"Cough..."
Duan Lianshan gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, remaining silent as he tried to steady his stance.
Ye Xingge didn't rush the attack. After taking three steps, he suddenly sprang up again, delivering a flying knee strike to the chest and abdomen.
Duan Lianshan immediately crossed his arms in front of his chest, but the flying knee, carrying the force of his entire body, slammed into him. His chest and abdomen were injured, and he couldn't withstand the force at all. He was knocked over and fell in front of the Mahavira Hall.
Thump--
Ye Xingge landed with a flying knee strike, then squatted down, smashing his fists down like a tyrant beating a drum!
Bang!
Before Duan Lianshan could get up, he raised one arm to parry the " Landing Cannon " of Six Harmonies Fist, but was instantly slammed to the ground, coughing up blood with a muffled thud. He tried to get up again.
But Ye Xingge had already pressed forward, his knee against his chest, his right hand like a cannonball aimed directly at his face:
Thud--
Thud--
Thud--
The heavy punches were like muffled thunderclaps!
With a single punch, Duan Lianshan's head slammed into the bricks.
The brickwork split in two.
Three punches landed, and his head sank more than an inch into the ground!
His raised hands, weakened by the heavy blow, fell to his sides, his knuckles twitching instead.
Blood gushed out from under the mask, and only faint breathing could be heard.
"Heh~..."
After the three punches, the ancient temple, which had been abandoned for a hundred years, regained its former tranquility.
Ye Xingge punched the faceplate, breaking the skin with his fist, but it was better than damaging the headgear.
Seeing that Duan Lianshan was barely breathing, Ye Xingge stopped what he was doing, fumbled in his sleeve, took out a communication token, and then removed his mask to look at his blood-stained face:
"That was He Lin who ran away just now. He's not alive. Considering you two did me a huge favor at the Forgetful River Mouth, I'll grant you both a quick death."
"Heh~..."
Duan Lianshan's mouth and nose were covered in blood, his eyes were unfocused, and he could no longer speak.
Footsteps could be heard from behind the Hall of Heavenly Kings.
Step, step...
Out of the corner of his eye, Duan Lianshan saw a tall woman in a red dress carrying a nine-foot-long crescent-shaped sword emerge.
"The divine weapon is judged by the heart; as long as you kill, this blade counts, and you don't need to hold back next time. However, during or after the fight, you must land at least one strike to draw blood, otherwise there will be no reward."
Whew~
After saying that, he threw the broadsword over.
Mantanghong...
Duan Lianshan noticed that the leader of the Mountains and Rivers Association, who ranked eighth in the Second Rank, was following behind him protecting him. He then turned his gaze to Ye Xingge, clearly wondering who this young man was.
In terms of talent, this kid is definitely in the top tier, but no matter how good his talent is, he's still just a young upstart. Even being a hall master and a protector is considered exceptional treatment.
The sect leader himself came, and he even gave her a divine weapon right off the bat. This is a treatment that cannot be matched by someone with exceptional talent.
Even a prince or grandson of the emperor traveling alone could not compare to this...
Unfortunately, he could never figure that out.
Ye Xingge caught the crescent blade with one hand, stood up, twisted his wrist, pointed the blade downwards, and plunged the blade towards his neck.
puff--
A head rolled out, the blade stained with blood!
Ye Xingge gripped the sword with both hands, a surge of power flowing from the blade into his limbs and bones, his aura rising imperceptibly, causing his grey-white robes to billow...
Meanwhile, at the Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
Inside the top-floor study, Heaven-Observing Assistant Wu Yi, dressed in a scarlet official robe, gazed at the unfinished chess game on the chessboard.
Zhang Zhiqing, the Heaven-Observing Decree, sat in the main seat, holding a white chess piece. His gaze reflected the star-studded chessboard, his expression calm and revealing little emotion.
Opposite him, the old master Yan Tong stroked his beard, observing the situation with a hint of worry in his eyes.
"Those who are weak yet fearless, rude yet disrespectful to powerful neighbors, greedy yet inept at diplomacy, are doomed! As an elder, you should teach the younger generation more."
Wu Yi, who was watching the game from the sidelines, understood Old Master Yan's meaning perfectly.
Just now, that brat Ye Xingge chopped down Cao Clan's retainer in the street without warning, clearly offending someone.
Cao Xiong was the father-in-law of the Emperor of Yan, holding a high position and great power. Although he thought it was impossible for Ye Xingge to enter the top First Rank in half a year after he saw that Ye Xingge had retrieved the Fate-Robbing Saber, he still wanted to invest resources to give it a try after being defeated by Wu Chenglie.
After this incident, Cao Xiong will definitely not try it again.
After all, if this guy dares to kill his retainer today, he'll dare to kill him tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow he'll dare to kill the Emperor of Yan!
To actually put on First Rank, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
Cao Xiong doesn't provide strong support, other high-ranking officials naturally won't follow suit.
If the training is conducted according to the standard of "entering the First Rank in ten years", then it is almost like the imperial court provides some support, and the Heaven-Observing Pavilion raises the children on its own.
No matter how wealthy Heaven-Observing Decree was, he could not possibly match the power of the entire nation, let alone the fact that he had already taken in Mei Wuchang.
