Marvel's Master of Heavenly Magic

Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:

patreon.com/Draco_

*****

"As I thought, none of them are ordinary people."

The next day at Baiyun Temple, George looked around at the Taoist priests and muttered to himself.

With his heightened senses, he could tell that many of the priests here carried substantial energy within their bodies—not inferior in the slightest to the magic stored in the adult wizards of London.

In other words, his hunch had been correct. Baiyun Temple wasn't just an ordinary Taoist site; it truly housed legitimate Qi Refiners.

"Are you Mr. Jin?"

Just as George was observing the priests, one of the younger Taoists noticed him, and his eyes lit up. He took a few quick steps forward.

"Yes, that's me. And you are?"

George offered a polite, slightly puzzled smile.

The young man held up his phone, revealing a photo of George on the screen.

"My name is Huang Ming. Miss Jin called my senior this morning. He asked me to show you around Baiyun Temple. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"I see. Then I'll be in your care, Daoist Huang."

Seeing the photo, George immediately understood.

Originally, Jin Yuanyuan was supposed to accompany him to the temple, but a sudden matter at the company pulled her away. Instead of canceling, she had contacted someone she knew at the temple to make sure he still enjoyed the visit.

Having an actual Taoist priest as your tour guide? Now that's professionalism.

"Let's not go with 'Daoist.' If my senior hears that, he'll probably kick me in the rear. I'm probably about your age anyway—just call me Huang Ming or Daoist Huang, whichever you prefer."

Huang Ming laughed and waved off the title modestly.

Under Huang Ming's thorough and enthusiastic guidance, George got a full tour of Baiyun Temple. Along the way, he also learned quite a bit about the temple's history and Taoist culture.

However, throughout the entire explanation, not once did Huang Ming mention anything about Qi Refiners.

"Daoist Huang, you seem very familiar with the temple's history. You must've been here for quite a while."

After the tour, George bought two bottles of water and found a relatively quiet spot among the sparse crowd to strike up a more pointed conversation.

Huang Ming didn't think much of it and smiled with a sigh,

"Quite a while indeed. I entered Baiyun Temple as a disciple when I was seven. It's been fifteen years."

"Fifteen years? Then… have you learned any actual techniques? Like spells or the like?"

George pressed further.

Huang Ming froze for a second and then quickly shook his head.

"Mr. Jin, you've clearly been watching too many fantasy shows. There are no such things as spells in the real world. Sure, we have plenty of Taoist texts in the temple, but they're all classic scriptures—you could probably find most of them online."

"That said, I have learned some martial arts for health and wellness. If you're interested, I could teach you a few moves."

Although Jin Baobao himself was just an ordinary person, his mother had donated a fair sum to the temple. His senior had instructed him to build a good relationship and treat the young man well.

Core techniques like Inner Alchemy or Yang Spirit Projection were absolutely off-limits, of course—those couldn't even be mentioned to outsiders.

But a few wellness exercises? That was no problem at all.

His senior often appeared on TV programs, teaching things like Ba Duan Jin and Diamond Body Techniques for general public health.

This wasn't the old days when cultivators locked themselves in the mountains to meditate in seclusion.

Even the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain—publicly recognized as the number one expert in the cultivation world—still had to cooperate with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, giving interviews and making public appearances regularly.

"Daoist Huang, I'll be honest with you—I'm an extraordinary person too. I've just returned from studying abroad, and I'm trying to get a sense of how things work here in China."

Seeing how tight-lipped Huang Ming was, George decided to stop dancing around the subject and cut straight to the point.

Since he had already confirmed that the priests of Baiyun Temple weren't ordinary people, it might be more effective to speak plainly.

"Extraordinary person? What do you mean by that?"

Hearing George's words, Huang Ming visibly froze for a moment, but he still didn't let anything slip.

George then casually reached toward the bottle of mineral water in Huang Ming's hand and gave a small flick of his fingers.

"Bottle, come."

The bottle immediately flew out of Huang Ming's grip and into George's hand.

"Daoist Huang, I'm not trying to deceive you, nor am I here to provoke anyone. I'm just genuinely unfamiliar with how things work domestically and wanted to understand more—and maybe even make a friend or two."

George handed the bottle back toward Huang Ming.

Huang Ming snatched it back and huffed,

"You could've said so earlier! No need for all that beating around the bush. It's not some big secret or anything."

Now that he was certain George really was an extraordinary individual, Huang Ming's demeanor relaxed considerably.

To them, dealing with yiren (extraordinary beings) was far more comfortable than interacting with regular people.

When dealing with ordinary folk, they always had to be on guard—watching their words, avoiding any display of supernatural ability. It might seem simple, but it was actually a huge hassle. If they slipped up and caused panic, not only would their sect elders come down on them, but the relevant government departments would also get involved.

In contrast, with yiren, even if a fight broke out, as long as it didn't affect the mundane world, it was just a matter between supernaturals—no big deal.

"I wasn't completely sure before," George explained with a smile.

"But after touring the temple and observing closely, I was finally able to confirm it."

Huang Ming nodded in understanding.

"Makes sense. If you're unsure whether someone is yiren, it's smart to be cautious."

"Since you're one of us, and your family has been generous to our temple, feel free to ask whatever you'd like. As long as it's not one of our sect's core secrets, I'll tell you what I can."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Daoist Huang."

George offered a Taoist-style fist-and-palm salute before they began talking in earnest about the general state of Qi Refiners in China.

Things went smoother than George had expected.

Perhaps due to the influence of modern culture and the internet, young Taoist priests like Huang Ming weren't particularly conservative or traditionalist. He was open and easy to talk to.

Through their conversation, George gained a much clearer understanding of the structure behind China's Qi Refiner world.

Based on his understanding, the landscape could be roughly divided into three major factions.

In terms familiar from martial arts novels, these would be the orthodox sects, the unorthodox or villainous sect, and the imperial court.

The orthodox sects were numerous and diverse. Some were ancient and storied, having existed for centuries:

Heavenly Master's Mansion, Baiyun Temple, Shaolin, Tang Clan, Wudang Sect, and Wuhou Sect, to name a few.

There were also family-based forces like the Lu Family, Lü Family, Wang Family, and Gao Family.

Additionally, newer, more corporate-like organizations had emerged—such as Tianxia Group, which operated more like a business enterprise than a sect.

All in all, the number of sects and families was vast. Each lineage had its own unique cultivation methods, and their abilities varied greatly in type and style.

This actually thrilled George—because it meant there was a wealth of new techniques and systems for him to explore and potentially learn.

As for the unorthodox side, there was only one: an organization known as Quanxing (Full Nature).

This ancient, rogue sect had existed for over a thousand years and was originally founded by Yang Zhu, a philosopher from the Warring States period and one of the Hundred Schools of Thought. His teachings emphasized "preserving one's true nature and not letting external things burden the body."

Most Quanxing members were rogue cultivators or outcasts from various sects.

Since anyone could claim to be part of Quanxing, its ranks were chaotic and unregulated—leading all orthodox sects to reject and oppose them outright.

In fact, one of the unwritten rules among the orthodox was this:

"If you encounter a Quanxing member, you are permitted to kill them. No permission needed. No consequences."

(End of Chapter)