Chapter 508

On the azure-blue sea surface, stretching for who knows how many tens of thousands of miles, a small boat shuttled between the waves.

"Finally back."

A smile appeared on He Qiannian's lips.

He could already see the winding coastline of the Yu Kingdom and felt a sense of closeness.

Li Rui stood at the bow of the boat.

Gazing into the distance.

Suddenly—

A hundred-foot giant wave rose abruptly on the calm sea surface.

And on the crest of the wave.

Stood a burly old man in dark robes!

Seeing that old man appear.

Li Rui and He Qiannian's expressions changed in unison.

Because that person was none other than Gao Tianxia, who had been the world's number one for two full sixty-year cycles!

He had actually left the city.

Everyone in the world knew that since this City Lord Gao built East Sea City, the number of times he had left the city was extremely rare.

According to him, the Jianghu was nothing interesting, so there was no point in going.

Of course.

He had actually left the city a few times, but every time Gao Tianxia left the city, he was bound to stir up monstrous waves.

The last time he left the city.

An immortal cultivator at the Dao Body Realm was beaten to death by him.

Very few people knew about this matter.

Li Rui's flying boat seemed to be pulled by some kind of force, beyond his control, slowly descending until it was level with Gao Tianxia, who was riding the waves.

"Taiping Order of the Yu Kingdom greets you, Senior."

Li Rui cupped his fists.

Gao Tianxia ignored Li Rui entirely, looking instead at He Qiannian, and shook his head: "You brat, you really disappointed me."

When Gao Tianxia arrived beside them.

He Qiannian became calm instead.

In fact, he had a past experience that was rarely known to others: he had once been a disciple of Gao Tianxia—or to be precise, an unofficial disciple.

When he was still at the Primordial Realm, he had once come to East Sea City.

He stayed in East Sea City for a month.

During that month, the City Lord of East Sea City personally taught him boxing for a full month.

Afterward.

He became the only person in the world to reach the Top Three Ranks in external martial arts.

It was just that when he was leaving, City Lord Gao said that as long as he did not enter the Land Immortal Realm, he could not call him Master.

That was why he was an unofficial disciple.

"I tried."

"I didn't have the ability to walk that path."

He Qiannian spoke, his tone filled only with relief.

It was the relief of someone who had tried with all their might but still couldn't achieve it, after suffering for a full sixty years.

What kind of person was Gao Tianxia?

The disciples he took didn't even care about aptitude; he valued potential more.

He Qiannian had reached the Primordial Realm by practicing only external martial arts.

So Gao Tianxia wanted to see if a Land Immortal who practiced only external martial arts could emerge.

Clearly.

He Qiannian had already given up.

This was the reason why the City Lord of East Sea City had left the city.

He Qiannian then smiled again: "Senior, I couldn't do it, but there is someone in the world who can."

Saying this.

He looked at Li Rui with pride.

The general meaning was: you took me as a useless disciple, but I brought you a useful grand-disciple.

"Oh?"

Gao Tianxia became interested.

His gaze fell on Li Rui for the first time.

If someone called him a Martial Saint, he wouldn't feel happy at all, but if someone called him a Martial Fanatic.

He would be happiest.

According to what he often told those disciples, the martial path of the world was just playing around with the same things, which was truly uninteresting.

He wanted this Jianghu to be more interesting.

So he often promoted talented juniors.

He Qiannian was one.

He hoped this "young man" brought by He Qiannian was another.

Li Rui did not freeze, but instead understood and directly unleashed the Great Henglian, which had been improved by the True Martial Body-Nurturing Art.

He slowly opened his right hand.

Then, with a light grip, in an instant, ten thousand rays of light bloomed between his palms and fingers.

A hand that could pluck the stars!

There was not a trace of spiritual energy, nor any Great Dao; it was pure physical body.

Seeing this scene.

Gao Tianxia's eyes lit up.

What he found novel was not just Li Rui's methods, but the intent behind this move of Li Rui's.

Contending with Heaven.

These three words were very much to his liking.

