The World Is Shaken!

"Oh?"

Lu Chen raised a brow.

"Not long ago, the Blood Offering Sect organized rebel forces to wreak havoc around Qinghe Prefecture and Blackwater Prefecture. They have consecutively captured several cities, leaving countless civilians homeless and adrift. I came from Yuanzhou City earlier; the city had just fallen, and tens of thousands of civilians fled Yuanzhou City with their families. The Blood Offering Sect's rebel army is still relentlessly pursuing them, so I wish to invite Young Hero Lu to help temporarily hold back the rebels."

Han Wu-bing clasped his hands and spoke solemnly.

"Hold back the rebel army? You think too highly of me."

Lu Chen shook his head.

Holding back an army of thousands with one man? What was he thinking?

"Where are the imperial court's people? Has no one from the court gone to suppress the rebellion?"

"The imperial court?"

Han Wu-bing's expression turned ugly. "Treachery and petty villains run rampant within the court, while the local officials are all incompetent fools. Though they have organized troops before, they crumble at the first touch. They're utterly useless."

"This is beyond my ability to handle."

Lu Chen directly refused. "Leaving aside the enormous scale of their rebel army, my mere Ninth Rank cultivation cannot withstand them. Even if I could, are there no elders of the Blood Offering Sect among those rebels? What if I encounter another elder in the Hidden Realm? What then?"

Han Wu-bing hurriedly said, "Rest assured, Young Hero Lu. By temporarily holding back the rebels, I do not mean for you to block their army of hundreds of thousands or millions on your own. Most of their troops are resting and reorganizing in Yuanzhou City. Only a small number of elites have pursued the fleeing civilians and are carrying out slaughter. Our goal is merely to stop those Blood Offering Sect elites."

"As for their Hidden Realm elders, other righteous experts will naturally hold them back. They will have no time to concern themselves with us.

"We only need to protect those civilians and ensure they safely reach a secure area."

"Is that so?"

Lu Chen pondered.

If that was the case, it was not something he could not consider.

He was simply far too short on Merit Points.

If he took this on, his Merit Points would surely soar again.

Perhaps he might even unlock his fifth talent.

But my Nine Heavens Art is close to completion. I need to find a new cultivation art as soon as possible, or it will inevitably hinder my entry into the Hidden Realm.

Lu Chen thought to himself.

He quickly made his decision.

"Young Hero Han, everything comes at a price. There is no need to flatter me. I, Lu, am a man on the Black List and have never cared for reputation. If you want me to act, you must pay the price. Are you willing?"

Lu Chen said calmly.

"What price does Young Hero Lu seek?"

Han Wu-bing immediately replied, "If Han has it on him, there will be no second word."

"I want an Excellent Grade cultivation art."

"An Excellent Grade cultivation art?"

Han Wu-bing's expression changed, and he drew a sharp breath inward.

That was far too expensive!

Anywhere under heaven, such a cultivation art would cause an uproar.

Shangguan Xue'er at the side also revealed a shocked expression. "Isn't that a bit too outrageous? Aren't you a hero?"

"Who said I was a hero? Does being a hero mean I have to let you morally blackmail me?"

Lu Chen gave her an indifferent glance.

"You..."

Shangguan Xue'er was left speechless.

Han Wu-bing's mind raced.

"I do indeed possess an Excellent Grade cultivation art, but it was passed down by my sect, so I cannot give it to you. However, during my travels abroad, I obtained another inheritance. It is also an Excellent Grade cultivation art, though one-third of its contents are incomplete. Would Young Hero Lu accept that?"

"Oh?"

A glint flashed through Lu Chen's eyes.

These sect disciples truly did possess fortune.

They could obtain an Excellent Grade cultivation art just by traveling abroad.

"That will do."

He nodded directly.

Not everyone was like Liu Jinglan, who would simply hand things over when asked.

Besides, Excellent Grade cultivation arts were far rarer than Ninth Rank cultivation arts.

The other party could not possibly hand over his sect's inheritance to him.

Therefore, obtaining an incomplete inheritance was already quite good.

In any case, he could use Merit Points to fill in the rest.

"Fine, but I didn't bring pen and paper. How about I write it down for you once we get there?"

Han Wu-bing said.

"No need for the trouble. Recite it once along the way, and I'll remember it."

Lu Chen said.

"Recite it once?"

Han Wu-bing looked startled. "Are you sure you can remember it after hearing it once?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright, then."

The whole world was shaken.

News of the Qilin Rankings' revision spread in all directions at astonishing speed.

In less than a day, it had swept through more than half the Jianghu.

Countless people were stunned.

"The Qilin Rankings have been updated again! Heartless Blade Lu Chen has risen to nineteenth place on the Qilin Rankings!"

"Good heavens, that's far too fast. Last time he was forty-second, and now he's leapt straight to nineteenth!"

"Look carefully. It says Young Hero Lu slew six Ninth Rank fighters with a single slash. Those were Ninth Rank fighters!"

"Unbelievable. With the help of Ice Sword Han Wu-bing, he even killed a Hidden Realm expert with his sword—a Hidden Realm expert..."

