Chapter 416: Ascending the World

"Li Rui?"

Chen Ming spoke slowly.

Li Rui bowed slightly: "Brother Chen, we meet again."

In the past, he would have had to address him as Elder Chen, but now they were at the same realm, so there was no need for excessive humility—otherwise it would invite contempt; a peer's address sufficed.

At that moment.

Yuan Xiong also spoke: "Yunzhou, Yuan Xiong."

Chen Ming looked surprised: "The adopted son of the Marquis of Anan?"

He had not expected to encounter the adopted son of the famed Military Saint Yuan Dingting in Shu, so he studied him more closely.

"That's right."

Yuan Xiong nodded.

Chen Ming's surprise deepened.

Li Rui said: "Brother Chen, may I ask why you've come to Chi Feng Valley? Qingwei Sect is conducting trials here—please grant us some leeway."

"Qingwei Sect?"

Chen Ming indeed knew of Qingwei Sect, the immortal sect entrenched in the southern border of Yu State.

"Rest assured, I came here because I heard of demonic disturbances on Chi Feng Mountain, specifically to purge the demons. Since Qingwei Sect has intervened, all the better."

Li Rui studied Chen Ming more closely.

It was commonly said that Shu was full of chivalrous heroes.

Jiannan was mountainous and also rife with demons.

Yet he had never heard of great demons causing chaos—precisely because Shu's chivalrous heroes took it upon themselves to slay demons and exterminate evil.

Though Li Rui was no chivalrous hero, he deeply admired such conduct.

He smiled slightly: "If that's the case, Brother Chen, we have official duties to attend to—we'll take our leave first."

Just as he and Yuan Xiong turned to depart,

Chen Ming called out to stop them.

"Lord Li, I have one more matter—may I speak with you privately?"

Upon hearing this,

Li Rui glanced at Yuan Xiong: "Brother Yuan, I'll go with him—you return to Chi Feng Valley first, in case the Crown Prince encounters sudden danger."

Yuan Xiong nodded and departed immediately.

Once Yuan Xiong had fully left, Chen Ming spoke softly: "Xia Yun has excellent judgment—no wonder she held such high hopes for you back then."

Li Rui smiled lightly: "The Fourth Prince's Consort is indeed one of the wisest people in the world."

Chen Ming sighed softly:

"Lord Li, do you know why I allied with Xia Yun?"

Li Rui blinked.

He had, in fact, investigated Chen Ming afterward.

Chen Ming had wandered Shu his entire life, rarely leaving, and his connection with Princess Xia Yun of Wu State likely stemmed from the death of his sworn brother during a mission in Wu State.

Then came Chen Ming's appearance in Qinghe, where he joined forces with Xia Yun to repel the enemy.

A large gap remained unexplained.

"The Fourth Prince's Consort is renowned for her wisdom; it's natural you'd aid her."

Li Rui pretended ignorance.

Chen Ming's gaze hardened: "I admit—I misjudged you. Xia Yun was right—you may indeed be a worthy partner."

"Partner?"

As Li Rui frowned in confusion,

Chen Ming spoke: "Lord Li, perhaps you don't know—I became allied with Xia Yun because of my sworn brother. We were childhood friends, deeply bonded. Later, he went to Wu State and became one of their so-called Shadow Guards, and then he died."

Li Rui's expression sharpened at the word "Shadow Guards."

His attention surged.

The rumors indeed concealed something.

The so-called Shadow Guards of Wu State were, in fact, equivalent to Yu State's Secret Guards—an organization specifically established to handle Exiled Immortals.

Chen Ming continued: "The last time I saw my brother, he told me he was going to find something. Before he found it, he was killed."

"He brought it on himself—his death was easy. But as his brother, I must seek justice."

"I killed the man who killed him."

"I will find the thing he sought."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes.

The thing must be why he and Xia Yun teamed up.

Chen Ming: "Lord Li, would you like to know what that thing is?"

Li Rui said nothing, only listened quietly.

Chen Ming did not delay: "It's a spirit mine."

Spirit mine?

Upon hearing those words, Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

He had heard the term from Wu De of the immortal realm.

In the immortal realm, aside from absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth, the most important thing was unquestionably spirit stones.

A single small spirit stone contained an extremely abundant and refined amount of spiritual energy.

It was the hard currency of the immortal realm.

A single spirit stone could not be called a mine—it required many, many of them.

Even in the immortal realm, spirit mines were monopolized by the great immortal sects.

With the revival of heavenly spiritual energy, spirit mines must appear!

Li Rui's expression grew grave.

He could already envision bloodshed and chaos.

Chen Ming stared at Li Rui: "Xia Yun seeks a spirit mine to revive Wu State. I seek one to honor my brother's memory. I've heard you cultivate in Qingwei Sect—if you obtain a spirit mine, you might even reach the Celestial Phenomenon realm. We could cooperate."

Li Rui fell silent.

