Chapter 438: Overlord Ranking

In the small temple, the two old monks suddenly became Burdened with worries; Li Yuan asked twice, but got no clear answer.

He did, however, overhear an old story from their conversation—about the previous master of Star-Plucking Tower.

"A little over fifty years ago, on the Henglong Road, a shocking blood-battle broke out—one that was overshadowed by the assassination of the king and the slaying of his escort."

Long Xi Xiang steadied himself, recalling those years.

Li Yuan listened, his heart pounding.

From what Old Long had said, the assassination of the king and the slaying of his escort turned out to be nothing more than the aftershock of the previous Star-Plucking Tower master Qin Yun's ambush and killing.

The nine great dharma-lords of the Xieshen Sect arranged the ritual in secret; Wan Wan Zhuliu took the Demon-Subduing Dragon God Blade to meet the attack head-on; add to that Imperial Preceptor Wu Wu Yingxing, the head of the Pacification Bureau, and other peak experts—one could say that better than half the world lay in ambush for a single man.

After the battle, Senior Qin Yun vanished without a trace; the nine great dharma-lords' Lu Lu Bailing were destroyed and their divine bodies wounded; Wan Wan Zhuliu went into closed-door cultivation for over forty years; the old Emperor was struck across the void and pinned dead to the great hall.

As he spoke, Long Xi Xiang was visibly wistful: a man who made the whole world his enemy—truly awe-inspiring, something to yearn for.

"Cough!"

Long Long Yingchan cut him off with a heavy cough: "After that one battle, Qin Yun disappeared without a trace; the imperial court threw everything into hunting down Star-Plucking Tower—out of the thirty-six Heaven-rank, seventy-two Earth-rank, and one hundred and eight core members, over ninety were killed!"

The Dragon Temple Master poured cold water on it.

Long Xi Xiang was already a done deal, beyond changing—but the young one could still be reached in time.

"If you can avoid taking reckless risks, don't take them."

"This disciple understands."

Li Yuan hurriedly nodded, though he was quite curious about this previous Star-Plucking Tower master—one man facing half the world; surely that was beyond even a Grand Master?

Could this senior perhaps have been a Supreme Grand Master?

Don't know.

Long Xi Xiang shook his head:

This senior was extremely mysterious; even the old hands of Star-Plucking Tower had rarely seen his true face, and almost no one knew how far his realm and Wu Gong had actually reached.

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows, saying nothing—he was already mulling over what to do if this man hadn't died.

The two old monks were Burdened with worries.

Li Yuan stayed a while longer, then took his leave.

Was Qin Yun still alive?

After Li Yuan left, Long Long Yingchan finally spoke.

Hard to say.

If this Qin Tower Master hadn't died, by rights he shouldn't have fled all the way to us, nor should he be pinning his hopes on Li Yuan drawing the blade.

Long Xi Xiang frowned: "Perhaps he didn't die, just went into closed-door cultivation to heal grave wounds?"

Long Long Yingchan was somewhat unsure.

If he's alive, that's a good thing for the likes of us.

Long Xi Xiang didn't much care—whatever the case, Dragon Tiger Temple's ties with Star-Plucking Tower were far better than those with the imperial court.

No use thinking further—seek out that Tower Master Qin and ask him, and we'll know.

Speaking of which, I once met this man face-to-face back in the day.

Long Long Yingchan released his grip; his two long brows fluttered up and down: Hmm?

Long Xi Xiang was rather surprised: You met Senior Qin Yun?

He had joined Star-Plucking Tower back then, even held a Heaven-rank token, yet had never seen the man in person.

A chance encounter, met him once.

Long Long Yingchan nodded, brushed past it lightly without elaborating, and instead said:

Tian Tian Yingzi has sought me out several times today.

That fellow certainly has a thick skin.

Long Xi Xiang gave a cold snort,

It concerns the interests of the sect, nothing to do with thick or thin skin. I am unwilling to come into direct conflict with the imperial court, and naturally the other houses feel the same way.

