Two days later, another direct disciple from the Celestial Master’s Mansion arrived at Qingyun Riverbank, bringing along several young Daoist acolytes to carry out their assigned duties.

They brought some unexpected news:

Yesterday afternoon, there was another incident at the Daoist Acolyte Academy.

A mass brawl broke out among the acolytes in the Talisman and Ink Workshop.

David Bolton had a headache: “What a run of bad luck—so much trouble this year?”

Jason Reed: “What exactly happened?”

The newly arrived young acolyte said, “It started with people from the First and Eighth Branches fighting, then more and more joined in. There were acolytes from other branches in the Talisman and Ink Workshop who also got involved—even our Sixth Branch had two people…”

“The First Branch? People from the First Branch never take assignments at the Talisman and Ink Workshop.”

David Bolton was puzzled at first, then seemed to recall something: “Wait, the Eighth Branch—could it be…”

Jason Reed listened quietly, watching the gossiping young acolyte.

The other nodded vigorously: “It was someone from the First Branch who started fighting with Ethan Brooks—Senior Brother Brooks from the Eighth Branch, and then more and more people got dragged in.

In the end, the Daoist on duty at the Talisman and Ink Workshop was alarmed, and the incident blew up. Everyone involved in the fight was sent to the Disciplinary Office.”

Jason Reed: “All of them?”

He remembered that the Daoist on duty at the Talisman and Ink Workshop recently was a member of the Li family.

“It seems Ethan Brooks and the others were sent to the Disciplinary Office first to reflect on their actions, but later, when people from the main mansion on the mountain got involved, the First Branch people were also punished with confinement,” the acolyte recalled.

Jason Reed: “The Daoist rumored to need a pure gold lingzhi from the Lingzhi Platform for alchemy—who is it?”

David Bolton looked around and lowered his voice: “I think it’s a Daoist Li…”

There were quite a few Daoists and elders surnamed Li on Mount Longhu.

Generally, the title “Daoist Li” didn’t refer to any one person in particular, but rather to any Li family member who had officially become a direct disciple of the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

After hearing what David Bolton said, Jason Reed fell silent, simply watching the group of young Daoists still whispering and gossiping.

Looking back now, the forks in the road of fate were growing ever further apart.

Some of what Ethan Brooks was experiencing now all stemmed from that newly sprouted pure gold lingzhi when the Lingzhi Platform revived.

Or rather, from the “middle” fortune slip that Jason Reed had drawn:

[Don’t join the commotion, wait for the right moment. After the upheaval, go to the Lingzhi Platform and you’ll gain a sixth-grade opportunity. But the tall tree attracts the wind, inviting jealousy and hidden trouble. Neutral.]

The so-called hidden trouble had continued to this day.

Ethan Brooks was ambushed and nearly killed while out training, and now he was being targeted by Li family members from the First Branch, with the conflict between the two sides deepening.

However, it couldn’t be said that it was all Ethan Brooks’s fault.

The previous theft incident at the First Branch, though instigated by a higher-level traitorous elder, was at its core a result of accumulated conflict between Li family disciples and those of other surnames within the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

After the theft and arson at the First Branch, the conflict was undoubtedly further intensified.

The thief was already dead, but some Li family disciples from the First Branch were left with pent-up anger and nowhere to vent it.

At this point, the non-Li acolyte Ethan Brooks, who already had other grudges with them, ended up killing and injuring acolytes from the Third Branch who were attached to the Li family, making the Li disciples even more eager to take down this “standout.”

No wonder the latest fortune slip mentioned: “When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well.”

When both sides lost their tempers, even non-Li acolytes present in the Talisman and Ink Workshop could get caught up in the mess.

In the end, it turned into a huge brawl, which at its core was an eruption of the conflict between Li family and non-Li acolytes in the academy.

Just as the fortune slip said:

[Lower-middle fortune: Go to the Talisman and Ink Workshop to make ink. When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Temporary loss of freedom, hidden dangers buried, ominous.]

Even if you didn’t want to fight, after the incident, everyone present would likely be rounded up and punished by the elders, probably having to spend a few days in confinement.

However, none of this had anything to do with Jason Reed anymore.

He was already standing on a different branch of fate.

No matter how much chaos erupted over there, it didn’t disturb the peace and quiet on his side.

The lower-middle fortune had already come true; now he was just waiting for his own “top fortune” to be fulfilled.

Jason Reed stopped listening to the gossip and went to patrol the riverbank.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, the sky darkened.

Jason Reed looked up. At some point, a mass of pitch-black thunderclouds had gathered overhead, blocking out the sky.

These thunderclouds looked familiar—he’d seen them once not long after he first transmigrated.

Sure enough, just like before, the thunderclouds came and went quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

But now, someone suddenly appeared in front of Jason Reed.

It was a young woman, dressed in a light purple Daoist robe with a black cloak over it, her face pale and bloodless but with delicate, picturesque features—she looked very young.

But the first thing Jason Reed felt upon seeing her was a bone-chilling cold, as if he were standing naked in a snowy night.

Yet he felt no discomfort at all; instead, he smiled: “Senior Sister.”

Chapter 10: Hidden Dragon Spiritual Body, Rebirth and Transformation

The woman in the purple robe was none other than Emily Grant, the chief disciple of the current Celestial Master Li.

She casually asked, “Have you seen Little Uncle?”

Jason Reed: “Not yet. After coming out of seclusion, Elder Grant went to inspect the newly opened cave residence of our sect.

But he already knows your intentions and has arranged for William ThompsonSenior Brother to help me with daily matters.”

Emily Grant: “Aside from waiting for my master by chance, there’s no one more suitable than Little Uncle to be your teacher.”

Jason Reed fell into thoughtful silence.