He could not deny being tempted by the spirit mine.

The immortal realm's saying—wealth, companions, methods, and location—placed wealth first, and wealth most often meant spirit stones.

With enough spirit stones, one could even be piled into immortality.

Anyone would be tempted.

But Chen Ming did not expect Li Rui to shake his head: "Brother Chen, I have no grand ambitions—I only wish to live quietly. I'll pretend I never heard this."

"Farewell."

With that,

Li Rui walked away without looking back.

Chen Ming watched Li Rui's retreating figure, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

"Spirit mine."

Back in Chi Feng Valley, Li Rui pondered deeply.

The spirit mine matter was too great.

He, a Tongxuan cultivator, had no right to be involved—it was a matter for a nation or a sect.

Those Exiled Immortals must have come for the spirit mine.

Though Xia Yun was now the Fourth Prince's Consort of Yu State, she was still the Third Princess of Wu State. For Wu State to seek a spirit mine and involve a Yu State official like him—something was deeply wrong.

As for Chen Ming's claim of fulfilling his brother's final wish,

Perhaps it was true.

Chivalry was admirable, and he admired it.

But Li Rui preferred to assume the worst about people.

He now bore the Immortal Spirit Root and the Eternal Greening Art—he already had a direct path to immortality, merely a matter of time.

If he got dragged into the struggle over the spirit mine and lost his life,

That would be trading a small gain for a great loss.

Even if he sought the spirit mine, he must do so through proper, legitimate means—he knew well he could never monopolize it alone.

In an instant,

Three days passed.

The demonic disturbances in Chi Feng Valley were quelled.

The students' performances were recorded by Elder Zi Yang, and the Dao Academy would later select outer disciples based on their evaluations.

Crown Prince Yuan An naturally emerged unscathed.

Li Rui had already inquired ahead of time: their performance was at least Class A.

Though not outstandingly superior, it was more than sufficient to enter Qingwei Sect.

Otherwise, Li Rui might have had to use connections to ask Elder Zi Yang to adjust the scores slightly.

If Yuan An were rejected by Qingwei Sect, he could not explain it to Yuan Dingting.

Then.

The old Taoist of Ziyang once again summoned his magic banner, carrying all the students back to Ten Thousand Mountains.

At dusk.

They appeared before the main gate of Qingwei Sect.

"Brother Li, why did we have to take this detour?"

On the return journey, Li Rui had voluntarily approached Ziyang Taoist and proposed the detour.

They had flown an extra thousand li.

They could have arrived by noon, but ended up arriving at dusk.

Though puzzled, Ziyang Taoist could not refuse, for Li Rui had helped him many times before, so he agreed.

Li Rui: "Chifeng Valley is unusual—I fear a great demon lurks there. We might be fine, but these students couldn't withstand any trouble."

Ziyang Taoist fell silent for a moment, then ceased his questioning:

"Li Laoge really thinks ahead."

Saying this,

he led the students to the Transmission Hall.

Next came the announcement of the examination results.

Li Rui followed along.

As for why they took the detour,

it was because one must never let down one's guard—if Chen Ming had struck, and any student had been hurt, Li Rui would have had no excuse.

Soon,

the results were finalized: twenty-seven candidates from Yu State entered Qingwei Sect, twenty-three from Wu State.

Everyone was delighted.

If one side had taken too many, Li Rui and Sang Kong would have refused to share tea for a long time.

Prince Yuan An was assigned to the Transmission Hall.

It was a decent posting among outer disciples.

"Master Li, Mount Changqing has everything, but it lacks flowers."

"You like quietness, so I brought some orchids."

Yuan An said with a grin.

Li Rui nodded: "You've thought of everything. Prince, you're welcome to them."

Yuan An waved his hands repeatedly: "Master, I've told you—call me Huazi."

In the blink of an eye,

Yuan An had been at Qingwei Sect for three months.

He was placed in the Transmission Hall.

At Li Rui's special arrangement, he was given the quiet duty of guarding the Scripture Pavilion.

Thus, Yuan An spent half his time on Mount Changqing.

Even Liu Tiezhu had left him a room.

Li Rui held great appreciation for this clever and quick-witted prince—who could refuse a junior who regularly brought gifts?

Yet he never truly regarded himself as Yuan An's master.

He always addressed him as Prince.

Even after Yuan An corrected him repeatedly, he still did so.

"Huazi"—not just anyone could call him that.

At least, Li Rui felt he was not yet worthy.

Afterwards, Yuan An asked further questions about immortal arts, then left satisfied.

In truth, Yuan An understood everything Li Rui explained.

Could the Annan Marquis's household lack immortal arts?

It was merely his parents' request.

Watching Yuan An depart,

Li Rui finally lowered his gaze and smiled faintly.

This prince of the Annan Marquis had a decent disposition, but lacked experience—perhaps that was precisely why Yuan Dingting sent his precious son to Qingwei Sect.

