Chapter 14

In the nearly ten-acre mansion of Zhao Rucheng, two figures suddenly separated and merged again amidst the sword light.

Clang!!

Zhao Rucheng's hand trembled, and his long sword flew out of his grasp. Jiang Wang's sword had already stopped beside his neck, and he was looking at him with a half-smile.

"Amazing!" Zhao Rucheng exclaimed in surprise. "What kind of sword technique is this?"

There was a gap between his and Jiang Wang's sword skills, but it wasn't too large. In the past, when they practiced and fought, he could win three to five out of ten matches. But today, after twenty matches, he hadn't won a single one!

Jiang Wang smiled and sheathed his sword. This sword technique was indeed a profound method of martial arts cultivation. It had nine forms for practice and five forms for combat. He had only mastered four practice forms and one combat form, yet his understanding of swordsmanship had already far surpassed his previous level.

He believed his combat strength was now at a commendable level. If he encountered the demon who attacked him that night again, he would definitely have the power to fight.

"This sword technique is something I obtained by chance, and it doesn't have a name. Rucheng, you are well-versed in both literature and martial arts. What do you think it should be called?"

Zhao Rucheng pondered for a moment. "This is the emperor of swords, it should be named... 'Purple Qi from the East.'"

"Purple Qi from the East..." A glint of admiration flashed in Jiang Wang's eyes. "What a great name!"

For a moment, he seemed to see a grand and majestic aura in Zhao Rucheng that he had never seen before.

But it was probably just an illusion, because the next moment, Zhao Rucheng picked up the fallen sword, jumped in front of Jiang Wang, and with a playful smile, said, "Big Brother, teach me!"

"Sure." Jiang Wang smiled brightly.

Both of them were swordsmanship experts in the secular world and understood the value of the "Purple Qi from the East" sword technique. It was not just a common martial arts technique but a transcendent sword manual that could lead one to the path of cultivation.

Those powerful sword cultivators were no less formidable than experts in Daoist techniques.

Such a sword manual could cause a storm in the martial world, but these two people, one willing to learn and the other willing to teach, made it seem insignificant.

...

When Jiang Wang returned to the Daoist Academy, it was already late.

Zhao Rucheng usually didn't stay at the academy unless he had classes, showing his aristocratic nature.

Deep in thought about the mysteries of the "Purple Qi from the East" sword technique, Jiang Wang didn't notice Li Jianqiu standing with a sword at the entrance of the inner courtyard dormitory until he reached it.

"What were you thinking about, so deeply engrossed?" Li Jianqiu asked with a half-smile.

"Some sword technique issues." Jiang Wang replied frankly. "Why are you here, Senior Brother Li?"

"Your sword skills are indeed impressive," Li Jianqiu praised casually. "Master Dong asked you to visit him after morning class. I saw you weren't in your room, so I waited for a while."

"Ah, I spent the whole afternoon at Rucheng's mansion," Jiang Wang said, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean to trouble you, Senior Brother Li. You could have just left a message with the attendant."

Inner disciples had attendants to take care of their daily needs, allowing them to focus on cultivation.

"Since Master Dong asked me to inform you, I couldn't delegate the task to someone else. I'm not so noble that I can't wait for someone," Li Jianqiu said.

Jiang Wang bowed slightly. "I'm a bit nervous."

He was indeed nervous. Li Jianqiu was two years his senior and one of the outstanding students in his class. He was destined to study at the Qinghe Prefecture Academy and was one of the top talents in the entire city academy.

For such a person to wait for him at the dormitory entrance without any impatience was quite remarkable.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang's shoulder. "I see a bright future for you, Junior Brother Jiang. Don't be so formal."

With that, he turned and left.

...

The night passed without incident. The next morning, as soon as the morning class ended, Jiang Wang went to Master Dong's residence.

In the small courtyard, besides Li Jianqiu, there were two others. One was a senior brother named Zhang Linchuan, from the Zhang family, one of the three major clans in Fenglin City. He was one of the strongest students in the city academy and had a good reputation.

He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was tall and graceful, with a natural demeanor. His clothes and accessories were all meticulously chosen.

He was standing in the courtyard, listening to someone speak.

The other person in the courtyard was Fang Heling.

Noticing Jiang Wang's arrival, he deliberately raised his voice. "Young Master Zhang! Yesterday, a hunter from my estate brought a pair of bear paws. I'll ask the chef at Wangyue Tower to prepare them well, and we can taste them together tomorrow."

Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded.

Fang Heling then turned to invite Li Jianqiu. "Senior Brother Li, will you join us?"

