Inside the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, Fang Can sat in his wheelchair, watching the girl in a green dress standing with her hands on her hips.
"How can you not even know about the Heavenly Secret Ranking? Did you crawl out of some mountain ditch?" Ye Qingshi asked in disbelief.
After all, as far as she knew, fewer people had never heard of the Heavenly Secret Ranking than there were martial artists on the Heaven Ascending Path, who were practically immortals.
Since she'd already seen through him, Fang Can dropped the act and asked directly, "Miss Ye, could you explain what the Heavenly Secret Ranking is?"
"Does that really need explaining?" Ye Qingshi replied. "The Heavenly Secret Ranking is a list of martial artists compiled by the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Its main rankings are the Hidden Dragon and Rising Dragon Rankings."
"Both rankings cover martial artists at the Mortal Shedding Body realm. The Hidden Dragon Ranking lists the top hundred Mortal Shedding Body martial artists in the world, ordered by strength."
"The Rising Dragon Ranking, on the other hand, ranks martial artists according to how much they've risen in the rankings. The faster you climb the Hidden Dragon Ranking, the higher you'll be on the Rising Dragon Ranking."
"Both rankings come out monthly, and every Mortal Shedding Body martial artist in the world wants to make a name for themselves on them."
"Oh." Fang Can raised an eyebrow and asked skeptically, "What rules does this ranking follow? Does the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion have influence all over the world and keep tabs on every martial artist?"
"You really don't know anything, do you?" Ye Qingshi said helplessly. "Everyone knows that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion passes down its legacy one generation at a time, accepting only a single disciple. The rankings are all compiled and maintained with the support of the current Pavilion Master."
"One person alone can judge the whole world?" Fang Can thought it absurd. What kind of shabby ranking was this?
"Of course." Ye Qingshi nodded. "According to the legends, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion enshrines the skull of Bai Xiaosheng, its First Pavilion Master."
"Uh... Is there something special about that skull?" Fang Can asked, scratching his head. It was just a dead man's head.
"According to popular tales, Bai Xiaosheng, the First Pavilion Master, loved discussing martial arts. He often talked with people about the relative strength of martial artists at different realms, then published his findings."
"After Bai Xiaosheng entered the Heaven Ascending Path, he didn't choose to inherit any existing sect's legacy. Instead, he began building an entirely new system from scratch so he could keep discussing martial arts."
"His new legacy was called the Yongle Canon. I've heard it can gather, record, and compile knowledge of everything in the world out of thin air. You could say it knows everything," Ye Qingshi explained.
"Is this even martial arts?" Fang Can's mouth twitched as he sat in his wheelchair.
Why did martial arts in this world feel even more abstract than superpowers? People could just imagine whatever ability they wanted, and somehow it would really come into being.
The other madmen liked rivers of blood, so once they entered the Heaven Ascending Path, all the abilities they created had to do with killing.
But the First Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion didn't like killing people. He was just a forum bro who enjoyed debating, and he'd actually manifested such a bizarre legacy.
Fang Can worried that if someone like Hitler showed up, they might end up creating a legacy like Jewish Extinction.
"The all-knowing Yongle Canon..." An uneasy thought rose in Fang Can's mind. Surely the ability had some limitations. Otherwise, it was ridiculous if it really knew everything.
Seeing Fang Can lost in thought, Ye Qingshi chuckled softly. "Hey, what are you thinking about? Don't tell me you think you'll make the list. Don't get your hopes up..."
"The top hundred on the Hidden Dragon Ranking are all taken by Great Chu and Great Zhou barbarians at the eighth or ninth layer of the Mysterious Pass who've awakened a Heart Manifestation. No one from Great Yan has made the list for years."
"As for the Rising Dragon Ranking, you're competing against tens of millions of martial artists across the world. Every place you climb means defeating a thousand martial artists ahead of you."
"As for you..." Before Ye Qingshi could finish, Yan Zhi came running over from the distance with a booklet. He handed it to Fang Can and said, "Young Master Fang, I bought the Heavenly Secret Ranking."
At Yan Zhi's words, Fang Can took the booklet and opened it. Inside were dozens of neatly printed pages.
