The Way of The Dao

Deng Tianjin regained consciousness quickly, rejoining as he lifted his eyelids and his vision cleared, looking around quickly.

"Master! Are you all right?"

"Elder Deng!"

"Elder Deng, you woke up!"

As soon as Deng Tianjin had opened his eyes and his breathing deepened, Wen Wencheng, Shi Yunfeng and the others came over and looked at him in relief.

Although Deng Tianjin had regained consciousness, his face was pale while his aura was unsteady and very weak, as if he could barely display power comparable to a cultivator of the Chi Gathering state.

"Guys..."

After looking around and not finding what he was looking for, Deng Tianjin looked at Wen Wencheng and the others.

Then, Deng Tianjin noticed Xuan Li and Lang Qingzu and quickly he asked, "Girls... you..."

""Greetings, Elder Deng!""

Both Xuan Li and Lang Qingzu cupped their fists together and respectfully greeted Deng Tianjin. Both girls' expressions were excited and happy to have met one of their elders and other senior martial brothers and sisters.

"Sect Elder Deng."

Before Deng Tianjin asked how the two of them were in this place and if anyone else had come with them, an adult female voice soon caught their attention.

"Sect Elder Jun!"

Deng Tianjin recognized the elder of the Ice Heart Essence sect, Jun Zhuyun! A cultivator of the Early Stage of the Separation and Reunion state!

Beside Jun Zhuyun, Deng Tianjin recognized the sect saintess, Su Changqing, as well as some of the other girl disciples.

"I see... so you two were accompanied by Sect Elder Jun." Deng Tianjin let out a relieved expression as he understood how both Xuan Li and Lang Qingzu could be in this place, but despite that his tone of voice seemed to slightly convey some disappointment.

"Then you too can feel sad and nostalgic? You were always a very naughty and stinky kid together with little bratty Xiang."

Deng Tianjin's pupils shrank, his breathing stopped and his heart stopped when he heard an old but very familiar voice.

Stiffly turning his head, Deng Tianjin's eyes finally caught the figure he had been looking for from the beginning, his being shocked and frozen at the sight of him.

"What's wrong, brat? You think you're seeing a ghost?" Ling Tian smiled in amusement at the sight of Deng Tianjin's expression.

Deng Tianjin was one of his most rascally disciples along with Sun Xiang, and now that naughty and carefree boy had also turned into a tall, handsome man with a face of charm while giving off a slightly wild and fierce feeling that would catch every woman and lure them in completely. Deng Tianjin had also become a young adult in his early twenties, with a dedicated and steadfast mentality towards situations, sacrificing his life for others.

Deng Tianjin's gaze was dumbfounded, unable to react as he continued to stare unblinkingly at Ling Tian.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? I don't know who you are but I ask you for more respect for my master!"

Hearing Ling Tian's words, Wen Wencheng frowned and looked at him seriously and with some hesitation. Somehow this guy who was the same age as his master gave him a strange feeling, so he couldn't help but tremble a little as he defended his master.

"Senior, I don't know who you are, but the person you're talking to is a sect elder and a true expert of the Great Ascension state who needs to recover immediately, so we can all get out of here."

Shi Yunfeng intervened and with a firm and leading tone of voice, he looked at Ling Tian and explained with respect since he could not see his cultivation level, thinking that he had a higher cultivation.

Xu Linghu, Sang Ge and the others also looked at Ling Tian suspiciously and somewhat nervously, thinking that he might perhaps be an enemy who wanted to hurt Deng Tianjin now that he was badly injured and needed to recover.

Ling Tian looked at Wen Wencheng and the others with a faint smile, without changing his expression.

"Senior Brothers..." Xuan Li looked at Shi Yunfeng and the others.

"Apologize to him!" Lang Qingzu pouted and she yelled at Wen Wencheng annoyed as well.

Ling Tian is the supreme ancestor of the sect, so they had to respect him too!

However, in their hearts they also felt a sliver of nervousness and doubt.

Su Changqing, Jun Zhuyun and the other girls stood silently, watching without intervening as they saw that this was an internal problem of their sect.

"You're going to let your little disciples defend you? Stinky brat?"

Ling Tian patted Xuan Li and Lang Qingzu's heads as he saw that both girls wanted to say something else, and he walked over, passing through Shi Yunfeng, Wen Wencheng and the others quietly.