Gao Tianxia couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Good, very good!"

"The Jianghu has gained another interesting junior."

"My heart is greatly comforted."

Gao Tianxia was truly happy.

Since becoming the world's number one, he had been determined to open up a new future for the martial path of the world.

Now, he saw hope in a junior.

And looking at it now, Li Rui was clearly trying to cultivate both internal and external martial arts to the First Rank.

The ambition was truly not small.

Gao Tianxia looked at Li Rui, liking him more the more he looked.

But he turned instead to He Qiannian and said: "From today on, you are my eighth disciple of East Sea City."

He Qiannian was stunned.

Then his eye sockets actually turned red.

Something sought after but never obtained, coming without being asked.

Only he could understand the taste of it.

Along this journey, he had actually walked a very difficult path; being so stubborn was not just to prove it to himself, but also to prove it to this master of his who couldn't be officially acknowledged.

Thump.

He Qiannian knelt on the small boat.

He kowtowed three times.

Gao Tianxia accepted it calmly, then laughed out loud, stepping on the hundred-foot giant waves, and walked toward the city on the shore.

He did not take Li Rui as a disciple.

Instead, he took He Qiannian as a disciple.

He was He Qiannian's master, He Qiannian was Li Rui's master, so he was Li Rui's grand-master, and Li Rui was his grand-disciple.

The Yu Kingdom had always had the saying that grandparents are closer to their grandchildren.

At this moment.

Li Rui's voice suddenly sounded from behind: "Grand-master, can I continue to write you as number one in the Martial Rankings?"

Hearing the words "Grand-master."

The joy on Gao Tianxia's face grew even more.

He said indifferently: "As you wish."

Having said that.

His figure vanished into thin air, and the next instant he appeared inside East Sea City.

Seeing this scene.

Even Li Rui was startled.

Because what his cheap grand-master had just displayed was not some magic spell, but a true divine ability.

Shrinking the earth into an inch!

'Extraordinary.'

Li Rui thought to himself.

He Qiannian stood up at this time.

First, he looked at Li Rui, then suddenly glared: "What are you looking at, brat? You have to call me Master from now on."

"..."

Li Rui was speechless.

Finally, for the sake of his grand-master, he decided to acknowledge He Qiannian as his master.

Of course.

In fact, He Qiannian had always been his benefactor in teaching him the path.

The word "Master" was just a thin layer of window paper.

Li Rui was happy in his heart.

Not just because he had gained a world-number-one grand-master, but because the matter of the Martial Rankings had finally been settled.

Coming to the East Sea was not just for the immortal sects of the East Sea.

That city in the East Sea was the top priority.

According to Zhang Shoufu, it was:

Only if that City Lord of East Sea City acknowledged himself as the world's number one would these Martial Rankings have any meaning.

Only then could the word "Martial" be considered not yet plucked away.

In other words.

City Lord Gao of East Sea City, his grand-master, was the foundation of the world's martial path.

The words were exaggerated.

But the facts were exactly so.

The existence of his grand-master was itself more legendary than the legends of the Jianghu.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

The day for the release of the Martial Rankings arrived.

Although there were many immortal cultivators now, the gold content of the Martial Rankings had not diminished in the slightest; even many cultivators from the Immortal Cultivation World were quite curious about these rankings.

On this day.

Nie Siming, Yuan Xiong, Ning Zhongtian, and Tan Hu gathered in Li Rui's residence.

The official gazette Nie Siming held was the freshest, first-hand copy.

It was presented to Li Rui by the Martial Ranking Division.

They could be considered to have benefited from Li Rui's light.

The few of them read it with great interest.

"Whoa!"

"It increased by so much in one go."

"Big Brother is truly amazing, ranked 237th, even higher than the one surnamed Jiang."

"The world's number one is still the City Lord of East Sea City; these immortal cultivators aren't that great either."

As they spoke.

They all looked at one name in unison.

To be precise, it should be a Jianghu nickname.

"Tiannan Lao Mo, 117th."

(End of chapter)