Chapter 276: Listening to the Waves, Commanding the Blade

The two characters "Guanhai" in the Guanhai Realm.

It is said to have been established thousands of years ago by a great Confucian master, drawn from the line: "Spring river tides meet the sea level, the bright moon rises with the tide."

First observe the waves, then the bright moon emerges, leading to the primordial state.

The Guanhai Realm has three stages, each step arduous; merely the step of observing the waves has stalled countless heroes.

At this moment.

Li Rui's qi sea seemed to reach a certain limit, and a faint sound of rushing tide echoed within.

The tide rose.

Immortal qi seeped out through his pores, filling the room with a misty haze, as if it were a fairyland.

Within the white mist, faint glimpses of celestial birds played.

Finally, his internal qi sea seemed to break through some barrier; Li Rui's awareness instantly cleared, the separation between him and his qi sea vanished completely.

Guanlan.

Lan is the result; the essence of Guanlan is the warrior's enhanced control over the qi sea, allowing better command of it.

Li Rui now stepped into the Guanlan Realm as naturally as water flowing downhill.

He clasped his palms together, murmuring softly.

"Rise!"

Instantly, the long sword hanging on the wall trembled slightly against the wall, then the shaking grew increasingly violent.

Finally—

Cang!

The long sword flew out of its scabbard on its own.

In midair, it traced a circular arc, dancing freely and weaving a net of blades.

Yudao!

Li Rui couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips.

Yujian—this was every man's ultimate dream; who as a child hadn't stepped on a bamboo stick, imagining themselves a great sword immortal soaring through the skies?

He had watched Jiang Lin fly on his sword every day; today, he finally experienced the joy of yujian.

Though it was a sword.

Li Rui, for a moment, felt the playful impulse of youth.

The long sword floated slowly to his feet; he stood up, took a step forward, and landed squarely upon its blade.

Yudao flight.

Li Rui stood steady, and with a thought, he commanded the blade to rise.

In a few breaths.

His head had already brushed against the ceiling beam.

"It really worked."

Li Rui's eyes brightened.

But his initial estimate suggested he could fly no higher than three zhang; beyond that, it was impossible. As for the tales of soaring nine thousand zhang straight into the clouds, only a land immortal of the highest realm could achieve such a feat.

If he flew higher, he'd likely fall to his death.

Li Rui guided the long sword back down to the ground.

Flying with yudao for travel was still impractical, but for short-range combat, it was an excellent tactic.

Jiang Lin never fought with his own hands—he always slew enemies with yujian.

How elegant and free he was.

Li Rui glanced at the sky.

Dawn had just begun to lighten.

He pushed open the door and stepped outside, feeling the morning light and the cool breeze—it was time again for his sleepless morning practice.

After completing a set of sword forms.

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong finally emerged; the three ate their meat porridge as usual.

Li Rui's identity had changed again and again, but his morning meal remained unchanged.

The two men in the house had hardly changed either.

His three disciples: Lianghe inherited his Tian Di Alliance affairs and would likely walk the Jianghu path; Liu Tiezhu continued running the blacksmith shop after Tiekuang left; among the three, only Wang Zhao remained by his side.

This is much like the youngest son guarding the home.

Whether he becomes accomplished or not matters little; as long as he preserves the legacy, that's enough.

Wang Zhao had followed Li Rui the longest—not the most intelligent, but the one Li Rui favored most, precisely because of his pure, untroubled nature.

That was good enough.

Wang Zhao cleared the bowls and chopsticks; Yang Yong continued cooling himself under the big willow tree.

Li Rui dressed fully and stepped out the courtyard gate.

He had walked only a few steps when Ning Zhongtian rushed over, excited.

"Big brother, the Wu Ping rankings are out!"

Li Rui's eyes lit up:

"Let's go see."

But Ning Zhongtian grinned, waving a small booklet in his hand.

"A few days ago, I drank with the newly arrived Registrar—we've become acquaintances."

I asked him to have someone copy a copy of the official gazette.

The Wu Ping rankings were delivered along with the official gazette to all provinces of the Yu Kingdom, then copied and distributed by provincial and county offices.

The official gazette was a treasure, especially for storytellers.

Many famous storytellers liked to cultivate good relations with clerks in county offices so they could copy archived official gazettes from the county warehouse and turn them into tales—thus, the official gazette was their vital source of inspiration.

Ning Zhongtian getting a copy saved them the trouble of crowding at the county gate, breathing in sweat and dust.

"I really need to change this bad habit of never taking the back door."

Li Rui smiled and shook his head.

Then he followed Ning Zhongtian to his house.

