Thud-
The cold corpse of the black-clad man hidden behind the tree slammed heavily into the ground. Frost coated the spot between his eyebrows and was still spreading toward his neck like tree roots.
Zhang Jing stared blankly at the bodies scattered across the ground, his feelings tangled.
The moment he became certain he could pass the Dragon Lake Dao Academy's assessment, he had known this day would come.
He simply had not expected it to come so soon.
And... that was it?
Judging by their numbers and formation earlier, Zhang Jing had thought he might have to fight a prolonged battle.
Yet this clash of spells, from the enemy deploying his Law Artifact Flying Sword to Zhang Jing counterattacking with his doubly enhanced Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique, had taken no more than ten breaths, complicated though the process had been.
"A Flying Needle Law Artifact really does catch you off guard, and its power is no joke either. Good thing I stored three Ice-Light Incantations in the Five-Law Spirit River beforehand."
Zhang Jing bent down to pick up the Flying Needle Law Artifact that had fallen before him, speaking with lingering apprehension.
The Flying Needle Law Artifact had moved so quickly that he had nearly failed to react.
Fortunately, after gaining an initial grasp of the Ice-Light Incantation yesterday, Zhang Jing had decisively replaced the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique stored in the spirit river that lacked the Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm enhancement with an Ice-Light Incantation.
He had made that decision because of the skill trait [Repeated Radiance], which had appeared when the Ice-Light Incantation reached level one.
The [Repeated Radiance] trait allowed the Ice-Light Incantations on him to stack together as though they were a single whole.
Thus, with the defensive capability of each individual Ice-Light Incantation fixed, the more layers he had, the more formidable his defenses became.
Zhang Jing could not help recalling what had just happened.
"No, no, storing three Ice-Light Incantations in the spirit river is still too few. I might as well make it four and leave just one Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique carrying the Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm for surprise attacks. Judging by that fight, one should be more or less enough anyway."
As he pondered this,
an extremely weak voice caught his attention.
He looked toward the sound and found that it came from the old man lying on the ground. The man was struggling desperately to crawl onto a black-clad man's corpse, his trembling hand reaching into its clothing as though searching for something.
Wait, this old man looks a little familiar.
Zhang Jing suddenly remembered. Was this not the old man who had walked past him when he first entered the Market District?
At the time, he had sensed that the man's foundation was unstable and his spiritual power impure, and that his cultivation would surely never advance another inch.
Now it seemed those words had indeed become a prophecy.
"Young... master," the old man seemed to have found something. He hastily turned toward Zhang Jing and pleaded, "Could this old man make a trade with you?"
"Let me hear what you have to say first, sir."
Zhang Jing smiled.
At his words, color returned to the old man's face like the final glow before death. Hopefully, he said, "I have an extremely precious cultivation inheritance that I will give you immediately, young master. All I ask is that you find a kindhearted household for my poor grandson and let him live."
With that, the old man used the last of his strength to throw the inheritance in his hand toward Zhang Jing.
He had no intention of holding anything back.
For he understood that whatever choice this young man made, the inheritance would ultimately end up in his hands.
All he could do now was gamble on the kindness in Zhang Jing's heart.
"A precious cultivation inheritance?"
A trace of surprise appeared on Zhang Jing's face. He caught it easily, then opened the cloth bundle before the old man.
Inside was a Jade Slip.
He extended his spiritual sense into it and immediately obtained information about the inheritance-a lower-grade cultivation method, the Azure Sparrow Qi-Gathering Formula.
While Zhang Jing examined it, the old man drew several harsh breaths before continuing:
"Young master, as a cultivator, you must understand how precious this method is. If you have an opportunity to offer it to the Dao Academy, you might even gain entry to cultivate there. Those four men you killed coveted this inheritance and chased my grandson and me all the way here."
"I offer it in exchange for one insignificant act of assistance. Would you agree?"
"Is this inheritance really that precious?"
A strange expression surfaced on Zhang Jing's face as he asked quietly.
"Of course! If word leaked out, it would be enough to draw countless cultivators who would risk their lives for it."
Zhang Jing fell silent.
Only now did he fully understand the enormous gulf between rogue cultivators and Dao Academy disciples.
Among the many Dao Academy disciples, a lower-grade inheritance was not something everyone possessed, but neither was it rare.
Moreover, Dao Academy disciples could choose the inheritance best suited to them according to their compatibility with its method.
As for rogue cultivators-
Zhang Jing shook his head.
This lower-grade cultivation method, the Azure Sparrow Qi-Gathering Formula, truly was of little use to him.
