Hidden Dragon Ranking
"The taste of a Chaste Maiden?"
Xu Fan jolted and stared at the old fellow in disbelief.
No matter how beautiful he was, he had been a man before!
"If you ever have need of it, young friend, simply come to the Mystic Yang Sect. I will never refuse."
Yang Haitian coughed softly, recovered his serious expression, and made the promise solemnly.
A suspected Celestial Person's inheritor had become a Great Grandmaster after cultivating for a little over a year and had easily defeated a genius on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
His future was bound to be extraordinary.
The Mystic Yang Sect was too small. It had some renown in Qin State, but it was insignificant in the Divine Continent of the Vast Land as a whole.
Thus, he did not ask Xu Fan to join the Mystic Yang Sect. Having some connection with him would be excellent enough.
Those super sects were where Xu Fan belonged.
"Then I'll take the position of honorary elder."
Xu Fan's expression stirred, and he nodded in agreement.
Although he planned to join a major power, he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
He still needed to find a place in the Land of Wu, then join those super sects to obtain more peerless martial arts and Celestial Person martial arts.
The Great Sun True Yang Art could only be cultivated to the Primal Core realm. It still needed further refinement and improvement.
The Mystic Yang Sect's strength would be a considerable help to him in trading resources between the two worlds.
"Good, good, good!"
Yang Haitian exclaimed in delight. He had not expected Xu Fan to actually agree.
"Let's return to the Mystic Yang Sect at once. This should be announced to the world!"
The Clearwater Sect.
In a small courtyard.
A girl with twin ponytails and a long blue-and-white dress came running over excitedly, a list in her hand.
"Senior Sister Lan Ci, Senior Sister Lan Ci, you made the Hidden Dragon Ranking!"
The girl looked fifteen or sixteen and was very charming and adorable as she came bounding over.
She slapped this year's Hidden Dragon Ranking list onto the stone table, her face brimming with excitement as she gazed at her senior sister in admiration.
How many years had it been since anyone from the Clearwater Sect made the Hidden Dragon Ranking?
Anyone who made the Hidden Dragon Ranking would become a Primal Core great cultivator at the very least!
"Qianqian, it's nothing to make such a fuss about."
"I attained Divine Intention with three kinds of True Intention, giving me a foundation far beyond that of an ordinary Great Grandmaster. Naturally, I'm among the best of my generation."
Lan Ci smiled softly and tousled Xia Qianqian's twin ponytails, her gaze falling on the list.
She was not surprised to have made the Hidden Dragon Ranking. She only wanted to see where she ranked.
"Only ninetieth?"
Seeing her rank, she could not help being taken aback.
That was because all those ranked below her were geniuses who had yet to become Great Grandmasters.
Making the Hidden Dragon Ranking had truly become harder and harder over the years.
"Senior Sister Lan Ci, it's already amazing to rank among the top ninety heroes in the world!"
"I dream of being as strong as you, Senior Sister!"
Xia Qianqian's eyes were wide and full of envy.
"I wonder if I'll ever make the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
These were the top hundred peerless geniuses under the age of twenty in the entire Divine Continent of the Vast Land, ranked by overall strength.
Even in all of Qin State, there might not be ten of them!
"You can make it someday too."
Lan Ci smiled and nodded. She picked up the list and scanned it, finally stopping at the name in eleventh place. She sighed inwardly.
Just as I thought.
"Senior Sister Lan Ci, do you know this person called Xu Fan?"
Xia Qianqian followed her gaze and saw that the person in eleventh place, Xu Fan, came from Qingzhou.
His record was terrifying, too!
He had slain two Divine Intention Great Grandmasters, one of whom was Han Tianling, a True Disciple of Saber-Nurturing Valley who had once ranked eighty-eighth.
A suspected Celestial Person's inheritor?
He had only just become a Divine Intention Great Grandmaster, yet he ranked eleventh?!
"I've met him."
Lan Ci took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
She had never expected that the little Peach Blossom Spring Lake would produce both a Weapon Lord and a suspected Celestial Person's inheritor.
