Chapter 287: First in Martial Arts Ranking, He Qiannian

"Five hundred and thirty-seventh in the world's martial arts ranking."

Li Rui sat in the pavilion of the Li Canjun's Prefecture, listening to the babbling water, looking at the black-gray cloud cluster on the horizon; even from a great distance, he could smell the faint scent of saltpeter in the air.

'What a grand display.'

The Thousand Crane Martial Hall was opening.

This was a major event.

Cao Wei had gone, so he, the Li Canjun, didn't need to go.

Otherwise, if outsiders saw it, they would think the Anning Guard had surrendered to the power of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

The main duty of the Anning Guard was to supervise the major Jianghu forces within its jurisdiction, and the Thousand Crane Martial Hall was naturally among them.

Admittedly, neither Li Rui nor Cao Wei could afford to provoke that Hall Master He, known as the White Crane Divine Fist, but if they lost their prestige from the start, it would be even harder to manage the Thousand Crane Martial Hall later.

The dignity of the imperial court would be gone.

When that time came, it would certainly be Li Rui and Cao Wei, the two main officials, who would be unlucky.

Cao Wei going to pay a visit was something the two had already discussed.

Yang Yong, to the side, clicked his tongue: "As expected of an expert on the martial arts ranking, this style is truly grand."

Today, the hall was opening, and almost all the big figures with status in the city had gone.

Perhaps only Li Rui remained.

The last world martial arts ranking had a total of five hundred and seventeen people on the list; this time, twenty people were added, for a total of five hundred and thirty-seven.

What was interesting was.

This master of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall had been ranked five hundred and seventeenth ten years ago, and now his ranking was five hundred and thirty-seventh.

Hmm.

Both were last place.

Therefore, in the Jianghu, there was an extra nickname: First in Martial Arts Ranking, He Qiannian.

Of course, that was just teasing behind his back.

If one truly met He Qiannian, one still had to respectfully call him Grandmaster He.

Last place in the martial arts ranking was still an Earth Immortal; not to mention in Qinghe, in the entire Yunzhou, he was one of the top existences.

He Qiannian's willingness to come to Qinghe raised the level of Qinghe's martial arts.

Opening a hall to accept disciples would even benefit the Yunzhou imperial court and Jianghu because of this.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes.

"An Earth Immortal, this display is not excessive."

Yang Yong had a look of watching the fun: "Little brother, what do you think those immortal figures on the martial arts ranking look like? Will they have horns on their heads?"

Li Rui thought of Jiang Linxian and firmly denied Yang Yong's conjecture:

"No."

Yang Yong was just joking.

He was old now and didn't want to move; if he were seventeen or eighteen, he would have stood on tiptoes to see the demeanor of that Grandmaster He no matter what.

In front of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

The thick smoke dissipated, and the area in front of the door was bustling with noise and excitement.

He Wanchun stood with his hands behind his back, bringing two Return Cloud Sect disciples into the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

He cupped his fists toward the middle-aged man with a straight posture standing at the door.

"So it is Elder He, long time no see."

Xiao Yu, the eldest disciple of He Qiannian, laughed heartily and returned the salute, then let his junior brother take the items from He Wanchun's hands, while pulling He Wanchun toward the inside of the martial hall.

He Wanchun smiled.

He scanned the main hall.

It was full of people, but he couldn't see that Grandmaster He, who was first in the martial arts ranking.

It was all disciples receiving guests.

But thinking about it, it was normal.

He Qiannian was an existence capable of being a sect master; the people in Qinghe, one by one, were all small fish and shrimp, and seeing them or not was the same.

If he had that energy, he might as well practice more.

Rules and etiquette were the protective umbrellas of the weak; the strong didn't need them.

Moreover, as a Grandmaster with a reputation outside, He Qiannian's few disciples were also extremely extraordinary.

For example, the eldest disciple Xiao Yu before him was a Fourth-Rank Primordial Realm martial artist.

He Wanchun said while walking: "Coming here this time, I have specially prepared a gift for Brother Xiao as well."

Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow: "Elder He is too polite."

He Wanchun lowered his voice a bit: "Does Brother Xiao know what business is the most profitable in Qinghe?"

Upon hearing this.

The smile on Xiao Yu's face became playful.

It seemed that the gift this Elder He of the Return Cloud Sect wanted to give was not some spiritual medicine or divine weapon.

He Wanchun answered his own question: "It is the monster business."

"If Brother Xiao is willing, my Return Cloud Sect can share the profits three-seven with your hall and do business together."

Xiao Yu's eyes lit up.

His master, He Qiannian, came to Qinghe at the invitation of Marquis Yuan; in fact, besides He Qiannian, there were five other Earth Immortal experts above the martial arts ranking who also intended to open sects in Yunzhou.

According to Marquis Yuan, if the Yunzhou Jianghu only had one Divine Weapon Shanzhuang, it would be too boring.

He Qiannian coming to Qinghe was just giving his name.

The affairs of the martial hall were almost entirely handled by Xiao Yu alone; He Qiannian wouldn't ask about them at all.

