Chapter 18: Again See High Mountains, Again Go to High Mountains

The white-faced demon's entire corpse was split into two, but because his right arm had already been chopped off, the two halves didn't look symmetrical.

Jiang Wang landed in front of the corpse, his hand relaxed, and the long sword shattered into countless pieces, falling to the ground.

Its mission was complete.

This long sword, made of ordinary material, couldn't withstand such a long period of Dao essence infusion.

And Jiang Wang once again clearly felt that the Tongtian Palace was empty. Not a single one of those lively and lovely little things was left.

Before those unowned gray mists spread out, Jiang Wang returned to the official road. He noticed that some of the gray mist had escaped to the side of the road, but was blocked by an invisible force and slowly dissipated.

Jiang Wang knew that it should be the power of some kind of array pattern engraved on the official road.

After waiting for a while, rumbling thunder approached from afar, and Zhang Linchuan leaped a few times, landing beside Jiang Wang.

"Junior Brother Jiang didn't leave this place, did you?" he asked.

Despite the battle, his clothes were still neat, and even his hair was meticulously protected. His demeanor was refined in every gesture.

"I encountered... that demon from Tangshe Town."

"You cut his flesh and blood, so he definitely would come to retrieve them, otherwise he would have to flee from Zhuang Country."

"I killed him."

Zhang Linchuan's eyebrows jumped: "What?"

Jiang Wang pointed in the direction where the white-faced demon had been slain: "I just don't know if the corpse is useful, or if we can find any clues."

Zhang Linchuan recovered from his surprise and shook his head: "These people have incomplete souls, so searching their souls while they're alive is useless, let alone after death. I just killed a few, and it was the same."

"I see." Jiang Wang didn't feel any disappointment. For him, killing the white-faced demon was enough.

He didn't blame Zhang Linchuan for choosing to pursue the enemy first, instead of staying to protect him. He wasn't some delicate person in need of protection, and Zhang Linchuan wasn't his nanny.

Moreover, if it weren't for Zhang Linchuan's pressure, this white-faced demon would never have lost his will to fight and chosen to escape at the first opportunity. And his accomplices would never have given Jiang Wang a chance for a one-on-one fight.

Zhang Linchuan glanced at the place where the gray mist was dissipating, and sighed: "The array pattern on this section of the official road has been corroded. It must be reported to the government and have them send someone to repair it quickly."

The two horses hadn't been frightened away. Jiang Wang tugged on the reins, and the horse lively trotted forward.

At this moment, he felt that in the Tongtian Palace, from some unknown place, a Dao essence suddenly rolled out, one after another, a total of five. Moreover, they were fuller and rounder.

Although it didn't completely replenish the previous consumption, it was still an unexpected delight.

At this point, he understood the lectures of the senior Daoists more deeply.

So-called Dao essence, the beginning of the Great Dao. The birth of Dao essence is not simply the sublimation of Qi and blood, but the perfect fusion of will and power, the most authentic feedback from the spirit of all things to the origin of heaven and earth.

……

When they returned to the Dao Academy, it was still early, so the two went directly to Dong A's courtyard to report their mission.

The door was open, but the courtyard was empty, except for Fang Heling, who was pacing around, looking bored.

Seeing the two enter empty-handed, his eyes lit up.

Fang Heling first greeted Zhang Linchuan respectfully, then said in a seemingly comforting tone: "It seems that Senior Brother Zhang didn't have much to gain this time... Even with Senior Brother Zhang's talent, bringing a newbie who doesn't understand anything is really too difficult."

Of course, he didn't think of himself as a newbie. The Fang family was a century-old family that had produced many cultivators. He had been influenced by them since childhood and wasn't unfamiliar with battles between cultivators. But this guy named Jiang was from a small town. What kind of insight could he have?

Jiang Wang didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Zhang Linchuan was in the mood to tease: "Oh? It seems that Heling had a good harvest this time."

"It went pretty smoothly," Fang Heling said with feigned modesty, and couldn't wait to show off.

It turned out that when they went to the Fulai Inn to investigate clues, someone was secretly spying on them. However, Li Jianqiu took action decisively and captured that person alive. A search that originally seemed hopeless suddenly had direction because of this live person!

Of course, how much Fang Heling contributed to this was hard to say.

"Where did Junior Brother Li go?" Zhang Linchuan asked.

Fang Heling froze awkwardly for a moment, and then said: "He's in the room. Instructor Dong is using secret techniques to search his soul."

Dong A was searching the soul, Li Jianqiu was attending, and Fang Heling didn't even have the qualification to observe... His contribution to this trip was evident.

Zhang Linchuan and Jiang Wang didn't want to interrupt, so they had to wait in the courtyard with Fang Heling.

Jiang Wang didn't say a word, closing his eyes to send the Dao essence in the Tongtian Palace to the position where it should hover, while Zhang Linchuan chatted idly with Fang Heling.

Fang Heling was naturally proud, after all, Dong A had said before that the mission Dao merits would be divided one to nine. Jiang Wang obviously didn't gain anything, but they came back with a live person. This was the first step in widening the gap.

Before long, Dong A, in a black Daoist robe, walked out with Li Jianqiu.

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

Dong A said: "This person's soul is incomplete. This instructor only searched for some scattered fragments, which are irrelevant."

Fang Heling rushed to perform: "With such thorough precautions, there must be a tight-knit organization behind these people! This matter is by no means simple!"

Dong A remained noncommittal and only looked at Zhang Linchuan.

