"Have we reached the Prefecture Academy?"
The crowd was packed, and there was no telling which disciple had voiced the question.
Jiang Yan paid it no mind, for he too was looking ahead in bewilderment.
This was the Prefecture Academy?
All he could see was a plaza.
The surroundings of the plaza were utterly quiet, without a single passerby in sight. It looked nothing like the prosperity a Prefecture City should have.
A pillar stood on either side, looking somewhat out of place.
A large bell hung beside one of the pillars. Aside from that, there was nothing.
Green Fox High Person raised his hand and sent out a stream of Law Power, striking the bell and sending it swaying from side to side.
Strangely, despite the tremendous force, the bell made no sound at all.
Could it be that the Prefecture Academy wasn't in the Dao Realm?
Watching the scene before him, Jiang Yan vaguely guessed at part of the truth.
Sure enough, only moments after Green Fox High Person struck the bell, the paving stones beneath everyone's feet in the plaza began to glow faintly.
Their flickering seemed to follow some sort of pattern.
Green Fox High Person examined them carefully and nodded, as though confirming that everything was correct.
Only then did he take a Token from his Storage Law Artifact and form a hand seal. The Token immediately flew into the air, letting out a hum.
The pillars on either side of the plaza lit up as well, seemingly responding to the Token.
By now, even the slowest disciples understood. They all held their breath and focused on Green Fox High Person's movements.
The instant the Token and the two pillars reached the same frequency, it was as though some doorway had opened, and Jiang Yan's vision blurred.
When he focused again, he saw a watery, illusory gateway between the pillars, with black ripples occasionally flashing across it.
"Come along. Our destination is inside this plane."
Retrieving the Token, Green Fox High Person took the lead and stepped into the gateway.
Even though he had suspected as much, Jiang Yan was still shocked by the Prefecture Academy's lavish scale. It actually used an entire plane as its grounds.
Sure enough, only upon reaching the Prefecture Academy did cultivation on the Immortal path truly begin. The gulf between this and what came before couldn't be measured by ordinary reasoning.
Amid the crowd, Jiang Yan stepped forward and followed them through.
Whoosh~
On his first arrival in another plane, Jiang Yan felt little out of the ordinary, as though he had merely stepped through a normal doorway. The dizziness he had expected never came.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he began looking around.
Beneath his feet was a plaza little different from the one before.
Only, this plaza had neither pillars nor bell, as though it had been built solely as a landing point.
Around the plaza, a group of Daoists exuding a powerful presence stood together, looking their way.
They all wore black Daoist Robes, with various Law Artifacts either carried on their backs or held in their hands.
Quite a few had their own spirit beasts beside them.
Seeing the group arrive in the plaza, several Daoists immediately came over.
"Those should be the Dao Army of Hexia Prefecture."
Xiao Li and the others happened to be near Jiang Yan, and it was Xiao Li who spoke.
Noticing quite a few gazes turning toward him, he did not raise his hand, merely lowering his voice.
"Fellow Daoists, look at the cuffs of their Daoist Robes."
Jiang Yan swept his gaze over them. A pale gold flame emblem was embroidered on each Dao Army soldier's cuff, with a colored line emblem beneath it.
Xiao Li spoke again.
"The Dao Armies throughout the Immortal Dynasty all wear standard-issue Daoist Robes, but those of our Zhu Province are black.
"The commanderies and prefectures under it each have their own distinct markings as well.
"That pale gold flame emblem represents Lihuo Commandery, while the colored line emblem represents Hexia Prefecture."
After a pause, Xiao Li continued.
"For the Dao Army of our Donghe Prefecture, the cuff emblem should be a river winding around a tall mountain."
Beside Xiao Li, Xiao Sheng could not help asking, "What are people from Hexia Prefecture doing in our Donghe Prefecture?"
Xiao Li glared at him irritably.
"You didn't listen at home, and only now do you think to ask.
"Think how vast a plane is. How could it be reserved for just one Prefecture Academy?
"Besides, the natives of different planes vary too. Sometimes the Dao Armies of other prefectures come to train their troops.
