Red Heart Patrols the Sky

In the nearly ten-acre luxurious residence of Zhao Rucheng, two figures were fleeting and converging amidst the gleam of swords.

Clang!!

Zhao Rucheng's hand shook, and his longsword flew out of his grasp. Jiang Wang's longsword had already stopped next to his neck, and he looked at Zhao with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"Impressive!" exclaimed Zhao Rucheng. "What swordsmanship is this?"

There was, of course, some gap between his and Jiang Wang's swordsmanship, but it wasn't too great. In past sparring sessions, he could always win three or five out of ten matches, yet today, after twenty bouts, he hadn't won a single one!

Jiang Wang retracted his sword with a smile. This sword technique, which utilized martial skills to enter the Dao, was indeed a mysterious Fa Men. It consisted of nine forms for practice and five forms for killing. At present, he had mastered only four of the practice forms and one of the killing forms, yet his understanding of swordsmanship had already greatly surpassed what it had been prior.

He reckoned that his combat ability was now sufficient to rank as a Transcendent. If he encountered that demonic attacker from the other night again, he would certainly have the strength to fight.

"I came upon this sword technique by chance, and it doesn't have a name. You're well-versed in both literature and martial arts, Ru Cheng, what do you think it should be called?"

Zhao Rucheng pondered for a moment, "This is the Son of Heaven among swords, it should be named... 'Purple Qi Eastward'."

"Purple Qi Eastward..." A flicker of appreciation passed through Jiang Wang's eyes. "What a good name!"

Just then, he seemed to glimpse on Zhao Rucheng an imposing aura he had never noticed before.

But it must have been an illusion because Zhao Rucheng picked up his fallen longsword the next moment, bounded in front of Jiang Wang, and with his usual carefree demeanor, grinned and said, "Teach me, brother!"

"Sure," Jiang Wang replied with a radiant smile.

Both of them were swordsmanship experts among the common folks and understood the value of 'Purple Qi Eastward'. It was completely different from the combat techniques that were widely practiced in the secular world and was, indeed, a Transcendent sword canon capable of allowing one to enter the Dao with martial skills.

Those mighty sword cultivators were no less than the experts of Dao Techniques.

Such a sword canon could cause a storm of blood and strife in the martial world. But here, one casually asked to learn, and the other taught just as casually, making the precious canon seem almost insignificant.

...

When Jiang Wang returned to the Taoist Sect, it was already late.

Zhao Rucheng rarely stayed at the Taoist Sect unless he had classes, showing a thoroughly prodigal nature.

Musing over the intricacies of 'Purple Qi Eastward', he didn't notice Li Jianqiu standing with a sword at the entrance to the housing area of the Inner Sect Disciples until he was right at the door.

"What are you thinking about, so intently?" Li Jianqiu asked, his expression seemingly amused.

"Some issues with swordsmanship," Jiang Wang responded openly and then asked, "For what reason has Brother Li come?"

"No wonder Junior Brother Jiang's swordsmanship is outstanding," Li Jianqiu casually praised before answering, "Teacher Dong asked you to visit him after tomorrow's morning class. I saw you weren't in your room, so I waited for a while."

"Ah, I spent the entire afternoon at Ru Cheng's residence," Jiang Wang said somewhat sheepishly, "It wasn't necessary for Brother Li to wait. You could've left a message with the servant."

Inner Sect Disciples had attendants to manage their daily needs, allowing these seeds of the Taoist Sect to focus on their cultivation.

"Since Teacher Dong asked me to tell you, I couldn't pass the message on to someone else. I'm not some noble scion who considers it beneath him to wait for someone."

Jiang Wang bowed slightly, "I am ill at ease."

And indeed, he felt ill at ease, knowing that Li Jianqiu was two grades above him and one of the outstanding few in his class. Destined for advanced studies at Qinghe County, Li was clearly one of the talents of the entire Taoist Sect.

And such an individual had been standing in front of his dormitory, waiting for him without a hint of impatience.

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang's shoulder, "I believe Junior Brother Jiang's potential is limitless, so don't be so formal."

With those words, he turned and walked away.

...

The night passed without incident. As soon as the morning class ended the next day, Jiang Wang visited Teacher Dong's place.

Aside from Li Jianqiu, two others were present in the small courtyard; one of them was also an older disciple named Zhang Linchuan. From one of the three prominent families of Fenglin City, the Zhang Family, he was among the strongest disciples in Sect, with quite a reputation.

Though not exceedingly handsome, he was tall, stood upright, and had a certain charisma. His clothes, down to the accessories, were exquisite and fit perfectly.

At the moment, he was in the courtyard listening to the person next to him.

The other person, to Jiang Wang's surprise, was Fang Helling.

Noticing Jiang Wang's arrival, he deliberately raised his voice, "Brother Zhang! Yesterday a hunter from my estate brought in a pair of fine bear paws. Tomorrow I'll have the chief chef at the Viewing Moon Pavilion prepare them well, and then we can enjoy the delicacy together."

Zhang Linchuan nodded with a smile.

Fang Helling then turned and invited, "Brother Li, you should come along too!"

Li Jianqiu did not wish to slight him and simply smiled, "If I have the time, I'll go."

Before Fang Helling could continue flattering, Li Jianqiu walked a few steps towards the yard's gate, "Has Disciple Jiang arrived?"

