A small town in Yangzhou untouched by war.
Because of its remote location, this town is not considered a battleground, it was luckily spared from the war, preserving a semblance of peace.
Pei Xuanjing entered an inn. After washing and freshening up, he sat at the table in his room, reflecting on his actions and counting his rewards.
Nearly a million taels in silver banknotes, six top-quality cultivation martial arts manuals, four Thousand Refinement Divine Weapons, and fifty bottles of heavenly elemental elixirs.
With such abundant rewards, a satisfied smile appeared on Pei Xuanjing's face.
Just then, someone knocked on the door of Pei Xuanjing's room. He tidied up and turned his gaze towards the door.
"Who is it!" Pei Xuanjing said.
The voice of Bai Xiaosheng came from outside the door: "It's me!"
Pei Xuanjing slightly frowned, wondering why Bai Xiaosheng had suddenly come here.
"Please come in. " Pei Xuanjing moved aside, allowing Bai Xiaosheng to enter.
After they settled down, Bai Xiaosheng laughingly told Pei Xuanjing: "Impressive, Pei brother. Facing numerous experts alone, beheading people amidst thousands of soldiers. You left after accomplishing your task, showing a heroic demeanor that has won my admiration."
Pei Xuanjing modestly replied with a smile: "Bai brother, you're too kind. If it weren't for your invaluable assistance, it wouldn't have been that easy."
Without Bai Xiaosheng providing him with information, it would have been difficult for him to act alone.
Not to mention how hard it would be for him to ascertain Zhu Chenhao's movements at all times. Even if he managed it, without Bai Xiaosheng's supplied portraits, it'S unlikely he could identify the target.
Bai Xiaosheng shook his head: "It was but a token effort. Just providing some information can't compare with your personal endeavors, your life-and-death struggles."
He continued with a smile: "Pei brother, do you know that after this battle, your fame has spread throughout the world again, making you the most famous person in the world. From the imperial court to the martial world, who would dare say they have not heard of the Slayer Taoist, Pei Xuanjing?"
The Slayer Taoist, was the nickname Pei Xuanjing was now known by in the jianghu, the martial arts world.
His experiences were widely known and many came to understand his original title of Longevity Taoist. However, based on Pei Xuanjing's trail of bloodshed, while longevity was uncertain, slaying certainly was.
Hence, the nickname Slayer Taoist had slowly started to circulate in the jianghu.
Pei Xuanjing was not satisfied with this title, believing that killing was not his true nature and that he was only forced to do it under pressure.
However, he also realized that he had no say in his martial world title. So he could only let it be, letting things take their course.
What he didn't know was that Wang Boan had voluntarily tried to cover up for him regarding his assassination of the Ning King, Zhu Chenhao.
But, the situation at that time was too chaotic. Pei Xuanjing, not being a bloodthirsty man, did not kill every soldier of the Ning King that came his way, letting many escape.
Combined with his previous assassination of the Commander Chen from the Guard Command Department Yang Yunhui, which was widely known, it was impossible to hide the fact that Zhu Chenhao was killed by his hand. Thus, it quickly became public knowledge.
Pei Xuanjing was rather dismissive about becoming the talk of the martial arts world yet again, saying: "It's just passing reputation, it will fade in due course."
However, as Pei Xuanjing made this dismissive remark, there were people harbouring deep animosity towards him, desiring nothing but his swift elimination.
In a secluded secret chamber, the mysterious Lord of the Shenxiao Gate was once again shrouded in darkness, his entire body covered by a black robe and his face obscured by a bamboo hat.
A low voice resonated in the chamber: "Pei Xuanjing, you should die! Why do you always oppose me?" Yu Zhenzi, standing to the side, remained silent. He too was taken aback upon hearing this news.
No matter how much he pondered, he could not comprehend why Pei Xuanjing had interfered in this matter.
In his opinion, if he were in Pei Xuanjing's shoes, given his hostile relationship with the imperial court, he would have preferred to sit back and watch Ning King Zhu Chenhao's rebellion, waiting for the clash to reach its climax and seizing the opportunity to pursue his own advantage, instead of risking his life to kill Zhu Chenhao.
And yet, Pei Xuanjing's choice to personally eliminate Zhu Chenhao was beyond Yu Zhenzi's comprehension and he could not understand why.
The Lord of Shenxiao Gate asked Yu Zhenzi, "What were our losses this time?"
Indeed, Shenxiao Gate was also implicated in Ning King's rebellion.
His initial order for Yu Zhenzi to bring the token to the Northwest Dao was to liaise with the leader of the Mire Sect, Zhao Baiyang.
