After the customary morning cultivation and circulation of Dao Essence, Jiang Wang saw Jiang An An off to the academy. He then headed out of the city to bid farewell to Du Yehu.

In these times, long journeys were no simple matter, fraught with the sorrow of parting life and death.

The reason humanity clustered in villages, gathered in towns, and settled securely within cities was largely due to the unending threat of wild beasts, and even more so, the savage beasts and demon beasts lurking in the wilderness.

Cities and towns offered safety; beyond their walls lay only the official roads.

It wasn’t that the array patterns etched onto these official roads offered absolute certainty – the imperial court could never expend such vast resources – in truth, the effects of these arrays were primarily for deterrence.

A more effective measure was the imperial court’s deployment of powerful cultivators to periodically clear these roads – an official practice termed “plowing the earth” – ensuring that the savage beasts, though lacking intelligence, possessed keen instincts and remembered the danger, thus not daring to approach easily.

With Du Yehu’s strength, as long as he kept to the official roads, there wasn’t much danger.

When Jiang Wang arrived at the city’s outskirts, Zhao Rucheng and Ling He were already there, with no one else in sight.

Among the brothers, Du Yehu possessed a bold and forthright nature and the most friends, but he disliked the sentimental displays of farewells. Thus, he hadn’t informed the others of his enlistment, instead entrusting Ling He to convey the news afterward.

A banquet table was set up in the wilderness, undoubtedly the work of Zhao Rucheng.

Jiang Wang took out the Four Spirits Body Tempering Arts, which he had meticulously copied the previous night, and handed it to Du Yehu.

Du Yehu’s tiger-like eyes lit up after just two pages. “Third Brother, this is excellent stuff!”

“Let me see, let me see.”

Zhao Rucheng leaned in, particularly curious.

But after just a few lines, he turned away. “Body tempering, how tiring is that.”

“Such a good cultivation method!”

Du Yehu looked at him, exasperated. “If you read a few more lines, you won’t want to put it down.”

Although he immediately recognized this cultivation method as a complete, enhanced version of the White Tiger Body Tempering Arts, he didn’t question Jiang Wang about its origin.

When Jiang Wang wanted to speak, he would do so naturally.

Everyone had their secrets; even Jiang An An had her little worries she didn’t wish to share. There was no need to probe relentlessly.

He also had no intention of keeping it to himself. He had fallen in love with this cultivation method at first glance and hoped the other brothers wouldn’t miss out.

Zhao Rucheng waved his hand. “Too long, didn’t read.”

Du Yehu turned to Ling He, who shook his head. “I’m currently focused on stabilizing my Celestial Palace after opening my meridians. I can’t afford to be distracted by other cultivation methods for now.”

He was a steady person, taking one step at a time.

With the Dao merits pooled together by the brothers, they were now just over twenty points short.

These days, he had been undertaking missions, but his strength made handling high-grade missions difficult. He mostly followed his senior brothers, doing peripheral work, so the Dao merits he obtained were very few, usually adding one or two points, sometimes even none at all.

But no matter what, he was finally getting closer to transcending the mundane.

Jiang Wang smiled, “I’ll also use this cultivation method for body tempering. When we meet again, we’ll see who has cultivated it more deeply.”

“My sword technique talent isn’t as good as yours, but this military cultivation method… Heh heh, just you wait and see.”

Du Yehu was full of confidence.

“Then, we’ll meet in Xin’an!”

“Meet in Xin’an.”

Jiang Wang and the others heading to Xin’an City would naturally be on the day they entered the National Dao Academy.

As for Du Yehu going to Xin’an City, he would need to at least become a general with real authority in the Nine Rivers Black Armor before he could participate in the military exercises in the Imperial Capital.

No matter how grand the visions of the future, they were all contained within the casual chatter of young men.

The brothers ate a few bites at random and chatted briefly.

Apart from Ling He, who never drank, the remaining three each downed three large bowls of wine, a simple farewell libation, with no tears staining their clothes.

Then, Du Yehu raised a bowl of wine towards the southwest direction, but said nothing, only pouring it out.

Everyone knew who he was saying goodbye to.

Du Yehu was going to Nine Rivers this time, leaving through the South Gate and taking the official road.

The small path leading to the Green Willow River was in the southwest direction.

The recruitment for the Nine Rivers Black Armor was given full convenience by the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Dao Academy, as this army could almost be considered the face of the Zhuang Kingdom.

So, he didn’t need too many procedures to leave the City Dao Academy.

Everything that needed to be said had already been spoken. A journey of a thousand miles must end with a farewell.

“I’m going!”

Finally, Du Yehu simply said this, shouldered his pack, and set off bare-handed.

At that moment, there was no wind or rain, and the clouds gradually parted.

And autumn was drawing to a close.

