Central Domain.
The group of three, with Jian Chou included, traveled all the way from the wilderness through Wuwang Zhai, then from the teleportation array near Wuwang Zhai, finally arriving at the banks of the Nine-Headed River’s main stream.
Along the river was a broad flat area that had been trimmed into a platform about three feet high above ground level.
At the center of the platform stood a circular stone pillar branded with Kunwu’s emblem: a central point with ten inverted triangular patterns on all sides, each entwined with vine motifs, their points all directed toward the central point, with cloud patterns dotting the spaces between, displaying an ancient and substantial appearance.
Around the stone pillar were distributed dozens of teleportation arrays of various sizes.
A hazy white light flickered on and off.
Jian Chou, Yushan Xing, and Jiang Wenchao finally appeared within the formation.
The air by the river, influenced by the river water, carried a moist atmosphere. The moment Yushan Xing caught this scent, he burst into laughter, pointing toward the platform’s opposite side and shouting loudly: “Kunwu, that’s Kunwu! It’s Kunwu! Look quickly…”
There were many other people around the platform.
Hearing this loud shouting, quite a few people looked over, and upon seeing that excited short fellow, they couldn’t help but curse silently: Country bumpkin!
Looking again, they saw a man and woman in red and blue respectively standing beside him, probably also lacking in sophistication.
Everyone looked with disdain, then withdrew their gazes.
“…”
Both Jian Chou and Jiang Wenchao were speechless.
They naturally felt those gazes and were already quite familiar with them.
Half an hour ago, they had traveled on Jiang Wenchao’s Twin Wings Boat all the way to Wuwang Zhai’s territory.
Wuwang Zhai was on an island in the center of a large lake, with the teleportation array located by the lake’s shore.
As soon as Yushan Xing got off the Twin Wings Boat, he jumped about shouting: “That’s Wuwang Zhai, that’s Wuwang Zhai!”
Jian Chou and Jiang Wenchao, traveling with him, consequently received quite a few scornful glances.
Fortunately, neither Jian Chou nor Jiang Wenchao were people who cared much about others’ words, so they simply ignored it.
Now, having just arrived at Nine-Headed River’s banks, they heard Yushan Xing do this again…
“Sigh…”
Jian Chou sighed silently in her heart, turning her head away and pretending she didn’t know the wildly bouncing Yushan Xing.
Stepping out of the teleportation array, Jian Chou raised her head and immediately saw the surrounding situation.
This was a platform filled with teleportation arrays, about three hundred steps from Nine-Headed River.
It was currently midday.
Nine-Headed River’s main stream was so broad it resembled a vast lake. At a glance, it sparkled with rippling waves, as if gold foil had been scattered from the heavens, decorating the river surface completely.
On the opposite bank, eleven towering peaks rose abruptly from an endless plain, majestic and soaring, reaching straight into the clouds.
Ten peaks surrounded the tallest central one. Through the thick cloud layers, one could seemingly see the enormous plaza at the cloud summit and the Celestial Hall three hundred feet into the sky.
The entire Kunwu territory emanated a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
On this side of the river, simple wooden walkways stretched along the riverbank.
Along the river was a broad flat area where countless cultivators from Wuwang Zhai, Tongling Pavilion, Western Sea, Baiyue Valley… had gathered through teleportation arrays, standing on this platform, raising their gazes and lifting their heads to look across the river at distant Kunwu.
However…
As Jian Chou looked, she frowned: “There’s not a single person on the river surface. Didn’t you say crossing Nine-Headed River was necessary to reach Kunwu?”
Moreover, there seemed to be too many people around.
Yushan Xing had long since run off somewhere without a trace, leaving only Jiang Wenchao standing not far from Jian Chou.
This was also his first time at this place. Though his eyes didn’t show much curiosity, he habitually surveyed the area and naturally discovered the same problem as Jian Chou.
After gazing at the distance for a long while, Jiang Wenchao suddenly pointed ahead: “Is there a light screen over the river’s center?”
Light screen?
Jian Chou was startled, following Jiang Wenchao’s pointing finger to look toward the river’s center.
It was already the most scorching time of day, with the entire river surface reflecting sparkling waves. When Jian Chou had first glanced over, she hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but now looking carefully, she could indeed see a light screen at the river’s center.
Taking the entire centerline of Nine-Headed River as a boundary, the light screen displayed an extremely pale blue glow, rising high in an arc shape, covering Kunwu within the river bay like a protective shield.
“What does this mean?”
Jian Chou was confused again.
“This is all normal – look, isn’t everyone waiting?”
Somehow, Yushan Xing had run back, picking up her words.
Jian Chou looked back to see Yushan Xing actually holding a seven-inch white jade booklet with elegant characters on it: Solitary Platform Notes.
Not far away was a stall marked “Sou” with many such white jade booklets, presumably where Yushan Xing had bought his.
“Because the rules of the Zuo Three Thousand Minor Assembly change every year, Kunwu’s interior also needs special arrangements for the assembly. To prevent people from entering early and causing accidents, when important arrangements are being made, no one is allowed to cross the river and enter. This light screen is called ‘Righteous Guard Light’ – it won’t harm people, but it won’t allow entry either.”