He had intentionally gone to greet him.

Jiang Wang hurriedly quickened his pace and called out, "I'm sorry for being late."

When he arrived beside Li Jianqiu, he also gave Zhang Linchuan a cupped fist salute, "Brother Zhang, greetings."

He alone seemed to act as if Fang Helling was invisible.

"You are welcome too." Zhang Linchuan replied with a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrent between Jiang and Fang.

Yet some people just had to assert their presence.

"Hmph." Fang Helling let out a conspicuously abrupt snort, then said with a sarcastic tone, "Master Dong has given orders, and both Brother Zhang and Brother Li have rushed over early. I was so hurried I couldn't even tend to my morning class and came straight here after getting up. And yet, I wonder what virtues and abilities some people possess that let them dare to make Master Dong and two Brothers wait."

Jiang Wang still ignored him, only bowing to Li Jianqiu and Zhang Linchuan, "I rushed over immediately after finishing my morning class, definitely not out of disrespect for the master's orders. Whether it's the morning or evening class, chanting scriptures or exhaling qi, from morning bell to evening drum, I dare not slack for a moment."

Li Jianqiu patted Jiang Wang's shoulder again to show closeness, "No worries, it's us who arrived early, not you who are late. The path of cultivation indeed allows no room for negligence. Although Brother Zhang and I don't need to join the other disciples in the scripture hall for chanting, we also completed our morning practices in our rooms."

Fang Helling was even more annoyed inside, but with Li Jianqiu taking a stand, he dared not fan the flames further.

Just then came the squeak of a door; it was Dong Ah emerging.

"Has everyone arrived?" He looked around, exuding authority without anger.

All four of them performed a Taoist salute, "Master Dong!"

Dong Ah waved them off, a man of decisive nature who disliked dragging things out, and said without delay, "I have summoned you today to entrust you with a task. You must all be aware of the demon that attacked the outer courtyard and killed an external sect disciple. The Procuratorate has been investigating for so long without results. It's unnecessary to wait on others for the affairs of our sect; therefore, I assign you to look into this matter, which shall be considered a Grade-8 task in terms of merit."

Unlike tasks for external disciples, internal tasks were graded, commonly setting the grade based on the strongest combatant involved. Moreover, the reward units were not contribution points but Dao merits.

The difficulty is as different as heaven and earth, so naturally, the rewards vary greatly. Take the Channel-opening Pill as an example. One needs a huge amount of contribution points to exchange for it in the outer sect, but only a hundred Dao merits are needed.

Of course, even a hundred Dao merits aren't easy to come by either.

Taking this incident of the heretical demon's attack on the outer courtyard, the demon's demonstrated strength was within the Ninth Grade. Dong Ah rating it as Grade-8 was clearly meant as an encouragement.

"Jiang Wang and Fang Helling are, so far, the only two disciples of this generation whose meridians externally expressed the Tao; they need to be well-honed. Linchuan and Jian Qiu, you have been cultivating for a longer time and can lead the two younger disciples in conducting separate investigations. Rewards for the task will be split nine to one, with the party who finds clues first receiving ninety percent."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu both bowed, "We will follow Master's orders."

Dong Ah flung his sleeves and returned indoors, clearly intending not to meddle in subsequent affairs.

Zhang Linchuan, evidently well-prepared, pondered briefly and then said, "I have a friend in the Procuratorate. There are two most useful leads in the case of this demon's attack. One is that before the attack, the demon stayed at the Fulai Inn for three days, and some clues should be left there. Another is that a family in Tangshe Town was exterminated, and the scene had lingering deathly qi similar to that of the demon who attacked our outer courtyard. Brother Li, which path will you choose?"

Li Jianqiu said, "Since these are Brother Zhang's leads, naturally I will follow Brother Zhang's deployment."

Zhang Linchuan was not surprised; Li Jianqiu, if he had any sense, wouldn't compete with him at this moment either. He was simply going through the motions. He nodded at once, "In that case, I will go to Tangshe Town, and Brother Li will go to the Fulai Inn."

Fang Helling, standing beside Zhang Linchuan, had his eyes light up, "With Brother Zhang taking action, how can any left-path demon escape?"

After speaking, he even shot a glance at Jiang Wang, looking quite pleased with himself.

Anyone discerning could see that Tangshe Town fit the conditions for the demon's hiding place more and had clearer leads. In Fang Helling's eyes, he was going to take the lion's share of the rewards on this his first venture into a Grade-8 task.

At that moment, Zhang Linchuan addressed Li Jianqiu, "Brother Li, how about I take Jiang Wang with me?"

Li Jianqiu replied without betraying any emotion, "That's fine."

Actually, the prior standing positions of everyone had already implicitly determined the pairings. Jiang Wang was somewhat familiar with Li Jianqiu, while Zhang Linchuan and Fang Helling both hailed from the three major families.

Though he didn't understand why Zhang Linchuan didn't choose the closer and more familiar Fang Helling, Jiang Wang had no right to choose, so he promptly said, "Then I will trouble Brother Zhang."

Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu, both experienced, quickly arranged tasks and potential supplies needed for the mission. Jiang Wang also busied himself helping out diligently.

The only one standing still was Fang Helling, his face turning alternately pale and flushed.

He indeed had some opinions he wanted to express, but he could not utter a single word.