Fourteenth Year of Changping

"Fourteenth year of Changping, a mirage appeared in the long night, and monsters, Luo Yong, appeared in large numbers. Many houses on Qixia Street in Hun City were destroyed. Fortunately, there were no casualties..."

Inside the Garrison Headquarters, the Hun City Garrison Commander was receiving two guests from Fish Abyss Academy.

They were a man and a woman.

The man, dressed in black and with a sword at his waist, looked at the records in the file and frowned deeply.

The Hun City Garrison Commander said with a fawning smile, "It's strange to say, but these Luo Yong just appeared out of nowhere, and they were all on Qixia Street. Because it happened so suddenly, by the time we arrived, we found that all the monsters were frozen in place. They didn't put up any resistance at all, and we eliminated them all."

There was a big problem here.

The other person, a woman in a white dress, said softly, "Senior Brother Su, we need to go to Qixia Street to investigate further."

According to ancient texts, the descent of immortals was always accompanied by strange phenomena.

Legend had it that there was an immortal in the Divine Capital of the Sui Kingdom.

Hun City had the 'mirage' phenomenon and a monster attack that was rare in decades, both of which were very similar to the scenes described in the ancient texts.

They were sent on a mission, and if they could find another immortal, it would be a great achievement.

At the entrance of Qixia Street, a rattan chair was placed abruptly.

Jiang Wang was lying on it. Although his face was as handsome as if finely carved, it was very pale, looking like he was on the verge of death.

A one-armed man squatted beside him, tidying up the paintings in front of him, muttering incessantly, "If you're sick, lie down at home. Why do you have to run outside? What if more monsters appear?"

Jiang Wang, scanning the pedestrians on the road with a searching gaze, thought to himself, Yeah, why haven't the monsters come yet?

"The Garrison Headquarters is everywhere boasting about the merits of eliminating the monsters, but I think it must have been a cultivator from the legends who made the move, but they just didn't show themselves. Otherwise, how could such ferocious monsters suddenly freeze in place, waiting to be slaughtered?"

Jiang Wang hesitated, "If I said the monsters were controlled by me, would you believe me?"

Zhao Si turned to look at Jiang Wang, "Do you think I believe you?"

As expected.

This was indeed something difficult to believe.

In fact, even Jiang Wang himself felt it might have been an illusion.

But the fact that monsters appeared on Qixia Street was undeniable.

Two days ago, he had just come of age.

The old butler took out a saber, said to be picked up by his father through hardships, and gave it to him as a gift.

When he touched the saber, a 'mirage' hidden in the clouds suddenly appeared in his mind.

Before he could figure out what was happening, countless monsters surged out of Qixia Street.

When the monsters, shaped like spiders with four large eyes and eighteen long legs, about two zhang tall, the Luo Yong, rushed towards him.

Jiang Wang had only one thought in his mind.

Don't come near me!

Then.

The monsters really stopped.

He finally guessed it had something to do with the saber.

The idea of his father picking up a saber through hardships was already absurd.

He felt that this saber must have an extraordinary origin.

But he couldn't get any useful information from the old butler.

Although hoping for another monster attack on Hun City was immoral, he had to encounter monsters again to confirm if he could control them.

He now looked at every passerby on the road as if they were monsters.

However, the reality proved that there wasn't even a single monster.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.

A man and a woman, dressed in black and white respectively, rode two tall horses and slowly approached.

The woman in the white dress reined in her horse and stopped in front of the rattan chair, looking down at Jiang Wang and sneering, "Isn't this the Young Marquis? It's been several years, and you've already squandered the family fortune and ended up selling paintings on the street?"

"I am now studying at Fish Abyss Academy, and I even have a chance to meet the Emperor in the future. You must regret your choice back then, right?"

Jiang Wang glanced sideways, ignoring her, thinking that the monsters probably wouldn't come today.

Indeed, there had never been frequent monster appearances in Hun City before. The situation like two days ago was rare even in the entire Sui Kingdom, occurring only once in decades.

Thinking of this, he felt a little dejected.

The woman in the white dress's expression froze.

What did that look in his eyes mean just now?

Was it provocation?

Or did he simply look down on me?!

Memories of the past flooded his mind.

When he first met Jiang Wang at the Marquis Mansion two years ago, he had the same attitude.

It was one thing that the Du family had tried to climb their way up to the Marquis Mansion back then and were looked down upon.

Now that I've come into contact with a broader world, my status and position are entirely different from what they were. What right do you have to look at me with those eyes?

Du Yanruo said with a cold face, "Look at you, half-dead. What's the use of being good-looking? When the monster Luo Yong appeared on Qixia Street, why didn't it kill you? I suppose you were terrified then. It's a real shame I didn't get to see that scene."

Jiang Wang finally couldn't help but look at Du Yanruo. "Who are you?"

His attitude remained lazy and casual.

He just felt that this woman suddenly blocked his view and was babbling a lot of nonsense, which was utterly baffling.

Du Yanruo's expression turned very unpleasant.

The man in black, who witnessed this scene, seemed lost in thought.