He gathered his spirit.

The Eternal Green Dao began to circulate.

Around him, faint green vitality shimmered.

Li Rui's Tongxuan foundation was now fully stabilized, and he was advancing toward the early stage of Tongxuan.

To draw upon the natural forces within ten zhang of one's body using one's own spiritual power was to enter the early stage of Tongxuan.

For Li Rui, it was simply a matter of steady progress.

It would take at most seven or eight years to achieve.

This pace was not fast—but it was far from slow.

Remember, at the upper three ranks, though lifespan extended, each realm breakthrough was extremely difficult.

Forget distant examples.

Just consider Ziyang Taoist, and Chunxu Zi, whom he had fused into the Thousand Souls Banner.

Both had surpassed Tongxuan for decades, yet still remained in the early stage.

Each step was a chasm.

Not to mention that the final stage of Tongxuan required comprehending the Dao of Heaven and Earth—a barrier that trapped countless talents.

But he,

had no such concerns.

With his Immortal Root and the Eternal Green Dao, he faced no bottlenecks; the only drawback was that his progress was too steady, making it seem unremarkable.

Being unremarkable was fine.

It suited Li Rui perfectly.

Cultivation? Steadiness matters most.

Li Rui was no young prodigy obsessed with sudden fame—he had no shortage of patience.

After completing his daily cultivation of the Eternal Green Dao,

he casually tucked a few Five Element Stones into his sleeve

and went for a stroll down the mountain.

Cultivators all seek immortality.

But these two words are separate: "long life" means extended lifespan; "indestructible" means untouched by any calamity.

Li Rui's Eternal Green Dao granted him a lifespan far longer than ordinary mortals.

But that did not guarantee he would live to see it.

A thousand years could bring countless disasters; one might perish en route.

This was why cultivators generally trained in spells—to protect themselves. First cultivate life; if you have no life, all else is empty.

Even the young marquis of a noble house was forced to train in martial arts.

How much more so for Li Rui, a man of humble origins?

Though Li Rui was already a Grand Master of Martial Dao with peerless combat strength in his realm, he still felt insecure, hence he also studied talismans and arrays.

First,

he must make Mount Changqing impregnable.

As Li Rui tossed out a Five Element Stone,

a wisp of seven-colored mist rose.

Anyone familiar with such things would recognize it: the Illusion Heart Array.

Cultivation knows no time.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

One day,

Li Rui was seated in meditation when he heard a loud knocking at his door.

He opened the door

to find Ning Zhongtian and the other three standing there, faces flushed.

Li Rui smiled lightly: "What's this? Did you break through?"

Ning Zhongtian grinned: "No—this is even more interesting than breaking through."

Saying this,

he raised a copy of the official bulletin.

"The Martial Rankings are out."

Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

He'd been so absorbed in cultivation he'd forgotten about this.

"Are there two versions?"

He couldn't help but feel curious.

Previously, rumors had spread widely that numerous immortal sects had emerged overnight, and the world's martial rankings would split into two lists: Martial and Immortal.

"No split, no split."

Ning Zhongtian grinned and shook his head: "Supervisor Gu said all paths under heaven converge to the same Dao—they're all one family."

Li Rui fell silent.

That did fit Gu Changsheng's style.

But to act with such decisiveness was unexpected.

Ning Zhongtian had been eager to see it.

He opened the official bulletin copy.

The four characters "World Martial Rankings" appeared before his eyes.

"First: Gao Tianxia!"

Li Rui raised an eyebrow slightly.

Though immortal exiles had emerged in great numbers, not a single one could shake the position of that Lord of Donghai City.

It was precisely because this World's Number One held firm that this year's Martial Rankings had not outright removed the "Martial" category.

Yet apart from this Gao Tianxia,

the top ten had undergone a complete upheaval: only the Sword Emperor of Shu, the State Tutor, and the Grand Shaman retained their places; all others had been replaced.

Without doubt, these were the newly revealed immortal exiles.

Even Yuan Dingting had only dropped two spots, ranking eleventh.

This proved the true worth of the Military Saint.

This year's rankings listed a total of one thousand three hundred seventy-five individuals.

That was double the number from the last ranking.

Soon,

Ning Zhongtian finally found Li Rui's name on the bulletin.

"One thousand one hundred thirty-seven: Li Rui."

Seeing their elder brother listed—and having leapt past hundreds of Tongxuan cultivators in one breakthrough—they all grinned broadly.

Li Rui smiled lightly.

What they didn't know was that this ranking had been deliberately requested by him in a letter to Gu Changsheng to be lowered.

He was already ranked Third Rank.

That was enough.

More fame would only become a burden.

Just being listed was sufficient.

As Ning Zhongtian and the other three were enthusiastically discussing,

a line of small characters appeared before Li Rui's eyes.

【Congratulations, Host! You have completed the "Fame Under Heaven" achievement: World Martial Rankings.】

(End of Chapter)