Chapter 14: The Son of Heaven Among Swords

In Zhao Rucheng's sprawling estate, which covered nearly ten acres, two figures flickered and merged amidst the flashes of sword light.

*Clang!!*

Zhao Rucheng’s hand jolted, and his longsword flew from his grasp. Meanwhile, Jiang Wang’s sword had already come to rest against his neck, as he watched him with a half-smile.

"Incredible!" Zhao Rucheng marveled. "What kind of swordsmanship is this?"

There was naturally a gap between his swordsmanship and Jiang Wang's, but it wasn't massive. In their past sparring sessions, he could usually win three to five out of every ten bouts, but today, after twenty consecutive rounds, he hadn't won a single one!

Jiang Wang smiled and sheathed his sword. This swordsmanship was indeed a profound method for entering the Dao through martial arts. It consisted of nine training forms and five killing forms. Even though he had only mastered four training forms and one killing form, his understanding of swordsmanship was already far superior to before.

He judged his own combat strength to be capable of reaching the "Ranked" level; if he encountered those demonic cultists who attacked that night again, he would certainly be able to fight them.

"I obtained this swordsmanship through a stroke of luck; it doesn't have a formal name. Rucheng, you are proficient in both literature and martial arts—what do you think would be a good name?"

Zhao Rucheng pondered for a moment. "It is the Emperor among swords. It should be named... *Purple Qi from the East*."

"*Purple Qi from the East*..." A brilliant light flashed in Jiang Wang's eyes. "A fine name!"

In that fleeting moment, he seemed to glimpse a certain grand, expansive aura upon Zhao Rucheng that he had never seen before.

But it was likely an illusion, for in the next moment, Zhao Rucheng picked up his fallen sword, leaped in front of Jiang Wang, and reverted to his usual rogue-like self, grinning cheekily. "Third Brother, teach me!"

"Alright," Jiang Wang replied with a bright smile.

Both were masters of swordsmanship among mortals; they understood the preciousness of the *Purple Qi from the East Sword Manual*. It was entirely different from the combat techniques circulated in the secular world; it was a transcendent sword canon sufficient to allow one to enter the Dao through martial arts.

Those powerful sword cultivators were in no way inferior to masters of Daoist arts.

Such a manual would be enough to stir up a bloodbath in the martial world. Yet, here were these two—one asking to learn it openly, the other teaching it casually. It made the manual seem almost trivial.

...

By the time Jiang Wang returned to the Dao Academy, it was already late.

Except when he had classes, Zhao Rucheng generally did not stay at the academy, possessing the temperament of a complete playboy.

Lost in contemplation of the mysteries of the *Purple Qi from the East Sword Manual*, Jiang Wang didn't notice Li Jianqiu standing by the entrance of the inner courtyard dormitory, leaning against his sword, until he was right upon him.

"What are you thinking about so intently?" Li Jianqiu asked with a knowing smile.

"Just some questions regarding swordsmanship," Jiang Wang replied candidly. He then asked, "Senior Brother Li, what brings you here?"

"No wonder Junior Brother Jiang's swordsmanship is so startling," Li Jianqiu remarked casually before continuing, "Master Dong asked you to visit him after tomorrow's morning class. I saw you weren't in your dormitory, so I waited a while."

"Ah, I spent the entire afternoon at Rucheng's estate," Jiang Wang said, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "How could I dare let Senior Brother Li wait? You could have simply left a message with a servant."

Inner disciples were attended by dedicated servants who handled their food and clothing, allowing these seeds of the Daoist Sect to focus entirely on their cultivation.

"Since Master Dong specifically asked me to notify you, I cannot pass the message through someone else. Besides, I am no noble or high-born; I'm not so dignified that I can't wait for someone."

Jiang Wang lowered his head slightly. "This junior is uneasy."

He truly was uneasy. Li Jianqiu was two grades senior to him and was one of the standout talents of his year. It was a certainty that he would go to the Qinghe County Academy for advanced studies; he was one of the few true geniuses in the entire City Academy.

And yet, such a figure was standing outside his dormitory waiting for him, without a hint of impatience.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang on the shoulder. "I see that Junior Brother Jiang has limitless potential. Don't be so formal with me."

With that, he turned and left.

...

The night passed in silence. As soon as the morning class ended the next day, Jiang Wang headed to Dong A's residence.

In the small courtyard, besides Li Jianqiu, there were two others. One was also a senior brother named Zhang Linchuan. Hailing from the Zhang family, one of the three great families of Fenglin City, he was subtly one of the strongest disciples in the City Academy and was quite renowned.

He wasn't exceptionally handsome, but he was tall and elegant, possessing a natural grace. Every detail of his clothing was exquisite and well-fitted.

At that moment, he was standing in the courtyard, listening to someone speaking nearby.

The other person remaining in the courtyard was, unexpectedly, Fang Heling.

Catching sight of Jiang Wang entering, Fang Heling deliberately raised his voice. "Brother Zhang! Yesterday, the hunters from my manor sent over a pair of fine bear paws. Tomorrow, I'll invite the head chef from Wangyue Pavilion to prepare them properly. We can all taste them together then."

Zhang Linchuan nodded with a smile.

Fang Heling turned and invited him as well, "Senior Brother Li should come too!"

