Maple City sat in Clear River County, ranking near the bottom of the county's thirteen cities. A place like this would normally have a sixth-rank dean. That Dean Dong held the post at fifth rank fed rumors that he had offended someone in the capital.
For the students, it was excellent news.
"So apart from Fang Decai's testimony, you had no solid evidence you could present publicly that Fang Heng arranged the ambush to kill you and steal the pill?" Dean Dong sat on a meditation cushion in his private chamber, black robes draped around him.
Behind him hung a scroll portrait of a figure in a purple Dao robe. The brushwork was exquisite, the figure lifelike, yet the face remained hidden in mist.
Jiang Chen stood with lowered head. "I knew it was him. That was enough. As for proof, he would provide it himself before he died. And he did not disappoint."
Dean Dong understood. He meant the Meridian-Opening Pill Fang Heng had consumed.
"Was it too rash?"
"I should have gathered evidence and waited for the Academy's judgment. But the Inner Academy selection was in two days. Once Fang Heng's Dao meridian manifested, he would have become your direct disciple. I dared kill an Outer Academy disciple. I would not dare kill the dean's disciple."
The Outer Academy was only preparation. The Inner Academy—that was the true Academy.
Jiang Chen kept his head bowed, playing the humble student. But his mind raced back to Huanzhen Temple. To the sword cry from the west.
That man, Bai Yi. One strike to behead Zhuo Lie. No need for hundred-fold schemes.
Compared to that battle, Jiang Chen was nothing. His prized swordsmanship was pathetic.
Where was the time for caution? For slow, safe maneuvering against someone backed by the Fang family?
"Where did your pill come from?"
The real question.
Jiang Chen's heart tightened, but his face betrayed nothing. The battle outside Huanzhen Temple would draw investigation eventually. The Qin and Chu cultivators could not have operated inside Zhuang without alerting the authorities. Even a small kingdom had its pride.
As the strongest figure in Maple City, Dean Dong would know something.
Jiang Chen had no real secrets to hide. In a world of supernatural power, traces could not be concealed. He recounted everything objectively—his physical state, his decisions, how he had pulled the pill from the mangled remains, how he had buried the bodies.
He omitted only the Void Key.
Dean Dong listened in silence. Except for a flash of rage in his eyes.
Jiang Chen knew its source. Huanzhen Temple lay on Zhuang's soil. Qin and Chu cultivators had fought there without restraint. No one in Maple City or Clear River County dared intervene. For Zhuang's cultivators, the shame burned deep.
Dean Dong suppressed that rage to protect his students' confidence.
He is a good dean, Jiang Chen thought.
For the first time, Jiang Chen truly observed the mid-ranked powerhouse who would guide his cultivation. He summarized what he saw even as he finished his rehearsed account.
"Your pill's origin is clear. I reviewed your mission records. You show restraint and decisiveness. That is rare."
Dean Dong glanced at him. "In the future, you may address yourself as 'this disciple' before me."
Jiang Chen's tension vanished. He had passed. And he had gained the dean's direct approval for the Inner Academy.
He crossed his thumbs—left over right, yin outside, yang inside—and raised his clasped fists to his chest. "Thank you, Teacher."
For Daoists, the teacher stood above even sovereign and family. The teacher transmitted the Dao.
To every Inner Academy student, Dean Dong was exactly that.
"Go," Dean Dong said, eyes closing.
Jiang Chen emerged to find Ling Chuan and Zhao Yan waiting. No one spoke.
Fang Heng was dead. The Five Heroes of Maple City existed in name only.
Du Hu was absent, which meant he was drinking somewhere. He seemed the most carefree of them all, but he was probably the one who couldn't face this. No amount of cursing could erase the fact that he had loved Fang Heng like a brother.
Ling Chuan broke the silence first. "You two head back to the dorm. I need to deliver the body to the Fang residence."
Outer Academy students shared six to a room. The Five Heroes had moved in together, no outsiders allowed.
Jiang Chen said nothing. That was Ling Chuan. However much Fang Heng had deserved his fate, Ling Chuan would not abandon his corpse.
"Still hate him?" Ling Chuan asked.
"Don't call him Fourth anymore," Zhao Yan said, disgust curling his lip. "I won't speak of a brother-poisoning snake."
Ling Chuan looked older than his years. That maturity was why they all trusted him. At nineteen, he was only two years older than Jiang Chen, three older than Zhao Yan.
But poor children grew up fast.
Jiang Chen shook his head. "I don't hate him. I hate myself for being stupid enough to trust so easily."
Ling Chuan heard the bitterness beneath the calm. "Trust is one of the most beautiful things in the world, Jiang Chen. Trust is not the mistake."
He didn't say more, but his eyes spoke plainly:
Our brotherhood was real. The lie, the betrayal—that was Fang Heng alone.
That was why Ling Chuan would carry the body back. Not out of pity for Fang Heng, but out of respect for what they had shared.
That was Ling Chuan. That was their big brother.
No wonder even hotheads like Du Hu and proud fools like Fang Heng had called him leader without hesitation.
"Go, Big Brother. He's dead. The debt is settled." Jiang Chen shrugged. "But don't expect me to go with you."
"Neither will I," Zhao Yan added.
Ling Chuan cuffed Zhao Yan's shoulder, gave Jiang Chen a long look, and walked away.