Two years ago, he was passing through Hun City with his instructor Cai Tanggu when he encountered Junior Sister Du, who was alone in the bamboo forest outside the city.

Because Cai Tanggu observed that his junior sister had some talent, he wanted to bring her back to Fish Abyss Academy.

When they visited the Du family, they learned that the Du family wanted to betroth their junior sister to the Young Marquis of Hun City Mansion, but they were refused. Thus, the junior sister ran out of the city in shame and anger.

Even though without the Young Marquis's refusal, his junior sister wouldn't have had the opportunity to study at Fish Abyss Academy, the man in black now intended to help his junior sister vent her anger.

He smiled slightly.

He deliberately spurred his horse forward, and the horse's front hooves overturned the stall. All the paintings were damaged.

Zhao Si's face turned black.

Jiang Wang's brows furrowed tightly.

He wondered if Zhao Si had offended someone?

Just as he was about to tell Zhao Si to stay away from him to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

He saw the man in black suddenly draw his sword.

Looking at the sword tip pointed at him, Jiang Wang was speechless.

"You've got the wrong person. The debt has its debtor. Although I'm with this painter, we're not close at all. I haven't offended you."

Zhao Si's face turned even blacker. "They're obviously not after me!"

Jiang Wang didn't understand.

He had been sickly since birth. It could be said that he was constantly drained.

Before his coming of age, he rarely left his home. It was impossible for him to have offended anyone.

The man in black said calmly, "A Young Marquis of a fallen mansion who doesn't know how to read the room will eventually be beaten to death."

Du Yanruo said, "Senior Brother Su, there's no need to bother with someone like him. The current Xunyang Marquis Mansion is nothing more than a slightly larger grasshopper in my eyes right now. Speaking to him would be beneath our dignity."

Su Lingyi pointed his sword at Jiang Wang and said, "Junior Sister, don't dirty your hands. Senior Brother will vent your anger for you."

Du Yanruo said nothing more, only watching coldly.

She thought that Jiang Wang was definitely pretending not to know her, perhaps understanding the shift in their statuses and trying to save face.

The sword's edge trembled, and an inexplicable aura erupted.

Jiang Wang felt an intense sense of suffocation.

"I was just enjoying the sun here, and you guys show up, start talking nonsense, and even try to kill me. This is too much!"

Du Yanruo felt it was necessary to tear down Jiang Wang's facade and said coldly, "I am Du Yanruo of the Du family in Hun City. Do you still dare to say you don't recognize me?"

Jiang Wang suddenly realized, "So it's you."

He really put on a good act.

Seeing Jiang Wang's look of sudden realization, Du Yanruo's anger flared up again.

Just as she was about to tell Senior Brother Su to teach the other party a lesson, she discovered that Senior Brother Su's condition was somewhat off.

The aura that had been emanating from the sword's edge had disappeared at some point.

Su Lingyi maintained his sword-holding posture, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

He stared intently at Jiang Wang. "What did you do?"

Jiang Wang was slightly stunned.

It seemed he remembered something.

He patted Zhao Si's shoulder, signaling him to hand over the pebbles on the ground.

Then, he directly threw a pebble at Su Lingyi's face.

Su Lingyi's mouth twitched, and rage surged in his eyes, but his body showed no other reaction.

Jiang Wang muttered, "Could it be that I can control people's bodies?"

Zhao Si, standing beside him, heard this and looked thoughtful.

Controlling someone's body?

A smile gradually curved his lips.

Jiang Wang tilted his head, looking at him, and said, "Even though you haven't said anything, I can tell from your expression that you're definitely thinking something dirty."

Zhao Si hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and refuted righteously, "I am a painter, and I have also read the Four Books and Five Classics. My thoughts are absolutely righteous. Do not judge a gentleman's mind with your own dirty heart!"

Jiang Wang couldn't be bothered with Zhao Si.

He was a little excited now.

If one observed carefully, they could sense a slight heat around them. Although faint, it was real and it enveloped Su Lingyi perfectly.

But to fully understand, he needed to verify it a few more times.

Jiang Wang remained seated in the rattan chair, but leaned forward, looking at Su Lingyi, and provocatively beckoned him with a finger, "Come and hit me."

Su Lingyi was furious.

Veins bulged on the hand gripping his sword.

He used all his strength to try and step forward.

But it was useless.

He gradually became a little frightened.

This was very abnormal.

Could this Young Marquis of Hun City also be a cultivator?

And a powerful expert at that?

Su Lingyi's face turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down his face.

Du Yanruo, seeing Jiang Wang looking calm and even provocatively beckoning, shifted her attention from Su Lingyi. Without thinking much, she said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Su has already half-crossed the threshold into becoming a cultivator. Your actions are simply suicidal."

Jiang Wang smiled and said, "You'd better have him kill me quickly, but I don't think he has the ability."

"Senior Brother Su," Du Yanruo said angrily to Su Lingyi, "Given our status, no one would dare to say anything even if we killed him. You don't need to have any reservations."

Su Lingyi wanted to speak but stopped.

Looking at the smiling Jiang Wang, the fear in his heart grew.

He thought to himself.

Just shut up already!