Yang Dao gathering the spirit energy shocked the two ladies and they had no idea what words to explain the storm inside their hearts at the moment. They watched as the boy just breathed the spirit energy in and exhaled out.
He did not circulate the spirit energy inside his body as he was too young for that at the moment. He had promised Yu Mulan about it and thus he took care of not breaking his promise. The breathing technique was enough to cleanse his body over time and make him have a solid foundation.
The reason it was prohibited for children to cultivate before they were five years of age was because of the underdeveloped body. Despite being born to immortal practitioners the child was a human after all. They all have great potential locked inside their bodies but they were fragile at a young age.
Yang Dao may be a blessed child to have started walking when he was one month old, and talking when he was three months. His body was still that of a human being. His brain and soul were the reason that he could scratch the surface of the power inside him. The body was strong but underdeveloped only when it develops properly will it be able to take the load of the power channeling through it.
Like how you need to dig deep before you lay down the foundation of a building. Yang Dao was now in a process of digging deep.
After a couple of hours, the boy woke up from his meditation with a smile spread on his jade face. Yu Mulan asked the boy, "How do you feel Dao?"
The boy replied, "Fresh. Like the wind."
He waved his hand and the wind picked up the pace. Yu Mulan and Yue Yun can tell that the one who made the wind move was not nature. Yue Yun asked, "Dao, did you make the wind move?"
The boy nodded with his black eyes turned into crescents and said, "Yes, when I was meditating I sensed a strong connection with the wind and had an urge to make it move. I do not know how, but it moved when I moved my hand."
Yu Mulan asked him slowly trying to cover up her excitement, "Dao, what else do you feel?"
Yang Dao thought a bit and said, "I feel such a feeling with every element." as he said he looked down at the ground and raised his hand, casting a pillar as tall as him, protruding from the ground like it was always there only.
Yue Yun gulped as she and Yu Mulan exchanged a glance and then looked at the little boy in front of him. The latter asked, "Dao, can you do the same with water and fire?"
Yang Dao thought about it and said, "I do not know, I can try." as he continued to play with the earth pillar. He found it very amusing how the eath followed his thoughts.
The two ladies exchanged a glance and nodded. Yu Mulan said, "Rabbit, come we go to see your grandpas in the gathering hall."
Yang Dao simply nodded and skipped over to her side. He said, "Grandma, why are we going to meet them in the hall? I am not allowed there. Baba said, only when I cultivate can I go there."
Yang family had a rule that only cultivators were allowed to get inside the gathering hall. Yang Dao was two years old when he wanted to explore the hall but they told him not to come inside. Yu Mulan smiled and said, "It is okay. I am with you."
Yang Dao smiled, he was very happy to explore one of the taboo places for him. In the palace, there were a few areas where he was not allowed to go on to explore. The boy had to wait to either be old enough or be strong enough to peek in these spots. Holding the hands of two ladies, Yang Dao walked with a smile, skipping over in joy.
The people reached the gathering hall and Yu Mulan said, "Dao, you stay here, come inside when I call you, okay?"
Yang Dao nodded with a smile, his expression made Yu Mulan peck his cheek before she got inside the hall. The gate of the hall was ten feet high, a wooden monolith carved with exquisite patterns. The boy seemed to be entranced by them. His intellect has grown to a higher level to perceive that this pattern carried something mysterious about itself.
As he was lost in watching the patterns by tilting his head as he follow the lines, he sensed a gentle tug on his hand. He woke up from the trance and saw Yue Yun smiling at him as she said, "They called you inside, Dao."
The boy nodded Yue Yun pushed open the door of the gathering hall. Yang Dao walked inside with his eyes began to wander. Four big pillars supported the roof, at the back of the hall on an ancient styled chair sat Yang Lang, on his right sat his brothers, with the youngest, on the extreme right. On his right sat the younger generation people.
The floor of the hall looked like a chessboard, black and white tiles spread over the place. Yu Mulan invited his attention, "Dao, can you do what you did with the wind and the earth outside?"
Yang Dao did not say anything much and waved his hand absent-mindedly while his gaze wandered the patterns and chandeliers. The room had a regulated temperature but it had no wind blowing, however, all of a sudden, the wind picked up the pace.
Yang Dao did not notice the shock on the faces of the few people, but he waved his hand again and cast an earthen spear. Yang Lang asked, "Dao, can you do it with water and fire?"
The boy scratched his head and said, "I have not yet tried."
The old man smiled and said, "How about we arrange a bucket of water and a touch for you to try?"
Yang Dao looked around at the people and when he saw them all smiling at him, he nodded slowly. He wanted to ask, "Can you all not do it?" but he held it back.
His knowledge of elements had never left him and the contact with spirit energy made the first seals on his body vanish, enabling him to manipulate elements on par with an elemental contractor.
In a few seconds, two servants brought a bucket of water and a torch. They placed the two things in front of the boy and backed away. Yang Dao gazed at the water and then at the fire torch. He gestured his hand and a fire plume broke away from the torch. The plume then slowly turned into a bird as it flew around the room.
The boy waved his hand at the water bucket as well and a blob of water flew out from the bucket. The changes were not noticed by Yang Dao but the elders inside the room were dead surprised. After a few seconds, the bird and the blob disintegrated. Yang Dao yawned and said, "Granny Yun, I want to sleep."
With that said, his small body became wobbly. Yue Yun quickly picked him up in her arms. She looked at Yu Mulan who said, "Go, take him to sleep. It could be that the elemental manipulations put a strain on him. After all his body does not have any spiritual energy."
Yue Yun bowed slightly and walked out of the hall. The atmosphere turned excited. While Yang Shan was congratulated to be the father of the genius the elders also put out a gag order on the news. They did not wish to make opportunists use this chance. The Yang Family was small but they had enemies nonetheless. Thus Yang Dao was to be treated normally.
...
In a grand palace, unknown where it was located, sat four people. They wore exquisite robes and jewelry. At the moment their eyes were closed and a faint smile lingered on their faces. The woman in red said, "He got through the first seal very fast."
An old man in black and white robes said, "Indeed. When has the Dao child been someone to follow the norms?"
The other two nodded. These people were none other than Feng Yun and the band of familiar spirits. They had come back to the place of their origins, the Dao Palace. Ryu Jinshi said, "Dao Yin also is following the same pace."
Laohu Bai said, "I wonder if the two will be able to get through this text, or will they end up crossings words?"
Atsuji Kurogame said, "Let us see, the rise of the geniuses."
Suddenly a girl walked over and said, "Sister Yun, can we not change the dresses? This is really not easy to walk in and then you said we have to learn to fight as well."
The girl pouted. Feng Yun chuckled and said, "You all watch over the geniuses, I need to deal with their wardrobe crisis."