Chapter 180: Tied for Second (Request Monthly Votes! Request Follows!)

As the saying goes: good deeds stay hidden, but bad ones spread a thousand li.

In just two or three days, the two major events in Jianzhou swept through the entire martial world like a hurricane.

One was that the patriarch of the Xuan Yuan family was targeted by the Sword Demon, said to have destroyed the Wu family's Sword Tomb, and was beaten to death with only two punches.

At the same time, the entire Xuan Yuan clan was bloodily purged, leaving only the legitimate eldest grandson, who knew no martial arts, alive as a puppet under the Sword Demon's control of Huishan.

The second concerned the Sword Demon himself: after wiping out the Xuan Yuan clan, he provoked Long Hushan, killing Zhao Danping—one of the four current Heavenly Masters—and forcing out a terrestrial immortal hidden within Long Hushan to engage in an epic battle.

The exact details remain unknown, but after the fight, the Sword Demon simply drifted away, and Long Hushan made no move to pursue or retaliate—clearly aware they could not defeat him, they could only swallow this bitter humiliation in silence.

Instantly, the name Sword Demon Wu Xian drew renewed attention from all major powers across the land.

Countless intelligence networks began flowing, sifting through every detail, trying to uncover Wu Xian's past and uncover how he, still under twenty, had attained power rivaling that of a terrestrial immortal.

Beyond that, the martial world grew increasingly curious about the Sword Demon's strength, speculating where he would rank in the next martial evaluation.

The martial evaluation was simply a ranking compiled by some meddlesome figures in the martial world, listing martial artists by strength, similar to the old Spring and Autumn Thirteen Masters.

Li Chungang, the Sword Master, had once been ranked first in such an evaluation.

Since then, the title of Number One under Heaven had remained vacant for over thirty years.

This was not because no one could match his footsteps, but because the new Number One had for decades insisted he was only Number Two, creating this peculiar situation.

Wang Xianzhi, the Martial Emperor, had dominated the martial world for half a century.

For years, the entire martial world had hoped someone would defeat Wang Xianzhi and restore the title of Number One, yet no one had succeeded.

But now, the emergence of the Sword Demon Wu Xian gave them a glimmer of hope.

He had single-handedly annihilated the Wu family's Sword Tomb, killed a Heavenly Master of Long Hushan, yet left the entire sect too cowed to retaliate—even a terrestrial immortal had failed to stop him.

From these three incidents alone, it was clear this youth's combat power had reached the pinnacle of the mortal realm, on par with Wang Xianzhi of Wudicheng.

Even if slightly inferior, the gap could not be large.

More importantly, Wu Xian was still young; his martial cultivation and vital energy had not yet peaked, leaving immense room for future growth.

As the saying goes: fists fear the young. Youth itself is a form of strength.

Of course, beyond those merely curious onlookers, many others viewed Wu Xian with deep caution.

After all, since his debut, every time he struck, he killed—or killed entire families. His methods were tyrannical, ruthless, and brutal, perfectly matching the "Demon" in his title.

Especially among many factions in Jianzhou and its surroundings, they feared this Sword Demon might one day decide to pay them a visit.

Not every faction had a terrestrial immortal as a last resort like Long Hushan; if they truly encountered this killing star, they might not even preserve a whole corpse.

Moreover, if the rumors were true, this Sword Demon likely had grand ambitions—Huishan alone could not satisfy his appetite, and he would surely make even larger moves to expand his power…

Thus, amid the mixed hopes and fears of countless people, time passed slowly, while Wu Xian, the catalyst of this media storm, remained deaf to the outside world, immersed in the books of Huishan's Wending Tower, swimming through oceans of knowledge.

Knowledge is power; the stronger one becomes, the more one understands this truth.

Take Wu Xian: he had trained in this world's martial path for only six or seven years. His cultivation level aside, his martial skills were mostly learned from the Staff God of Heifeng Mountain and a few other "training partners," and he believed he held a slight edge over peers of his own level—but not enough to crush them.

The real reason he was invincible was his massive attribute bonuses: in combat, pure strength and speed alone made him unstoppable—even terrestrial transcendents could only shake their heads in sigh.

But as always, being invincible on earth is not enough when enemies may come from the heavens. Thinking of future battles against powers like the Five Emperors, Wu Xian felt a kind of "firepower anxiety," wishing the mysterious space would instantly summon a supreme elder to grant him the power to crush the entire world.

But such thoughts were merely fantasies; the mysterious space was not an all-powerful wish-granter, and judging from the quality of recent newcomers, clinging to a powerful elder's leg still seemed a long and arduous road.

Thus, if he wished to grow stronger, Wu Xian could only rely on himself—one method was acquiring more martial knowledge, using others' stones to polish his own jade, elevating his cultivation, filling his weaknesses, and thereby, combined with his deep foundation, further boosting his combat power.

For over half a month, Wu Xian never left his room, studying every book in Huishan's Wending Tower.

In his mind, frameworks took shape, subtly transforming his martial foundation, drawing it ever closer to perfection, and lifting his cultivation from the initial stage of Tianxiang to the so-called Mid-Tianxiang.

Aside from the Xuan Yuan family's collection, Wu Xian had previously used the Double-Complete Hand to seize Zhao Xuansu's Nascent Soul, gaining numerous Long Hushan techniques from him—two of which interested him most.

One was this world's Five Thunder Orthodoxy; the other was the Jade Emperor Tower, famed alongside Wudang's Great Yellow Court.

The former could refine his own Five Thunder Orthodoxy; the latter greatly enhanced endurance and burst power, echoing the principles of his main practice, the Nine Yang Divine Art, allowing him to combine their strengths and further raise his power ceiling.

"Young Master, the new martial evaluation has been released."

One day, Xuan Yuan Jingcheng entered the Wending Tower, holding a scroll inscribed with the latest martial evaluation.

Amidst the chaotic piles of books, Wu Xian sat atop them, carefully reading a volume titled Joyful Zen Art.

Hearing this, he glanced sideways and smiled: "Well? Is my name on this list? Did they rank me behind Old Monster Wang?"

Xuan Yuan Jingcheng shook his head, then unfurled the scroll.

Wu Xian looked over, ignoring the trash below, fixing his gaze on the top—where the first position remained empty, but the second listed two names.

Martial Emperor Wang Xianzhi, Sword Demon Wu Xian… tied for second in the martial evaluation!

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I've caught a cold—I'll try my best to write today, hoping to resume normal updates tomorrow. Thank you all for your support!

Finally, at month's end, I beg for monthly votes—may everyone stay healthy!

(End of Chapter)