In Zhao Rucheng's sprawling mansion, which covered nearly ten acres, two figures darted together and apart amid flashes of sword light.
Clang!!
Zhao Rucheng's hand shook, and his long sword flew from his grasp. Jiang Wang's sword had already come to rest beside his neck as Jiang Wang watched him with an amused smile.
"How impressive!" Zhao Rucheng exclaimed. "What sword art is that?"
His swordsmanship was naturally a little inferior to Jiang Wang's, but not by much. In their usual sparring matches, he could win three or five out of every ten bouts. But today, after twenty straight bouts, he hadn't won a single one!
Jiang Wang smiled and sheathed his sword. This sword art truly lived up to its reputation as a marvelous method of entering the Dao through martial practice. It consisted of nine forms for training and five forms for killing. He had mastered only four training forms and one killing form, yet his understanding of swordsmanship had already far surpassed what it had been before.
He judged that his combat strength had reached the ninth-grade threshold. If he encountered the demon cultivator who had attacked him that night again, he would certainly be able to put up a fight.
"I came across this sword art by chance, and it doesn't have a name. Rucheng, you're skilled in both letters and arms. What do you think it should be called?"
Zhao Rucheng pondered briefly. "It is the Son of Heaven among sword arts. It should be called... Purple Qi Comes from the East."
"Purple Qi Comes from the East..." A flash of brilliance passed through Jiang Wang's eyes. "That's a fine name!"
For an instant, he seemed to glimpse a grand, imposing bearing in Zhao Rucheng that he had never seen before.
But it was probably an illusion, because in the next moment Zhao Rucheng picked up his fallen sword, bounded over to Jiang Wang, and resumed his usual shameless, grinning manner. "Third Brother, teach me!"
"Gladly." Jiang Wang smiled brightly.
Both of them were first-rate swordsmen among ordinary people, so they understood the value of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Technique. It was utterly unlike the martial techniques passed around in the secular world. It was a transcendent sword canon that could lead one into the Dao through martial practice.
The powerful sword cultivators were in no way inferior to Daoist Art masters.
A sword canon like this could unleash a storm of bloodshed across the martial world. Yet one man asked to learn it as naturally as could be, while the other taught it on a whim. They made the canon seem like nothing special.
Jiang Wang returned to the Dao Academy late that evening.
Unless he had lessons, Zhao Rucheng generally didn't stay at the academy. He was every inch a spoiled young master.
His mind was occupied with the subtleties of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Technique. He didn't notice Li Jianqiu standing with a sword in his arms until he reached the inner courtyard dormitory.
"What's got you so absorbed?" Li Jianqiu asked with an amused smile.
"Some questions about swordsmanship." Jiang Wang answered frankly, then asked, "What brings you here, Senior Brother Li?"
"No wonder your swordsmanship is so impressive, Junior Brother Jiang." Li Jianqiu offered a casual compliment, then continued, "Master Dong wants you to see him after morning lessons tomorrow. I didn't find you in the dormitory, so I waited a while."
"Ah, I spent the whole afternoon at Rucheng's residence." Jiang Wang felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother Li. You could have just left a message with the attendant."
Inner disciples had personal attendants to take care of their food and clothing, so they could devote themselves to cultivation.
"Since Master Dong asked me to notify you, I couldn't leave it to someone else. I'm no scion of a prestigious family, too high and mighty to wait for someone."
Jiang Wang lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
He truly felt uneasy. Li Jianqiu was two years ahead of him, and even among his cohort, he was one of the few who stood out above the rest. It was a foregone conclusion that he would go on to study at the Qinghe Prefecture Academy. He was one of the most promising talents in the entire city academy.
And yet a man like him had stood outside the dormitory waiting for Jiang Wang, without a trace of impatience.
Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang on the shoulder. "I think your future is boundless, Junior Brother Jiang. There's no need to be so formal with me."
With that, he turned and left.
The night passed without incident. As soon as morning lessons ended the next day, Jiang Wang went to Dong A's residence.
Besides Li Jianqiu, two others were in the courtyard. One was also a senior brother, named Zhang Linchuan. He came from the Zhang Family, one of Maple Forest City's three great clans, and was regarded as one of the strongest disciples in the city academy, with quite a reputation.
He wasn't especially handsome, but he was tall and graceful, with an air of refinement. Every detail of his clothing and ornaments was exquisite and immaculate.
At that moment, he stood in the courtyard, listening to the person beside him speak.
The other person in the courtyard was none other than Fang Heling.
When he caught sight of Jiang Wang coming in, he deliberately raised his voice. "Brother Zhang! Yesterday, the hunters from my estate brought me a pair of fine bear paws. Tomorrow, I'll have the chef at Moon-Gazing Pavilion prepare them properly. Let's enjoy them together."
Zhang Linchuan nodded with a smile.
Fang Heling then turned to invite him as well. "Senior Brother Li, you should come too!"
Li Jianqiu didn't reject the invitation outright. He only smiled. "If I'm free."
Before Fang Heling could continue flattering them, Li Jianqiu took a few steps toward the courtyard gate. "Junior Brother Jiang is here?"
