Volume One: The Wild Boy Chapter Fifty-Six: Li Daoyong

The atmosphere was strangely tense, yet there was no choice but to carry on. What even Lin Changtian had not told Lian Yubaili, how could he possibly share with others? Yet the young man before him was astute, perceiving the truth beneath every disguise. Gripping Lin Changtian’s shoulder, his expression was icy and his voice resolute.

“You must tell me what you saw with Yubaili at Bohai that day. This is important—it concerns the fate of an entire domain.”

“Yubaili, is he an old friend of yours?” Lin Changtian regarded the youth with interest. The boy’s brow was tightly knit, and after a long moment of hesitation he replied, “We know each other, certainly, but 'old friends' is far too much. Yubaili is a genius unparalleled in a thousand years, recognized as the foremost master of the blade in the Northern Domain of the Central Lands. I’m still a bit lacking compared to someone like him.”

Perhaps it was Lin Changtian’s imagination, but the world around seemed to ripple in response to the youth’s mood.

“All the way, you’ve been formidable enough, surely at least at the Commanding Heaven realm. Don’t underestimate yourself.” Lin Changtian adopted the manner of an elder, gesturing and scolding the youth with an air of disappointed expectation, as if he were a seasoned veteran.

The young man glanced at him oddly, sizing him up, but could sense not the slightest aura of a master from Lin Changtian.

“The Commanding Heaven realm is merely a limitation placed upon me—a concession to necessity and rules. Such feeble strength would not withstand three strikes from Yubaili. If you insist on finding something to flatter myself with, perhaps only in the arcane arts do I hold an edge over him.”

Lin Changtian’s eyes widened in surprise—was his brother truly this fierce? Could Yubaili be the legendary pinnacle of combat prowess?

“What are you thinking? The cultivation of boundary-walkers always leads beyond the heavens, beyond the towers, beyond mortals.” The youth shot Lin Changtian a glance, instantly seeing through his thoughts, and coldly uttered the customary warnings of the path.

Lin Changtian muttered to himself, his eyes darting quickly as he pondered. After a long while, he said, “If I tell you what happened at Bohai, would you teach me about cultivation? I seem to have hit a threshold in my path, and I don’t know if my progress has been fruitful—it all depends on real combat to test it. I honestly have no idea what realm I’m in.”

The youth nodded, then smiled wryly. “I wouldn’t say I can teach anyone cultivation, but I can help you resolve some doubts along the way.”

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you.” Lin Changtian began recounting what he saw in the woods of Bohai, leaving nothing out.

He spoke of the Eye of Heaven and Earth, the calamities of Bohai, the great monsters that roamed the domain, the dragon at the center, the swordsman who rose with the tides, and the martialist whose fist illuminated Loulan. Lin Changtian was not yet finished, but the youth was already entranced.

The tale was endless, but the story neared its end. Apart from the immortal blessing upon his head and the moment he frightened the dragon away—events Lin Changtian himself could not fully grasp—there was little else to recount.

The youth sighed, recognizing that Lin Changtian’s account matched his own deductions perfectly. He had Lin Changtian sit cross-legged, placed his hand atop the crown of his head, and his aura surged.

“To be honest, yours is the Northern Domain’s cultivation path—I know little of it. Its essence can be summed up in eight words: 'Fight to nurture fighting, hide weapons within weapons.' But your experience differs from Yubaili’s on the borderlands; without the daily slaughter, it’s hard to form. Most crucially, if your energies run wild, at best your soul loses its way, at worst your mind falls to madness. That day in Zhoucheng, had you not been exhausted, you might have slaughtered the entire city after the ten elders died.”

Lin Changtian was stunned, unable to speak. Upon reflection, he remembered several moments in Zhoucheng when he’d nearly turned his blade against civilians, and the shadow of that impulse still lingered like a nightmare.

“Then, elder, what should I do?”

The youth pondered for a while, recalling something, and his tone lightened. “It’s simple, really. For most, it’s not easy, but for you—since you once resisted Lin Yuheng’s abilities, if you can suppress your own desires, the path ahead will be far smoother.”

“Desires?” Lin Changtian looked puzzled, then suddenly understood, declaring, “Rest assured, elder! I, Lin, have always abhorred gambling and poison!”

The youth waved his hand, exasperated by Lin Changtian’s oath. “This desire isn’t as simple as you imagine. For example, you must rise early, but your body whispers to you, ‘Keep sleeping.’ If you rise, the day benefits, but you’ve suppressed your innate laziness, which actually goes against the principle of 'preserving the true nature.'”

Lin Changtian frowned, muttering, “Are you saying that in 'extinguishing humanity,' both good and evil, beauty and ugliness, diligence and laziness are included? That suppressing my flaws is also against my nature?”

“Actually, it’s better to call them 'weaknesses.' We often guide people toward good, but you must understand: only when people know evil, experience it, and still choose good does the true principle of unity arise. If we simply eliminate evil habits and instill social ideals, such goodness is not worth defending. When pure-hearted people face dilemmas of ethics, their goodness wavers thoroughly.”

