Within Zhao Rucheng’s sprawling mansion, encompassing nearly ten acres, two figures flashed amidst a dance of clashing swords.

*Clang!*

Zhao Rucheng’s hand jolted, and his longsword flew from his grasp. Jiang Wang’s blade halted mere inches from his neck, a teasing smile gracing his lips.

“Remarkable!” Zhao Rucheng exclaimed, admiration evident in his voice. “What sword art is this?”

While there was indeed a disparity between his and Jiang Wang’s swordsmanship, it wasn’t vast. In past sparring sessions, he could usually claim victory in three or five out of ten bouts. Yet today, after twenty exchanges, he hadn’t won a single one!

Jiang Wang chuckled, sheathing his sword. This sword art was truly worthy of being a profound method for attaining enlightenment through martial prowess. Comprising nine training stances and five killing techniques, even with mastery of only four stances and one technique, his comprehension of swordsmanship had already surpassed his previous level.

He assessed his combat strength as now being sufficient to enter the ranks of cultivators. Should he encounter the demonic figure who attacked him that night again, he would undoubtedly be able to put up a fight.

“This sword art was a fortuitous acquisition, without any established name. Rucheng, you are skilled in both the literary and martial arts, what would you suggest it be called?”

Zhao Rucheng pondered for a moment. “This is the emperor of swords, it should be called… ‘Purple Qi Comes Eastward’.”

“Purple Qi Comes Eastward…” A flicker of brilliance flashed within Jiang Wang’s eyes. “An excellent name!”

For a fleeting instant, he thought he had glimpsed a previously unseen aura of grand ambition about Zhao Rucheng.

But it was likely a mere illusion, for in the next moment Zhao Rucheng retrieved his fallen sword, leaping before Jiang Wang with his usual irrepressible demeanor, a playful grin on his face. “Third Brother, teach me!”

“Of course,” Jiang Wang replied with a radiant smile.

Both men were among the elite swordsmen of the mortal world, and thus understood the value of the Purple Qi Comes Eastward Sword Manual. It was entirely different from the martial skills circulating amongst commoners, instead being a transcendent sword codex capable of leading one to enlightenment through martial arts.

Those powerful sword cultivators were in no way inferior to masters of Taoist magic.

Such a sword manual would undoubtedly spark bloody conflict in the martial world. Yet one freely asked to learn it, and the other readily agreed to teach it, as if the manual held no significance at all.

…

It was late when Jiang Wang returned to the Taoist academy.

Except for when he had classes, Zhao Rucheng generally didn’t stay within the academy, embodying the nature of a true playboy.

His mind was engrossed in contemplating the profundities of the Purple Qi Comes Eastward Sword Manual, to the point that he only noticed Li Jianqiu standing at the entrance to his inner courtyard dormitory when he had already arrived.

“What are you pondering so deeply?” Li Jianqiu asked with a knowing smile.

“Some questions regarding swordsmanship,” Jiang Wang answered honestly, then inquired, “What brings Senior Brother Li here?”

“No wonder Junior Brother Jiang’s swordsmanship is so astonishing,” Li Jianqiu praised casually before saying, “Master Dong asked me to inform you to visit him after the morning lesson tomorrow. I noticed you weren’t in your dormitory, so I waited a while.”

Inner disciples were provided with personal servants who handled their daily needs, allowing these seeds of the Taoist order to focus solely on their cultivation.

“Ah, I spent the entire afternoon at Rucheng’s mansion,” Jiang Wang replied, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “How could I impose upon Senior Brother Li to wait? You could have simply left a message with the attendant.”

“Since Master Dong instructed me to inform you, I could not delegate the task to another. Furthermore, I am not some noble of high standing, too precious to wait for someone,” Li Jianqiu replied.

Jiang Wang lowered his head slightly. “This junior is apprehensive.”

He was indeed apprehensive. Li Jianqiu was two years his senior, and one of the most outstanding figures of his generation. He was virtually guaranteed to attend the Qinghe Prefecture Academy in the future, and was considered one of the most promising talents in the entire city academy.

Yet such a figure had stood patiently before his dormitory, showing no signs of impatience.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang’s shoulder. “I believe Junior Brother Jiang has limitless potential, there’s no need to be so distant.”

With that, he turned and departed.

…

The night passed without incident. The next morning, as soon as the morning lesson concluded, Jiang Wang went to Dong A’s residence.

Besides Li Jianqiu, there were two others in the small courtyard. One was also a senior brother, named Zhang Linchuan. He hailed from the Zhang family, one of the three great clans of Mapleleaf City, and was considered one of the strongest disciples in the city academy, a figure of considerable renown.

While not exceptionally handsome, he was tall and upright, possessing a natural grace. His attire and ornaments were exquisite and impeccable.

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

The remaining person in the courtyard was none other than Fang Heling.

Catching sight of Jiang Wang’s arrival, he deliberately raised his voice. “Senior Brother Zhang! Yesterday, a hunter from my estate delivered a fine pair of bear paws. Tomorrow, I will invite the master chef from Wangyue Tower to prepare them properly, and we can all enjoy them together.”

Zhang Linchuan smiled and nodded.

Fang Heling then turned to invite Li Jianqiu. “Senior Brother Li, please join us as well!”

