Chapter 22: Emergency Requisition

And so, An'an began her life in Fenglin City. Concubine Song sent a letter later on, stating that she had married into a family in Wangjiang City. As a city renowned for its commercial prosperity, Wangjiang City was second only to the capital, Qinghe City, within the entire Qinghe Prefecture. Furthermore, her husband's family held the surname Lin, making them a prominent local clan. In that sense, she had found a good home.

It was no wonder she could not bring her daughter along.

As for the remaining properties of the Jiang family in Fengxi Town, Jiang Wang did not inquire further. Regardless, Concubine Song had been married to his father, and she had cared for him devotedly during his illness; it was only reasonable to send her some dowry.

However, it seemed both parties had said all that needed to be said; there was no further need for contact.

At four or five years old, it was the age for beginning formal education, so Jiang Wang arranged a private school for his sister. It was the best school available outside of the three great clan academies, and one that ordinary families could not easily enter. Having held sway at the outer gates of the City Dao Academy for so long, Jiang Wang still possessed a certain amount of prestige. Especially now that he had entered the inner gates and his Dao lineage was manifest, he was a guaranteed pillar of the Zhuang State's future; no one would easily offend him.

Every day, after listening to sutra lectures at the Dao Academy and completing his cultivation, he would time his movements to pick An'an up from school. When taking on missions, he tried to choose those that lasted no more than a day, usually returning the same day so as not to interfere with caring for An'an. If a mission truly made it impossible to be present, he would have Ling He, Zhao Rucheng, and the others take turns watching over her for a while.

Life flowed along in this fulfilling manner. The foundation formation diagrams in the Heaven-Reaching Palace grew increasingly complex and were beginning to take shape. However, the further he progressed, the more difficult the deployment of the diagrams became. Specifically, the shifting of Dao Elements before the foundation was set was perilous; if even the slightest error occurred, the Dao Elements would dissipate, wasting all the effort spent on meridian tempering. Because he had chosen the Circulating Star Array, his foundation process was slower than others, so Jiang Wang did not allow himself a single failure during any single array point shift.

In terms of combat power, because his foundation was incomplete, he could not practice Dao arts. Jiang Wang could only pour more effort into the *Purple Qi from the East Sword Art*. This sword art consisted of nine training forms and five killing forms. As the names suggested, the training forms were for cultivation, while the killing forms were for combat. The training forms were used to temper the physique and comprehend the Way of the Sword, while the killing forms were used to strike in combat and break through enemy formations.

Fortunately, once the nine training forms became proficient, their effect on nourishing the physical blood and qi was astonishing. Jiang Wang could even clearly perceive his physical body providing more feedback to his Dao lineage's True Spirit, accelerating the condensation of his Dao Elements.

After a period of time, he had actually gained an extra opportunity for meridian tempering cultivation, allowing him to condense three Dao Elements every day. This undoubtedly greatly shortened the time required to complete his foundation.

Life was fulfilling and satisfying. Amidst this rhythm, Jiang Wang encountered his first large-scale mission since entering the Fenglin City Dao Academy.

...

"Emergency mobilization mission! No one is permitted to leave!"

In the Sutra Hall, just as the morning lessons had ended, a general in black robes burst through the door.

"Who is that?"

"What is he doing here?"

The disciples whispered among themselves, but someone quickly pointed out the truth: "Keep your voice down, that's Wei Yan!"

The entire hall fell silent instantly.

Second on the Dao Merit Rankings and a high-ranking officer of the City Guard—either identity was enough to command the room. Moreover, this military officer was famous for his harsh and cold style.

Wei Yan seemed indifferent to the crowd's attitude; or rather, he only needed to state his position.

"Starting from last week, there has been no news from Xiaolin Town for five whole days."

Jiang Wang exchanged a glance with Ling He. As a major town under the jurisdiction of Fenglin City, while not every triviality was reported, updates were expected every few days.

Five full days without news was almost equivalent to Fenglin City losing control over it. For a town of several thousand people to suddenly be cut off from the outside world was no small matter.

Wei Yan continued, "I hold the City Lord's Seal. I am mobilizing at least thirty inner-gate disciples from the City Dao Academy to depart for Xiaolin Town to investigate this matter."

"Isn't that the responsibility of the Criminal Investigation Bureau?" a disciple asked indignantly.

A mission of this magnitude, mobilizing thirty inner-gate disciples at once, carried significant danger. Consequently, many were unwilling.

"The Heart-Devouring Demon Bear, Xiong Wen, has appeared in Sanshan City. Currently, most of the Criminal Investigation Bureau's strength in the entire Qinghe Prefecture has been deployed to Sanshan City."

Wei Yan did not respond, but his adjutant, Zhao Lang, explained from the side.

The official system of the Zhuang State followed that of the Yong State: general cases were handled by local yamen, while matters involving the supernatural were taken over by the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The Bureau was responsible for supernatural incidents across the country and was theoretically under the control of local governments; however, due to its direct subordination to the capital, local authorities often could not command them as they pleased.

