Eight Exquisites (I)

Xin Zheng's bustling city gate was as it had always been.

Nothing was out of the ordinary.

But that was precisely the greatest abnormality.

For those who knew nothing, they did not realize they had brushed past death, or were about to brush past death. But for those in the know, although they had not brushed past death, it was because they knew whom they could offend and whom they could not. As the saying went, prevent trouble before it arose. Naturally, they would not provoke those they could not afford to provoke, nor would they brush against death. Yet that did not mean they were safe, or rather, it did not mean they felt safe because of it.

Looking across the world today.

There were many grandmasters.

But also very few.

Among the warring states, the Seven Kingdoms possessed the greatest overall strength.

Suppose there were a hundred grandmasters.

Divided equally among the Seven Kingdoms.

Each kingdom would have only fourteen or fifteen at most.

Not to mention that there were not even a hundred grandmasters in the world. According to Web of Nets' records, sixty-seven known grandmasters were still alive. On the surface, the Yin Yang Family, Farmer School, Military School, and Confucian School held the largest shares. In the shadows, Web of Nets and the Ironblood Alliance held the most. Together, these factions accounted for roughly half that number—more than thirty people.

Web of Nets had eight.

The Ironblood Alliance had three.

The Confucian School had two, plus one Heaven-Human Realm expert.

The Yin Yang Family had eight, plus one Heaven-Human Realm expert.

The Military School had six.

However, those six served different kingdoms. For instance, Wang Jian served the Qin Kingdom, while Li Mu and Lian Po served the Zhao Kingdom. Even if they belonged to