As the golden crow set in the west, the jade rabbit rose in the east.
Pei Xuanjing and Bai Xiaosheng sat in the attic of an inn, gazing at the bright moon and drinking fine wine.
Pei Xuanjing thought about the three major lists Bai Xiaosheng had mentioned earlier, another thing that had happened in the simulation of life. But this time he wasn't too surprised, after all, this was not the first time.
Although Bai Xiaosheng had listed himself as the leader of the so-called Wind and Cloud List, putting himself in the limelight, he considered his current situation: the more debt, the less pressure; the more lice, the less worry. It didn't bother him much.
He didn't mind this matter as the Wind and Cloud List was to be changed every three years. Once the three-year period was over, he would retreat for refining and accumulating Taoyun, and these three years would pass quickly.
So he was rather curious about a few other things, like who exactly were the 18 people in the Supreme List.
According to Bai Xiaosheng, the 18 people on the Supreme List were all powerful enough to influence the power structure of the Jianghu, a matter Pei Xuanjing seemed to be quite interested in.
He raised his glass and asked, "I'm actually very curious about who the Supremes on this list are. Can Brother Bai solve my doubts?"
Hearing Pei Xuanjing's question, Bai Xiaosheng smiled lightly and said, "Why not!"
"Brother Pei, do you know who in this world's Jianghu can truly be considered a supreme master?"
Pei Xuanjing smiled and said, "I am eager to hear the details."
Bai Xiaosheng drained his glass and loudly said, "Among the supreme masters of Jianghu, the most widely known should be the experts from the Buddhism, Taoism, and Demonic Cult. The current
Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the obscure monk of Buddhism School, and the leader of Sky Demon Sect."
No matter how it's calculated, the world's power can't escape the division into Buddhism, Taoism, and Demonic Cult.
And among these three schools, naturally there are those who are acknowledged as the dominant ones.
Even though Bai Xiaosheng and Qingxu Taoist have deep ties, and the True Martial Sect is very powerful, if we talk about inheritance and strength, Dragon Tiger Mountain doesn't fall much behind.
Bai Xiaosheng once asked Qingxu Taoist, who would win if he fought against the old Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
The Qingxu Taoist answered that if it was a pure contest, he would be no match, but if it was a fight to the death, he could hold his own due to his younger age and may ensure mutual destruction.
From this answer, one could know that Qingxu Taoist is at a slight disadvantage.
Pei Xuanjing nodded, agreeing with Bai Xiaosheng's evaluation. He filled Bai Xiaosheng's glass and asked, "Then what?"
Bai Xiaosheng held the wine glass in his hand and continued, "Following, it would be the Qingxu Taoist, Zhao Baiyang the leader of Mire Sect, Fengdu Ghost Emperor the lord of the Underworld,
Chunyang Sword Master of Chunyang Sect, the Sword Master of Sword Sect, Zi Heavenly King of Heavenly King's Pavilion, the first swordsman in the world, Tie Qianshan of the Tie Sect, the Lord of Shenxiao Gate…'
The world is vast, countless martial artists, and myriad masters. Even with the information Bai Xiaosheng has, he can't possibly understand all these people.
Moreover, these supreme masters, each one of them is not to be trifled with. Unless Bai Xiaosheng went to visit them personally, no one would know how powerful they are.
Hence, he didn't plan to finalize the Supreme List immediately.
Instead, he wanted to release the other two lists first, then spread the news about the Supreme List, letting the news circulate in Jianghu, see which way the wind blew, then make a decision.
Listening to Bai Xiaosheng's list of names, Pei Xuanjing quietly memorized them.
At this point, Bai Xiaosheng turned to Pei Xuanjing and said with a smile, "Of course, with Brother Pei'S strength, you could naturally be included in this list. It is only a pity that you are alone and do not have a large force to support you."
The so-called Jianghu Supreme, in addition to having great personal strength, also relies on considerable power behind them. Only then can it be considered a true supreme.
Clearly, among the people he just mentioned, even the number one swordsman in the world has quite a few supporters.
So he felt sorry for Pei Xuanjing.
Of course, if one day Pei Xuanjing really reestablishes the Shenxiao Sect, it would be deserving of the list.