Li Jianqiu didn’t want to offend him, so he simply smiled. “If I have the time, I will attend.”

Before Fang Heling could continue his flattery, Li Jianqiu took a few steps towards the courtyard entrance. “Junior Brother Jiang is here?”

He was actually going out of his way to greet him!

Jiang Wang hastily quickened his pace, greeting him. “I apologize, I am late.”

He walked to Li Jianqiu’s side, then bowed to Zhang Linchuan. “Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang.”

He completely ignored Fang Heling, acting as if he didn’t exist.

“Hello to you too,” Zhang Linchuan replied with a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents between Jiang and Fang.

But some people were determined to assert their presence.

“Hmph.” Fang Heling abruptly snorted, then said in a sarcastic tone, “Master Dong issued an instruction, so even Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Li arrived early. I even rushed here straight after waking up, without even attending the morning lesson. I wonder what merits someone possesses, to dare to make Master Dong and the two senior brothers wait for him?”

Jiang Wang continued to ignore him, only clasping his hands in greeting to Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan. “This junior came as soon as the morning lesson ended, I would never dare to neglect the master’s orders. But morning and evening lessons consist of chanting scriptures and breathing exercises. I dare not slack in the slightest.”

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang’s shoulder again, showing his closeness. “It’s alright, we arrived early, not you late. The path of cultivation indeed allows for no sloth. Although Senior Brother Zhang and I do not need to chant scriptures with the junior disciples in the scripture hall, we still perform the morning lesson in our rooms.”

Fang Heling felt even more frustrated, but with Li Jianqiu’s statement, he dared not fan the flames further.

At that moment, a creaking sound was heard as Dong A pushed open the door and walked out.

“Are you all here?” He glanced around, projecting authority without anger.

The four of them saluted. “Master Dong!”

Dong A waved his hand, he was a decisive person by nature, disliking delay. He immediately said, “The reason I summoned you here today is to assign you a task. You should all be aware of the incident where a demonic figure attacked the outer courtyard, brutally killing an outer disciple. The Department of Investigation and Punishment has investigated for so long without any results. There is no need for us to wait for them to handle matters within our own city Taoist academy. I am assigning you to investigate this matter, graded as an Rank 8 task.”

Unlike outer courtyard tasks, inner courtyard tasks were graded. The rank was usually determined by the strongest combatant encountered in the task. The unit of reward was no longer contribution points, but merit points.

The difference in difficulty was immense, and the rewards were naturally as different as clouds and mud. Take the Meridian Opening Pill as an example. It would require a tremendous amount of outer courtyard contribution points to obtain, but only one hundred merit points.

Of course, obtaining one hundred merit points was not easy either.

Considering the strength displayed by the demonic figure who attacked the outer courtyard, being limited to the Rank 9 range, Dong A’s assignment of Rank 8 was clearly meant as encouragement.

“Jiang Wang and Fang Heling are currently the only two disciples of this year to have manifested their Taoist meridians, they must be properly tempered. Linchuan and Jianqiu, you have cultivated for longer, you can take the two junior brothers and investigate separately. The task reward will be split nine-to-one, whichever side finds the answer first will receive nine-tenths of the reward.”

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu both bowed. “We respectfully accept your orders.”

Dong A waved his sleeve and went back inside, clearly not intending to interfere with what followed.

Zhang Linchuan was clearly well-prepared, and after a moment of thought, he said, “I have friends in the Department of Investigation and Punishment. There are two clues that are most promising in this demonic figure attack incident. One is that the demonic figure stayed at the Fulai Inn for three days before the attack, and some clues should have been left behind. The other is that a family in Tangshe Town was massacred, and residual demonic qi was left at the scene, which is somewhat similar to the demonic figure who attacked our outer courtyard. Senior Brother Li, which path do you choose?”

Li Jianqiu said, “Since Senior Brother Zhang has the intelligence, I will naturally leave it to Senior Brother Zhang to decide.”

Zhang Linchuan was not surprised. Li Jianqiu would not compete with him at this time unless he was completely mindless. What he said was just a formality. He nodded. “In that case, I will go to Tangshe Town, and Senior Brother Li will go to Fulai Inn.”

Fang Heling, who was standing next to Zhang Linchuan, widened his eyes. “With Senior Brother Zhang’s help, how can a mere demonic figure of the deviant path escape?”

He glanced at Jiang Wang, quite pleased with himself.

Anyone with eyes could see that Tangshe Town was more likely to harbor the demonic figure, and the clues were more obvious. In Fang Heling’s opinion, he would claim the lion’s share of this first Rank 8 task.

At this time, Zhang Linchuan turned to Li Jianqiu and said, “Senior Brother Li, how about I take Jiang Wang?”

Li Jianqiu said calmly, “Very well.”

In fact, the positions everyone had taken earlier had already implied the division of paths. Jiang Wang was more familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling were both from the three great clans.

Although he didn’t understand why Zhang Linchuan didn’t choose Fang Heling, who was closer in family background and more familiar, Jiang Wang had no right to choose. He bowed. “Then I will have to trouble Senior Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu were both experienced and quickly made task allocations, as well as some supplies that might be used for the task. Jiang Wang also consciously helped with the preparations.

Only Fang Heling stood there, his face turning pale.

He had some opinions to express, but couldn’t utter a word.