The rising steam, the fragrant and scalding broth, the noodles as fine as hair, and the floating green leaves offered a full sensory delight to sight, smell, and taste.
Without any decorum, Meng Qi squatted in front of the noodle stall, holding a bowl of noodles in his hands, eating furiously while constantly making loud slurping noises.
Gulping down the last of the broth, he licked his lips in satisfaction before turning to the noodle vendor and saying, “Another bowl, please!”
Indeed, the rumors about Jianghu were no exaggeration. The best delicacy in Qinshan City was the Dragon-Beard Noodles, and the most delicious Dragon-Beard Noodles were from Old Man Xie’s stall outside the Six Gates of Qinshan. After tasting them today, he could confirm their reputation was well deserved—fresh, fragrant, chewy, springy, and fine, each quality perfectly achieved!
“Coming right up!” Old Man Xie cheerfully replied, quickly preparing the broth base while casually asking, “Young man, are you here waiting for the latest updates to the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings? You don’t really look like it.”
It was still chilly in the early morning of late spring. Meng Qi instinctively exhaled a puff of warm breath and smiled as he rubbed his hands together. “Why wouldn’t I look like it?”
He didn’t mind at all that the speaker was just an old noodle vendor at the alley’s mouth, responding in a relaxed and natural manner. Unlike the other martial artists occupying the noodle stall, who only boasted about themselves and looked down on Old Man Xie, Meng Qi was easygoing and courteous.
Since most of his customers were martial artists passing through the Six Gates, Old Man Xie rarely encountered a young man as polite and refined as Meng Qi. He chuckled and said, “Young man, you wear a sword at your waist and carry a large pack on your back, which seems to hide another weapon. Normally, you must be a young chivalric swordsman traveling Jianghu. But they all value their dignity highly; if there’s no seat, they’d rather wait than squat down to eat like common ruffians or dock laborers.”
“However, judging by your handsome looks, you must be a young master from some noble household.”
Meng Qi burst into laughter. “You guessed right. I am just a ruffian.”
After all, no one here recognized him. What use was there for an image? Could it possibly rival the deliciousness of these Dragon-Beard Noodles?
Of course, if someone did recognize him, he would still maintain the elegant demeanor of a young swordsman.
With his refined and scholarly appearance, a sword at his waist, wearing a green robe and a gauze hat, his smooth wig adding to his grace, he would definitely be mistaken for a noble young master—unless he was squatting at a noodle stall, slurping noodles noisily.
After parting ways with Jiang Zhiwei, Meng Qi had taken a boat southward, passing through Xizhou and Longzhou, finally arriving at Qinshan City, located at the southern border of Longzhou, the northeastern border of Huanzhou, and the southwestern border of Huazhou. He planned to first travel eastward along the river to Zhenwu Sect in the southern part of Huazhou and the northern part of Ningzhou, where he could mooch off Zhang Yuanshan for a few days, exchange feelings through food and drinks, and then return via another route into Huanzhou, heading to Zhou County to find Qi Zhengyan, who had been assigned as the chief officer in a small town near Zhou County—after all, Zhang Yuanshan was a prominent figure attracting much attention, burdened by family pressure, nowhere near as free and easy as Qi Zhengyan, who had little supervision.
This region was a continuation of Huanzhou’s terrain, with steep mountains, swift rivers, and resources hidden deep in the mountains. The difficult trade conditions made the local people tough and resilient, though martial arts were not particularly prevalent. Qin Mountain, together with the nearby Zhoushan and Qishui, was collectively known as the “Three Mountains and Four Rivers.”
Hearing Meng Qi’s reply, Old Man Xie shook his head with a smile, clearly not taking him seriously. He scooped up the Dragon-Beard Noodles into a bowl, finally adding a marinated egg for Meng Qi.
“Thanks,” Meng Qi said without hesitation, taking the bowl of noodles and squatting back in front of the stall, devouring them voraciously while glancing sideways at the entrance of the “Six Gates.”
Due to the flourishing of martial arts, the functions of constables in the Jin Dynasty had long been separated from the local courts, evolving into the Six Gates, an independent organization working alongside the courts, often with offices located at the north and south ends of the city.
Meng Qi had come early to wait for the announcement of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings newly compiled by the Six Gates headquarters in the capital, hoping to see if his name was on the list and what his nickname would be.
Since the imperial family, aristocrats, and sects of the Jin Dynasty were roughly equal in power, they maintained strong control over the prefectures and counties, with an efficient communication network including trained birds and fast horses. Many masters of external scenery had special martial techniques, and their internal and external worlds could interact effectively, making them skilled in remote communication and transmitting images. Combined with various unique individuals, the Six Gates headquarters claimed, “The Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings news will reach prefecture cities within three days and county cities within seven days.”
