Chapter 707: 298. Twin Dragons Emerge from the Sea, Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens! (10,000-Word Mega Chapter)_5

Master Faming and the monks from Tianlong Temple arrived, and with Chu Kun joining them, the hearts of the Heavenly Order Cultivators who had rushed to support tightened in unison.

"...Taoist Master Chu?" Master Faming was somewhat surprised. However, he did not say much, merely greeting Chu Kun before taking action to subdue these Heavenly Order Cultivators.

The Dharma Appearance Master Faming had cultivated at the Seventh Heavenly Layer Realm was a mountainous white elephant.

As this white elephant trampled, the earth shook and the mountains trembled, making it difficult for the Heavenly Order Cultivators to defend themselves.

With the monks from Tianlong Temple present, Chu Kun did not stand by idly. He retracted his sharpness, performing half-heartedly, and resumed the role of a Talisman Sect cultivator focused on the Corporeal Life Mastery lineage.

However, the tide of battle soon changed.

Far out on the waters of Great Qing Bay, individuals dressed in the high-ranking official garments of the Great Ming Dynasty rushed over with another group of Heavenly Order Cultivators.

That high-ranking official was so furious his face turned ashen. "How did the news leak?"

Lei Jun was speculating whether this person was the Wangbu Hall official the others had mentioned earlier. But then he heard the Heavenly Order Cultivators before him address the man as "Officer Su."

This Officer Su glared furiously and shouted, "Audacious demon monk! How dare you not submit to the law?"

He exuded immense official authority. Without any visible action on his part, the Global Spiritual Qi seemed to stall in his presence. Then, it automatically materialized invisible shackles, attempting to first bind and parade Master Faming before the crowd.

Master Faming struggled against these shackles with the white elephant manifested from his own Buddhist willpower, but the elephant was locked in place on the spot.

The middle-aged monk’s expression was solemn, but he did not panic.

Having been in the East Sea for some time, this was not his first encounter with these Heavenly Order Cultivators, and he was psychologically prepared for their tactics.

But the enemy before him was undoubtedly formidable.

Master Faming’s white elephant Dharma Appearance possessed immense strength and struggled continuously.

It caused Officer Su’s invisible shackles to waver.

Yet, as time passed, the power of the invisible shackles grew increasingly strong.

Lei Jun observed thoughtfully from the sidelines.

One of the cultivation achievements of the Confucian Rationalist Cultivators of the Heavenly Principle was called the Ancestor System.

One of its most prominent features in outward Duels of Magic was that the longer a Divine Skill was maintained, the stronger its efficacy became. It kept accumulating, growing ever harder to counter.

Lei Jun had heard of this before.

His current focus, however, was elsewhere.

Though Master Faming lacked the astonishing talents of Wang Guiyuan, the Future Maitreya, or Yuanmie, the Abbot of Great Void Temple, his strength was by no means weak for his realm.

He was not even inferior to his senior in the sect, Elder Miaoyi.

But facing this Officer Su, he was immediately constrained and increasingly at a disadvantage.

Was this Officer Su far superior to his peers in strength?

Lei Jun, with his Insight and Comprehension, felt it was not entirely so.

Admittedly, Officer Su’s strength was not insignificant; under ordinary circumstances, it should be comparable to Master Faming’s.

But now, he was clearly overpowering Master Faming.

If Lei Jun was not mistaken, this was due to the differentiation in their respective Taoist Heritages.

The Confucian Rationalism under the rule of the Great Ming Dynasty overshadowed the Buddhist Sect’s Vow Making under the Great Tang Dynasty.

This Taoist Heritage acted like a barrier, limiting other major Taoist Inheritances.

On one hand, it possessed its own unique aspects. On the other, it was likely because, as rumors suggested, these Scholarly Cultivators shared the sovereign’s burdens and the country’s distress, thereby bearing the nation’s destiny... Lei Jun pondered thoughtfully.

But the Scholarly Cultivators from the Middle Three Heavens who had just now crossed hands with Chu Kun did not display this noticeable advantage.

Upon closer observation, Lei Jun’s expression became slightly peculiar.

The Scholarly Cultivators present, who were confronting the monks from Tianlong Temple and Chu Kun, had various levels of cultivation.

The only Great Scholar from the Upper Three Heavens, Officer Su, benefited from his augmented fate and had a clear advantage when facing Master Faming of the same realm.

The Scholarly Cultivators from the Middle Three Heavens fighting Chu Kun and the others seemed relatively normal, without any noticeable benefit.

And the several young Confucian Scholars from the Lower Three Heavens... they appeared to be, on average, significantly weaker than cultivators of the same realm from other Taoist Heritages.

Lei Jun was, unusually, at a loss for words.

You all... couldn’t possibly be breaking the historical norms of the Cultivation World, where you undergo hardship when young, only to become more cherished and powerful as you age, could you?

When he recalled that another major School of Dharma they cultivated was known as Principle Constants—a system difficult to challenge from above or below—Lei Jun’s eyebrows slightly raised.

Before he could ponder further, a subtle movement in his heart alerted him. He sensed others hiding afar, peering at the great battle between the Scholarly Cultivators and the monks from Tianlong Temple.

The Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript subtly flowed within Lei Jun’s eyes.

Then, the figures of a few individuals came into his sight.

They were also cultivators who practiced the Confucian Rationalism School of Dharma.

Though dressed in ordinary clothes, their cultivated official bearing was very noticeable and could not be concealed.

They watched the battling sides from afar.

One of them spoke in a low voice, "Lord Futa, your prediction was divine! Those monks indeed came here as expected. However, their leader only possesses cultivation at the Seventh Heavenly Layer; I’m afraid he won’t be able to stop the arrangements of Wangbu Hall and Officer Su."

The leading middle-aged man said, "Let’s hope these monks can draw in more experts, thereby breaking that sacrifice of the sun and moon shining together and gathering the Vast Sea’s Spiritual Energy."

Someone beside him hesitated. "Lord Futa, the flow of Heavenly Principle’s Spiritual Energy may indeed gradually decline in the future. Although Wangbu Hall’s actions are reckless, if they succeed, it will truly benefit our Great Ming..."

Lord Futa calmly turned his head, his face expressionless.

Though he did not rebuke sharply, the person who had just spoken immediately started sweating profusely.

Another person said, "It’s still hard to predict the future of the Heavenly Principle. However, if Elder Song, Wangbu Hall, and their Wu Party gain power, that will truly cause chaos in state affairs and destabilize the nation!"

The sweating man prostrated before Lord Futa. "I misspoke, My Lord! I hope you will forgive my offense!"

Lord Futa turned back again and said indifferently, "Harboring concern for the nation isn’t wrong. However, many matters aren’t as simple as they appear on the surface."