All this may sound slow in description, but from the moment Jiang Wang dashed toward the inner courtyard to Dong Ah's sudden strike, everything happened in an extremely short span of time.
Just as the vine snake was about to completely encircle in midair, a pale figure found a gap and, with incredible speed, leaped upwards, seemingly about to escape from certain death.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
An uncountable number of wooden spikes shot out violently, piercing through him in an instant!
His body jerked in the air, halting with each spike that burst through him, until they stopped, and he then slumped, falling from the sky. From his head to his calf, he was riddled with densely packed blood holes, dead beyond any doubt.
The entire Daoist academy was deathly silent, whether it was the outer disciples or the inner disciples, they were all deeply shocked by this scene.
Jiang Wang's eyelid twitched, "That strange and eerie Daoist fiend, he's just dead like that?"
Dong Ah didn't even spare a glance, stating indifferently, "What about the other one, still hiding?"
"Ridiculous!" He strolled as if he was walking in a courtyard, stepping upward into the air, "Everything within the Jade Cage is under my control, everything is full of life, only your stench is nauseating!"
He stretched out his right hand and made a gentle clenching motion!
A room's door sprouted a large hand, which grabbed someone dressed as an outer disciple nearby with a swipe. The wooden hand's fingers spread, sweeping across the body in an instant, locking it firmly in place.
At the same time, the wooden arm rapidly extended, lifting this person in front of Dong Ah, who was high in the sky.
"Speak, who sent you here? Who dares to commit an assault in the Daoist academy?" Dong Ah, his back against the starry sky, looked down imperiously at the bold and reckless assassin.
The wind seemed to have stilled as well, silently waiting for this person's answer.
The assassin with an ordinary face suddenly split into a grin, and his head exploded out of the blue!
Dong Ah clenched his fist tighter, and a layer of water membrane quickly enveloped the red and white substances, forming a swollen water balloon.
He cast another glance at the previous corpse, and a seed emerged from the soil, growing rapidly, its bud unfolding into a large mouth that enveloped the corpse in one gulp. Dong Ah casually tossed the water balloon into it as well. The flower's mouth closed, shrinking back into the earth.
The two corpses were disposed of so, but the anger on Dong Ah's face became even more evident.
"My Zhuang Country's cultivators have been harmed within the Daoist academy! Such audacity from these Daoist deviates! This matter must be thoroughly investigated! The City Lord's Mansion must account for this to the academy, whoever is behind this must be put to death!"
His Grade-5 cultivation was fully displayed, his voice thundering like a roaring thunderstorm, shaking the whole city.
Many in Fenglin City changed color upon hearing this.
Soon a resonant voice spread throughout the city as well; it was Wei Qu Ji, the City Lord of Fenglin City, "Rest assured, Dong, the Mansion will definitely provide an explanation for this matter! No matter who or what is involved, once they are uncovered, they will be executed without mercy!"
Jiang Wang watched this scene unfold, sensing that he had somehow touched upon a raging vortex beneath the surface.
The Daoist academy is the place where the nation cultivates its talents, the foundation of a country's fate. To commit violence within the academy is to cross the bottom line of Dong Ah.
Qin had already used their territory to ambush their enemies, peeling away a harsh layer of Zhuang Country's face. Now, with Taoist violence erupting within the Daoist academy, even though their purpose is unclear, it's difficult to say it isn't a probe into the official response.
And until today, it was well-known that Dong Ah and Wei Qu Ji were not on good terms. The former belonged to Du Ruhui's camp, while the latter was an old supporter of the Great General Huangfu Duanming.
With Dong Ah's strength, he didn't need to make such a grand show of force to root out the Daoist deviate. His use of the Dao Technique to cover the whole academy and the subsequent distant conversation with Wei Qu Ji seemed more like a display of power and a clear stance to deter those shadowy figures that were restless.
Zhuang Country was not at peace.
"Disperse now," said Dong Ah expressionlessly as he turned and walked down from the high altitude.
The door boards leaped back into place, and the vine snakes returned to the walls... the entire Daoist academy instantly returned to its normal state.
The night seemed to have always been this quiet.
Everything seemed like a dream.
But the wound that had not yet healed told Jiang Wang that it was real.
This was the strength of a Grade-5 martial artist.
And this was the landscape he was about to climb!
When Zhao Rucheng rushed to the Daoist Institute upon hearing the news, everything had already settled down, with only groups of outer court disciples still gathered in twos and threes, excited by the headmaster's prestige.
He found Jiang Wang in the dormitory, who at that moment was carefully wiping his sword with a handkerchief embroidered with gold threads.
The handkerchief was naturally Zhao Rucheng's; there wouldn't be a second person in the entire dormitory using such a thing.
Zhao Rucheng first noticed his foot, which he had carefully bandaged again, and mocked, "Yo, injured again? Is your title of the top swordsmanship of the external sect a bit inflated?"
"Not bad," Jiang Wang continued to wipe the blade, "Once the moisture is squeezed out, it should still be enough to give you a lesson."
It was at this point that he looked up and smiled slyly at Zhao Rucheng, "Little brother."
"You're just one year older than me and have practiced swordsmanship for an extra year," Zhao Rucheng pouted.
"Even a single day older still makes me older. Little brother."
Zhao Rucheng clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Can you stop wiping it? Do you have any idea how many of those broken swords in your hand my handkerchief can buy?"
Jiang Wang laughed arrogantly, "Do you know how much my used swords will be worth compared to your handkerchiefs in the future?"
But as soon as these words were spoken, both he and Zhao Rucheng fell silent.
Because such talk was always Fang Pengju's style. Using Zhao Rucheng's embroidered handkerchief to wipe the sword was also a "bad habit" he had started. According to him, 'Our brothers' swords are going to be passed down through the ages. How can we not take good care of them? Such fine handkerchiefs are a waste to use for wiping faces! Although Rucheng has a pretty face, can it be passed down through the ages?'
Some people had already vanished, but the traces they left behind would remain for a very long time...
It was Zhao Rucheng who spoke first, changing the subject, "Third Brother, what do you think the demon who attacked the Daoist Institute was after? Could the incident that involved you... have not been an accident?"
"The Fang Family shouldn't have the gall," Jiang Wang shook his head, "But you can never be too certain. By the way, have you seen Big Brother?"
Ling He had gone to the Fang Family at noon to return the body but had not come back until now, which could not help but worry him.
Zhao Rucheng's eyebrows rose slightly, "I heard he was kicked out of the Fang residence. Where he went after that, I have no clue."
Jiang Wang fell silent for a while, "Let's go find him."
"You go find him. I'm not going to accompany you in doing another good-for-nothing favor," Zhao Rucheng snorted.
"Hey, it's not like I was the one who got turned away at the door. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiang Wang just stared at him without a word.
Zhao Rucheng had to surrender, "Fine, fine. But where shall we start looking at this late hour?"
"Firstly," Jiang Wang analyzed, "he definitely wouldn't abandon him in a mass burial mound."
"But he doesn't have any money," Zhao Rucheng added.
"Then, he's someone who values relationships deeply..." Jiang Wang stood up and walked outside, "I know where he's gone."
"I even know what he's doing!" Zhao Rucheng followed him, wrinkling his handsome nose, "He's definitely crying his eyes out."