“A new name on the human ranking!” The martial arts disciples, their eyes wide with innocent curiosity, chattered excitedly like a flock of sparrows.
Though the world is vast, not every edition of the human ranking sees new faces, especially newcomers previously unknown and unheard of!
“The Gentleman Sword? Judging by the title, he must be a righteous hero.”
“Of course. He immediately came to the aid of Hualun with his sword upon their first meeting, traveling through the mountains at night without fear of the Luo Sect. Truly worthy of the title ‘Gentleman.'”
“If only every swordsman in the martial world were like Young Master Meng!”
Meng Qi, dressed in the white robes of a scholar, overheard the conversation and was nearly mortified to death. He realized he absolutely couldn’t accept the title “Gentleman Sword.” Compared to that, nicknames like “Wild Vajra,” “Thunder Saber Mad Monk,” or even “Gentleman Sword” seemed far more bearable.
At the same time, he felt puzzled. The Six Gates should have recognized him, so why did they annotate his entry with “to be verified” and “possibly a false name”? What exactly were their intentions?
Well, in any case, he had no intention of using the identity of “Gentleman Sword” anymore!
He flipped through the rest of the ranking and noticed that, due to the death of the Heavenly Blossom Maiden, the rankings hadn’t changed much. He gathered his thoughts and prepared to leave.
Just then, the martial arts academy headmaster ordered his disciples to bring out a thick stack of paper and paste it onto the wall facing the main entrance.
“Strange, the Zhou Prefecture Heroes List?” Meng Qi paused mid-step. With his eye acupoints already opened, he could see clearly, even from a distance and with small characters.
As he read on, he discovered it was a list of local martial arts experts compiled by the Six Gates of the prefecture city. It didn’t rank them but introduced their names, backgrounds, martial arts cultivation levels, and several notable achievements. At the end, there were comments from various well-known figures in Zhou Prefecture.
“No wonder it’s called the first city in the southwest. Even the Six Gates branch here is so independent as to compile a local heroes list…” Meng Qi marveled. He had passed through Xiliang, Sanshan Sishui, and Xuanwu, but had only seen this in Zhou Prefecture.
Sanshan Sishui was a small place, so it was normal not to have such a list. Xiliang, guarding the vital trade route between the Western Regions and the Jin Dynasty, saw frequent comings and goings of all kinds of people, making it difficult to track everyone. Additionally, the local customs were fierce and martial, with bandits and outlaws mixed in. Incorrect evaluations often led to vendettas, so there was no such list there either. Xuanwu belonged to the Zhenwu Sect’s territory, where they would never allow a list similar to the human ranking to appear.
He glanced through it briefly, not reading in detail, as there was simply too much.
Suddenly, he let out a soft exclamation and saw “himself” again:
“Name: Tang Jing.”
“Age: 26.”
“Identity: Second son of the Tang family in Yicheng.”
“Title: Thunderous Tyrant Blade, Ghost-Faced Tyrant Blade, Tang Er Lang.”
“Martial Arts: Six Acupoints, blade techniques have reached a high level, mastering the essence of powerful and fierce swordsmanship. Besides his own ‘River-Splitting Blade Technique,’ he is also proficient in multiple other blade styles.”
“Reason for Inclusion: He single-handedly defeated Ji Qiao-level martial artist Tang Shu; he turned the tide and defeated Iron-Hand Demon and Joyful Demon despite being surrounded by them.”
“Comment: Jin Jinxian, headmaster of Chiyang Martial Arts Academy, said: His blade techniques cannot be underestimated, sufficient to fight martial artists at the seventh or eighth acupoint level. However, his victory over Ji Qiao is questionable. Tang Shu was a senior member of the Tang family. At that time, he was being questioned by the heir apparent, and his family ties likely weakened his will to resist. His resistance might have been only instinctive. Regarding the ambush, the situation was too chaotic, and no remains were left. The only witness, Tang Ren, did not actually see how Tang Jing killed the Iron-Hand Demon, so the account might not be accurate. Perhaps the Iron-Hand Demon was killed by the impact of a treasure weapon.”
“Huang Yuanba, the steward elder of the Huang family in Yedu, said: He is brave after recognizing shame, a prodigal son who returned to the right path. Tang Jing was only at the second acupoint level and had not yet mastered blade techniques in his early twenties. However, after being humiliated, he traveled for three years, enduring hardships. He has now opened the sixth acupoint, mastered blade techniques, and defeated demon martial artists, unafraid of Ji Qiao-level opponents. He is truly a role model for the younger generation.”