If they really manage to train two First Rank students at once, then Heaven-Observing Pavilion will probably have to resort to "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" to massive layoffs, and even their work meals will be missing a couple of chicken legs.
Even knowing that Ye Xingge's actions would offend many people, Zhang Zhiqing, as the Heaven-Observing Decree, still responded quite firmly:
" Ye Xingge did the right thing. If he wants to get into the First Rank, he has to kill everyone who can be killed. If he can't kill criminals, does he have to kill innocent people?"
Old Master Yan placed a piece on the chessboard:
"Who can't see right from wrong? But the imperial court isn't a school; how many upright and honest officials can there be? Who has all the good stuff? If you offend them all, who will support you?"
Seeing that he was about to be defeated again, Zhang Zhiqing stood up, put his hands behind his back by the window, and sighed softly:
"I can't afford to support him. How much can Elder Yan contribute?"
Old Master Yan, watching the disastrous end of the game that was about to become a source of amusement, twitched his eyes a few times and thought to himself:
You damn old bastard!
However, for the sake of the greater good, Old Master Yan still rose and stood with his hands behind his back, together gazing at the capital city:
"I'm broke, but I have a good idea."
Wu Yi stepped forward and asked:
What brilliant strategy did Duke Yan have?
Old Master Yan stroked his beard and said earnestly:
"What's done is done. There's no going back now. If we want Cao Xiong and the others to be so angry they'll be turning in their graves, we'll have to make them 'realize' that Ye Xingge has a chance to get into the First Rank!"
Wu Yi knew this principle. As long as he could get into the First Rank in six months, Ye Xingge would either kill Cao Clan's retainers or sleep with Cao Xiong's daughter-in-law!
Considering the bigger picture, Cao Xiong had to persuade his son Gui to take a step back.
By the time Wu Chenglie is dealt with in six months, Ye Xingge will have secured First Rank ranking, and his anger towards his son should have subsided by then...
But we've already discussed it in the council hall today; to be promoted to the First Rank in six months is like a pipe dream.
Wu Yi frowned and asked:
How do we make the outside world aware of this?
Old Master Yan looked at the two blockheads:
"Only Brother Zhang can see the Gold List. Whoever he says is ranked number one in the world is ranked number one in the world."
"If Ye Xingge were to Gold List exam tomorrow, and then jump more than ten places each day thereafter..."
Upon hearing this, Wu Yi's eyes lit up slightly, thinking the method was good, but he still frowned and said:
"It's fine if Duke Zhang places this boy above Lü Chuan, but when it comes to martial arts, rankings can be assigned, but skill cannot be faked!"
"Once they spar, this kid's true strength will be revealed. If word gets out, not only will we lose our support, but it will also damage the credibility of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion..."
The Gold List candidates has always been subject to subjective manipulation.
For example, Cloud and Rain Tower was demoted to the mortal realm a few years ago, so they had to climb the rankings again.
However, the old demon of the First Rank retraced his "path back to where he came from," and his original strength was still intact. His speed in climbing the rankings was nothing short of heaven-defying. In order to prevent the people of Great Yan from panicking, the Heaven-Observing Decree fixed him at seventh First Rank, and no one in the martial arts world had any objections to this.
There are also older generations who have retired from the martial arts world, and it's only natural for them to take out their swords, clean them, and reminisce about the past. It's inappropriate for Heaven-Observing Decree force them to return to the martial arts world.
Therefore, Heaven-Observing Pavilion only compiles statistics every two weeks, and only those who remain active throughout the period are included in the Gold List.
However, the inclusion of Baby Bunny on the list was not the work of Heaven-Observing Decree, but rather a result of Ruan Jinyu flattering him and having the name secretly added by outside publishers when printing the book.
After all, the Gold List is conducive to stability. If unqualified people are included and credibility is lost, then people in the martial arts world who want to be ranked and become famous will have to cause trouble everywhere.
Old Master Yan knew that the Gold List couldn't be messed with, but he still spoke earnestly:
" The Gold List only considers the level of skill, not martial arts prowess, weapons, etc. Ye Xingge's skill is 30% weaker, but he can still fight to a draw with the wielding of the Fate-Robbing Saber. Outsiders can't figure out the specifics."
"If we put this kid on the Gold List first, and then raise his name by a dozen or so places for every thief we kill, so that the major families can see the hope of making it into the First Rank every six months, they will naturally open their wallets."
"The more the imperial court invests, the faster this young man charges forward; the faster he charges forward and the stronger his momentum, the more the imperial court invests, and so on in a vicious cycle..."
Wu Yi pondered for a moment and thought this idea of "cheating subsidies without any money" was absolutely brilliant. He looked at Zhang Zhiqing:
" Duke Zhang, Duke Yan's words do indeed make sense. Why don't we add this child's name to the Gold List right now..."
Before he could finish speaking, he noticed that Heaven-Observing Decree, who was standing by the window enjoying the breeze, frowned and raised his hand!
?
Upon seeing this, Wu Yi assumed that Duke Zhang was an upright person who would disdain engaging in fraudulent activities, and immediately shut his mouth.
Old Master Yan frowned, wanting to offer a few more words of advice to this blockhead.
But when the two looked over, they saw that Zhang Zhiqing had closed his eyes.
He even looked up at the vast starry sky, as if sensing something...