Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Chapter 18: Again seeing the high mountains, again heading towards the high mountains

The body of the white-faced demon was split in half, but it was not symmetrical due to its right arm being severed earlier.

Jiang Wang stood in front of the corpse, and as he relaxed his grip, the long sword shattered into countless pieces and fell to the ground.

Its mission was complete.

The ordinary long sword could not withstand the infusion of Dao Yuan for such a long time.

And Jiang Wang once again felt that the Heavenly Palace was empty. Those lively and lovely little creatures were all gone.

Before the wandering gray mist spread, Jiang Wang returned to the official road. He noticed that some of the gray mist had drifted towards the official road but was blocked by an invisible force and slowly dissipated.

Jiang Wang knew that it should be the power of some kind of formation inscribed on the official road.

After waiting for a while, the thunderous sound approached, and Zhang Linchuan and a few others landed beside Jiang Wang.

"Jiang Junior Brother, did you not leave here?" Zhang Linchuan asked.

Although he had gone through a battle, his clothes were still neat and even his hair was well-kept. He was poised and elegant.

"I encountered... the demon from Tangshe Town before."

"You spilled his blood, so he will definitely come to retrieve it, or else he can only flee from Zhuangguo."

"I killed him."

Zhang Linchuan's eyebrows jumped. "What?"

Jiang Wang pointed in the direction where the white-faced demon was killed. "I don't know if the body is useful, if it can find any clues."

Zhang Linchuan came back to his senses from his surprise and shook his head. "The souls of these people are incomplete. It's useless to search their souls when they were alive, let alone after they die. I just killed a few, and they were all like this."

"I see." Jiang Wang wasn't disappointed. For him, killing the white-faced demon was enough.

He didn't blame Zhang Linchuan for choosing to chase the enemy instead of staying to protect him. He wasn't a fragile person who needed protection, and Zhang Linchuan wasn't his nanny.

Moreover, if it weren't for Zhang Linchuan's pressure, the white-faced demon would never have lost his fighting spirit and chosen to run away immediately. And his accomplices would never have given Jiang Wang the opportunity to fight alone.

Zhang Linchuan glanced at the place where the gray mist dissipated, feeling somewhat regretful. "The formation on this official road has been corroded. We must report it to the government and ask them to send someone to repair it quickly."

The two horses weren't frightened and Jiang Wang shook the reins, and the horse ran lively.

At this time, he felt that in a mysterious place in the Heavenly Palace, a Dao Yuan suddenly rolled down, one after another, with as many as five in a row. And they were fuller and more rounded.

Although it did not fully replenish the previous consumption, it was still an unexpected joy.

At this time, he had a deeper understanding of what the senior Daoists had taught.

The so-called Dao Yuan, the beginning of the Great Dao. The birth of Dao Yuan was not simply the sublimation of qi and blood, but the perfect fusion of intention and power, the most real feedback of all things to the origin of heaven and earth.

...

When they returned to the Taoist Academy, it was still early, so they went directly to Dong Ayuan to report.

The door was open, but the courtyard was empty, with only Fang Heling pacing around, looking bored.

When he saw the two of them coming in empty-handed, his eyes lit up.At first, Fang Heling greeted Zhang Linchuan honestly before trying to console him, "It seems like Zhang Shixiong didn't gain anything... Even with Zhang Shixiong's talent, it's really too difficult to bring along a newcomer who doesn't know anything."

Of course, he didn't believe that he was a newcomer. The Fang family had been around for a hundred years and had produced many cultivators. He was familiar with the battles between cultivators. What could this surnamed Jiang know coming from a small town?

Jiang Wang couldn't be bothered to respond to him.

Zhang Linchuan joked, "Oh? It seems like Heling gained something this time."

"It went smoothly enough," Fang Heling reluctantly admitted before eagerly showing off.

It turned out that someone had been spying on them while they were investigating at the Fulai Inn. But Li Jianqiu had boldly taken action and captured the person. Originally, the investigation had little hope, but because of this captive, they suddenly had a direction!

Of course, Fang Heling played some role in this, but it was hard to say how much.

"Where did Li Shidi go?" Zhang Linchuan asked.

Fang Heling hesitated for a moment before saying, "He's in the room. Dong Shizheng is using a secret technique to search his soul."

Dong Asou searched the soul while Li Jianqiu accompanied him, and Fang Heling didn't even have the qualifications to watch... His contribution on this trip was clear.

Zhang Linchuan and Jiang Wang couldn't disturb them, so they could only wait in the courtyard.

Jiang Wang closed his eyes and sent the Dao Yuan of the Tongtian Palace to where it should be hovering, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Heling chatted aimlessly.

Naturally, Fang Heling was pleased. After all, Dong Asou had previously said that the mission's Dao Xun would be nineteen points. Jiang Wang clearly didn't gain anything, but they came back with a captive. This was the first step in opening up the gap.

Soon, Dong Asou, wearing a black Dao robe, walked out with Li Jianqiu.

Facing Fang Heling's expectant gaze, Li Jianqiu shook his head.

Dong Asou said, "This person's soul is incomplete, and I only found some scattered fragments that were irrelevant."

Fang Heling quickly said, "With such thorough precautions, there must be an organized group behind these people! This matter is not simple!"

Dong Asou didn't comment, but looked at Zhang Linchuan.