"When the Qilin Rankings update next time, could Young Hero Lu enter the top fifteen?"

The crowds buzzed with discussion.

To everyone, the top fifteen of the Qilin Rankings were an insurmountable chasm.

Like fifteen towering mountains, they loomed over everyone's heads.

There was no other reason!

For thousands of years, the top fifteen had always been firmly held by certain Hidden Aristocratic Families.

Even when the rankings changed, the replacements came from within those same families.

No one had ever managed to squeeze them out.

You thought there was some inside dealing?

Then you were wrong!

Those were achievements their experts from the Hidden Aristocratic Families had fought for with their lives.

The Hidden Aristocratic Families not only possessed supreme Martial Dao inheritances; more importantly, they had their bloodlines!

Their bloodlines came with innate divine powers!

"Nineteenth place is probably Young Hero Lu's limit. He's destined to be unable to enter the top fifteen."

"Not necessarily. Look—Young Hero Lu has only cultivated for twenty-five days. Reaching this level in twenty-five days, what kind of talent is that?"

"Isn't that fucking outrageous?"

Countless people were shocked beyond measure.

Lonely Cloud Town.

Cui Zhengxuan smiled as he received the latest Qilin Rankings. He laughed and said, "A dragon appears in the fields, its roar shakes the nine heavens... What a 'roar shakes the nine heavens.' The world is bound to change at last."

"No matter where this kid goes, he stirs up such enormous commotion. The matter with the Sword Sect hasn't even been settled, and in the blink of an eye, he's gone and provoked the Blood Offering Sect."

Cui Hu gave a wry smile. "But this kid's rate of advancement is truly terrifying. To be honest, I've never seen talent like his."

"Not only you—I've never even heard of it."

Cui Zhengxuan gently shook his head, then revealed a worried expression. "But what is too rigid is easily broken. I fear some people may not take kindly to him."

"Master, you mean...?"

Cui Hu's heart stirred.

"Make a trip out there. Ignore challenges between the younger generation, but guard against some old fossils secretly meddling."

Cui Zhengxuan said.

"Alright."

Cui Hu nodded.

After all, he found Lu Chen pleasing to the eye.

If it were anyone else, he couldn't be bothered to meddle.

"But Master, you must also be extra careful on your end..."

"Rest assured. I have my own trump cards. It won't be so easy for them to kill me."

Cui Zhengxuan smiled.

Cui Hu nodded again, then immediately turned and departed, vanishing from sight.

Inside a secluded inn.

On the Sword Sect heir's side.

The White-Robed Young Mistress's protector, Zhou Tai, wore a grim expression as he received the latest Qilin Rankings. His hand clenched, true energy erupted, and the slip of paper shattered into pieces.

"Nineteenth on the Qilin Rankings... nineteenth!"

What a Lu Chen!

He had actually improved to such an extent.

Then Zhou Tai glanced at the White-Robed Young Mistress, and his heart ached anew.

More than ten days had passed. The White-Robed Young Mistress was distracted and growing thinner by the day, muddleheaded as though she had lost her soul. Every day, she neither ate nor drank. Had he not sustained her life with true energy, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

In barely ten days, she had lost more than twenty jin!

"Damn Lu Chen, he must die! He must die!!"

Zhou Tai's heart twisted with pain.

Why couldn't he just yield to his young mistress!

Why did he have to defeat her!

Unfortunately, he could not kill Lu Chen with his own hands!

Only by letting the young mistress act personally could her Dao heart possibly be restored!

Bang! Bang!

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Zhou Tai's tone was icy.

"Martial Uncle Zhou, Xiao Xuanye requests an audience!"

A voice came from outside.

Xiao Xuanye?

Zhou Tai's eyes flickered, and he swiftly rose to his feet.

In another direction.

A spacious tower ship sailed down the river, vast and majestic, taking in the scenery on both banks.

On deck, a young man in a golden robe with an impassive face was studying the note in his hand. He sneered. "Nineteenth on the Qilin Rankings? Nothing but an ant!"

The note in his palm silently turned to ash.

"Of course. Anyone outside the top fifteen of the Qilin Rankings is an ant before Young Master Huangfu!"

A middle-aged man beside him smiled as he spoke.

Had anyone else said such words, he would have considered them arrogant and conceited.

But coming from the golden-robed young man, he had not the slightest doubt.

For the golden-robed young man was a prodigy ranked fourteenth on the Qilin Rankings!

He came from the ancient hidden Huangfu Family!

His nickname was Heavy Sword Without Edge!

Huangfu Yun!

"Still, I dislike this Lu Chen very much."

The golden-robed youth spoke blandly. "He keeps hopping about the Jianghu again and again. Who gave a mere ant the courage? Uncle Wu, find out where he is."

"Yes, Young Master!"

The old servant beside him flashed away and disappeared.

"Could it be that Young Master Huangfu intends to act personally?"

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up.

"Act? Forget it."

Huangfu Yun revealed a smile. "How could you possibly fathom this young master's intentions? Hahaha."

"That is true."

The middle-aged man gave an awkward laugh, his heart wavering.