Great Xia Sect Rankings

"Back then, the situation was said to be rather complicated. It was the height of a chaotic age, with many neighboring nations and races locked in battles of life and death. In order to draw talented people from across the land, Great Xia built its official roads far and wide, declaring that anyone who stepped onto them, regardless of status, would be protected by Great Xia."

"No one was permitted to attack them."

"And only after bloodily executing several million people did they make every surrounding race and nation remember the four words 'Great Xia Official Road.'"

"It was also through this national policy that Great Xia drew in many talented people from other fallen nations and races. Even now, among the high-ranking officials of the Great Xia court, there were quite a few foreigners, and even members of the Demon Race."

"Many people came one after another to pledge their allegiance. For a time, Great Xia's prestige soared to unimaginable heights."

"At that time, Great Xia's laws represented many things. They represented Great Xia's attitude toward the outside world. The moment they showed even the slightest weakness, other races would seize upon the crack."

"With no other choice, the Great Xia Emperor of that time expelled the Third Prince from the imperial clan, then had him executed by a thousand and twenty-four cuts on the execution platform at the very center of the capital."

"This was also the first prince in all of history to be executed by a thousand cuts for killing a rabbit."

"From then on, that law underwent a small revision. It was no longer execution of nine generations; it became death by a thousand cuts."

"Five hundred years had passed."

"The name 'Great Xia Official Road' had already been branded into everyone's hearts. From women and children to the elderly, all understood one thing: once you stepped onto the Great Xia Official Road, you were absolutely safe."

Chen Qiu nodded in understanding but said nothing. Instead, he surveyed his surroundings. The rising sun spilled over him, warming his entire body, and even the injuries he had suffered last night seemed much lighter.

Perhaps because it was early morning, there were not many people on the official road.

There were farmers carrying hoes, messengers galloping past on fine horses, and cultivators flying through the air on swords.

This world seemed to have no purely ordinary mortals.

Virtually every adult man possessed at least the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm. Though this cultivation could neither extend one's lifespan nor strengthen one's body, it at least gave them an initial trait.

There were quite a few spirit fields on both sides of the official road. At this moment, many farmers stood among them, using the Spring Rain Art to precisely water their own spirit fields with small patches of rain rich in spiritual energy.

It made for quite a harmonious scene.

The official road was very broad, wide enough for eight carriages to travel abreast.

Every two steps along both sides of the official road, a golden stone was embedded in its surface. According to Fat Dragon, those golden stones were formation stones.

Once spiritual energy fluctuated on the official road, the formation stones would transmit the nearby scene to the City Lord's Manor of the nearest city.

Moreover, these formation stones formed a great formation that covered the entirety of Great Xia. This was also something from five hundred years ago. It was said that formations back then had simply been incapable of laying out such an immense and complex grand formation.

Generally speaking, formations were either circular or square, used to protect some important property, such as a sect.

But Great Xia's official roads were arranged like a spiderweb.

To lay down a grand formation a hundred times more complex than a spiderweb could be called as difficult as climbing to heaven. Later, a formation grandmaster suddenly thought of an incomparably perfect solution, and only then was it accomplished.

These formation stones did not merely serve as surveillance. They could also ensure that the official road was not damaged. When attacked, they could raise a protective barrier around the entire relevant stretch of road, capable of blocking all attacks below the Golden Core Realm.

And the formation stones buried beneath the road's surface would swiftly activate as well, covering the entire official road with the Windwalking Art. Anyone traveling atop it could move twenty times faster than usual, allowing them to swiftly escape danger.

"I can tell."

Chen Qiu looked around. "The Great Xia Emperor from five hundred years ago truly put a great deal of thought into these official roads. He genuinely wanted to draw talented people from across the land."

"It's just—"

His brows furrowed slightly as he pointed at the official road ahead, which made an almost sixty-degree turn to the right. "Why does the road ahead detour by over thirty zhang?"

The official road ahead suddenly curved to the right for no apparent reason, then curved back some thirty-odd zhang later and continued straight ahead.

There were no mountains here, no villages, no lakes.

What was the point of making such a needless detour?

"I don't know."

Fat Dragon shook his head. "Maybe there was a spiritstone mine beneath the originally planned route, or perhaps there used to be a village here that later relocated as a whole. I don't know such overly detailed information. Everything I know about this world came from rumors among the common folk."

"We're here."

"The station lies ahead. Like the official road, the station is absolutely safe. Stopping to have something hot to eat won't be a problem at all."

Fat Dragon let out a long breath, gazing expectantly at the station close at hand. Once they passed the station, they would soon reach the market. As long as he sold off all the treasures from this trip, he would truly strike it rich!

Chen Qiu touched the storage pouch hidden beneath his clothes and examined the station before him. It occupied quite a large area.

It was a small two-story wooden building, with a courtyard and stables behind it.

The first floor was for meals, the second for lodging. That was the standard layout for most stations. At a glance, it seemed to have more than twenty rooms for travelers to stay in. It was indeed not small.

Fat Dragon strode into the station with an eager expression. At this time, there were only two tables of guests inside. It was early morning, after all, and there were not many people.

It was already deep autumn. Even though the sun was decent today, the autumn wind still carried a chilly bite against the skin.

"Waiter!"

"One serving of pressed duck, two bowls of lamb offal soup, three taels of beef, and two dry flatbreads!"

After calling over the waiter and ordering with practiced ease, Fat Dragon looked at Chen Qiu and said cheerfully, "This station is half-official. Commoners provide the funds, while the government lends its name. Only things like imperial edicts or appointments travel by official road. All secret orders avoid the official road; Great Xia has its own methods."

"Normally, its main purpose is to provide food and lodging for travelers along the route."

Chen Qiu said nothing, merely turning his head toward the station entrance. The cat raised by the innkeeper was lying on a little wooden stool, basking in the sun. He was considering what path he should take from here on out. He certainly would not be going back to chop wood.

Since he had encountered an initial seven-colored trait like "Rise at Every Step,"

that meant even the heavens wanted him to embark on the path of cultivation.

According to Fat Dragon, no matter which faction or sect one joined—even if one became a private guard for some wealthy household—one had to undergo Spirit-Link Detection. It was a detection method that required the subject's wholehearted cooperation and could detect every trait on their body.

And his traits absolutely could not be exposed.

The path of joining a sect was cut off.

As for becoming a Rogue Cultivator, that was a hell-difficulty start. Setting aside everything else, Rogue Cultivators could not receive the monthly heavenly blessings granted through the Great Xia Sect Rankings.

After turning it over in his mind, it seemed the only path left was to establish his own faction.

It was just that, with the cultivation of the two of them—

"."

After a long silence, Chen Qiu suddenly turned toward Fat Dragon. He watched the fat man before him, who had already begun wolfing down his food, pondered for a long while once more, then finally spoke.

"What are the requirements for founding a sect recognized by the heavens?"

He planned to establish a proper sect, one recognized by the heavens—a sect that could enter the Great Xia Sect Rankings and participate in the Sect Fortune Contest, rather than the sort of sect Fat Dragon had that only he himself knew about.

Though his strength was still far from sufficient to establish a sect, that did not matter. Having the identity of a hollow-shell sect master would be enough.

When he broke through to the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm, he discovered that as long as he focused inward, he could see many rankings shrouded in mist within his body.

Among the more conspicuous ones was—

"Great Xia Sect Rankings."