Lin Changtian’s expression grew solemn, his demeanor full of enlightenment. “Elder, I understand. You mean I should not repress my murderous intent, but release it and cleanse it with my strongest principles?”

The youth scratched his head and sighed deeply. “What did Yubaili do to deserve you as the Northern Domain’s representative? What are you even comprehending? I told you I don’t know much about Northern Domain cultivation, so you need to ask Yubaili yourself. Don’t delay, lest you lose control and get killed. Are you the Northern Domain’s intellectual baseline?”

Were he not outmatched, Lin Changtian would have kicked the youth. He gritted his teeth, thinking, ‘So you don’t know much either, yet you’re lecturing me?’

“At least give me something useful, elder, or I’ll lose out terribly.” Lin Changtian forced down his annoyance and offered a smile.

The youth laughed, for in this world, nothing Lin Changtian thought escaped his eyes. “Let me tell you one thing. Half a year ago, I returned from Bohai—the swordsman who rose with the waves was me. Constraints of heaven and earth forced me to appear in this form. The seventy-two Yan Cloud Riders stand guard at the Northern Domain’s border for the world’s safety. The eighteen Clear Sky Strategists divine at the southern shore for the future of humanity. Yubaili is in the north, I, Li Daoyong, am in the south. In fact, we’re contemporaries.”

Lin Changtian was baffled, having no idea what the youth was talking about. Li Daoyong ignored him, gazed upward, and burst into laughter. “Heaven’s secrets are not for mortals—let’s call it a madman’s ramblings! Boy, remember: after you wake, don’t speak of me to anyone. And when you one day reach the Commanding Heaven realm, I’ll explain it all to you!”

Awakening from a dream of golden millet, Lin Changtian suddenly jolted awake, his heart pounding as he looked at those around him, his eyes dazed, as if his soul had yet to fully return.

Seeing Lin Changtian spring up, everyone was first stunned, then cries of surprise erupted. Chen Mo rushed over and hugged him, howling, “Brother Changtian, I truly thought you’d never wake! I was about to withdraw my savings to buy you a burial plot, but with property prices so high, I couldn’t afford anything big, so I settled for a small one. I just paid the down payment, so you’ll have to make do!”

Chen Mo rambled on, making Yi Xiao’s face flush red. She jumped up and smacked the rough man on the knee, signaling Wei Mou to pull him aside. Then she waved her little hand in front of Lin Changtian’s eyes, her voice soft and tender. “Hey, big brother, you’re finally awake! You’ve been sleeping for nearly a month, Big Lin.”

Lin Changtian shook his head, forcing himself to clear his mind. Looking closely, this was not Bohai, but some unknown, spacious room, though crowded with people, making it seem cramped.

“Where am I? Have I been unconscious for a month? Chen Mo, do you know if a master named Li Daoyong visited Zhoucheng during that time? A young-looking fellow, wearing a bamboo hat and a rain cape in the heat, as if he had some developmental issues—have you seen anyone like that?”

Chen Mo scrutinized Lin Changtian for a long while, his tone grave. “Seems you had many dreams while sleeping, but your logic is a bit tangled. We’re already out of Wen Yuan Divine Continent, in a small city on the northern border of the Central Lands. As for Li Daoyong, I’ve never heard of him. But there was indeed a young master in Zhoucheng—without him, we couldn’t have saved you. Yet his true name is beyond my knowledge.”

Lin Changtian listened calmly, but inside, waves surged.

Could all his experiences over the past month have been a dream? No, it must have been that man’s doing. No wonder he kept feeling the world shift with Li Daoyong—so it was all his arrangement.

A brilliant light flashed in Lin Changtian’s eyes. There truly are methods so profound—by comparison, the Commanding Heaven realm seems almost childish.

“Oh, right, Changtian. Originally, we’d wait until you fully recovered to discuss this, but things are urgent and you’ve been unconscious so long—we can’t delay any further.” Chen Mo mimicked Yi Xiao’s gesture, waving his hand in front of Lin Changtian.

But as a rough man, his hand was larger and the movement less controlled; he slapped Lin Changtian’s face, jolting him from his reverie.

Chen Mo was dumbfounded, feeling Yi Xiao’s murderous glare behind him. He hurried forward to help Lin Changtian up. “Little Lin, I really didn’t mean it! It’s just urgent. Here, hit me back, or that ancestor behind me will torment me to death.”

Lin Changtian showed no anger, only smiled. “Chen, I should thank you. Otherwise, I’d have been lost in Zhoucheng. And just now, nearly lost my mind—you snapped me out of it. By the way, what were you so anxious about?”

Chen Mo scratched his head, feeling Yi Xiao’s anger fade, and sighed with relief. He smiled at Lin Changtian. “To be honest, it’s still about the Northern Domain.”