Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Chapter 22: Emergency call

Xiao An'an began her life in Fenglin City. After Song Auntie left, she sent a letter saying that she had married to Wangjiang City. As a city known for its prosperity, Wangjiang City ranked second only to the capital city of Qinghe County. Moreover, her husband's family name was Lin, which was considered a local aristocrat. It was no wonder that she could not bring her daughter with her.

As for the remaining assets of the Jiang family in Fengxi Town, Jiang Wang did not inquire further. Anyway, Song Auntie had taken care of him and sent her some dowry after he fell ill. However, both sides had probably said enough and there was no need to contact each other again.

At the age of four or five, Jiang Wang arranged a private school for his sister. It was the best private school besides the three major clan schools and did not accept ordinary people. Jiang Wang had gained some face outside the City Dao Academy, especially now that he had entered the inner gate and his meridians were externally visible. He was undoubtedly the future pillar of Zhuangguo, and no one would dare to offend him easily.

After attending the lecture at the Dao Academy every day and practicing for a while, Jiang Wang would pick up An'an from the private school. He would try to choose tasks that would not take more than a day, and he would go and come back on the same day without delaying taking care of An'an. If there was a task that really could not be delayed, he would let Linghu Zhao Rucheng and others take turns to take care of her for a while.

Days passed by like this. The foundation formation in the Tongtian Palace became more and more complicated, and it was beginning to take shape. However, the later the layout of the foundation formation, the more difficult it became. Especially before the foundation was laid, if there was a slight mistake in moving the Dao Yuan, the Dao Yuan would scatter, and the effort to break through the meridians would be wasted. Due to the use of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Formation, his foundation was slower than others, so Jiang Wang did not allow himself to fail in every step of the foundation process.

Because the foundation was not yet complete, he could not practice Dao arts. Jiang Wang could only work harder on the Ziqi Donglai Sword Art. This sword technique had nine cultivation methods and five killing methods. As the name suggests, the cultivation methods were for cultivating the body and understanding the sword path, while the killing methods were for attacking and breaking through formations and defeating enemies.

Fortunately, after mastering the nine cultivation methods, the nourishing effect on the body's qi and blood was amazing. Jiang Wang could even clearly perceive that the body was giving more feedback to the Dao meridians, speeding up the condensation of Dao Yuan.

After a period of time, he unexpectedly gained an opportunity to break through the meridians one more time a day. He could condense three Dao Yuan every day, which greatly shortened the time for successfully laying the foundation.

Living a fulfilling and satisfying life, Jiang Wang welcomed his first large-scale task since entering the City Dao Academy."Emergency mission, no one is allowed to leave!"

In the academy, the morning class had just ended when a black-robed general burst in.

"Who is this person?"

"What does he want?"

The disciples whispered to each other, but soon someone pointed out the truth, "Keep your voice down, that's Wei Yan!"

The entire academy fell silent.

As the second on the Dao Xun Board and a powerful military leader of the City Guards, no matter what his identity, he was enough to suppress the crowd. Especially this martial officer was known for his tough and ruthless style.

Wei Yan seemed to be indifferent to everyone's attitude, or rather, he only needed to show his own attitude.

"Starting from last week, there has been no news from Xiaolin Town for a full five days."

Jiang Wang and Linghe exchanged a glance. Xiaolin Town, as a major town under the jurisdiction of Fenglin City, had to report on everything, big or small, every now and then.

Five whole days without any news was almost equivalent to Fenglin City losing control over it. A town with a population of thousands suddenly cut off from the inside and outside, this was no small matter.

Wei Yan continued, "I hold the City Lord's seal and am calling for at least thirty inner disciples from the City Dao Academy to investigate this matter in Xiaolin Town."

"Isn't this the responsibility of the Criminal Investigation Department?" A disciple asked dissatisfiedly.

Such a big task, calling for thirty inner disciples from the City Dao Academy at once, the danger was definitely not low. Therefore, many people were not willing to go.

"The Swallowing Heart Demon Bear has appeared in Sanshan City, and now most of the Criminal Investigation Department's forces in Qinghe County have been called to Sanshan City."

Wei Yan did not respond, his deputy Zhao Lang explained beside him.

The official system of the Zhuang country followed that of the Yong country. Generally, ordinary cases were handled by the yamen, while those involving superhumans were taken over by the Criminal Investigation Department. The Criminal Investigation Department was responsible for superhuman events across the country, theoretically subject to local officials' control, but due to its direct affiliation with the capital, local officials often could not command them as they wished.

Just like this time, mobilizing manpower to hunt down the Swallowing Heart Demon Bear was the idea of the Criminal Investigation Department. Even if the Fenglin City Lord Wei Quji wanted to intervene, he could not call them back.

"What about the City Guards?" the previous disciple asked again.

