This is the Son of Heaven Among Swords

In Zhao Rucheng's sprawling mansion, which occupied nearly ten acres of land, two figures parted and clashed amid flashes of sword light.

Clang!!

A tremor ran through Zhao Rucheng's hand, and his longsword flew from his grip. Jiang Wang's blade had already come to rest against his neck, the wielder watching him with a faint, knowing smile.

"Incredible!" Zhao Rucheng exclaimed in astonishment. "What sword art is this?"

There had always been some gap between their swordsmanship, but not a vast one. In past sparring matches, he could still win three or five bouts out of ten. But today, after twenty consecutive bouts, he hadn't won a single one!

Jiang Wang sheathed his sword with a smile. This sword art was truly a profound method of entering the Dao through martial means. It comprised nine practice forms and five killing forms. Even having only mastered four practice forms and one killing form, his understanding of swordsmanship had already far surpassed what it was before.

He judged that his combat strength could now be considered within the ranks. If he encountered that demonic attacker from the other night again, he would surely have the strength to fight back.

"This sword art came to me by chance, and it has no name. Rucheng, you're versed in both letters and martial arts—what do you think it should be called?"

Zhao Rucheng pondered briefly. "This is the emperor among swords. It should be named... Purple Qi Comes from the East."

"Purple Qi Comes from the East..." A flicker of strange light passed through Jiang Wang's eyes. "An excellent name!"

In that instant, he seemed to glimpse a certain majestic bearing in Zhao Rucheng that he had never seen before.

But it was probably an illusion, because the next moment, Zhao Rucheng picked up his fallen longsword, hopped over to Jiang Wang, and with the same roguish grin, said cheekily, "Third Brother, teach me!"

"Alright." Jiang Wang smiled brightly.

Both were masters of swordsmanship among mortals; neither could fail to understand the preciousness of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Manual. It was utterly different from the combat techniques that circulated in the mundane world—it was a transcendent sword canon sufficient to enter the Dao through martial means.

Those powerful sword cultivators were in no way inferior to masters of Daoist arts.

Such a sword canon would be enough to stir up a bloody storm in the martial world. But one man asked to learn it without hesitation, and the other taught it with casual ease. It made the canon seem utterly insignificant.

By the time Jiang Wang returned to the Daoist Academy, it was already late.

Except when there were lessons to attend, Zhao Rucheng generally didn't stay in the academy—the very picture of a wastrel's temperament.

Jiang Wang was so absorbed in pondering the mysteries of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Manual that he only noticed Li Jianqiu standing by the door of the inner courtyard dormitory, arms crossed over his sword, when he reached it.

"What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?" Li Jianqiu asked with a faint, knowing smile.

"Some problems with swordsmanship." Jiang Wang answered frankly, then asked, "What brings Senior Brother Li here?"

"No wonder Junior Brother Jiang's swordsmanship is so astonishing." Li Jianqiu offered a casual compliment before saying, "Master Dong wants you to go see him after tomorrow's morning lesson. I saw you weren't in the dormitory, so I waited a while."

"Ah, I spent the entire afternoon at Rucheng's mansion." Jiang Wang looked a little embarrassed. "How could I trouble Senior Brother Li to wait? You could have just left a message with the attendant."

Inner disciples had personal servants to attend to their clothing and meals, allowing these seeds of the Daoist Sect to focus entirely on their cultivation.

"Since Master Dong instructed me to inform you personally, I couldn't delegate it to someone else. I'm no noble or highborn, too lofty to wait for someone."

Jiang Wang lowered his head slightly. "This younger brother is uneasy."

He was indeed uneasy. Li Jianqiu was two years his senior and one of the few outstanding figures in that cohort. He was all but guaranteed to advance to the Qinghe Prefecture Academy for further study—one of the most promising talents in the entire city academy.

And yet such a person had stood waiting at the dormitory door for him, without a trace of impatience.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang on the shoulder. "I see boundless potential in you, Junior Brother Jiang. Don't be so distant."

With that, he turned and left.

The night passed without incident. The next day, as soon as the morning lesson ended, Jiang Wang went to Dong A's residence.

In the small courtyard, besides Li Jianqiu, there were two others. One was also a senior brother, named Zhang Linchuan. He came from the Zhang family, one of the three great clans of Maple Forest City, and was quietly regarded as one of the strongest disciples in the city academy, with a considerable reputation.

His appearance wasn't exceptionally handsome, but he stood tall and graceful, carrying himself with natural poise. His robes and ornaments were all exquisitely refined.

At that moment, he stood in the courtyard, listening to what the person beside him was saying.

And that other person in the courtyard was none other than Fang Heling.

Catching sight of Jiang Wang entering, Fang Heling deliberately raised his voice. "Brother Zhang! Yesterday, a hunter from my estate brought in a fine pair of bear paws. Tomorrow, I'll have the head chef at the Moon-Gazing Pavilion prepare them properly. We'll enjoy them together then."

Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded.

Fang Heling then turned and invited, "Senior Brother Li, you should come too!"

Li Jianqiu didn't want to snub him, so he just smiled and said, "If I have time, I'll go."

