Chapter 144 - 142: Changes in the Rankings
Just as Chen Yuan slew Zuo Feiyu, Gu Lichuan also cut down Duan Mingzhen with a single strike.
This young prodigy from the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion was actually a bit weak. At thirty years old, he had yet to enter the Hidden Dragon Rankings. His greatest future accomplishment would have been becoming a Sect Steward in the Lifting Heaven Sword Pavilion.
He was also the unluckiest of the bunch. He had no significant grudge against Chen Yuan and had been completely dragged into this mess.
Of course, he had brought this upon himself. Yao Tiancheng had been much smarter, directly taking Zhu Chengzong’s body back to the Sect and leaving everything for them to handle.
Seeing that both Zuo Feiyu and Duan Mingzhen were dead, Shangguan Yun’s expression changed drastically.
He gritted his teeth, pulled a small, palm-sized, silver-white mirror from his robes, and poured his Qi Blood and True Qi into it.
The moment he saw this, Cui Xuanye’s expression changed.
"A Divine Artifact Incarnation! Retreat!"
In the next instant, a bone-chilling frost surged forth like an overwhelming tide, even freezing Cuimei Lake solid.
Shangguan Yun hadn’t actually wanted to use his Divine Artifact Incarnation.
The Shangguan Family’s Divine Artifact was called the Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror. Creating its Divine Artifact Incarnation required Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice, an extremely rare material.
Even though Shangguan Yun was of the Shangguan Family’s Direct Lineage, he hadn’t been qualified to possess a Divine Artifact Incarnation before he entered the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
But in this situation, if he didn’t use it, he was afraid he truly wouldn’t be able to save his own life.
As they were both from the Eight Great Noble Families, if only Cui Xuanye were present, he might have been able to use various exchanges of benefits to convince the other to spare him.
But Chen Yuan was also here. This man was ruthless and decisive, completely ignoring one’s identity or background. He would kill anyone he pleased.
So, after weighing the pros and cons, it was better to use the Divine Artifact Incarnation and send them all to their deaths!
Chen Yuan’s eyes narrowed. He raised his arm, and the aura of the Corpse Tower Forest flared on it.
Just now, Chen Yuan had instantly killed Tian Hengbin and cut down Tong Yuantai in battle. His own Qi Blood and True Qi were severely depleted. His Dantian Starfire could not be ignited again, and the Blood Fiend Entering the Body technique had also reached its limit.
In his current state, he absolutely could not withstand a blow from a Divine Artifact Incarnation. The only thing that could counter a Divine Artifact Incarnation was another Divine Artifact Incarnation.
However, the power of the Corpse Tower Forest was far greater than that of the Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror. Using it now would be something of a waste.
So Chen Yuan was taking a gamble. He was betting that Shangguan Yun wouldn’t dare to clash with him head-on in a fight to the death, betting that Shangguan Yun valued his own life.
If he won the bet, he would save one of his trump cards. If he lost, Shangguan Yun would surely die.
The instant the Corpse Tower Forest’s aura was revealed, a faint crack abruptly appeared on the Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror in Shangguan Yun’s hand.
Seeing this, Shangguan Yun’s expression changed instantly.
The Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror contained an ultimate frost and was empowered by the Ice Origin.
The Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror was also a defensive Divine Artifact with a warning function.
He never imagined that Chen Yuan also possessed a Divine Artifact Incarnation. What’s more, merely revealing a sliver of its aura was enough to trigger the Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror’s warning. ’What level of existence must that be?’
The Zhenwu Hall’s Divine Soldier, the Divine King’s Array-Breaking Technique, was extremely powerful offensively, but it didn’t seem capable of producing a Divine Artifact Incarnation.
’Could it be that the Zhenwu Hall has made a breakthrough in their research on the Divine King’s Array-Breaking Technique, allowing them to create a Divine Artifact Incarnation?’
Shangguan Yun had no time to think. He decisively shifted the frosty energy, raising the water of Cuimei Lake and turning it into a massive wall of ice to block everyone.
