Chapter 270 - 266: Expert

Chapter 270: Chapter 266: Expert

"No one from the top thirty, I’m afraid. The highest-ranked is Bian Shengkai of the Flying Dragon Spear Technique, who’s thirty-ninth on the Wind and Cloud List. After him are Grey Eagle Cang Hong, Mountain Shattering Fist Shao Shantai, Seven-Snake Centipede Whip Gao Zhisong, Scholarly Sword Liu Liqun, Mother Yecha Shen Sanniang, and Heaven-Transforming Halberd Zhou Yong."

"Grey Eagle Cang Hong, Mountain Shattering Fist Shao Shantai, Scholarly Sword Liu Liqun, and Mother Yecha Shen Sanniang are all familiar faces. But who is this Bian Shengkai? I’ve never heard of him before. He doesn’t seem to have much of a reputation!"

"Haha, it’s perfectly normal that you haven’t heard of this Bian Shengkai. He’s a martial arts fanatic who spends all year at home practicing, obsessed with the Martial Dao of the spear. He rarely makes a move, so no one knew his true strength, which is why he was unknown. However, just over ten days ago, he finally acted. And when he did, he truly shocked the world! The Phoenix Cloud Inn immediately ranked him thirty-ninth on the Wind and Cloud List. This man is someone extraordinary!"

...

"Senior Brother Wei, wasn’t Scholarly Sword Liu Liqun ranked near the bottom of the Wind and Cloud List? I remember him being one hundred and sixth last time, right? How did he suddenly jump to eighty-first?"

"Haha, Junior Sister, you just don’t get it. Liu Liqun’s moniker is Scholarly Sword for a reason. He’s a master of disguise and concealment. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he were ranked in the top fifty or sixty."

...

"Brother Wei, the new Wind and Cloud List is out, right?"

"Yep, it’s out. The rankings were released this morning. I just bought a copy on the third floor of the inn. Here, take a look for yourself!"

"Hehe, great. One hundred and eight masters, let’s have a closer look. Son of a bitch, how are most of the top thirty in the Golden Scale Imperial City? It really is the Imperial Capital. Huh? Seven-Snake Centipede Whip Gao Zhisong? I thought he was from Central Cloud Province. When did he settle down in our Red Sun Province?"

"Haha, you just don’t get it. Seven-Snake Centipede Whip Gao Zhisong was indeed born in Central Cloud Province, but he’s now based in our Red Sun Province’s White Cloud City. And it’s not just him. The great masters Grey Eagle Cang Hong and Scholarly Sword Liu Liqun are there too. All three of them are from White Cloud City, holding the rank of Elder."

"All three masters are from White Cloud City? No way! The entire Red Sun Province only has seven masters on the Wind and Cloud List, and White Cloud City has three of them? That’s nearly half!"

"What else did you expect? An army of one hundred thousand attacked White Cloud City, and over seventy thousand died. Even Grand General Ouyang Xu lost his life on White Cloud Mountain. Just think about how powerful White Cloud City must be!"

"Yeah, I heard. Everyone in Red Sun Province has been talking about the battle at White Cloud Mountain lately. I heard White Cloud City bought a ton of Heaven-shattering Thunders from the Tang Sect and just hurled them down from the walls like they were free. They’re unbelievably rich!"

"It’s more than just Heaven-shattering Thunders! Let me tell you, White Cloud City has another secret weapon that falls from the sky!"

"A secret weapon that falls from the sky? Don’t Heaven-shattering Thunders fall from the sky?"

"Are you stupid? Heaven-shattering Thunders are nothing compared to this. This secret weapon can fly! It flew all the way from inside White Cloud City to the Red Sun Army’s Central Army Camp and then suddenly exploded. That’s how Grand General Ouyang Xu was killed. How else do you think an expert at the Innate Realm of cultivation like Ouyang Xu could have died? The power of that secret weapon is more terrifying than a hundred Heaven-shattering Thunders combined. The entire Central Army Camp was blown to smithereens!"

"Good heavens! To think such a terrifying weapon exists in this world. No wonder the Court took such a huge loss and didn’t even make a peep about it. Huh, by the way, if the White Cloud City Elders—Grey Eagle Cang Hong, Gao Zhisong, and Liu Liqun—are all masters on the Wind and Cloud List, what about the City Lord’s cultivation? Why isn’t he on the list?"

