And so, Xiao An’an began her life in Mapleleaf City. Aunt Song did send a letter afterwards, saying she had married into Rippleview City. As a city renowned for its bustling commerce, Rippleview City was second only to the capital, Ripplebrook City, within the entire Clearbrook Prefecture. Moreover, her husband’s family was named Lin, considered a prominent clan in the area. In that case, she had found a good match.

It was no wonder she couldn’t bring her daughter with her.

As for the remaining Jiang family assets in Phoenix Creek Town, Jiang Wang did not inquire further. Regardless, Aunt Song had been married to his father, and had taken care of him diligently after his illness. It was only reasonable to provide her with some dowry.

However, it was likely that both sides had said all there was to say. There was no need for further contact.

At four or five years old, it was the perfect age to begin one’s education. Jiang Wang arranged for his sister to attend a private school. It was the best private school aside from the academies of the three major clans, and not one that ordinary families could afford. Jiang Wang had been a leading figure in the City Dao Academy’s outer sect for so long, he still had some influence. Furthermore, now that he had advanced into the inner sect, his Dao Meridian was visible, making him undeniably a future pillar of the Zhuang Kingdom. No one would easily offend him.

Every day, after attending the lecture at the Dao Academy and completing his cultivation, he would carefully time his departure to pick up An’an from school. He would also try to select missions that would not take more than a day, generally returning on the same day to avoid neglecting An’an. If he had a mission that he couldn’t reschedule, he would ask Ling He, Zhao Rucheng, and others to take turns looking after her.

The days flowed by busily. The foundation diagram within the Sky Passage Palace became increasingly complex, now showing its initial form. However, the further he progressed, the more difficult it became to arrange the foundation diagram. In particular, when transferring Dao Essence before the foundation was laid, even the slightest error could cause the Dao Essence to scatter, wasting the effort of opening the meridians. Because he had chosen the Stellar Cycle Formation, his foundation laying was already slower than others. Therefore, Jiang Wang would not allow himself to fail in each array point transfer during the foundation process.

In terms of combat ability, because the foundation had not yet been laid, he was unable to cultivate Dao Arts. Jiang Wang could only work harder on the Violet Qi East Arrival Sword Art. This sword art consisted of nine training stances and five killing stances. As the name suggested, the training stances were for cultivating, while the killing stances were for combat. He would temper his body and comprehend the Dao of the Sword with the training stances, and attack, fight, and defeat enemies with the killing stances.

Fortunately, after he became proficient in the nine training stances, their nourishing effect on the body’s vital energy was astonishing. Jiang Wang could even clearly perceive the body giving more feedback to the Dao Meridian’s true spirit, accelerating the condensation of Dao Essence.

After some time, he actually gained another opportunity to cultivate and open meridians, allowing him to condense three Dao Essence every day. This undoubtedly shortened the time needed to successfully lay the foundation.

Life was fulfilling and satisfying. Within such a life, Jiang Wang welcomed his first major mission since entering the Mapleleaf City Dao Academy.

…

“Emergency mobilization order! No one is allowed to leave!”

In the Scripture Hall, just as the morning lesson had ended, a Xuan-robed general barged in.

“Who is this person?”

“What does he want?”

The disciples whispered among themselves, but someone quickly revealed the truth. “Keep your voice down, that’s Wei Yan!”

The entire Scripture Hall instantly fell silent.

Second on the Dao Merit Board, a powerful general in the City Guard, either identity was enough to awe the crowd. Especially since this military officer was known for his tough and ruthless style.

Wei Yan seemed to be indifferent to the crowd’s attitude, or rather, he only needed to make his attitude clear.

“Since last week, there has been no news from Smallwood Town for a full five days.”

Jiang Wang exchanged a glance with Ling He. As a large town under the jurisdiction of Mapleleaf City, Smallwood Town inevitably sent reports every few days, if not for every detail.

Five days of silence was almost equivalent to Mapleleaf City losing control of it. It was no small matter for a town with a population of several thousand to suddenly become isolated.

Wei Yan continued, “I hold the City Lord’s seal and order the mobilization of at least thirty inner sect disciples from the City Dao Academy to investigate this matter in Smallwood Town.”

“Isn’t this the responsibility of the Criminal Investigation Division?” A disciple asked with dissatisfaction.

Such a major mission, mobilizing thirty inner sect disciples from the City Dao Academy at once, meant that the danger would not be low. Therefore, many people were unwilling.

“The Heart-Devouring Demon Xiong Wen has appeared in Threepeak City, and now most of the Criminal Investigation Division’s forces in the entire Clearbrook Prefecture have been transferred to Threepeak City.”

Wei Yan did not respond; his lieutenant, Zhao Lang, explained from the side.

The Zhuang Kingdom’s official system followed that of the Yong Kingdom. General cases were handled by the yamen, while extraordinary cases were handled by the Criminal Investigation Division. The Criminal Investigation Division was responsible for extraordinary events across the country, theoretically under the control of local governments. However, due to its special nature of being directly under the capital, local governments often could not freely direct it.

Just like this time, the mobilization of manpower to pursue Xiong Wen was the intention of the Criminal Investigation Division’s superiors. Even Mapleleaf City Lord Wei Quji could not interfere and call them back.