If she had chosen to bring them both back to the Clearwater Sect, it would definitely have become one of the foremost sects in Qin State in the future.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Liang Chi had been taken away by an expert from the Five Dragons Cult, who had left the Clearwater Sect a considerable number of pills and treasures. Thanks to that, she had also comprehended a third kind of Martial Dao True Intention.
Now that the Mystic Yang Sect had gained a Primal Core great cultivator and Xu Fan had become its honorary elder, it had a much greater say in Lingnan Circuit.
This had undoubtedly squeezed the Clearwater Sect's room to survive even further.
"He's from Qingzhou, so why did he run off to Bingzhou and join the Mystic Yang Sect?"
Xia Qianqian pursed her lips, unable to understand.
The Clearwater Sect was the strongest power in Qingzhou, and the martial arts it cultivated were also relatively compatible with Xu Fan's True Intention. Shouldn't he have joined the Clearwater Sect?
"Oh, right, Senior Sister Lan Ci, a Weapon Lord has appeared!"
"He's from the Five Dragons Cult in Yue State and wields the Water Dragon Flag, one of the Five-Colored Great Dragon Flags!"
Xia Qianqian pointed to the tenth place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
This was the first time she had seen a Weapon Lord appear.
He had even shot straight up to tenth place!
"A Weapon Lord has appeared. I wonder how many Weapon Lords there will be in this contest for the position of Celestial Person?"
Lan Ci had known long ago and had also seen that Liang Chi ranked just above Xu Fan, so she was not surprised.
Although Weapon Lords could not advance to become Celestial Persons, they would appear when the world's heroes contested the position of Celestial Person, fighting powerful opponents from every side to strengthen their foundations.
That was what set Weapon Lords apart from Celestial Person inheritors.
Each Weapon Lord possessed the cultivation insights of every Weapon Lord before them, so they grew extremely quickly and reached great heights.
They could also build on the old to create the new, making almost every generation stronger than the last.
Apart from being unable to contend for the position of Celestial Person, there was nothing bad about it.
Celestial Person inheritances were different. They could easily be lost.
Unlike Celestial Person Divine Weapons, which would actively choose their masters.
"Being a Weapon Lord is all well and good..."
Though envious, Xia Qianqian still said:
"But they can never become true Celestial Persons, while you're different, Senior Sister Lan Ci."
"You certainly think highly of your senior sister."
Lan Ci could not help laughing and tapped the little girl's forehead.
A Weapon Lord's upper limit was extremely high. As long as they did not die and cultivated step by step, they would reach a height that the vast majority of geniuses could scarcely attain in a lifetime.
How could one look down on Weapon Lords simply because they could not contend for the position of Celestial Person?
Only one Celestial Person appeared every thousand years.
Yet before advancing to become Celestial Persons, most were no match for a Weapon Lord.
Even after advancing, they could only defeat a Weapon Lord at full strength, not kill one.
She glanced at the top ten on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. There had been no changes, except that the previous tenth place had been pushed down to twelfth.
First on the Hidden Dragon Ranking: Dao Wuqing, first True Disciple of the Mountain and Sea Dao Sect...
Second: Shentu Yun of Saber-Nurturing Valley...
Murong Feng of the Mystic Yellow Sword Sect, Yixiu of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, Yan Chunqiu of Four Symbols Mountain Manor...
Tenth: Liang Chi of the Five Dragons Cult...
Eleventh: Xu Fan, suspected Celestial Person's inheritor...
Twelfth: Fu Yuanwu, third True Disciple of Saber-Nurturing Valley...
Ninetieth: Lan Ci of the Clearwater Sect...
As before, more than half the geniuses on the ranking came from those major super sects and the seven great Immortal Clans.
The rest were members of the royal families of the seven states and geniuses from the various sects, such as herself.
Someone like Xu Fan was a rarity. He was the only one.
Xia Qianqian did not concern herself with all that. She raised her head and said with a smile:
"Of course! Senior Sister Lan Ci, you're the most, most amazing person I've ever met."
"I'll definitely work hard to catch up with you, Senior Sister!"