True Dragon Path

Prefectural City · Professor's Residence

Though night had already fallen, Li Kuan was still working in his study.

According to the court's rules, established by Zheng Jiewei at the founding of the dynasty, official schools had been set up in prefectures and counties throughout the realm. The County Examination was merely a qualifying test; the county magistrate only needed to gather the county instructors, Principal Ninth Rank officials, to conduct it.

The Prefectural Examination concerned proper scholarly honors and was jointly presided over by the prefect, the Prefectural Academy professor, a Principal Eighth Rank official, and the academic administrator dispatched by the court. As the Prefectural Academy professor, Li Kuan naturally bore a heavy burden.

After reviewing a file, he calculated the days. There were still half a month until the Prefectural Examination. Everything had been arranged, so he could face it with composure. Only then did Li Kuan let out a breath.

Once he relaxed, fatigue washed over him. Just as he was about to sleep, a peal of rolling thunder suddenly crashed down.

"Though spring thunder comes in waves, such violence is still enough to make one uneasy." Li Kuan rubbed his eyes and pushed open the window, only to see the dark, heavy vault of heaven, thunder rumbling as lightning slithered through the clouds.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! At that moment, a brilliant flash turned the study white, shaking it until it shuddered and rustled. Even with Li Kuan's deep cultivation of composure, his whole body trembled!

"That's the direction of Coiling Dragon Lake?" Li Kuan frowned. "Such a great thunderstorm is rarely seen."

Seeing him come out, a servant hurried forward and bowed. "Master, the wind is strong and the rain cold. Take care not to catch a chill!"

"It is nothing." Li Kuan gazed up at the lightning, then turned and instructed, "I remember the chess tournament is being held on Coiling Dragon Lake. Quite a few students are there."

"Once the rain stops, contact the yamen and send people to inspect the place. See whether anything has happened."

"The academic administrator will be arriving soon. Nothing must go wrong at this critical juncture, lest it smear the literary affairs of our prefecture."

"Yes!" the servant immediately answered.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning fell, illuminating all of Coiling Dragon Lake. Its surface, once calm as a mirror, now heaved with stormy waves, and the enormous painted barge swayed upon them.

On the barge's deck, with a smack, Su Ziji landed. He had forced himself to rush back, yet rather than relief, unease rose in his heart.

BOOM! Before his thoughts could turn, a bolt of thunder struck straight at him. The instant it descended, Su Ziji felt himself locked in place, unable to move. Destruction pierced to the deepest part of his soul, nearly freezing his thoughts.

My life is over!

The moment this thought arose, a point of golden light suddenly surfaced above his head and shot straight upward. As soon as it emerged, it transformed into a human figure.

The figure's features could not be seen clearly, but it was no longer in the form of the Young Dragon. It wore ceremonial robes and carried an imposing, majestic bearing.

BOOM!

Affected by this, the thunderbolt immediately veered away, while the figure sighed. "How swiftly heaven's might descends!"

It seemed to know there was no escape and did not evade. With another boom, lightning fell, and a ball of fire instantly exploded in the air.

That was not all. The thunderfire did not relent, crackling in a continuous sheet like rain striking plantain leaves as it burst sparks against the Primordial Spirit, wiping it out bit by bit.

After a mass of lightning flashed past, the lightning vanished at once. Though dark clouds still stretched without end, the rain immediately softened, falling in fine threads.

"The thunder is gone, and the rain is getting lighter." Only after waiting a while and confirming that he had not been implicated did Su Ziji calm down. Remembering something, he hurried into the cabin.

"Whew... Bu Hui is unharmed too."

On the small bed in the cabin, she slept peacefully. Not only her—apparently the entire painted barge had fallen silent, with everyone lying sprawled in every direction.

Su Ziji had no intention of waking them. The cabin was dark, so he lit a candle. Its faint glow illuminated the room, and he saw a scroll of writing on the table. Opening it, he found it was a romance novel about gifted scholars and beautiful ladies.

