Great Xia Sect Rankings

"Back then, the situation was said to be rather complicated. It was the height of a chaotic age, and many surrounding nations and races were locked in battles of life and death. In order to gather talents from across the land, Great Xia built its official roads far and wide, declaring that anyone who set foot upon them, regardless of status, would be protected by Great Xia."

"No one was permitted to attack them."

"And only after Great Xia slaughtered several million people with an iron hand did all the surrounding races and nations remember the four words 'Great Xia Official Road.'"

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

"Many people came one after another to pledge allegiance. For a time, Great Xia's prestige stood incomparably high."

"At that time, Great Xia's laws represented many things. They represented Great Xia's attitude toward the outside world. The moment they softened even the slightest bit, the other races would find a crack to exploit."

"With no other choice, the emperor of Great Xia at the time expelled the Third Prince from the imperial clan, then had him die beneath one thousand and twenty-four cuts on the execution platform at the very heart of Capital City."

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

"From then on, that law underwent a slight change. It was no longer execution of nine generations, but death by a thousand cuts."

"Five hundred years had passed."

"The reputation of the 'Great Xia Official Road' had already been branded into everyone's hearts. From women and children below to elders above, everyone 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 morning sun spilled over him, warming his entire body. Even the injuries he had suffered last night seemed to ache a little less.

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

There were villagers carrying hoes, messengers galloping past on fine horses, and cultivators soaring through the sky in Sword Flight.

This world seemed to have no purely ordinary mortals.

Practically every adult man possessed at least the cultivation of the First Level of the Qi Refining Realm. Though this cultivation could neither extend one's lifespan nor strengthen one's body, it at least granted an initial trait.

There were many spirit fields on both sides of the official road. At this moment, quite a few villagers stood amid those fields, 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 sight.

The official road was broad enough to accommodate eight carriages traveling abreast.

Every two paces along both sides of the road, a gold-colored stone was embedded in the surface. According to Fat Dragon, those gold-colored stones were formation stones.

Once spiritual energy fluctuated upon the official road, the formation stones would transmit images of the surrounding area to the city lord's manor of the nearest city.

Moreover, these formation stones formed a great formation covering the entire Great Xia Kingdom. This too had been done five hundred years ago. It was said that formations of such enormous scale and complexity had been impossible to arrange at the time.

Generally speaking, formations were either round or square, used to protect an important location, such as a sect.

But the official roads of Great Xia Kingdom were woven together like a spiderweb.

To arrange a great formation a hundred times more complex than a spiderweb was like trying to climb to the heavens. Later, a formation grandmaster suddenly conceived an exceptionally perfect solution, and only then was it accomplished.

These formation stones did more than monitor the roads. They could also ensure that the official roads were not damaged. When attacked, they could raise a protective barrier around the relevant stretch of road, blocking all attacks below the Golden Core Realm.

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

"I can tell."

Chen Qiu looked around. "That emperor of Great Xia five hundred years ago truly put a great deal of thought into these official roads. He really wanted to gather talents from across the land."

"Only—"

His brows furrowed slightly. Pointing at the official road ahead, which bent sharply nearly sixty degrees to the right, he asked in confusion, "Why does the road ahead make such a detour of more than thirty zhang?"

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

There were no mountains, no villages, and no lakes nearby.

What was the point of making such a detour for nothing?

"I don't know."

Fat Dragon shook his head. "Perhaps there was a spirit stone mine hidden beneath the originally planned route, or perhaps a village once stood there and later relocated as a whole. I don't know details that fine. Everything I know about this world comes from rumors among the common folk."

"We're here."

"The post station is up ahead. Like the official road, the post station is absolutely safe. We can stop for a hot meal without any problem."

Fat Dragon let out a long sigh of relief and gazed expectantly at the post station close at hand. Once they passed the post station, they would soon reach the marketplace. As long as he sold all the treasures from this trip, he would truly become rich!

Chen Qiu touched the storage pouch hidden beneath his clothes and looked over the post 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 dining and the second for lodging. That was the standard arrangement for most post stations. At a glance, it seemed to have more than twenty rooms for travelers to stay in, making it fairly sizable.

Fat Dragon strode eagerly into the post station. At this hour, there were only two tables of guests inside. It was early in the morning, after all, and there were not many people.

It was already deep autumn. Though the sun was rather pleasant today, the autumn wind still carried a slight chill against the skin.

"Waiter!"

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

After smoothly calling over the waiter and ordering the dishes, Fat Dragon looked at Chen Qiu with a grin. "This post station is semi-official. The common folk provide the funds, while the government provides the name. Only things like imperial edicts or appointments travel along the official roads. All secret orders travel by other routes—Great Xia has its own methods."

"On ordinary days, its main purpose is to provide food and lodging for travelers along the way."

Chen Qiu said nothing. He merely turned his head toward the entrance of the post station, where the innkeeper's cat lay basking in the sun atop a small wooden stool. He was considering what road he should take in the future. He certainly would not go back to chopping firewood.

Since he had encountered an initial Rainbow Trait like "Rise at Every Step,"

it meant that even Heaven wanted him to embark upon the path of immortality.

According to Fat Dragon, no matter what faction or sect one joined—even if one became a private guard for a wealthy household—one had to undergo "Spirit-Link Detection." It was a method of examination that required the subject's wholehearted cooperation and could detect every trait possessed by that subject.

And his trait 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 opening. Setting everything else aside, Rogue Cultivators could not receive the monthly Heavenly Dao Blessing granted through the "Great Xia Sect Rankings."

After thinking it over and over, it seemed that establishing his own faction was the only path left.

Only, with the cultivation of the two of them—

"."

After a long silence, Chen Qiu suddenly turned to Fat Dragon. Looking at the fat man before him, who had already begun wolfing down his food, he pondered for a long while again before finally speaking.

"What are the conditions for founding a sect recognized by the Heavenly Dao?"

He intended to establish a proper sect, one recognized by the Heavenly Dao—a sect that could enter the "Great Xia Sect Rankings" and participate in the Sect Fortune Contest, not the sort of sect Fat Dragon had that only he himself knew about.

Though their strength was far from enough to found a sect, it did not matter. Having the identity of a shell sect master would be enough.

When he had broken through to the First Level of the Qi Refining Realm, he had discovered that as long as he looked inward within his body, he could see many rankings shrouded in clouds and mist.

Among them, one stood out particularly—

"Great Xia Sect Rankings."