Hearing Bai Xiaosheng's words, Pei Xuanjing smiled and didn't comment.
He didn't have such an ambition for fame for the time being.
Instead of focusing on these, it is better to ask about other things.
He had heard a few familiar names, he asked, "Speaking of the leader of Mire Sect, Zhao Baiyang, I've encountered him before and can tell he is very strong."
Hearing Pei Xuanjing's words, Bai Xiaosheng recalled that it seemed that Pei Xuanjing had acquired the Sacred Fire Order from Holy Flame Sect because of this encounter.
He slowly said, "I remember that you had not broken through the First-grade realm at that time?"
Pei Xuanjing nodded, "Correct."
At that time, he hadn't broken through to the First-grade realm.
Based on what Bai Xiaosheng said, the retreat of Zhao Baiyang at the time may not have been due to his strength, but there might be other reasons.
Bai Xiaosheng pondered for a while, gathered some information, and guessed, "I think of a reason."
Pei Xuanjing looked at him, listening to Bai Xiaosheng saying, "I got news that Zhao Baiyang seems to have plans to reorganize the White Lotus Sect. He has been seizing the martial studies of different branches of the White Lotus Sect and wants to cultivate the supreme skill, Maitreya's Three
Generations Sutra. Probably he was at a critical moment of his skill cultivation, plus the unrest in the Northwest Dao planned by Mire Sect not long ago. That's why he was reluctant to fight with you."
Pei Xuanjing nodded in agreement and asked again, "I heard that you had met Tie Qianshan, what is your opinion of him?"
He had heard about Tie Qianshan from many people. These people seemed to have high esteem for Tie Qianshan, which made him very curious.
"Tie Qianshan!" Bai Xiaosheng's hand holding the wine glass paused, and after a long silence, he slowly said, "This person… is very complicated."
He looked at Pei Xuanjing and a mysterious smile appeared on his face, "If we're talking about it seriously, the him of the past and the you of now are somewhat similar." Here it is again. Pei Xuanjing had heard such an estimation before.
He looked strange and became even more curious about Tie Qianshan's affairs.
Looking at Pei Xuanjing's peculiar expression, Bai Xiaosheng continued, "Tie Qianshan came from a small power called the Tie Sect. Before he rose to power, it was a faction without any Upper Three Realm martial artists. At that time, Tie Qianshan was a member of this small power with average talent, but he had an indomitable heart of a strong man.."
Pei Xuanjing raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "But isn't Tie Qianshan highly praised by many for his exceptional talent, which allowed him to elevate the ordinary martial studies of the Tie Sect to a superior level?"
Upon hearing Pei Xuanjing's doubt, Bai Xiaosheng smiled, "Those people simply judge heroes by their achievements. If Tie Qianshan indeed had such extraordinary talent, then why would he initially be accepted into Tie Sect?"
He continued, "However, he was genuinely fortunate. At the age of twenty, he entered a cave left by predecessors and received an exceptional inheritance. More coincidentally, the martial arts master who left the inheritance was also adept at palmistry."
"With this fortunate encounter, his progress soared and he quickly broke through to the Third-grade Grandmaster Realm. Back then, Tie Qianshan gained quite a reputation quickly, and made a number of friends, one of whom, you are likely very familiar with, Zhao Baiyang, the leader of the Mire Sect."
"Huh?" Pei Xuanjing was taken aback, finding it hard to believe that these two had such a relationship.
When he heard Bai Xiaosheng continue to say, "However, afterward, for certain reasons, these two became strangers, with no more interactions."
"Oh?" Pei Xuanjing asked curiously.
Bai Xiaosheng answered, "These men are all rising figures. Their rise naturally implies the interests of many other forces were affected. Some enlisted people from the underworld to ambush them. Despite failing, they were all dispersed and were no longer as they originally were."
Great Ming has been established for 600 years. Apart from the rise of forces during the founding of the nation, only some individuals benefited immensely from Emperror Taizong•s opportunity and quickly became the top forces in the Great Ming.
As of today, the current power structure has become stagnant. The beneficiaries of existing interests simply do not allow any new forces to join and share their benefits.
