Heavenly Martial City, night had fallen deep.
A myriad household lights in the city reflected the Milky Way upon the mortal world.
Pedestrians thronged the streets and alleys, cups clinked in taverns and teahouses, and everywhere brimmed with the lively warmth of common life.
An old man selling candied hawthorns cried out at a street corner, acrobats drew wave after wave of applause in the square, and music of pipes and strings drifted from the brothels, mingling with the scent of wine and rouge as it scattered on the night breeze.
Three days later would be the Hidden Dragon Ranking selection.
After deliberation among the four seven-star powers, the Martial Alliance would host the first Hidden Dragon Ranking selection. Heroes from across the land had gathered here, making Heavenly Martial City even more prosperous and clamorous than usual.
River-Gazing Tower in the southern part of the city was one of its most profitable teahouses. Its three-story wooden structure boasted carved beams and painted rafters, with upturned eaves soaring high. At this moment, not a single seat was empty.
"Have you heard? Shen Biyao cleared the eighth floor of the Star Tower the day before yesterday!"
A middle-aged man in a brocade robe set down his teacup, his voice carrying a hint of excitement.
He was the head of a minor aristocratic family in Central Province. He had deliberately arrived in Heavenly Martial City half a month early just to witness this grand Hidden Dragon Ranking event with his own eyes.
"Shen Biyao is a Golden Core Grandmaster. The puppets on the eighth floor of the Star Tower are at the Three-Turn Golden Core level. Since Miss Shen could clear it, she must have at least cultivated a Three-Turn Golden Core."
A scholar in blue robes at the same table stroked