“Wang Zai, the ‘Guardian Sword’ of the Wang family in Zhou Prefecture, said: Tang Jing’s blade is powerful and fierce, like thunder from the heavens, drawing in surrounding air and vitality. It is unstoppable and cuts through anything. He has fully grasped the essence of powerful blade techniques. Among all the acupoint-opening blade users I have seen in my life, he can rank in the top five. If not for his lack of notable achievements, he could have made it to the bottom of the human ranking. Alas, he has the strength of a human ranking contender but not the name.”
Meng Qi was flattered by Wang Zai’s praise and took a liking to him. Moreover, his title was far superior to “Wild Vajra,” “Thunder Saber Monk,” and “Gentleman Sword.”
But why was it still the powerful and fierce type instead of the elegant, refined, or handsome type in white robes? Meng Qi couldn’t help but grumble a little. Maybe he should redeem the “Flying Immortal from the Heavens” technique to change his image?
Meng Qi clicked his teeth, shook his head, and walked away. Suddenly, cheers erupted from behind him:
“The headmaster made the ranking!”
Huh? With nothing better to do, Meng Qi curiously turned around and followed their gazes and pointing fingers to see the end of the list:
“Name: He Ye.”
“Age: 62.”
“Identity: Headmaster of Qingfeng Martial Arts Academy, a disciple of Chaosheng Sect.”
“Title: Listening Tide Sword.”
“Martial Arts: Sixth acupoint, skilled in the 49-move Listening Tide Sword Technique and 18-move Tide-Falling Frenzy Sword.”
“Reason for Inclusion: A kind and virtuous elder who only charges basic tuition fees for his martial arts academy, accepting all students regardless of background. Every year, disciples from his academy are selected by sects and noble families. This year’s martial arts academy competition also has three disciples with a good chance of gaining fame.”
The subsequent comments were mostly praising He Ye’s kindness and benevolence, often mentioning his gentle demeanor and occasionally noting his good teaching skills.
Meng Qi, currently in the state of a wandering martial artist, read the list with great interest but didn’t understand what the martial arts academy competition meant. However, he didn’t dwell on it and soon put it out of his mind, heading straight for Yicheng.
…
“What, you’re going to Yedu to be a chief steward?” Meng Qi was astonished as he looked at Qi Zhengyan.
Qi Zhengyan, expressionless, replied, “Yes, our sect has assigned me to be the chief steward in Yedu, managing shops related to grain, oil, and salt.”
“This is a demotion in disguise?” Meng Qi frowned. It seemed like a promotion in title and placed him in a prosperous city, but it sounded far worse than his current status as a local power.
Qi Zhengyan nodded: “Yedu is a prefectural city. One of our sect’s senior stewards is permanently stationed there, along with many external stewards. There are more than twenty chief stewards.”
“Why is the Huanhua Sword Sect doing this?” Meng Qi asked, puzzled.
Qi Zhengyan slowly explained: “I did achieve great merit, but my subsequent actions appeared too self-serving. Although no mistakes could be found, I can no longer oversee a region.”
No sect would entrust the authority of a region to a disciple known for self-interest. However, even if self-serving, as long as they don’t violate the sect’s rules or cause actual harm to the sect’s interests, they must still be rewarded for their achievements. However, they must be placed under supervision.
Meng Qi nodded: “It’s my fault that I’ve dragged you down, Senior Brother Qi.”
He had already changed his identity to that of a scholar traveling to Yedu for study.
“It’s fine. It was my own choice. Currently, everything takes a back seat to the death mission,” Qi Zhengyan said without showing any regret or blame. “Now it’s actually better. I can often find you for sparring.”
“Yes, but we must be careful not to be followed,” Meng Qi, somewhat relieved of his guilt, reminded him.
How strange the world is! He and Senior Brother Qi ended up reuniting in Yedu again.
…
In the following six months, Meng Qi lived alone in a small courtyard, focusing on his cultivation. He occasionally sparred with Qi Zhengyan when he visited, solidifying all he had previously learned. Not only did he approach the completion of the sixth stage of the Golden Bell Cover, but he also began refining the acupoints related to the mouth. Moreover, he officially advanced to the eye acupoint stage in the Eight-Nine Profound Art, with his vision becoming even stronger, nearly doubling his previous sight.
His lack of foundational sword techniques for the Solitary Sword had been remedied, and his accumulation of Purple Lightning Force was substantial. He had also mastered various changes in the “Thunderous Roar of Nine Heavens,” only needing to integrate the Thunder True Meaning to truly become an Exo-Realm move.
Meng Qi wasn’t concerned about this. For others, it might take ten or even several decades to barely grasp the basics of blade techniques and personally comprehend the Thunder True Meaning, just like Tang Ren. However, he possessed the incomplete legacy of the “Shenxiao Nine Annihilations,” and through continuous study, his understanding of the Thunder True Meaning was far from shallow. Although there was a slight discrepancy between it and the blade intent required by the “Thunderous Roar of Nine Heavens,” they were fundamentally similar—both belonging to the Thunder God lineage and barely compatible. Given the urgency of the life-and-death mission, he couldn’t afford to be overly particular.
