The latest Martial Ranking was a rare grand undertaking by the Northern Mang court. After the battles at Martial Emperor City and the Guangling River, it ranked thirty-two first-rank masters from the martial worlds of Northern Mang and Liyang.
The top ten, in order, were Wang Xianzhi, Tuoba Bodhisattva, the Smiling Strategist, Deng Tai'a, Li Chungang, Hong Jingyan, Cao Changqing, Gu Jiantang, Murong Baoding, and Deng Mao.
Putting him ahead of Li Chungang, Cao Changqing, and Deng Tai'a was plainly an exaggeration. They were setting him up to be torn down!
"What's there to worry about? We'll deal with whatever comes."
Xuantian chuckled. "Of the top ten on the Martial Ranking, Liyang and Northern Mang have five each, and Northern Mang's masters are ranked lower overall. That much is reasonable."
"Reasonable? The top ten are passable, but Northern Mang takes eighteen of the remaining spots. Troop-Raising Mountain and Chess-Sword Music Manor alone get six, and five of the Eight Great Demons make the list too. That's a blatant attempt to belittle Liyang," Xu Fengnian said with disdain.
"You're right. Northern Mang is clearly building up its own prestige," Xuantian said.
"You mean?" Xu Fengnian asked.
"War is about to break out. Soon."
"Yeah. My easy days are almost over." Xu Fengnian knew the situation all too well. Under the Empress's rule, Northern Mang had grown strong over the past decade. The day its cavalry swept across the land was not far off.
Its armies remained still only because it was waiting for the best moment to strike.
Xu Fengnian knew exactly when that moment would come: the day his father died.
Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang, had once led armies to destroy six kingdoms. Even now that he was old, neither Northern Mang nor Liyang dared make a