Qin Zhenyang shook his head.
"I’ve checked all the branches of the Qian family as well. I’ve cross-referenced every famous figure in the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, but I still haven’t found anything."
Li Xingtuo was a little surprised. He knew how meticulous and steady his eldest disciple was. If he said he couldn’t find anything after such a thorough search, then there was truly nothing to be found.
"Strange."
He thought for a moment but couldn’t come to a conclusion, so he set the matter aside for now.
"Forget it. We’ve already made mortal enemies of the Qian and Yao families anyway. We’ll have to close down this courtyard in Jinling for the time being. Let’s go."
Qin Zhenyang nodded silently and swiftly packed his belongings. Suddenly, he spoke.
"I wonder where Junior Brother Zhang is now. If he knew you were coming, he might not have had to leave."
Li Xingtuo sighed.
"That kid... he at least has the Sect in his heart, not wanting to cause us trouble. It’s just..."
His tone turned leisurely as he continued,
"Since my Cloud Mountain Sword Sect is destined to rise, and the world is only so big, with only so many cultivation resources and so few ancient ruins... who is going to make way for us?"
’That would naturally make the Qian and Yao families, the ones ranked lowest among the four sects and eight families, anxious,’ Qin Zhenyang thought silently. ’With their aristocratic perspective, they must have seen this coming long ago. That’s why the conflict with our Sword Sect escalated so quickly after a single disagreement.’
And Li Xingtuo, seeing things even more clearly, simply let his sword do the talking, wasting no time on words.
The aristocratic families of Jiangnan were used to being arrogant, but they had forgotten that the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect wasn’t one of the small, easily bullied sects from among Jiangnan’s quaint bridges and flowing streams.
"Conflict was inevitable. That kid... he just overthinks things."
Li Xingtuo shook his head.
"But he always has his own ideas. Let him do as he pleases. Eldest Disciple, we’re going home."
The gates of the courtyard swung open, and several carriages drove out, one after another. It was clear the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect was withdrawing from Jinling.
However, the crowd of busybodies that had packed the area outside the courtyard didn’t see this as a loss for the Sword Sect. In all these years, besides Li Xingtuo, the only other person to make the Yao family lose face in Jinling and still walk away unscathed was that infamous Demoness.
The Sword Sect’s convoy of carriages drove leisurely along the Qinhuai River, as if its occupants were still admiring the beautiful scenery.
Yet, from beginning to end, no one from the Yao family appeared. No one dared to stop them. They could only watch silently as the not-so-large convoy passed.
The silence was so profound it cast a somber mood over all of Jinling City.
No matter how small the convoy was, the person driving the very first carriage was none other than Qin Zhenyang.
And for Qin Zhenyang to be acting as the driver, it was self-evident who was seated inside.
And so, under the silent watch of the entire Jinling Prefecture, the Sword Sect’s convoy swayed along, steadily and safely making its way out of Jinling.
The uproar in Jiangnan had not yet subsided when the government officially released the new edition of the three lists.
The Celestial Dragon List remained unchanged, still populated by those top-tier figures who were as elusive as divine dragons—appearing one moment and gone the next. Like gods and buddhas in the heavens, they were ultimately too distant from the common folk, their names more like legends than real people.
The Grandmasters on the Flying Dragon List were usually much the same—all sect leaders, family patriarchs, and legendary Grandmaster Level figures, not much more tangible than clay statues. But the recent great battle in Jiangnan, which had started between Jinling and Yongyang City, made people realize that a Flying Dragon List Master could actually be so close to their lives.
And the result of this battle was a minor change in the top ten rankings.
Fourth on the Flying Dragon List: Li Xingtuo, Sect Leader of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect.
This ranking placed him above Wei Dong, the Pavilion Master of the Sword Storage Pavilion, causing a widespread uproar and heated discussions among the public.
Considering Li Xingtuo’s astonishing feat of crossing a thousand miles in a single day to soundly defeat a thousand-year-old aristocratic family, the question of who was truly the number one Sword Sect in the world suddenly seemed open for debate.
Never mind the changes to the Flying Dragon List; the rankings on the Hidden Dragon List were even more dazzling and chaotic.
The Hidden Dragon List had always been the most volatile. Nearly every new edition was drastically different from the last, especially the bottom few dozen spots. It was truly a grand stage for Martial Artists, where everyone wanted to write their name.
And this time, Xie Yuan, who had been ranked seventy-second for several consecutive editions, had finally moved from that position.
Thirtieth on the Hidden Dragon List:
"Teamed up to slay a Celestial Tier Assassin from the Autumn Wind Building;
"In Jinling, defeated Huie Jue, True Disciple of Prajna Temple and student of Zen Monk Ziling;
"In Jinling, defeated Zhang Junyi, True Disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect and student of Master Yuxu;
"At the Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm, joined forces with Huie Jue and Zhang Junyi in Jinling to defeat Yao Yilong, a Grandmaster of the Jinling Yao family.
"Fiercely vicious, a peerless fiend—Xie Yuan."
With a record like that, seventy-second place was indeed no longer suitable.
At thirtieth place, nearly everyone ranked higher was a genius at the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm. Below him, the thirty-first was Huie Jue, and the thirty-third was Zhang Junyi—both top-tier experts within the same realm as Xie Yuan.
Among all the shifting names on the Hidden Dragon List, Xie Yuan’s evaluation was by far the most eye-catching.
Slaying the strongest Assassin below the Grandmaster Level?
Defeating True Disciples from both the Xuanzhen Sect and Prajna Temple back-to-back?
And even fighting above his realm to repel a Grandmaster?
That string of achievements was listed right there, each one utterly dumbfounding.
Any Martial Artist who accomplished even one of those feats could have easily earned a spot on the Hidden Dragon List. Yet Xie Yuan’s record spanned several lines, as if he disdained to fight ordinary experts. The Spring Rain Building, not knowing whether to praise him or condemn him, could only leave him with the evaluation of "fiercely vicious."
Throughout the Great Li Dynasty, in countless taverns and tea houses, innumerable people stared at the Hidden Dragon List with astonishment. Their eyes lingered on the name Xie Yuan for a long time, all of them buzzing about this record that could only be described as outrageous.
After endless discussion, everyone felt it was just too fake. But the credibility of the Spring Rain Building was beyond question; their information had always been authentic. And so, after mulling it over for a long time, the people who read the list could only echo one sentiment: