Everything described above seemed to unfold slowly, yet from the moment Jiang Wang sprinted toward the Inner Court to the instant Dong A struck with devastating force, only a heartbeat had passed.
Just before the vine-serpents could close their encirclement in midair, a pale figure found a gap and launched himself upward at tremendous speed, on the verge of escaping to freedom.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Countless wooden thorns erupted forth, piercing clean through his body in a single instant!
His form jerked and stuttered in the air, and only when the furious barrage ceased did he fall limply from the sky. From skull to shin, his body was riddled with dense, bloody holes. He was dead beyond any doubt.
The entire Dao Academy fell silent. Outer Court disciples and Inner Court disciples alike were stunned to the core by what they had witnessed.
Jiang Wang's eyelid twitched. "That bizarre Left-Path heretic — dead just like that?"
Dong A did not so much as glance at the corpse. "The other one," he said coolly. "Still hiding?"
"Ridiculous." He strolled through the air as though walking through a garden, ascending step by step. "Everything within the Jade Cage is under my control. Everything thrums with life — except your stench, which turns my stomach."
He extended his right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze!
A door panel sprouted a massive wooden hand that seized a man dressed as an Outer Court disciple. The wooden fingers spread wide, racing across his entire body in an instant, locking him down completely.
At the same time, the wooden arm stretched rapidly, lifting the man high into the air until he hung before Dong A.
"Speak. Who sent you? How dare you commit murder within the Dao Academy?" Dong A stood with his back to the starlit sky, looking down from on high at this audacious assassin.
Even the wind seemed to still, waiting quietly for the man's answer.
The ordinary-faced assassin suddenly grinned — and his entire skull exploded!
Dong A clenched his fist. A film of water enveloped the grisly remnants instantly, sealing them into a swollen sphere of liquid.
He glanced once more at the previous corpse. A seed broke through the earth, grew at tremendous speed, and its bud opened into an enormous mouth that swallowed the body whole. Dong A tossed the water sphere in after it. The flower's maw snapped shut, then contracted back into the ground.
Two corpses, cleaned away just like that. Yet the fury on Dong A's face only deepened.
"A seed of cultivation in Zhuang Kingdom, murdered within the Dao Academy! The Left-Path heretics grow this bold! This matter will be investigated to the very end! The City Lord's Mansion must give this academy an explanation. No matter who the mastermind is — they will be executed!"
The full might of a Fifth-Grade cultivator unfurled. His voice rolled like thunder, shaking the entire city.
Across Fenglin City, countless people paled at the sound.
Then a resonant voice answered, carrying equally across the whole city. It belonged to Wei Quji, the City Lord of Fenglin City. "Rest assured, Dean Dong. This matter will not go unanswered! No matter who is involved, no matter what the circumstances — once uncovered, they will be killed without mercy!"
Jiang Wang watched it all unfold, sensing vaguely that he had brushed against some fierce vortex churning beneath the surface.
The Dao Academy was where the nation cultivated its talent, the very seat of its fortune. To commit murder within its walls was to cross Dong A's bottom line.
The state of Qin had already borrowed Zhuang Kingdom's territory to lay an ambush, tearing away a brutal layer of Zhuang's dignity. Now Left-Path heretics struck at the Dao Academy — though their purpose remained unknown, it was hard to believe they were not probing the government's response.
And before today, it was well known that Dong A and Wei Quji did not see eye to eye. The former belonged to the faction of State Chancellor Du Ruhai; the latter was a former subordinate of Grand General Huangfu Duanming.
With Dong A's strength, ferreting out the heretics would not have required such a grand display. His decision to blanket the entire academy with his Dao arts, and his subsequent exchange with Wei Quji broadcast across the city, seemed less about investigation and more about demonstrating power, staking a clear position, and intimidating whatever creatures stirred in the shadows.
Zhuang Kingdom was not at peace.
"Disperse." Dong A's face was expressionless as he descended from the sky.
The door panels leapt back into place. The vine-serpents slithered back into the walls. The entire Dao Academy restored itself in an instant.
The night seemed as though it had always been this quiet.
As though it had all been a dream.
But the wounds still far from healed told Jiang Wang it was real.
This was the power of a Fifth-Grade cultivator.
And it was the height he would one day climb to!
By the time Zhao Rucheng hurried to the Dao Academy upon hearing the news, everything had already settled. Only the Outer Court disciples lingered in small clusters, still buzzing with excitement over the dean's awe-inspiring display.
He found Jiang Wang in the dormitory. The fellow was carefully wiping down his sword with a handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.
The handkerchief, of course, was Zhao Rucheng's. No one else in the entire dormitory would use such a thing.
Zhao Rucheng first noticed the freshly re-bandaged foot. "Oh my, injured again? Some 'Outer Court swordsmanship champion' you are. Bit overrated, wouldn't you say?"
"Not bad," Jiang Wang said, attending to his blade. "Squeeze out the overrating, and I can still teach you a lesson."
Only then did he look up, smiling sweetly. "Little brother."
"So I'm one year younger than you and you've trained one year longer. Big deal." Zhao Rucheng pursed his lips.
"One day older is still older. Little brother."
Zhao Rucheng sucked his teeth in irritation. "Could you stop that? Do you have any idea how many of those junk swords of yours one of my handkerchiefs could buy?"
Jiang Wang laughed with obnoxious confidence. "And do you have any idea how many of your handkerchiefs my sword will be worth someday?"
But the moment the words left his mouth, both of them fell silent.
Because that kind of talk had always been Fang Pengju's style. Using Zhao Rucheng's gold-embroidered handkerchief to wipe a sword was a "bad habit" he had started. In his words: "Our brothers' swords will be passed down through the ages — how can we not maintain them properly? Such a fine handkerchief, what a waste to use on a face! Rucheng may be handsome, but can that face of his be passed down through the ages?"
Some people had already vanished, yet the traces they left behind would endure for a long time still.
Zhao Rucheng spoke first, changing the subject. "Third Brother. What do you think those heretics were after, attacking the Dao Academy? And the fact that it reached you — was that really an accident?"
"The Fang family probably doesn't have the nerve." Jiang Wang shook his head. "But then again, I can't be certain. By the way — have you seen Eldest Brother?"
Ling He had gone to the Fang residence at noon to return Fang Pengju's body, and he had not come back even now. That was enough to worry Jiang Wang.
Zhao Rucheng raised a sharp eyebrow. "I heard he was thrown out of the Fang house. Where he went after that, I have no idea."
Jiang Wang was silent for a moment. "Let's go find him."
"You go find him. I'm not tagging along on one of his saintly errands." Zhao Rucheng turned his face away.
"Hey, I'm not the one who slammed a door in his face. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiang Wang just stared at him without a word.
Zhao Rucheng surrendered. "Fine, fine. But it's this late — where are we even supposed to look?"
"First," Jiang Wang reasoned, "he certainly wouldn't have dumped the body at a mass grave."
"But he has no money," Zhao Rucheng countered.
"And he's a man who feels things deeply." Jiang Wang rose and headed for the door. "I know where he went."
"And I know what he's doing!" Zhao Rucheng followed behind, scrunching his handsome nose. "He's bawling his eyes out."