Volume One: The Autumn Festival Chapter Twelve: Mr. Jiang Is a God

Jiang Wang held his blade, tapping the wrinkled face of Cai Tanggu with the flat of the steel, and said with a smile, "See? It’s really quite simple to defeat you."

Cai Tanggu endured the humiliation and said in a low voice, "Only when the gap in cultivation realms is vast can one suppress an opponent with aura alone. I have just come into contact with your power; even if you held back, your cultivation level cannot be much higher than mine. How exactly did you do it?"

If it were merely aura, it would indeed be terrifying. But having made physical contact, Cai Tanggu was fairly certain that Jiang Wang had not yet stepped beyond the Dongming realm, though he had clearly progressed further than himself. Yet, the current situation made him wonder if he had misjudged the matter entirely.

In truth, Jiang Wang knew nothing about the nuances of cultivation; he had never truly practiced cultivation a single day in his life.

Witnessing all of this, the respect the two cultivators—one in green robes and one in white—felt for Jiang Wang rose to new heights. The white-robed cultivator had actually studied at the Kuyuan Academy in Kutan for a time, but his aptitude was poor; it had taken him over twenty years just to complete the basic "Hundred Days of Foundation Building." It was essentially preordained that he would remain stuck in the Dongming realm for the rest of his life.

The requirements to become a true cultivator were far too harsh. Outside of the Divine Capital, the various Kuyuan Academies across the realms were inconsistent in quality. Whenever they encountered anyone with even a shred of talent, they would accept them all; people like the white-robed cultivator were a dime a dozen at the Kutan Kuyuan Academy. However, those who truly managed to become notable cultivators rarely ended up in such dire straits—unless they were like the green and white-robed cultivators, gathering at the Moon-Full West Tower, choosing to have no entanglements with the imperial court.

As an instructor, Cai Tanggu naturally would not remember someone like the white-robed cultivator, but the white-robed cultivator was well aware of how powerful a figure Cai Tanggu was. Yet, even such a person was easily manipulated by Jiang Wang. The white-robed cultivator found it hard to imagine what kind of formidable existence Mr. Jiang truly was. He felt that Mr. Jiang was practically a god.

"Instructor Cai, you were born in Kutan, entered the Kuyuan Academy at fifteen, reached the Dongming realm at twenty-four, and now, at the age of sixty, you rank among the top hundred Dongming cultivators in the entire world." The white-robed cultivator rattled off Cai Tanggu’s history as if it were his own. Trembling as he leaned on the green-robed cultivator for support, he said with firm conviction, "In my eyes, you may be high and mighty, but you haven't even traveled the entirety of Kutan. In this human world, there must be hidden, peerless experts, just like Mr. Jiang."

"What you think is impossible is actually quite probable."

Cai Tanggu, with his back to the white-robed cultivator, said coldly, "Are you saying I am short-sighted?"

The white-robed cultivator replied, "I only think that the world is vast and full of wonders. Instructor Cai should go out and travel more; it would be beneficial for your cultivation. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in such an embarrassing situation now."

Jiang Wang scratched his cheek, looking puzzled. "If I remember correctly, Dongming is merely the first real realm of cultivation. To be sixty years old and still unable to break through the first layer... Instructor Cai, aren't you a bit too weak?"

Although he hadn't cultivated, he longed to. He understood a few basics.

Cai Tanggu: "..."

He did not think Jiang Wang’s understanding of cultivation was superficial; he believed the man was deliberately humiliating him. If Jiang Wang was truly gifted and lacked the backing of a major sect, then in comparison, he himself was indeed weak to the point of being painful to watch. But that wasn't how things were calculated. As the white-robed cultivator had said, Cai Tanggu was definitely in the top hundred of the Dongming realm, and Dongming cultivators were the most numerous in the world. In fact, most cultivators resided in the Dongming realm. Ascending to higher realms required far more rigorous conditions.

In the entire region of Kutan, which was one of the larger states in the Sui Kingdom with a population of over seventy million, the number of great cultivators above the Dongming realm could be counted on one hand. If Cai Tanggu wanted to, he could single-handedly destroy half of Kutan. Yet, in Jiang Wang’s mouth, he sounded like a total failure.

Cai Tanggu felt aggrieved, but even more enraged. Consequently, the sword in his hand vibrated and flew into the air.

"..."

Jiang Wang and Cai Tanggu locked eyes. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"It seems my estimation was correct. Although I don't know how you did it, you can suppress my body but not my consciousness. A flying sword without any restraints, even if my body is immobilized, can still allow me to exert considerable power."

Jiang Wang remained silent. This was the first time the power of his "Mirage" had encountered an issue. Perhaps Cai Tanggu was simply too strong, or perhaps the "Mirage" could only control a person's physical body. Jiang Wang suddenly realized he had never truly relied on the power of "Mirage" to suppress a cultivator before. The green and white-robed cultivators had merely been overthinking things. But he felt the power of "Mirage" shouldn't be limited to this.