When he and Ning Zhongtian stepped inside,

Good heavens—a room full of familiar faces: Ge Hong, Wei Ming, and Tan Hu were already gathered around a stone table in the courtyard, eagerly waiting.

Ning Zhongtian grinned.

He didn't even need to open the booklet; he had memorized its contents long ago.

"The Wu Ping is out—the number one is still the governor of Donghai City, unchanged."

None of those in the room showed the slightest surprise.

Perhaps only after the Donghai City governor, Gao Chengzhu, passes away will the top spot change.

Tan Hu was already urging: "Quick, who's fifth?"

Ning Zhongtian, savoring their anxious gazes, spoke with the calm of a seasoned storyteller: "The number two is Xiang Jianxian of Shu; our Yu Kingdom's State Preceptor and the Great Shaman of Wu Kingdom are tied for third."

"As for fifth—"

He paused.

Pure storyteller's flair.

Tan Hu, with his fiery temper, could no longer sit still; even though Ning Zhongtian was his former superior, he couldn't resist kicking him twice.

Ning Zhongtian dodged quickly, grinning: "Fifth is the Barbarian War God, Jin Gu Wu."

This time,

Learning from the earlier lesson, Ning Zhongtian recited the top eight in one breath.

Soon, a name was heard.

"Number nine is our own Yuan Viceroy."

Yuan Dingting.

Indeed, he made the top ten—and leapt to ninth, surpassing the True Person of Longhu Sect.

Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau ranked fifteenth.

Whether intentional or not,

Right after him at sixteenth was the Marquis of Dingyuan.

"I heard Gu Jianzheng himself presided over this Wu Ping. I think it's deliberate."

Ning Zhongtian analyzed with solemn seriousness.

Tan Hu and the others all nodded in agreement.

Gu Jianzheng and the Marquis of Dingyuan were leaders of opposing factions; the Wu Ping deliberately placed Gu one rank above the Marquis—hardly coincidental.

Ning Zhongtian's eyes sparkled: "Our Lord Jiang also made the Wu Ping this time—rank 421."

Li Rui's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Jiang Lin, newly entered the land immortal realm, had already surpassed over a hundred land immortal experts—remarkable indeed.

This wasn't just him boosting his own reputation; the Wu Ping had existed for a thousand years without challenge precisely because it was fair. Influencing one or two names was possible, but one or two hundred? Impossible—otherwise its reputation would have been ruined long ago.

Ning Zhongtian chattered excitedly for a long while.

Then he handed the booklet to Li Rui.

Li Rui flipped through a few pages idly and handed them to Ge Hong and the others.

A faint stir in his heart.

He couldn't make the Martial Rankings anyway; it was just entertainment—no need to invest much effort. The real point was, once the Rankings were out, Yuan's marquis title couldn't be far off.

Another month slipped by in a flash.

Heaven and Earth Alliance, Gathering Righteousness Hall.

The hall was packed with people; besides the Alliance's several leaders, elders from Divine Weapon Manor, Hundred Battles Gate, and Daoxuan Sect had all arrived.

Such a scene was rare to see.

Please... Your Excellency... collect_(!)

An elder from a major sect was willing to show face to a local power.

"Old Brother Li, congratulations."

Shi Zhou had barely sat down when he bowed to Li Rui in salute.

Li Rui smiled faintly: "Old Brother Shi, what's there to celebrate?"

"The Martial Rankings are settled. Yuan Viceroy will soon be made Marquis of Annan, his fief right here in Yunzhou. With Anning Guard rising with the tide, isn't that great fortune?"

Li Rui's expression shifted slightly.

This was the depth of a major sect—Yuan Viceroy's enfeoffment had only just reached Anning Guard.

Divine Weapon Manor had already heard the rumors.

But then again, it made sense: many of Divine Weapon Manor's people served in Annan Town, some even as Assistant Regional Commanders.

It wasn't surprising.

Zhou Ting and Bai Jing also smiled: "Old Brother Li, your promotion is imminent—we offer our congratulations in advance."

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't say such things.

But since it was Yuan Viceroy being made marquis, Annan Town's status would surely rise further. After all, Yuan Viceroy had once commanded the sixteen northern and southern towns—Anning Guard would naturally benefit.

Add to that Li Rui's past service defending the city and slaying Lady Lingluo.

In their eyes, Li Rui's promotion was certain.

It was worth cultivating ties.

Li Rui: "You three young brothers flatter me too much."

Before anything was settled, he wouldn't start acting the part of a Deputy Commander with arrogance.

"I called you three here regarding the demonic beasts."

Previously, I used my official status to pressure you, so I invited you to the Weiheshimao Office. Now that tensions have eased, continuing to pressure you would be inappropriate—hence the choice of Heaven and Earth Alliance.

