Fourteenth Year of Changping

"In the Fourteenth Year of Changping, a Mirage stood tall through the long night. Monsters known as Luo Yong appeared in great numbers. Many houses on Qixia Street in Hun City were destroyed. Fortunately, there were no casualties..."

Within 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 in black, with a sword hanging at his waist, looked over the case files and frowned deeply.

The Hun City Garrison Commander forced a smile. "It is indeed strange. These Luo Yong seemed to have appeared out of thin air, and they were all on Qixia Street. The incident happened so suddenly that by the time we arrived, we found the monsters frozen where they stood. They had not encountered any resistance at all, so we simply wiped them out."

There was a serious problem here.

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

According to ancient records, whenever immortals descended into the world, strange phenomena would always accompany them.

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

Hun City had witnessed the strange phenomenon of a Mirage descending, as well as a monster swarm not seen in decades. Both closely resembled the scenes described in ancient texts.

They had come under orders. If they could find another immortal, it would be a great achievement.

At the entrance to Qixia Street, a rattan lounge chair had been placed there in a rather abrupt fashion.

Jiang Wang lay upon it. Though his face was handsome as if carved with meticulous care, it was terribly pale, making him look gravely ill.

A one-armed man squatted beside him, gathering up the paintings before him while muttering nonstop, "If you're sick, just lie down at home. Why insist on coming outside? What if more monsters suddenly appear? What then?"

Jiang Wang was scanning the passersby with an investigative gaze. Hearing this, he thought, Yes, why haven't the monsters come yet?

"The Garrison Headquarters is trumpeting its achievement in exterminating the monsters everywhere, but I think some rumored cultivator must have acted without showing himself. Otherwise, how could such ferocious monsters suddenly freeze in place and let themselves be slaughtered?"

Jiang Wang hesitated. "If I said I was the one who controlled the monsters, would you believe me?"

Zhao Si turned to look at Jiang Wang. "Do you think I would?"

As expected.

It really was difficult to believe.

Even Jiang Wang himself thought it might have been an illusion.

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

Two days ago, he had just come of age.

The Old Butler had taken out a saber that was supposedly picked up by his father after weathering countless hardships and dangers, and given it to him as a gift.

The moment he touched that saber, a Mirage hidden amid clouds and mist suddenly appeared in his mind.

Before he could figure out what had happened, countless monsters emerged on Qixia Street.

When the spider-like Luo Yong—with four huge eyes, eighteen long legs, and a height of roughly two zhang—came flooding toward him like a mad tide,

Jiang Wang had only one thought in his heart.

Don't come any closer!

Then—

The monsters really did all stop.

He eventually guessed that it had something to do with that saber.

The very notion of his old man going through untold hardships and dangers just to pick up a saber was absurd in itself.

He felt that this saber must have an extraordinary origin.

But he had not been able to get any useful information from the Old Butler.

Though hoping for monsters to attack Hun City again was terribly immoral, if he wanted to confirm whether he could control monsters, he had to encounter them again.

Right now, every passerby on the street looked like a monster to him.

Yet the facts proved that not even a single monster hair was in sight.

At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats arose.

A man and a woman, one dressed in black and the other in white, slowly approached on two tall horses.

The woman in the white dress reined in her horse before the rattan chair and looked down at Jiang Wang with mockery. "Isn't this the Young Marquis? It has only been a few years, and you've already squandered the Marquis Manor's entire fortune, reduced to selling paintings on the streets?"

"I am now studying at Fish Abyss Academy. In the future, I may even have the chance to meet the Emperor directly. You must regret your choice back then, don't you?"

Jiang Wang merely glanced sideways at her and ignored her, thinking that the monsters probably would not come today.

There truly had never been frequent monster sightings in Hun City before. Something like what happened two days ago was a rarity even across the entire Sui Kingdom, something seen only once in several decades.

Thinking of this, he felt somewhat melancholy.

The woman in white stiffened.

What had that look in his eyes meant?

Was it provocation?

Or did he simply look down on me?!

Scenes from the past surged into her mind.

When she first met Jiang Wang at the Marquis Manor two years ago, he had treated her just like this.

Back then, the Du Family had been reaching above its station by seeking an alliance with the Marquis Manor. Being looked down upon was one thing.

But now, I have touched a broader world. My status and position are no longer what they once were. What gives you the right to look at me like that?

Du Yanruo said again with a cold face, "Look at you, half-dead as you are. What use is being handsome? When the Luo Yong monsters appeared on Qixia Street, why didn't they kill you? You must have been scared half to death back then. What a pity I didn't get to see that sight with my own eyes."

Jiang Wang finally could not help looking at Du Yanruo. "Who are you?"

His attitude remained lazy and carefree.

He only felt that this woman had suddenly blocked his view and rattled off a whole pile of nonsense. It was utterly baffling.

Du Yanruo's expression turned very ugly.

The man in black, seeing this scene, fell into thought.

Two years ago, he had passed through Hun City with instructor Cai Tanggu and encountered Junior Sister Du alone in a bamboo forest outside the city.

