The other first-year chosen for the Three-City Trial was actually a student from the previous intake, just barely on the tail of the first-year mark. Both third-year representatives were Jiang Chen's acquaintances: Li Yun and Wang Hao. The fifth-year slot besides Zhang Yuan went to a senior brother Jiang Chen did not know.
Merit was a consumable; the rankings did not fully reflect strength. Dean Dong had his own standards.
Still, Zhang Yuan led the Trial, and both Wei Lin and Dean Dong pinned their hopes of victory on him. If Zhu Weiwo were here, they might not have needed to — but Zhu Weiwo was nowhere to be found, so Dean Dong watched Zhang Yuan like a hawk.
For which Zhang Yuan expressed: so much pressure.
The Trial began on the tenth of October. Before that, everyone — Zhang Yuan, Jiang Chen, all of them — had to pass through "special training."
It was not the sort that squeezed students to their limits in the short term. That was no true path; win the match and you lose the student's future. Rather, Dean Dong personally coached each contestant. That alone was a tremendous privilege, and a measure of how seriously he took this.
Once every ten days, the Dean lectured, and that lecture was always packed — senior brothers who spent their days on missions would come back to the Academy just for it. Jiang Chen never missed one.
But the Dean's lectures were for the whole Academy; he could hardly tailor them to Jiang Chen's pace. Jiang Chen strained to follow and gained little.
He had met Dean Dong many times now, yet he still dared not be forward with the man — not tiptoeing, but deferential. This strong one was famous for his blunt temper; even great officials in Xin'an he would cross to their faces. If even Wei Lin felt ill at ease in Dean Dong's presence, what was a mere student like Jiang Chen?
"You've had your meridian open for a while now. Why haven't you founded?" Dean Dong asked outright as soon as Jiang Chen sat down.
Jiang Chen braced himself. "Perhaps this disciple is dull-witted..."
Dean Dong reached out. "Enough. I'll see for myself."
Jiang Chen dared not resist, only hoping the Dean would not uncover his secret. And if he did, it was not a great matter. An academy student and a dean shared the bond of teacher and pupil, and in the future officialdom of Zhuang they would be seen as one body. In essence, their fortunes rose together. So long as there was no principled problem, Dean Dong would not harm him.
Besides, the Gate of Heaven and Earth was both a barrier and a veil. Until it opened, what lay hidden in the Celestial Palace was not easily probed. Unless Dean Dong forced the gate open from outside — but that would ruin Jiang Chen. The Dean would not do that.
The moment Dean Dong's hand touched Jiang Chen's spine, he frowned. "Your foundation is already slow. Why are you also cultivating a body-refining method?"
The prominent traditions — Dao, sorcery, Confucian — had a grand manner and did not forbid students from practicing other schools' arts. What concerned Dean Dong was whether Jiang Chen would be distracted and forget that cultivation itself was the root.
Jiang Chen answered: "This disciple forces his meridian morning and night and never slackens. But vital blood limits me to two sessions a day, so I also practice body refining — to strengthen the vital blood, do more meridian-forcing, gather more Dao essence, and found sooner."
"Two sessions a day is enough. Dao essence is not the more the better; control is the true path." These were small matters, and the Dean only noted them out of duty, probing the Celestial Palace along Jiang Chen's spine with his secret method. "Your foundation array is not the Primordial Array?"
Found out. Jiang Chen felt an odd relief. Before a strong one of such experience, hiding anything was like trying to hide from heaven itself.
"Yes." Jiang Chen admitted honestly. "The array this disciple uses is far more complex than the Primordial Array. It is also why I have been slow to found."
"Nonsense." The Dean scolded. "There are plenty of foundation arrays better than the Primordial Array in this world. Do you know why our Yujing Mountain lineage still uses it as the standard? Because it is stable, safe, efficient, and works in any size of Celestial Palace — the most widely applicable array there is! Founding is a great matter. How could you decide on your own without consulting your teachers?"
Jiang Chen's face burned with shame. It was because, after Fang Heng's betrayal, he had become a startled bird. Not that he was always haunted by persecution — but he no longer dared reveal his lucky fortunes to anyone.
In the end, he had not fully built the trust of a disciple in his teacher.
When Dean Dong saw his injuries that day and sealed the Academy at once, Jiang Chen had been moved. But in his years beside Fang Heng, had he not been moved many times before?
He was about to tell the Dean which array he used when Dong waved a hand. "Enough. The time is already spent; talk is pointless."
He thought a moment, then unbuckled a green jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Jiang Chen. "This pendant holds a secret art that will improve your control over Dao essence, so you can finish your foundation sooner. Worn long, it also steadies the heart and clears the mind. Take it."
"Disciple dares not." Seeing it was something the Dean kept on his person, Jiang Chen refused again and again. "This is my teacher's beloved keepsake. How could I take it?"
Dean Dong ran a thumb over the jade, and something like remembrance crossed his perpetually stern face. "A gift from an old friend. The friend is long since dust."
He recovered at once, and pressed the pendant into Jiang Chen's hand, brooking no refusal. "It is useless to me now. Take it. The future of Zhuang is yours."
Jiang Chen gripped the pendant and sank his mind into it. A secret art flowed into his thoughts, named the *Essence Control Art*.
He clasped the jade tight and knelt in a full bow. "This disciple thanks his teacher!"
Dean Dong was not one for performing teacher-disciple affection. He pulled Jiang Chen up briskly, added a few points to watch in cultivation, and waved him off.
* * *
Because he had been training with the Dean today, Jiang Chen had again asked Ling Chuan to fetch An'an, so he went straight to the dormitory instead of the school.
The new art meant a great deal to him. With body refining complete and vital blood abundant, he could now force his meridian four times a day, taking in four pellets of Dao essence. Only the Starfield Array grew more complex as it went; with his current control, every array point nearly drained his spirit — this, in truth, was what now held back his foundation.
The Essence Control Art would let him command Dao essence with minimal effort, making the array points easy to arrange without wasting labor.
Dean Dong had seen the problem at a glance, and given him the cure. One word from a teacher was worth ten years of bitter work.
Jiang Chen tied the jade pendant carefully at his waist. He intended never to take it off.
Dean Dong saw him as a future prized disciple, generous enough to give away his own keepsake. And Jiang Chen, in turn, had already begun to lean on the Dean as his support.
"You have an invitation."
When he went to pick up An'an, Ling Chuan said this.
Jiang Chen took An'an in one arm and the invitation in the other. One look, and he understood why Ling Chuan's face was so grave.
The host was Fang Zesheng.
The strongest contender for the Fang clan headship. Fang Heng's uncle. Fang Lin's father.
And the venue was the Moon-Gazing Tower.
The place where, months ago, Fang Heng had schemed to poison him.