Within the sprawling grounds of Zhao Rucheng’s estate, a domain spanning nearly ten *mu*, two figures danced amidst flashes of sword light.

*Clang!*

Zhao Rucheng’s hand trembled, his longsword sent spinning from his grasp. Jiang Wang’s blade, meanwhile, halted inches from his neck, a half-smile playing on his lips.

“Incredible!” Zhao Rucheng exclaimed. “What swordsmanship is this?”

His own swordsmanship and Jiang Wang’s, while sharing common roots, held subtle yet significant differences. In past sparrings, he could often claim victory in three to five out of ten bouts. Yet today, after twenty exchanges, he hadn’t won a single one!

Jiang Wang smiled and sheathed his sword. This swordsmanship was indeed a profound method, a path to the Great Dao forged through martial arts. It comprised nine forms of practice and five forms of killing. He had only mastered four practice forms and one killing form, yet his comprehension of the blade had already reached an unprecedented level.

He mused that his current combat prowess had attained a certain standard. Should he encounter the demon that had attacked that night again, he would surely possess the strength to contend.

“This swordsmanship is a chance encounter, and it bears no name. Rucheng, you are skilled in both letters and arms, 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 Comes from the East.”

“Purple Qi Comes from the East…” A flicker of something different appeared in Jiang Wang’s eyes. “A good name indeed!”

In that fleeting moment just now, he seemed to perceive a previously unseen breadth of spirit in Zhao Rucheng.

Yet, it was likely an illusion, for in the next instant, Zhao Rucheng retrieved his fallen sword, sprang before Jiang Wang, and with his usual unruly demeanor, smiled and said, “Third Brother, teach me!”

“Alright.” Jiang Wang’s smile widened.

Both of them, being sword masters within the mortal realm, failed to grasp the true preciousness of the Purple Qi Comes from the East sword technique. It was entirely distinct from the mundane martial arts prevalent in the secular world. This was an extraordinary sword manual, one sufficient to pave a path to the Great Dao through martial arts.

Powerful Sword Cultivators were in no way inferior to Daoist Masters.

Such a sword manual was enough to incite a bloody storm within the Jianghu. Yet, these two individuals, one readily seeking to learn, the other casually agreeing to teach, treated this sword manual as if it were of little import.

…

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

Aside from attending classes, Zhao Rucheng rarely lingered within the academy walls. He was, in truth, a complete prodigal son.

Lost in contemplation of the mysteries of the Purple Qi Comes from the East sword technique, Jiang Wang walked to the entrance of the inner courtyard dormitory. There, he saw Li Jianqiu standing, sword cradled in his arms.

“What are you thinking about, so absorbed?” Li Jianqiu asked with a smile.

“Some matters concerning swordsmanship,” Jiang Wang answered frankly, then inquired, “Why has Senior Brother Li come?”

“No wonder Junior Brother Jiang’s swordsmanship is astonishing,” Li Jianqiu praised casually, then added, “Senior Brother Dong asked you to go to his place after tomorrow’s morning class. I saw you weren’t in the dormitory, so I waited for a while.”

“Ah, I was at Rucheng’s mansion all afternoon.” Jiang Wang felt a touch of embarrassment. “How could I trouble Senior Brother Li to wait? You could have just left a message with the attendant.”

Inner-door disciples had dedicated servants to attend to their needs, ensuring their focus remained on cultivation.

“Since Senior Dong specifically asked me to inform you, I couldn’t simply pass the message on to others. I am not from some exalted lineage, too noble to wait for someone.”

Jiang Wang bowed his head slightly. “This junior feels uneasy.”

He was indeed uneasy. One must understand that Li Jianqiu had entered the academy two years before him and was one of the few outstanding talents from that year. He was destined to further his studies at the Qinghe County Academy and was a leading figure among the disciples of the entire city academy.

And such a person had stood outside his dormitory door, waiting for him, without the slightest trace of impatience.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang’s shoulder. “I see Junior Brother Jiang has a promising future; there’s no need for such formality.”

With that, he turned and departed.

…

The night passed without incident. The following day, immediately after the morning class, Jiang Wang made his way to Dong Ah’s residence.

Besides Li Jianqiu, there were two other figures in the small courtyard. One was also a senior brother, named Zhang Linchuan. He hailed from the Zhang family, one of the three major families in Maple City, and was implicitly one of the strongest disciples within the city academy, possessing considerable renown.

His appearance wasn’t particularly handsome, but he was tall and upright, exuding an air of his own. His attire and accessories were all exquisite and fitting.

At this moment, he stood in the courtyard, listening to the words of the person beside him.

And the other person in the courtyard was none other than Fang Heling.

Seeing Jiang Wang enter, he deliberately raised his voice. “Senior Brother Zhang! The hunter from my estate brought a pair of excellent bear paws yesterday. Tomorrow, I shall have the chef at Wangyue Tower prepare them meticulously. We can savor them together then.”

Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded.

Fang Heling turned his head and extended an invitation. “Senior Brother Li, you as well!”

Li Jianqiu didn’t refuse, merely smiled. “I will go if time permits.”

Without waiting for Fang Heling to continue his fawning, Li Jianqiu took a few steps towards the courtyard gate. “Is Junior Brother Jiang here?”

