Temple

6:30 AM.

Jiang Ding opened his eyes.

His limbs and knees were a little sore, but it wasn't a major issue.

He got out of bed, put on his clothes, picked up the practice sword by the bedside, and quietly left the house.

The sky was cool. At this hour, most workers were still fast asleep. The only people on the community streets were a few retired elders exercising, breakfast shop owners, and sanitation workers. The park was much the same.

He found a deserted flower bed.

Clang!

A flash of bright silver sword light suddenly appeared, originating from himself and cutting out a near-perfect circle.

"Ready Stance... Exhibiting Sword Style..."

In the quiet park, Jiang Ding felt a strange sensation.

The Ready Stance shouldn't be a stance that was intentionally emphasized, but rather a state. It was an orderly state of relaxation during peacetime, capable of becoming instantly tense when needed.

"Arm Sword Style!"

The sword style changed. 639 muscles moved like flowing water, rotating. The force from countless small muscles concentrated towards larger muscles, finally converging on his sword-wielding arm. The sword light's speed increased significantly.

"Step Sword Style!"

The extreme convergence of power did not cause imbalance. His left foot shifted diagonally, his body moving like a ghost. He used his body to guide the sword, slicing a fallen leaf in half with a smooth cut.

"Dirty Sword Style!"

One sword after another, silver sword light appeared and disappeared.

A faint blue transparent figure appeared in Jiang Ding's mind. Each muscle was a mechanical formula of varying size. They rotated and converged at different angles, ultimately producing a constantly changing total value. The rotation and direction of any single muscle could alter the magnitude of the final value.

"Turn, Combine, Rush, Hide..."

The silver sword light retracted, its edge hidden.

"Much smoother?"

Jiang Ding gripped the sword hilt, a look of surprise on his face.

In the past, although he was diligent and his teachers had pointed him in the right direction, practicing his sword felt like being shrouded in fog. No matter how much he practiced, it was just mechanical imitation of the Array Spirit Computer's guidance.

But just now, with every sword strike, wisps of inspiration emerged, and his sword forms flowed incredibly smoothly.

Clang!

He drew his sword and began to dance, the sword's edge even whistling as it sliced through the air. He completed a set of sword moves.

"It wasn't an illusion!"

Jiang Ding took a deep breath and touched the rusty sword tip in his pocket.

Even without the real-time display of the training room, he could clearly feel that his Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art had improved a little.

A treasure!

This was definitely a great opportunity!

After practicing for nearly an hour, he sheathed his sword and returned home.

The sky was completely bright now. The streets were bustling with people, and the entire city had fully regained its vitality.

When he got home, Jiang Yuan had already woken up. She was yawning while washing up, her hair a mess. Lin Wanqiu was preparing breakfast.

Jiang Ding took a shower, changed his clothes, and got his schoolbag ready, sitting at the dining table.

"Mom, big brother, where are my red and white shoes?"

Jiang Yuan, with her messy hair, ran around, her slippers making thump-thump sounds.

Jiang Ding closed his eyes to rest, ignoring her.

"Look at you!"

Lin Wanqiu placed breakfast on the table and found a pair of shoes from Jiang Yuan's room, handing them to her. She tidied her hair and said helplessly, "Can't you learn from your brother? He gets up at 6:30 every day and has everything done."

"He's a freak."

Jiang Yuan rolled her eyes.

After breakfast, the family parted ways at the bus stop, each heading to their own destinations.

Today, the bus driver was different. He didn't take any detours, driving straight through the area where the incident had happened yesterday.

Jiang Ding's pupils constricted.

A seven-story building had been sliced in half diagonally, one half crashing to the ground. The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror.

Near the damaged building were numerous craters several meters wide, radiating outwards. The ground had been completely vitrified. Here and there, one could see patches of faint, fresh red.

It looked as if flesh and blood had been crushed under immense pressure. Even after multiple cleanings, the traces were still visible.

"What a sin!"

"A Foundation Establishment Cultivator..."

The passengers on the bus were discussing animatedly. Luminous Blue Star didn't have a separation between mortals and immortals; much knowledge was open.

"These traces look somewhat like cultivators from the Outer Xuanwu Heavenly Palace. They've always been hostile towards Immortal Sects..."

"It's just their bad luck..."

Bad luck?

Jiang Ding gripped the hilt of his sword, not joining their discussion.

Arriving at the classroom, he placed his backpack containing a long sword and a pistol into the classroom's secure locker—students were not allowed to carry weapons within the school.

Li Junhao had already arrived and was working on practice problems, his eyes glued to the test paper, not even glancing at anyone nearby.

"The atmosphere in the class seems a bit somber?"

Jiang Ding paid it no mind, arranging his books, and asked softly.