Thinking that the information in it had supposedly been found out of thin air by the Yongle Canon made Fang Can uneasy.
Could the Yongle Canon have recorded information about him too? Worried, Fang Can began scanning the pages before him.
Hidden Dragon Ranking:
First place: Xiang Xitao
Age: Eighteen
Realm: Ninth Layer of the Mysterious Pass
Cultivation manual: Tyrannical World-Shocking Record
Techniques: Wild Savage Demon Body, Blood Burning Divine Art, Overlord City-Breaking Halberd...
Affiliation: Great Chu imperial family! Number one in halberd techniques! Number one in spear techniques! Number one in damage! Number one in burst power! Number one in Heart Manifestation!
Record: Last year, outside the capital, he fought nine eighth-layer martial artists and three ninth-layer martial artists alone, killing seven and driving five away...
Seeing Xiang Xitao in first place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, Ye Qingshi clasped her hands behind her back and leaned in to explain:
"Xiang Xitao is one of those Great Chu barbarians. He's been at the top of the Hidden Dragon Ranking for almost a year. I heard he'd have broken through already if not for the All-Kingdoms Grand Competition coming up."
Ignoring the girl leaning close beside him, Fang Can frowned and read through the entire Hidden Dragon Ranking.
The situation was just as Ye Qingshi had said. All one hundred martial artists on the list were from Great Chu or Great Zhou. There wasn't a single person from Great Yan.
And the Heavenly Secret Ranking had detailed every listed martial artist's past battles and cultivation techniques.
"What's the point of looking at the Hidden Dragon Ranking? It's always the same few people hogging the top spots. Check out the Rising Dragon Ranking instead."
Ye Qingshi urged him on. "I'm telling you, Great Yan doesn't fear the other countries on the Rising Dragon Ranking. Let's see which new genius has appeared this week."
At Ye Qingshi's urging, with his unease steadily mounting, Fang Can gently ran his finger over the booklet, turning from the last page of the Hidden Dragon Ranking to the first page of the Rising Dragon Ranking.
When he saw the cover page of the Rising Dragon Ranking, his unease became reality.
As Fang Can fell silent, Ye Qingshi read out the words on the page for him.
Rising Dragon Ranking:
First place: Fang Can
Age: Eighteen
Realm: First Mysterious Barrier
Cultivation manuals: Tiger Fiend Eighty-Eight Grotto-Heavens??? Great Sun Indestructible Demon Body!!!
Techniques: Tiger-Subduing Dragon-Taming Golden Body, Sixty-Six Tiger Devour Fist Techniques, Blazing Prairie Fire Spear Technique, Gale Force Palm...
Affiliation: Expelled from the Tiger Fiend Sect...
When Ye Qingshi read Fang Can's name, she was still smiling and teasing him about sharing the same name.
But when she read "Expelled from the Tiger Fiend Sect," her expression immediately froze. She turned her head blankly and met Fang Can's deep, glittering eyes, vast as the starry sky.
The breeze stirred the pages in Fang Can's hand, revealing the full contents of the second page.
Affiliation: Expelled from the Tiger Fiend Sect! Number One Undying, number one Cauldron Body, number one in aptitude, number one in stamina, proficient in spear techniques, proficient in sword techniques, proficient in palm techniques, proficient in fist techniques, proficient in saber techniques, proficient in staff techniques, proficient in leg techniques...
Record: Expelled from the Tiger Fiend Sect. Gained a sense of qi in one day and manifested a Heart Manifestation in eight. In less than a month of cultivation, he crossed the First Mysterious Barrier.
Three days ago, in the Tiger Fiend Sect's Martial Arts Hall, he fought hundreds of fellow disciples alone. Though he was outmatched in strength, his skills were superior. He beat fists with fists, palms with palms, spears with spears, and swords with swords. Not a single opponent lasted thirty breaths.
His fellow disciples grew desperate and abandoned all honor, charging together by the hundreds.
Fang Can threw a punch, defeated a hundred, and won the battle.
In one month, he surpassed 856,323,435 martial artists.
Potential: Number One Throughout History!
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