He had actually gone out of his way to welcome him.
Jiang Wang hurried forward and greeted him. "Sorry, I'm late."
He came to stand beside Li Jianqiu, then cupped his hands toward Zhang Linchuan. "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang."
He alone ignored Fang Heling completely.
"Greetings to you too." Zhang Linchuan gave him a faint smile and a nod, seemingly unaware of the tension between Jiang and Fang.
But some people were determined to make themselves noticed.
"Hmph." Fang Heling let out an abrupt snort, then said sarcastically, "Master Dong gave an order, so even Senior Brothers Zhang and Li came early. I couldn't even make it to morning lessons—I rushed here as soon as I got out of bed. I wonder what some people have done to deserve making Master Dong and the two senior brothers wait for them?"
Jiang Wang still ignored him. He only cupped his hands toward Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. "I came straight here after morning lessons. I would never neglect a command from my master. Whether it's morning or evening lessons, reciting scriptures or breathing exercises, I never dare slack off for even a moment."
Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang on the shoulder again, showing his closeness. "It's fine. We arrived early; you weren't late. The path of cultivation leaves no room for slackness. Senior Brother Zhang and I don't have to go to the Scripture Hall and recite scriptures with the junior disciples, but we did our morning lessons in our rooms."
Fang Heling was even more annoyed, but with Li Jianqiu speaking up, he didn't dare fan the flames any further.
Just then, the door creaked open. Dong A stepped out.
"Everyone's here?" He swept his gaze over them, his presence commanding even without anger.
The four of them bowed in greeting. "Master Dong!"
Dong A waved a hand. He was decisive and disliked dawdling, so he got straight to the point. "I called you here today to assign you a task. You should all know that demon cultivators attacked the Outer Academy earlier and slaughtered an outer disciple. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has been investigating for a long time without getting anywhere. We needn't wait for them to handle matters concerning our City Daoist Academy. I'm assigning you to investigate the case. It will be counted as an eighth-grade mission."
Unlike outer disciple missions, inner disciple missions were assigned grades, usually based on the strongest opponent they might encounter. The rewards were no longer measured in contribution points, but in Dao Merit.
The difficulty was worlds apart, and so were the rewards. Take the Vein-Opening Pill, for example. It took an astronomical number of contribution points to exchange for one, but only a hundred Dao Merit.
Of course, earning a hundred Dao Merit was no easy feat either.
In this case, the Heterodox Path demon cultivator's attack on the Outer Academy had shown strength within the ninth-grade range. By designating it an eighth-grade mission, Dong A was clearly trying to encourage them.
"Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are the only two disciples in this cohort whose Dao Veins have manifested so far. They need to be properly tempered. Linchuan, Jianqiu, you've been cultivating longer. Take one junior brother each and investigate separately. The reward will be split one to nine. Whichever team finds the culprit first gets nine-tenths."
Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu bowed. "We'll obey your instructions, Master."
Dong A swept his wide sleeve and went back inside, evidently with no intention of involving himself in what followed.
Zhang Linchuan had clearly come prepared. After pondering briefly, he said, "I have a friend in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. There are two useful leads in the demon cultivator attack. First, the demon cultivator stayed at Fulai Inn for three days before the attack, so there should be clues there. Second, a family in Tangshe Town was wiped out, and traces of corpse qi were left at the scene. They're somewhat similar to those of the demon cultivator who attacked our Outer Academy. Junior Brother Li, which lead would you choose?"
Li Jianqiu replied, "Since the information came from Senior Brother Zhang, I'll leave the choice to you."
Zhang Linchuan wasn't surprised. If Li Jianqiu had any sense, he wouldn't try to compete with him for the better lead now. Zhang had only gone through the motions by asking. He nodded. "In that case, I'll go to Tangshe Town, and Junior Brother Li can go to Fulai Inn."
Fang Heling, standing beside Zhang Linchuan, had eyes that practically lit up. "With Senior Brother Zhang on the case, what chance does some petty Heterodox Path demon cultivator have of escaping?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Wang, looking rather pleased with himself.
Anyone with eyes could see that Tangshe Town better fit the conditions for the demon cultivator's hiding place, and its clues were clearer too. In Fang Heling's view, on his very first eighth-grade mission, fresh out of the gate, he was going to claim the lion's share.
Zhang Linchuan then said to Li Jianqiu, "Junior Brother Li, would it be all right if I took Jiang Wang?"
Li Jianqiu's expression didn't change. "Of course."
The way they had stood earlier had already made it seem as if the teams were decided. Jiang Wang was closer to Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling both came from one of the three great clans.
Jiang Wang didn't understand why Zhang Linchuan hadn't chosen Fang Heling, who was closer to him by both family background and familiarity. But Jiang Wang had no say in the matter. He bowed. "Then I'll be in your hands, Senior Brother Zhang."
Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu were both experienced. They quickly arranged the teams and prepared the supplies they might need for the mission. Jiang Wang conscientiously helped with the preparations.
Only Fang Heling stood there, his face shifting from green to white.
He had plenty of objections he wanted to voice, but he couldn't bring himself to say a word.
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