“What about the City Guard?” The previous disciple asked again.

The City Guard was the City Lord’s direct military force, suppressing all evil and rebellion. Such a major incident as the entire town of Smallwood Town losing contact was enough to trigger the City Guard to suppress it.

“The City Guard has other important tasks,” Wei Yan impatiently cut off the conversation. “The Dao Merit reward for this mission will be increased by 30%. In principle, it is voluntary, but if the number of inner sect disciples who sign up is less than thirty, I will use the City Lord’s order to conduct a compulsory mobilization!”

“I need to remind everyone that before this mission, two nine-rank Meridian Roaming Realm cultivators who went to investigate have been lost in Smallwood Town. I hope everyone assesses the risks and acts according to their abilities.”

The Dao Academy system was the most important extraordinary advancement system in the Zhuang Kingdom. Local City Dao Academies absorbed local cultivation seeds, and after several years of cultivation, they would advance to the local Prefecture Dao Academies through examinations. Then, they would advance from the Prefecture Dao Academies to the National Dao Academy, selecting the best layer by layer.

Finally, all the geniuses of the entire Zhuang Kingdom would be gathered in the capital. If they were successful, they would compete with the heroes of the nations, and if they were unsuccessful, they would be sent to various places to govern.

Although the Mapleleaf City Dao Academy only recruited ten inner sect disciples each year, due to the difficulty of advancing to the Prefecture Dao Academy, many cultivators lingered in the City Dao Academy for several years or even more than ten years. Over the years, the entire Mapleleaf City Dao Academy had accumulated about three hundred inner sect disciples, excluding those who had traveled far and had not returned, and those who were in closed-door cultivation.

From Wei Yan’s perspective, he might even want the number of applicants to be insufficient. According to his original intention, he would directly mobilize the thirty strongest people from the entire Mapleleaf City Dao Academy through compulsory mobilization orders, which would give him a greater chance of success. However, the Dao Academy and the City Lord’s Mansion were not subordinate to each other after all, and it would not be easy to resolve if a conflict arose.

“Are you going, Boss?” Jiang Wang whispered to Ling He. He was actually a little worried because this mission would inevitably involve extraordinary powers, and Ling He and Du Yehou had not yet opened their meridians, so it could be said that the danger was extremely high.

“Of course, I’m going.” Ling He did not hesitate. He was already one step behind on the path of cultivation, and he certainly could not miss this opportunity to increase Dao Merit rewards by 30%. As for danger? If he was afraid of danger, he should have stayed in the village to farm.

“I’m signing up!” Du Yehou shouted. “All four of us are signing up!”

Zhao Rucheng bumped him dissatisfiedly, “What are you doing? I still want to go back and catch up on some sleep.”

He was the least motivated among them. Every day, he just loafed around and waited for death. Life was nothing but relaxation.

Wei Yan glanced over lightly. Seeing that they had not yet laid their foundation, he didn’t care much. He just casually instructed his lieutenant, “Record them.”

The lieutenant said loudly, “Registration time is limited to one incense stick. There are still twenty-six places left.”

“We cultivators are supported by the nation, and we should contribute to our country. I’m signing up for this operation,” Li Jianqiu said as he gracefully walked in from outside the courtyard.

Disciples with his strength already had a lot of freedom. Not only did they not need to come to the Scripture Hall to sign in every day, but they could even refuse this level of compulsory mobilization. Unless it was a national crisis, they would only climb to higher places of cultivation. His appearance at this time caused a low murmur.

“How can I let Jianqiu take all the credit? Count me in, Wang Changxiang.” Unlike Li Jianqiu, who walked with his hand on his sword, Wang Changxiang’s temperament was much more peaceful. He was still wearing the linen Daoist robe that Jiang Wang had seen him wear in the Dao Merit Hall before, walking slowly and calmly.

“With the addition of Brother Wang and Brother Li, this trip will be even more certain!” A rare smile appeared on Wei Yan’s stern face.

Even he could not act presumptuously in front of Wang Changxiang, who was seventh on the Dao Merit Board.

With the addition of Wang Changxiang and Li Jianqiu, everyone’s enthusiasm for signing up suddenly increased, and it was quickly full.

Thirty inner sect disciples, excluding Jiang Wang and his three brothers, were almost all at the nine-rank cultivation level or higher, and all were extraordinary. Such an extraordinary force could almost sweep through Mapleleaf City.

Wei Yan casually took the list, glanced at it, and nodded. “You people still have some courage. You haven’t read away your humanity with your scriptures.”

Perhaps this was praise to him, but the condescending tone was still quite unpleasant.

The Ministry of War and the Dao Academy were two different advancement systems, with both cooperation and competition between them. It was common for them to dislike each other.

Immediately, a disciple dissatisfiedly said, “If Senior Brother Zhu were here, I wonder if some people would dare to point fingers!?”

The person he was referring to was, of course, Zhu Weiwo, who was first on the Mapleleaf City Dao Merit Board.

Wei Yan was not angry. He simply waved his robe and walked out of the Dao Academy. “Let’s go!”