Zhu Weiwo had not yet returned, but his deeds had preceded him.
The whole of Fenglin City buzzed with the news. Old and young alike swelled with pride; maids and matrons sighed with longing. It was said that Zhu Weiwo had gone alone, a single man and a single spear, straight to Wangjiang City — but Lin Zhengren had refused the challenge and hidden himself away.
So Zhu Weiwo simply stormed the Wangjiang City Dao Academy, and taught a lesson to every expert worth naming on its Dao Merit Roll. Apart from Fu Baosong, who had fought with everything he had and earned the remark "barely passable," everyone else received the verdict of "chickens and clay dogs."
In the end, the dean of the Wangjiang City Dao Academy could not stand to watch any longer, and stepped in personally.
The man was a veteran cultivator of the Sixth-Grade Dragon-Rising Realm, the very peak of the Dragon-Rising stage. Zhu Weiwo met him head-on, growing fiercer as the battle wore on, and after a long fight he defeated the dean of the Wangjiang City Dao Academy — whose stamina had gradually failed him.
To defeat a city Dao Academy dean while still a student of the academy was a feat no one in Qinghe Commandery had accomplished in nearly a century.
It was said that at that moment Zhu Weiwo had planted his spear and laughed, his voice shaking the whole city, declaring that Wangjiang City had no one worth meeting, and he wished for a defeat but could not find one.
The city lord of Wangjiang was enraged and struck at him. After a single exchange, Zhu Weiwo withdrew, graceful and unhurried.
And with that, his name shook the whole Zhuang Kingdom!
If the pursuit and slaying of the Swallow-Heart Human Demon had still carried a hint of opportunism, then this — a frontal defeat of a Sixth-Grade Dragon-Rising peak expert, and a clean getaway from a Fifth-Grade Inner Prefecture expert — left no doubt about Zhu Weiwo's true strength.
The vice-dean of the National Dao Academy had already personally signed his admission letter. General Huangfu had extended a special invitation to the Ministry of War, offering him a field command from the very start.
The Ember-Spending Spear had made a name across the world, and Zhu Weiwo had taken one step into the clouds.
Setting aside Zhu Weiwo's choice, the emergence of such a formidable figure brought more than just a boost to Fenglin City Dao Academy's reputation. Earlier, at the Three-City Dao Debate, Wangjiang City had won the most important fifth-year championship, putting a thumb on Fenglin City. But after Zhu Weiwo's feat, Fenglin City stood unmatched even within the whole of Qinghe Commandery. When the year-end resources were allocated, Fenglin would naturally take the lion's share. That meant more Meridian-Opening Pills, better instructors...
The Fenglin City Dao Academy only took in ten inner disciples a year. It was not that only ten people in the whole Fenglin domain were worthy of the academy each year, but that resources were so limited that it could not possibly train more. Next year, things might be very different.
As for the other lead in this affair, Lin Zhengren, he had not simply lain low after the incident. It was said that he had been away on a critical mission at the time and could not break free, which was why Zhu Weiwo had rampaged unchecked. After returning to the city and learning of the situation, Lin Zhengren burned his whip in public and swore an oath. He admitted that his current fighting strength was insufficient, but he would carry the shame and work with bitter determination. He declared that he would one day avenge this great humiliation for Wangjiang City. This earned him a measure of respect from some.
...
Jiang Wang asked with curiosity: "Did the Jade Python really get burned?"
Zhao Rucheng burst out laughing. "Not at all! He never even brought the Jade Python Whip that day. The whip he burned was his brother's. You can see he switched it out before he showed himself!"
Even Ling He could not help but laugh at this.
After the three brothers had chatted a while, Jiang Wang shared the Celestial Star-Dou Formation Diagram he had used for his Foundation Establishment. He had not mentioned it before because he himself did not know how well it would work, and he feared it might do more harm than good. But now that the Foundation was established, he could feel the superiority of the Celestial Star-Dou Formation Diagram. He felt that the extra time it had cost was nothing compared to the results — as the saying goes, sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of wood.
