"Latent Dragon Ranking? Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother!"
Fourth Senior Disciple Brother Liu Zhe stared at the booklet with shining eyes. He immediately took it with both hands, thanked him with delight, and quickly began flipping through it.
The Latent Dragon Ranking was compiled by the Heavenly Machine Pavilion, the most mysterious power on the Heavenly Saint Continent. It listed the top one hundred young male prodigies on the continent who were under thirty.
There was also a corresponding Hatching Phoenix Ranking, which listed the top one hundred young female prodigies on the continent who were under thirty.
In this world, once a Martial Artist broke through to the Innate Realm, their lifespan could reach 150 years. Grandmasters could live to 180, while Great Grandmasters could live to 200.
Those stronger than Great Grandmasters were bound to live even longer.
That was why the Latent Dragon and Hatching Phoenix Rankings set the age limit at thirty.
Of course, those were the overall Latent Dragon and Hatching Phoenix Rankings.
What Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming had brought back was merely a regional ranking compiled by the Heavenly Machine Pavilion for the Profound Water Dynasty. It listed only the top one hundred young prodigies in the dynasty.
There were many such regional rankings, basically one for every dynasty. They were just for entertainment.
Like the Profound Water Latent Dragon Ranking in Liu Zhe's hands: outside the Profound Water Dynasty, no one would take it seriously.
Of course, within the Profound Water Dynasty, it still carried quite a bit of weight.
"Kang'an, this is yours: a fan painted by Master Jinshui, the renowned calligrapher and painter from Nanling City!"
Ji Xiangming took out another exquisite folding fan. When he opened it, the fan bore a majestic landscape painting, along with several large characters: Autumn Outing to Yue Mountain Painting!
"Master Jinshui? Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother!"
Second Senior Disciple Brother Cui Kang'an happily accepted the fan and gazed at its painted surface, completely absorbed.
It was his greatest passion besides martial arts, though unfortunately, he had little talent for it.
"Ping'an! Look what I brought you: a long saber made of Hundred-Forged Fine Iron, from the Xu Family Forging Hall!"
At last, Ji Xiangming pulled out a sheathed long saber and handed it to Zhao Ping'an.
The saber was about a meter long, with a hilt roughly thirty centimeters long. Both the scabbard and hilt were pitch-black, carved with intricate patterns for a better grip.
Clang!
The blade slid free. A flash of cold light swept past, and a long gash instantly appeared on the stone stool beneath their feet. Then it slowly split in two.
Zhao Ping'an stared unblinkingly at the saber, which looked remarkably like the Ming Dynasty Xiu Chun Dao from the TV dramas. He was practically drooling.
Clang!
The saber slid back into its scabbard, its cold gleam concealed!
"Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother!"
Zhao Ping'an accepted it with delight.
The last time Ji Xiangming had returned, he'd asked what gift Zhao Ping'an wanted now that he'd begun learning martial arts. Zhao Ping'an had casually said he wanted a long saber, and he hadn't expected Ji Xiangming to actually bring one back.
The same went for the gifts the others had received.
The bundle also contained plenty of snacks unique to South Ridge City, all prepared for them.
"Senior Disciple Brother, what was that move you just used? It looked amazing. Could you teach it to me?"
Holding the saber, Zhao Ping'an swung it a couple of times while it was still sheathed, but it didn't feel right. Remembering Ji Xiangming's move, he looked over at him with eager hope.
"You want to learn it? Of course. It's just a Third-rate Martial Art with a single move called the Blade Draw Technique! I bought it from a street stall and thought it looked interesting, so I learned it. Wait a moment, I'll find it..."
Ji Xiangming immediately opened another bundle and rummaged through it. Then he pulled out a somewhat battered manual and handed it to Zhao Ping'an beside him.
"Here, this is the manual. Take a look. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime. I'll probably be staying for three days."
"Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother!"
Zhao Ping'an happily accepted the manual and thanked him.
"Why be so polite? It's nothing valuable."
Ji Xiangming immediately looked displeased.
"Hehe... I just feel a little embarrassed."
Zhao Ping'an scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? If you feel bad, you can pay me back when you're grown..."
Ji Xiangming joked.
"I will!"
"Hahahaha, you guys, look at Ping'an taking me seriously!"
Seeing Zhao Ping'an's earnest expression, Ji Xiangming burst out laughing.
But he had no idea how much that casual joke would benefit him in the future—something he couldn't even begin to imagine at the time.
After that, the brothers sat in the courtyard, chatting away. They shared every little thing that had happened on the mountain and listened as Senior Disciple Brother told them amusing stories from below.
Time flew by as they talked.
In the dead of night, Zhao Ping'an sat alone at the table in his room. An oil lamp on the tabletop cast a faint glow.
In his hands, he held a battered manual, flipping through it again and again.
With Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming back, Master and Mistress had made an exception at dinner and allowed the brothers to drink.
Mistress Zhao Xiuyun and Third Senior Sister Mu Yunmeng had both drunk quite a bit.
Only Zhao Ping'an hadn't been allowed to drink. The reason was simple: he was too young, just fourteen.
After eating his fill, he'd been bored, so he returned early.
The Blade Draw Technique!
It focused on killing with a single strike, then immediately fleeing far away!
The thin manual contained just one move: draw the blade, slash, return it to its scabbard!
As a purely offensive technique, it differed from the Turtle Shell Art he was practicing, a cultivation method that directly improved his body. It wasn't divided into the first through ninth levels.
Instead, it had six stages: Initiation, Proficiency, Mastery, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection. With each stage, not only did the angle of attack become more precise, but speed and strength also improved.
If he had to draw a distinction, Zhao Ping'an thought the two could be categorized as cultivation methods and martial arts. The former directly improved one's power, while the latter concerned how that power was used.
He quickly finished reading the thin booklet.
Zhao Ping'an immediately opened the panel:
[Name: Zhao Ping'an] [Realm: Warrior First Level] Cultivation Method: [Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 42/200 (Not yet initiated, simplified) Repeatedly slam your body into a wooden post 100 times to gain 1 point of training progress] Martial Art: [Blade Draw Technique (Third-rate Martial Art): 0/200 (Not yet initiated, simplified) Draw a wooden saber weighing at least one kilogram 100 times to gain 1 point of training progress] [Deduction Points: 18%] (How to obtain Deduction Points: eating, absorbing external energy, and other actions can all grant Deduction Points! The higher your cultivation, the greater your total Deduction Points! Once a cultivation method or martial art reaches Perfection, you can spend Deduction Points to deduce and advance it!)
"This Game Panel is pretty considerate. It can even refine my own progress based on what I have in mind. Not bad..."
Looking at the slightly changed Game Panel, Zhao Ping'an remarked in surprise.
He hadn't come up with the term "martial art."
"A wooden saber weighing one kilogram? Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow!"
Looking at the Blade Draw Technique now recorded on the panel, along with its simplified training method, Zhao Ping'an murmured.
Where was he supposed to find a suitable wooden saber in the middle of the night?
Before you continue