He considered himself diligent. Apart from necessary sleep and cooking, he spent all his time practicing swordplay and contemplating sword-related knowledge. Yet, compared to Li Junhao, he still fell short.

Jiang Ding even suspected that Li Junhao slept less than four hours a day.

"A classmate from the next class... met with misfortune yesterday," Li Junhao sighed, his eyes and hands still on the test paper. "We mortals are too weak compared to cultivators."

Jiang Ding fell silent.

The morning consisted of two classes each of Language and Mathematics, covering the principles of runes and cultivation techniques, array structures, and the natural rune patterns in the world.

Jiang Ding was surprised to find that he could understand parts of the lessons that had previously seemed like gibberish. He no longer had to force himself to maintain focus repeatedly; he was naturally immersed in the teacher's lecture.

Lunch was at the school cafeteria, followed by practicing swordplay for a while, and then an hour-long nap—Jiang Ding insisted on getting enough sleep every day.

The afternoon was dedicated to Geography class and the fixed last two periods of cultivation practice.

As soon as school ended, Jiang Ding couldn't wait to rush home, quickly cook for Jiang Yuan, and then enter his room.

He put on his helmet, checked his camouflage uniform, drone, gloves, sword, and pistol one by one... and re-entered the other world.

Light and shadow shifted, and a figure appeared silently in a corner beneath a tree.

Jiang Ding scanned his surroundings vigilantly but found no suspicious people or objects.

He took a few steps back, hiding among the nearby bushes. His camouflage uniform changed color, quickly resembling the surrounding branches. If one didn't look closely, it was impossible to spot him.

At the same time, his tactical helmet connected to the drone overhead. The past twenty-four hours of recorded footage rapidly played before his eyes.

An elk appeared and disappeared, followed by several forest wolves that vanished and reappeared in its wake. The sky transitioned from scorching sunlight to dusk, then to night. The infrared view still allowed constant monitoring of the ground.

"Stop!"

Jiang Ding's gaze sharpened.

In the surveillance footage, a woodcutter and a child carrying firewood flashed by.

"There are actually people!"

Jiang Ding was astonished. Not only were there people, but he found he could understand what the woodcutter and child were saying.

It was a language that sounded completely different from the Immortal Sect language, very awkward, yet he understood it without any obstruction. He even felt that he could probably speak it, which was incredibly strange.

"As expected, a great treasure!" Jiang Ding rejoiced inwardly.

Besides the woodcutter, several other armed individuals passed by a dilapidated temple and rested for a while.

Regardless, specimens still needed to be collected. This was currently the only visible source of stable income.

After two hours of strenuous work under the scorching sun, and with his newfound proficiency, he managed to collect eight plant specimens. Submitting them would earn him eight points, a far cry from the ten thousand points needed.

With sixteen points per day, it would take nearly two years to accumulate the ten thousand library points required.

He had missed the college entrance examination.

The college entrance examination was the greatest opportunity for a citizen of the Immortal Sect without a background to embark on the path of cultivation—a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

If one entered and proved themselves outstanding, they could even receive treatment comparable to that of a registered disciple of the Nascent Soul stage.

If missed, the path to immortality would be severed. One would spend their entire life as a foundation stone for the Immortal Sect, contributing their efforts. Even with a great treasure in hand, the difficulty of the immortal path would increase tenfold or more.

"This won't do."

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Ding sent the processed specimens, along with his tactical helmet and backpack, back home. He contacted Little Green Bird for retrieval and then recharged the drone, whose battery was nearly depleted.

He put on contact lenses, confirmed that the images from the three drones in the sky were being received normally, placed his pistol in a hidden pocket, and changed into a pre-prepared wig.

Jiang Ding's camouflage uniform rapidly changed its color and style, finally forming the appearance of an ancient-style cyan robe, with its color fixed and no longer changing with the environment.

He took one last look around before Jiang Ding left the area.

Yes, he intended to make contact with the local natives.

This carried risks, but if he missed the college entrance examination and couldn't enroll in the cultivation department, he would still have to serve in the military, guarding the Immortal Sect's military bases outside their territory. Without strength, he would face risks then as well.

This was the duty of every adult citizen; it couldn't be evaded.

East Spirit Mountain was steep and treacherous, spanning several prefectures. Occasionally, rare mountain herbs and exotic beasts would appear within its depths.

This attracted countless herb gatherers and martial artists who ventured deep into the mountain. If they were lucky enough to find a rare treasure, all the guilds, martial arts schools, sects, and even the esteemed lords in the East Spirit Prefecture would purchase it at a high price, allowing them to ascend to greatness overnight.