Zhang Linchuan then described what happened after going to Tangshe Town, without adding any embellishments. As for the details of Jiang Wang's two battles with the white-faced demon, Dong A wouldn't ask, and Jiang Wang didn't need to say.

He was a proper Dao Academy disciple, not a criminal, so there was no need to be interrogated.

Dong A nodded upon hearing this: "Jiang Wang is good."

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

In this mission, both Zhang Linchuan's and Li Jianqiu's teams submitted new clues, but neither had any follow-up, so the mission naturally couldn't be considered successful. However, Dong A assigned five Dao merits to each of them as an encouragement.

For Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu, they were originally just bringing junior brothers who were new to entry-level missions. It would be better if they gained something, but it didn't matter if they didn't. Their senior brothers had brought them along in the same way.

For Jiang Wang and Fang Heling, five Dao merits weren't few. This was equivalent to half-completing a low-level ninth-grade mission.

Ninth-grade missions earned between ten and one hundred Dao merits, and eighth-grade missions earned between one hundred and five hundred Dao merits, depending on the difficulty of the mission.

Dong A acted decisively. After determining that this mission had temporarily ended, he ordered the disciples to disperse.

After the matter was over, Fang Heling urged Zhang Linchuan and Li Jianqiu to go for a few drinks. Jiang Wang thought about it and decided to go to the Dao Merit Hall.

……

The location of the Dao Merit Hall was directly opposite the Offering Hall, showing its importance.

The entire hall was empty and there was nothing else except a Dao Merit Board, emitting a faint light, suspended on the altar table.

There were no guards here, because the Dao Merit Board had the power to protect itself. It itself was a spiritual treasure, or more accurately, the board enshrined in the Dao Merit Hall of Maple Forest City Dao Academy was a sub-board of the Dao Merit Board in the National Dao Academy, which received the incense of the entire country.

Jiang Wang came here specifically just to see the world.

In front of the Dao Merit Board stood a Daoist in linen clothes of medium height, with his hands clasped in front of him, staring at the board in a daze.

From the back, he couldn't see his face, but anyone in the inner courtyard that Jiang Wang wasn't familiar with had a higher cultivation level than him.

Because they were all his senior brothers.

Jiang Wang didn't bother him and went to the Dao Merit Board on his own. He focused his mind, stared at the board, and with a slight ripple of light, a lot of information flowed through his mind.

This was just a sub-board, so he could only see the relevant information of Maple Forest City Dao Academy. It was said that the Dao Merit Board itself encompassed everything and had everything. But that was still quite distant for Jiang Wang.

There were many exchange options on this Maple Forest City Dao Academy sub-board, enough to dazzle Jiang Wang. However, the prices of those exchangeable items made him want to turn around and leave.

The cheapest Vein Opening Pill cost one hundred Dao merits, and its value was of course more than that, but as Dao Academy disciples, the Dao Gate had some support. Exchanging for the second Vein Opening Pill would require one thousand five hundred Dao merits. This should be the real price of the Vein Opening Pill.

In addition, the cheapest standard magic sword started at five hundred Dao merits!

Jiang Wang looked at his five Dao merits... Well, he was just here to broaden his horizons.

The so-called Dao Merit Board, since it was a board, naturally had rankings. Jiang Wang then realized that Zhang Linchuan, who seemed unfathomable to him, was only ranked third on this Maple Forest City Dao Merit sub-board.

The person ranked second was named Wei Yan, who wasn't a Dao Academy disciple, but a military officer in the City Guard. Judging from his name, he might have something to do with Wei Quji.

And Zhu Weiwo, who was ranked first with one thousand three hundred Dao merits, was also the recognized senior brother of the entire Maple Forest City Dao Academy, who always appeared and disappeared mysteriously. Jiang Wang had always only heard of his name, but never seen him.

It should be known that Wei Yan, who was ranked second, only had seven hundred Dao merits, about the same as Zhang Linchuan, but was far behind Zhu Weiwo.

Jiang Wang flipped down a bit and saw Li Jianqiu in the seventeenth place, then cut off the connection with the Dao Merit Board.

"New entry-level junior brother?"

The previous senior brother seemed to be waiting for him specifically.

Jiang Wang turned his head upon hearing this, and saw a warm smiling face.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I'm Jiang Wang, recently entered the inner sect."

"You too, I'm Wang Changxiang." Wang Changxiang's appearance wasn't outstanding, but the smile on his face made him very approachable. "Well then, see you next time."

"Goodbye." Jiang Wang's heart stirred. In the Dao Merit Board he had just checked, this person was ranked seventh, far above Li Jianqiu.

Of course, the Dao Merit Board only counted Dao merits, not personal strength. But in a sense, it could indeed reflect some things.

Before, in the outer sect, their sworn brothers could be said to have stood out from the crowd and were invincible. Only after entering the inner sect did they realize the vastness of the world.

From what he had encountered so far, Li Jianqiu, Zhang Linchuan, and Wang Changxiang had different temperaments, but none of them were not outstanding people. Jiang Wang thought that he was far from being their opponent.

Even Maple Forest City Dao Academy alone had so many talented people, so what about the entire Qinghe County, or even the entire Zhuang Country?

And what kind of demeanor would those geniuses who were famous throughout the world and admired by the heroes of various countries have?

Thinking of these things didn't discourage Jiang Wang, but instead made him burn with infinite fighting spirit.

At least now, he had stepped on the path of transcendence and was on the same field as those dazzling people. Then what was there to fear?