Yushan Xing explained while opening the handbook.
“Usually it takes three or four days. I asked when buying the handbook – this is the third day. Soon Kunwu cultivators will come with tokens to remove the Righteous Guard Light. Hehe, no rush, let me see this year’s hot favorites…”
So that was it.
Jian Chou looked at Yushan Xing with new respect: “I thought the sect master had just run off randomly, but you actually found out all this information.”
“Of course, who do you think this sect master is?”
Yushan Xing proudly raised his eyebrows.
At this moment, the handbook was completely open.
The jade booklet had only one fold, and when opened showed only left and right sides with several lines of contents listed vertically, all text floating above.
Yushan Xing pointed at the first line “This Session’s Top 100,” and brilliant blue light rose from the jade booklet, spinning several times before transforming into a line of floating text.
“It’s out!”
Yushan Xing was delighted.
This “Solitary Platform Notes” was something Jian Chou had heard Yushan Xing mention before.
This was the work of Zhilin Sou, who would make predictions and commentary about the current session’s situation.
“This Session’s Top 100” undoubtedly referred to the one hundred people Zhilin Sou considered the most outstanding of this session.
Jiang Wenchao had known about it before but hadn’t seen this year’s edition. Jian Chou had only recently learned such a thing existed, and couldn’t help but be curious.
Both looked toward the text, with rankings displayed in groups of ten.
First, Fengmo Sword Sect, Xia Houshe;
Second, Wuyi Sect, Young Master Ruhua;
Third, Kunwu, Xie Ding;
Fourth, Longmen, Zhou Chengjiang;
Fifth, Baiyue Valley, Lu Xiangleng;
Sixth, Shenling, Wei Lin;
Seventh, Kunwu, Gu Qingmei;
Eighth, Tongling Sect, He Jiuyi;
Ninth, Yashan, Tang Wancheng;
Tenth, Kunwu, Xie Buchen!
Blinking, all three remained silent.
Jian Chou was surprised that half of these ten names were familiar to her.
The four characters “Young Master Ruhua” appeared shockingly, while Zhou Chengjiang and Lu Xiangleng were within expectations. As for Gu Qingmei, Jian Chou didn’t quite understand.
Of course, she understood Xie Buchen even less…
She frowned: “What is this ranking based on?”
“Naturally based on Zhilin Sou’s own judgment. He’s the person with the most well-informed intelligence in the Central Domain, always knowing things others don’t. Clearly Xie Buchen is first on the Second Heaven Tablet, so why is Zhou Chengjiang ahead of him? All the others are Golden Core stage, but these two…”
Yushan Xing explained a few sentences, then began pondering.
Biting his fingernail, he suddenly thought of something and shuddered.
Jiang Wenchao had also thought of it, smiling as he said: “It seems Zhou Chengjiang has already broken through Foundation Establishment and successfully formed his core. This ranking is even higher than the medicine woman Lu Xiangleng – his progress must be more than just a little.”
“I don’t have much opinion on that, but don’t you think it’s very strange?”
Yushan Xing pointed at the last name, utterly puzzled.
“This ranking is simply sick! This Xia Houshe from Fengmo Sword Sect – this sect master has never even heard his name before! And this Xie Buchen has only been cultivating for two years, right? He’s just Foundation Establishment stage – what qualifies him to be listed with so many Golden Core cultivators?”
What qualifies him…
Jian Chou naturally didn’t know either.
She looked at Zhou Chengjiang’s name, then at Xie Buchen’s name, as vast shadows spread through her heart.
Frowning, Jian Chou said: “We’ll know by looking at who follows them.”
This woke up the dreamer. Yushan Xing slapped his forehead: “Right!”
What if this session’s level was particularly poor?
He quickly tapped to flip the page, and the next page appeared.
Eleventh, Jianzhu Sect, Xu Lan’er;
Twelfth, Xiao Jin;
Thirteenth, Wuyi Sect, Tao Zhang;
Fourteenth, Xuanyang Sect, Fang Dachui;
…
They were stunned.
Jian Chou stared at the three characters “Xu Lan’er,” her brow furrowing tighter.
Yushan Xing was also bewildered: “There must be major events we don’t know about… This Xu Lan’er progressed as if she took some drug – way too fast! She’s at eleventh! Let me check the rest…”
Jiang Wenchao was quite calm, though he glanced at Jian Chou.
Jian Chou noticed his gaze and only smiled slightly without explaining anything.
Indeed, her expression was probably quite serious.
Yushan Xing quickly flipped through while Jian Chou focused intently on reading.
Thirtieth, Wuwang Zhai, Nie Xiaowan;
Thirty-eighth, Yashan, Qi Shaofeng;
Fifty-sixth, Jianzhu Sect, Jiang Ling;
Seventy-ninth, Fengmo Sword Sect, Zhang Sui;
…
Finally—
One hundredth, Yashan, Jian Chou!
Hey!
Hey!
This thing must be randomly ranked, right?
When Jian Chou saw her name corresponding to one hundredth, Qian Que’s roar echoed in her mind: “Damn that Zhilin Sou! More like Zhizhang Sou! Zhizhang Sou, Zhizhang Sou!”