Two blood brothers, one a favored son of the Daoist Academy, the other living in seclusion in a corner of the family.
The vast difference between them could drive someone mad, yet there was not a hint of resentment on Wang Changji's face. From beginning to end, he ate his meal in a very calm manner.
As if eating was the most important thing in the world.
He ate at a steady pace and very meticulously.
He had finished his portion of pig's trotters and green vegetables, and swallowed the last bite of rice. Only then did he look at his younger brother, his voice gentle: "Changxiang, what's the matter?"
"Nothing serious, just came back from a mission and thought I'd chat with my brother."
"Good boy, eat your vegetables, you can't just eat meat," Wang Changji, stroking the orange cat that was gnawing on the pig's trotters, gently persuaded, then turned to Wang Changxiang: "Go on, you seem to have a lot on your mind."
"We went to investigate the loss of contact in Xiaolin Town, only to find that the place was shrouded in dense fog, not even a breath tornado could clear it. The entire Xiaolin Town was filled with wandering souls, arranged in a Nine Palaces Wandering Souls Array based on the Nine Palaces... Little Orange!" Speaking of which, Wang Changxiang suddenly scolded.
It turned out that the fat orange cat, impatient with Wang Changji's constant teasing with vegetables, swiped at him, leaving three blood marks on his right hand.
"You're so fierce," Wang Changji sighed helplessly, giving up on trying to get Little Orange to eat some vegetables. He covered the wound on his right hand with his left, then said to Wang Changxiang: "You tell me about these Daoist formations and techniques, I don't understand any of it."
Wang Changxiang lowered his head, his voice also lowering, "But somehow, I just wanted to talk to my brother about it."
Wang Changji rubbed his forehead with his finger, "Go on, go on."
"Do you know, brother, someone used all the living beings of Xiaolin Town, gathered the wandering souls of the Fenglin City area over the years, and before Lord Wei arrived, they condensed the shadow of the Ghost Gate and left!" At this moment, Wang Changxiang was like a child seeking praise.
"The shadow of the Ghost Gate? Is it very powerful?"
"Such a great sacrifice was made, of course it's extraordinary! With the shadow of the Ghost Gate in hand, one can communicate with the netherworld at any time and place. The power of netherworld techniques can be increased by at least half! As for exorcism techniques, they can completely transcend their rank." Speaking of which, Wang Changxiang lowered his eyebrows again, "I wonder where that evil person behind it will cause trouble next."
"There are criminal investigation departments to handle this. If Wei Quji is not up to it, there is the prefectural governor. If the city Daoist Academy cannot hold on, there is the prefectural Daoist Academy. Behind the prefectural Daoist Academy, there is the national Daoist Academy. Don't worry about it," Wang Changji comforted.
At this time, Little Orange had already cleaned the pig's trotters thoroughly, not even looking at the plate of vegetables, licked its paws, and then walked away with its head held high.
Wang Changji then got up to clear the dishes.
"I won't keep you any longer," he said before entering the room.
Wang Changxiang quietly watched his brother's figure turn into the room, and then turned to leave. However, as he passed by the lounge chair where Little Orange was lying, he suddenly flicked his little finger.
A barely perceptible wind blade swiftly slashed through.
Little Orange suddenly leaped up, looking around suspiciously. Half of its long whiskers were now fluttering in the wind.
"Dare to scratch my brother again... humph," Wang Changxiang left with a smile on his lips.
But he remembered how, when they were still young, his brother had been so yearning of Daoist techniques and so passionate about that extraordinary world. Now, no matter what he talked about in front of him, he could no longer see that kind of excitement.
It seemed that he had already accepted such a life.
Wang Changxiang's steps could never become light-hearted.
...
Today, the teacher spoke about the D-class medium-level Daoist technique, Flame Knife, which is an advancement of the D-class lower-level technique of attaching flame and is also one of the foundations of fire-based Daoist techniques.
It involves gathering flames into a knife, directly using the scorching fire energy to injure opponents, and it also has a significant effect on ghosts and other impurities.
In fact, at this level of Daoist techniques, they are already stronger than ordinary iron weapons.
Jiang Wang had already memorized the seals and precautions of this technique, but at this moment, he suddenly thought of Wei Yan's long knife. That blade was unparalleled in sharpness and was definitely not an ordinary weapon. Because, given Wei Yan's strength, ordinary iron would only be a burden to him.