Upon hearing Shenxiao Gate Lord's question, Yu Zhenzi respectfully replied: "Most of our forces were in the Northwest Dao cooperating with the Mire Sect. We had few men in Yangzhou, thus our losses were minimal."
Perhaps saving face or deceiving oneself ultimately mattered.
Even if they were indirectly colluding with Ning King, they considered themselves the orthodox lineage of Shenxiao and thereby, wished to avoid any deep entanglement with Ning King, a member of Great Ming's royalty. As a result, their main forces were deployed in the Northwestern Dao and those involved in Yangzhou were few.
This move, unintentionally, saved them from disaster. Even with Ning King's defeat in Yangzhou, their losses were minimal.
Simultaneously, Yu Zhenzi was struck with awe at Pei Xuanjing's actions.
He knew that there were four first-grade experts on Ning King'S side, and it was not an exaggeration to say that any of them was as powerful as himself.
Yet, Pei Xuanjing was able to eliminate them single-handedly. His prowess and audacity left him speechless.
At this moment, his fear for Pei Xuanjing deepened. He felt that the nickname Slayer Taoist was indeed well earned.
The Lord of Shenxiao Gate's following words interrupted Yu Zhenzi's thoughts. He instructed 'Yu Zhenzi, allocate a few people from the Northwest Dao to leave and, at the same time, send people to track Pei Xuanjing's whereabouts."
Upon hearing Shenxiao Gate Lord's orders, shock was evident in Yu Zhenzi's eyes as he ventured to express his guess, "Lord, are you planning to make a move on Pei Xuanjing?" "Indeed!" The Shenxiao Gate Lord responded coldly.
Pei Xuanjing had multiple times ruined his plans. He must be eliminated.
Yu Zhenzi, with an image of Pei Xuanjing in his mind, couldn't help but say: "Lord… his strength is formidable. It's not advisable for us to act at this time…"
"Yu Zhenzi, are you questioning my decision?" The Lord of Shenxiao Gate interrupted Yu Zhenzi.
Yu Zhenzi hurriedly replied, "I dare not."
He dared not defy the Shenxiao Gate's will and thus could only comply with the instructions.
But concurrently, he decided to secretly pass on this information to Pei Xuanjing. After all, he still bore the sword intent left by Pei Xuanjing within him..
The assassins of the underworld were infamous across the land, yet no one knew exactly where the underworld was located.
In a mysterious place, the lord of the Underworld, Emperor Fengdu, sat high upon his throne, his long hair cascaded down his body. He was dressed in a black robe embroidered with the image of a Ghost God, giving an impression of inscrutable mystery.
Below, Yama King, the leader of the Ten Yama Lords, began to speak, "My lord, because of the affair with Ning King Zhu Chenhao, the underworld lost two first-grade martial artists of the Central Ghost Emperor, as well as King Chujiang and three second -grade martial artists who rule hell. We also lost a collective of ten grandmasters and pseudo-grandmasters of the third grade and nearly a hundred assassins of lower grades…"
As the first person under Fengdu ghost emperor, Yama King was deeply familiar with all underworld affairs, elaborating carefully the losses to the emperor.
After Yama King finished speaking, he stood there, waiting for the orders from the Fengdu ghost emperor.
Da, da, da,
The ghost emperor of Fengdu sat quietly on the throne, tapping the armrest lightly with his fingers, listening intently, not responding to what Yama King said as if these losses were trivial.
After a long while, the Fengdu ghost emperor spoke slowly, "The Netherworld book page will surface soon. Dispatch someone to retrieve it. As for other matters, put them aside for now. This is the most important task."
"Yes!" Yama King had no doubt. The words of Emperor Fengdu in the underworld were absolute, even more potent than an Imperial Decree. It was absolutely forbidden for anyone to defy them.
Since the Emperor had spoken, retrieving the Netherworld book's page was now the top priority of the Underworld.
Meanwhile, in the Northwest Dao.
After hearing the latest news from his disciple, who was also the holy girl of Mire Sect, Yu Yiyao, Zhao
Baiyang resolutely ordered, "Tell them to start packing up and prepare to evacuate."
With Zhao Baiyang's wisdom, he understood that this time, the Mire Sect's uprising in the Northwest Dao was only to distract the attention around Ning King Zhu Chenhao in Yangzhou.
Even if the Mire Sect had other thoughts, everything was based on Zhu Chenhao drawing the main attention of the Great Ming imperial court. Overall, the real force was dependent on how the actions played out on Zhu Chenhao's side.