"I just don't know how many Prefecture Academies there are in this plane."
From his words, he seemed to have known long ago that the Prefecture Academy was not in the Dao Realm, but in this small plane.
Another disciple nearby could not help speaking up.
"There are natives in this plane too?"
"Of course there are."
This time, however, it was not Xiao Li who answered, but Green Fox High Person, who had already greeted the Dao Army stationed here.
"Otherwise, why go to such trouble to situate the Prefecture Academy here?"
"Though this plane was conquered long ago, its natives were deliberately left uncleared. They still occupy half the territory, specifically to serve as a whetstone for you."
They were no longer far from the East River Prefecture Academy, but Green Fox High Person did not accompany them any farther. Instead, a Dao Army soldier took over and led them onward.
The Daoist looked middle-aged, with a dark complexion and a reasonably mild manner. Riding an ink-black leopard-type spirit beast, he led the way.
Everyone hurried after him, and those with spirit beasts released them.
Jiang Yan also had Jinbao grow larger and sat on his back.
As for the disciples who, for various reasons, did not yet have spirit beasts, they could only run along.
Everyone present had a reasonably good Flesh Realm cultivation. They would not grow too tired, but it was somewhat embarrassing.
Li Shun, who had tried to approach Jiang Yan aboard the ship, was also running miserably behind them.
This time, he showed a little self-awareness. Though he saw Jiang Yan riding Jinbao, he did not come over to cultivate a connection.
The dark-faced Daoist was not only mild-mannered but also seemed quite talkative, striking up a conversation with the disciples following beside him.
"Do you know why, when we're almost at the Prefecture Academy, Lord Green Fox was no longer allowed to escort you, and I took his place?"
"We certainly don't. Please enlighten us, my lord."
When a Seventh-Rank Daoist initiated a conversation, there were naturally disciples willing to play along.
"There are only two sixth-rank cultivators among the natives of this small plane.
"They've always believed that we also have only two at the Sixth-Rank Realm, which is why they've maintained such a tenacious spirit of resistance all this time.
"If they discovered the Dao Realm's true strength, they would probably find it difficult to muster any thought of resistance again."
"So that's it. Would Green Fox High Person be easily discovered with us in tow? Is that why he's going in alone?"
The dark-faced Daoist seemed very fond of talking and immediately picked up the thread.
"No, no. How powerful is a sixth-rank High Person? How could this small plane's Sixth-Rank natives possibly discover him?
"The main reason is that if Lord Green Fox brought you along and encountered danger, he wouldn't be able to act.
"Though natives are unlikely to come here, we still have to guard against the unexpected."
"He couldn't act? Why is that?"
"The Immortal Dynasty stipulates that in small training planes like this, only Dao Academy disciples and the Dao Army are permitted to act.
"Moreover, unless the other side's sixth-rank cultivators act first, anyone of Seventh Rank and above who intervenes will be investigated by the Heavenly Dao Bureau."
"Huh?"
Xiao Sheng, following near the front, scratched his head. What sort of bizarre rule was that?
"My lord, why is that? Isn't that rather like refusing to eat for fear of choking?"
"Because before this rule existed, there was once a Fifth-Rank High Merit.
"To practice a Cultivation Method, he took a nominal post at a Prefecture Academy in another plane, then slaughtered every native in that plane."
At this point, even the dark-faced Daoist could not help shaking his head inwardly.
He had heard that the Fifth-Rank High Merit's actions had caused quite a stir at the time, but what he had done had violated none of the Immortal Dynasty Laws.
Thus, the Heavenly Dao Bureau could only find him innocent, then urgently allocate another small plane for those Prefecture Academies to use.
"That rule has existed ever since."
With a Fifth-Rank High Merit involved, how could disciples at the mere Ninth-Rank Daoist Attendant Realm dare respond?
Everyone shut their mouths and fell silent.
Seeing this, the dark-faced Daoist smiled as though he had gotten his way. He said nothing more either, instead increasing his pace a little.
For a time, all they could hear was the heavy panting of the disciples running behind them.
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