It could be understood this way: He Qiannian was just changing places to seclude himself at Marquis Yuan's invitation, and the true master of the martial hall was actually Xiao Yu.

Unlike He Qiannian's indifference.

Xiao Yu truly wanted to make the Thousand Crane Martial Hall big, or even upgrade it to a sect, and take advantage of having his master He Qiannian sitting in town to open a sect and become a Grandmaster.

But if a martial hall wanted to grow big.

Besides teaching well, the more important thing was having money.

In Qinghe, when it came to making money, it was naturally the monster business.

"How is it, Mr. He, do you have a path?"

He Wanchun smiled mysteriously:

"Although I don't, someone does."

Deep in the night, the moon hung on the eastern branch.

In the Li Canjun's Prefecture.

Li Rui sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, circulating his Qi, when suddenly a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door outside.

Opening his eyes, he pushed the door open and saw Shi Zhou, Zhou Ting, and Bai Jing standing anxiously outside the door.

"Little Brother Shi, what is this?"

Shi Zhou's expression was extremely ugly, and he cursed: "That dog He Wanchun!"

Li Rui frowned slightly.

If he remembered correctly, the elder in charge of the Return Cloud Sect in Qinghe seemed to be named He Wanchun.

"What happened?"

While speaking, he led the three of them into the room to sit down.

After sitting down, Shi Zhou drank a cup of tea fiercely before speaking:

"Five days ago, He Wanchun and Xiao Yu of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall came to me, hoping to join hands to do monster business. With Li Laoge's instructions, I naturally refused."

"But damn it, today I got news that my Divine Weapon Shanzhuang's caravan in the Wu Kingdom was robbed."

"It must have been done by that dog He Wanchun and the Thousand Crane Martial Hall!"

"He Wanchun clearly wanted to force us to hand over the trade route and insert a foot into the monster business."

Thinking of this, Shi Zhou gritted his teeth.

Zhou Ting and Bai Jing both had solemn expressions.

Although this hadn't happened to them yet, it was estimated that it wouldn't be far off.

Li Rui pondered.

Combined with He Wanchun's previous attempts to pay a visit, it wasn't hard to guess.

The Return Cloud Sect also wanted a share of the monster business, and that Elder He had even pulled in the Thousand Crane Shanzhuang.

"I understand."

Li Rui nodded.

He had long anticipated today's events.

The monster business was growing larger, and there were more and more experts in Qinghe; it was bound to arouse the covetousness of others. Although he hadn't thought of monopolizing the monster business, it didn't prevent others from pinning that crime on him.

Attempting to divide the benefits.

After all, if the monster trade route in the Wu Kingdom were so easy to open, it wouldn't be the case that the Tiandi Alliance was still the largest one.

The situation in the Wu Kingdom was already chaotic.

To do this business, besides having money, the most important thing was having people. Either people from the Wu Kingdom's imperial court or people from the rebel party.

The Wu Kingdom had sealed itself off for a thousand years; where would these large sects know high-level officials of the Wu Kingdom? Even if they wanted to make friends, people would avoid them like the plague.

Who wouldn't be afraid of being accused of treason?

The monster business in the Wu Kingdom was also not something anyone could touch.

Dao Mo dared to open a path for Li Rui because Xia Xiaotang's master was a Great Shaman.

It was just that simple.

Otherwise, it would at least require a Third-Rank official of the Wu Kingdom to speak up before those monster traffickers would dare to do business with the Yu Kingdom.

Seeing Li Rui not speaking, Shi Zhou couldn't help but get anxious:

"Li Laoge, you must help your little brother."

The gap between large sects and large sects was very large.

The Divine Weapon Shanzhuang was a large sect in Yunzhou, and it had once produced Earth Immortal experts, but after the sudden death of the previous Sect Master, there were no Earth Immortal experts sitting in the sect.

This was almost fatal for a large sect.

!. Read

The Divine Weapon Shanzhuang could hold on because of its relationship with General Xue.

With General Xue's protection, they could continue to maintain the dignity of a large sect in Yunzhou.

When major events occurred, General Xue would naturally take action, but if the matter hadn't reached the point of alarming General Xue, it would be very difficult to handle.

He Wanchun chose the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang first.

Wasn't it just thinking of picking the soft persimmon first?

Otherwise, why didn't he go to the Hundred-Battle Sect or the Dao Xuan Sect?

Both the Hundred-Battle Sect and the Dao Xuan Sect had Earth Immortals sitting in town, with strong strength, so he didn't dare to bully them; as for Li Rui, he had Marquis Yuan covering him, so who would dare to provoke him? It was just that he was the easiest to bully.

As long as the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang yielded and told him who they were dealing with in the Wu Kingdom.

Once the path was figured out, He Wanchun could naturally find someone to think of a way to connect.

Li Rui smiled at Shi Zhou, Zhou Ting, and Bai Jing:

"Three little brothers, you are confused; Jianghu matters should be settled in the Jianghu. Can't our three sects defeat their two?"

