Hidden Dragon Soars from the Abyss, Scales and Claws Take Flight!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The torrential rain still poured without end from the heavens.

No one knew how much rainwater came cascading down.

It stretched from sky to earth, forming a curtain of rain.

Bolts of lightning flashed incessantly within it, heart-stopping in the black night.

In the distance, several dozen figures dressed in black, their faces cold and iron plates hanging at their waists, shot rapidly toward the scene. Every one of them possessed exceptional qinggong, borrowing force from heaven and earth as they moved.

Their bodies were like agile leopards.

At last, they landed upon the battlefield, their gazes icy as they swept their eyes across the area.

The thick blood had gathered into pools of crimson seas beneath the torrential rain...

More than ten corpses lay sprawled across the ground.

County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan had even been beheaded.

His head lay rolled off to one side like a clump of straw, his eyes bulging wide.

"Useless trash. A dignified county magistrate was actually killed!"

The leading man in black spoke coldly, his gaze sharp as lightning.

The remaining men in black quickly examined the corpses.

They soon reached one conclusion after another.

"All the deceased were struck by sabers. Only one was wounded by a sword!"

"Whether saber wounds or sword wounds, all are exquisitely profound."

"There may have been two attackers, or perhaps one person was peerless in both saber and sword!"

"Judging from these saber wounds, they all died to the Tidal Wave Saber Technique. It should have been Lu Chen!"

Voices rang out one after another.

"Lu Chen? No matter who he is, killing an Imperial Court official is a crime that reaches the heavens. His nine clans shall be implicated, his entire family executed; even if he flees to the ends of the earth, it will be useless."

The leading man in black said coldly.

"Boss, this Lin Mingyuan was no good either. There are traces of blood qi burning on his body. It seems the rumors were not groundless after all—he truly was a Blood Sacrifice Cult spy!"

One of the men in black said with a light laugh.

"Even if he was a Blood Sacrifice Cult spy, the Imperial Court should have dealt with him personally. It was not for outsiders to take action."

The leading man in black was Iron Masked Judge Yu Tianli. His eyes flashed like lightning as he stared into the boundless night and said coldly, "The corpses still retain warmth. That Lu Chen cannot have gone far. Pursue!" "Yes, Boss!"

"Move!"

The men in black were incredibly swift, all of them darting out in an instant.

They rapidly pursued into the rainy night ahead.

The Town Suppression Bureau was the blade of imperial authority. It oversaw the hundred officials, captured major criminals, suppressed heretics, and possessed the authority to execute first and report afterward. Every one of its members was a handpicked expert.

Any vicious figure in the Martial World who fell under the Town Suppression Bureau's eye could scarcely escape death.

They would bear the mark of a fugitive for life.

Until they were completely brought to justice.

The Town Suppression Bureau's tracking methods were unparalleled under heaven.

Once they had locked onto someone's trail, even if that person wished to conceal it, it would be harder than ascending to heaven.

A night passed. The wind and rain abruptly ceased. The next day, the morning sun rose.

The mountain forest was filled with fresh air.

News of Lin Mingyuan's miserable death could not be concealed in the end. Early that morning, it spread into Panshi City, shocking all four quarters.

"County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan is dead? Heaven has opened its eyes! Heaven has truly opened its eyes!"

"Good, good, good! Which great hero vented our hatred for us?"

"Which great hero? Who else could it be? Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has already released the news—it was Lu Chen!"

"What? Lu Chen again?"

"After Lu Chen killed Lin Yun, he personally left the city last night to intercept and kill the county magistrate..."

"Damn, Young Hero Lu Chen is incredible!"

"A hero—now that is a true hero!"

"Young Hero Lu Chen is forever our god..." The entire city erupted, countless people discussing it excitedly.

For more than a decade, Lin Mingyuan, that clear blue sky of three feet, had plundered the people's fat and marrow within the city. Public resentment had long boiled over.

Countless people had dared to rage but not speak, able only to struggle bitterly and eke out a difficult living beneath his oppressive power.

But now, he had been directly slain.

Not a single person in the city failed to applaud in delight.

In a hidden place.

Within a towering pavilion.

