Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
Old Master Yan hummed a little tune as he went upstairs. Although it was raining outside, he was in a pretty good mood.
Today, the Gold List were released, and the reaction in the court was exactly as he had predicted.
The emperor was overjoyed, Cao Xiong's anger over the murder of his retainer subsided, and even Chancellor Li asked him a few questions in private, clearly recognizing Ye Xingge's potential. Next, all they needed to do was follow the plan and promote a dozen or twenty people every few days, and this "empty-handed subsidy fraud" would be a perfect success, deceiving everyone.
Old Master Yan came here to keep an eye on that old scoundrel Zhang, lest something go wrong.
Upon arriving at the study on the top floor, one could see Wu Yi at his desk, reorganizing the list of Gold List.
Old Zhang, dressed in a scholar's robe, sat by the window, one hand behind his back, face upturned, a look of satisfaction on his face that said, "This young man is like me." He seemed to be doing nothing. "Brother Zhang, what are you doing...?"
" Duke Zhang has been standing here for ages, stargazing. It seems Ye Xingge has done something big again out there."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Upon hearing this good news, Old Master Yan immediately went to his desk to check the list:
"It's good that he's working. Release the list again tomorrow and raise this kid's ranking by ten or twenty places... Huh?"
Old Master Yan searched the end of the list for a moment and found that there was no Ye Xingge on the entire page of fifty people, and there were even four or five unfamiliar faces. He said incredulously:
"This kid got pushed off the list?!"
Wu Yi's eyes looked a little strange as he picked up the second page:
" Duke Zhang said this boy has killed several, and is currently ranked 328th, but we might not be able to say for sure later."
"Ah?"
Old Master Yan's eyes widened in shock, then he looked out the window, his anger flaring.
"You old fool, I asked you to put on a show, just a token gesture, what are you trying to do? You just made the list this morning, and you'll be almost in the top 300 this afternoon, do you even believe it yourself?"
üの"
Zhang Zhiqing opened his eyes and turned around:
"Zhang acts with integrity; why would he need to resort to deception?"
"Pooh!"
Having dealt with this old Old Master Yan his entire life, how could he not understand his nature?
"You're still pretending with me? Jumping seventy places in half a day? If this kid has that kind of ability, wouldn't it take him First Rank year to break into the top tier? Half a month would be enough." Zhang Zhiqing was clearly not lying; he had just watched the star chart flash continuously!
After Ye Xingge killed five of the Third Rank, his gains would decrease rapidly due to the rapid increase in his own skill level. The overall improvement would be equivalent to four or five years of hard training. It would take four or five years to reach the top seventy, which means an average improvement of more than ten places per year. To be honest, that's too low.
If this kid's physical constitution and cultivation techniques are both maxed out, he could reach 330 points just by killing one or two people.
However, his power increased too quickly, and killing the rest yielded zero benefit, so the result didn't fluctuate much.
Zhang Zhiqing couldn't show the star map to outsiders, and responded upon hearing this:
"That's the truth. This kid killed five Third Rank. When the news came back that night, Brother Yan understood."
Five?!
Old Master Yan felt that this matter couldn't be faked, so he stroked his beard and pondered for a moment:
"Five places wouldn't be enough to jump seventy places; that's way too inflated."
Zhang Zhiqing's eyes showed helplessness. "This kid's skill is genuine; why would I need to embellish it?"
Old Master Yan didn't refute further, but instead spoke earnestly:
"Okay, I'll assume it's true, but even if it is, will you report it truthfully?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Yi asked in confusion:
"What does Elder Yan mean?"
As a great Confucian scholar of our time, Old Master Yan was indeed far-sighted and offered a serious explanation:
"The lack of significant reaction in the Later Zhou is because it's certain that Ye Xingge won't be able to reach the First Rank within six months, and that our Great Yan won't be able to change its sword master."
"But Ye Xingge's momentum is so rapid. If our Great Yan can see his potential to enter the First Rank within six months, how could the Later Zhou not see it? If they see it, they will take countermeasures." Secondly, all's fair in war. If we want to plan to overtake Wu Chenglie within six months and disarm him, we can't let Wu Chenglie figure out the gap in advance. "On New Year's Eve, this kid was still outside the Second Rank. Is that the same as him already being in the First Rank?"
The Gold List was obtained through the miraculous effect of the No-Strategy Bow. Apart from the Warlord, no one else could directly see the difference in skill level among everyone.
If Wu Chenglie misjudges Ye Xingge's strength and is overtaken without realizing it, the result will undoubtedly be fatal.
After a moment's thought, Wu Yi realized that this made sense and asked:
"Does Duke Yan mean to keep it hidden?"
