Chapter 122 - 120: Hidden Dragon 49
Chen Yuan really didn’t know much about the past deeds of the Golden Horde.
After all, those events happened five hundred years ago. In the original story, they were just part of the backdrop; Chen Yuan truly didn’t know anything else.
But hearing Liu Suifeng’s account now, Chen Yuan suddenly felt that Zuo Feiyu truly had no bottom line.
However, it was precisely this kind of personality that allowed Zuo Feiyu to thrive so successfully in the future.
Liu Suifeng chuckled lightly. "You’ve just been promoted to Inspector. You’ve performed a great service this time, but the rewards Zhenwu Hall can offer you are limited.
However, Lady Yun has always been fair and generous. You saved Jiang Xibai, so she has already prepared a grand gift for you. You’ll find out what it is when you go see her later."
Chen Yuan asked with some curiosity, "Lord Military Advisor, there’s something I’m very curious about. What is the relationship between Lady Yun and the former ’Breaking Army Divine General,’ Xie Wenyan?
Why was the Po Jun Guard, which Xie Wenyan left behind, entrusted to Lady Yun? And why does she place such importance on Xie Wenyan’s adopted son?"
Previously, Chen Yuan’s relationship with Liu Suifeng wasn’t deep enough for him to inquire about such secrets of Zhenwu Hall.
But now, with Cui Guan working under Chen Yuan, their interests were deeply intertwined, so asking about such matters was acceptable.
Liu Suifeng fell silent for a moment, then gently pressed his hands on the floor.
Instantly, a radiant light rose from the ground and spread throughout the room.
Chen Yuan’s eyes narrowed at once.
’An Array!’ The study was actually filled with an Array, and Liu Suifeng had activated it with such casual ease. His Array Dao Cultivation was certainly not weak.
"As for their relationship... officially, there wasn’t one. Lady Yun is, after all, the Grand Commandant’s wife. She married the Grand Commandant back during the time of the Celestial Martial Alliance.
However, when Xie Wenyan first joined the Celestial Martial Alliance, he wasn’t yet the invincible Breaking Army Divine General. He was just an ordinary, unrecognized military officer whose strength was only at the Condensing Truth Realm. The Alliance Leader didn’t pay him much mind.
It was Lady Yun who recognized his talent. She even gave him a Secret Technique from the Celestial Cloud Sect, provided him with Elixirs, and gave him the opportunity to lead the charge in battle.
From then on, Xie Wenyan was victorious in every battle. He gradually made a name for himself and became the invincible ’Breaking Army Divine General.’
You could say Lady Yun was his benefactor, the one who truly discovered his worth, and Xie Wenyan was extremely grateful to her.
Back then, in the entire Celestial Martial Alliance, I, the Military Advisor, couldn’t command Xie Wenyan. The Alliance Leader couldn’t command him either. Only Lady Yun could.
After Xie Wenyan’s death, the Po Jun Guard, which he had personally trained, refused to even obey the Alliance Leader. They would only take orders from Lady Yun.
And Lady Yun, in turn, places immense importance on the Po Jun Guard that Xie Wenyan left behind. She truly treats Jiang Xibai as if he were her own nephew."
Liu Suifeng let out a sigh. "I can calculate many things, but the one thing I cannot fathom is the human heart.
So, what the two of them truly thought in their hearts... I have no evidence, and I cannot be certain.
But there is one thing you should know: the Grand Commandant and Lady Yun are not of one mind.
By saving Jiang Xibai, you have greatly increased Lady Yun’s favorable impression of you."
Chen Yuan nodded in understanding.
The three at the very top of Zhenwu Hall were also united in appearance but divided in spirit, each with their own desires and interests.
Although Liu Suifeng said he couldn’t be certain, in Chen Yuan’s view, the relationship between Yun Zhaolan and Xie Wenyan was definitely not that simple.
Thinking about it this way, Chen Yuan suddenly felt that Chao Hongtu’s head was looking a little green.