Just like this time, the mobilization of personnel to pursue Xiong Wen was an order from above the Bureau. Even the Lord of Fenglin City, Wei Quji, could not intervene to recall them.

"What about the City Guard?" the previous disciple asked again.

The City Guard was the City Lord's direct military force, tasked with suppressing all evil and rebellion. An event as large as an entire town losing contact should have been enough to trigger a City Guard suppression.

"The City Guard has other urgent duties," Wei Yan interrupted impatiently. "For this mission, the Dao Merit rewards will be increased by thirty percent. In principle, it is voluntary, but if the number of inner-gate disciples signing up is less than thirty, I will use the City Lord's authority to conduct a forced mobilization!"

"I must remind everyone that prior to this mission, two Ninth-Rank Wandering Meridian cultivators sent by the City Lord's Manor have already fallen in Xiaolin Town. I hope you all assess the risks and act according to your capabilities."

The Dao Academy system was the most important supernatural advancement system in the Zhuang State. Local City Dao Academies recruited local cultivation seeds; after several years of training, they would pass examinations to enter the Prefecture Dao Academies, and from there, the National Dao Academy, advancing layer by layer.

Ultimately, the geniuses of the entire Zhuang State would be gathered in the capital. There, they would either compete against the heroes of the other nations or, if they failed, be sent back to various regions to govern.

Although the Fenglin City Dao Academy only recruited ten inner-gate disciples per session, due to the extreme difficulty of advancing to the Prefecture level, many practitioners languished in the City Academy for years or even decades. Over many years of accumulation, excluding those who had traveled far and not returned or those in secluded cultivation, the number of inner-gate disciples in the Fenglin City Dao Academy was approximately three hundred.

From Wei Yan's perspective, he might have actually preferred if not enough people signed up. His original intention was to use the forced mobilization decree to gather the thirty strongest individuals from the entire academy to ensure a higher success rate. However, the Dao Academy and the City Lord's Manor were not in a direct subordinate relationship; causing a conflict would be difficult to resolve smoothly.

"Boss, are you going?" Jiang Wang whispered to Ling He. He was actually somewhat worried, because this mission would undoubtedly involve supernatural forces, and neither Ling He nor Du Yehu had even opened their meridians yet; it was extremely dangerous.

"Of course I'm going," Ling He said without hesitation. He had already fallen behind on his cultivation path; he certainly couldn't miss an opportunity like a thirty percent increase in Dao Merit rewards. As for the danger? If he were afraid of danger, he should have stayed in the village farming.

"I'll sign up!" Du Yehu shouted. "All four of us are signing up!"

Zhao Rucheng gave him an annoyed nudge. "What are you doing? I wanted to go back and catch up on sleep."

Among them, he was the one with the least fighting spirit, spending his days merely eating and waiting to die. His life, aside from relaxation, was more relaxation.

Wei Yan glanced over indifferently. Seeing that none of them had even completed their foundation, he didn't care much and simply instructed his adjutant: "Record them."

The adjutant announced loudly, "The sign-up period is limited to the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. There are twenty-six spots remaining."

"We cultivators are supported by the state and should contribute to our country and people. I sign up for this operation." Li Jianqiu's voice arrived before he did as he drifted in through the academy gates.

Disciples of his strength possessed great freedom. Not only were they not required to attend daily lectures in the Sutra Hall, but they could even refuse a forced mobilization of this level—unless it was a national crisis. Their appearance caused a wave of low murmurs.

"How can we let Jianqiu take all the glory? Count me in, Wang Changxiang." Unlike Li Jianqiu, who walked with his hand on his sword, Wang Changxiang's temperament was much more peaceful. He still wore the hemp Daoist robes Jiang Wang had seen him in at the Dao Merit Hall, walking with slow, composed steps.

"With the addition of Brother Wang and Brother Li, this trip will be much more certain!" Even Wei Yan's hard face managed a rare, slight smile.

Facing Wang Changxiang, who was seventh on the Dao Merit Rankings, even he could not act overbearingly.

With the addition of Wang Changxiang and Li Jianqiu, the enthusiasm for signing up surged, and the spots were quickly filled.

Thirty inner-gate disciples—aside from Jiang Wang's group of four, almost everyone had at least a Ninth-Rank cultivation and was a supernatural practitioner. Such a force could practically sweep through the entire territory of Fenglin City.

Wei Yan took the list, scanned it, and nodded. "You lot still have some courage. You haven't lost your humanity to reading sutras."

Perhaps to him, this was praise, but the condescending tone was quite unpleasant.

The Ministry of War and the Dao Academy were two different advancement systems; they both cooperated and competed with one another. It was common for them to find each other disagreeable.

Immediately, a disciple spoke up indignantly, "If Senior Brother Zhu were here, I wonder if certain people would still dare to point fingers!?"

The person he was referring to was, of course, Zhu Weiwu, the number one on the Fenglin City Dao Merit Rankings.

Wei Yan did not get angry. He merely flicked his long robes and walked out of the academy. "Depart!"