To put it plainly: the Daospiral formed by the Return-to-Origin Formation yielded only three pearls of Dao essence each day by itself. The nebular Daospiral formed by the Celestial Star-Dou Formation yielded nine pearls each day. As more spirals were added, the difference would only grow larger, and in the end it would more than make up for the extra time spent at the beginning.
But Ling He only smiled ruefully. "How could my Heaven-Access Palace ever hold a formation diagram so complex?"
Zhao Rucheng explained from the side, "This is why that elder of mine said your meridian opening was perfect."
Only then did Jiang Wang understand what made his Heaven-Access Palace special.
His Dao Meridian True Spirit was merely an ordinary earthworm, but the scale of his Heaven-Access Palace far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators!
An ordinary cultivator, only after building three Daospirals and completing the first minor Zhou Heavenly circulation, could slowly expand the Heaven-Access Palace through that circulation. Take Ling He's Heaven-Access Palace as an example — he could barely fit a single Celestial Star-Dou Formation diagram. Before his Heaven-Access Palace expanded, he could not fit a second diagram no matter what. That meant if he had chosen the Celestial Star-Dou Formation, he would have been stuck after the first Daospiral, unable to advance to the second, caught between two alternatives.
But Jiang Wang, from the moment he opened his meridians, had a Heaven-Access Palace vast and magnificent.
Now he understood, deeply, why Dong A had said the Return-to-Origin Formation was the most broadly applicable Foundation-Establishing Formation Diagram. No wonder the three great Dao traditions all used it as their standard founding diagram.
As for Zhao Rucheng, the scale of his Heaven-Access Palace was naturally not a problem. But after comparing the two, he found that the Celestial Star-Dou Formation and the Foundation-Establishing Diagram he had received just the night before were roughly equal, so he saw no reason to switch.
In cultivation, to avoid collisions and collapses in the whole Daospiral system, one generally does not change the Foundation-Establishing Formation Diagram unless one is willing to tear everything down and start over.
...
Time passed quickly.
On the day of departure, the agreed-upon group gathered at the South Gate.
At the sight of Jiang Wang, Li Jianqiu's eyes lit up. "Congratulations, junior brother, on a successful Foundation Establishment!"
Jiang Wang was embarrassed. "What's there to congratulate about Foundation Establishment? Don't tease me, Senior Brother Li."
Huang Azhan nodded approvingly, and patted Zhao Rucheng on the shoulder to show that he had high hopes for him. "Congratulations, Junior Brother Zhao, on a successful meridian opening!"
"...Get lost!"
The environment of Sanshan City could by no means be called pleasant. The official road wound through hills and ravines, twisting and endless. The cost of maintaining such a road was easy to imagine. Even though the Zhuang court spent the largest share on official roads everywhere, the remaining portion was not easy for Sanshan City to bear. Especially since Sanshan City was already poor in resources, with no distinctive local products to speak of, and not much wealth.
Even though Jiang Wang and his companions were all supernormal cultivators, they still felt a little tired by the time they reached Sanshan City.
They had made friends with several people from Sanshan City before, but Jiang Wang did not contact them in advance. He could not afford a Thousand-Li Voice-Transmission Box, and his cultivation was not high enough for a letter by flying sword. As for writing a letter and sending it by post, it would probably take longer than traveling there himself. So he decided to wait until he ran into them.
For a task like clearing out fierce beasts, Yang Xingyong, Sun Xiaoman, and the others — as local cultivators — would surely not miss it.
Sanshan City was built among ring upon ring of mountains, and its structure was very different from Fenglin City. The whole city had only one gate, facing the only official road that stretched toward it. And the first building one encountered after entering the gate was the rough-hewn City Lord's Mansion. That meant everyone entering Sanshan City had to go around the sides of the City Lord's Mansion.
From this layout, it seemed the city was not especially welcoming to outsiders.
But the common people of Sanshan City who passed back and forth were all full of warmth and hearty laughter.
From their dress, the living conditions of Sanshan's people were generally inferior to those of Fenglin City. But their spirits were high, and in their eyes one could see confidence in their lives.
Though the beast calamity had brought great suffering to this city, the cries of hawkers and the sounds of laughter never seemed to stop.
People came and went. People stayed and people left. This, too, was what it meant to be human.