…

Lin Zhenglun, as a collateral descendant of the Lin Clan of Wangjiang City, had recently attracted a great deal of attention.

First, he married a widow, which drew ridicule, but he paid no mind, and the couple was harmonious and loving after marriage.

Not long after, he managed to open up the medicinal materials market in Fenglin City. This, in Wangjiang City, which placed great emphasis on commerce, undoubtedly earned him considerable recognition and allowed him to begin controlling the internal medicinal materials business of the Lin Clan.

It was said that he might transform from a collateral branch to a direct lineage, a sparrow becoming a phoenix.

It was then that people realized the widow he married was no simple person.

She brought a dowry!

The most reputable medicinal herb store in the entire Fengxi Town.

Who didn’t know that the medicinal herb business in Fenglin City depended entirely on the harvest in Fengxi Town?

And in Fengxi Town, the Jiang Family Pharmacy was renowned far and wide, holding a dominant position.

Of course, it now bore the surname Lin.

In the past, the Lin Clan’s medicinal materials had tried every possible way to squeeze into Fenglin City, but progress was difficult. No one expected that Lin Zhenglun would find a different path, breaking the deadlock through a marriage.

This made many who realized later regret it, after all, the widow herself was not bad-looking, not to mention such a profitable gain?

Looking out from the Wangjiang Tower in Wangjiang City, the vast and clear river flowed like a dragon’s body, visible in its entirety.

Lin Zhenglun sat at the head of the table, exchanging toasts with his newly acquired friends, listening to the endless flattery of those present, feeling immensely pleased.

Thump~ Thump~ Thump!

The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs was so clear. Lin Zhenglun turned his head, about to see who was so tactless; after all, he, Master Lin, had clearly reserved this floor.

At this sight, everyone sitting with him had already stood up.

“Young Master Lin.”

“Young Master Lin!”

There were many young masters with the surname Lin, but only one could make so many prominent figures nod and bow in respect.

That was the direct son of the Lin Clan Head, the confirmed future Clan Head of the Lin Clan, Lin Zhengli.

Lin Zhenglun instinctively wanted to stand up, but he forcefully restrained himself and sat in his original seat, smiling, “Brother Zhengli, what brings you to Wangjiang Tower today?

I have reserved this floor; feel free to enjoy yourselves. All expenses will be on my account.”

Indeed, in terms of seniority, he was still this Young Master Lin’s older brother.

In the past, when his status was low and insignificant, there was nothing to say. Now, having entered the direct lineage with such great merit, it was only right to discuss seniority and seating arrangements.

Even though he couldn’t contend with Lin Zhengli for the position of Lin Clan Head, he was about to control the entire family’s medicinal materials business, so he naturally had the confidence to speak while seated.

As soon as these words were spoken, the young men following behind Lin Zhengli all laughed.

They were all sons of various powerful families, and even though their laughter was inexplicable, Lin Zhenglun couldn’t say anything.

However, Lin Zhengli himself was very composed. He even cupped his hands and bowed to Lin Zhenglun. “Brother Zhenglun is too kind.”

After being cordially invited by Lin Zhenglun to sit down, Lin Zhengli smiled and said, “There hasn’t been much opportunity all this time. Since we’ve met by chance today, I have something to say to my older brother.”

Lin Zhenglun looked around with some self-satisfaction, implying, “Look, how much the future head of the Lin Clan respects me?”

Yet, he humbly said, “Brother Zhengli is too polite. Feel free to speak your mind.

As your older brother, I am a few years older and always have some life experience to share with you.”

“That’s good.”

Lin Zhengli smiled. “Has the medicinal materials business in Fenglin City been consolidated?”

This question hit a sensitive spot, and Lin Zhenglun laughed heartily. “With your brother in charge, how could it not be secured?

Brother Zhengli, just you wait and see. In no more than three years, all the medicinal materials in the entire Fenglin City region will bear our Lin Clan’s name!”

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Lin Zhengli nodded repeatedly. “Since that’s the case, Brother can also rest easy and recuperate in Autumn Garden.”

“Naturally!”

Lin Zhenglun instinctively agreed, then immediately reacted: “Wh… what??”

Autumn Garden had a nice name, but it was merely a place for the lonely elderly of the clan to retire. What age was he, Lin Zhenglun, to be retired?

“Brother Zhengli, don’t make such jokes.”

Lin Zhenglun forced a smile.

But Lin Zhengli’s smile faded. “I never joke.

I will personally take over this medicinal materials business.”

The young men who had come upstairs with him laughed again, their laughter light, yet it sounded very heavy.

The autumn wind brushed over the clear river surface and entered the Wangjiang Tower, blowing onto Lin Zhenglun.

He realized he couldn’t resist.

He felt cold then.

It turned out it was already late autumn.

He thought.