Old Master Yan sat down beside the chessboard:
"If we don't hide, even if Wu Chenglie doesn't send assassins later, he'll sense the situation is bad and go into seclusion to climb the rankings and overtake Cao Xiong, leaving the problem back to us." Once Wu Chenglie goes into seclusion, Cao Xiong will definitely follow suit, then Long Zaiye will be forced into the game, Chu Hannu will be under pressure, Cloud and Rain Tower might even have to frown.
"After all this deliberation, the simplest solution is to kill Ye Xingge. What chance does that kid have of surviving?"
The First Rank demon threw out the Fate-Robbing Saber because the last-place elimination system had bound everyone to death.
Once everyone starts playing, none of those who make it into the First Rank are pushovers. No one can guarantee that someone behind them won't suddenly pull out a killer move that could cause them to be overtaken.
The reason for throwing away the Fate-Robbing Saber is that, apart from the fact that it's not very useful for someone in First Rank, another reason is that you can't practice your skills in a stealthy manner with this blade. To use it, you have to go out and kill people, and your growth is completely visible.
In this way, any First Rank demon who senses something is wrong can kill the newcomer, leaving the newcomer with no way to retaliate.
After a moment's thought, Zhang Zhiqing also agreed with this statement:
"Brother Yan, how much do you think is appropriate to hide?"
Old Master Yan stroked his beard and pondered for a moment:
"The ranking on the Gold List is fake, but this kid's skill is real, and it doesn't affect his ability to get things done."
"In my opinion, setting it at 350 or 360 is about right. Even if we risked our lives to kill five Third Rank, this small improvement is enough to stabilize the Later Zhou." As for the Sage and Cao Xiong, seeing that their battle record and progress are disproportionate, they will naturally realize that their innate talent and cultivation methods are too poor, hindering their progress. Cao Xiong will be even more anxious than we are then."
Zhang Zhiqing nodded slightly and raised his hand to indicate:
"Brother Yan is indeed more shrewd. Let's set the price at three hundred and fifty-eight for now, and release them tomorrow morning."
Shangjin Ferry.
Although the waves on the river were quite large, the whole thing only lasted for about 15 minutes.
All the commoners and even wandering martial artists still gathered at the riverbank, watching the movement on the river. A light rain was falling outside the window, and the streets below were deserted.
Hongyu leaned against the window, searching the port with her binoculars, a hint of doubt on her bright face.
Just now, when Ye Xingge flanked and ambushed Hundred-Pace Feather Lu Zheng, someone shouted a warning from the dock.
Even if a normal martial artist witnessed that situation, they wouldn't inform the assassin; even if bandits wanted the government officials dead, they would fear retaliation and remain indifferent.
The person who dares to risk exposing themselves is either an accomplice of the assassin or has a deep grudge against Ye Xingge.
However, Hongyu had to pay all her attention to Ye Xingge's situation and couldn't afford to be distracted by searching for Shangjin Ferry. Now that the battle was over, the other party had obviously hidden himself. After searching for a while, there was movement by the riverbank below the inn. Ye Xingge, carrying a package and various items, secretly climbed up.
Although Hongyu didn't participate herself, as a teammate, she was naturally proud to have another victory. Seeing this, she called out in a low voice, "Come on up."
Whew~
Carrying the bundle, Ye Xingge made sure no one was watching, then went to the inn's window. With a swift movement, he grabbed the second-floor windowsill and vaulted inside, quickly bringing his spear and bundle inside as well.
"How was it? Wasn't I amazing?"
"Amazing! Amazing..."
Hongyu got up and fetched a towel from inside the house to wipe her son-in-law's wet face.
"I've prepared water for you. Go take a shower, or you'll catch a cold."
Ye Xingge was indeed exhausted from the fierce battle. Seeing Great Beauty coming over to wipe her face, and not being able to easily hug her since she was soaking wet, he glanced at her luscious red lips and leaned in as if to sneak a kiss. However, the little rascal actually shrank back, immediately made a disgusted face, and took the towel from her.
"Alright, alright, I'll take a shower first. Take a look at the looted items and see which ones are valuable."
"Huh?"
Hongyu was caught off guard by the sneak attack and instinctively flinched. She had secretly kissed him when she was drunk, and Ye Xingge's behavior today was very satisfactory. He had touched the peach for a long time without saying anything. If he really insisted, then she was not incapable of enduring the humiliation.
But the boy tried it once and then complained that she was stingy, so he went to take a bath behind the screen. She couldn't very well follow him in and give him a piece of her mind, so she blushed and stood there stunned. Then she picked up her bundle, sat down at the table, and thought for a moment with concern:
Is your arm alright?
