Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 301 Ambition
After thinking for an afternoon, Tang Xiaoyu decided to write a letter to her master, Zhang Chengdao.

Every time Zhang Chengdao expressed his intentions to the outside world, he was encouraging the spread of "immortal ways".

The reason why some cultivation techniques and spells in the library and the pagoda have thresholds is to prevent disciples with insufficient cultivation or realm from encountering accidents when practicing them. Therefore, these cultivation techniques and spells are prohibited from being circulated outside.

Whether it was sending the eldest disciple Chang Ping'an to guide the Taiyue Sword Sect, or distributing the three books, "The Book of Immortal Dao of Baishi," "The Book of Qi Sensing of Baishi," and "The Basic Theory of Qi Induction into the Body," it clearly expressed the master's will.

So, after thinking it over and over, Tang Xiaoyu suddenly had an idea.

How about... we build a teleportation array here at Tang Sect, directly connecting to White Stone Mountain? That way, all the disciples at Tang Sect can go to the sect they will establish in the future to cultivate immortality...

Even Tang Xiaoyu himself had a thought that he was too embarrassed to say: the revival of spiritual energy was a fact, and the immortal path was about to flourish. If the Tang Sect did not seize the opportunity to change from martial arts to immortality as soon as possible, it was afraid that it would soon be submerged in history.

Since his master encouraged him to lend a hand to the Tang Clan, why shouldn't he do it?

However, compared to the ambitious Murong Ruyan, Tang Xiaoyu had no intention of scheming for a position in the immortal path. She originally planned to establish a new sect that would specialize in cultivating formations and refining weapons. These two professions were like the swordsmiths in the past when martial arts were revered. Although their skill level was not judged by their martial arts cultivation, they were always highly regarded wherever they went.

There's no other reason than that most cultivators need to use magic weapons and formations.

Therefore, Tang Xiaoyu's initial plan was simply to ensure that the Tang Clan would not be "unemployed" in the future.

However, if one really intends to build a teleportation array leading to White Stone Mountain from the Tang Sect, in addition to spending one's own savings to purchase the spiritual materials for setting up the teleportation array from the sect, one must also ask the sect leader for permission.

After all, Yuzhou, including the entire Bashu region, is part of the Great Changhe Kingdom. Even though I know my master doesn't care about the Great Changhe Kingdom, it's still best to ask for permission.

No sooner had the "messenger" been sent out than Tang Chi, the leader of the Tang Clan, arrived in haste to visit.

“Grandmaster Uncle, now that you’re back, why don’t you take me with you to visit Zhongfu this time?”

The entire Tang Clan is straightforward and doesn't mince words, so as soon as Tang Chi saw Tang Xiaoyu, he immediately got to the point: "Hehe, Grandmaster Uncle, I was just thinking of trying out that flying thing you did with me just now... Let's fly straight over to Zhongfu and give him a big scare, how about it?"

Tang Chi's fawning expression, coupled with his hands rubbing back and forth and his mustache twitching, told Tang Xiaoyu what he was thinking—it was also her fault for not being able to resist Tang Chi's request earlier and taking him flying, which made him keep thinking about it until now!

Tang Xiaoyu immediately rolled her eyes and said, "I think you're not trying to scare him, but to persuade him to surrender to the White Stone Immortal Sect, right?"

Although Jiannan Road is part of the Great Changhe Kingdom, the Great Changhe Kingdom is really weak. The Tang family patriarch who took control of Jiannan Road made this decision because he did not want to be subordinate to others or be bound by them for long.

The reason for choosing to side with Da Changhe Kingdom is that Da Changhe Kingdom is weak and has no powerful martial artists. As long as the tomb guardians continue generation after generation, the confidence behind Tang Clan will not be broken, and Jiannan Road will not easily change hands. Da Changhe Kingdom is also afraid to act against it and dares not truly suppress it, thus allowing Jiannan Road to maintain relative autonomy for a long time.