Long Long Yingchan shook his head inwardly—where is there any true friendship between sects? It's nothing but the driving force of profit.

As for the Green Dragon Pavilion, he bore it no particular ill will—naturally, no particular good will either.

The blade still has to be drawn.

Long Xi Xiang had no objection to this, but watching Long Long Yingchan's two decorative brows rise and fall, he thought: this old fellow has started scheming again.

I've had my eye on the Green Dragon Pavilion's life-extending pills for quite some time now.

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows again—he was older than Long Xi Xiang; truly counting, he figured he only had another thirty or forty years left to live.

Ask for more.

Long Xi Xiang reminded him.

This matter cannot be rushed.

The Green Dragon Pavilion still harbors a deep grudge over our ancestors leading the charge to force them to give up the Heavenly Fortune Divine Weapon; that arrow's worth of enmity, they won't forget.

Long Long Yingchan paced back and forth.

Long Xi Xiang nodded.

The ancestors' debts, they will naturally have to repay—there is nothing to say about that.

Therefore, the blade must certainly be drawn, but a delay—still needs to be dragged out a bit.

Long Long Yingchan narrowed his eyes slightly:

Li Yuan has only just begun marrow refinement; wanting him to draw the blade, I'm afraid he lacks the strength…

What about the Xinyi Sect?

Long Xi Xiang inquired.

If he could stall one more day, then one more day it was.

Long Long Yingchan didn't hide it from him, mainly afraid this old fellow would ruin things: "Once the sword is drawn, these two families may not stand with us, but before the sword is drawn, no matter what they're thinking, they must stand with us."

I understand perfectly well.

Long Long Xi Xiang glared at him — did this old fellow take him for a greenhorn?

That's good then.

Long Long Yingchan had no mind to bicker with him, pacing back and forth as he mulled over other matters.

These two families have plenty of good things...

Outside the small temple, on the crown of an old tree, the little tiger cub gazed into the distance at the temple within, faintly making out figures moving about.

Sending just a few minor evil gods to Dragon Tiger Temple — looks like the Xieshen Sect has fallen on hard times too.

The old man seemed able to see through the faint, elusive mist beyond the temple.

In recent decades, the Xieshen Sect had indeed been very well-behaved, only getting restless these past two years.

Qin Li Shixian felt something subtle stirring within.

The reason the Xieshen Sect had kept quiet for fifty years traced back to a battle ten years ago — the residences of the Jiu Da Fa Lords were destroyed, and a slew of minor evil gods suffered even heavier casualties.

"No more show to watch."

The old man was a bit regretful — he had still wanted to see whether Long Long Yingchan had made any progress over the years.

These two old monks.

The little tiger cub ground her teeth, recalling how she'd been clubbed from behind that day — she felt her head aching again.

For now, it wasn't yet time to meet.

The old man naturally knew what she was thinking: "The loss you suffered, go recover it yourself. Don't expect this old man to help you get it back."

Hmph, wasn't counting on you anyway.

Qin Li Shixian gave a cold snort in her heart, turned, and vanished into the night — to fight the world alone.

Coming out of the small temple, Li Yuan's heart was still somewhat moved — with a wave like this, the incense offerings probably wouldn't be few, would they?

But he only thought about it.

Being ambushed and killed is hardly a pleasant experience; making enemies of the whole world makes living far too tiring.

Enemies few, friends many — that is the proper path of cultivation.

Daoist Li muttered to himself.

Although he had been practicing martial arts all along, he always considered himself a cultivator of the Dao — fighting and killing and such only hindered cultivation.

Returning to the small courtyard, the night had grown deep.

He didn't waste any time either — closing the courtyard gate, he immediately struck a stance and began his stake-post training. With the horizontal training and the nurturing furnace boosting him, his cultivation progress skyrocketed, making him somewhat unable to pull himself away.

His breathing was deep and steady.

"Inhale!"

The various breathing arts shifted with his movements.