Slurping and gulping, Meng Qi squatted on the ground, eating while watching the gate across, resembling a lazy idler on the street.
“Hey there, the Heaven and Human Rankings haven’t come out yet?” Clatter, clatter, two chestnut-brown horses came to a stop in front of Meng Qi. One of the riders was a young girl with a high-pitched voice, petite and cute-looking.
The other rider was a young man with a long sword on his back. His hair was tied up, adorned with a heroic headscarf, dressed neatly in black martial attire, his eyebrows sharp like swords, and his face angular and distinct.
Their manner of addressing him treated Meng Qi entirely as an idle bystander in the martial arts world.
Meng Qi gulped down a mouthful of soup and looked at them, shaking his head. “Well, I haven’t seen it come out yet.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two left doors of the Six Gates opened. A constable wearing a black hat, dressed in red, and carrying a long saber at his waist walked out holding a yellow paper.
With a bang, the martial heroes at the noodle stall erupted into action. Some paid their money, others rushed forward, eager to learn the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings as quickly as possible to gain bragging rights back home.
“What’s the use of running so fast? Who actually makes the rankings would come to see it in person?” The young man with the heroic headscarf looked down on these ordinary martial artists.
The petite girl smiled happily, “Everyone’s curious, and I’m also curious to see what changes there will be this time. Maybe some new masters or young heroes will rise to prominence?”
“Hmm, then let’s go too.” The young man said kindly to the girl.
The two dismounted, tied their horses to the posts, and lightly used their martial arts skills to leap over most people and get to the front.
“Hey there, you run pretty fast,” the girl noticed Meng Qi holding his bowl of noodles, eating while walking, and surprisingly ended up near the front.
Slurping, Meng Qi paused his chopsticks, smiling faintly, “A nickname given by fellow martial artists, ‘Flying Legs.’”
“Flying Legs…” The girl frowned, finding the nickname quite strange.
The young man snorted, “What kind of nickname can a street idler have?”
Meng Qi didn’t explain, just chuckled and walked to the wall mirror, carefully reading the rankings. The Heaven Ranking rarely changed, while on the Earth Ranking, his master had entered the top sixty.
After finishing the Earth Ranking, he moved to the Human Ranking wall mirror. The petite girl, the young man with the heroic headscarf, and most of the martial heroes from earlier gathered here. For them, the Heaven Ranking was for gods, and the Earth Ranking was for high-level experts, both too distant to matter much. A quick glance was enough for them to understand. The real focus was the Human Ranking, which was the goal many of them aspired to achieve!
“‘Invisible Sword’ He Jiu, ‘Calculating the World’ Wang Siyuan, ‘Wolf King’ Tie Sheng, ‘Great Luo Demon Girl’ Gu Xiaosang, ‘Blade River’ Yan Chong, ‘Buddha Palm’ Xuan Zhen, ‘Joyful Bhikkhu’ Xing Yi, ‘Accidental Immortal’ Cao E, ‘Hundred-Mile Shock’ Jiang Hengchuan, ‘Sword Immortal’ Jiang Zhiwei. Wow, Jiang Zhiwei of Xijian Pavilion has just descended the mountain and already made it into the top ten!” As someone read out the names and nicknames, exclamations echoed in front of the mirror.
Although Jiang Zhiwei’s name had already spread through the disciples of Xijian Pavilion who traveled down the mountain and the elders of various sects who had watched the new talent competition, and she had already made the Human Ranking, no one had expected that within just over a month of descending the mountain, she would directly enter the top ten, which was truly shocking!
Looking at her record, everyone was left speechless. The “Sunlight Evil Sword” was a renowned left-handed master who had been famous for years. Though he had never managed to cross the threshold of the half-step External Scenery realm, he had opened nine apertures and was highly experienced. Yet, Jiang Zhiwei defeated him in a one-on-one duel, demonstrating her formidable strength. Her subsequent achievements only further confirmed this.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone with only six orifices make it into the top ten,” the petite girl exclaimed with shining eyes.
The young man smiled, “‘Heavenly Sword’ Su Wuming also made it into the top ten when he had six apertures. It seems the master-disciple legacy is indeed genuine.”
There were two traditions regarding the Human Ranking: once you reached the age of thirty-five or attained the Half-Step External Scenery realm, you would automatically be removed from the list. Thus, the top nine were all experts who had opened eight or nine apertures. Jiang Zhiwei, with her six apertures, stood out prominently—breaking through the Life-Death Barrier and stepping onto the Bridge Between Heaven and Earth was the most challenging step in advancing from the Aperture-opening stage to the External Scenery realm. Comparatively speaking, as long as one’s foundation was solid, the convergence of internal and external Heaven and Earth would be much simpler. This was why Half-Step External Scenery experts were not included in the Human Ranking.