Meanwhile, he himself transformed into a cold mist, vanishing in a flash of white light. Even his aura disappeared in an instant.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan immediately suppressed the aura of the Corpse Tower Forest.
The Shangguan Family’s Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror was truly powerful. It was effective for both offense and defense, far stronger than the Murong Family’s Star Shifting.
His opponent’s aura had already vanished, and Chen Yuan wasn’t sure if the Corpse Tower Forest could chase him down and kill him. It was better not to waste a trump card.
Cui Xuanye, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief, still shaken by the close call.
He had witnessed the power of a Divine Artifact Incarnation before, which was precisely why he knew how terrifying they were.
"It’s a good thing you had a trump card, Brother Chen. Otherwise, even if we had survived a direct hit from a Divine Artifact Incarnation, we could forget about attending the Furnace Opening Assembly."
Cui Xuanye was also curious as to why Chen Yuan possessed a Divine Artifact Incarnation.
The Zhenwu Hall’s Divine King’s Array-Breaking Technique shouldn’t be capable of creating a Divine Artifact Incarnation.
However, he was an exceedingly tactful person. When it came to someone else’s trump cards, it was obviously not proper to ask too many questions.
"Brother Cui, aren’t you also from one of the Eight Great Noble Families? And you’re the most outstanding disciple of the Cui Family’s younger generation. How come you don’t have a Divine Artifact Incarnation as a trump card?"
Qin Suguang asked curiously.
He looked as if he was questioning whether Cui Xuanye was treated like a stepson, as if the Cui Family didn’t value him that much.
Cui Xuanye replied irritably, "Do you think Divine Artifact Incarnations are so easy to create? In the Jianghu, only a small number of them have low creation requirements.
"Most of them have very strict creation processes and require extremely rare materials."
"The Cui Family’s Divine Artifact Incarnation is one of those. It’s also cumbersome to activate and isn’t suitable for one-on-one combat. Even if I had one today, it would have been useless."
Lu Chuanshan nodded and said, "Brother Cui is right. The Jianghai Alliance’s Divine Artifact Incarnation is also extremely difficult to create. My master gave me one before, but I already used it, and I don’t have a new one yet."
Chen Yuan cupped his fists toward the three of them. "Thank you all for your help this time. Without the three of you, this battle would have been much harder."
"Don’t be so polite, Brother Chen. I got involved to avenge my previous humiliation. I’m not a very forgiving person. After how Shangguan Yun targeted me last time, I could hold that grudge against him for a lifetime."
Cui Xuanye smiled. "Besides, Brother Chen, don’t be so modest. The power you and this brother of yours showed when you joined forces was extraordinary. Even without us, you would have had no problem dealing with them."
Chen Yuan hadn’t called them over at first precisely because he was confident he could handle it himself.
However, even if Cui Xuanye’s help wasn’t lifesaving, it was certainly a welcome addition.
Without Cui Xuanye and the other two helping to hold back the enemy, Chen Yuan and Gu Lichuan would have likely had to fight a bloody battle. It wouldn’t have been as easy as it was now, where they were merely exhausted but uninjured.
"Oh, right. This is my good friend, Gu Lichuan."
Chen Yuan then introduced Gu Lichuan to Cui Xuanye and the others, while also introducing the three of them to Gu Lichuan.
"Gu Lichuan of Liang Province. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."
Gu Lichuan naturally enjoyed making friends. Since these three had fought alongside him in a great battle, he was more than happy to befriend them.
Not to mention, all three of them came from impressive backgrounds and were all prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
Gu Lichuan had many friends in Liang Province, but they were all Independent Martial Artists or from minor sects and schools.
Only after coming to the Central Plains Martial Arts world did Gu Lichuan get to see so many remarkable figures.
Of course, in his eyes, none of these remarkable figures seemed to be a match for Brother Chen.
