Hidden Dragon Ranking

The next day, at noon.

Lu Yun was resting in the barracks dormitory when Ye Quan hurriedly rushed in, a roster in hand.

"Brother Lu, this is the intelligence I've gathered over the past two days. Quite a few formidable contenders have emerged in this centurion selection battle..."

With the air of someone presenting a treasure, Ye Quan handed over the booklet.

"You've put in the effort."

Lu Yun smiled and nodded.

This man was a qualified lackey. It wouldn't hurt to look after him a little in the future.

He opened the first page of the booklet. A man in white was vividly drawn there.

The long string of text below was enough to make one's eyes blur.

Xiao Longcheng, twenty years old, a genius rarely seen in Ji County in a hundred years. Specializes in saber techniques.

Among all the new recruits in this selection, the strongest contender for First Centurion. His strength stands head and shoulders above everyone else.

Battle record: Instantly killed an Internal Strength Realm martial artist at perfection with one move. With his flesh alone, he withstood a punch from an early Bone Tempering Realm expert.

Assessment: The nightmare of all new recruits. If you encounter him, consider yourself unlucky.

Growth history: His family fell into decline. He began practicing martial arts in childhood and rose all the way to prominence, never once losing to a martial artist of the same realm.

Weaknesses: His speed, defense, and strength are all top-tier. No obvious weaknesses.

"Did this guy turn on cheat mode or something?"

Lu Yun's expression was strange.

Not only was his surname Xiao, but he had also risen against the odds step by step, his strength towering over martial artists of the same rank. No matter how he looked at it, something felt off.

"Brother Lu, getting tenth place will be enough. Xiao Longcheng is absurdly strong."

Ye Quan smiled faintly.

"Even Zhuo Feifan, who ranks second, is nowhere near his match."

In his view, Lu Yun would have succeeded as long as he secured one of the centurion positions.

There was not much difference between tenth and second.

After all, first place was practically reserved already. It was impossible for anyone to defeat Xiao Longcheng.

Lu Yun smiled and quietly continued reading the list in his hand.

The roster listed a total of fifty martial artists.

They were all powerful figures among this batch of recruits who had a chance of competing for the position of centurion.

Lu Yun paid particular attention to Xiao Longcheng. This man was clearly a formidable opponent, and Lu Yun would never underestimate any strong opponent.

Not a single martial artist who rose from humble beginnings was simple. No one knew what heaven-defying opportunity they might be concealing.

As for Zhuo Feifan, he only gave him a passing glance and did not take him too seriously.

"It seems Internal Strength Realm perfection still isn't necessarily a safe bet."

Lu Yun thought to himself.

With over twenty days remaining, it would be best if he could take another step forward.

Otherwise, he might suffer when facing Xiao Longcheng.

The title of First Centurion was the starting point of his path to rise. He had to claim it.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yun turned to Ye Quan. "Is there any way to get a large number of origin stones in a short time?"

If he wanted to break through to Bone Tempering, he would need to burn at least seventy or eighty years of lifespan.

After all, he had no mid-grade cultivation techniques on hand to use as references. He could only deduce the [Primal Chaos Art] to its limit.

This kind of deduction that created something from nothing consumed the most lifespan.

Ye Quan was taken aback.

That truly stumped him.

If he knew where to obtain a large amount of resources, he would have rushed there long ago himself.

Still, in order to show his value, he racked his brains.

"There is a way, but it's rather difficult."

After a moment, Ye Quan spoke with some hesitation.

"There are only a few legal methods."

"The first is naturally the Red Flame Army's internal salary. The higher your rank, the greater your monthly pay."

"The second is the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Starting from one hundredth place, every time you rise another ten places, your monthly pay increases by ten military merits. One military merit is equivalent to one origin stone."

"The third method is fighting in underground black boxing matches. That one is rather dangerous."

"Opponents were usually aberrations, or humans tainted by demon blood. As long as you won, you could earn a reward."

"This operation was jointly controlled by the powerful figures behind the Red Flame Army and the City Lord's Manor. They often captured aberrations to replenish their losses."

Ye Quan revealed everything he knew.

But he could not accomplish a single one of those methods.

