Chapter 211 - Dao Companion
Wang Wei had a thoughtful look on his face after hearing the question regarding his future actions. Although he had a plan, he did not know whether it would work until he tried it.
Then, he discussed it with the other people of the clan in order to polish it and fix the details. After a few hours, the plan was finalized and only Sect Master Wang Tian and his son were left talking to each other through the communication formation.
"Anything else, Wei'er?" asked Wang Tian in confusion.
"What information did you gather on Wu Hong?" asked Wang Wei calmly. However, his words made the room quiet and the atmosphere quite awkward.
"Wei'er...you have to understand the hope that the sect has placed on you. So, we have to take anything related to you with the utmost care--especially when it comes to your future Dao Companion."
"Father, you do not need to worry about anything as I am not a child that uses his emotions to think or act rashly. I am only asking because I also want to know about her and her motives."
Wang Tian sighed a relief after hearing this; he truly feared that his actions would cause contradiction between him and his sons.
When it comes to matters of the heart, he feared that his usually rational son would start to act out of emotions. And given his son' s headstrong personality, if he decided to place this Wu Hong's well being above everything, above his family and sect, then there is nothing that he could do.
And this possibility is not as far-fetched as one would like to believe. During his generation, Wang Tian had many clashes with his father over his current wife. Due to the fact that they were from different factions and their competitors, it was very difficult for them to get together.
If it was not that Dao Oath that they both took and promised their families that they would fight each other fairly during the Heaven Will Battle, and not let the result affect their relationships, then they might never have received the blessing of their factions to be together.
Well, in the end, the Oat was proven to be futile as neither one of them had the chance to fight for the Heaven Will anyway.
"According to the information that we received, she was born from an ordinary mortal family. Soon after that, both her parents died and she was raised by the neighbors. When she turned 15, she seemed to have discovered the inheritance of Empress Wu and started on the path of cultivation, but…"
"But things are not as simple on the surface as they seemed," added Wang Wei.
"Yes," nodded Wan Tian. "One look at her you can tell that she is the picture image of Empress Wu. The only difference being the temperament. So, we first theorized that she was the direct descendant of the Empress, however the idea was soon ruled out after seeing one of her battles. To be precise, the only recording of her fighting.
"At the Supernatural Realm, she easily suppressed a Half-Step Void Shattered Realm cultivator. The odd thing about that battle was not her strength, but the fact her cultivation of the [Empress Wu Sealing Sutra] was too smooth. It was not just a matter of perfect fit with the technique, more like it was made by her personally."
Wang Tian stopped in order to allow his son to digest these words, and he did so. After a few seconds, Wang Wei asked: "So, you believe she is the reincarnation of Empress Wu?"
"That is the current working theory. After all, the Empress mysteriously disappeared at the peak of her career and no one knows why."
"The real question is why would an Eternal Emperor like Empress Wu need to reincarnate?" muttered Wang Wei to himself. However, from the little information he gathered from Wu Hong the past few days, he guessed that things were not as simple as his father stated.
After reigning in his thoughts, Wang Wei noticed that his father had an hesitative look on his face. "If you have something else to say, you can just tell me."
"To be honest, if she really is the reincarnation of Empress Wu, then her strength is probably even more powerful and terrifying than both you and Di Tian--despite her low key appearance. And if the two of you decide to become Dao Companion, then you will also have to make the same Dao Oath that me and your mother made when it comes to the Heaven Will Battle."
Wang Wei nodded after hearing this, but he did not take his father's words seriously. During his talk with Wu Hong in the past few days, he had a strange feeling that her motive was just to meet and help him.
He was also worried about the fact that they might have to fight for Heaven Will in the future, so Wang Wei talked to her about it in a roundabout way. However, the feeling he got from her was that she did not care about the Heaven Will; to be precise, she disdained it like it was a common item found everywhere in the streets.
Although he did not did not have a definite answer regarding whether they will be competitors in the future, Wang Wei was not currently worried about this situation. After all, they have just met a few days ago.
Although they seemed to have a very mysterious and strange affinity to one another, as rational people, they would not act rashly when it comes to really becoming Dao Companion.
In this world, Dao Companion and wife were not essentially the same thing. As a polygamist society, cultivators in the Myriad Emperor World can have as many wives as they want, but they can only have one Dao Companion.
As the name implies, a Dao Companion is a person that accompanies another person through their mutual pursuit of the Dao. As such, this person has to have your absolute trust, a trust that goes beyond life and death.
Many cultivators do not fear death, but fear losing their Dao or Path forwards. So, their Dao Companion has to be responsible to protect them their own Dao, and they also have to reciprocate the act.
So, not every cultivator is willing to place such a level of trust on someone else. As a matter of fact, when the early concept of Dao Companion was first introduced in this world, there were many acts of betrayal between Dao Companions.
However, later on, Great Emperor Harmony from the Yin Moon Palace created a ceremony where both Dao Companions will share their lives with one another. That way, they can support one another, and even die if their other half is gone.
…
After reigning in his thoughts, Wang Wei asked: "Father, why do I have the feeling that you did not come to this conclusion just based on the information that the Shadow gathered?"
Sect Master Wang Tian's heart skipped a beat after hearing that question--despite the fact that his face did not change at all. He forgot that his son had very keen senses and it was rare for some things to go by him unnoticed.
So, with a wry smile, he said: "After reading the information, I was curious about her, so I entered the Academy and went to see her personally."
"And?" asked Wang Wei with a smile on his face.
"Well, with my intuition of a swordsman, I discovered how powerful she actually was. You have your work cut out for you, son."
"And?" Wang Wei continued to ask with a slight mocking smile on his face.
Wang Tian coughed slightly, a taint of pink flashed from his cheek before disappearing. "Fine, you win. She discovered me the moment I came close to her--despite the fact that I used my own Domain to hide myself. However, instead of revealing me, she ignored me and pretended that I did not exist until I was forced to come out of hiding. The whole situation was quite embarrassing."
Wang Tian was indeed embarrassed. As a Saint Realm True Person and the most powerful Heaven Chosens of his generation, he was discovered by a Supernatural Realm brat. Even if she is believed to be the reincarnation of an Eternal Emperor, it was still an embarrassment.
"So, what do you think of her?" asked Wang Wei while gloating at his father's ploy.
"Well, she seemed very mysterious, and I could not see through her. Furthermore, I could not shirk the feeling that she knew me and your mother very well."
Wang Wei's eyes squinted after hearing this.
'So, it is not just me who feels this way. Could she be a time traveler and future me and her are related in some way? If that is true, why did she need to go back in time? And what does Empress Wu have to do with this whole thing? It seems that I have to look for signs of her time traveling!'
After spending a few more minutes talking to his father, Wang Wei stopped operating the communicating array.
"Supreme Elder!"
"Yes, Young master."
"Please go set up a meeting with the higher ups of the Academy for me."
"No problem."