masterâs smile instantaneously disappeared.
Chen Xuantian leisurely turned his head, smiling while looking at the fierce eyes, blackened face, and hands that appeared like Dragon Claws with bulging veins of the Daoist, who was forcing himself to remain seated,
"Oh~ wow~ you really can stay calm~ I wouldâve made a move for sure~ impressive stability~"
The temple master straightened his back, stared fiercely at Chen Xuantian, his face savagely resembling a tiger ready to pounce, evidently wanting to make a move, but after a long while, he retracted his fierce expression and spoke through clenched teeth,
"The Dou Family defended the territory and expanded the borders, making great contributions to the country, shedding green blood, yet the entire family died unjustly."
"So many years have passed, and you still refuse to let them go?"
"Spare those you can, let them go."
Chen Xuantian picked up his tea, blew on it, and opened his eyes, meeting the temple masterâs gaze with his red eyes and black pupils,
"Fellow Daoist truly is loyal, coupled with immense power, capabilities are unparalleled, your martial arts knowledge is deep but unexposed."
"Iâm sincerely not flattering you, Iâve genuinely never seen someone mastering both magic and martial techniques, proficient in all styles, and capable of teaching a group of muscle-bound fools the True Inheritorâs way, successfully training thirteen Nascent Soul Martial Gods."
"With your skills, you could be master of a mountain in the Mystic Sect, why settle in this barren land, looking after those Dou Family orphans?"
"Moreover, no matter how ungrateful the Nangong family is, you watched them grow up, didnât you?"
"Can you really bear to see your years of hard work destroyed in an instant? Sacrifice them all just to protect this one heir from peril?"
"Make sure you have thought it through before answering, donât deceive me."
The temple master remained silent for a long time, then raised his head and stared at Chen Xuantian,
"You mountain people, always chanting about Reversing Fate, Defying Heaven."
"But what do you understand about heaven, about fate?"
"I used to be like you, thinking man can conquer heaven, as long as oneâs skills are strong enough, one can reverse Qiankun and achieve great things."
"But as I lived longer, I understood. Heavenly Destiny is hard to defy."
"If you lack earth-shattering skills, you are merely an ant crushed under the Heavenly Dao."
"Like today, youâve counted every step, wanting to annihilate the Nangong family entirely, leaving them no chance."
"And Iâve calculated and calculated, yet found no chance to overturn fate, simply because Iâm not as strong as you, unable to defy the destiny youâve written."
"But donât be smug, one day youâll encounter a stronger opponent, and your fate will be no different from mine."
"Ultimately, what you call destiny is merely momentary success achieved through scheming, aided by circumstance."
Chen Xuantian wouldnât let go just because someone surrendered, he only smiled and listened to him finish.
And the temple master no longer looked at him, instead turning to stare at the Deaf and Mute Taoist gazing blankly at the butterflies,
"However, Heavenly Destiny is hard to defy has yet another meaning."
"One day, the Dou Familyâs bloodline will save all of humanity."
"This is the legacy of our Louguan Taoist Ancestor, passed down through generations."
"Our Louguan Temple, generations built grass huts, observing Qi and the stars, what we seek is one day to witness the Great Dao."
"Therefore, in the past, we abandoned being Tai Chang, incurring the Emperorâs wrath, yet still preserving the Dou Familyâs solitary bloodline."
"So today, we battle wits with Three Constellations, fight to the death with Mystic Sect, yet must protect the Nangong bloodline from extinction."
"Because since our Louguan Temple foresees that day, we must preserve his life."
"Not for the salvation of humanity, but to prove our Dao."
"As long as our Dao can witness the day the Dou familyâs descendants save humanity! Then we prove the path weâve taken is correct!"
"Our Louguan Taoists are not babbling nonsense! Not wasting time! Certainly not sacrificing in vain!"
"Our Dao truly can observe destiny! Know the future!"
"Someday, we will certainly see that eternal and unchanging true Dao!"
"This! Is Heavenly Destiny!"
"This! Is Enlightenment!"
"This! Do you understand, as you keep nodding your head endlessly?"
Chen Xuantian smiled and nodded,
"Alright, alright, alright."
The temple master looked at him, unhappy,
"Alright what!"
Chen Xuantian smiled and pointed at the Daoist, who was staring cross-eyed at the butterflies on the pen tip,
"Seems rather interesting, Iâll help you preserve his life, prove your Dao, and when the time comes, letâs see how he saves humanity."
The temple master wore a face asking if he thought he was foolish, who indeed was trying to destroy the Nangong family, and he had the audacity to trick him.
Chen Xuantian shrugged,
"We mountain people defy heaven, change fate, what grudge would we have against a child. As long as theyâre not seeking their own death, I give them a chance.
"Moreover, coincidentally, I recently formed a group, preparing to save the world, with quite a few peers among them."
"If youâll trust me, no, if youâve calculated and found no issues, then let me take him along, Iâll take him as a child, let him play and fly together, consider it preserving a path for the Dou Family, avoiding the risk of this kid following the wrong person and getting misled."
"And for you, I can also give you an opportunity to reverse fate. Although I donât know whose son Nangong Che is, taken secretly by you to replace the Dou Familyâs child, his death might be inconsequential.
"But I can see, youâve indeed poured considerable effort into Nangong Ou."