He also thought of the sword that Li Jianqiu always carried on his waist, thinking it must be extraordinary.
Thinking of this made him a bit envious. His sword had been half-ruined after cutting the vengeful ghost last time, and he had to spend money to replace it with an ordinary iron sword. He couldn't afford or find a truly powerful sword.
He wondered what kind of power the weapons of those great warriors who cultivated martial arts into the Dao would have.
He was so engrossed in thought that he didn't notice the atmosphere in the class. It wasn't until Ling He quietly nudged him that he realized.
The instructor was an old man nearing sixty, quite stern and rigid, with the surname Xiao. The students privately called him Iron-Faced Xiao.
At this moment, Iron-Faced Xiao had finished teaching the technique and randomly selected a few students to practice. When he chose Fang He Ling, he actually stumbled through the technique. Although the flame of the flame knife was flickering, he did manage to complete it.
Even Iron-Faced Xiao was somewhat satisfied, but then this fellow suddenly said, "Brother Jiang Wang opened his meridians before me. Why don't you also try this technique? If there's anything not going well, it's a good opportunity to ask our teacher."
So Iron-Faced Xiao's gaze fell on Jiang Wang, who was daydreaming.
Oh no, Jiang Wang thought. He got up from his cushion and honestly said, "I haven't laid the foundation yet."
Fang He Ling, who entered the inner circle at the same time, had already been able to use Daoist techniques, while he had not yet succeeded in laying the foundation. The looks from the other students were quite strange.
"Haven't laid the foundation yet, so you don't need to listen to the lecture?" Iron-Faced Xiao glared. He hated students who were lazy and deceitful the most. They had already embarked on the extraordinary path but did not cherish it, only using it as a means to show off in front of ordinary people.
"I know I was wrong," Jiang Wang admitted his mistake with his head down.
Iron-Faced Xiao coldly said, "Go back and copy the Purple Void Scripture a hundred times. You don't need to come to my class until it's done."
"Yes," Jiang Wang replied with his head down, inwardly groaning. The full name of the Purple Void Scripture is the "Purple Void Sublime Supreme Scripture," the fundamental Daoist scripture of the Yujing Mountain lineage. Every Daoist of the Yujing Mountain lineage could recite it fluently. There was really no need to copy it. Iron-Faced Xiao was purely punishing him.
The most important thing was that the scripture was nearly thirty thousand words long... When would he finish copying it?
But he knew he had to agree, otherwise, with Iron-Faced Xiao's temper, he might just roll up his sleeves and hit him.
Jiang Wang tried his best to stay focused in the following classes and did not dare to slack off at all. Finally, when Iron-Faced Xiao left with his hands behind his back, Fang He Ling came over again, acting very nervous.
"Oh, Brother Jiang, I'm really sorry. I didn't know you haven't laid the foundation yet!" In the Daoist world, there are no years, only cultivation levels. Fang He Ling naturally changed "senior brother" to "junior brother," and his tone was very regretful: "After opening the meridians, it took me fifty-three days to lay the foundation. I felt it was too slow and was ashamed. I thought that with Brother Jiang's former glory, he should have laid the foundation long ago... sigh, what a mess this has become."
The commonly used foundation-laying formation in the Zhuang Kingdom Daoist Academy, the Guanyuan Formation, has eighty-one formation points. With a daily cultivation of two meridians and a total harvest of two Dao energy units, fifty-three days for foundation-laying could not be considered slow. This was because there were many instances of errors in shifting formation points that caused the progress to stall.
Currently, the fastest record for foundation-laying in the entire city Daoist Academy is held by Zhu Weiwo, who succeeded in just nine days, surpassing all previous records. Judging from this incredible speed, his Dao meridians and true spirits could not possibly be at the level of Jiang Wang's earthworm true spirits. However, the exact level of his true spirits is a personal privacy matter and cannot be known.
That being said, for the average disciple of the Fenglin City Daoist Academy, sixty to ninety days is the norm.
No wonder Fang He Ling was so proud.
He did not hide the challenge in his eyes and was eager to see the arrogant guy in front of him become angry and embarrassed. He had even simulated in his mind how to use Daoist techniques to brilliantly resolve the upcoming battle with this guy who only relied on swordsmanship.
But Jiang Wang just smiled and turned to leave.
Without any anger, completely indifferent.