Ye Xingge removed her soft armor and trousers behind the screen, examined her arm—there was a sword wound—but after taking a healing pill, it wasn't serious. She then entered the warm bath, leaned back comfortably, and let out a sigh of relief.
"It's nothing serious. After this wave of attacks, I should be down to 350 points by now, right?"
Hongyu picked up the various famous soldiers and examined them carefully, nodding slightly:
"Almost. If I'm lucky, I might get into the top 330. Then, with another wave of kills, I can catch up with Wu Chenglie's apprentice before the birthday banquet."
Ye Xingge was quite satisfied with the progress; seeing this momentum, the imperial court would surely have to generously contribute funds.
Moreover, the Great Beauty Luo would probably be utterly astonished, and then...
While Ye Xingge was pondering this aimlessly, he was also having an appraisal session with Great Beauty Liang, separated by a screen.
We picked up quite a few items today, but the valuable ones were only the following:
The Azure Dragon Spear —by charging up, it can double the critical strike value of a single spear strike, resulting in extremely high damage. The attack is also incredibly spectacular, truly creating a dragon shadow. However, the attack takes too long to activate and cannot be concentrated in one point, making its collectible value higher than its practical value, though it is still quite valuable.
The Dark Green Bow is a powerful weapon in actual combat, and the bow is the king of all weapons. No famous bow in the martial arts world is an ordinary one.
Although this bow is large, inconvenient to carry, and quite troublesome to approach, these are nothing in the face of absolute suppression. [ Dust-Returning Robe ] This one is not fully nurtured and is far less valuable than the one Gold-Chasing Gentleman, but it is still a good piece.
The [ Elephant King Axe ] is so powerful that even the Kou King Armor is ineffective against it. However, it is too heavy and difficult to hit a person of the same skill level, making it rather ordinary.
[ The Immortal Rope ] can extend several feet at a time, and when nurtured to perfection, its extension length increases with one's own skill level. It is a highly versatile and excellent item. In addition, Qin Laosan's " Essence-Nourishing Pendant " is also a good treasure. It can nurture the body and enhance male ability. It is useless in actual combat, but it is quite valuable when sold to kings and wealthy merchants.
As for the remaining miscellaneous items, there's not much to say about them, so let's not mention them.
After carefully examining the spoils, Ye Xingge felt that robbery was still the fastest way to make money.
With a larger fortune in the future, he could probably even develop "Thief Sets," "Bandit Sets," "Silver Demon Sets," and so on, to deal with various combat situations...
So, how should I equip the Silver Demon set...?
The Dust-Returning Robe quietly entered the room, the Immortal Rope was tied up, the small whip cracked, and the Wind-Traveling Talisman gushed out...
Well...
Ye Xingge blinked, then leaned back slightly, looking at the Great Beauty back of the soldier inspecting him. Her gaze fell on the Great Longevity Peach, and she seemed lost in thought.
However, while admiring the moon, Ye Xingge suddenly noticed an itch on his back, and his energy channels seemed a bit abnormal. He raised his hand to touch it, then turned his head to look, but couldn't see his back, so he frowned.
" Yu'er, do I have a rash on my back?"
"Um?"
Hongyu frowned, turned around, and got up again to carefully examine the screen.
However, Ye Xingge was found lying face down on the bathtub, with no signs of humiliation visible, but some red marks on his broad back.
The red marks were blurry, at first glance they looked like scratches from a girl, but upon closer inspection, one could vaguely make out dragon horns, scales, and claws...
Hongyu was taken aback, then came closer to examine her closely, her expression somewhat bewildered.
Ye Xingge couldn't see behind him clearly, so he asked:
"What happened? Poisoned? That can't be right. I took a pill right after being stabbed, and I didn't feel anything..."
Hongyu frowned, finding this even more bizarre than poisoning.
The pattern on Ye Xingge's back looks somewhat like a " Divine Dragon Covering the Back ".
This kind of thing is usually tattoos, popular in Lingnan and Western Shu, but Ye Xingge's is clearly not a tattoo; it even seems to be related to his qi and blood. Hongyu had never seen anything like it before and felt that this matter was probably not simple. After thinking for a moment, she said seriously:
"Don't move around, and don't look in the mirror. Wait for me a moment."
After saying that, Hongyu got up and ran outside.
Tap tap tap...
Ye Xingge was made guilty by these Great Beauty words, thinking there was a ghost clinging to his back, but when he turned his head he couldn't see his back, so he could only lie on the edge of the bathtub and wait...