Of the two first-year disciples participating in the Three-City Dao Debate, the other one had in fact already been an Inner Court student from the previous cohort — barely catching the tail end of the first-year mark, as it were. And the two delegates from the third-year cohort were both acquaintances of Jiang Wang's: Li Jianqiu and Wang Changxiang.
As for the fifth-year representative, besides Zhang Linchuan, there was a senior brother Jiang Wang did not know.
Because Dao Merit was a consumable, the rankings on the Dao Merit Roll did not fully reflect true strength — at least, Dong A had his own criteria for judging such things.
Of course, this tournament still placed Zhang Linchuan at its head, and Dong A had pinned on him the hope of carrying off the crown. Had Zhu Weiwo been present, they might not have needed this — but with Zhu Weiwo nowhere to be found, Dong A could only keep his eyes firmly fixed on Zhang Linchuan.
To which Zhang Linchuan responded that the pressure was enormous.
The Three-City Dao Debate began on the tenth day of the tenth month, and until then, everyone — Zhang Linchuan and Jiang Wang included — had to pass through "special training."
It was not a matter of squeezing the fighters' strength to the breaking point by some short-term method; that was no true path. Even if one won the match at hand, what was lost was the disciple's future. Rather, Dong A himself gave personal guidance to each competitor — and that was an enormous boon, one that showed how seriously Dong A took the matter.
Once every ten-day period, Dong A personally gave a lecture, and that class was invariably packed to the rafters. Many senior brothers who spent the year out on tasks would deliberately travel back to the academy on that very day. Jiang Wang had never missed a single one.
But since Dong A's lectures were meant for the whole academy, he could hardly tailor them to Jiang Wang's progress, so Jiang Wang had to strain hard to follow, and reaped little from them.
He had met Dong A many times now, yet he still dared not take liberties in the man's presence — not exactly tiptoeing, but certainly maintaining the deepest deference. After all, this mighty figure was renowned for his forthright temperament; even great officials in Xin'an, the capital, were spoken back to by him. Even Wei Quji felt ill at ease in Dong A's presence, to say nothing of a mere student like Jiang Wang.
"You've had your meridian opened for some time now. Why have you still not Established your Foundation?" No sooner had he sat down than Dong A asked directly.
Jiang Wang steeled himself and said: "Perchance your disciple is of dull aptitude..."
But Dong A had already reached out a hand. "Enough. I'll see for myself."
Jiang Wang could not resist, and could only hope that Dong A would not discover his secret. Of course, even if he did, the trouble would not be great. A student of the academy shared the bond of master-and-disciple with its head, and in the future court of the Zhuang Kingdom they would be seen as one body. In essence, their fortunes rose together. So long as there was no principled problem, Dong A would not dare do anything to him.
Moreover, the Heaven-Earth Gate was both a barrier and a concealment; before that gate opened, what lay concealed deep within the Heaven-Access Palace was not so easily probed. Unless Dong A personally struck, forcing his way in from without to shatter Jiang Wang's Heaven-Earth Gate — but that would ruin Jiang Wang entirely, and Dong A would not do such a thing.
The moment Dong A's hand made contact with Jiang Wang's spine, he frowned: "Your Foundation-Establishing is already extremely slow. How is it that you're also cultivating a body-tempering method on the side?"
Established traditions like the Dao, the Law, and the Confucian schools carried a lively grandeur and did not mind their disciples practicing other schools' techniques alongside their own. What troubled Dong A was whether Jiang Wang might let it divide his attention, neglecting the fact that cultivation was the root.
Jiang Wang answered: "Your disciple forges his meridian at dawn and dusk and never slackens. But delimited by blood-qi, he can only forge twice each day, and so took up a body-tempering practice as well, hoping to strengthen his blood-qi, do more meridian-forging, and gather more Dao essence, so as to Establish his Foundation sooner."
"Twice a day is already plenty. Dao essence is not the more the better — control is the true path." In the end these were only minor matters, so Dong A merely pointed it out out of a sense of responsibility, and used his secret art to feel along the spine at what lay within Jiang Wang's Heaven-Access Palace.
"The Foundation-Establishing Formation Diagram you're using — it isn't the Return-to-Origin Formation?" Dong A suddenly asked.
So it had been discovered after all! Jiang Wang felt a strange sort of relief in his heart. Before a veteran like Dong A, concealing anything was as hard as scaling heaven.
