Chapter 1436: A street performer disrespecting the great dao
Chapter 1436: A street performer disrespecting the great dao
Gasps rippled through the amphitheater like a stone dropped into a still pond. Disciples turned in their seats, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon. Dao manifestations during lectures were rare. Unheard of, even. But there, Liam sat, motionless, completely absorbed, while a translucent pillar of dao energy surged skyward around him.
What others did not see was that ancient glyphs shimmered within the column, some familiar, most unrecognizable, all pulsing with a strange rhythm as if answering a call from beyond the heavens. The Dao pillar was not a normal one at all, as the insight he had gained this time was far from ordinary.
Nyx's expression didn't change, but her gaze sharpened. For a moment, she said nothing, allowing the rune she had conjured to dissipate silently into the air. Her eyes locked onto Liam's form with an annoyed expression. "Who is this disciple? Doesn't he know Dao breakthroughs need to be attempted in isolation to gain maximum benefit?"
Her attendant quickly walked over and filled her in on the details. "He is the recent shooting star who has become very famous." Nyx once again did not like what she was hearing. The reason why alchemists in the sect did not entertain orders left and right was because they did not want it to affect their Dao progress.
But once again, this man did not respect traditions. Instead, he treated his time like a cheap commodity and was concocting pills and potions like a common whore. Nyx's opinion of Liam crashed and plummeted as she would never condone such frivolous, flashy actions, which disrespected the great Dao of alchemy.
She did not interrupt Liam's breakthrough, but her aura flickered, cool and disdainful. This kind of recklessness, this display, went against every foundational principle she'd been raised to uphold.
Pill concoction was sacred. Alchemy was an art that demanded solitude, reverence, restraint. And yet here he was, this so-called rising star, forging Dao seeds like some street performer juggling flame.
To her, it wasn't just improper, it was dangerous. Showmanship invited instability. Instability corrupted understanding. What would happen if every half-trained disciple began chasing breakthroughs in public? If every seed sown came with applause instead of introspection?
Nyx turned slightly, her voice cold and clipped, though still too low for most in the amphitheater to hear. "No discipline. No respect for process. If he crashes, let it be known that he built his foundation in a theater instead of a temple."
But even as the words left her mouth, a strange contradiction gnawed at her. Despite everything she despised about the moment, the Dao pillar surrounding Liam was pure and mysterious. Her intuition told her that there was something very special about it.
Moreover, the dao pillar seemed to last for more than five breaths, which was the usual time for a breakthrough. Nyx's expression changed more and more as these five breaths became ten breaths, and then the ten breaths turned into an entire minute.
Finally, after an entire minute and a half, the light of the dao pillar started fading. Nyx's narrowed eyes betrayed her inner storm. She had seen dozens, no, hundreds, of Dao seeds take root over the years. Some were impressive, even brilliant. But none had ever sustained a Dao pillar like this.
Her annoyance was replaced by a tense silence. She didn't understand this… couldn't understand it. She hated that.
Across the hall, disciples had long ceased pretending to take notes. All eyes were on Liam, their awe simmering between reverence and envy. Some whispered, others simply watched, spellbound.
Finally, someone spoke out loud. "Perhaps he took a forbidden pill?"
Nyx's attendant leaned in again, voice a whisper. "Should I disrupt it, Elder? Perhaps he—"
"No," she snapped, sharper than she intended. "Let him finish. If he dares to burn so brightly, let us see whether he can survive the flame."
However, the others were not so calm and composed. The discussions and the commotions in the room became louder and louder until finally Nyx snapped and asked everyone to disperse. The idiot might not know how to respect the Great Dao of Alchemy, but she knew how to respect a fellow disciple's path.
No one dared to disobey her, and within a few seconds, the entire area became quiet and empty except for Liam and Nyx. During the entire time Liam remained in that state of transcendental stillness, his eyes closed, face serene, as though he were listening to the song of the cosmos itself.
Nyx gave him one final look and then turned around and walked away indifferently. Each to their own. She couldn't care less about what this person did with his path.
As the last echoes of retreating footsteps faded from the stone walls of the amphitheater, the great hall fell into a profound silence, broken only by the gentle hum of Liam's fading Dao pillar. The ancient glyphs had mostly vanished, but a few lingered in the air like afterimages burned into reality.
Liam sat in the center, still unmoving, still caught in the final moments of his internal transformation. Somewhere deep within his soul space, the soul rune pulsed with quiet vitality, and beside it, the previously inert Soulweaver thread shimmered.
Outside, word of the event was already beginning to spread. Disciples rushed to share their version of what they had seen, and suddenly, Liam became even more popular.
Inside the empty lecture hall, Liam finally stirred. His eyes opened, not wide, not startled, but with a calmness that hadn't been there before. He breathed once, deep and steady. He finally had a better understanding of the origin rune in his soul and knew exactly how he needed to use his soulweaver thread.
He stood slowly, stretching his fingers, letting the silence settle into him. "Let's see where this path takes me," he murmured to no one in particular. Without another glance back, Liam left the amphitheater, stepping into the mountain wind and returning to his quarters.
He needed to get back into secluded meditation once again, but this time he was sure he would make another breakthrough because the new dao seed he had just gained was something far from simple.