```
The afternoon was reserved for geography and the fixed last two cultivation classes.
As soon as school was out, Jiang Ding couldn't wait to rush home, quickly made a meal for Jiang Yuan, and then entered his room.
Helmet on, camo gear, drone, gloves, longsword, pistol... after checking everything, he entered the alternate world once again.
...
Light and shadow shifted, and a figure appeared silently under the tree at a corner.
Jiang Ding scanned his surroundings warily but didn't detect any suspicious people or objects.
He stepped back a few paces and hid among the bushes; his camo gear changed hues until it matched the appearance of tree branches. If one didn't look closely, it was impossible to spot him.
At the same time, his tactical helmet linked to the drone overhead, and the last twenty-four hours of footage swiftly passed in front of his eyes.
A moose appeared and vanished, followed closely by a pack of wolves that also disappeared and reappeared. The scenery shifted from the blazing sunlight to dusk, and then night arrived. Through infrared vision, the land remained under constant surveillance.
"Stop!"
Jiang Ding's gaze fixed on a scene.
In the surveillance feed, a woodcutter and a child carrying firewood fleetingly passed by.
"There're actually people!"
Jiang Ding was astonished and uncertain. It wasn't just the presence of people— he realized that he could understand the language spoken between the two woodcutters.
It was a tongue that sounded completely different from that of the Xianmen Sect, quite awkward to hear. Yet, he had no difficulty understanding it and even felt that he could speak it himself— it was truly magical.
"Indeed a precious treasure!" Jiang Ding rejoiced inwardly.
Beyond the woodcutters, several armed individuals passed by the ruined temple and rested for a while.
In any case, specimens still needed to be collected— this was currently the only visible and stable source of income.
Huff and puff for two hours under the scorching sun. With practiced ease, he barely managed to collect eight plant specimens. After turning them in, he would get eight points, but the distant goal of ten thousand points still loomed large.
It would take nearly two years to amass ten thousand library points at a rate of sixteen a day!
He had missed the College Entrance Exam.
The College Entrance Exam was the greatest opportunity for citizens of the Xianmen Sect without a background to set foot on the path of the immortals, available only once in a lifetime.
One step inside, and if a person was good enough, they could even receive treatment akin to that of the Nascent Soul sect's disciples by name.
If missed, the path of immortality was cut off, and they would live out their lives honestly as a cornerstone of the Xianmen Sect, shining brightly.
Even with the precious treasure in hand, the difficulty of the path of immortality would increase by at least tenfold.
"This won't do."
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Ding sent the processed specimens, tactical helmet, backpack, and other such items back home and arranged for the Cui Bird to recycle them. He also recharged the drone that was nearly out of battery.
He put on contact lenses and confirmed that he could still receive images from the three drones in the sky. He tucked his pistols into concealed pockets and put on the wig he had prepared in advance.
The colors and patterns of Jiang Ding's camo gear shifted rapidly and finally settled into an ancient-style cyan long robe, solidifying its hue and no longer changing with the environment.
After one final scan of his surroundings, Jiang Ding left the place.
Yes, he planned to interact with the local natives.
Doing so was risky, but if he missed the College Entrance Exam and failed to get into the Cultivation Department, he would still have to serve in the military, stationed at the Xianmen Sect's outer realm military base, where he would face risks without strength.
This was the duty of every adult citizen. There was no escaping it.
...
Donglingshan Mountain was steep and treacherous, spanning several states. Now and then, ancient medicinal herbs and exotic beasts appeared, attracting countless medicine gatherers and Jianghu people to delve deep inside. If they were lucky enough to find a rare treasure, various gangs, martial arts schools, and sects in Dongling City, and even the big shots from the Prefect's Mansion, would buy them at high prices, allowing them to rise to success overnight.
This ruined temple was the last resting place before entering Donglingshan Mountain. Many medicine gatherers and Jianghu people would choose to stop here and rest.
The sound of footsteps drew some attention from a few people in the temple.
A young man with delicate features stepped inside. With jet-black hair flowing down to his waist, dressed in a cyan shirt and cloth shoes with a black-sheathed longsword at his waist.
