All of this may seem like a long recounting, but from the moment Jiang Wang charged straight into the inner courtyard to the instant Dong A launched his devastating attack, everything transpired in an exceedingly short span of time.

Just before the vine snakes could completely encircle their prey in mid-air, a pale figure perceived an opening and, with astonishing speed, soared upwards, seemingly about to escape certain death.

*Shh! Shh! Shh!*

Countless wooden thorns erupted forth, instantly piercing through his body!

His body shuddered in the air, until the violent barrage of wooden splinters ceased. Only then did he fall powerlessly from the sky, his entire form, from head to calf, riddled with a dense network of bloody holes—beyond all hope of revival.

Silence descended upon the entire Daoist academy. Both outer and inner court disciples were deeply shaken by this scene.

Jiang Wang’s eyelids twitched. “That sinister deviant cultivator… just died like that?”

Dong A didn’t even spare the corpse a glance. He stated indifferently, “Is the other one still hiding?”

“How laughable!” He strolled leisurely, step by step, into the air. “Everything within the Emerald Cage is under my control, everything is teeming with life… except for your scent, which is utterly repugnant!”

He extended his right hand and lightly clenched it!

A door panel sprouted a large hand, seizing a disciple dressed in outer court attire nearby. The wooden hand’s five fingers spread open, instantly coursing over his entire body, locking him firmly in place.

At the same time, the wooden arm rapidly extended, hoisting the man up to Dong A, who hovered in the air.

“Speak! Who sent you here? How dare you commit such violence within the Daoist academy?” Dong A, with the starry sky as his backdrop, looked down imposingly at the audacious assassin.

Even the wind seemed to still, waiting quietly for the man’s answer.

The assassin, with his ordinary features, suddenly grinned. His entire head abruptly exploded!

Dong A’s fist tightened. A layer of water membrane instantly enveloped the mixture of red and white matter, forming a bulging sphere.

He glanced once more at the first corpse. A seed sprouted from the ground, growing rapidly. A flower bud bloomed, transforming into a gaping maw, swallowing the corpse in one gulp. Dong A casually tossed the water sphere in as well. The flower’s mouth closed and retracted back into the earth.

With both bodies dealt with so cleanly, the anger on Dong A’s face grew ever more pronounced.

“A budding talent of my Zhuang Kingdom, murdered within the Daoist academy! The deviant cultivators are exceedingly bold! This matter must be thoroughly investigated! The City Lord’s mansion must provide this academy with an explanation! Whoever is behind this, no matter who, must be executed!”

The aura of a fifth-grade expert was unleashed in full, his voice like rolling thunder, shaking the entire city.

Many people in Maple Forest City paled upon hearing it.

Soon after, an equally loud voice reverberated throughout the city, that of Maple Forest City Lord Wei Quji: “Academy Head Dong, rest assured, this matter will be addressed by this府 (fu, mansion)! Whoever is involved, whatever the circumstances, once discovered, they will be executed without mercy!”

Jiang Wang, observing this scene unfold, vaguely sensed that he had touched upon a fierce whirlpool beneath the surface.

The Daoist academy was a place where the nation cultivated talent, a foundation of the nation’s destiny. Committing violence within the academy had crossed Dong A’s bottom line.

The Qiang Qin’s scheming ambush had already stripped away a layer of Zhuang’s dignity. Now, with deviant cultivators committing violence within the academy, though their purpose was unknown, it was hard to say whether they were testing the official response.

Moreover, before today, it was widely known that Dong A and Wei Quji were not in agreement. The former belonged to State Chancellor Du Ruhui’s faction, while the latter was a former subordinate of General Huangfu Duanming.

With Dong A’s strength, it would not have been necessary to make such a grand display to ferret out the demonic cultivators. His act of covering the entire academy with Daoist techniques, as well as his later public exchange with Wei Quji, seemed more like a demonstration of power, a clarification of his stance, meant to deter those lurking in the shadows.

The Zhuang Kingdom was not at peace.

“Disperse.” Dong A said expressionlessly, turning and descending from the air.

The door panels jumped back into place, the vine snakes slithered back onto the walls… The entire Daoist academy instantly returned to its original state.

The night seemed to have always been this quiet.

Everything felt like a dream.

But the unhealed wound told Jiang Wang that it was real.

This was the power of a fifth-grade expert.

And it was the scenery he was determined to climb towards!

When Zhao Rucheng arrived at the Daoist academy, having heard the news, the situation had already calmed down. Only a few outer court disciples were gathered in small groups, still excitedly discussing the院长 (yuanzhang, academy head)’s power.

He found Jiang Wang in their dormitory, carefully wiping down his sword with a silk handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.

The handkerchief, of course, belonged to Zhao Rucheng. No one else in the dormitory would use such a thing.

Zhao Rucheng first noticed the newly and carefully bandaged instep of his foot, and scoffed, “Oh, what’s this? Injured again? Is there any truth to the rumor that you’re the number one swordsman of the outer court?”

“It’s alright.” Jiang Wang continued to wipe his blade, unconcerned. “After squeezing out the excess, I can still teach you a lesson or two.”

Saying this, he finally looked up at Zhao Rucheng with a smile. “Little brother.”

“You’re only one year older than me, and you’ve just practiced swordsmanship for an extra year.” Zhao Rucheng pouted.

“Even one day is still older. Little brother.”

Zhao Rucheng clicked his tongue, annoyed. “Can you stop wiping it? Do you know how many of your broken swords I could buy with this handkerchief?”

Jiang Wang laughed arrogantly. “Do you know how much a sword used by Jiang Wang will be worth in the future? How many of your handkerchiefs?”

But as soon as he spoke, both he and Zhao Rucheng fell silent.

Because such words were typically Fang Pengju’s style. Using Zhao Rucheng’s embroidered handkerchief to wipe his sword was also a “bad habit” that he had started. In his words, ‘Our brothers’ swords will be passed down for thousands of years in the future, so how can we not take good care of them? Such a good handkerchief is wasted on wiping your face! Although Rucheng is good-looking, can his face be passed down for thousands of years?’

Some people have already disappeared, but the traces they left behind will linger for a long time…

Zhao Rucheng was the first to speak, changing the subject. “Third brother. What do you think those demonic cultivators were after when they attacked the academy this time? Could it have been intentional… rather than an accident?”

“The Fang family shouldn’t be so bold,” Jiang Wang shook his head. “But it’s hard to say. By the way, have you seen eldest brother?”

Ling He had gone to the Fang family at noon to return the body, but he hadn’t come back even now, which couldn’t help but worry him.

Zhao Rucheng raised his eyebrows slightly. “I heard that he was kicked out of the Fang mansion. I don’t know where he went after that.”

Jiang Wang was silent for a moment. “Let’s go look for him.”

“If you want to look, you look. I’m not going to accompany a good-for-nothing to do good-for-nothing things.” Zhao Rucheng pouted.

“Hey, it wasn’t me who asked him to eat dirt at a locked door. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jiang Wang just stared at him without speaking.

He had no choice but to surrender. “Alright, alright. But it’s so late, where are we going to look?”

“First,” Jiang Wang analyzed, “He definitely won’t have him thrown into a mass grave.”

“But he doesn’t have any money.” Zhao Rucheng added.

“And then, he’s an emotional person…” Jiang Wang got up and walked out. “I know where he went.”

“I even know what he’s doing!” Zhao Rucheng followed behind him, wrinkling his handsome nose. “He’s definitely crying.”