Its compatibility with him was still unknown, and given its low grade, forcing himself to cultivate it would only waste his time and impede his progress with the Five Viscera Water-Origin Guiding Commentary.
The gains would not make up for the losses.
Nevertheless, Zhang Jing still committed the method's entire contents to memory.
Only after seeing the skill appear on the Jade Talisman did he nod in satisfaction.
He could choose not to cultivate it, but he could not go without it.
In any case, the Jade Talisman currently imposed no limit on the number of skills.
Once the assessment is completely over, I'll ask Senior Brother Liu whether I can exchange this Azure Sparrow Qi-Gathering Formula for Dao Merit or some other inheritance.
Zhang Jing thought to himself.
"Sir, how about..."
Zhang Jing looked toward the old man on the ground, only to discover that he had already stopped breathing. His body remained turned toward Zhang Jing, his face filled with hope.
But-
Zhang Jing truly could do nothing about this old man's sole dying request.
Because the little boy had already died.
As for why the old man, a fellow cultivator, had failed to notice,
Zhang Jing guessed that approaching death might have dulled his senses, or perhaps he had known all along and simply refused to accept reality.
"Alas-"
Zhang Jing sighed softly.
Then he eagerly began a popular activity that had endured throughout the world of the Immortal Dao.
"This Law Artifact Flying Sword is a little battered, but it's still intact. Pack it away, pack it away."
"Silver? Do cultivators still need to carry silver? I'll take it."
"These two sabers don't seem to be Law Artifacts, but they're exceptionally sharp. I'll put them away first."
"Hm? This is..." Zhang Jing suddenly stopped, his gaze fixing on a light-gray Beast-Skin Bag at a black-clad man's waist. Somewhat hesitantly, he said, "A Storage Bag?!"
He had seen this thing several times before.
Zhang Jing pulled the Beast-Skin Bag from the man's waist and immediately extended his spiritual sense inside.
There was none of the resistance he had imagined.
A space roughly five feet square immediately appeared in his perception.
There was little inside: some clothing, a small cloth pouch, an exquisite-looking jade box, and some gold and silver. Altogether, they occupied roughly a third of the Storage Bag's space.
"It really is a Storage Bag!"
Excitement could not help appearing on Zhang Jing's face.
The instant his spiritual sense touched the items within, a peculiar feeling arose in his mind, as though he could retrieve them from the Storage Bag with a single thought.
So that was how it worked!
A flicker of understanding passed through Zhang Jing's eyes.
The next moment, the clothing inside the Storage Bag abruptly appeared in his hands.
Just then,
a sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out, drawing ever closer.
Zhang Jing's expression shifted slightly. He swiftly put his freshly gathered spoils into the Storage Bag, then stood and looked toward the sound.
It was a Law Artifact Flying Boat!
Two cultivators in blue stood aboard it, rapidly approaching him.
Judging by their clothes, they look like senior brothers from the Dao Academy. Could they be the Market District's law-enforcement cultivators?
A thought stirred in Zhang Jing's mind.
Before he could react, the flying boat stopped before him in less than three breaths.
The two blue-robed men floated down.
The slightly shorter man first glanced at the six corpses on the ground, then directed an icy gaze at Zhang Jing and said bluntly, "Did you kill these people? Don't you know fighting is prohibited within the Market District's boundaries?"
At that moment,
the slightly taller blue-robed man seemed to notice something. He suddenly walked up to Zhang Jing and asked with a smile:
"You must be a junior brother who just entered the Dao Academy with this intake?"
"That's right. Greetings, Senior Brother."
Zhang Jing nodded as he answered.
"If you're a junior brother, then there's no problem. Still, Junior Brother, what happened with these corpses? If you know, please tell me."
Zhang Jing considered for a moment before answering.
"Senior Brother, this is what happened. I was passing through on my way back to the Dao Academy when I happened to see these four black-clad men attacking this old man and the boy. After spotting me, they attacked me indiscriminately too."
Zhang Jing shrugged and spread his hands.
"So I had no choice but to fight back to protect myself."
"I see!" The tall blue-robed man nodded in understanding, then smiled and stepped aside. "In that case, Junior Brother, go back to the Dao Academy. Leave this to me."
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Zhang Jing cupped his hands and responded with a smile as well.
"Not at all. I'm merely doing my duty," the tall blue-robed man said, waving a hand.
After those words,
Zhang Jing glanced back and, after confirming that he had left nothing behind, hurried toward the Dao Academy.
Back at the scene,
only after Zhang Jing's figure had vanished from sight
did the shorter man finally ask in bewilderment, "Senior Brother, you're just letting him leave? Isn't that against procedure? Besides, how can you be sure he was telling the truth?"
