Chapter 197: On the Leaderboard

Chapter 197: On the Leaderboard

As the night got darker, Qi Xuansu, Sui Fan, and Eighth Tianyang stopped chatting and sat quietly beside the bonfire. They each took turns meditating while the others kept watch.

Early the next morning, the group continued on their journey to Xiping Prefecture. The journey of several days passed by in a flash. From afar, they could see the city.

Qi Xuansu did not want to enter the city with the Green Phoenix Guards, so he bid goodbye to Eighth Tianyang and Sui Fan. Since they had official duties, they did not keep Qi Xuansu either. They just thanked Qi Xuansu again for his help.

After entering the city alone, Qi Xuansu randomly found a restaurant. As soon as he walked into the lobby, he saw several pieces of paper with a list of names posted on a bulletin board.

This was the leaderboard that Eighth Tianyang mentioned before.

The Gold Leaderboard was the neatest, with only ten names on it. Thus, the lines and words were well-spaced. Each name was clearly visible at a glance. In contrast, the Bronze Leaderboard had more than 300 names on it, so it was condensed. The words were so densely packed that one would go dizzy reading them.

Furthermore, those on the Gold Leaderboard were addressed by their titles and not their real names. For example, the founder of the Heavenly Court who ranked first on the Gold Leaderboard was called the Golden Patriarch. Qi Xuansu wondered if the Qingping Society had reservations about disclosing the identities of these secret society’s figureheads or if their identities were unknown to outsiders.

It had been more than a month since this leaderboard was released, so the popularity had passed. Only a few people were reading it at the moment. But when it was first posted, it was a grand event. Many people gathered around these bulletin boards for weeks.

Qi Xuansu was at Yunjin Mountain at the time these leaderboards were first posted. No one in Yunjin Mountain talked about it because they were focused on the Laba Festival and the Quanzhen Sect’s visit to the Zhengyi Sect. This perfectly encapsulated the difference between the Daoist community and the outside world. All these major events for ordinary people were nothing to those in the Daoist community.

In other words, even if Qi Xuansu somehow ranked first on the Bronze Leaderboard, he would still be treated according to his Daoist priest rank and his position as Zhang Yuelu’s subordinate.

Qi Xuansu walked to the leaderboards and browsed them carefully. He did not recognize any of the names on the Gold Leaderboard because they did not include anyone from the Three Religions or the Imperial Court. Most of them were leaders of secret societies.

Next was the Silver Leaderboard, which also excluded people from the Three Religions and the Imperial Court. In addition to the masters of secret societies, there were also some masters from ordinary associations. The difference between secret societies and ordinary associations was that the latter were recognized by the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court, so they were deemed legal. Secret societies were illegal.

Generally speaking, ordinary people would address ordinary associations as gangs or societies, while secret societies were mostly called cults. The Qingping Society, Seven Treasure Pavilion, and The Inn were secret societies by Daoist definition, but they were considered ordinary associations in the real world.

However, everyone regarded the Ziguang Society, the Cult of Fates, and the Lingshan Witch Cult as evil and demonic sects. Ordinary people dared not provoke these three cults.

Qi Xuansu browsed the names on the Silver Leaderboard but could not recognize any of them. He then moved on to the Bronze Leaderboard. The Pseudo-Immortals on the Gold Leaderboard and the Heavenly Beings on the Silver Leaderboard were too far from reach for him, so he was not excited about it. His focus was still on the Bronze Leaderboard.

The first person on the Bronze Leaderboard, also known as the Ruyi Leaderboard, was from the Daoist Order.

Yao Pei

Qi Xuansu finally understood the situation. Yao Pei and Li Changge were from prestigious families, so they did not need to be exposed to mundane duties so soon. Instead, they focused on improving their cultivation level and strived to become Heavenly Beings as soon as possible.

That was because if they were Heavenly Beings, they could be promoted to the third rank without having to follow the tenure system. They could also easily gain some merit with their huge network of backers. By then, they would have a smooth and guaranteed promotion to the second rank in just a few years.

In comparison, Zhang Yuelu did not have such a smooth journey. It was no wonder Madam Qi mentioned before that Zhang Yuelu relied on her hard work to get to her current position. While the other Banished Immortals could stay ignorant of worldly affairs, Zhang Yuelu had performed and excelled in her duties at Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall.

Zhang Yuelu barely made it out alive from the major Jiangnan case and made a name for herself within the Daoist community. This explained why Zhang Yuelu was more well-known but still lagged behind these two Banished Immortals on this leaderboard.

The third person on the Ruyi Leaderboard was from the royal family of the Great Xuan Dynasty, and the fourth person was from the Buddhist Sect. Qi Xuansu had never heard of them, either. This made him doubt whether he was too ignorant. The Confucian School was no longer as great as it once was, with no one in the top five of this leaderboard.

In the fight between Xie Qiuniang and Zhang Yuelu at Yulan Temple, they ended up in a deadlock because Zhang Yuelu was exhausted from having defeated two Guizhen-stage masters in a row beforehand.

The fifth person on the leaderboard was a familiar name to Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Yuelu

|| Guizhen-stage Banished Immortal

|| Fourth-rank Daoist Priest, Deputy Hall Master of Tiangang Hall

|| Disciple of Sage Cihang (Zhengyi Sect)

Zhang Yuelu’s position as Deputy Hall Master was particularly eye-catching.

Not doing anything had its advantages, like being able to concentrate on improving one’s cultivation level without any distractions. However, there were also benefits to holding an official position, such as an impressive resume. As long as Zhang Yuelu did not lag too far behind in her cultivation level, she would be able to defeat the other two Banished Immortals with her work experience alone.

At that time, Zhang Yuelu could bring out her contributions in solving the major Jiangnan case and in wiping out the cult demons in the Western Regions, Yongzhou, and other places. This was Zhang Yuelu’s advantage.

Besides that, Qi Xuansu purposely looked for Yan Xiu’s name. The Buddhaputra was ranked 19th, which was not too low. There was still a big gap between Qi Xuansu and that monk, so it looked like getting vengeance was still too far ahead.

Since Xie Qiuniang was only an alias, Qi Xuansu did not find her on the list.

There were also two more names that he recognized—Wan Xiuwu and Yue Liuli. They had also made it to the Ruyi Leaderboard this time, but they were far behind Zhang Yuelu and were not in the top 100.

Finally, Qi Xuansu found his name, ranking 352nd, just shy of being in the bottom ten.