Chapter 103

Huaiyang Prefecture.

On a mountain peak.

Chen Mu faced the mountain wind, gazing toward the direction of Nanyun Prefecture, feeling puzzled in his heart.

"The fact that I killed Fang Yuanfu hasn't spread?"

If the other party chose to keep it hidden, that was good news.

After all, no one likes being hunted.

Of course, the necessary vigilance could not be lacking.

For the past three days, Chen Mu had been hiding during the day and traveling at night. The paths he took were all small mountain trails.

The same would go for the future.

Before leaving Hannan Province, he would not expose his tracks if he could avoid it.

As for his destination, Shannan Province, Tai'an Prefecture!

This was the place he had decided on after consulting with Zhao Fuzhou upon receiving the credentials of an Inspector.

According to the regional grading of the Great Zhou Imperial Court, Tai'an Prefecture belonged to the middle-lower tier.

Nanyun Prefecture was also middle-lower.

It was just that in terms of the overall number of martial artists, Tai'an Prefecture had more, and the experts of the Innate Realm were also slightly stronger.

The main reason for choosing Tai'an Prefecture was that Zhao Fuzhou had an acquaintance there; his junior fellow apprentice was also in the Martial Suppression Division, though not in charge.

Having an acquaintance to look after him was better than being in a completely strange place.

Shannan Province was located to the east of Hannan Province, so he just needed to head east all the way!

The Fang family, where Fang Yuanfu was from, had strong influence in Hannan Province, but they were not as powerful once outside Hannan Province.

Therefore, continue the journey, heading east all the way!

Nanyun Prefecture City.

Inner city.

Hero Tower.

Early in the morning, Zheng Laosan swayed his body, walked slowly into the first-floor lobby, ordered some pastries and tea, and then sat down to enjoy them leisurely.

"Yo, Zheng Laosan, you're here early." A familiar greeting came; a burly man with a full beard walked in from the entrance, walked toward Zheng Laosan, sat opposite him as if he were an old friend, and reached out to grab a pastry to stuff into his mouth.

"This is mine."

Zheng Laosan reached out to pick up the whole plate, pulling it into his embrace, "If you want to eat, order your own."

"You're really stingy."

The burly man said with annoyance, then turned and shouted toward the counter, "Bring a plate of beef and a pot of wine."

"Coming right up~" the counter responded, "It'll be there in a moment."

"Yo, Brother Hu is wealthy today." Zheng Laosan heard this and laughed while eating a pastry, "Ordering beef to eat early in the morning."

"It's alright, I won a round last night." The burly man raised his chin.

"Impressive!"

Zheng Laosan gave a thumbs up, and after saying that, lowered his voice and asked, "Have you heard? Sun Jindong of the Four Directions Martial Hall is dead, and Fang Yuanfu of the Fang family is also dead. Is this news true or false?"

"No need to doubt, it's true." The bearded burly man said in a low voice, "The person who killed them is the same one."

"Hiss~" Zheng Laosan gasped upon hearing this, "What kind of person is so powerful that they could even kill Fang Yuanfu? Although this Fang Yuanfu was injured, looking at the entire Nanyun Prefecture, there are only two people who could take him down."

"Brother, are you referring to the July Altar Master of the 'Heavenly World Association' and Lord Zhao in the Martial Suppression Division?" A young man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old nearby leaned in and said, "As far as I know, when Sun Jindong and Fang Yuanfu died, both of them were in the city."

"Of course it wasn't them." Another burly man leaned in from the side and said, "The person who killed Sun Jindong and Fang Yuanfu is said to not have a very high realm, at least not having stepped into the late Innate stage!"

"Impressive! Who exactly is this person?"

"Not clear."

"I also want to know who it is. Sun Jindong is one thing, but Fang Yuanfu is from the Fang family of Hannan. In order to fight for the 'Heavenly River Sword Canon,' Fang Yuanzuo has already died, and now that Fang Yuanfu has died too, the Fang family is going to go crazy!"

"Hehe, reliable news, people from the Fang family headquarters are already rushing to Nanyun."

"......"

People kept joining the discussion, everyone saying a word or two, and the first-floor lobby suddenly became lively.

The hottest event in the city these past few days was the death of Sun Jindong, Fang Yuanfu, and the several Innate martial artists who followed them, outside the city.

Fang Yuanfu's status and realm made Sun Jindong a mere foil.

As for the other few who died, no one paid attention to them, and no one even knew their names.

"It's here, it's here."

Amidst the noise, suddenly a martial artist stood up and looked toward the railing on the third floor.

They saw that at the position close to the railing on the third floor, two "Hero Tower" employees were operating a huge roll of red cloth, hanging it in mid-air, and then letting it drop to the first floor.

The others who were discussing saw this scene and immediately changed the subject.

"Hey, I wonder how many people made the list this time."

"Someone will definitely make it! Updating every three months is too long! If you ask me, the 'Hidden Dragon List' should be updated every month!"

"Update every month? How much manpower would that take to mobilize?"

"Don't know, anyway, the 'Heavenly Mystery Gate' is very mysterious. Since it can make the 'Hidden Dragon List' update every three months, I imagine updating every month wouldn't be a problem."

"Maybe it really could work......"

"......"

Amidst the lively discussion, the red cloth, which was half a zhang wide, finished dropping from the third floor, with names written on it, along with corresponding rankings and battle records.

These names were exactly the one hundred and eight people on the Hidden Dragon List, the geniuses of the entire Great Zhou world over the past three months!

"First, second, third...... Sure enough, the top ten haven't changed."

"More than that, in the top twenty, only the twentieth has changed."

"There aren't many changes in the rankings this time, and among those who rose, there were no leapfrog jumps."

"You're talking nonsense, aren't you? Which of those who can make the 'Hidden Dragon List' isn't a genius among geniuses? For any of these people, rising one spot is extremely difficult......"

"Mother~!!"

Suddenly, an exclamation drowned out everyone's discussion, ringing through the Hero Tower from top to bottom.

"Zhang Laoliu, what are you screaming about?" A burly man shouted at the martial artist who exclaimed.

"Look... look..."

"Zhang Laoliu," who had stood up with wide eyes staring at the list, trembled slightly, reached out and pointed at the red cloth, trembling with excitement and disbelief, "Look at the one hundred and seventh place! Hurry, look at the one hundred and seventh place!!"

"One hundred and seventh place? What's wrong?"

"Is there a newcomer on the list?"

"......"

Amidst everyone's confusion, they shifted their gaze and landed on the position of the second to last place.

[One hundred and seventh place: Chen Mu]

[Nickname: None yet]

[Age: Sixteen]

[Identity: Hannan Province, Hengzhou, Nanyun Prefecture, Great Blade Gang Hall Master]

[Realm: Second Layer of the Innate Realm]

[Battle Record: Outside Nanyun Prefecture City, successively killed two Fourth Layer Innate Realm experts, one Third Layer Innate Realm expert, one First Layer Innate Realm expert, and one Eighth Layer Innate Realm expert (injured and not yet recovered)]

"A sixteen-year-old Second Layer Innate Realm, truly remarkable." After reading the information, a martial artist spoke up.

"It's the identity! The identity!"

Zhang Laoliu shouted excitedly, "Nanyun Prefecture! This Chen Mu is from Nanyun Prefecture! And he's a Hall Master of the Great Blade Gang! Our Nanyun Prefecture hasn't had anyone on the 'Hidden Dragon List' for decades! Today, someone finally made it, that's great!"

"......"

Zhang Laoliu's voice echoed throughout the venue, and the Hero Tower was silent from top to bottom!