Chapter 63: The Mountain Fortress Reduced to Dust

On the night of Jiang An'an's birthday, everyone had a great time, except for Jiang Wang, who regretted not having time to show off his cooking skills.

After the lively gathering dispersed, Zhao Rucheng returned home.

He sat quietly in his study for a while before hearing the sound of the door opening.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Uncle Deng." Although Zhao Rucheng's posture was casual, his tone was one of genuine respect and closeness.

The Zhao family steward, known as Uncle Deng, stood respectfully and smiled gently: "That 'Exhausted Flame Spear' was excellent. Talented people emerge in every generation. I feel like I'm getting old."

"How could that be? Walking on the street, people would think you're my brother."

Uncle Deng's expression remained unchanged, but he said, "There must be order between superiors and inferiors."

Zhao Rucheng opened his mouth, probably wanting to say something, but knowing it would be useless, he had no choice but to remain silent.

Instead, Uncle Deng spoke: "I never thought that at my age, my reappearance would only be to buy a candied hawthorn for a little girl."

Zhao Rucheng grinned: "Thank you, Uncle Deng. Appreciate it, Uncle Deng."

"That little girl is very cute."

Zhao Rucheng was extremely proud: "Of course! She's my sister!"

Uncle Deng looked at him and repeated, "She is very cute."

The smile on Zhao Rucheng's face suddenly disappeared.

On that handsome face, which was almost always indifferent, there was even a hint of sorrow.

He was silent for a long time, then said, "I understand."

…

On the second day of Jiang An'an's birthday, Aunt Song sent a jade bracelet as a birthday gift for An'an. It was one day late due to the long distance.

Along with it was a jade pendant for Jiang Wang. The intention was probably to appease Jiang Wang, fearing that he would prevent her from contacting her daughter.

After seeing the gift, An'an didn't say anything, but it was obvious that she liked it very much, and she treasured it in her little box.

For Jiang Wang, the encounter with Xiong Wen instantly extinguished some of the arrogance he felt after winning the first place in the Three Cities Debate among the first-year students.

But the gains from this battle were also considerable.

First, after killing Xiong Wen, the number of Dao Yuan in the Tongtian Palace skyrocketed, and the day of completing the foundation was not far away.

Second, Zhu Weiwu, after fulfilling the task of killing the Heart-Eating Demonic Man, fairly distributed five hundred Dao merits to him. It is said that Zhu Weiwu himself earned over six thousand Dao merits in this mission, but his Dao merit points on the Dao Merit list decreased instead of increasing, and he only had one thousand Dao merits left. It's unknown what treasure he exchanged it for.

Compared to Jiang Wang and others who had to scrimp and save to gather a hundred Dao merits, it can only be said that it is not difficult for real experts to earn Dao merits.

As for the last gain, it was the black candle that somehow appeared in the Tongtian Palace.

This was probably a treasure, but no matter how Jiang Wang studied it, he couldn't find a way to use it. The most important thing right now was foundation building, so he could only leave it for later exploration.

With the unexpected joy of five hundred Dao merits, Jiang Wang naturally wanted to prepare a Meridian Opening Pill for Zhao Rucheng and Jiang An'an each. As a Dao Academy disciple, Zhao Rucheng could directly exchange a Meridian Opening Pill for one hundred Dao merits. And Jiang Wang hadn's used his own exchange quota, so he could save it for An'an.

Zhao Rucheng readily accepted Jiang Wang's Dao merits, and even asked with a grin: "Third Brother, I've taken a fancy to a Dharma sword worth five hundred Dao merits. I've saved up a bit myself, but I'm still short. Can you help me out?"

Jiang Wang was very generous at this time: "How much are you short?"

"Four hundred and ninety-nine."

That's really just a little bit!

"..." Jiang Wang kicked him, "Get lost!"

But after thinking about it, he sighed: "I still have to save one hundred Dao merits for An'an to exchange for a Meridian Opening Pill, so I'll give you the remaining three hundred."

"Don't!" Zhao Rucheng stopped him.

"What's wrong?"

"You can still give me the Dao merits. But think again about the matter of opening the meridians for An'an."

Jiang Wang didn't understand: "Shouldn't opening the meridians be done as early as possible? If you're worried about the dangers of the extraordinary level, then there's no need. I don't plan to let An'an enter the Dao Academy."

Cultivating in the Dao Academy is actually heavily subsidized by the court, so in terms of obligations, Dao Academy disciples cannot refuse some mandatory conscription tasks. Such as cleaning the official road environment, such as chasing and killing heretical demons, and so on. Danger is unavoidable.

Jiang Wang has the Dao Evolution Platform, so he doesn't have to worry about cultivation techniques, and he can also be An'an's teacher himself. In the end, he doesn't expect An'an to become any kind of expert, he just hopes that she can be healthy and have some ability to protect herself.

Zhao Rucheng smiled bitterly: "It's not that opening the meridians early is bad."

He hesitated for a moment, but still said, "If you want to open the meridians for An'an, then don't use the Dao Academy's Meridian Opening Pill."

Jiang Wang frowned even tighter: "Is there a problem with the Dao Academy's Meridian Opening Pill?"

"It's not that." Zhao Rucheng simply said, "The Meridian Opening Pill that can be exchanged at the city's Dao Academy is the lowest-level Meridian Opening Pill. Eldest Brother's age has already reached this point, and he can't delay any longer. An'an is still young, so she can wait. If you want to open the meridians for An'an, you have to give her the best possible one, so that she can walk more smoothly on the path of cultivation in the future.

I'm not saying that it's impossible to walk the path to greatness by taking the lowest-level Meridian Opening Pill. Many experts have risen from the most difficult conditions, but it's more arduous after all.

If it were before, I wouldn't have said these things to you. After all, in an environment like Maple Forest City, things like Meridian Opening Pills are fought over by many people. It's already rare to have one to use. But after you killed Xiong Wen, an elder of mine said that you have a chance. You have such a chance to grow. In the future, you will be able to obtain better Meridian Opening Pills for An'an.

An'an is also my sister, and I hope she can suffer less in the future."

Jiang Wang digested this silently for a while. He had always known that his youngest sworn brother had secrets, but he had never asked about them. Just like he had obtained the key to enter the Taixu Illusory Realm, none of these brothers had ever questioned him.

But now it seems that the secrets hidden by Zhao Rucheng are probably bigger than he imagined.

After all, to say nothing else, just this knowledge of the cultivation world is not something that ordinary families can cultivate.

You must know that Fang Pengju came from the three major surnames of Maple Forest City, but he was still ungrateful for a Meridian Opening Pill. But in Zhao Rucheng's mouth, this Meridian Opening Pill was so insignificant.

He even knew that if he hadn't mentioned opening the meridians for An'an, Zhao Rucheng probably wouldn't have said these things.

"Meridian Opening Pills are divided into grades?" Jiang Wang asked.

"Of course. You know, the main material of the Meridian Opening Pill is extracted from the Dao meridians of妖獸 (Monster Beast). However,妖獸 (Monster Beast) have strengths and weaknesses, and the Dao meridians naturally have advantages and disadvantages. Tell me, can Meridian Opening Pills refined from different grades of Dao meridians be the same?"

"The Meridian Opening Pill you got from Zuo Guanglie is not simple. My family elder said that your meridian opening was perfect, and it perfectly developed your potential."

Jiang Wang was silent.

He silently observed the small earthworm 真靈 (True Spirit) in his Tongtian Palace for a while, but he really couldn't see how it could be related to "perfect meridian opening."

Isn't this just the lowest-level earthworm meridian?

…

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