Li Jianqiu didn't refuse, just smiled. "If I have time, I'll come."

Before Fang Heling could continue flattering, Li Jianqiu took a few steps toward the courtyard gate. "Junior Brother Jiang, you're here?"

He had even come to greet him.

Jiang Wang hurried over. "Sorry, I'm a bit late."

He walked to Li Jianqiu's side and bowed to Zhang Linchuan. "Senior Brother Zhang, hello."

He ignored Fang Heling completely.

"You too." Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded, seemingly unaware of the tension between Jiang Wang and Fang Heling.

But some people just had to assert their presence.

"Hmph." Fang Heling snorted and said sarcastically, "Master Dong gave instructions, and Senior Brothers Zhang and Li came early. I even skipped morning class to come here as soon as I woke up. I wonder what makes some people so special that they dare to make Master Dong and the two senior brothers wait for them?"

Jiang Wang still ignored him, only bowing to Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. "I came as soon as my morning class ended. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. Morning and evening classes, reciting scriptures, and practicing breathing exercises, I never slack off."

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang's shoulder again, showing his closeness. "It's fine. We came early, not that you came late. Cultivation indeed doesn't allow for slackness. Although Senior Brother Zhang and I don't recite scriptures with the other students, we still do morning exercises in our rooms."

Fang Heling was even more annoyed, but with Li Jianqiu's statement, he didn't dare to stir up trouble.

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Master Dong stepped out.

"Everyone's here?" He looked around, his presence commanding respect.

All four of them bowed. "Master Dong!"

Master Dong waved his hand. He was a decisive person who disliked delays. "I called you here today to give you a task. You should all know about the attack on the outer academy by a demon, who killed an outer disciple. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has been investigating for a long time without results. We don't have to wait for them to handle it. I'm assigning you to investigate this matter, and it will be counted as an 8th-grade task."

Unlike outer academy tasks, inner academy tasks were graded. The grade was usually determined by the strongest opponent encountered during the task. The reward was also measured in Daoist merit points, not contribution points.

The difficulty and rewards were vastly different. For example, to obtain a Meridian Opening Pill, one needed a huge amount of contribution points, but only 100 Daoist merit points.

Of course, 100 Daoist merit points were not easy to obtain.

In the case of the demon's attack on the outer academy, the demon's strength was only at the 9th grade. Master Dong setting it as an 8th-grade task was clearly encouraging.

"Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are the only two disciples in this class who have manifested their Daoist meridians. They need to be well-polished. Linchuan and Jianqiu, you have been cultivating longer. You can take the two junior brothers and investigate separately. The task rewards will be split 90-10, with the team that finds the answer first getting 90%."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu bowed. "We will follow your instructions, Master."

Master Dong waved his sleeve and returned to his room, clearly not intending to interfere further.

Zhang Linchuan, who was clearly prepared, thought for a moment and said, "I have a friend in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. There are two useful leads in this demon attack case. One is that the demon stayed at the Fulaikang Inn for three days before the attack, leaving some clues. The other is that a family in Tangshe Town was massacred, and the scene had a corpse aura similar to the demon who attacked our outer academy. Which lead do you want, Senior Brother Li?"

Li Jianqiu replied, "This is Senior Brother Zhang's information, so I'll follow your lead."

Zhang Linchuan was not surprised. If Li Jianqiu had any sense, he wouldn't compete with him at this moment. He was just going through the motions. He nodded. "In that case, I'll go to Tangshe Town, and Senior Brother Li will go to the Fulaikang Inn."

Fang Heling, standing next to Zhang Linchuan, his eyes lit up. "With Senior Brother Zhang taking the lead, where can a mere demon hide?"

He glanced at Jiang Wang, quite pleased with himself.

It was clear to everyone that Tangshe Town was more suitable for the demon to hide and had clearer leads. In Fang Heling's view, this would be a significant part of his first 8th-grade task.

Then Zhang Linchuan said to Li Jianqiu, "Senior Brother Li, should I take Jiang Wang?"

Li Jianqiu remained calm. "That's fine."

Actually, the positioning of everyone had already implicitly decided the division. Jiang Wang was more familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling were from the same major clan.

Although he didn't understand why Zhang Linchuan didn't choose Fang Heling, who was from the same clan and more familiar, Jiang Wang had no choice. He bowed. "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu, both experienced, quickly divided the task and prepared the necessary supplies. Jiang Wang also helped enthusiastically.

Only Fang Heling stood there, his face alternating between red and white.

He had many complaints, but he couldn't voice any.