"You..." Wen Wencheng looked dumbfounded at Ling Tian and couldn't help but grit his teeth, clenching his hands as well as he wanted to try to protect Deng Tianjin from danger.

However, both Wen Wencheng, Shi Yunfeng and the others were stunned and then anxious when none of them could move their bodies an inch, as if something in them had them totally suppressed and at the same time their instincts were alerting them to the horrible danger if they moved.

Xu Linghu could not help but cast a look of distress at Jun Zhuyun, asking her to help them.

Jun Zhuyun was about to say something to try to reassure Xu Linghu and the others when she suddenly felt a chill. Her gaze quickly met Ling Tian's slight sidelong glance as she looked at him, so Jun Zhuyun was silent.

Shi Yunfeng and the others watched full of anxiety and worry as they saw Ling Tian stand in front of Deng Tianjin, with the latter still in a state of shock.

"Just because you keep quiet doesn't mean I won't scold you for easily abandoning the sect and all its members, leaving them in charge with unknown guys."

Ling Tian's gaze changed and his expression became cold and serious, with an authoritative tone scolding and reprimanding Deng Tianjin. He had not forgotten that according to his other disciples, Deng Tianjin was in charge of finding new leaders and masters for the sect they had created before going to look for him. Although Ling Tian sensed that it was not really that case, but that something must have happened with Deng Tianjin's decisions, so he would ask him directly.

Deng Tianjin's pupils shrank even more upon hearing Ling Tian's words.

Ling Tian pursed his lips and grew impatient, saying, "What aren't you going to say anything, you punk?" His hand waved in front of Deng Tianjin, snapping him out of his stupefaction.

Instantly, in front of everyone, Deng Tianjin prostrated himself before Ling Tian, bowing completely and sticking his forehead to the ground, leaving everyone stunned.

"This disciple has failed you, Master! I hope Master can correct and punish me!"

Deng Tianjin's hoarse and trembling voice filled the place at once, leaving everyone silent as they watched his actions.

Wen Wencheng and the others stared dumbfounded at what was happening, unable to comprehend what was happening before their eyes, much less why one of their sect elders was prostrating himself before a stranger.

bender

Ling Tian raised his eyebrows slightly before smiling softly again. He waved his hand and with his aura easily lifted Deng Tianjin.

"Now that you are a master and a sect elder, you must maintain your character and avoid tarnishing your image..." Ling Tian smiled.

"Master... is it really you?" Deng Tianjin's voice trembled, looking at Ling Tian when he saw that his master's face had slightly changed to that of his memories, becoming more adult and with obvious vicissitudes of life in his eyes, as if he had experienced and observed countless things to the point of reaching the weariness of life.

"If I am not, then who else could I be? You've really grown and matured, little Tianjin." Ling Tian smiled reassuringly at the sight of him, indeed realizing that all of his disciples had grown and matured, but still maintained behaviors and traits characteristic of their childhood that he clearly remembered.

"Master!"

Deng Tianjin barely heard Ling Tian's last words and hugged him excitedly, finally realizing that he really was the master that he and all his brothers and sisters had wanted to meet.

He really is his Master, Ling Tian!

And it wasn't an illusion or confusion!

Ling Tian smiled and patted Deng Tianjin's back as he hugged him, nodding gently, "You recognize me then, brat..." Ling Tian laughed a little.

Deng Tianjin quickly recovered a little as he felt the happiness of finding his respected master, his beloved big brother who cared for him, protected him and defended him from the world.

The others in the place followed in total silent shock, watching Ling Tian and Deng Tianjin.

"M-master, what's wrong... who is he?"

Moving closer and with a hesitant voice, Wen Wencheng asked Deng Tianjin in a daze, looking between him and Ling Tian. Beside him, Shi Yunfeng and the others also looked on in shock at how Deng Tianjin was referring to and behaving towards this stranger.

Deng Tianjin blinked as he realized that these guys didn't really know Ling Tian's identity, so he took a breath and looked at Wen Wencheng, Shi Yunfeng and the others seriously.

"Guys, this person is the one both your other sect elders and I have been looking for for a long time and who we have been telling you about all along, the most important person in our hearts who took care of us, educated us and taught us everything, and thanks to him we are who we are..." Deng Tianjin smiled with emotion finally and said, "He is my Master, your Grandmaster, so in short, he is the legendary and rumored Sect Ancestor that my brothers, sisters and I have been searching for a long time."