Li Yuan split his focus many ways — while tempering his body, he held visualization in mind, his true Qi circulating along the route of Yang Jian Tian Yi's Nine Refinements.

With the added boost of the Dragon Tiger Nurturing Furnace, his spirit had also made ample progress; splitting his focus grew ever easier, and while practicing martial arts, he was still sorting things out.

The Xieshen Sect should quiet down for a while too.

With the Dragon Tiger Nurturing Furnace, Li Yuan felt considerably more at ease — at least within the bounds of Dragon Tiger Temple, his sense of security skyrocketed.

Although the Nurturing Furnace had no killing power, it was indeed a supreme treasure for protecting oneself.

This grudge — he couldn't rush it.

Being watched time and time again — this debt, Daoist Li naturally kept tucked away in his heart.

Wait until Daoist Li enters the Dao—

Turning the thought over in his mind, Li Yuan immersed himself wholly in martial practice. For him, this was the real business — Wan Wan Zhuliu at Dragon Tiger Temple, slain by Long in the Dragon Tiger Pagoda!

Almost that very day, the news rode upon eagle after eagle, flying toward the four corners, sweeping through the entire Wu Lin like a hurricane.

The jianghu trembled; the world was in an uproar.

Because of the various Dao martial displays, most of the great sects of the world were either already in Mount Hengshan city or on their way to Mount Hengshan. Hearing this news, they were all the more shaken — the fame of Mysterious Whale Hammer Lord Li Li Yuanba spread through the jianghu in an instant.

In Mount Hengshan city, speculation about his identity ran rampant; even Yunshu Lou specially put out a "Li Yuanba List," enumerating the names of those who might be Li Li Yuanba.

Li Yuan — ranked at the very top.

As the most famous newly-advanced true disciple of Dragon Tiger Temple in the past two years, he fit the rumors far too well.

To this, Dragon Tiger Temple paid no heed.

Although the rumors had not been confirmed, various invitation cards were still sent into Dragon Tiger Temple and piled up on Li Yuan's desk.

Those were the ones with a backer — the unbacked invitations were more than double that number, all piled up in the Weapon Forging Shop.

Li Yuan was immersed in martial practice, but he still picked out a few invitations, attending the banquets in his spare time. Eating and drinking and the like, he didn't care about — taking the chance to go down the mountain and harvest a few waves of incense offerings was the real business.

Wan Wan Zhuliu's fame — how immense was it?

The fame of being number one under heaven was far greater than that of a single grand master added together.

Even if it was only suspected, every time Li Yuan went down the mountain, his harvest was truly considerable.

Young Hero Li, come again when you're free!

Junior Brother Li, take care on the road.

Brother Li, until we meet again another day!

Lowering the carriage curtain, Li Yuan finally let out a breath of relief.

Driving away the lingering sense of being watched, Li Yuan lightly pressed his brow.

Within the Land of Spiritual Light, threads of incense intertwined like clouds and mist, enveloping the Thunder Dragon that pursued the Wan Wan Leishi. One descent down the mountain equaled several previous ones, yielding immense gains; although incense of the Fourth Tier and above was exceedingly rare, incense of the First, Second, and Third Tiers could be drawn forth in great numbers with every descent.

It could also draw forth incense in response to the mental fluctuations of Li Li Yuanba.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated the Bai Shen Zheng Fa, wasting not a single thread of incense. His hearing was astonishing; he could hear all manner of murmurs and discussions.

From time to time, words such as "Li Li Yuanba" and "Master of the Black Whale Hammer" would arise.

A false name did not hinder his drawing of incense, but alas, the effect had begun to diminish.

Counting his gains, Li Yuan felt a certain regret in his heart; fame had its expiration date. This descent yielded far less than the first.

"Hmm, it is enough for my Listening Sound technique for now; I need not descend the mountain for the time being."

Exhaling a breath, Li Yuan produced a booklet; it was the newly released ranking list from the Yunshu Tower, the Li Yuanba List.

The Yunshu Tower knew how to conduct business.