Zhang Linchuan then described what had happened in Tangshe Town after they left, without exaggerating. As for the details of Jiang Wang's two battles with the white-faced demon, Dong Asou wouldn't ask, and Jiang Wang didn't need to say.

He was a legitimate disciple of the Dao Academy, not a criminal who needed to be interrogated.

Dong Asou nodded, "Jiang Wang is good."

This sounded cold, but to those who knew Dong Asou's personality, it was a rare compliment.

Both Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu submitted new clues, but there were no follow-ups, so the mission couldn't be considered a success. But Dong Asou gave each of them five Dao Xun as an encouragement.

For Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu, they were just bringing their junior disciples to experience a new task. It was good if they gained something, but it didn't matter if they didn't. Their senior brothers had done the same for them before.

As for Jiang Wang and Fang Heling, five Dao Xun was not a small amount. This was equivalent to completing half of a lowest-level ninth-grade mission.

The Dao Xun for ninth-grade missions ranged from ten to one hundred points, while the Dao Xun for eighth-grade missions ranged from one hundred to five hundred points, depending on the difficulty of the mission.

After Dong Asou judged that the mission had temporarily ended, he ordered the disciples to disperse.After finishing their business, Fang Heling urged Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu to go grab a drink. Jiang Wang thought for a moment and decided to go check out the Daoxun Hall.

...

The Daoxun Hall was located directly opposite the Ancestral Hall, indicating its importance.

The entire hall was empty, save for a Daoxun List hanging on a table, emitting a faint glow.

There was no guard stationed here, as the list possessed self-protective abilities. It was a spiritual treasure, or more accurately, a sub-list of the Daoxun List enshrined in the Daoxun Hall of the Guo Dao Academy in Fenglin City.

Jiang Wang had come here specifically to broaden his horizons.

Standing before the Daoxun List was a middle-aged Daoist dressed in plain clothes. His hands were clasped in front of him as he stared intently at the list.

From behind, one could not see his face, but anyone unfamiliar to Jiang Wang within the inner courtyard had a higher cultivation level than him, as they were all his senior brothers.

Jiang Wang didn't want to disturb him, so he walked towards the Daoxun List and focused his mind, gazing at the list as the faint glow rippled and various information flowed through his mind.

This was only a sub-list of the Fenglin City Daoxun List, and only contained information related to the Guo Dao Academy. It was said that the Daoxun List itself encompassed everything and anything. But for Jiang Wang, that was still quite distant.

The exchange options on the Fenglin City Daoxun sub-list were not few, and were enough to make Jiang Wang's eyes spin. However, the prices of those exchange items made him want to turn and leave.

The cheapest Qi-opening Pill cost one hundred Daoxun, and its true value was certainly more than that. However, as disciples of the Dao Academy, they received some support from the sect. To exchange for a second Qi-opening Pill, it would require one thousand five hundred Daoxun. That was probably the true price of a Qi-opening Pill.

In addition, even the cheapest standard-issue sword required a minimum of five hundred Daoxun!

Jiang Wang looked at his five Daoxun... Well, he had only come to broaden his horizons.

As the Daoxun List was a ranking, there was naturally a ranking system. Jiang Wang only realized at this moment that Zhang Linchuan, who he thought was unfathomable, was only ranked third on the Fenglin City Daoxun sub-list.

Ranked second was Wei Yan, who was not a disciple of the Dao Academy, but a military officer in the city guard. From his name, there might be some relationship with Wei Quji.

Ranked first with 1,300 Daoxun was Zhu Weiwo, who was also the recognized big senior brother of the entire Fenglin City Dao Academy, but was rarely seen. Jiang Wang had only heard of him, but never seen him.

It should be noted that Wei Yan, who was ranked second, had only seven hundred Daoxun, which was not much different from Zhang Linchuan, but both were far behind Zhu Weiwo.

Jiang Wang flipped through the list and saw Li Jianqiu at the seventeenth spot, then cut off his connection with the Daoxun List.

"New junior brother?"

The senior brother from earlier seemed to be waiting for him.

Jiang Wang turned his head at the sound and saw a warm smile on the man's face.

"Greetings, senior brother. I am Jiang Wang, a new member of the inner courtyard."

"Hello to you too. I'm Wang Changxiang." Wang Changxiang's appearance was not outstanding, but his smile made him very approachable. "Well then, until next time."

"Goodbye." Jiang Wang's heart stirred, as he had just checked the Daoxun List and saw that this man was ranked seventh, far above Li Jianqiu.

Of course, the Daoxun List only tallied Daoxun and not personal strength. But in a sense, it could also reflect something.

Before, they and their sworn brothers were invincible, but after entering the inner courtyard, they realized how vast the world was.Of those he had come into contact with so far, Li Jianqiu, Zhang Linchuan, and Wang Changxiang all had different temperaments, but each was an outstanding figure. Jiang Wang knew he was far from their match.

If a single Daoist institution in Fenglin City had so many talented people, what about the entire Qinghe County, or even the entire Zhuang Nation?

And what about those Tianjiao who were famous throughout the world and made heroes from all nations look up to them? What kind of brilliance did they possess?

Thinking about this did not discourage Jiang Wang. On the contrary, an infinite fighting spirit burned within him.

At least for now, he had already set foot on the path to transcendence and was on the same playing field as those dazzling individuals. What was there to fear?