For newcomers who truly want to set foot in this realm, their options are either to challenge an existing force, take over everything they have, and become a member or to disrupt everything with endless power, shatter all existing rules, and establish a new set of rules.
At that time, both Tie Qianshan and Zhao Baiyang were unwilling to bow to the old forces. They selected the latter path.
However, the strength of the conservative forces exceeded their imagination. Their alliance was easily dismantled. Some died, some succumbed, some chose to hide, some decided to retreat, while others sought new paths.
After this setback, Zhao Baiyang and Tie Qianshan went their separate ways; Zhao Baiyang joined the Mire Sect while Tie Qianshan decided to return to Northwest Dao, dedicating himself fully to the development of the Tie Sect.
It can be said that many people believe that Tie Qianshan no longer harbors his initial ambition. What was left of him now is simply a disillusioned man defeated by reality.
The two continued their conversation until dawn.
A month later, Pei Xuanjing returned to Shenxiao Mountain with Pang Hong.
By then, Shenxiao Mountain was no longer in ruins. Although it did not compare to when Shenxiao Sect was still around, at least it was no longer a shell of its past.
Soon after their return, they received news from Bai Xiaosheng. It was about Wang Boan.
With 100,000 troops, he defeated Ning King Zhu Chenhao's 500,000-strong army, quelled the rebellion in Yangzhou, and saved the citizens from devastation. This was indeed a great merit.
All were under the imoression that Wang Boan would receive a great deal of recognition. and his career in Jie Xi Lei would be smooth sailing, shooting straight to the sky.
But to everyone's astonishment, the imperial court did not reward Wang Boan in any way despite his tremendous achievement. It was as if nothing had happened, leaving it unresolved.
Moreover, when Wang Boan asked for a leave of absence due to his illness, the emporer casually accepted.
Such an unreasonable incident surprisingly caused no objections. Apart from a few scholars who felt sorry for Wang Boan, most officials at the court chose to remain silent, even Wang Boan's patron, Minister of War Wang Qiong, turned a blind eye.
'High merit incites the sovereign's apprehension, eh,' sneered Pei Xuanjing.
How sad this was. It indirectly proved that the current emperor was a tyrant who didn't tolerate outstanding merits.
He initially thought this emperor who recruited people to compile and distribute martial classics throughout the world was ambitious, even if they would inevitably become opponents and enemies. But after watching how he dealt with Wang Boan's quelling of the rebellion, he completely overturned his previous idea, and his evaluation of the emperor dropped significantly.
As a qualified ruler, if he is truly strong and ambitious, then he should display the grandeur of a monarch in the face of a minister such as Wang Boan.
Even if he doesn't like it, how could a high-ranking king be so indifferent to the merits of his subjects? This would surely dismay many.
A tyrant driven by grand ambition, but intolerant of others, that is his evaluation of this emperor.
As for such an emperor, Pei Xuanjing is certain he has nothing to worry about.
After this incident, Pei Xuanjing dropped all other matters and started to seclude himself on Shenxiao Mountain. He began to refine the Shenxiao Command token and the acquired skills, accumulating taoyun, preparing to initiate his next life simulation as soon as possible.
Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
A lot had happened throughout the Great Ming during this half year.
First was the pacification of the Northwest Dao revolt.
Moreover, because of the Mire Sect's timely withdrawal, exposing other powers that had been plundering with them, these forces became the primary targets of the Great Ming imperial court.
For a while, the whole of Northwest Dao was in turmoil, with everyone fearing the imperial court would seize the opportunity to eradicate them all.
Fortunately, the Great Ming court was still rational. It knew that these major and minor powers were partners in maintaining the stability of Northwest Dao. So, they primarily attacked those who had followed Mire Sect in the upheaval.
Nonetheless, nearly half of the powers in the entire Northwest Dao were eradicated, leaving behind a large vacuum, leading to fierce competition between the remaining powers and some smaller suppressed forces.
It can be said that after this Northwest Dao revolt, apart from the top few powers in the Northwest Dao, most of the remaining forces underwent a reshuffle.
Besides the happenings in Northwest Dao, the most talked-about event in the whole Jianghu was Bai Xiaosheng's three-fold announcement. This grabbed the attention of almost the entire martial arts world..