January 28th.
Various locations across the Cyan Cloud Country.
Tianya Pavilion, a massive organization, had branches all over the Cyan Cloud Country.
This organization was most famous for the two ranking lists it compiled: one was the Famous Family List, and the other was the Innate List.
At this very mont, crowds of martial artists had gathered in front of the various Tianya Pavilion branches. The dense throngs of people surged and moved like a tide.
"The new Famous Family List and Innate List are about to be released. I wonder what new faces will appear this ti?"
"It’s always this crowded every ti the lists are released."
"That’s normal. These two lists gather all the heroes under the heavens. Even if we can’t beco one of them, it’s still good to learn about them through the lists."
Amidst the lively chatter, at almost the exact sa mont, every Tianya Pavilion across the country opened its doors!
In an instant, countless martial artists, who had been waiting in line, flooded into the shops, packing them to the brim.
The Famous Family List and the Innate List had beco a symbol of the Cyan Cloud Country. Nearly everyone had a copy. Anyone who hadn’t read them would have nothing to talk about during their leisure ti.
The two lists were sold together for a price of three Primordial Stones.
Any martial artist could afford three Primordial Stones. It didn’t sound expensive, but considering that almost everyone in the Cyan Cloud Country bought a copy, the small amounts added up to a terrifying sum.
Moreover, the lists were updated every three months, four tis a year.
There was no telling how many Primordial Stones Tianya Pavilion earned from these two lists.
"The rankings on the Innate List haven’t changed much... huh? Young Master Soaring Dragon’s rank has gone up again! He actually went from seventh place to fifth."
"Young Master Soaring Dragon’s talent is extraordinary. He truly lives up to his reputation as the head of the Nine Great Young Masters. He’s no worse than the Sword King Chu Bai of back in the day."
"Sword King Chu Bai holds the top spot on the Innate List. That rank hasn’t changed in ten years. Perhaps Young Master Soaring Dragon will be qualified to challenge him in the future."
"Quick, look at sixth place! Who is this person?"
Suddenly, the people looking through the Innate List gasped in astonishnt.
"’Silver-haired Girl’? What kind of entry is this? There’s not even a na."
The martial artists muttered amongst themselves. An entry for a "silver-haired girl" had appeared at sixth place on the Innate List.
There wasn’t much information about her, only a ntion of a battle with Young Master Soaring Dragon, which stated that the silver-haired girl had been injured before she fled.
"Who is this silver-haired girl? Even Tianya Pavilion doesn’t have any specific information on her."
The appearance of the silver-haired girl sparked a heated discussion.
Soon, everyone’s focus shifted from the Innate List to the Famous Family List.
People were actually more interested in the Famous Family List than the Innate List.
This was because the rankings on the Innate List rarely changed. After all, how could it be so easy for top-level experts to improve their strength?
Besides, most of the people on it were from the older generation. Of the Nine Great Young Masters, only five had made the list.
The Famous Family List was different. It ranked talented and promising martial artists, many of whom were from the younger generation, so it was often subject to huge changes.
You could say the Famous Family List was the ranking for the younger generation.
"The Yi Family of Ancient Wind City... Yi Wulin and Yi Wuyue’s rankings have risen again. The brother-sister duo are now ninth and eleventh, respectively."
"The Li Family of Golden Cauldron City isn’t bad either. Li Shiyu and Li Chunfeng both ranked in the top ten."
"There are quite a few geniuses over here in Jiangnan," a martial artist remarked.
The so-called Jiangnan referred to the lands south of the Great River.
The Cyan Cloud Country’s geography was unique, split in two by a great river. The most talked-about feat of Sword King Chu Bai, whose might shook the nation, was how he had once split that very river with a single sword strike.
The area south of this great river was called Jiangnan, while the area to the north was called North of the River.
Both Golden Cauldron City and Ancient Wind City were located in the Jiangnan Region.
"Why has Xue Wuhen of Luoyang City disappeared from the list?"
"So he disappeared. Who cares? Luoyang City is one of the weaker cities in Jiangnan. It’s nothing worth paying attention to."
"That’s strange... Why do I get the feeling that everyone’s rank has dropped by one spot?"
The martial artists gradually sensed that sothing was off. Puzzled, they let their eyes travel up the list until they reached the very top. There, a na written in gold left them utterly shocked.
It was a na no one recognized.
Number One on the Famous Family List—White Head Sword Sect, Ning Jiang!
"Ning Jiang, at the age of sixteen, has entered the Sword Sect realm. A once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Sword Dao, he is known as the White Head Sword Sect. In Luoyang City, on January 15th, during the annual gathering, Ning Jiang—with his Peak Postnatal Cultivation—defeated ten Innate Realm experts. He dominated them completely, proving himself invincible. After an evaluation by dozens of Tianya Pavilion Masters, it was determined that the number one position on the Famous Family List can belong to no one else!"
After martial artists across the country read the description for the top-ranked person on the Famous Family List...
In an instant, the martial artists in every Tianya Pavilion were shaken to their core.
"A sixteen-year-old Sword Sect? How is that possible?"
"Reaching the top of the Famous Family List with only Peak Postnatal Cultivation... That’s unprecedented!"
"Number one on the list! I bet so big shot from Tianya Pavilion is already on their way to personally deliver the list to this White Head Sword Sect, right?"
