Claiming the Throne of Gods, Starting from the Rebirth of Nezha

Distant thunder rumbled incessantly, vast dense black clouds lay across the far-off horizon like a lead-colored curtain. The humid air, violently stirred by the coming thunderstorm, began to tremble more and more noticeably.

Nezha went to the study hall, and today Mr. Fan did not lecture; instead, the teacher and student sat opposite each other on cushions laid on the ground.

Mr. Fan raised his hand, and the large sleeve hung down, his fingers silently manipulating the moist air, revealing a satisfied expression.

He said, "As I mentioned before, upon reaching the God Absorption Realm, although you haven't truly embarked on the path of cultivation and still belong to the mortal flesh, you can already use Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to wield a magic treasure, utilizing the right time and place to perform the Five Elements Daoist Skill, do you remember?"

"Of course, I remember," Nezha replied, somewhat surprised. "But teacher, you previously said that cultivation is a long-term goal, and reading and writing is what we should focus on right now. Why was there no lesson, and you suddenly took the initiative to talk about the path of cultivation today?"

Mr. Fan looked rather embarrassed, picked up a book from beside him, and tapped it on Nezha's head, with a touch of grievance in his voice, "Cultivation, cultivation! Reading, eating, sleeping, practicing cultivation, upholding justice, or even getting into a fight when someone annoys you, it all counts as cultivation. But to cultivate, first one must live; for if you die and get dragged into the underworld by a ghost messenger, muddled and lost in the cycle of reincarnation, all your cultivation in this life turns to nothing in a flash."

"So?"

"So, if you ever find yourself in a fight you can't avoid, the ability to escape—even if you can't win—is also a skill."

"Sir, you speak the truth!"

Seeing the light in Nezha's eyes, Mr. Fan rewarded him with another book. Nezha asked why, and Mr. Fan explained, "No particular reason, I just felt like hitting you."

"Huh?"

"Though I dearly value reasoning, I've spent my life in Zhaoge arguing with those treacherous officials, but now that I reside here at Chentang Pass, eating fish and drinking wine in this rural countryside, sometimes I feel like maybe you don't always have to be reasonable to live in this world."

Nezha was even more shocked, his eyes wider than when he'd heard Nezha might turn demon-like, and he said, "What you said, teacher, truly enlightening."

"If you can't flatter, don't."

"Then, student will stay silent."

"Where were we just now?"

"You said if you can't win, you should run."

"Ahem, nonsense. We were clearly discussing the Five Elements Daoist Skill."

"I guess the student remembered wrong."

At this point, teacher and student exchange a glance, and the previously tense atmosphere, due to the meeting with Yaksha three days later, suddenly dissipated with a clap of thunder, turning into countless raindrops crashing onto the stone-paved path outside the study hall.

Mr. Fan laughed, "Though I haven't achieved anything in cultivation, my master told me during my early days that among the immortals in this world, few are adept at fighting, but many are skilled at running away. The Five Elements Escape Technique in the Daoist Skills came into being for this reason and is a fundamental skill every God Absorption Realm cultivator should master.

However, using this technique isn't just about free will; it requires the harmony of time, place, and people. You can't say that just because we're standing on stone-paved ground, we should suddenly try to perform the Earth Style out of thin air, nor can you enter a yellow sandy desert and expect to take flight with the Water Style based solely on a couple of sips of water from a flask. Do you understand?"

Nezha nodded, "So you mean to say, to perform the Water Style, you must wait for a thunderstorm like today, to rise with the water and soar like a dragon?"

"Not so, not so. Today is indeed a good day for demonstrating the Water Style, but if there were a great river nearby, utilizing the vast Primordial Qi contained in the Heavenly Dao, executing the Water Style would also be plausible."

Mr. Fan then began teaching Nezha the spells to perform the Five Elements Escape Technique, explaining the methods to manipulate the internal Primordial Qi during the process. Then he extended his right hand, lightly pinching the air with his thumb and index finger, a satisfied look on his face.

"With water as the curtain, hiding without a trace, escaping the waves, nurturing silently, observe me!"

Nezha saw Mr. Fan wave his sleeves in front, the air in the study hall trembled, the pillars shook, and a mass of water surged into the room, enveloping Mr. Fan entirely!

"Water dragon surging, hidden traces, flowing wave protection, a thousand miles in a flash!"

Suddenly, that body of water rose, breaking through the rain curtain, heading straight towards the eastern sea.

Nezha was dumbfounded, he dashed two steps forward to get a better look, only to see a mass of water pouring into the room again. He quickly jumped aside—one second slower and he would have been drenched in water.

Upon closer inspection, a wet figure stood in the study hall with hands behind its back. Oh, no, it was Mr. Fan.

Despite his calm demeanor, looking every bit like an aloof master revealing his powers in the mortal world, his hair, eyebrows, beard, and even his oft-washed blue-green robe were dripping with water, making him look as if he'd been fished out of a river.

Mr. Fan nonchalantly took a dry towel from the book box to wipe his face, saying, "Using the Five Elements Escape Skill, one can travel a thousand miles in a day, visiting the great mountains and rivers. That's also why many cultivators, although merely in the God Absorption Realm, are regarded as immortals by ordinary mortals. Here, give it a try?"

With that, Mr. Fan pulled out a clean set of clothes from the book box. Seeing this, Nezha thought, you old man came prepared, while I didn't bring a change of clothes.

Mr. Fan could immediately see through Nezha's thoughts. With a wave, a book came to hand, and with a flick, it landed on Nezha's head. Nezha could only stand before the torrential rain, eyes wide, staring at the heavy curtain of rain in front of him.

He slowly recalled Mr. Fan's earlier actions, letting his inspiration sink down, while silently chanting the spells and stirring the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gathered within him. Suddenly, the palm-sized puddle of clear water began to boil, moving at his mental command in his hand.

Once again, he saw the world belonging exclusively to cultivators, invisible to ordinary people in the mundane world.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi appeared before him in a unique form, beneath the sleeves of his robe, between his fingertips and the gap where a raindrop fell.

Nezha watched his slightly trembling fingers in a daze, observing the thin gap between his fingertip and the raindrop on the eaves, feeling the withheld heat, knowing it was the specific manifestation of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi within his body.

All thoughts vanished.

Nothingness is not empty.

The next moment, the raindrop exploded, but there was no massed water dragon, nor any miraculous scene of rising to the heavens. Nezha hesitated, unsure what went wrong.

At this point, Mr. Fan, who had been fretfully sweating nervously, relaxed with a sigh, approached, and patted Nezha's shoulder, saying, "Cultivation is not something achieved overnight; Daoist Skills require repeated practice to grasp the key point accurately, until truly integrated and naturally expressed."

The raindrops before him turned into lines, pouring down like a white silk ribbon.

Standing in the study hall, Nezha continued to practice, and suddenly recalled the night he met Taiyi Zhenren.

In the small pond at home, the real person flicked a dew drop off a lotus leaf, releasing a spray of water that ascended gracefully into the azure sky. How free and easy! Reflecting on it now, wasn't that also Water Style?

As he pondered, the water droplet on his fingertip exploded again, a vast spray of nearly invisible water mist dancing in the air.

Beside him, Mr. Fan smiled and shook his head, pinching a fine porcelain teacup from the table, taking a big sip of the fur tea prepared at home, only to widen his eyes in rage and spit it all out.

Only this time, not a drop of the fish tea landed on Nezha. The small figure of a seven-year-old stepped forward once, vanishing into the mist. The next appearance being two zhang above the roof.