Because Cai Tanggu had noticed that she possessed some talent, he wanted to bring her back to Fish Abyss Academy.

When they paid a visit to the Du Family, they learned that the Du Family had wanted to marry Junior Sister Du to the Young Marquis of the Hun City Marquis Manor, but had been rejected. Humiliated and enraged, Junior Sister Du had run out of the city.

Without the Young Marquis's rejection, Junior Sister Du would never have gained the opportunity to study at Fish Abyss Academy. Even so, the man in black wanted to help Junior Sister Du vent her anger.

He smiled faintly.

He deliberately urged his horse forward. Its front hooves trampled the stall over, damaging all the paintings.

Zhao Si's face darkened.

Jiang Wang frowned tightly.

He wondered whether Zhao Si had offended someone.

Just as he was about to tell Zhao Si to stay farther away from him, lest he be caught in the crossfire,

the man in black suddenly drew his sword.

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

"You've got the wrong person. A grievance has its source, and a debt has its owner. Though I'm sitting beside this painter, we're not familiar at all. I never offended you."

Zhao Si's face darkened further. "They are obviously not here for me, okay?!"

Jiang Wang did not understand.

He had been sick from birth. It could be said that he spent every day in a state of being utterly drained.

Before coming of age, he had rarely even stepped outside his home. How could he possibly have offended anyone?

The man in black said indifferently, "A fallen Young Marquis from a ruined Marquis Manor who does not understand how to judge the situation will sooner or later be beaten to death."

Du Yanruo said, "Senior Brother Su, there is no need to lower yourself by arguing with someone like him. The Xunyang Marquis Mansion, as it is now, is no more than a somewhat larger grasshopper in my eyes. Speaking with him is an insult to our status."

Su Lingyi pointed his sword at Jiang Wang. "Junior Sister, do not dirty your hands. Your senior brother can vent your anger for you."

Du Yanruo said nothing more, merely watching coldly from the side.

She thought Jiang Wang was definitely pretending not to know her. Perhaps he understood the change in their status and was only trying to preserve his so-called pride.

The sword edge trembled slightly, and an inexplicable aura burst forth.

Jiang Wang suddenly felt an intense sense of suffocation.

"I was peacefully sunning myself here. You came over, spouted all kinds of nonsense, and now you even want to kill me. Isn't that going too far?"

Du Yanruo felt it necessary to rip away Jiang Wang's disguise. "I am Du Yanruo of the Du Family in Hun City. You still dare claim you don't know me?"

Jiang Wang suddenly realized. "Oh, so it's you."

He really was putting on a convincing act.

Seeing Jiang Wang's expression as though he had only just learned who she was, Du Yanruo's anger flared again.

Just as she was about to have Senior Brother Su teach him a proper lesson, she discovered that Senior Brother Su was not quite right.

The aura that had been emanating from the sword edge had vanished at some point.

Su Lingyi maintained his sword-wielding posture, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

He stared fixedly at Jiang Wang before him. "What did you do?"

Jiang Wang froze slightly.

He seemed to recall something.

He patted Zhao Si on the shoulder, signaling for him to hand over a pebble from the ground.

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

Su Lingyi's mouth twitched, rage surging in his eyes, but his body had no other reaction.

Jiang Wang muttered, "Could it be that I can control human bodies too?"

Hearing this, Zhao Si wore a thoughtful expression.

Control human bodies?

The corners of his mouth gradually curled upward.

Jiang Wang turned to look at him. "Though you haven't said a word, judging by your expression, you must be thinking something filthy."

Zhao Si hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and retorted with righteous indignation, "I am a painter and well versed in the Four Books and Five Classics. My thoughts are absolutely righteous! Do not measure a gentleman's heart with your filthy heart!"

Jiang Wang could not be bothered with Zhao Si.

He was feeling a little excited now.

Only upon careful observation could one sense a faint heat in the surroundings. Though weak, it truly existed, and its range happened to envelop Su Lingyi.

But if he wanted to fully understand it, he needed to test it a few more times.

Jiang Wang remained seated in the rattan chair, only leaning forward as he looked at Su Lingyi and crooked a finger provocatively. "Come hit me."

Su Lingyi was furious.

Veins bulged on the hand gripping his sword.

He used all his strength to try to take a step forward.

But it was useless.

Gradually, panic began to seize him.

This was highly abnormal.

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

And perhaps even a powerful expert of a very high realm?

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

At this moment, Du Yanruo looked away from Su Lingyi and focused on the calm and composed Jiang Wang, who was even continuing to provoke him. Without thinking much of it, she said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Su is already a cultivator with one foot across the threshold. Acting like this, you are truly courting death."

Jiang Wang said with a smile, "You'd better tell him to kill me quickly. But I don't think he has the ability."

"Senior Brother Su." Du Yanruo was furious as she said to Su Lingyi, "With our status, even if we kill him, no one would dare say anything. You need not have any misgivings."

Su Lingyi wanted to speak but stopped himself.

Looking at Jiang Wang's smiling face, fear continued to breed within him.

He thought,

Just shut up already!