Before Fang Heling could continue his flattery, Li Jianqiu took a few steps toward the courtyard gate. "Junior Brother Jiang has arrived?"

He had even deliberately come forward to greet him.

Jiang Wang hurried his steps and called out, "Sorry, I'm late."

He walked up to Li Jianqiu, then cupped his hands toward Zhang Linchuan in greeting. "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang."

He alone acted as if Fang Heling were invisible.

"Greetings to you as well." Zhang Linchuan nodded with a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents between Jiang Wang and Fang Heling.

But some people simply had to make their presence known.

"Hmph." Fang Heling let out an extremely jarring snort, then said with a sarcastic edge, "When Master Dong gives an order, even Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Li arrive early. I myself didn't even have time for morning lessons—I came straight after getting out of bed. I wonder what some people have done to deserve making Master Dong and these two senior brothers wait for them?"

Jiang Wang still ignored him, only clasping his fists toward Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. "This younger brother came as soon as his morning lesson ended. I would never dare to slight the master's command. But morning and evening lessons, chanting scriptures and breathing exercises—the morning bell and evening drum—I dare not slack off for even a moment."

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang on the shoulder again, showing closeness. "It's fine. We arrived early, not that you came late. The path of cultivation truly leaves no room for slack. Though Senior Brother Zhang and I don't need to go to the Scripture Hall to chant scriptures with the junior disciples, we still do our morning lessons in our rooms."

Fang Heling grew even more irritated, but with Li Jianqiu having spoken, he didn't dare fan the flames further.

Just then, a creak sounded as Dong A pushed the door open and stepped out.

"All here?" He swept his gaze around, exuding authority without anger.

The four of them performed the Daoist salute in unison. "Master Dong!"

Dong A waved his hand. He was a decisive man who disliked dawdling, and said directly, "I called you here today to assign you a task. You should all know about the heretic who attacked the outer courtyard and killed an outer disciple. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has investigated for so long without results. Our City Daoist Academy's affairs don't have to wait on them to handle it. I'm tasking you with investigating this matter, with merit calculated at the eighth-grade task standard."

Unlike outer sect tasks, inner sect tasks began with grade classification. The grade was usually set based on the strongest combat power encountered during the task. And the reward unit was no longer contribution points, but Dao Merits.

The difficulty was worlds apart, and naturally, the rewards were as different as mud and clouds. Take the Vein-Opening Pill, for example. Outer disciples needed an astronomical amount of contribution points to exchange for one, but Dao Merits required only a hundred points.

Of course, a hundred Dao Merits weren't easy to obtain either.

For this attack on the outer courtyard by heretics, the strength they displayed was only within the ninth-grade range. Dong A setting it as eighth-grade was clearly somewhat encouraging.

"Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are the only two disciples of this cohort who have manifested their Dao Veins. They need proper tempering. Linchuan, Jianqiu, you've been cultivating longer, so you can lead the two junior brothers to investigate separately. The task reward is split one to nine. Whichever side finds the answer first gets ninety percent."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu both bowed. "We obey your command."

Dong A waved his wide sleeve and turned back through the door, clearly intending not to interfere with what came next.

Zhang Linchuan had obviously come prepared. After a brief pause, he said, "I have friends in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. There are two most useful leads from this heretic attack. One is that before the attack, the heretic stayed at the Fulai Inn for three days, so there should be some clues left behind. The other is that a household in Tangshe Town was wiped out, with corpse aura at the scene similar to the heretic who attacked our outer courtyard. Junior Brother Li, which path do you choose?"

Li Jianqiu replied, "This is Senior Brother Zhang's intelligence. Naturally, I'll follow your arrangement."

Zhang Linchuan wasn't surprised at all. If Li Jianqiu had any sense, he wouldn't compete with him at this moment. Saying this was just a formality. He nodded. "Then I'll go to Tangshe Town, and Junior Brother Li will go to the Fulai Inn."

Fang Heling, standing beside Zhang Linchuan, lit up. "With Senior Brother Zhang taking the lead, how could those petty heretics escape?"

After speaking, he shot a glance at Jiang Wang, quite smug.

Anyone with eyes could see that Tangshe Town better suited the heretic's hiding conditions, and the clues were clearer. In Fang Heling's view, this first eighth-grade task for a newcomer would net him the lion's share.

Then Zhang Linchuan said to Li Jianqiu, "Junior Brother Li, how about I take Jiang Wang?"

Li Jianqiu remained impassive. "Fine."

In truth, their earlier positioning had already implied the division of paths. Jiang Wang was more familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling both came from the three great clans.

Though he didn't understand why Zhang Linchuan wouldn't choose Fang Heling, who was closer in family background and more familiar, Jiang Wang had no right to choose. He promptly gave a salute. "Then I'll trouble Senior Brother Zhang."

Both Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu were experienced. They quickly divided the tasks and prepared some supplies that might be needed for the mission. Jiang Wang busied himself helping with the preparations.

Only Fang Heling stood there, his face cycling through shades of pale and green.

He had plenty of opinions he wanted to voice, but couldn't get a single word out.

Please throw any recommendation tickets you have at me. The new book is too thin and desperately needs nourishment.