"It would have to be soone at the level of a branch Pavilion Master, at least, wouldn’t it?"
"I think it’d be soone even higher. We’re talking about a Young Sword Sect!"
At that mont, the entire country was in an uproar.
The White Head Sword Sect, Ning Jiang.
His na shook the world!
...
「Baiquan Town.」
The Ning Family estate.
"How may I help you two?" one of the two Ning Family guards asked politely.
The young man and woman before them looked young, but their auras were so powerful that the guards couldn’t gauge their true depth.
Having been guards for so long, they had seen all sorts of people and had long since learned to read others. One look told them that this young man and woman were likely nobles raised by a great family, people they could not afford to offend.
"So this is the Ning Family? Is there soone nad Ning Jiang here? Bring him out. Tell him to co and greet at once."
The young man stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His tone was casual, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
The guards couldn’t help but frown. ’What an arrogant man.’
"May I ask for your na, Young Master? So that I may announce you."
"A lowly guard like you is worthy of knowing my na?" the young man replied coldly.
At his words, a flash of humiliation crossed the guards’ eyes. ’Even if we are just lowly guards, do you have to be so insulting?’
"Apologies, there is no one nad Ning Jiang in the Ning Family. Please leave."
"Hm?"
The young man’s brow furrowed, and with a great wave of his sleeve, a surge of Innate Gang Qi erupted and slamd viciously into the two guards.
Struck as if by lightning, they were sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground and spitting up blood.
"A small lesson. If you don’t go now, I won’t hesitate to kill you," the young man said indifferently.
’Innate Late Stage!’
A chill ran down the guards’ spines. For soone so young to have reached the Innate Late Stage was simply terrifying!
They had never heard of such a figure in Baiquan Town. This person was definitely not from around here.
Furious but too afraid to speak, the two guards scrambled into the Ning Family estate.
"Brother Lin, do you think she ca back this ti for revenge?" the woman next to the young man asked. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her face was beautiful. Her only flaw was the arrogance in her eyes, which made it seem as if she looked down on everyone.
"If not for revenge, why else would she do sothing like this? Cutting a lock of our parents’ hair in the middle of the night and leaving a note like that..."
The young man’s eyes showed a trace of fear as he recalled the note with the words, "I’m back."
But what truly frightened him was the thod she used to cut the hair.
Their parents were both Peak Innate Strong Persons. Martial artists at that realm possessed keen senses and would notice the slightest disturbance.
Even if soone bore them ill will from dozens of yards away, they would sense it imdiately.
Even in their sleep, they would jolt awake and counter-attack the instant soone approached.
And yet, a lock of their parents’ hair had been cut while they slept, and they hadn’t even realized it. That was what was so terrifying!
’If I can cut your hair without you noticing, then next ti, I can cut off your head. You wouldn’t even know how you died.’
"During the six years she was gone, our Yi Family never stopped looking for her, but there was no news. I fear she must have left the Cyan Cloud Country and gone elsewhere. I wonder what level her strength has reached now?" the young man said, his expression grave.
"We should have sent more people back then. We never should have let her escape," the woman said regretfully.
"No matter. As long as we capture this Ning Jiang, we’ll have a bargaining chip in our hands," the young man said, full of confidence.
While they were speaking, the two guards had already hurried into the Ning Family courtyard.
"This is bad!"
"Hm? What’s going on?"
Many Innate Realm experts had gathered in the Ning Family courtyard, and they all turned to look.
Seeing such a lineup of powerful figures, the two guards’ hearts trembled. They carefully explained, "There’s soone outside looking for a person nad Ning Jiang. He said to have Ning Jiang co out and pay respects to him."
"Who is it?"
Everyone present frowned, their expressions filled with displeasure. ’Given Ning Jiang’s current status, who would be so arrogant as to demand he co out and pay them respects?’
"It’s a young man and woman, but we don’t know their identity. When we asked for his na, he said we weren’t worthy of knowing it and then he injured us," the guard reported truthfully. "Oh, and his cultivation is at the Innate Late Stage!"
As soon as he said this, the expressions of the crowd changed drastically.
A young man at the Innate Late Stage?
One had to know that Xue Wuhen, the leader of the Luoyang Ten Heroes and ranked sixty-third on the Famous Family List, only had an Innate Middle Stage Cultivation.
Of course, Xue Wuhen was ranked sixty-third when he was at the Innate Early Stage. At the Innate Middle Stage, he could probably break into the top forty.
"Innate Late Stage... I’m afraid that’s enough to rank in the top fifteen of the Famous Family List, right?" the crowd murmured in surprise.
"Could he be a genius cultivated by so major family? But even so, he isn’t qualified to have a Sword Sect go and pay him respects. It should be the other way around," Song Ziwen said.
The experts who had co to visit Ning Jiang today were as nurous as the clouds.
Those at the Innate Late Stage could only stand at the back. Only those at the Innate Peak could stand at the front. There were even Innate Limit Strong Persons present.
What was a re Innate Late Stage youth in comparison?
"Ning Jiang, get your ass out here!"
Just then, the young man from the Yi Family outside seed to have lost his patience. He let out a furious roar that rolled in like thunder.
In an instant, everyone’s expression darkened.
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