Liu Suifeng dispersed the Array and said, "Alright, you should rest for now. Go see Lady Yun tomorrow. She has a big surprise prepared for you."
With that, Liu Suifeng called for Uncle Zhong to arrange a place for Chen Yuan to rest temporarily.
Chen Yuan was also curious about what Yun Zhaolan could possibly give him.
’Elixirs? A Cultivation Technique? Or a Weapon?’
’I hope it’s not a Weapon. That would create a conflict with the Celestial Blade.’
The Celestial Blade was one of the Fourteen Soldiers of Guanzheng Changge, forged by the Weapon Casting Masters of the world, gathered by the Great Yong Dynasty at its peak. Its quality was high enough to be ranked as Earth Level Upper Grade.
Few ordinary Earth Soldiers were more powerful than the Celestial Blade. If Yun Zhaolan really gave him an Earth Soldier, it would be rather useless to him.
’If I were to refuse it and ask Lady Yun for something else, it would make me seem far too ungrateful.’
The next morning, Liu Suifeng took Chen Yuan to see Yun Zhaolan.
There were two great halls at the Main Hall headquarters. The one on the left belonged to Chao Hongtu, and the one on the right belonged to Yun Zhaolan.
Stepping into the hall, he found both Yun Zhaolan and Jiang Xibai present.
Seeing Chen Yuan arrive, Jiang Xibai smiled at him. Coupled with his handsome, androgynous features, it was a look that could charm a whole crowd of young girls.
Just like that Lin Yingying from the Lin Family; if she had met Jiang Xibai first, she probably wouldn’t have been so head-over-heels for Feng Xieyun.
Yun Zhaolan still had her cold and stunning appearance. Although breathtakingly beautiful, she exuded a distinct and palpable distance.
However, perhaps because Chen Yuan had saved Jiang Xibai, the chill emanating from her was not as pronounced as it was the last time they met.
"This subordinate greets Lady Yun."
Yun Zhaolan nodded lightly and said, "There’s no need for pleasantries. I am aware of all the merits you have accumulated since joining Zhenwu Hall. One could even say you are deservedly the number one of Zhenwu Hall’s younger generation.
This child, Xibai, is rash, reckless, and thoughtless. If he were half as steady as you are in his actions, I could finally rest easy."
Jiang Xibai retorted, "My lady, that is pure slander! How am I rash? How am I thoughtless?"
Yun Zhaolan shot him a glance and said flatly, "You took fewer than a hundred men from the Po Jun Guard and ran into the entire Chi Shu Tribe. You didn’t think to flee and instead chose to clash with them head-on. If that isn’t rash, what is?
Your adoptive father was peerlessly valiant, capable of breaking an army of thousands by himself. Do you possess even a fraction of his strength to dare act so recklessly? And you say that isn’t thoughtless?"
Jiang Xibai immediately fell silent, not daring to speak.
When Xie Wenyan died, Jiang Xibai was just a child. It could be said that Yun Zhaolan raised him. To him, she was both a mentor and a mother.
Furthermore, Yun Zhaolan had a cold personality and had trained him from a young age in the mold of Xie Wenyan.
But the problem was, there was only one Breaking Army Divine General. How could Jiang Xibai possibly compare to Xie Wenyan? As a result, he had suffered a great deal since childhood and held both respect and fear for Yun Zhaolan.
Yun Zhaolan turned her gaze back to Chen Yuan and said softly, "You saved Xibai. Military Advisor Liu should have told you what this child means to me.
Zhenwu Hall always rewards merit, and so do I.
For a Martial Artist of the younger generation like yourself, the most useful rewards would normally be things like Cultivation Techniques, Elixirs, or Weapons.
However, the Cultivation Techniques of the Celestial Cloud Sect are a special case, so I cannot give one to you.
Military Advisor Liu mentioned that his last gift to you was a Celestial Level Technique. For me to offer an Earth Level Technique would seem rather petty.
The same goes for Elixirs. I’ve heard that you control Kaiping Prefecture and have annihilated the Xu Family of the Flying Horse Pavilion, so you surely aren’t lacking in ordinary Elixirs for the time being. As for rare Divine Pills, I don’t have any here.
