Lei Jun rubbed the top of Gungun's head. "Just be careful not to be caught by outsiders and used as a mount."

Upon hearing this, Gungun shrank its neck.

Lei Jun then looked at Yuan Mobai and Tang Xiaotang. "In this form, is it possible to undergo the Transcension Ritual to enter the Mansion, and even to be Talisman-bestowed in the future?"

Yuan Mobai replied, "There are no explicit prohibitions in the rites and regulations, but there has also been no precedent."

He was not the first non-Human Race successor in the history of the Celestial Master Mansion.

However, whether it was some ancestral Immortal Spirits or Yuan Mobai himself, they all first took on human form, then formally became apprentices and entered the Mansion, maintaining their human appearance for years on end, cultivating in a low-profile manner.

It was not entirely out of willingness, but more to avoid being too conspicuous and unnecessarily complicating such matters.

"This one has enough talent; there won't be any problems," Tang Xiaotang on the other side waved her hand, completely unconcerned.

She was the biggest exception in the history of the Celestial Master Mansion, or at least one of the biggest.

In the ten-thousand-year legacy of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the precedents that could be broken and those that could not had virtually all been broken because of Tang Xiaotang.

Lei Jun, as an observer, even felt that this junior martial sister seemed quite eager to try something new during her tenure, to leave her mark on history.

A legendary life should indeed be full of legends!

Even if she seemed a bit...foolish at times.

"Chongyun, your timing is just right. As your master, the Sect Leader and I were discussing some matters," said Yuan Mobai.

Tang Xiaotang liked to put on airs, but there were some matters she simply didn't care about.

Whenever something came up, Yuan Mobai wouldn't be summoned to the Celestial Master Hall for discussion; rather, she would stroll over to Yuan Mobai's residence, just like in previous years.

"Previously, Vajra Temple wanted to welcome its new Abbot back to the temple, but they were ambushed by both the White Lotus Sect and the Great Void Temple," Yuan Mobai stated. "According to rumors, the new Abbot Vajra Temple intended to welcome did manage to return. However, the other high-ranking members of the temple suffered heavy casualties, and Vajra Temple has now sealed itself off."

Tang Xiaotang huffed. "Serves them right; I don't like those Buddhist monks anyway."

Lei Jun nodded slightly, then asked, "Master, what about the Xiao Clan of Longwai?"

Yuan Mobai replied, "Although Xiao Hang is being criticized by the surviving elders in the ancestral land, he still persists. It's the situation in the Capital that's more troubling for Xiao Chunhui."

Xiao Chunhui, in a sense, was the most legendary among the three Xiao family siblings.

By the standards of the cultivation world, his physical constitution was too weak, almost to the point of being described as sickly. The External Alchemy School of the Taoist Sect, the Confucian Chanting Sect, and the traditions of the Witchcraft Sect's Worm Arts and Ghost Tao—none of these focused on physical strength, though they still had a basic minimum standard. Xiao Chunhui, however, suffered from an innate physical deficiency; his weakness was so pronounced it could be said he had fallen below this minimum standard.

His achievement of the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm stunned the cultivation world, even more so than Tang Xiaotang reaching the Eighth Heavenly Layer in just over twenty years.

And now, rumors about him were spreading throughout Capital City and to all parts of the world. There was every kind of wild story, all sorts of strange tales. The rumors that he was a kept man of the Empress were among the more benign. The impact was not solely on Xiao Chunhui's personal reputation but also affected the newly established Scholarly Mansion.

Lei Jun asked, "How is he responding at the moment?"

"He has not reacted with shock or rage, nor has he turned a deaf ear," Yuan Mobai said. "At court banquets, in the Scholarly Mansion, and in the marketplace, he converses with officials, students, and even the common people at least three times a month, remaining unflappable. His demeanor has won over many hearts. Although this hasn't spread to other regions yet, his reputation in the Capital has already improved significantly. It's just..." The purple-robed young man sighed softly. "His body is indeed frail, and I've heard his complexion has worsened recently."

For a Great Scholar of the Seventh Heavenly Layer, debating with others and expending mental energy should be sustainable, even with a weaker constitution. But if the other party was also a cultivator of the Upper Three Heavens, then even a verbal confrontation would put him under pressure and deplete his energy far beyond what was usual.

"The Empress must be planning to make a move," said Lei Jun.

Based on the previous poaching from the Xiao Clan and the establishment of the Scholarly Mansion, whether Her Majesty the Empress is truly brilliant and bold remains to be seen, but she is certainly not someone who easily suffers losses.

That kind of personality is hard to categorize as good or bad.

A boss who has your back is certainly motivating, but if opponents figure out such behavioral patterns, they can easily be exploited.

Ultimately, it all depends on the individual.

"She has indeed taken action, though I still think it's not bold enough," said Tang Xiaotang, tapping her finger on the table. "She sent her own nephew to the Scholarly Mansion."

At these words, Lei Jun was initially stunned, then he realized, "Are the Qingzhou Ye Clan—part of the Four Surnames and Six Esteemed Houses—those most aggressively targeting the Scholarly Mansion right now?"

The Qingzhou Ye Clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Families, has recently been emerging as a leader among the prestigious families. They are both a prominent family and external relatives of the Great Tang. The Empress of the late Emperor Zhang Qilong, who is the current Empress Dowager, was born into the Qingzhou Ye Clan. Zhang Qilong had only one son, who is also the Crown Prince established by the current Tang Emperor Zhang Wantong, sharing half of the Qingzhou Ye Clan's bloodline.

The relationship between the two sides is very delicate.

No matter what plans Zhang Qilong might have had when he was in his prime, from the current perspective, this is another huge pitfall he has left for the Tang Imperial Court. The initiative of Empress Zhang Wantong to create the Scholarly Mansion has made some conflicts even more apparent.

The Crown Prince usually has scholars from the Eastern Palace lecturing and teaching him. But his aunt, under the guise of broadening his horizons and knowledge for the benefit of the subjects and setting an example, issued an edict that the Crown Prince must go to the Scholarly Mansion and attend class at least once every three days.

The rumor has it that the Crown Prince indeed has a fondness for music; however, having him endorse the Scholarly Mansion this way seems clearly intended to support Xiao Chunhui.

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