"This sort of book really does suit scholars' tastes best." Su Ziji smiled, then examined the things in his robes. He had obtained them from Shen Cheng's chest earlier.

"They're letters!" There appeared to be four of them, with a banknote redeemable on sight tucked among them.

The highest-denomination banknote in the Wei Dynasty had been one hundred taels. The Zheng Dynasty had abolished the hundred-tael note, leaving only five-tael, ten-tael, and fifty-tael denominations. This was a ten-tael banknote. As for banknotes worth thousands or tens of thousands of taels, no dynasty had ever issued them, nor could any bank honor them—what a joke, how much silver did the entire court even possess?

Having gained something, Su Ziji's mood improved somewhat. He casually opened one letter and skimmed through it at ten lines a glance, but his expression gradually turned grave.

He quickly opened the other letters as well, reading them one by one.

These letters had been sent from different places, and the handwriting was not the same. Yet they all discussed certain matters. Out of caution, even letters written to their own people were phrased obscurely. Anyone unaware of the inside story would be left utterly bewildered.

But as someone who had suffered persecution, Su Ziji immediately realized with sharp sensitivity that he was not the only one this mysterious organization had targeted and harmed!

"These letters all mention finding remnants of the former dynasty. Could it be that I am connected to the former dynasty as well?" Though he had personally slain Shen Chen, Su Ziji still felt a chill run through his body as he looked at these letters.

"But my surname is Su, different from the former dynasty's imperial surname. Did my family change its surname, or were we ministers of the former dynasty?"

"No matter what, if I had not awakened my memories and had not possessed a Golden Finger, I would likely have become one more person who vanished without a sound. These people are brazen and utterly without restraint. Could they truly be acting on the current dynasty's orders?"

"No. If they were acting on the current dynasty's orders, there would be no need for such roundabout methods. They could simply cooperate with the authorities, find an excuse, and seize me. Why act so furtively?"

Reading the letters more carefully, Su Ziji spotted a term.

"Alchemical practitioners?"

At the mention of this term in the letters, Su Ziji immediately thought of what had just happened. In the haze, he seemed to grasp something, but in the next instant, the flash of insight slipped away like a loach.

"In this world, there are not only Monsters, but alchemical practitioners too?"

It had to be said that, for someone who had lived among ordinary people from beginning to end, these matters were too distant. Even if he wanted to ask someone, he could find no one to ask.

Su Ziji somewhat suspected that Wild Daoist was one of them as well. Though Wild Daoist feared Mount Tong Temple and lacked formidable means, he should still know something.

"Forget it. All this is too far away. For now, it is better to keep my feet on solid ground!"

Su Ziji lowered his gaze and saw half of the Rosewood Pendant floating before his eyes with a faint blue glow. A line of blue words sprang up on the manuscript.

Four Books and Five Classics Level 6 (5937/6000)

A little joy rose in his heart. He was only a small step away from reaching Level 7. He would certainly make it before the Prefectural Examination.

Su-style Fist Technique increased to Level 5 (3379/5000), aptitude +1, aptitude 13→14!

As for this next item, though the Primordial Spirit's possession had already told him that the Su-style Fist Technique he had learned had advanced by leaps and bounds as if enlightenment had been poured into him, seeing it with his own eyes still delighted him.

"It was originally only Level 2, yet it broke through to Level 5 in one leap. The nature of this Primordial Spirit truly is a great tonic."

"This is only a tiny bit of influence. If I could digest it..." Su Ziji shook his head at the thought. Digesting it was impossible. He would one hundred percent become the Dragon Lord's avatar, possessed and reborn.

There was also the increase in aptitude. Looking at the information, his aptitude was actually even a little higher than his talent for study. Yet as the mere son of a Cultivated Talent, how could he originally have had such an opportunity? He lowered his gaze again and looked at the final entry.

Coiling Dragon Heart Method Level 1 (587/1000)

As he carefully sensed it, all manner of insights surfaced in his heart. This was his greatest gain from this encounter.

"Is this the True Dragon Path?"