There is grey between black and white

While Eva looked at him she could no longer hide the excitement in her eyes. This was a dao child, a genuine dao child! Who would have guessed one would emerge from this little village in the middle of nowhere? If they could bring him back to the academy and nurture him properly then in the future their kingdom will flourish! When he reaches the nascent soul stage and starts comprehending the dao seriously there is no telling what heights he will reach!

She must get him to agree in joining their academy. She started getting nervous, how would she go about it? When she saw him looking at Sarah, an idea came to her and she couldn't stop a mischievous smile from appearing on her face. What if she used her disciple in luring him in? 'Hehehe... I'm such a genius, there's no way a boy his age is able to resist her. With such beauty and noble birth, she would make the perfect partner, plus she's clearly interested in him as well. They'll be perfect together! I'm sure her family won't cause any trouble either when they get to know what he is exactly. Villager or not, there's no way they won't allow their marriage.

Samuel of course had absolutely no idea this woman was planning to marry him to her disciple. If he knew he wouldn't know what to say anymore. He's only fourteen years old and never dated a girl in his life before, marriage was the last thing on his mind! He sure wouldn't mind getting to know her better but except for some wild fantasies, he didn't have any other feelings for the girl at the moment.

Seeing Eva stare at him with undisguised desire in her eyes, he started feeling a little awkward. 'This woman isn't having any improper thoughts about him does she?' Not that he would mind it though, he found her incredibly sexy with that voluptuous body of hers. He was working incredibly hard not to stare at her breasts right now. Her breasts are amazing, they were large and firm and clearly visible through her dress, just screaming for his attention.

Eva of course had absolutely no idea that he was thinking about her breasts right now. If she knew, she too wouldn't know what to say anymore. Although she always had this secret fantasy about dating one of her students, no one ever caught her eyes. The idea of delivering herself, a woman every man wanted badly, to the mercy of one of her students whose minds were exploding with hormones. Releasing all of that pent-up lust upon her, ripping the cloths from her body and ravaging her as hard as they possibly could, dominating her for hours and hours without end... Just the thought was enough to drive her crazy. Fourteen would still be too young though, but if he was sixteen years or older it would be perfect. She would definitely be tempted to act on her forbidden desires.

After gathering her thoughts for a while, Eva almost forgot to respond.

"Yes... the world you see. I'm so jealous of you, you have no idea what it represents do you? The things you see in the world are manifestations of the dao. Right now, without cultivating, you can already see, feel, and comprehend them to a certain degree. When you progress in your cultivation these things will only get more clear to you. Normal people are unable to sense them before they reach the nascent soul stage, and even then they will only be able to sense the dao's they have an affinity with. You, on the other hand, are able to sense every dao in existence which gives you the opportunity to comprehend whatever dao you want, or all of them for that matter. Not that that would be a smart thing to do but still, it's possible."

"Besides having the right affinity, not all affinities are the same either. There are people who are barely able to sense a thing, forever destined to be stuck in the nascent soul stage. With you however, it will be the complete opposite. There is no telling what heights you will reach. People like you are rare, very rare. So extremely rare even that the last known dao child appeared over several thousand years ago, and has long since died or left this world by now. You can imagine how shocked we were after finding out what you really are!

Hearing the truth about himself he couldn't help but feel shocked. 'A dao child? Me? Able to reach unseen heights?' He knew he was different of course but never dared to imagine he was someone so extraordinary. He couldn't stop a silly smile from emerging on his face, who wouldn't be happy after hearing this? Everybody wants to be special, there is not a single soul that wants to be average. Genius or not, he has emotions like everyone else including the feelings of superiority appearing now.

Seeing him being happy with himself, they could of course understand what he was thinking. In all honesty, nobody would blame him. They would probably feel the same way if they were in his shoes. But still, they couldn't help but feel a little jealous and are sure nobody would blame them about that either. They were looking at a person who would be able to become immortal with absolute certainty as long as he is given the chance to do so. Something desired by trillions of people since the beginning of time, and something that was only gained by a very, very select few. Who wouldn't feel jealous if someone gets immortality, practically gift-wrapped handed over to them?

When Sarah saw that smug smile emerging on his face, she couldn't help but rub some salt in it.

"I wouldn't be so happy just yet if I were you, the biggest trees are often struck by lightning after all." She said, clearly teasing him.

"Haha, my apologies. You can't blame me for being happy with this sudden news. But you're right though, I can already see the problems coming. If my guess is right, the world isn't as peaceful as it may appear right? And the arrival of a dao child will shift the delicate balance between kingdoms, and maybe even plunge the entire world in chaos."

"For someone your age, and from an isolated village to come to the correct conclusion without a moment's thought, the heavens truly are unfair in gifting you a mind like that as well," Eva answered with a sigh.

"Well, although your compliment pleases me, a lot of people would come to the same conclusion, no doubt about it. You're probably going to advise me to stay low and hide like a rat until I'm strong enough to protect myself from future assassinations right? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I rather die than live the life of a rat who hides in the dark just because some power-hungry fools want to hold on to the little meaningless power they have."

They couldn't believe what they were hearing, they were indeed about to advise him to stay low and hide his power for the foreseeable future. It was after all the smartest thing to do, but he refused before they even had the chance to mention it. Does he not understand the gravity of the situation? He probably doesn't even know what kind of people would be hunting him! The other kingdoms won't send some Ki gathering or foundation realm cultivators, no they will send highly advanced and specialized assassins with a minimum cultivation base of the nascent soul realm! He would die without even knowing it, how can someone so smart be so stupid?

Samuel saw the disbelief in their eyes, knowing they probably thought he was acting stupid and childish, driven by emotions. He didn't blame them though, he could understand their thinking to a certain level.

"Don't look at me like I'm an idiot! Who says I will even represent this kingdom or any other kingdom for that matter? Besides, people often forget there is grey between black and white. I won't hide but I won't proclaim my status as a dao child either. We are the only ones who know I'm what I am and have only come to this conclusion by linking these paintings to me. So all I need to do is hide my status as an artist and the problem is solved. Oh, and you three need to swear an oath to the heavens as well."

"..." "..." "..."