Of course, everyone unquestionably believed that the top ten young talents on the Human Ranking all had the strength to fight half-step external scenery experts.
“Miss Jiang must be a cold-hearted swordsman devoted solely to her sword, just like Senior Su Wuming,” the petite girl said as if she had seen Jiang Zhiwei in person.
“Hmm…” Meng Qi really wanted to speak on behalf of Jiang Zhiwei and say, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not cold-hearted at all.”
“What? You don’t believe me?” The girl had sharp ears and looked displeased.
The young man also chimed in, “Only a swordsman devoted solely to the sword could possess such terrifying sword techniques at the six-aperture level. Although they say Miss Jiang is a beauty, a cold beauty is still a beauty.”
“Alright,” Meng Qi replied indifferently.
The girl, having won the argument, was very pleased. Pointing at the Human Rankings, she sighed, “It’s a pity though, only three of the top ten come from outside the major sects and noble families. It’s really disheartening. That’s why I admire Young Master Yan and Young Master Jiang the most.”
“Blade River” Yan Chong came from a minor sect, while “Hundred-Mile Shock” Jiang Hengchuan was a wandering swordsman. Making it into the top ten was no easy feat. Another one not from a major sect or noble family was “Wolf King” Tie Sheng, a young expert from the northern grasslands.
“Yes, they are indeed role models for us,” many martial artists around nodded in agreement. Then someone added, “Shaolin ended the Xuan generation and started the Zhen generation more than seven or eight years ago. Why hasn’t anyone from the Zhen generation made the rankings yet?”
Shaolin had a rule that all disciples must enter the Martial Monks’ Academy to test their character before becoming direct disciples, thereby establishing a unified generational system that could not be bypassed. For instance, before the Zhen generation began, if an elder monk of the Xuan generation took a liking to a disciple, he could only accept the disciple as a student on behalf of his own master to preserve the generational order.
This was how Xuan Bei had been accepted. The Wu generation had long ended, and the Xuan generation was nearly finished, so the abbot had to accept him as a student on behalf of his master to keep the generation order.
“Seven or eight years isn’t that long. The oldest among the Zhen generation is only around twenty. Moreover, Shaolin martial arts are known for their solid foundation, promising potential, and slow progress. Oh, there’s a Shaolin outcast from the Zhen generation ranked thirty-third!” Someone exclaimed in surprise.
Meng Qi, who had been carefully reading the previous introductions, quickly turned his head upon hearing this. The moment he saw it, his face darkened completely as he muttered to himself, “Thunder Blade Mad Monk, Reckless Vajra, Thunder Blade Mad Monk, Reckless Vajra…”
“That exiled monk from Shaolin, Zhen Ding, actually killed two Nine-Aperture experts and defeated another one in direct combat! He’s truly terrifying!” exclaimed the young man wearing the heroic headscarf. “And he can even summon heavenly lightning! How could such a gifted disciple end up being exiled?”
“I don’t know, but judging from his nickname, this monk Zhen Ding must have dark skin, bulging muscles, be eight feet tall, and have an eight-foot waist!” the petite girl said confidently.
Eight feet tall and eight feet waist? Meng Qi inwardly cursed, wanting to change his plans and head straight to the Six Gates headquarters in the capital to have a heart-to-heart with the person who compiled the rankings.
“Hey there, young man, what are you daydreaming about?” The girl, after finishing reading all the introductions of the Human Rankings, called out happily, already feeling quite satisfied. “Today is the fiftieth birthday of the master of Zengxian Gate, and they’re hosting a grand feast to entertain fellow martial artists. Why don’t we go join the fun? I heard that Huang Yun, the ‘Flying Cloud Sword,’ who is expected to enter the Human Rankings, will personally represent the ‘Qinshan Sword Sect’ to challenge them, fulfilling a three-year agreement to compete for the temporary custody of the celestial stone.”
She had just “won” an argument with Meng Qi, and considering their chance encounter, they had developed a bit of camaraderie, of course, partly because Meng Qi looked quite presentable.
Expected to enter the Human Rankings, challenge, celestial stone, grand feast… these words entered Meng Qi’s ears, stirring his interest. He smiled and said, “I was just thinking the same thing.”
He was someone who loved to join in on the fun, and watching more matches and learning various martial arts techniques would help improve his own progress in the Solitary Sword.
Besides, those two nicknames were just too hurtful. Only delicious food could soothe the pain in his heart!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage