Chapter 80: Hidden Dragon, Flying Dragon, Heavenly Dragon
Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Hidden Dragon, Flying Dragon, Heavenly Dragon
This type of Insurance Darts was a favorite mission for many Darts Masters.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, nothing would go wrong. It was an easy way to get paid and earn merit—simply perfect. If a mission like this were made public, countless people would be fighting over it.
Zhao Xingyang was looking out for Xie Yuan by giving him the mission directly. Of course, if it had been anyone else, the client might not have agreed.
But despite how easy the mission seemed, Xie Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
The noble young lady in the middle carriage had kept her curtain pulled aside, studying him through the window.
Being watched, especially by a beautiful woman, wasn’t going to make him lose a piece of flesh, but being stared at for so long made Xie Yuan feel awkward. He turned his head toward the carriage beside him.
"Miss Qin, is there something wrong with me?"
"Nothing’s wrong."
"Then why do you keep staring at me, Miss Qin?"
Xie Yuan asked bluntly.
To his surprise, Situ Qin was even more direct. She said with a beaming smile:
"Because you’re handsome."
Xie Yuan fell silent. This young lady didn’t play by the rules. It seemed she wasn’t the cautious, shy, and retiring type.
Situ Qin continued:
"I’ve seen plenty of so-called dandies who fancy themselves dashing, but strangely, not a single one has looks as fine as yours. Master Xie, are you from one of the great families of Yunzhao?"
"I’m just a boy from the countryside."
Xie Yuan shook his head.
"Impossible. A chicken coop can produce a rooster, but never a phoenix."
Situ Qin shook her head decisively, then resumed her curious study of Xie Yuan.
Her gaze made Xie Yuan’s scalp tingle. Throwing caution to the wind, he turned and met her stare.
In that instant, Xie Yuan was momentarily stunned.
Though he had noticed the young woman’s rare beauty upon first meeting her, he hadn’t looked too closely out of courtesy. Now, meeting her gaze, he was struck by how her oval face was utterly without flaw.
Her cheeks looked so soft they might break at a touch, and her cool, pale skin was fairer than frost and snow. She had almond eyes, eyebrows like distant mountains, a delicate, jade-like nose, and full, vermilion lips. Every one of her features was beautiful, each one enough to make a heart race.
In that moment, even Xie Yuan, for whom Li Lan had been the most beautiful person he had ever seen, felt his heart begin to beat a little faster.
Seeing Xie Yuan staring at her, Situ Qin paused, then tucked her hair back a little self-consciously. "What are you looking at now?" she asked.
"The same thing you were looking at, Miss Qin."
"Oh? And am I good-looking?"
"Er... Very."
"Thank you! Feel free to look more."
Situ Qin’s eyes curved into crescents. Xie Yuan was utterly defeated.
Seeing this, the young woman smiled and continued:
"Now this is a little more interesting. It keeps the journey from being dull. Your Master Zhao is quite the hero, but he never engages with me, which is boring."
Xie Yuan said:
"Miss Qin, your family’s guards are formidable. Having Master Zhao simply carry the banner is a waste of his talents."
"It’s not that I want him to do anything specific. I just want him to come work in Yunzhou Prefecture. The world is much larger there, far superior to Yunzhao, and more suitable for a man of his caliber."
Situ Qin made no secret of her intention to poach him.
Although Xie Yuan still didn’t know the young woman’s background, she was undoubtedly the child of a great and noble clan. He didn’t press for details, asking only out of curiosity:
"With Boss Zhao’s talent and cultivation, would he be considered notable even in the prefectural city?"
"In terms of cultivation alone, he’s nothing special."
Situ Qin said, shaking her head.
"There are quite a few who are younger than him but have already reached the Fourth Training or entered the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm."
Xie Yuan was slightly surprised.
"Then why do you still hold Boss Zhao in such high regard, Miss Qin?"