Furthermore, if they were to side with the Zhou or Southern Chu kingdoms, both of which are quite powerful, they would be able to send large armies to suppress Bashu. In that case, it would be difficult for the Tang Clan to become the local tyrant of Jiannan Road again.

But it is different now.

With the rise of immortality, martial arts are declining. If Tang Clan does not change its ways soon, it may not only lose its status in the martial arts world, but also its stronghold in Jiannan Road.
"Grandmaster Uncle is incredibly insightful. This 'Immortal Path' has shocked every martial artist in the world. To be honest, Grandmaster Uncle, I sent over a dozen Tang Clan disciples to the Immortal Fate Conference a while ago. But these past few days, they've been returning one after another saying that only two out of those dozen disciples made it in! This assessment must be extremely rigorous... Alas, as the sect leader, I really can't help but consider the Tang Clan's well-being..."

At this point, Tang Chi sighed heavily, then his eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at Tang Xiaoyu and said, "Oh right, Grandmaster Uncle, now that you are cultivating the immortal path and are no longer afraid of the Blood Demon Pearl's influence, why don't you just take over the Tang Sect? It would be good for this old body of mine to rest. I'm already over sixty years old, and I don't have many years left to live!"

Tang Chi spoke very sincerely and earnestly.

Anyway, this ancestor of ours had served as the head of the Tang Clan for a period of time, so taking over the reins now wouldn't be unfamiliar...

"Don't even think about it!"

Tang Xiaoyu was horrified: "Let me tell you, you little bastard, don't even think about it! I still have a ton of things to do at the White Stone Immortal Sect, don't even think about dumping the Tang Sect on me!"

Tang Xiaoyu was unwilling, and Tang Chi certainly wouldn't dare to force her—he couldn't beat this Grandmaster Uncle back then, and now the Grandmaster Uncle was a dignified "Core Formation Stage cultivator," even ten of him wouldn't be enough to defeat one Grandmaster Uncle, so how could he dare to act recklessly!

Seeing Tang Chi's disappointed expression, which still hinted at not giving up, Tang Xiaoyu quickly changed the subject and brought up what had just happened: "As for persuading that kid Zhongfu... there's no rush. But you can ask Zhongfu to give me one of his dolls so that he can start cultivating the immortal path. That way, no matter whether he takes over Jiannan Dao in the future or not, Jiannan Dao will never be without a backer."

"Moreover, my master... is the Immortal White Stone. He takes great care of the people under his rule. The various policies and decrees under the rule of the White Stone Immortal Sect are also quite different from those in ordinary places. You should ask Zhongfu to inquire more about it and make some changes accordingly. In my opinion, in the future, the methods of governance in all places will probably have to be similar to those under the rule of the White Stone Immortal Sect..."

Tang Chi readily agreed: "I will follow the instructions of Grandmaster Uncle. I will send two disciples with good lightness skills and fast footwork to deliver a message to Zhongfu first. We will go over after we receive a reply in a couple of days."

Tang Xiaoyu didn't care about any of that and waved her hand impatiently: "You figure it out!"

That evening, Tang Family Fortress threw a lavish feast to celebrate Tang Xiaoyu's return. News that the Tang family patriarch planned to select Tang Sect disciples to take away for cultivation spread throughout Yuzhou. Even neighboring Wen Family Fortress and Qitang Fortress sent people over to inquire if they could send a few disciples to join the Tang Sect so they could cultivate immortality together...

Tang Xiaoyu never expected that "cultivating immortality" would be more popular in the Sichuan and Chongqing region than in the north.

Fortunately, Tang Xiaoyu was of a high seniority. Apart from a few elders she had watched grow up and said a few words, the ordinary Tang Clan disciples were not bold enough to come up and bother her. So she ate her meal quite comfortably.

I even ate several pieces of brown sugar rice cake!
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a streak of icy blue light suddenly flashed across the horizon.

A streak of blue light flew at an extremely fast speed from the clouds in the distance, slowing down when it reached above Tangjiabao. Everyone could then see clearly what the icy blue light was.