He was spotless from top to bottom, without a hint of the dust or weariness of travel, exuding an elegant and dashing air, completely out of place with the surrounding environment.
Which noble young master is this, coming out for a stroll?
The people in the ruined temple glanced over and then withdrew their attention.
When out and about, it's best not to meddle in others' affairs.
```
"I..."
Jiang Ding wanted to say something but shut up and quietly found a corner to sit down.
He glanced around.
Not many people, seven or eight, roughly divided into two groups.
On the left were a grandfather and grandson, dressed in patched hemp clothes, blackened and thin faces etched by the elements, with two baskets of herbs beside them.
On the right were five or six burly men, all armed, clad in similar black attire. The most conspicuous among them was the bearded muscleman in the middle, with a gleaming crescent axe resting on the ground before him.
Two fires crackled on the ground, roasting some dried meat and sweet potatoes.
The red light in the contact lenses flickered several times.
"Three in the Internal Qi Realm."
Jiang Ding glanced at the bearded muscleman and the two beside him from the corner of his eye, gripped the hilt of his sword a bit tighter, feeling a tad nervous.
These were mighty figures a realm above him.
After a moment of silence, the decrepit temple buzzed with voices again.
"Liner, look at this Blue Luminous Butterfly wing, the blue stripes, they have to be intact to fetch a good price. The same goes for the ginseng; we have to dig out every bit of its roots..."
Next to the fire, Elder Nong was holding a pair of butterfly wings and murmuring instructions, while his young, ruddy-cheeked grandson nodded intermittently.
On the other side, the hulking men were boisterous as bulls, bursting into loud laughter now and then.
"Dongling City's Qixuan School was actually exterminated by the Jindao School. Such a major sect that lasted hundreds, even thousands of years, perhaps even longer than the historical leaders of the martial world, Prajna Temple and Qingniu Temple, such a pity."
"What pity? What's the use of living long? People of Jianghu ultimately rely on strength."
"Exactly. Just look at the Jindao School, one of the Six Great Schools of the land. Merely the eldest disciple, the ninth-ranked 'Sea Splitting Saber' Wei Xian, could slaughter an entire school by himself, basking in the countless gold, silver, jewels, and secret martial arts manuals accumulated by Qixuan School over many years, and even abducting beauties to play with at will. This is the true hero of the world!"
Amidst the peals of laughter, someone brought out a gourd of wine to share. Taking turns, they drank in the light of the fire.
"Beauty? I heard that the ninety-eighth-ranked Flying Snow Fairy of the Dragon and Phoenix List originated from Qixuan School. Rumor has it her skin is as white as snow, and she has the aura of a fairy. Could it be that she has already been taken into Wei Xian's chambers..."
"Not just her. They say her mother's beauty surpasses hers by far and has already been captured."
"This...beast!"
The hulking men's eyes glinted with envy and longing.
Jiang Ding was inwardly astonished.
Murdering and eradicating a school, seizing property and women—none of these men saw anything wrong with that. Did the officials of this world not care at all?
Drip, drip!
Suddenly, several red dots appeared in the contact lenses, quickly increasing to more than ten.
Jiang Ding's heart jolted.
He focused and saw that, about five kilometers away, a group of people were entering the drone surveillance area. There were dozens of them, triggering the drone's alarm.
They were advancing from all directions, quickly surrounding the place—seemingly targeting this very temple.
'Have I been exposed?'
Jiang Ding panicked for a moment; he hadn't done anything!
'No! It's impossible. If I were exposed, it would not be mere mortal warriors coming after me.'
'It must be a coincidence.'
Jiang Ding quickly calmed himself, stood up, and turned towards the temple entrance.
The people inside were astonished.
This man was odd, speaking no words, drinking no water upon entering.
The sweet potatoes were cooked through. Elder Nong peeled off the charred skin to reveal the steaming flesh inside and handed it to his grandson, then he took a chunk of dried food and wolfed it down.
Jiang Ding paused mid-step, his heart growing sympathetic.
"Elder, if you have things to attend to at home, you should hurry back immediately."
Without waiting for a reply, he swiftly left the area.
Elder Nong was startled.
The burly men around glanced furtively, cold looks flitting over, but in the end, they did nothing.