Chapter 3 Dinghu Sect

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Journeying back to the sect day and night without pause, it took only five days, whereas the outbound trip with its constant stops had taken more than half a month.

The Dinghu Sect, as the name suggests, is located by a lake known as "Dinghu."

Within the vast lake that spans three hundred li, there are various islands and mountains both large and small, among which the largest one is called "Qiao Mountain"—the home of the Dinghu Sect.

Towering and standing tall, the mountain range hosts seven grand halls along with numerous towers, pavilions, and courtyards built along the mountainside. The halls are named after the Seven Stars, arranged from lowest to highest, with Yaoguang at the end and Tianshu at the beginning.

From the heights, one can see that the seven grand halls form the shape of a ladle, exactly matching the position of the Beidou Seven Stars.

Jiang Li changed boats by the shores of Dinghu and set foot on the island, making a beeline for Yaoguang Hall responsible for sect missions, and then veered into a small room behind the hall, with a clatter, he threw a wooden box onto a desk.

"Junior Brother Jiang!"

The youth behind the desk looked up with displeasure at the sight of Jiang Li.

Dressed in the red robe that denoted an Inner Sect Disciple, the young man had a noble bearing, with sword-like eyebrows lifting to reveal a hint of sharpness.

"Senior Brother Luo Yi," Jiang Li announced the other's full name firmly, "The offending disciple, Zhou Mingyun, resisted arrest and defied law. He has been executed by me on the spot. This is his head."

As he spoke, he slammed a Snake Tooth Dagger onto the wooden box, "And this is his Dao Fruit."

True Qi infused into the dagger, a trace of savage and fierce aura flickered, and Jiang Li said coldly, "Had I not advanced in rank just in time, it could very well have been my head being chopped off."

Luo Yi's face stiffened.

Just by sensing the aura, he knew this was undoubtedly a Dao Fruit, and furthermore, it was the notoriously ferocious Demonic Attribute Dao Fruit.

This matter was beyond the scope of Yaoguang Hall's, or rather, Luo Yi's jurisdiction.

Although the task to pursue Zhou Mingyun was set by an elder of Yaoguang Hall, the classification of the mission's rank was determined by Luo Yi after his investigation.

He had been negligent.

If this were to escalate, the one to carry the blame would certainly be him, the one who had processed it.

"This is my fault," Luo Yi quickly changed his demeanor, apologizing with sincerity, "How about this? The pursuit mission is worth five hundred good deeds, and I, as your senior, will offer an additional five hundred good deeds as an apology. What do you say?"

"Not good enough."

Jiang Li shook his head with an icy expression and bluntly said, "We need to add money."

When Luo Yi heard the first part, he was ready to react coldly, but upon hearing the last three words, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"No problem," Luo Yi quickly brought out a Disciple Jade Token, "Another thousand good deeds on top of that, and the dagger is yours to dispose of, how does that sound?"

In other words, this incident would be treated as a normal unclassified pursuit mission, with Zhou Mingyun not having possessed a Dao Fruit—at least, according to the records of Yaoguang Hall.

A Disciple Jade Token was affixed with lightning speed, and Jiang Li smiled warmly, closing the deal firmly, "Agreed."

Karma Collection was also dutifully recording this scene.

"The two parties have reached a happy consensus, and with that, the matter is concluded.

But as Jiang Li turned to leave, Luo Yi watched his retreating figure, a glint of coldness barely perceptible in his eyes."

'Coldness...'

Jiang Li, with his back turned to Luo Yi, continued walking without pause, staying alert in his mind.

In reality, unless one has cultivated a Pupil Skill, eyes certainly do not flash with coldness or sharpness like a strobe light, at least Jiang Li had never seen such a phenomenon.

However, in the record of Karma Collection, due to the way text describes things, metaphor is occasionally used to describe certain indescribable entities.

According to Jiang Li's years of experience and keen intuition, the coldness signified malice, even murderous intent.

'Is it because of the extra fifteen hundred good deeds? Or is it about Zhou Mingyun?'

If it was the former, it would only indicate that Luo Yi was narrow-minded. Jiang Li would have gained an enemy, but the threat would not be considerable.

If it was the latter, then the waters were much deeper.

'It would be preferable if it were the former, but I cannot disregard the possibility of the latter. Moreover, Zhou Mingyun doesn't seem like one worthy of being targeted, which means, could the person they're really after be me?'

A sense of urgency rose within him.

It was time to focus on improving his strength.

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Jiang Li left Yaoguang Hall without a trace of disturbance, ascending the white jade-like stone steps and arriving at the sixth hall, Kaiyang Hall.

Kaiyang Hall was the main hub of activities for Outer Disciple.

Outside the hall was Wuqu Ping, where disciples practiced their martial arts; their dormitories were also in the surrounding area.

Inside the hall, there was the Dharma Hall, where an Outer Elder would give lectures every seven days.

Behind Kaiyang Hall, there was also the Daoist Law Pavilion that housed Eighth and Ninth Grade cultivation techniques; this was Jiang Li's destination.