"I can't," the tall blue-robed man answered.
"Then why-"
The shorter man hesitated.
Seeing his junior brother's reaction, the taller man shook his head in disappointment and asked:
"Let me ask you: was that young man a junior brother who entered the Dao Academy with this intake?"
"He's only at the first layer of Qi Refining, yet his spiritual power fluctuations are so pure and substantial. He should be cultivating a Middle Grade method. Considering his age, he must be a new disciple from this intake."
"In that case, does it still matter whether what he said was true?"
The taller man spoke meaningfully.
"Senior Brother, what exactly do you mean?" The shorter man still seemed confused.
"Fool! Utterly hopeless!" the taller man snapped. "Don't forget, Junior Brother. Counting the days, it hasn't even been half a month since they began the assessment."
He pointed at the corpses on the ground and sighed.
"After just half a month of cultivation, he could fight four opponents alone and kill four Qi Refining Second Layer cultivators above his own level... Just how talented must he be! If he was lying, wouldn't that make him even more terrifying?"
"Why offend someone who's almost certain to enter the Inner Academy?"
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I've learned my lesson!"
"All right, Junior Brother. Go tidy up the scene."
"Phew~ Finally finished sorting it all out!"
Inside his room, Zhang Jing let out a long breath. Looking at the spoils sorted neatly on the table, he could not help smiling.
First were the two Law Artifacts: the flying sword and the flying needle.
After a careful inspection, he discovered to his delight that the flying sword's internal restrictions were perfectly intact, its spiritual power patterns entirely undamaged. It was as good as picking up a Law Artifact Flying Sword for free.
Unfortunately, the Flying Needle Law Artifact's internal restrictions had been destroyed, rendering it unusable.
Zhang Jing simply tossed it straight into the Storage Bag.
Aside from these, he had found Spirit Stones in the Storage Bag and on the men's bodies, forty-seven in total, replenishing his little reserve of Spirit Stones once more.
As for what the black-clad man had so carefully stored in the jade box, it was three lower-grade talismans.
He would find a way to sell them after the assessment ended.
As for why he would not keep them to use-mainly, Zhang Jing felt that these things were less convenient and reliable than his Five-Law Spirit River.
After taking stock,
Zhang Jing discovered to his surprise that, including the Storage Bag, the Law Artifact Flying Sword, and everything else, the proceeds from being forced to fight this time likely exceeded two hundred Spirit Stones.
He had become rich in a single stroke.
And all of it was thanks to those four black-clad men generously opening their purses.
After taking a brief breather,
Zhang Jing went straight to the Cultivation Chamber.
The end of this assessment was drawing ever closer, which also meant that the method for determining the final rankings would soon be revealed.
An inexplicable sense of urgency arose within him, leaving him no choice but to seize every moment to cultivate.
Time slipped quietly by.
As those who had received Third Grade and Grade D evaluations arrived one after another, the Inheritance Pavilion and its surrounding area gradually grew lively.
One morning.
Two brilliant streaks of light suddenly flashed out of the Inheritance Pavilion.
The streaks stopped directly above the enormous Square in front of the Inheritance Pavilion, transforming in an instant into two men dressed in purple. Their bearing was immortal-like as they stood in midair, radiating an utterly terrifying aura.
"They're here, they're here! Looks like they've settled on how this year's new disciples will compete for their assessment rankings."
At the sight, several blue-robed Outer Court disciples below spoke excitedly.
"Tsk, tsk, this year should be interesting. They say there are twenty-nine Grade B geniuses alone, plus two First-Grade Prodigies. Some of the Third Grade geniuses are pretty impressive too. They might well feel the urge to fight tooth and nail for a shot."
"Tell me about it! The top ten get fifty Dao Merit every month. Do you realize what that means? We toil away on missions, fighting those demons and monsters outside, yet the little Dao Merit we earn in an entire year doesn't even match two months of their rewards! Isn't the Dao Academy being far too unfair?" someone said sourly.
"What are you so sour about? You've only yourself to blame for not squeezing into the top ten in your assessment."
Just then.
One of the Purple Robe men above gave a light wave of his hand.
Rumble-
The Square shook violently.
Enormous stone pillars began rising from the ground one after another, thrusting straight into the clouds.
P.S. Today's update was rather rushed. This dog of an author is still reading through and polishing the chapters after posting them, so some of you bosses may spot small mistakes that spoil the reading experience. Please forgive me!
Also: thank you to the three bosses [Qianyuehhj], [Mozong Wuhen], and [BeiyouKissZai Nangui] for your tips. Sending finger hearts~
Before you continue