Daoist arts

Elders and stewards from the Pure Yang Sword Sect's General Affairs Hall and Merit Transmission Hall arrived in person.

Accompanying them was Xu Qingsong, the fifth-ranked True Disciple of Cloudmist Peak.

Qin Lian had no choice but to leave his courtyard and go to the reception hall.

Chu Ying and Jiang Yi naturally came to the hall as well upon hearing the news.

"Hahaha, congratulations! Congratulations, Grandmaster Qin, on entering the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking and bringing glory to our Pure Yang Sword Sect! This is a blessing for you, for Cloudmist Peak, and above all, for our Pure Yang Sword Sect!"

Lu Shun, the elder of the General Affairs Hall leading the group, spoke with a laugh.

"Entered the ranking? The Grandmaster Heaven Ranking?"

Qin Lian froze.

He was not even third grade. What business did he have on a grandmaster ranking?

In Great Shang, anyone who entered the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking became a certified grandmaster and enjoyed numerous privileges.

In recent years, Great Shang had been pushing to reclaim sects' authority for the imperial court, making the requirements for entering the ranking increasingly stringent.

Even some third-grade experts capable of Weaving Astral Qi into Armor had to compete for a place themselves.

And he was only at Fourth-Rank True Astral...

"Take a look."

Xu Qingsong took out a booklet, flipped to a page, and held it out before him.

Qin Lian accepted it and glanced over it.

True Disciple of Cloudmist Peak, Pure Yang Sword Sect, currently residing in Mount Tai Prefecture, Jiangzhou...

He continued reading...

Soon, he caught the crucial detail.

"What got me onto the ranking was Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao?!"

"Exactly."

Lu Shun smiled. "The Black Ranking records grandmasters of the evil and demonic paths who have committed countless crimes. Every one of them is a towering demonic figure who once held the title of grandmaster, and anyone has the right to slay them!"

He explained, "To forge a demonic weapon, Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao slaughtered villages and razed stockades over the past year. The innocent people who died at his hands numbered in the thousands, if not ten thousand. His savage reputation was formidable! Since you slew him in the Taibai Wilds, Grandmaster Qin, the Heavenly Scripture Tower had to grant you a place on the ranking!"

Beside him, Xu Qingsong also smiled. "With your Heaven Ranking-certified grandmaster title, Senior Brother Qin, you can choose a prefecture outright as your seat, establish a sect, and take in disciples far and wide, greatly expanding our Pure Yang Sword Sect's influence."

Deep envy also showed in his eyes. "A grandmaster's privileges include entering the imperial hall without bowing and exemption from punishment. Your disciples can also enjoy exemptions from levies, taxes, corvée, and compulsory service, allowing them to focus on diligent cultivation, strengthen the sect, and enrich Great Shang's martial foundations."

The Grandmaster Heaven Ranking!

It recorded a total of 108 martial grandmasters from Great Shang's various sects!

Even a sect as powerful as the Pure Yang Sword Sect had only a handful of people on it, including the Supreme Elder and sect master.

Among Chunyang Six Peaks and the six halls, several peak masters and hall masters had failed to enter the ranking, including Yuan Tianhe, the master of Cloudmist Peak under whom he had studied.

Had he overtaken them all in one leap?

No wonder the Pure Yang Sword Sect had even sent elders from the General Affairs Hall and Merit Transmission Hall to congratulate him in person.

Yet after carefully digesting the hidden workings of the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking, Qin Lian frowned. "I haven't yet mastered Weave Astral Qi into Armor. People are bound to object. Entering the ranking will bring disaster, not good fortune."

"Hahaha, you're worrying too much, Grandmaster Qin. Since the Heavenly Scripture Tower put you on the ranking, it naturally acknowledges your strength."

Wei Yang, the elder of the Merit Transmission Hall, said, "You slew Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao with your sword nearly two months ago. However slowly the Heavenly Scripture Tower works, it should have announced your entry into the Heaven Ranking a month ago. The reason it delayed for nearly a full month was the gossip claiming that you had relied on the Blood-Burning Sword Art to stake your life on the fight, and though you won, you had little time left to live. They were secretly investigating whether your slaying of Zuo Qiudao truly lived up to its reputation. And the final result..."

He smiled. "In just over a month, you went forth with your sword and swept through the Canglang Sword Sect, slaying nearly a hundred graded experts single-handedly with one sword. With a record like that, who would dare cast the slightest doubt on your strength?"

"That reasoning..."

Qin Lian wanted to decline.

One look was enough to tell him that rankings like this existed to stir up the martial world.

The tree that rose above the forest would surely be battered by the wind.

And his situation went far beyond merely rising above the forest.

It was not unheard of for a fourth-grade practitioner at Qi Refining into Gang to enter the Heaven Ranking, but such people either possessed extraordinary arts, with combat prowess far beyond their peers, making them prodigies of their sects, or practiced Inner and Outer Cultivation, with no weakness in either physique or True Qi.