"Brother Gu, your swordsmanship is superb, truly astonishing. I estimate we’ll be seeing your name on next month’s Hidden Dragon Rankings."
Although Cui Xuanye and the others had arrived late, they had witnessed from a distance the spectacular scene of Gu Lichuan fighting two opponents at once, his two streams of Heaven-Shocking Sword Intent holding off two great masters of the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage.
Based on that scene alone, Gu Lichuan was qualified to make an appearance on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
"Can the Hidden Dragon Rankings really find out about my battle record so quickly?"
Cui Xuanye pointed into the distance, toward the medicinal fields by Cuimei Lake, where some figures were watching from afar.
This wasn’t an uninhabited area. The great commotion from their fight just now had long attracted some Martial Artists to spectate, though they didn’t dare get too close.
"The Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower often buys information from Independent Martial Artists. After our battle just now, some clever Martial Artist definitely sold the information to them first."
Everyone was somewhat exhausted, and it wasn’t wise to linger. They immediately returned to Danyang Prefecture.
After returning to the inn, Chen Yuan immediately entered seclusion to recover his Qi Blood.
This battle had taken care of Zuo Feiyu, which meant one less person was scheming against him from the shadows.
Then again, he had already intercepted several of Zuo Feiyu’s destined opportunities. Even if Zuo Feiyu hadn’t died now, he never would have reached the level of achievement he did in the original story.
Of course, there were some opportunities on Zuo Feiyu that Chen Yuan couldn’t intercept, such as the one involving a marriage alliance with the Shangguan Family.
The current Shangguan Yun probably wished he could eat him alive.
Chen Yuan spent a full ten days in seclusion, not just to recover his Qi Blood, but also to build up his strength and bring his condition to its peak.
When he walked out of the inn, Gu Lichuan, Cui Xuanye, and the other two were already waiting for him outside.
And it wasn’t just Gu Lichuan’s group; many other Jianghu People present also turned their gazes toward them.
"Brother Chen, Medicine King Valley is opening today. We were just waiting for you," Cui Xuanye said with a smile.
"I got a bit carried away with my seclusion. My apologies for making you all wait."
As soon as Chen Yuan walked over, he noticed Gu Lichuan’s delighted expression and couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Gu, did you run into some good fortune?"
Before Gu Lichuan could speak, Cui Xuanye smiled and said, "Brother Gu has just made his debut on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, and he’s now a famous young prodigy in the Jianghu. But the one who should really be happy is you, Brother Chen."
With that, Cui Xuanye tossed the latest issue of the Hidden Dragon Rankings to Chen Yuan.
Only then did Chen Yuan remember that the Hidden Dragon Rankings were updated monthly, and the update day had been a few days ago.
Opening the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Chen Yuan was quite surprised. His rank hadn’t just risen by a few places, but by more than ten. He had soared to thirtieth place.
His battle record now included the fight at the Celestial Fragrance Building, as well as the feats of killing Tian Hengbin with one slash and cutting down Tong Yuantai in battle.
Cui Xuanye and Lu Chuanshan, however, were rather unlucky. Because of Chen Yuan’s meteoric rise, they had both dropped one spot.
But the two of them didn’t care much about temporary rankings.
Qin Suguang had the best luck. Because Shangguan Yun’s rank had dropped to fiftieth place, his own rank didn’t fall.
The Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower dropped Shangguan Yun’s rank according to their usual practice.
When prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Rankings dueled, the winner’s rank would rise and the loser’s would fall. No matter your previous rank, if you lost, you would be ranked below the winner.
Chen Yuan was previously ranked forty-ninth, so Shangguan Yun naturally dropped to fiftieth.
Meanwhile, Gu Lichuan debuted on the Hidden Dragon Rankings at forty-ninth place.
In truth, this ranking was a bit low for Gu Lichuan. The fact that he had simultaneously withstood a blow from two great masters of the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage was an extremely impressive feat.
However, he had no kill record, only that one astonishing move, so his rank naturally wouldn’t be too high.