"Yes." Jiang Wang confessed honestly. "The Foundation-Establishing Formation Diagram your disciple uses is far more complex than the Return-to-Origin Formation, and that's precisely why he has been so slow to Establish his Foundation."
"Nonsense." Dong A rebuked him. "There are plenty of Foundation-Establishing diagrams better than the Return-to-Origin Formation in this world. Do you know why our Yujing Mountain lineage still uses it so universally? Because it is stable, safe, and efficient; it can be set down with ease in a Heaven-Access Palace of any scale — it is the Foundation-Establishing diagram with the widest applicability! Establishing one's Foundation is a great, grave matter. How could you, without consulting your elders, follow your own assumptions?"
Jiang Wang's face burned with shame. Was it not because, after Fang Pengju's betrayal, he had become a startled bird? Not that he nursed delusions of constant persecution, but he no longer dared lay bare his fortuitous encounters.
In the end, he had not fully built up the trust of a disciple for a teacher toward Dong A.
On that day Dong A had seen his wounds and at once sealed off the academy — that had truly moved him. But in the years he had spent with Fang Pengju before, could he count the number of times he had been moved?
He was just about to tell Dong A which Foundation-Establishing Formation Diagram he used, when Dong A waved a hand. "Enough. The matter is done, the time is spent. No use talking of it."
He thought a moment, then unclasped a green jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Jiang Wang. "This jade pendant holds a secret art that can help you sharpen your control over Dao essence, so you may complete your Foundation-Establishing sooner. Worn constantly, it also calms the heart and clarifies the spirit. Take it."
"Your disciple is unworthy." Seeing it was such a treasured keepsake, Jiang Wang refused again and again. "This is a beloved thing of yours, Master Dong. How could I presume to take it from you?"
Dong A rubbed the jade pendant, and his perpetually stern face showed a trace of reminiscence. "A gift from an old friend. That old friend has long turned to dust."
He swiftly resumed his usual bearing and, without allowing any dispute, pressed the pendant into Jiang Wang's hand. "This thing is no longer of use to me. Take it. The future of Zhuang Kingdom belongs to you young ones."
Holding the jade pendant, Jiang Wang sank his attention lightly into it, and a secret art flowed through his heart, called — the Dao Essence Control Art.
Jiang Wang clasped the jade pendant tightly and bowed down in the deepest ritual salute. "Your disciple thanks his benefactor, his master!"
Dong A was not one for showing off the affection between master and disciple. He pulled Jiang Wang up briskly, offered a few more remarks on points to mind during cultivation, then waved a hand to send him off.
...
Today, because he had to train under Dong A, Jiang Wang had once again asked Ling He to pick up Jiang An'an. So now he need not make a special trip to the schoolhouse; he could simply turn toward the dormitory.
The newly acquired secret art meant a great deal to Jiang Wang. His body-tempering was now accomplished, his blood-qi abundant, and he could perform four meridian-forging sessions each day, taking in four Dao essences. The only problem was that the Celestial Star-Dou Formation grew ever more complex the further it went; with his present command over Dao essence, every array-point he laid out nearly drained his spirit. In truth, this was what had been holding him back from Establishing his Foundation swiftly.
The Dao Essence Control Art could help Jiang Wang command Dao essence with the least expenditure of mind, allowing him to lay out his array-points with ease, without squandering his efforts to no avail.
Dong A had seen the problem at a glance, and given the solution. One sentence from the master was worth ten years of bitter labor.
At whatever pains to be careful, Jiang Wang tied the Control jade pendant to his waist, resolving never to take it off for the rest of his life.
Dong A regarded him as a promising disciple of the future, generous enough to part with a beloved keepsake. And at such a moment, did Jiang Wang not likewise already lean on Dong A as his support?
"There's an invitation for you."
When he went to Ling He's place to pick up Jiang An'an, Ling He said, all of a sudden.
Jiang Wang held Jiang An'an in one arm and took the invitation with the other, glancing over it — and only then understood why Ling He's face was so grave.
The invitation's host was Fang Zehou.
The most formidable contender for head of the next generation of the Fang clan, the uncle of Fang Pengju, the father of Fang Heling.
And the banquet was set at the Wangyue Tower.
The very place where, months ago, Fang Pengju had laid his plot to poison him.