The Urban Dao Child

Ryu Jinshi appeared in front of Yang Dao. He landed on the ground and said, “Congratulations on passing the trial.”

Yang Dao snorted, “I was thinking about sketching his magnificence on the paper. But now I changed my mind. He can suck up to his attitude.”

The boy was acting like a teenager. It was because his mind had mastered the art to remain calm. Now, despite all the responsibilities, he can stay calm and maintain a peaceful mindset that allowed him to be able to act like the teenager he was. If any familiars asked him why was he being like this. His reply would surely make them face plant.

He would say, ‘I need to act my age you know. The people are suspicious that I am a time-traveling old man.’

Well, Yurika did call him that when she saw RALF in the robotic body. She asked if her job was in danger and if he can provide her with support money. Yang Dao had given connection access to RALF in the company and everything was being monitored. The same was being done in Feng Yun’s company. They only announced that everything they do inside the offices will be under supervision but did not mention the supervisor.

Legally they were at a fault but they had created bypass very smartly. You can say it was something against Yang Dao’s usual operations but it had to be done if he wished for the world to grow as an overall and not just the jewel nation.  The business was growing smoothly and so were the life standard of the people.

Ryu Jinshi gave a wry smile sensing his dissatisfaction and said, “We can now enter the world of spirits.”

Yang Dao nodded and walked over to the big door in front of him. The golden door was engraved with patterns and designs. Yang Dao asked, “I can sense some familiar aura from these designs but cannot recognize them. What are these?”

Ryu Jinshi said, “The figures you can make out are some of the strong and major races living in the world of spirits. There are others as well, but they are relatively low profile or not very strong. So, they are not displayed on the door. As the races gain power and rise in status they are shown on the gate. The right-hand side displays those who practice the way of life. While the left side shows those who practice the way of death.

Yang Dao nodded and asked, “What are the ways of life and death?”

“The way of life is a practice philosophy that inspires people to seek longevity while the way of death is a philosophy where the people seek detachment from the living and pursue the real meaning of death,” said Ryu Jinshi.

Yang Dao nodded. He got the basic gist of the situation and stepped forward to the gate of the spirit world. As soon as he came close the golden gate changed and became a golden film. Through this film, the world on the other side became visible to them.

Yang Dao did not hesitate and took a step inside. Ryu Jinshi followed him. On the other side, a young lady with blue hair and a blue dress stood waiting for them. Yang Dao glanced at her and was surprised to find that her appearance matched the tiny sylph who came in before them.

The sylph noticed the surprise in Yang Dao’s eyes and asked, “Oh, Master, you must be thinking, why do I look like this?”

Yang Dao hear her question and nodded. The girl chuckled and said, “This is my usual appearance in this realm.”

The boy nodded but he was still surprised nonetheless. The girl in front of him looked as if a porcelain doll. Exquisite looks, sharp features, proportional figure. Her appearance statistics were as high as Feng Yun’s. The phoenix was always hiding her true beauty. Or she could cause a world war any moment.

Ryu Jinshi spoke, “Young Master, we will be visiting the council of spirits first. Sushi is not allowed to go there.”

Yang Dao asked, “Why so?” he asked in confusion.

Ryu Jinshi said, “The Council of spirits is an organization meant for collective governance of the forces of life and death. Only the elders of each race are allowed to gather together. They forbid any security or weapon holders there. Sushi is a guard warrior of the sylphs thus she is not allowed to be there.” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

Although he was still not clear enough about what Ryu Jinshi has said, he did not put forward any argument or opinions. He was new in this place and did not know about it. All he knew till now was this place was vast, had bluegrass, pleasant weather, birds with four wings, and blu leaved trees. All these were visible to him by looking around.

Hearing what Ryu Jinshi told him about the council he said, “Sushi, you have been away from home, why do you not visit them and I will come over after I am done meeting the council?”

Sushi was reluctant but still, she nodded. She hugged Yang Dao and the next moment she flew away. Yang Dao could only shake his head. Then he said to Ryu Jinshi, “Do I not change clothes? Baibai gave me that suit.”

Ryu Jinshi smiled and with a wave of his hand, a dress appeared in front of him.  The suit was similar to the one he wore with Laohu Bai expect the sleeves had now two rows of silver thread embroidery. These threads represent how many elements have been mastered by the Dao Child.

After the two men have completed changing their clothes they left. Ryu Jinshi could not call his mount inside. So, they decided to fly through the skies and reach their destination. However, the journey was long and the two people would rest as they were tired and then carried on.

The location they were going to visit first was the center of the Spirit world. Unlike the realm of light and dark where two different kingdoms were at odds. The spirit world was a habitat for different races.

Sylphs, the race who practiced the way of wind/air. They looked like a little pixie.

Udine practiced in the water element. Their bodies were human above the torse while below they had a fishtail, covered with glistening scales and they looked very beautiful.

Gnomes were the priests and practitioners of the earth element. They were never taller than three feet, the males had a long beard. To make themselves look tall they wore long hats. Their temperament was grumpy but they were kind, deep inside.

Lastly, the fire element was pursued by the salamanders. These people were half humans half salamanders. They had thick scale armor covering their vital organs. They had a thick tail and strong legs capable of moving over any hard surface.

Sushi address Ryu Jinshi as the God of Wind. Azure Dragon was the guardian of this realm and despite having control over all four elements he had the strongest control over the wind element and was thus called the god of the wind in respect.

The god of the wind was a designation more than an achievement. Every Azure Dragon incarnate will bring their Dao Child here to learn and they will be recognized by the council as the God of Wind after a reaction from the monument of the realm.

On the way, Ryu Jinshi also told Yang Dao that these spirits within themselves have factions of life and death. Every race has appointed two elders each to form the council and guide the civilization without generating any conflicts among each other. However, this had not been a successful deployment.

Yang Dao asked, “Do they have records of the dao child here?”

Ryu Jinshi nodded and said, “Yes, they do. However, I advise that before proceeding to the records, you proceed with one on one guidance.”

Yang Dao shook his head, “Life and death can only be understood if you look at them together, otherwise you will become imbalanced. Relax, I have a sense of measure. I will deal with it carefully.” with that said, his eyes fell on a big pink tree.

It was the only tree with a unique color. Like a diamond shining within a pile of coal. Ryu Jinshi said, “This tree is a spirit tree. My original form placed it here. It is called the world tree.”

Yang Dao nodded and cautiously they moved forward. After a few kilometers, a loud voice rang out.

‘STOP, Who are you? State your purpose.’ said the voice.

Yang Dao was surprised because he could not locate the sense where the voice originated from. Ryu Jinshi answered, “Ryu Jinshi, butler too, his highest, Yang Dao, the emissary of heavens.”

This intro was enough to make the world skip a beat. The bark of a tree split open and out came a living druid. They had leave color hair and dusky complexion.. The person knelt down and said, “I have seen the guests, please follow me.”