He actually went out of his way to greet him.

Jiang Wang hurried forward, offering a greeting. “Forgive me, I am late.”

He walked to Li Jianqiu’s side, then cupped his hands towards Zhang Linchuan. “Senior Brother Zhang.”

He completely ignored Fang Heling.

“You too.” Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent between Jiang and Fang.

But some individuals must emphasize their presence.

“Hmph.” Fang Heling let out an abrupt snort, then spoke in a strange tone. “Since Senior Dong has given instructions, even Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Li have arrived early. I even came as soon as I woke up, not even having time for the morning class. I wonder what virtues some people possess that they dare to make Senior Dong and the two Senior Brothers wait for him?”

Jiang Wang continued to ignore him, merely cupping his hands towards Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. “This junior has just finished the morning class and hurried over. I would certainly not neglect my teacher’s instructions. It is merely that morning and evening classes, reciting scriptures and cultivating *qi*, the morning bell and the evening drum, I dare not slacken for a single moment.”

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang’s shoulder again to show his closeness. “It doesn’t matter; it is we who came early, not you who are late. The path of cultivation truly does not allow for slackness. Although Senior Brother Zhang and I do not need to go to the Scripture Hall to recite scriptures with the junior brothers, we also performed our morning cultivation within our rooms.”

Fang Heling’s annoyance deepened, but with Li Jianqiu’s demeanor, he dared not stir up further trouble.

At this moment, they heard a creak as Dong Ah pushed open the door.

“Are you all here?” He surveyed the group, his aura one of unspoken authority.

All four performed the Daoist rite. “Teacher Dong!”

Dong Ah waved his hand; he was a straightforward man who disliked pretense. He immediately stated, “I have summoned you here today to assign a task. You should all be aware of the previous demon attack on the outer courtyard, which resulted in the death of an outer door disciple. The Investigation Department has been investigating for a long time with no result. We in the city Daoist Academy need not wait for others to handle this; thus, I shall entrust this matter to you. It will be counted as an eighth-grade task according to the standard of merit.”

Unlike the tasks for the outer door, inner-door tasks were graded. Typically, the grade was determined by the strongest combat power involved in the task. And the unit of reward was no longer contribution, but Dao merit.

The difficulty was entirely different, and the rewards were naturally poles apart. Taking the Opening Vessel Pill as an example: outer door contribution required a vast amount to exchange, but Dao merit only required one hundred points.

Of course, one hundred points of Dao merit were not easily obtained.

Regarding the incident of the left-hand demon attacking the outer courtyard, the strength displayed by the demon was merely within the ninth-grade range. Dong Ah’s setting it as an eighth-grade task was clearly an act of encouragement.

“Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are the only two disciples in this year whose Dao meridians are outwardly manifest, and they must be thoroughly tempered. Linchuan, Jianqiu, you have cultivated for a longer time and can lead the two junior brothers to investigate separately. The task reward will be divided into one and nine; whichever side finds it first, that side receives nine-tenths.”

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu both bowed. “We obey the teacher’s instructions.”

Dong Ah waved his sleeves and returned to his room, clearly not intending to interfere with the subsequent matters.

Zhang Linchuan was evidently well-prepared. After a brief thought, he spoke. “I have friends in the Investigation Department, and there are two most useful clues regarding this demon attack. One is that before the demon attacked, he stayed at the Fulai Inn for three days, and some clues should have been left behind. The other is that a family in Tangshe Town was annihilated, and there was corpse energy left at the scene, which is somewhat similar to the demon who attacked our outer courtyard. Senior Brother Li, which path do you choose?”

Li Jianqiu replied, “This information belongs to Senior Brother Zhang, so naturally, I will follow Senior Brother Zhang’s arrangement.”

Zhang Linchuan was not surprised. If Li Jianqiu possessed even a modicum of sense, he would not compete with him at this juncture. His words were merely a formality. He nodded at that moment. “In that case, I will go to Tangshe Town, and Senior Brother Li will go to the Fulai Inn.”

Fang Heling, standing beside Zhang Linchuan, his eyes shining, interjected, “With Senior Brother Zhang in charge, a mere left-hand demon, where can he escape?”

Having said that, he also cast a glance at Jiang Wang, looking quite smug.

Anyone with eyes could see that Tangshe Town was more likely to be where the demon was lurking, and the clues were clearer. In Fang Heling’s view, he was about to claim the lion’s share of this first eighth-grade task.

At this point, Zhang Linchuan spoke to Li Jianqiu again. “Senior Brother Li, may I take Jiang Wang with me?”

Li Jianqiu remained composed. “Alright.”

In truth, the positions of the individuals before were already a tacit agreement to the division of tasks. Jiang Wang was more familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling were both from the three major families.

Although he didn’t understand why Zhang Linchuan didn’t choose Fang Heling, who had a closer family background and was more familiar, Jiang Wang didn’t have the right to choose either. He immediately said with a salute, “Then I will trouble Senior Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu were both experienced and quickly organized the task allocation and some supplies that might be needed. Jiang Wang also consciously helped with the preparations.

Only Fang Heling stood there, his face alternating between shades of green and white.

He did have some opinions he wished to express, but he found himself unable to utter a single word.