"Wan'er, which factions have made the ranking so far?"
Ye Han glanced at Shangguan Wan'er and asked unhurriedly.
Hearing this, Shangguan Wan'er bowed and answered clearly,
"Reporting to the City Lord, they are, in order: the Upper Three Sects, the Two Great Empires, Sunset Forest, Evil Demon Forest, and the Extreme North."
Ye Han already had some guesses about the factions that would rank next, though he could not be certain of their exact placements.
"Of the remaining seven spots, aside from our Chang'an City, the other four in the top five will certainly be factions that wield divine power. Let us wait and see."
A trace of understanding flashed through Shangguan Wan'er's eyes. Then her thoughts shifted, and she murmured,
"I wonder how Lord Sikong's progress is going. With his ultimate lightning speed, he should have reached the vicinity of Sunset Forest before all the other factions, right?"
At that moment, steady footsteps suddenly sounded from the distant entrance.
"Tap, tap, tap—"
A tall pink-haired woman with a high ponytail approached, her striking figure clad in fitted leather armor.
"Hua Mulan? What is she doing here?"
Shangguan Wan'er's brows immediately furrowed, and a rare hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes.
That was right. She was none other than Honor of Kings' foremost solo-lane heroine, Hua Mulan.
She possessed the Super Tool Martial Soul, the Legendary Blade, and was a power-attack Title Douluo with the title Legend!
She was currently a squad captain of Chang'an City's Great Wall Guard, and had accompanied Ye Han's second soul ring.
She had appeared around the same time as Shangguan Wan'er and was one of the heroes who had stayed with Ye Han the longest.
Moreover, she cultivated with exceptional diligence, and her strength had even caught up to several heroes who had accompanied his later Soul Rings.
—A level ninety-seven Super Douluo!
Ye Han was also somewhat surprised by her arrival, though his voice remained calm.
"Mulan, why are you not stationed at the Great Wall? Why have you suddenly come here?"
Outside, Hua Mulan was valiant and imposing, strong and unyielding. Yet before Ye Han, she appeared somewhat more restrained and gentle. She cupped her hands and respectfully said,
"Reporting to the City Lord, I came to report on today's patrol situation for the Chang'an Guard Team. Seeing that Lord Sikong and Lady Shangguan were not at the City Affairs Office, I had no choice but to come here uninvited."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shangguan Wan'er coldly spoke from the side, her tone carrying a trace of reproach.
"Patrol reports should be handled by Captain Li Xin. Why have you come instead? And what is the patrol situation?"
A hint of helplessness appeared on Hua Mulan's face as she gave a bitter smile.
"Lady Shangguan may not know this, but Lord Li Xin was entangled by Li Bai early this morning and has been unable to get away until now. That is why he asked me to report in his place. Everything is normal with the patrols."
Hearing this, Shangguan Wan'er developed an inexplicable bit of dissatisfaction toward Li Bai. She gave a faint "Oh," then asked,
"Then we understand. You may leave."
Hua Mulan clenched her fingers slightly, raised her eyes toward Ye Han, and spoke directly with a hint of anticipation in her voice.
"I have one more matter to report. City Lord, you have not personally inspected the Great Wall for quite some time. Now that the Sky Screen has appeared, the citizens are uneasy. Could you perhaps visit the Great Wall now to steady their hearts?"
Before Ye Han could speak,
Shangguan Wan'er inwardly cursed, Just as expected, she is doing this again. Then she frowned and said,
"The matter of the Sky Screen is of great importance, and the City Lord is watching it now. I am afraid he cannot accompany you to inspect the Great Wall."
Hua Mulan's brows furrowed slightly, but she did not argue. Lowering her head, she said,
"It was my oversight. Then I shall not disturb the City Lord and Lady Shangguan any longer. I will take my leave."
After she turned around, the displeasure in Shangguan Wan'er's eyes quietly faded.
"Mulan, wait."
Ye Han finally had a chance to speak. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable steadiness.
"Since you are here, stay and watch the Sky Screen with Wan'er and me. There is no harm in leaving later."
Hua Mulan's proud back suddenly stiffened. She turned around, nodded respectfully, and walked back.