This dilapidated temple was the last resting place before entering East Spirit Mountain. Most herb gatherers and martial artists passing through would choose to rest here for a while.

The sound of footsteps drew the attention of several people inside the temple.

A young man with a clear and handsome appearance walked in slowly. His black hair reached his waist, and he was dressed in a blue shirt and cloth shoes. The fabric was smooth and fine, and a long sword in a black sheath hung from his waist.

He was spotless, without a speck of dust or the weariness of travel, exuding an air of elegance and refinement that was completely out of place in this environment.

Which noble young master is out playing?

The people in the dilapidated temple glanced at him and then looked away.

When you're out and about, it's best not to meddle.

"I..."

Jiang Ding originally wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth and silently found a corner to sit down.

He scanned his surroundings.

There weren't many people, about seven or eight, roughly divided into two groups.

On the left were a grandfather and grandson, dressed in patched, coarse linen shorts. Their faces were dark and thin, weathered by the elements, and they had two medicine baskets beside them.

On the right were five or six burly men, all armed. They wore identical black martial arts attire. The most conspicuous was the bearded man in the middle, whose steel crescent axe, placed on the ground in front of him, glinted coldly.

Two bonfires crackled in the open space, roasting dried meat, sweet potatoes, and other items.

The red light from the contact lenses flickered several times.

"Three Inner Qi Realm cultivators."

Jiang Ding's peripheral vision swept over the bearded man and the two beside him. He tightened his grip on his sword hilt slightly, feeling a bit nervous.

These were powerful individuals one realm above him.

After a moment of silence, the dilapidated temple resumed with chatter.

"Lin'er, look at these Blue Fluorescent Butterfly wings. The fine blue stripes must be intact to fetch a good price. It's the same with mountain ginseng; the roots must be dug out carefully..."

By the bonfire, an old farmer held a pair of butterfly wings and spoke in a low voice. His grandson, with a red and dark little face, nodded occasionally.

On the other side, the burly men's voices were as loud as bulls, and they burst into laughter from time to time.

"The Seven Profound Sect of East Spirit Prefecture was actually wiped out by the Golden Saber Sect. That was a sect that stood for hundreds, even thousands, of years. It might even be older than the current leaders of the martial world, the Bore Temple and the Green Ox Temple. What a pity."

"What's a pity? What's the use of living a long time? In the end, martial artists are judged by their strength."

"Indeed. Take the Golden Saber Sect, for example. They live up to their reputation as one of the six great sects in the world. Just their eldest disciple, 'Splitting Sea Saber' Wei Xian, ranked ninth on the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking, was enough to annihilate an entire sect by himself. He reaped the Seven Profound Sect's accumulated wealth, martial arts manuals, and even captured beauties to play with at his leisure. Now that's a true hero of the world!"

Amidst the laughter, someone took out a gourd of wine. By the firelight, they took turns drinking.

"Beauties? I heard that the Flying Snow Fairy, ranked ninety-eighth on the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking, came from the Seven Profound Sect. They say her skin is as fair as snow and her demeanor is ethereal. Could it be that Wei Xian has already taken her into his chambers..."

"More than that. I heard her mother is even more beautiful, and she's also been captured."

"This... beast!"

The eyes of the burly men revealed longing and admiration.

Jiang Ding listened and secretly clicked his tongue.

Murdering and destroying a sect, seizing their wives and daughters, and taking their wealth – in the eyes of these people, there was nothing wrong with it. Did the government in this world not intervene?

Beep, beep!

Suddenly, several red dots appeared in the contact lenses, quickly increasing to over a dozen.

Jiang Ding's heart jolted.

He concentrated and looked. Five kilometers away, a group of people, numbering in the dozens, entered the drone's reconnaissance range one after another. Over ten of them triggered the drone's alarm.

They were rapidly encircling from all directions, their target seemingly this dilapidated temple!

Did I expose myself?

Jiang Ding panicked. He hadn't done anything!

No, that's impossible. If I had been exposed, it wouldn't be ordinary martial artists chasing me.

It must be a coincidence.

Jiang Ding quickly calmed down, stood up, and turned towards the temple entrance.

The people inside the temple looked surprised.

This person is so strange. He came in without saying a word and didn't even drink any water.

The sweet potatoes were cooked. The old farmer peeled away the scorched skin, revealing the fragrant flesh, and handed it to his grandson. He himself swallowed a piece of dried ration in one gulp.

Jiang Ding's footsteps paused, and he felt a pang of sympathy.

"Old sir, if there's something urgent at home, you should return quickly."

With that, he left the place quickly, regardless of the old man's reaction.

The old farmer was stunned.

The burly men around him exchanged glances, and cold eyes occasionally fell upon Jiang Ding, but in the end, they did nothing.