Li Jianqiu did not offend him, merely smiling. "I'll go if I have time."

Before Fang Heling could continue his flattery, Li Jianqiu took a few steps toward the courtyard gate. "Has Junior Brother Jiang arrived?"

He had actually come out specifically to greet him.

Jiang Wang hurried forward a few steps and greeted them, "My apologies, I am late."

He walked to Li Jianqiu's side and then cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Linchuan. "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang."

He acted as if Fang Heling were invisible.

"Greetings to you as well," Zhang Linchuan nodded with a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the underlying tension between Jiang Wang and Fang Heling.

But some people simply insisted on making their presence felt.

"Hmph," Fang Heling let out an abrupt snort before saying sarcastically, "Master Dong gave his orders, and even Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Li arrived early. I couldn't even make it to morning class; I rushed here the moment I woke up. I wonder what kind of merit certain people possess to dare make Master Dong and two Senior Brothers wait for them?"

Jiang Wang continued to ignore him, merely cupping his fists toward Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. "This junior rushed here immediately after morning class; it was by no means a disregard for the Master's command. It is just that morning and evening classes, chanting, and breathing exercises must be attended to. From the morning bell to the evening drum, one dare not slacken for a moment."

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang's shoulder again to show closeness. "It matters not. We arrived early, rather than you arriving late. The path of cultivation indeed permits no negligence. Although Senior Brother Zhang and I do not need to go to the Sutra Hall to chant with the juniors, we perform our morning exercises in our rooms."

Fang Heling grew even more vexed, but with Li Jianqiu taking a stand, he did not dare to fan the flames further.

Just then, with a creak, Dong A pushed the door open and stepped out.

"Are you all here?" He looked around, possessing a natural authority that commanded respect without anger.

The four of them performed a formal salute. "Master Dong!"

Dong A waved his hand. He was a decisive man who disliked procrastination, and spoke immediately: "I called you here today to assign a mission. You should all know about the recent attack by the demonic cultists on the outer academy and the murder of an outer disciple. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has been investigating for so long without any results. Our City Academy doesn't necessarily have to wait for them to handle it. I am assigning you to investigate this matter. It will be calculated as an Eighth-Rank mission for merit points."

Unlike outer academy missions, inner academy missions were assigned specific ranks, usually determined by the strongest combatant encountered during the task. Furthermore, the reward was no longer measured in Contribution Points, but in Dao Merit.

The difference in difficulty was as vast as heaven and earth, and the rewards were naturally as different as clouds and mud. Taking the Meridian Opening Pill as an example, one would need an astronomical amount of outer academy Contribution Points to exchange for it, whereas it required only one hundred Dao Merit points.

Of course, one hundred Dao Merit points were by no means easy to obtain.

Taking the recent attack on the outer academy as a single instance, the strength displayed by the cultists was only within the Ninth-Rank range. By setting this as an Eighth-Rank mission, Dong A was clearly being somewhat encouraging.

"Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are currently the only two disciples of this batch with manifest Dao pulses; they must be properly tempered. Linchuan, Jianqiu, you have been cultivating longer; you may take the two juniors and split up to investigate. The mission reward will be split ninety-to-one; whichever side finds the lead first takes ninety percent."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu both bowed. "We obey your command, Master."

With a sweep of his wide sleeves, Dong A returned to his room, clearly intending not to interfere with the subsequent proceedings.

Zhang Linchuan had clearly come prepared. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "I have friends in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. There are two leads from this cultist attack that are most useful. One is that before the attack, they stayed at the Fulai Inn for three days, so there should be some clues left behind. The other is that a family in Tangshe Town was massacred, and the scene contained corpse qi similar to that of the cultists who attacked our outer academy. Junior Brother Li, which path do you choose?"

Li Jianqiu replied, "These are Senior Brother Zhang's leads; naturally, I will follow your distribution."

Zhang Linchuan was not surprised. If Li Jianqiu had any sense, he wouldn't try to compete with him at a time like this. His mention of these leads was merely a formality. He nodded immediately. "In that case, I will go to Tangshe Town, and Junior Brother Li will go to the Fulai Inn."

Standing beside Zhang Linchuan, Fang Heling's eyes lit up. "With Senior Brother Zhang taking action, where could mere cultists possibly hide?"

After speaking, he cast a glance at Jiang Wang, looking quite smug.

Anyone with eyes could see that Tangshe Town was more conducive to the cultists' concealment, and the clues there were clearer. In Fang Heling's view, he was going to claim the lion's share of his very first Eighth-Rank mission.

Then Zhang Linchuan said to Li Jianqiu, "Junior Brother Li, how about I take Jiang Wang?"

Li Jianqiu remained composed. "That works too."

In truth, the positioning of everyone earlier had already implicitly decided the split. Jiang Wang was more familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling both hailed from the three great families.

Though he didn't understand why Zhang Linchuan didn't choose Fang Heling, who shared a closer and more familiar family background, Jiang Wang had no right to choose. He simply said politely, "Then I shall trouble Senior Brother Zhang."

Both Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu were experienced and quickly finalized the mission assignments and the necessary supplies. Jiang Wang also conscientiously helped with the preparations.

Only Fang Heling stood there, his face turning various shades of green and white.

He had many grievances he wanted to express, but he couldn't utter a single word.