She appeared calm, but subtle, indescribable emotions welled up in her eyes.
Shangguan Wan'er was stunned and subconsciously spoke.
"City Lord, I am afraid this is against the rules..."
Ye Han raised his hand and lightly pressed his fingertip against her red lips, cutting off her words. In a low voice, he said,
"Shh. If everything had to follow the rules, life would be far too dull."
The cool touch of his fingertip reached her, and Shangguan Wan'er instantly froze.
The sharpness that had lingered in her eyes moments ago was immediately veiled by a thin mist.
Even the tips of her ears quietly flushed pale red. She stared blankly at Ye Han and nodded.
"..."
Watching this scene, Hua Mulan's expression changed slightly, and her hands unconsciously tightened.
"Alright, let us all take a good look."
Ye Han withdrew his hand and turned his gaze back to the Sky Screen floating above Chang'an City.
Shangguan Wan'er pressed her lips together, glanced at Hua Mulan, and also returned her gaze to the Sky Screen.
Hua Mulan shook her head, suppressed the strange emotions churning in her heart, and looked toward the Sky Screen as well.
Yet after watching for merely two and a half seconds,
the golden Sky Screen overhead updated as if by coincidence.
Lines of new, imposing text rapidly emerged:
[Power Ranking, Seventh Place: Sun Moon Imperial Family] [Ruler Representative: Xu Tianyang] [Strongest Combat Representative: Xu Tianlong] [Evaluation: The Sun Moon Imperial Family is dominated solely by the Xu family. Their family inherits the top-tier stellar Martial Soul, the "Sun," an exceptional fire-attribute Martial Soul—supremely rigid and powerful, possessing fire attributes infinitely close to the ultimate. The Xu family's ancestor, the "First Emperor of Sun Moon Empire," relied on his formidable strength and the advanced Soul Tool technology he vigorously developed to lead the imperial family in conquering all human factions across the native continent. He standardized cart axles and writing, renamed the native continent Sun Moon Continent, and achieved complete unification, earning the title of "Emperor of All Ages"! The Sun Moon Imperial Family occupies all territory on the Sun Moon Continent apart from Soul Beast domains. It commands tens of millions of subjects, an army of five hundred thousand ordinary soldiers, a Soul Master legion numbering over ten thousand, and ten Title Douluo members of the imperial family! Every human faction, great or small, within the empire is subordinate to the Sun Moon Imperial Family! Most importantly, in ancient times, the divine beast that had accompanied the God Realm and the Dragon God, the "Ancestor of Sub-Dragons · Purple-Gold Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon," fell upon the Sun Moon Continent. As its vitality gradually vanished, its corpse transformed into a stone statue, while its remaining divine soul slept within. The Sun Moon Imperial Family discovered it and worshipped it with faith. Moved by them, and seeing that the martial soul inherited by the Sun Moon Imperial Family matched its attributes, the Purple-Gold Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon sacrificed the power of its remaining divine soul and bestowed the Purple-Gold Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon Bloodline upon the Sun Moon Imperial Family. Thus, their descendants had a chance of awakening the Purple-Gold Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon Martial Soul. However, the requirements were exceptionally harsh: not only did it require the purest bloodline, but also the most outstanding talent. An awakener might only appear once every hundred years, and every awakener throughout history had become a renowned figure across the continent!] [Intermediate Reward: The Soul Power Levels of the two representatives will each increase by two levels, the age of all Soul Rings will increase by five thousand years, and they will receive a thirty-thousand-year Soul Bone perfectly suited to their Martial Souls!]
"City Lord, is this what you mentioned to Wan'er before?"
Almost the instant the Sky Screen made its announcement, Shangguan Wan'er looked toward Ye Han.
"Yes, that is right."
Ye Han had not expected it to have already been established. Now this was going to be interesting.
The major factions across Douluo Continent would likely erupt into another wave of uproar and turmoil upon seeing this.
PS:
Both Shangguan Wan'er and Hua Mulan were heroic women who yielded nothing to men. Which one did everyone prefer?
One was reserved and subtle, talented in many arts, and suited to managing the home. The other was direct and passionate, strong yet gentle, and suited to handling matters outside.
Before you continue