I do have some Weapons, but Xibai told me you obtained the Celestial Blade, one of the Fourteen Soldiers of Guanzheng Changge. None of the blades I have here can compare to the Celestial Blade."
Reaching this point, Yun Zhaolan’s tone held a hint of helplessness.
She had always been fair and generous. Who would have thought that when a junior from the younger generation performed a great service, she would find herself momentarily unable to produce a suitable reward?
"Therefore, after much thought, since there is nothing suitable I can give you to aid your cultivation, I will instead give you an opportunity to make your name known throughout the Jianghu."
As she spoke, Yun Zhaolan had Jiang Xibai hand a booklet to Chen Yuan.
"Yu Mengdie, the Hall Master of the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s Main Hall in Ning Province, is a good friend of mine. I passed on your record of achievements since joining Zhenwu Hall to her. She has already placed you on the Jianghu Hidden Dragon Rankings, where you are now ranked forty-ninth."
Yun Zhaolan looked at Chen Yuan and said, "Although you are currently in Ning Province, the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s Hidden Dragon Rankings are updated monthly. You can now be considered somewhat famous throughout the entire Jianghu."
Chen Yuan stared at the Hidden Dragon Rankings, slightly stunned.
He never would have imagined that the gift Liu Suifeng said Yun Zhaolan had for him would be this.
The Hidden Dragon Rankings was a list compiled by the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower based on intelligence gathered from the Jianghu, listing the most outstanding prodigies of the current younger generation. There were only one hundred names on the list.
Only those under thirty could be listed, and they had to possess a sufficiently impressive record of achievements.
However, some of these records were gathered by the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower through its own intelligence network, while others were deliberately sent to the Tower by some Sects and Noble Families to build a reputation in the Jianghu for their own young disciples.
Similarly, the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower also had a Lingxiao Rankings. It listed forty-nine individuals, all of whom were powerhouses renowned in the Jianghu or hegemonic figures who dominated their regions.
Chao Hongtu was currently ranked thirty-sixth on the Lingxiao Rankings. It was worth noting that the former ’Breaking Army Divine General,’ Xie Wenyan, had also been on the Lingxiao Rankings, and his rank had been higher than Chao Hongtu’s, reaching twenty-third at his peak.
Above the Lingxiao Rankings were the Ten Absolutes. This wasn’t a ranked list and had no order; it simply recognized ten of the world’s supreme masters based on their reputation in the Jianghu.
The Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower wouldn’t dare to rank supreme experts of this level. If the ranking caused a dispute between two such masters, it was unknown whether they would fight to prove who was superior, but it was highly likely they would first slap the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower into oblivion.
The Hidden Dragon Rankings were a great help for gaining fame in the Jianghu. Whether they were Independent Martial Artists or young prodigies from Sects and Noble Families, all coveted a spot on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
It could even be said that only those who made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings were recognized by the Jianghu as true prodigies of the era; otherwise, they were merely nobodies.
Back when Zuo Feiyu was making his way through the Central Plains Martial Arts, after he obtained the legacy of the Great Brightness Sect’s Celestial Fire Hall and made a name for himself, his rank on the Hidden Dragon Rankings was forty-ninth.
’To think that by a strange twist of fate, I’ve ended up taking Zuo Feiyu’s former rank.’
However, for Chen Yuan, getting on the Hidden Dragon Rankings wasn’t particularly meaningful. He actually preferred to get rich quietly without drawing attention.
Countless geniuses and prodigies appeared on the Hidden Dragon Rankings each year, but how many of them actually made it to the end?
Chen Yuan was not Zuo Feiyu; he was indifferent to this kind of temporary fame.
The key was whether one could walk the path to the end, step onto the peak of the Martial Dao, and truly stand above all others.
Just then, Chen Yuan suddenly felt that something was amiss.
He had just discovered that his name on the list was not Chen Tian, but the three characters for ’Chen Jiutian’!