"Because their resources are different. Those so-called geniuses have all consumed massive amounts of resources. If they were placed in the same environment as Master Zhao, not a single one could achieve what he has. That’s why I value his talent and want him to come to the prefectural city. With a better platform, he could truly flourish. However, your boss is a man of loyalty and honor. The Escort Agency nurtured him, and he is unwilling to leave—at least, not so soon."
Xie Yuan nodded silently. Based on what he knew of Zhao Xingyang, that was indeed the kind of man he was.
He asked again:
"Are there many in the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm in Yunzhou Prefecture?"
Situ Qin glanced at him sideways and suddenly said:
"Have you heard of the Hidden Dragon List?"
Xie Yuan shook his head.
Situ Qin pursed her red lips.
"Yunzhao is too remote... The Hidden Dragon List is a ranking compiled by the Great Li Dynasty for Martial Artists under the age of thirty, with a total of seventy-two spots. Anyone on that list is considered a genius throughout the entire Great Li Dynasty. As such, countless young Martial Artists consider it the greatest honor to be listed."
"On this list, even the seventy-second-ranked person has a cultivation of at least the Qi and Blood Second Transformation."
"The Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, while only achieved by Shen the Head of the Escort in Yunzhao County, might be called ’skilled’ in the cultivation world, but that’s all. Within Yunzhou Prefecture, there are still several young heroes from the Hidden Dragon List."
Although Situ Qin didn’t answer Xie Yuan’s question directly, he understood what she meant.
The Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm was the peak in Yunzhao, but in Yunzhou Prefecture and the Great Li Dynasty as a whole, it was just ordinary.
Even the entry-level for a list made for young Martial Artists was the Qi and Blood Second Transformation.
Xie Yuan sighed softly.
"The Martial Dao is like climbing mountains; there’s always a higher one to climb."
"That’s the truth of it. And while the young heroes on the Hidden Dragon List are glamorous, they are ultimately ’hidden dragons’—just promising young people. Only the Grandmasters on the Flying Dragon List are the true titans who can actually shape the landscape of the cultivation world."
Situ Qin also sighed, a look of yearning appearing on her exquisitely beautiful face.
"The Flying Dragon List?"
Xie Yuan was puzzled again.
"Such an uninformed little Darts Master. Then again, the lists would never be sent to a place like Yunzhao."
Situ Qin said with a playful laugh:
"Those who enter the ’Heaven and Earth Bridge’ realm can be called Grandmasters. The top thirty-six among them are entered into the Flying Dragon List, signifying ’a flying dragon in the heavens, blotting out the sky and land.’"
"The Grandmasters on the Flying Dragon List are all world-renowned martial arts legends from noble families, or Sect elders and Sect Leaders. They are all figures who can make a whole region of the cultivation world tremble with a stomp of their foot."
’So this is the structure of this world’s Martial Dao.’
He couldn’t help but ask:
"Since the Flying Dragon List is filled with such major figures, why would they allow others to rank them and comment on them? And how is the list’s credibility guaranteed... Is it compiled by the government?"
"You catch on quick."
Situ Qin praised, then nodded.
"Of course. Only the government could compile such a list. In the Capital City, the main headquarters of the Six Gates has a place called the Spring Rain Building, which manages all martial arts intelligence in the realm. They are the ones who compile the lists, so their credibility is beyond doubt. Besides, Martial Artists love fame and they love to fight. At least half of them would want a list like this to exist."
’Spring Rain Building? "It drifts in with the wind at night, silently moistening all things." The name is quite fitting.’
Xie Yuan mused to himself, then a thought suddenly occurred to him:
’There’s another major realm above Heaven and Earth Bridge. Are they also on the Flying Dragon List? Or is there another list? And what about that Daoist? I guessed he was at the Unity Realm, and he didn’t deny it... Could he be on a list?’
So, Xie Yuan asked:
"What about the Unity Realm? Which list are they on?"
Hearing Xie Yuan’s question, Situ Qin’s expression turned serious, her tone becoming solemn:
"The Grandmasters of the Unity Realm are on the Celestial Dragon List."
"Celestial Dragons soar above the azure heavens, looking down upon all living beings."