What was a matter of official business has now become a matter of personal connection.

Ultimately, I'm still doing business with Heaven and Earth Alliance. One use of official pressure was enough; if I pressed too often, the rifts would grow too wide, and future trade would suffer.

Shi Zhou and the other three sat up straighter.

In recent days, the three sects' people had already traveled with Heaven and Earth Alliance's caravans to Wu Country.

When Li Rui invited them today, they'd already suspected the reason.

After hearing their subordinates' reports, all three were deeply intrigued.

The profits from demonic beast trade were far greater than they'd expected—if they could establish this trade, their profits in Qinghe could rise another sixty percent.

Previous deals had all been pre-arranged by their sects.

In truth, they were just there to guard the operation.

But if they could open new trade routes themselves and bring profit to their sects, they'd earn major merit as dispatched elders.

Elders sent out on assignment were never the core of a major sect.

If they could regain the attention of the Sect Master or Patriarch, they might even return to the inner circle.

Naturally, all three were eager.

Shi Zhou: "Old Brother Li, you're in charge—we'll follow your lead."

Before arriving,

the three had already coordinated—they'd agreed to follow Li Rui completely.

Now that Annan Town was powerful, their home sects might not risk opposing Annan Town for their sake. Likewise, they didn't want to offend Li Rui, the future commander of Anning Guard.

Besides, Li Rui's terms were already generous.

If Li Rui grew displeased and deliberately sabotaged their trade, given his ties to Wu Country, they'd suffer losses—better to start with good will and avoid trouble.

Li Rui's lips curled slightly upward as he nodded in satisfaction.

He turned last to Huang Chui: "Younger Brother, from now on, you must frequently coordinate with these three and support each other."

"Yes, Elder Brother."

Huang Chui nodded firmly.

He fully accepted Li Rui's arrangements.

Earlier, he'd been puzzled by Li Rui's willingness to give up part of the business.

Not just him—many elders and disciples in the Alliance, though unwilling to show it, had privately complained.

Because the money had decreased.

After Tie Kuang left, the weapons trade hadn't fully collapsed, but with Liu Tiezhu alone, profits had dropped by as much as eighty percent. Demonic beast trade had become Heaven and Earth Alliance's main source.

But then Li Rui announced he'd hand over half to some unknown big figure—and now he wanted to bring in the three major sects.

That meant direct losses to everyone's take-home silver.

Of course some were unhappy.

This was the nature of human greed: a grain of rice brings gratitude, a bushel brings resentment.

Li Rui knew this perfectly—and he'd done it on purpose. He'd also ordered Liang He and Liu Tong to secretly record the names of those who complained.

Those with talent would still be used—but anyone hoping to climb to Alliance Leader or become a partner? Impossible.

At Heaven and Earth Alliance's upper levels,

strength mattered, but loyalty mattered just as much.

Neither could be missing.

Otherwise, the greater the ability, the greater the danger.

After finishing official business, Shi Zhou and the others made no move to leave—they continued chatting casually.

If bonds were forged through official matters, colleagues would all be bosom friends.

Official matters served the sect; personal matters served oneself.

Shi Zhou and the others were deliberately seeking to befriend Li Rui.

"Lord Li, I heard Marquis Yuan will recruit retainers in Yunzhou—and if any young talents show promise, he might even take them as disciples. A tremendous opportunity."

"I hear many prodigies have already come from the Central Plains."

Shi Zhou said.

The news had already spread through the major sects.

Marquis Yuan, disciple of one of the top ten in the land—his status rivals that of the first disciple of a ten-thousand-year-old sect.

Unlike the other nine in the Martial Rankings, Marquis Yuan had spent years in constant warfare and was the only Grand Master without any disciples.

To become his first disciple—

what fortune!

The least of the top ten's disciples would be at least a Primordial Realm cultivator.

Of course, one condition: the disciple must be young.

While martial cultivators live long, they rarely take disciples past fifty—beyond that, potential is fixed, and taking them serves little purpose, possibly even attracting untrustworthy motives.

"Too bad we've no chance ourselves—but if Old Brother Li has any disciples with talent, they should try."

"Actually, even becoming a retainer would be excellent."

Shi Zhou added hastily.

He'd just realized: no one in the room met the age requirement.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

What could you do? At a certain age, it's combat power that counts—potential should've already shown itself by now.

Look at Jiang Lin—he became a Earth Immortal in his early forties. Marquis Yuan's first disciple must meet that standard, or there'd be no point.

Would he raise dead weight?

Shi Zhou smiled faintly:

"Let's guess—will Yunzhou produce a Marquis's disciple this time?"

(End of Chapter)