Chapter 177: I am

As for the earlier words about slaughtering that bandit village completely, Bai Lang selectively threw them to the clouds—if he went back he'd likely find nothing, maybe the village had already been completely abandoned. Being a bandit means making a living with one's head on the line; once something changes, of course you quickly abandon your lair and flee.

The Hengduan Mountains are so vast, there are plenty of places to hide.

Most genuine bandits should already be dead by Bai Lang's hands; those old and weak bandits still need some time to grow, maybe they've been absorbed by another bandit village? Anyway, Bai Lang decided to later come and kill a few more; there are still plenty of good things in the Hengduan Mountains.

Has Bai Lang's reputation spread? It seems it has—his name appears on the Earth Ranking of Innate Experts, and around the time the list was published, the news of his killing Ma Dongshan and Ma Dongshan also achieving Innate status went up together. The Great Yan's Heaven-Earth-Man Ranking is public, though not heavily advertised; anyone who wants to see it can just go to the Commandant's Office—this lousy place Ye City doesn't even qualify to have a Commandant's Office.

Bai Lang only confirmed this after returning to Ji City—when he went to collect the bounty, he happened to see the new issue of the Heaven-Earth-Man Ranking and took a look. As expected, he skipped straight past the lowest Man Ranking—where all the rising stars gather, the world of young people, the domain of sect geniuses.

"Wow, they're all up there. Ma Rulong and Murong Jiu Xiu even are in the top ten. But they don't have nicknames?" Bai Lang muttered, then he saw his own name. "Earth Ranking... let me see. The Earth Ranking has a total of 108 people, but the line below says that doesn't mean these are all the Innate Experts in Great Yan—some people just hide their cultivation or wander the world."

Bai Lang saw his rank at 103rd place—"He even has a nickname, 'Earth-Shattering Tai Sui Bai Lang.' Have I become a Tai Sui? Though there's also a saying that Ma Dongshan cultivated the Yin-Yang Grind, achieved Innate Expert status, and was killed by Bai Lang and the White Jade Pillar at some time and place. Everyone on this list has a record of killing an opponent of equal rank—indeed, this is actually a Killer Ranking."

Bai Lang has killed only one, so he's ranked 103rd; the top-ranked 'Timely Rain' Zhao Family Third Son has already killed seven equals and is close to breaking through to Innate. Thus Bai Lang becomes 'Ruan Xiao II,' the Earth-Shattering Tai Sui nickname...... Bai Lang frowned, thinking hard, but couldn't come up with a louder nickname.

"Tiger Diamond? Indestructible Diamond? Impervious to blades and spears? These are all really lame, forget it, I'll just accept the Earth-Shattering Tai Sui and not protest." Bai Lang exhaled a long breath, feeling it's fine to be Earth-Shattering Tai Sui Bai Lang. Now he's someone with status, he swaggered in to see people and prepare to collect the reward.

"I said Ma Dongshan is already Innate, your intel is harmful. If someone without Innate just charges in like that, eight out of ten they're just giving away their head. How can the reward for Innate not be different?" Bai Lang said, pounding the table, meanwhile regretting he didn't have hard-soled shoes.

The officer in charge at the Commandant's Office, Old Wang, is also an Innate Expert; at first his face was full of trouble, but apparently hearing a higher expert transmit internal force, his face blossomed like a flower: "No problem, no problem, but Commander Bai, are you really considering formally joining? There are great benefits above—it says after you join you can pick three from the Divine Skill Supreme Art."

Bai Lang let out a laugh, "Think about it, but give me the money first!" Old Wang swiftly rewrote the reward on the wanted poster, raising the price according to the Innate reward scale. Bai Lang looked and was immediately very satisfied: "Sure enough, a decisive organization—just straightforward. But carrying all that gold and silver is inconvenient; I think this jade pendant can't hold it all." As for exchanging for a storage treasure? Bai Lang said he didn't want to bother with that hassle.

"Money is something you can't take with you when you're born or when you die—so bring over the list of things exchangeable for Innate rank, and I'll directly trade the gold and silver in the reward for whatever I don't need. Also, find a broker to come over; I have some stuff here I'd like someone to appraise." Bai Lang directly pulled out the bottles and jars from the jade pendant, plus the shell of the golden beetle.

The appraiser who came turned out to be a middle-aged woman, brightening Bai Lang's eyes. She glanced at the bottles and jars, "Hmm, the blood honey is decent quality; in Ji City it could fetch a good sum. But that's just its monetary value—using it to exchange for other things might not be worthwhile." She looked at the golden beetle, slightly troubled.

"Come over! Gather your gang qi!" The woman grabbed Old Wang, and after saying that she stabbed the golden beetle shell into his arm. Sure enough it pierced through the gang qi, the horn made a hole in Old Wang's arm; amid his earth-shaking screams, the woman shoved him away.

"Stop pretending, even if you keep at it this lady won't sleep with you." Bai Lang glanced at Old Wang, and his words made the woman directly thrust the golden beetle at his face. Old Wang was embarrassed beyond words and fell silent. Indeed the Golden Bell Cover's gang qi was also shattered by the beetle's horn, though being much stronger than Old Wang's it at least blocked the horn's force.

Thus the horn striking Bai Lang's face was just a flash of fire, "Sorry, lady, I was just mocking Old Wang. By the way, I have an iron face—this thing is useless on my skin." Bai Lang directly lowered his head in apology; the woman seemed likewise helpless, she glared fiercely at Old Wang and then forced the conversation to shift.

Old Wang just gave a forced smile, while Bai Lang's mouth curled into a smirk mixing lewd and lascivious, "Boundary-breaking Golden Armor—I didn't expect to see this rare material. This shell can make protective armor, and that spike can become a weapon that pierces any gang qi—don't look at its hardness, which is only slightly better than bronze iron and can be destroyed by you lot of violent types, but its ability to pierce gang qi is innate; even the protective gang qi of a god‑like expert can be shattered in one strike. If my martial skill weren't lacking, I could definitely pierce a big hole in your face."

Bai Lang hehe‑laughed a few times, not objecting, "This stuff is usable, but it seems there's not enough to make armor—so we'd have to catch more beetles? That's tough, this thing is poisonous." Bai Lang recalled the earlier situation: "Even an Innate Expert might not withstand this poison; although the detox is fast, before it wears off at least an arm would melt."

"This one's been exchanged too, huh? This bit of stuff is useless to me." Bai Lang spoke, and what met him was a brick‑thick catalog flung his way—"The catalog of peerless martial arts and treasures; the items are in the storeroom!"