Hearing the slightly anxious voice outside, Jiang Jingnian emerged from his thoughts. With a sweep of his hand, every file and intelligence report on the desk vanished.
"Come in."
As his words fell, some invisible force drew the tightly shut door inward, opening it smoothly.
The newcomer was a young man with graying temples.
It was Li Mincheng of the Burning Cloud Dao Lineage, once the young escort master of the Tongda Escort Agency.
Compared with a month or two ago, he was still somewhat gaunt, but the haggard exhaustion had left his face. His vitality and bearing had changed considerably.
Half a month earlier, with the accelerated cultivation offered by Phosphorfire Sea Crag, Li Mincheng had completed his Advancement Ritual and become an Inner Qi Realm martial expert.
He had become a promising candidate with a chance of competing for a place as a Dao-Lineage True Disciple.
Now he was secretly stationed in Lin'an, serving as one of Jiang Jingnian's covert intelligence sources.
"Oh! Min Cheng... There's no rush. Take your time."
Facing his former fellow disciple, once one of his superiors, Jiang Jingnian had thoroughly settled into his present status. His manner was entirely that of an elder toward a junior. He lifted the teapot beside him, poured a cup, and pushed it over.
"Thank you, Daoist Master."
Li Mincheng bowed and accepted the offered cup. After a few small sips, he hurriedly set it down and said, "Word from Peace City is that pirates from the Eastern Wu Kingdom attacked Little Qian Island before dawn today. The Jiang Family's navy and the Qian Household led their men back to defend it, but fell into the island raiders' trap and were ambushed by several Grandmasters."
"The two sides fought bitterly until Senior Sister Liu and the Qian Household's