"Hidden Dragon Ranking?"

A flicker of interest appeared in Lu Yun's eyes.

"This ranking listed all powerhouses under the age of twenty-five throughout the prefectural city, ranking them according to their arena records."

"When a fight began, both sides could also bet on their own victory. In theory, if you kept winning, you could obtain quite a few resources."

Ye Quan replied with a smile.

Lu Yun raised a brow at that, an idea immediately surfacing in his mind.

This Hidden Dragon Ranking was not bad. Not only did those in the top hundred receive additional income every month, but they could also earn some resources by winning along the way. Grain by grain, it would add up to no small profit.

Besides, the martial artists throughout Clear Distance City currently had no clear understanding of their own strength, giving him enormous room to maneuver.

As for the underground black boxing operation, that could wait until later.

The next day, at dawn.

Lu Yun found a piece of white canvas and wrote several large words on it: "I challenge the heroes under heaven—who can stand against me?" Then he hung it from a long wooden pole.

He also borrowed ten origin stones from Ye Quan as startup capital.

He intended to use those resources to bait some fish.

That slogan was outrageously arrogant.

One look at it would draw plenty of hot-blooded martial artists.

He silently did the math. One victory meant ten origin stones. Wouldn't a hundred victories mean a thousand?

As long as he kept winning, the future was bright.

The path of bone forging depended on this one attempt.

Afterward, Lu Yun hoisted the wooden pole over his left shoulder and carried his spear in his right hand, striding toward the central plaza.

The long canvas snapped loudly in the fierce wind, its large characters plainly visible.

As he walked from the bustling market district, he attracted a huge crowd of martial artists.

"Fuck, where did this backwoods lout come from? He's even more arrogant than me. What gives him the right?"

'Who can stand against me?' Did he really think himself invincible? A frog at the bottom of a well. Today, we have to teach him a proper lesson..."

"Just a clown. Every year, there are people who overestimate themselves like this. They all end up the same—beaten into dead dogs..."

The gathered martial artists all began discussing it, and quite a few were worked into a frenzy.

Gradually, the crowd grew larger and larger.

By the time Lu Yun reached the center of the plaza, several hundred martial artists had densely packed the area.

More martial artists continued to join from behind.

There were three large arenas in the plaza.

The one on the far left was for challenging the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Only those under twenty-five could step onto it and issue challenges.

Beside the arena stood a crystal pillar specially used to test one's age.

This rule had endured for over a thousand years and had long become ironclad.

Lu Yun slowly approached a white crystal pillar and lightly placed his hand upon it.

With a surge of his qi and blood, the crystal pillar lit up to the twenty-first mark.

Bang...

At that moment, he suddenly exerted force downward, viciously driving the wooden pole into the gap between the stone bricks.

Then he leaped into the air and jumped straight onto the arena.

"Heroes from all paths are welcome to challenge me. The winner takes ten origin stones."

Lu Yun smiled faintly and removed a cloth bag, placing it on the ground.

Dressed in coarse cloth and hemp garments, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary young farmer, utterly unremarkable.

"Arrogant! I'll go first."

The moment those words fell, someone immediately lost patience.

After eagerly testing his age, a burly man with rugged features and fine robes immediately leaped onto the arena.

The man set down ten origin stones, then faced off against Lu Yun.

Below the stage, hundreds of martial artists stared fixedly at the arena. Everyone wanted to see this arrogant martial artist beaten flat on the ground.

Ye Quan looked at Lu Yun with equal helplessness.

He had not expected Lu Yun to go this big again.

With so many martial artists taking turns, even an iron man would not be able to withstand it.

Besides, those ten Origin Stones had been borrowed from him. If Lu Yun lost and had no Origin Stones to pay, would he not be beaten to death on the spot?

For a moment, Ye Quan even wondered whether the big brother he had acknowledged was missing a screw in his head.

Last time, he had blown up a treasure ship. This time, he was proclaiming a challenge to all the heroes under heaven. His actions were growing more and more outrageous.

At this point, Ye Quan could only follow him all the way into the dark.

He only hoped he would not be dragged into it later. Otherwise, his small frame would not be able to bear the wrath of so many people.