Fang Hetong led Wei Yuan to a small, modified ancestral hall inside the village. In the middle of the room was a square table with a map spread across its surface.0

Wei Yuan glanced at the map and immediately recognized it as a hand-drawn topological sketch of the terrain surrounding Quyang County. The map was exquisitely detailed, marking even the smallest streams and earthen mounds with remarkable clarity. The brushwork was superb, with every stroke and curve possessing its own artistic merit.0

After Fang Hetong beckoned Wei Yuan to take a seat, they exchanged introductions with each other.0

Fang Hetong hailed from a small sect of the local commandery known as White Maple Academy. He was currently thirty-eight years old. It took him over two decades of hard work to forge his Dao Foundation. The headmaster of the academy was the only one who had barely made it to the Avatar stage. The rest of them—eight of them to be exact—were stuck at the Dao Foundation stage, never to advance further. They were the classic example of a small sect and faction. In fact, if Bianning Commandery wasn’t located at the...0