As he had every day before, he completed his Pulse-Opening cultivation without a hitch, then circulated his newly formed Dao Essence through the Heaven-Connecting Palace, setting it in the proper position and bringing himself one step closer to laying his foundation.
After finishing his Pulse-Opening cultivation, Jiang Wang didn't rest. Instead, he sat at his desk by the oil lamp and began copying out the Purple Void Sublime Supreme Scripture.
Since it was just the two siblings living together, they occupied the main rooms, so they had turned the south room into a study.
His senior brothers had long warned him that Iron-Faced Xiao was merciless. So Jiang Wang copied the text with the utmost care, not missing a stroke. The importance of the lessons on Daoist Art techniques went without saying; missing even one would be a tremendous loss. Jiang Wang did his best to copy quickly and neatly.
Until...
"Brother, what are you doing?"
At some point, Jiang An'an had crept into the study. She gazed at him with wide, curious eyes.
"..." Jiang Wang said, "Practicing my handwriting."
"Why are you suddenly practicing your handwriting?"
Jiang Wang said solemnly, "As the saying goes, a person's writing reflects their character. You can tell whether someone is sincere or deceitful by looking at their handwriting. Your teachers have taught you that, haven't they? Practicing your handwriting is very important. An'an, you should remember to practice more, too."
"Then how much longer do you have to practice...?"
"...Quite a while." Jiang Wang said, "You should go to bed first."
"Oh..."
"What is it? Did you need something?"
"N-no..."
Turning away from the study, Jiang An'an sighed like a little adult.
That stinky old man made me copy so many characters. Now the study's taken over, too. Where am I supposed to copy them?
It wasn't that there wasn't room in the study for both her and Jiang Wang. She just didn't want her brother to find out she'd been punished with copying.
After thinking it over, Jiang An'an carried a little stool into the bedroom, took out paper and brush, and got everything ready. Then she crouched in front of the stool and began copying.
"Heaven and Earth: dark and yellow. The universe: vast and wild. The sun and moon wax and wane. The stars and constellations are arrayed..."
She glanced toward the study. The light was still on. Good. Back to copying...
The moon hung high in the sky. Jiang Wang rubbed his wrist, blew on the ink to dry it, extinguished the oil lamp, and returned to the bedroom. Even with his stamina and speed, he was still nowhere near copying the text a hundred times. But he had something more important to do now.
It was September fifteenth, the day for Blessed Land challenges in the Great Void Illusion Realm.
By the time he returned to the bedroom, An'an had already fallen asleep. Jiang Wang tucked in her blanket, then lay down in his own bed.
The Silver Moon Mark appeared in his palm and began to grow warm. Jiang Wang closed his eyes, and his consciousness entered the Great Void Illusion Realm.
The ink writing on the Sundial had changed: [The master of the Green Jade Altar has confirmed the challenge. The challenge will begin in one quarter of an hour.]
The master of the Green Jade Altar had finally decided to challenge!
Seeing those words, Jiang Wang felt the urgency of time slipping away, but also a hint of relief, as if a shoe had finally dropped.
On August fifteenth, the master of the Green Jade Altar had also chosen to forfeit. It seemed Zuo Guanglie had cast too deep a shadow over him in the past. But it also meant that, after forfeiting several times, his opponent was now determined to win this challenge.
Jiang Wang did nothing unnecessary. He simply cleared his mind and waited in silence for the time to come.
When the Sundial finally changed, a circular jade platform rose beneath Jiang Wang, then carried him away from the True Insight Ruins Blessed Land and into the brilliant Star River.
The platform was simple in design, without any decorations, yet an ancient aura naturally flowed around it. Its surface was mottled with countless marks—saber cuts, sword slashes, scorch marks, burn marks... It carried a fierce, murderous air.
Jiang Wang understood that this was his Sword Discussion Platform. Ever since obtaining the Void Key and entering the Great Void Illusion Realm, he had never used it. For one thing, he knew that with his strength, he would probably be slaughtered without gaining any opportunity to train. For another... every time he activated the Sword Discussion Platform, it cost ten Merit.
Apart from the natural yield of his Blessed Land, Jiang Wang gained nothing from the platform, so he was even more reluctant to spend. Especially after experiencing the might of the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Technique, he knew just how precious Merit was.
Before long, Jiang Wang could see another Sword Discussion Platform of the same design flying toward him from the depths of the Star River. A figure in black stood upon it, robes whipping in the wind. The two platforms suddenly accelerated and collided.
The two small platforms merged into one large platform. Jiang Wang and his opponent stood at opposite ends. The expanded platform was otherwise no different from before, only larger. It looked to be a hundred meters across, and Jiang Wang knew this was the true arena.