Slnce Zhu Chenhao's side had already failed, regardless of how they failed, the situation in Yangzhou would naturally settle down quickly.
Then, the imperial court of the Great Ming would fully focus on the Northwest Dao. It was certain their plan had failed and unlikely to succeed again.
"Yes, Master." Yu Yiyao obeyed.
She strongly admired her master's wisdom and naturally trusted his analysis of the situation.
However, she still asked, "Master, what about the others?"
The "others" she mentioned were, of course, those who arose in rebellion with them, planning to take advantage of the chaotic situation.
"Other people?" Zhao Baiyang sneered, "Someone has to take responsibility for this incident. If we don't leave them behind, the Great Ming imperial court will surely cling to us. Do you understand?"
The stir caused this time in the Northwest Dao was not insignificant. If the Mire Sect wanted to escape unscathed, they had to leave people to shoulder the blame.
Those who joined with the intention of taking advantage of the chaos should be prepared to die when things go wrong.
"Disciple understands what to do." Yu Yiyao nodded with a smile, then slowly left.
Zhao Baiyang looked at the distant sky, his smile lingering, mumbling to himself, "Pei Xuanjing, you are becoming more and more intriguing to me. Are you truly a person who harbors the world in his heart? I look forward to the day, if there's a conflict between the world in your eyes and the longevity you seek, how will you choose?"
It's fair to say that even after just a single encounter with Pei Xuanjing, Zhao Baiyang, with the help of the news brought by Yu Yiyao, was able to see through the purpose of Pei's actions.
Surprisingly, he wasn't shocked by Pei Xuanjing's actions, which surprised many. Instead, he seemed to understand.
Inside the inn, Bai Xiaosheng laughed, "We don't need to flatter each other here. I came today because there's something I want to discuss with Brother Pei."
"Hmm?" Pei Xuanjing raised his eyebrows slightly, asking, "What is it?"
Bai Xiaosheng said, "Heaven and Earth are about to revive, and the world of martial arts that follows will be a time of great turbulence. So, I want to establish three lists to record the heroes of the world."
According to Bai Xiaosheng's idea, after the revival of Heaven and Earth, numerous heroes would rise, and the existing forces would be broken. He wanted to establish three lists to record the rankings of these heroes.
"Three lists? Which three lists?" Pei Xuanjing asked with interest.
The saying goes, "There's no first in literature and no second in martial arts."
He had been in this world for so long, but he had never heard of any rankings. Now that Bai Xiaosheng mentioned it, he suddenly became interested.
Bai Xiaosheng slowly said, "The three lists are named: Hidden-Dragon List, Wind-Cloud List, Supreme List."
"I'm interested in hearing the details." Pei Xuanjing motioned.
"Hidden-Dragon List will initially contain a total of 108 positions, matching the Heavenly Arrays. It refers to young talents with potential in the martial world who are under the age of thirty and of the third grade or below. They can all be listed."
"The Wind -Cloud List will initially contain 49 positions, signifying that the world changes with us. There are no age or martial arts restrictions for those listed. It only depends on the person's influence in the martial world. This list changes every three years."
"The Supreme List will initially contain 18 positions. These listed are the Supreme of the martial world, possessing the power to influence the power structure of the martial world."
Three lists that almost cover all the heroes of the world speak volumes about Bai Xiaosheng's ambition.
Pei Xuanjing asked, "Brother Bai, your plan is truly ambitious. I'm afraid the entire martial world will be in chaos because of these three lists."
He thought to himself that Bai Xiaosheng must have been planning this for quite a while.
Many martial artists are naturally competitive. Now with these lists, it was highly likely that martial artists would eagerly demonstrate their skills to make their names known.
Bai Xiaosheng said somewhat shyly, "I wish to place Brother Pei at the top of the Wind-Cloud list. I want to use your name this time and came here to let you know."
Considering Bai Xiaosheng's standing, he could have proceeded even without informing Pei Xuanjing. However, for the sake of their friendship, he decided to take the initiative and let him know. After all, he didn't want this to affect their working relationship.
"Me, at the top of the Wind-Cloud list? Isn't that ill -deserved?" Pei Xuanjing was surprised.
Bai Xiaosheng saw Pei Xuanjing's expression, shook his head, and said, "Currently, among the martial artists, the one who has had the most dominating presence in the past decade is none other than Brother Pei. I speak nothing but the truth."
Pei Xuanjing was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and according to what Bai Xiaosheng said, it seemed he wasn't wrong..