The City Guards were the City Lord's direct military force, suppressing all evil and rebellious acts. A major event like Xiaolin Town losing contact with the outside world was enough to trigger the City Guards' suppression.

"The City Guards have other tasks." Wei Yan impatiently interrupted, "This mission will reward three more points of Dao Xun merit, and it is voluntary in principle, but if the number of inner disciples who sign up is less than thirty, I will use the City Lord's order to forcefully conscript them!""It needs to be reminded that before this mission, two Meridian Realm cultivators who went to investigate have already been lost in Xiaolin Town under the City Lord's Mansion. We hope everyone will assess the risks and act accordingly."

The Daoist system is the most important system of transcendent promotion in Zhuang Country. Local city Daoist institutes absorb local cultivation seeds, and after several years of cultivation, they pass the assessment to enter the county Daoist institutes. After that, they enter the national Daoist institute, layer by layer selecting the talents of the entire Zhuang Country.

Finally, all the talents of Zhuang Country are gathered in the capital city, competing with the heroes of other countries. If they fail, they will be sent to various places to govern and protect the area.

Although the Maple Forest City Daoist Institute only accepts ten inner disciples each time, due to the high difficulty of entering the county Daoist institutes, many cultivators spend several years or even more than ten years in the city Daoist institute. The entire Maple Forest City Daoist Institute has accumulated over the years, except for those who are traveling or closed-door cultivation, and there are about three hundred inner disciples.

From Wei Yan's perspective, he might want the number of applicants to be insufficient. According to his original intention, he would directly requisition the strongest thirty people in the entire Maple Forest City Daoist Institute through orders, which would have a greater chance of success. However, the Daoist institute and the City Lord's Mansion are not subordinate to each other, and it is difficult to mediate if conflicts arise.

"Are you going, boss?" Jiang Wang asked Ling He quietly. He was actually worried because this mission would inevitably involve transcendent power, and Ling He and Du Ye Hu had not yet opened their meridians, which could be extremely dangerous.

"Of course, I'm going." Ling He did not hesitate. He had already fallen behind on the path of cultivation, and the opportunity to increase his Daoist merit rewards by thirty percent was not something he could miss. As for danger? If he was afraid of danger, he should have stayed in the village and farmed.

"I'm signing up!" Du Ye Hu had already shouted, "All four of us are signing up!"

Zhao Ru Cheng bumped him dissatisfiedly, "What are you doing? I want to go back and sleep."

Among the few people, he had the least fighting spirit and just relaxed every day. Life was nothing but relaxation.

Wei Yan glanced lightly at them and saw that they had not yet successfully laid their foundations, so he didn't pay much attention and just instructed his adjutant casually, "Take note of it."

The adjutant loudly announced, "Registration time is limited to one incense stick, and there are still twenty-six spots left."

"As cultivators, we are supported by the country and should contribute to our country. I am signing up for this operation." Li Jianqiu's voice came from outside the gate, and he walked in gracefully.

Disciples like him with such strength already had a lot of freedom. They don't need to come to the institute every day, and even at this level, they can refuse this kind of forced requisition. Unless it is a national crisis, they only climb higher in their cultivation. His appearance caused a low whisper."How could we let Jianqiu take all the credit? Count me in, Wang Changxiang." Unlike Li Jianqiu, who walked with his sword, Wang Changxiang's temperament was much more peaceful. He still wore the linen Taoist robe that Jiang Wang had seen him in at the Dao Xun Hall, walking slowly and calmly.

"With the addition of Brother Wang and Brother Li, this trip is even more certain!" Even Wei Yan's cold and hard face couldn't help but show a smile.

Facing Wang Changxiang, who ranked seventh on the Dao Xun List, even he couldn't be too arrogant.

With Wang Changxiang and Li Jianqiu joining, the enthusiasm of the disciples who signed up suddenly increased, and it was soon full.

Thirty inner disciples, except for Jiang Wang and his three brothers, almost all had a foundation of ninth level cultivation, all extraordinary. With such a force of extraordinary power, they could almost sweep through the entire Fenglin City.

Wei Yan casually took the list and glanced at it, nodding his head, "You guys are quite brave. You haven't lost your humanity by just studying the scriptures."

Perhaps for him, this was already praise, but his condescending tone still made people unhappy.

The Ministry of War and the Dao Academy were two different promotion systems, with both cooperation and competition between them. It was common for them to not see eye to eye with each other.

Immediately, a disciple expressed dissatisfaction, "If Senior Zhu were here, I wonder if some people would still dare to criticize us?"

This person was naturally referring to Zhu Weiwo, who ranked first on the Dao Xun List in Fenglin City.

Wei Yan didn't get angry, but just raised his robe and walked outside the Dao Academy, "Let's go!"