He looked at the many Black Flame soldiers still lying on the ground and tried to lift his hand. To his surprise, the bodies of those soldiers slowly began to float. Seeing this, Jiang Wang felt a flicker of joy. With another wave of his hand, he sent all the Black Flame soldiers lying in Qixia Street into the Marquis’s estate.

He figured the "Mirage" wasn't malfunctioning; he just didn't know how to use it properly. He tried to make himself fly again, but no matter how he hopped, nothing happened.

Cai Tanggu stared at Jiang Wang leaping about like a grasshopper as if he were looking at an idiot, and couldn't help but say, "What on earth are you doing?"

Jiang Wang frowned and said, "Just as you said, cultivation is a very arduous thing. It isn't something you can easily master through effort, especially when you only think about it in your head and haven't actually tried that hard."

Cai Tanggu did not understand. What was the point of these words? Was he saying that he could surpass him without even trying? That was quite the arrogant performance. It was simply too insulting!

With a flicker of his thought, his flying sword shot directly toward Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang hurriedly raised his blade to intercept it. "You old geezer, you’re launching a sneak attack!"

But as soon as the flying sword reached him, it felt as if it were locked firmly by a giant hand. No matter how it struggled, it could not advance another inch. Jiang Wang breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he couldn't suppress Cai Tanggu’s ability to command the sword, but the sword itself could still be suppressed.

"How can this be?!"

Cai Tanggu’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. If things continued like this, was there any point in resisting? He might as well just lie down and let Jiang Wang humiliate him!

The white-robed cultivator stepped forward, bowed to Jiang Wang, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Jiang, the influence of the Kuyuan Academy is second only to the Sword Pavilion in Kutan. The Academy Libationer is a great figure above the Dongming realm. Unless absolutely necessary, please do not provoke them too harshly."

He had already learned from Xiao Yu why Cai Tanggu had come here, and he felt there was still room for negotiation; there was no need to make such a powerful enemy as the Kuyuan Academy. He figured that since Cai Tanggu understood Mr. Jiang’s strength, he wouldn't seek revenge later—after all, one needed the qualifications to seek revenge. While cultivators who became enemies usually sought to kill each other, one had to consider the circumstances. Even though Mr. Jiang possessed great supernatural powers, the Marquis’s estate was right there. If it came to a battle to the death, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The white-robed cultivator turned to console Cai Tanggu: "Instructor Cai, your status is noble, and you know how highly the imperial court regards cultivators. An expert like Mr. Jiang is someone the Divine Capital would strive to recruit. There is no irreconcilable hatred between the two parties; there is no need to take this to the point of no return."

Cai Tanggu’s face was dark, and he remained silent. These things were irrelevant now. The most important thing was that he couldn't do anything to Jiang Wang. If he continued to speak tough, he might very well lose his life today. Although he was a man who valued his face, as the saying went, a wise man knows his circumstances. Lowering his head when necessary was not shameful.

Just as he was about to say something conciliatory, Jiang Wang placed his blade directly against his throat, forcing the words back down his throat.

"Looking at you, you don't even look like a good person. Instead of worrying about revenge later, it’s better to cut the Gordian knot and eliminate all potential threats."

Cai Tanggu was fuming with rage. *Judging by appearances to humiliate me again?*

The white-robed cultivator had intended to dissuade Mr. Jiang, but then he thought that he had already made himself very clear, yet Mr. Jiang remained strong-willed. Perhaps what he considered a great enemy was, in Mr. Jiang's eyes, merely a piece of cake. If Mr. Jiang didn't hold the Kuyuan Academy in any regard and was confident in dealing with existences above the Dongming realm, then his previous remarks were indeed unnecessary. Thinking this, he nodded silently and returned to the side of the green-robed cultivator.

Cai Tanggu was shocked. *Weren't you here to mediate? How did you give up so easily? Say something else!*

Just as the white and green-robed cultivators waited to see Jiang Wang strike, and Cai Tanggu sweated profusely, wondering how to avoid death, Jiang Wang suddenly moved his blade away.

"But, thinking about it carefully, letting you go is fine. After all, you are too weak. Perhaps the Kuyuan Academy is exaggerating its own reputation. I don't believe your Libationer would personally come to Hun City, and even if he did, he’s probably just a fame-seeking charlatan. I’ll just kill him with one strike."

Jiang Wang realized that if Cai Tanggu could summon more cultivators from the Kuyuan Academy, he would have plenty of sparring partners. Only through actual combat experience could he better control the power of "Mirage," which was a rare opportunity in a place like Hun City. After all, he didn't know when the monsters would appear again; to become stronger in the shortest time possible, there was nothing better than using cultivators as practice dummies.

However, to ensure Cai Tanggu would seek revenge, even if he let him go, he had to humiliate him to the extreme, dragging the Kuyuan Academy into the insult as well, so that Cai Tanggu wouldn't be too scared to return. He immediately began to spout a torrent of vitriol, saying everything that was most offensive, until Cai Tanggu was so angry he was on the verge of fainting. Only then did he stop.

Jiang Wang quickly beckoned Xiao Yu to bring a pot of tea; he had been exhausted by speaking tens of thousands of words of abuse without pause.