The three of them thought Li Rui would have some good method.

But after hearing Li Rui's words.

They looked at each other.

It was just that simple, brutal, and direct.

Shi Zhou had a touch of bitterness on his face: "Li Laoge, the master of that Thousand Crane Martial Hall is He Qiannian, an Earth Immortal expert. Even excluding He Qiannian, He Wanchun and Xiao Yu are also Fourth-Rank Primordial experts; I'm afraid we can't afford to provoke them."

Not only did he think so, but Bai Jing and Zhou Ting, whose sects were stronger, also thought so.

If things were this simple, they would have done it long ago.

In the end.

They were just a branch of the sect, while the Thousand Crane Martial Hall had even moved its master to Qinghe.

Distant water cannot quench near thirst.

If a conflict truly occurred, they would certainly be the ones to suffer.

Li Rui waved his hand with a smile:

"Three little brothers, no need to worry. Grandmaster He is powerful, but don't forget this is Yunzhou, and Marquis Yuan is still here."

Hearing the three words "Marquis Yuan."

The three of them had eyes that lit up: "Li Laoge means?"

"Fight as you please, as long as you don't kill anyone."

In front of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

Three or five disciples were gathered in a group, chatting idly.

At this moment.

Several burly men with blades walked over. Seeing that they were unfamiliar, the disciples of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall hurriedly stepped forward to stop them: "Who are you?"

The scar-faced leader's mouth curled up slightly: "Is this the Thousand Crane Martial Hall?"

"Yes."

The martial hall disciple nodded, even more confused.

What did this mean?

Once the scar-faced man heard this, his smile grew wider, and the scar shook like a fat worm:

"Brothers, we've arrived."

Seeing the strange behavior of the few, the disciples of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall became vigilant and shouted sternly: "Who are you, what exactly do you want to do?"

The scar-faced man had already changed from a smile to wanton laughter.

He pointed at the few behind him.

"Let me introduce."

"This is Wang Pu of the Hundred-Battle Sect, nicknamed Savage Lion."

"This is Cheng Fei of the Dao Xuan Sect, nicknamed Daoist Pure Wind."

"As for me, a small character from the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang."

Once the disciples of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall heard this, their confusion reached its peak; he, at this level, naturally didn't know about the grudge between his martial hall and the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

The scar-faced man grinned:

"Simple, Jianghu rules, the three of us are here to ask for martial arts advice."

Ask for martial arts advice?

The three disciples of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall suddenly changed color.

It should be replaced with a more appropriate term: Kicking the hall!

The scar-faced man raised his foot and kicked toward the chest of the nearest disciple.

*Bang! *

The disciple of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall flew out like a sandbag.

"Come quickly, someone is kicking the hall!"

The same situation happened at the Return Cloud Shanzhuang.

The people of the three sects were extremely measured; they didn't enter the door, and after hitting, they ran, beating all the Return Cloud Sect disciples and Thousand Crane Shanzhuang apprentices outside, leaving the ordinary disciples with bruised noses and swollen faces.

They fought for three consecutive days.

And they even announced their names directly, being extremely arrogant.

For the Return Cloud Sect and the Thousand Crane Shanzhuang, although it wasn't fatal, it was very shameful.

A force mixing in the Jianghu.

Face is very important.

"Senior Brother, these three sects are bullying us too much; they don't put our master in their eyes!"

The third disciple of He Qiannian said viciously.

These past few days.

Disciples of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall were constantly being beaten, leaving him with no face.

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes.

He naturally understood why the three sects were doing this.

He just didn't expect them to be so unscrupulous, kicking the hall openly.

Just as he was thinking.

He Wanchun came to the Thousand Crane Martial Hall, his expression also not good; clearly, he hadn't expected the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang's counterattack to be so direct.

The reason he chose the Thousand Crane Shanzhuang and was willing to take only thirty percent was because he valued the strength of the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

But he hadn't expected the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang to come up with such a rough trick.

Catching them off guard and causing them to lose face.

"Brother Xiao, what do you think?"

He came here, of course, not because he was at his wit's end, but just to give enough respect to the Thousand Crane Martial Hall.

Xiao Yu smiled slightly: "Just a small scuffle, nothing to fear."

"Since they want to fight, then let's fight."

Could his Thousand Crane Martial Hall be afraid of the three sects of the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang?

It wasn't the main sect.

Just three branch sects, not even a Fourth-Rank Primordial expert, what was there to be afraid of?

Seeing Xiao Yu express his stance, He Wanchun finally smiled: "With Brother Xiao's words, I can rest assured."

Xiao Yu nodded with a smile.

During this period, he had carefully studied this monster business, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

Even he was tempted; this business had to be done.

Just as the few were deciding.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Turning his head.

He saw Wei Chong, the second disciple of He Qiannian, walk into the room.

He looked at the few in the room, took a deep breath, and slowly spoke:

"Master said, let's stop here; the martial hall should do what a martial hall should do."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 288 =====