Because of the Great Void Illusion Realm's special rules, Jiang Wang couldn't see what his opponent looked like. But he heard his voice.
"Ever since my crushing defeat at your hands, I've spent a full six months preparing for this battle!" said the master of the Green Jade Altar. "I've finally mastered a fragment of the Nine Swords of the Ancient Gentleman, lost to antiquity. Let me put it to the test!"
The ancient Nine Swords of the Gentleman? It sounded incredibly powerful... A disciple of the Confucian Sect?
As Jiang Wang wondered this, he had already begun circulating his true essence, preparing to respond. The true essence expended in the Great Void Illusion Realm wasn't real, so he dared to fight with everything he had. The Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Technique was an extraordinary sword canon, and only with abundant true essence could it display its true power.
So now he would reveal a state he had never shown to anyone—the strongest version of himself.
"Heaven's Movement Is Ever Vigorous; thus, the gentleman strives without cease!"
Then Jiang Wang heard the master of the Green Jade Altar softly chant those words.
And then he saw a sword. It looked utterly ordinary, without anything unusual about it. It only moved forward, forward. A mountain stood before it, and it pierced through the mountain. A river lay ahead, and it severed the river. The boundless, towering sky stretched before it, and it thrust straight into the sky!
It would not bend, no matter how many times it was broken. It charged forward without hesitation.
Piercing stone, felling forests, slaying demons, destroying evil... This sword thrust toward everything that stood in its way, no matter what it was!
Jiang Wang still held his sword. The Dao Essence accumulated in his Heaven-Connecting Palace was surging and boiling, and the killing technique of the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Technique had nearly become instinct. But that sword had already pierced his heart.
He was dead.
The master of the Green Jade Altar stared at the suddenly empty Sword Discussion Platform, stunned. He had great faith in the Nine Swords of the Gentleman, lost in the long river of history, but he also remembered how powerful his opponent had been.
Yet this battle had been a complete rout—a sweeping victory.
He had won.
The master of the Green Jade Altar—no, he was now the master of the True Insight Ruins. The new owner of Blessed Land Twenty-Three stood on the platform, his heart surging with emotion.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wang, who had been sent down to the Green Jade Altar, had already accepted the fact of his defeat.
According to the Merit-yielding rules for the thirty-six upper Blessed Lands, each level yielded one hundred more Merit than the one below it. This month, he would earn only 1,750 Merit, a full hundred less.
The Blessed Lands in the Great Void Illusion Realm were merely namesakes and had nothing to do with the real Blessed Lands of the Present World. So the surroundings hadn't changed at all between the True Insight Ruins and the Green Jade Altar. It was still a dreamlike space filled with immortal energy, and even the Sundial was the same. The only difference was the Merit yield.
Jiang Wang thought for a moment, then silently summoned the Dao Evolution Platform.
He had left his 1,850 Merit from August untouched. Adding the 1,750 Merit earned in September, he had accumulated 3,600 Merit in total. Jiang Wang poured it all into the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Art and began an evolution.
The shock the Nine Swords of the Ancient Gentleman had given him was too great. It was a sword art he had no way to resist. He hadn't had even the slightest chance, so he needed a stronger sword canon, even if it meant spending everything he had.
The Jade Book on the Green Bamboo Desk shifted slightly, then stopped. A line of ink appeared on the Jade Book: [The current sword technique has reached the limit of a first-level Dao Evolution Platform and cannot be further evolved. Remaining Merit: 3,590.]
Jiang Wang's eyelid twitched. This useless Dao Evolution Platform had taken ten Merit without completing the evolution!
It turned out that the Dao Evolution Platform's ability to evolve cultivation methods and Daoist Arts wasn't limitless. It had its own foundations and limits. Moreover, the limits it could explore varied by the level of the platform.
The Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Art had been evolved from secular martial arts, and it had already reached its peak. It couldn't improve further unless the Dao Evolution Platform was upgraded.
Jiang Wang had no stronger moves, and he had no desire to return to the Sword Discussion Platform just to be slaughtered again. So he took a moment to collect himself, then left the Great Void Illusion Realm.
In any case, he had lost a hundred and ten Merit for nothing this month.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wang let out a deep sigh.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Jiang An'an's voice rang out in the room, sounding quite concerned. He didn't know whether she'd woken in the middle of the night or hadn't been asleep at all.
Jiang Wang replied irritably, "I'm staying up late. I'll call you when I'm cooked."
Jiang An'an's eyes lit up in the darkness. "Will you taste good?"
Before you continue