He was just an ordinary fourth-grade practitioner...

Once ranked, he would practically be standing in glaring plain sight before every expert under heaven, becoming a coveted prize for countless people seeking fame and profit.

Everyone would come to tread on him, hoping to use him as a stepping stone, take his place, and enter the Heaven Ranking.

He immediately spoke plainly. "I know full well that my strength is meager and my foundations shallow. I have no desire to enter the ranking."

He turned to Xu Qingsong. "If Senior Sister or Master is interested, I can yield this grandmaster title to either of them."

Xu Qingsong froze.

Before he could speak, Jiang Yi snorted coldly beside him. "What kind of talk is that? If Senior Sister Liu Xu or Peak Master Yuan wanted the title of Heaven Ranking Grandmaster, why would they need you to yield it?"

Chu Ying hurriedly added, "Exactly, Second Senior Brother. How could Eldest Senior Sister or Master take your grandmaster title?"

Then she added, "Didn't you say you would soon be able to Weave Astral Qi into Armor? Once your Gang Qi reaches full mastery, supplemented by your perfected Blood-Burning Sword Art, you'll be able to look down upon all third-grade grandmasters. How can you call your foundations shallow?"

"So it really is the Blood-Burning Sword Art at perfection!"

The Merit Transmission Elder beside them could not help clapping his hands in admiration. "The elders and hall master of our Merit Transmission Hall racked their brains and still couldn't work out how you had any chance of defeating Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao, Grandmaster Qin. Only after poring over the sect's many ancient texts did we finally find a few clues."

His expression was admiring. "Our sect's Blood-Burning Sword Art was originally simplified from the Blood-Burning Curse, a Daoist art of Spirit-Refining True Persons. Grandmaster Qin, you must have been blessed with a flash of inspiration when you perfected the Sword Art, grasping a trace of the spell's power. With the blood curse's mysteries, you were then able to slay Blood Demon Zuo Qiudao and emerge unscathed."

The Blood-Burning Curse?

A Spirit-Refining True Person's Daoist art?

Qin Lian was astonished.

He had not even perfected his Blood-Burning Sword Art, yet...

This Merit Transmission Elder, Wei Yang, had already known about it and even thought up an excuse for him?

"Yes, yes, exactly! My senior brother admitted it himself. Amid the great terror between life and death, he achieved profound enlightenment, finally breaking himself down to rebuild anew and finding life in the face of death."

Chu Ying immediately chimed in.

At the same time, her gaze toward Qin Lian was filled with admiration.

As for Qin Lian...

He had to admit that he really had said that.

He had said it to brush aside the question of why, when he had already written his final letter and sent it back to Cloudmist Peak, he was suddenly alive and kicking again.

But now...

One lie clearly needed more lies to prop it up.

"Don't be so modest, Grandmaster Qin. You fully deserve the title of Heaven Ranking Grandmaster."

Seeing Qin Lian remain silent, Lu Shun followed up with a smile.

Jiang Yi, however, seemed to have guessed something. "Are you worried that entering the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking will disturb your cultivation and delay your progress toward Second Grade Divine Intent?"

"Second Grade Divine Intent?"

Lu Shun, Xu Qingsong, and Wei Yang immediately turned their eyes toward Qin Lian, seemingly moved by his lofty ambition.

Throughout history, no small number had become grandmasters, but how many had managed to cultivate Divine Intent?

Even the sect master of their Pure Yang Sword Sect had only attained second grade.

"In truth, you needn't have too many concerns. The benefits a Heaven Ranking Grandmaster can bring a sect are beyond measure. The tax exemption for disciples alone is enough to easily draw every great clan in a prefecture into affiliation with you. If you have the ability, extending your influence into the surrounding major prefectures would be no difficult matter either."

Jiang Yi said evenly, "With great clans and gangs from all over attaching themselves to you, the resources you receive each year will number in the millions. With those resources, you will only reach Second Grade Divine Intent faster."

She paused. "Provided you truly have the talent and aptitude to attain second grade."

"I am indeed committed to cultivating in seclusion with single-minded focus, pressing forward in one sustained effort to reach second grade directly."

Qin Lian said, "It's getting late, and the Succession Ceremony is approaching. Let's return to Cloudmist Peak and discuss this further there."

"It really is time to leave."

Chu Ying nodded vigorously as well. "Second Senior Brother, returning to the sect with the prestige of a 'Heaven Ranking Grandmaster,' you're sure to bring glory to our Cloudmist Peak lineage and spread its name far and wide! This will be your greatest congratulatory... uh..."

At this point, she abruptly stopped.

Eldest Senior Sister was a third-grade grandmaster.

Although Second Senior Brother had not reached third grade, he was someone who had entered the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking.

One was addressed as a grandmaster out of respect, while the other was certified by the imperial court and the cultivation world. The weight of the two titles was on entirely different levels.

With a Heaven Ranking Grandmaster among their own, having Eldest Senior Sister take over as peak master...

Would that be...

Inappropriate?