The only bottleneck was that Meng Qi’s progress in the “Celestial Blade Outline” was not significant. Besides the four blade techniques he had originally mastered, he had only newly grasped the “Rising Cloud Blade,” which involved the concept of taking oneself as the heavens, creating storms and upheavals.
Meng Qi clearly understood the problem. His knowledge of blade techniques was insufficient, making it difficult to draw inferences from one instance to another. Only by observing various blade techniques could he fully grasp the “Celestial Blade Outline.”
No wonder the Sword Washing Pavilion required its disciples to observe a hundred sword techniques to strengthen their inner sword intent… Meng Qi increasingly felt that the great sects lived up to their reputations. He planned to take out the “Cold Wind Blade Technique,” which he hadn’t practiced much before, and diligently practice it to grasp the essence of the blade techniques it contained.
“Right, the ‘Celestial Blade Outline’ leads to the Nine Blades of Inquiry. Although I can’t redeem it now, I can buy a copy of ‘Inquiry’ to study…” Meng Qi locked the courtyard gate and headed to the bookstore.
This world was strange. There were many poems Meng Qi had read in his previous life, and they were all attributed to their original authors.
However, since these poems had been passed down from a very distant era, no one could clarify the original authors’ identities or backgrounds.
Of course, there were also many poems with clear origins and transmission histories.
As the New Year approached, the weather turned bitterly cold, but the streets were bustling with people buying New Year’s goods.
Meng Qi, dressed in wide robes with large sleeves, his hands clasped behind his back and hidden within his sleeves, walked toward the bookstore while occasionally glancing into the alleys.
“Should I go to Zhaocai Alley to eat Jia’s mutton soup, or should I go to Duizi Street to buy those fried pastries?” Meng Qi pondered his lunch options.
Yedu had many delicacies that suited Meng Qi’s taste. During his martial arts practice, he often spared no effort to wander through the streets and alleys in search of every “pearl in the sea,” feeling very pleased whenever he discovered something new.
Unfortunately, Qi Zhengyan was unwilling to devote much energy to food, leaving Meng Qi to wander alone. At such times, he would think that if Ruan Yushu were here, she would surely follow him everywhere like a shadow.
After buying “Inquiry,” Meng Qi decided to have some fried pastries. Just as he arrived at the stall, he heard greetings.
“Mr. Su, good to see you.”
“Hehe, met you again.”
Beside the stall were several disciples from Qingfeng Martial Arts Academy. They were often at the entrance and near the food stalls where Meng Qi was, and over time, seeing that he was a scholar, they occasionally asked him about the meanings of certain words in martial arts manuals, thus respectfully addressing him as “Mr.”
Meng Qi smiled and nodded: “It’s almost the New Year. You’re still coming to the martial arts academy?”
A girl with big eyes frowned: “Master said that practice makes perfect, and after the New Year comes the martial arts academy competition. We also want to make a name for ourselves and be noticed by major sects or noble families.”
“Sweet Lotus, you’ve only been learning martial arts for a year. There’s no need to rush,” Meng Qi said, understanding the psychology of common children wanting to reduce their family’s burden and support themselves as soon as possible.
Qu Tianhe smiled: “Mr. Su, I’m just saying that. Right now, everyone in the academy can beat me.”
After a few more greetings, Meng Qi, using the alias Su Meng, carried his fried pastries back to his courtyard. As he passed Qingfeng Martial Arts Academy, he suddenly heard suppressed crying.
He looked up and saw He Mu, a familiar disciple from the academy. He immediately sneered: “What’s a big man crying for?”
He Mu was fourteen years old, had been learning martial arts for four years, and had achieved a basic level of breath control. He was passionate and dedicated to sword techniques, often asking Meng Qi about characters in sword manuals he didn’t understand.
He Mu wiped his eyes, his eyes red, stubbornly saying: “I’m not crying!”
“Heh, lost a match, didn’t you?” Meng Qi looked at the wooden sword marks on his hand.
He Mu quickly hid his right hand behind his back: “I, I was just careless, sigh, you wouldn’t understand these things.”
“Who says I don’t? I’m a martial arts expert!” Meng Qi half-jokingly replied with a smile.
He Mu seemed to want someone to confide in. Hearing this, he didn’t take it seriously and said unhappily and dispiritedly: “With the martial arts academy competition approaching, I lost seven times to Fifth Senior today… We were clearly at a similar level. Why do I always lose! I, I think Master He is disappointed in me.”
Meng Qi tapped his left palm with the “Inquiry” book in his right hand, showing interest: “How did you lose? Show me how it happened.”
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