He entered the back courtyard and from a distance, saw two elders playing chess in front of the pavilion. Upon seeing Jiang Li approach, one of the elders, with white hair but a youthful face, casually swept the chessboard aside and stood up excitedly, "Jiang is here, I'm done playing."

The chess pieces scattered across the board, causing the other elder to puff his beard and glower.

Jiang Li walked closer and said with a smile, "Elder Yun is cheating again."

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward and bowed, addressing the white-haired elder as "Elder Yun" and the other, whose few strands of hair were also snow-white, as "Elder Wan."

Both were Outer Elders; Elder Wan was responsible for guarding the Daoist Law Pavilion, while Elder Yun was his chess companion.

Upon hearing this, Elder Yun wore a look of pride on his face, "The chessboard is like a battlefield, and on the battlefield, one must use every strategy available."

"Heh, if you dare to mess up the game again next time, I'll nail your hand to the chessboard," Elder Wan coldly joked.

"We'll talk about next time when it comes," Elder Yun said, completely unconcerned.

The two elders bantered in front of Jiang Li without putting on airs, evidently quite familiar with him.

This was also the result of Jiang Li's hard work over the past two and a half years.

With the help of Karma Collection in observing others and his own experience in office politics from his previous life, it was quite easy for Jiang Li to build a close relationship with someone.

"I don't have time for your nonsense."

Elder Wan harrumphed coldly and looked at Jiang Li, his brows knitting slightly and his nostrils flaring a bit, "Have you killed again?"

The blood scent on Jiang should have dissipated after several days of travel, but Elder Wan had a keen sense of smell and detected the faint trace at their first contact.

"It couldn't be helped," Jiang said with resignation, "swords and sabers are blind; how could one hold back in a life and death struggle?"

"That's something you can tell yourself," Elder Wan said somewhat irritatedly, "Last time you used a Fire Thunder Talisman to blow someone to bits; if it weren't for me vouching for you, you wouldn't even have received your reward. Go back and recite the Calming Incantation several more times to cleanse your hostility. Be more careful in the future. Such conduct will lead to regret when you advance to Dao Fruit."

The Dao Fruit of the Dinghu Sect wasn't as ferocious as the Demonic Attribute Dao Fruit and even had stringent requirements regarding one's mental state and character. Too much bloodlust might lead to many complications during advancement.

Jiang Li also knew about this, but his principle was—the dead enemy is the best enemy.

To prevent being counter-killed or having the criminals escape and other unforeseen incidents, Jiang dealt with enemies either by killing them outright or retreating if he couldn't.

He had taken on seven bounty and extermination missions: voluntarily gave up once, completed with all targets eliminated six times, and took no prisoners.

Thanks to this principle, Jiang's missions rarely failed, and he had accumulated quite a few good deeds, which allowed him to exchange for talismanic magic and cultivation techniques at the Daoist Law Pavilion as soon as he was promoted.

"Your disciple obeys."

Jiang respectfully accepted Elder Wan's well-meaning advice, promising to recite the Calming Incantation a dozen times upon his return.

As for holding back against his enemies? Jiang felt that one should adhere to their principles and would not change his determined heart.

Elder Wan's expression eased slightly, and his tone softened a bit, "I hope so. Tell me, what are you here to exchange for this time?"

"Having been promoted to Ninth Grade, I naturally wish to exchange for Ninth Grade talismanic magic. Additionally, I'd like to learn a martial art for self-defense," Jiang immediately replied.

If it were anyone else, they could only look for techniques themselves inside the Daoist Law Pavilion and still might not know if they were suitable. With the experience of an Outer Disciple, judging solely by the brief summary alone would not provide a full understanding.

Jiang Li was different; he had connections.

Elder Wan pondered for a moment and then said, "Zone C, the third bookshelf, has the most comprehensive collection of Ninth Grade talisman diagrams. Choose the talisman you wish to exchange for there, and then find the detailed scroll on the corresponding bookshelf. As for martial arts, a Daoist's ability leans towards controlling True Qi. You should practice Martial Arts that are adept at transformation. Let me think ..."

"I do know of a Martial Art that would suit young Jiang," Elder Yun suddenly interjected, his face wearing an inscrutable smile, "This skill is a supreme Divine Skill. Once mastered, you'll be half a step from invincibility, which can be called 'half-step invincible.' If you're interested, Jiang, go to the last shelf in the last section of Zone G, the bottom-most level."

"The last section, the last shelf, the bottom-most level ... How come I don't know about any supreme Divine Skill there?" muttered Elder Wan.

Was he, the guardian elder of the Daoist Law Pavilion, less informed about the pavilion's collection than others?

After a moment of contemplation, Elder Wan said to Jiang Li, "The Daoist Law Pavilion contains an extensive collection of texts, and indeed, there might be some excellent techniques stored there. You may follow what this old sly fox said and look for the so-called Divine Skill. If you can't find it, then go to zones B, the third, fourth, and fifth shelves, to look."

"Thank you, Elder," Jiang thanked him and then entered the Daoist Law Pavilion.