Several strangely dressed figures gathered together, watching a mysterious bronze mirror before them.

Lines of text were currently appearing upon the bronze mirror.

Without exception.

They were all information concerning Lu Chen. "Lu Chen was still an ordinary commoner four days ago. Faced with the bullying of a porcelain shop owner, he could only endure it bitterly... Although he had practiced a few rustic moves since childhood, he soon gave up. Yet after being viciously beaten by the shop owner this time, he unexpectedly experienced a sudden awakening. Perhaps he obtained some opportunity, and under the stimulus, his strength advanced by leaps and bounds in only a few days. He could now fight a Fifth Rank martial artist to the death. With such strength... the Heavenly Mystery Mirror has ranked him ninety-first on the Kirin Ranking!"

An old man stared at the bronze mirror and spoke.

"Interesting. This Lu Chen has no small secrets."

"In just four days, he went from an ordinary commoner to a martial artist capable of fighting a Fifth Rank expert to the death. Such a thing has never happened before."

"If this were to spread through the Martial World, who knows what kind of uproar it would cause!"

"Heh, our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion merely ranks the heroes of the realm. Why should we care what he will face in the future?"

"Indeed. The Kirin Ranking has changed again. We can send out the news." Several figures laughed in succession.

Very soon, special spirit pigeons swept swiftly out from the pavilion, flying in every direction.

These spirit pigeons were specially bred for delivering messages.

They could fly five hundred li in one hour!

They could fly for six hours in a day.

In only two days, news could spread throughout every corner of the imperial dynasty.

Sure enough.

As Lu Chen fled toward the distance.

News of the Kirin Ranking's change spread across the land.

It sent countless peddlers, laborers, and Martial World heroes into an uproar.

The Kirin Ranking was a list of the most promising talents under heaven, listing only young prodigies below the age of twenty-five.

Those who could enter the ranking were not necessarily powerful at present, but possessed limitless potential.

They were people destined to have tremendous futures in the martial path.

The vast Imperial Court spanned nearly ten million li, with a population of more than several billion.

Yet the Kirin Ranking had only one hundred and eight places!

One could imagine how exacting this ranking was.

Any change would draw the attention of countless people throughout the world.

The great martial sects, aristocratic families, and Imperial Court in particular would pay attention at the first possible moment.

As for exactly who compiled the Kirin Ranking, no one knew.

They only knew that every ranked person would be analyzed down to the tiniest detail. Their ultimate moves and martial arts seemed to hold no secrets at all.

The Kirin Ranking was not the only one.

Above it were the Human Ranking, Earth Ranking, and Heaven Ranking! Nearly all top experts beneath heaven were listed upon them.

The Human Ranking specifically recorded true prodigies.

There were seventy-two in total!

Anyone who entered the ranking had surpassed the Ninth Rank and opened one of the Human Body Secret Treasures.

The Human Body Secret Treasures included the Fleshly Body Secret Treasure, True Qi Secret Treasure, and Spiritual Treasury.

Each level was more difficult than the last.

Opening even one allowed one to become a master.

Opening all three made one a Grandmaster!

The Earth Ranking listed thirty-six people. Anyone on it was a top-tier Grandmaster.

The Heaven Ranking listed eighteen people, representing the eighteen extremes between heaven and earth.

These four rankings had nearly thrown the entire Martial World into chaos.

Countless people slaughtered one another for fame and profit, contending to prove who stood taller and who fell shorter.

Lu Chen's sudden rise this time was undoubtedly the same.

Name: Lu Chen

Ranking: Ninety-first on the Kirin Ranking!

Accomplishments: Learned martial arts for four days, advanced by leaps and bounds, slew Blood Sacrifice Cult Protector Li Cangyuan with his sword, cleaved Panshi County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan with his saber. Swift to repay kindness and vengeance, free and unrestrained; even Fifth Rank martial artists could not stop him!

Nickname: Heartless Blade

Martial Arts: Azure Wave Art, Tidal Wave Saber Technique, Grass on Flying, unknown body-tempering technique.

Comment: A hidden dragon soars from the abyss, scales and claws take flight; a suckling tiger roars in the valley, and all beasts tremble in terror!