It is a strange longsword.

The sword seemed to be carved from ice, with a light blue hue and a faint glow. It shone brightly in the night sky, and just looking at it made one feel as if they could sense the chill emanating from it.

As the sword drew closer and closer, until it stopped right in front of Tang Xiaoyu, the temperature in the entire Tang Family Fortress dropped considerably. Tang Chi, who was sitting right next to Tang Xiaoyu, was so cold that his teeth were chattering. A layer of frost had also appeared on the ground.

Tang Xiaoyu casually waved a few strands of spiritual energy to form a barrier, separating the longsword from the crowd. Only then did Tang Chi stop trembling and cautiously ask, "Grandmaster Uncle, what is this?"

He was so cold he didn't even bother to speak Mandarin!
"It must be my master's sword. He's sending me a message..."

Tang Xiaoyu answered casually.

As soon as he finished speaking, a white-haired figure suddenly materialized on the longsword in front of him. He had a gentle face and an extraordinary temperament, but he looked too young and did not resemble the legendary "White Stone Immortal" who was "as old as heaven and earth" at all (who knows why the various versions of the legend about Zhang Chengdao became like this when they reached Sichuan).

"I have received your letter. If the Great Changhe Kingdom has no objections, we can build a teleportation array. However, as a gateway, there should be separate rules. We will discuss this further when you return to the sect..."

"You don't need to prepare the spiritual materials required for the teleportation array yourself; the sect can provide them. However, this teleportation array will no longer be privately owned by the Tang Sect but will be open to the public. Nevertheless, the Tang Sect can arrange for people to manage the teleportation array. You should be familiar with such safety regulations, so I won't give you any more instructions..."

Zhang Chengdao didn't send many messages. Besides readily agreeing to let Tang Xiaoyu build the teleportation array, he also mentioned the need to consider the interests of the Great Changhe Kingdom.

Hmm... In a way, my master seems to be surprisingly respectful of various countries, and he hasn't resorted to forceful plunder or meddling in anything...

Tang Xiaoyu wasn't very politically astute, so the thought only crossed her mind for a moment. Once she couldn't figure it out, she stopped thinking about it and didn't dwell on it.

On the contrary, Tang Chi, as the current head of the Tang Clan and even half the leader of Jiannan Road, had much deeper thoughts.

He quickly realized that the "White Stone Immortal's" actions were not so morally noble, but rather aimed at establishing a new political order.

A more civilized, more advanced, and more moderate political order.

The logic is simple: just as governing a country requires enacting relatively fair laws, establishing a fairer political order between nations is essentially a demonstration of force.

In particular, this order is a great thing for Jiannan Dao, because if one accepts that in the past, whichever country was powerful could arbitrarily annex other countries and bully surrounding small countries, it is tantamount to accepting the "rule" that the strong can act recklessly.

Under these "rules," it may feel good to be the strong, but who can guarantee that they will always be the strong?

Moreover, rules that establish a stable order are certainly more conducive to the development of civilization than rules that disrupt order.

Of course, Tang Chi's thoughts were not so clear. He didn't understand anything about politics or philosophy. His ability to understand the meaning of "White Stone Immortal" was simply due to the keen intuition of a politician.

Even seeing the strange longsword that was as fast as lightning and was only used for "message transmission", or the image of the legendary only immortal "White Stone Immortal" who had just disappeared, made Tang Chi feel a deeper sense of awe for "immortality".

Compared to that, the feeling of being lifted several meters off the ground by my grandmaster uncle seemed rather ordinary—at least with my own lightness skill, I could "jump" that high, though I couldn't "float" in mid-air for long.

More importantly, everything that happened today, all the experiences that impacted his feelings, has given rise to even bolder ambitions in his heart.

"Grandmaster Uncle," Tang Chi lowered his voice, his lips barely moving, his voice barely audible, "what do you think about Jiannan Dao breaking away from Da Changhe Kingdom and becoming an independent country?"

(End of this chapter)