"I don’t know about that. But rumor has it that Lord White Cloud is also a master at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. He’s just very young, so his strength probably doesn’t compare to Gao Zhisong’s and Liu Liqun’s. He’s likely still a ways off from making the Wind and Cloud List. Besides, he’s rarely seen in action and hardly ever makes an appearance. A few days ago, the Patriarchs from the Zheng Family, the Xie Family, and a few others went to pay a visit and couldn’t even get a meeting. He’s very mysterious."

...

The inn’s dining hall was bustling with activity. At table after table, martial artists drank and chatted, with eighty percent of them discussing the recent battle at White Cloud Mountain and the matter of the Wind and Cloud List. Many were both awed by and curious about White Cloud City, this powerful new force that had risen so quickly.

Service at the Wind and Cloud Inn was quite fast, and the food was fragrant. After finishing his dinner, Ye Xing got a room at the inn to rest.

The night was hazy. Outside the window, a gentle breeze caressed the branches, causing the leaves to sway with a rustling sound. Moonlight, like liquid silver, poured in from the windowsill.

On the bed, Ye Xing sat cross-legged, circulating his Innate Skill in cultivation.

WHOOSH—

HAAAA—

He inhaled slowly, then exhaled just as gradually. With each breath, his True Qi circulated without end. As he breathed, the Innate Skill True Qi within his body grew more and more refined.

When it came to cultivation, Ye Xing had always been extremely diligent, never wasting a single moment.

Outside the window, clouds gathered and dispersed, and the moon appeared and vanished. Time dripped by, and before he knew it, the night had passed.

A sliver of fish-belly white light appeared on the horizon, then spread outward as the sky began to brighten. Dawn had broken.

’Time to set out!’

Ye Xing opened his eyes, ending his cultivation. The surging True Qi throughout his body gradually receded as he rose from the bed. Grabbing his Treasure Sword and with the Qiankun Bag hanging from his waist, he headed downstairs.

At that moment, many horse-drawn carriages were parked outside the Wind and Cloud Inn. It was a merchant caravan of several hundred people, guarded by Escort Masters from an Escort Agency, preparing to set off on their journey.

"Chief Yang, this is a huge escort job we’ve got. If we pull it off, the pay should be great, right?" By a carriage, a young Escort Master spoke with a grin to a large, bearded man.

"Haha." The big-bearded man laughed smugly. "Little Fei, you’re a sharp kid. Stick with our Weiyang Escort Agency, and in three to five years, tops, you’ll be a Landlord yourself. You’ll have your own big mansion, a few pretty maids to wait on you, and..."

"Give me a break. Three to five years? If I stick around that long, I’ll probably be dead," the young Escort Master retorted, curling his lip. "We Escort Masters live on the edge of a blade every day, dealing with bandits year-round. It’s too dangerous. I’m not doing it for that long. Another year or two at most, then I’m going back home to marry a pretty wife and live a happy life. As for being a Landlord? I’d love to, but I’m just not destined for it."

"It’s true that we run into danger sometimes, but the pay is high too," the big-bearded man couldn’t help but laugh. "By the way, there’s a real gorgeous girl who joined our caravan this time. Judging by her air, she’s probably from no small background."

"You mean Miss Nuoning?" The young Escort Master’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration. "Miss Nuoning is just stunningly beautiful. That figure, that aura... she’s the most beautiful woman I, Little Fei, have ever seen in my life."

"But she’s clearly a lady from a prominent family, with a noble status. That middle-aged female guard with her has some serious Martial Arts skills, you know," the big-bearded man chuckled.

"I can only dream!" the young Escort Master said dejectedly.

The big-bearded man laughed, then suddenly looked ahead and said in surprise, "Little Fei, look! There’s a master walking towards us."

The young Escort Master quickly turned to look. He saw a young man in green robes with a longsword at his waist walking out of the Wind and Cloud Inn and heading toward their caravan. He couldn’t help but curl his lip. "A master? No way. He looks about my age. He’d be at the Martial Arts Third Realm at best. Looks like even you can be wrong sometimes, Chief of the Escort."

"What the hell do you know, kid? Did you not see that cloth pouch at his waist? That’s a Qiankun Bag! It’s worth thousands of Gold Coins! Only a master at the Martial Arts Seventh Realm, the Qi Condensation Stage, is qualified to wear one. That young master is probably a genius disciple from some great noble family!"