Chapter 289: The Current Ranking of Troubled Times

Chapter 289: The Current Ranking of Troubled Times

Heavy snow blanketed the green mountains, covering the area inside and outside Yanmen Pass in white.

Within Yanmen Commandery, at the commandery chief’s mansion, the best guest courtyard was occupied.

At this time, the first hidden dragon, known and praised throughout the world, was not participating in the pursuit. Instead, he lay limp in a soft chair, his face pale and lips blue, barely clinging on to life.

He had endured three clashes against Vulture Beak, not to mention a desperate full-force strike from Vulture Beak during the last exchange. Surviving that was an impressive feat in itself.

While other aspects of his ranking might be just supplementary, this confrontation was the core achievement that earned him even Batu’s admiration.

Unfortunately, the last thing he cared about right now was whatever core achievement. The pain from his injuries, the weakness from activating all of his buffs, and the aftereffects of surging vicious blood qi were overwhelming. Zhao Changhe, who had been all bright and heroic on the battlefield, now just wanted his Big Sister Yue to come and comfort him.

Yue Hongling knew what her lover was thinking, but in the presence of Cui Wenjing and the others, the proud heroine could not bring herself to rush in for dual cultivation with her lover. She could only act like she did not know him and go join the pursuit instead.

So, it was Cui Wenjing who was left to face Zhao Changhe’s pitiful look in the room.

“I don’t really care if you show that sour face to others, but you actually dare show it to me too?” Cui Wenjing’s expression was even worse than his. “Do you think I’m preventing you from being intimate with your heroine? Fine, go be intimate with her, but don’t expect anything else from me.”

Realizing that this was his prospective father-in-law, Zhao Changhe could only apologize, “Not at all, I’m just in pain from my injuries... Uncle, can you give me any medicine? I’ve run out...”

“This entire time you’ve been wandering the jianghu, you’ve been using the medicine from my Cui Clan!”

Zhao Changhe couldn’t retort.

Actually, he had long since used up the medicine he had gotten from the Cui Clan. Most of the supplies he got later came from the Tang Clan and the Demon Suppression Bureau. However, it did not seem wise for him to argue with Cui Wenjing at the moment, lest he die at his hands before any barbarians could even get to him.

“Forget it. You were a hero this time, so there’s no point in me being harsh with you.” Cui Wenjing’s voice softened as he tossed over a bottle of medicine. “This medicine is better than what Yangyang gave you before. It’s the best medicine we’ve got for treating internal injuries. It’s also excellent for strengthening your body and helping you recover from the backlash and weakness. “

Zhao Changhe took the medicine and felt somewhat better. He then asked curiously, “Uncle, why do you have the time to stay here? Shouldn’t you be out there dealing with Timur?”

Cui Wenjing looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “You were unconscious for a short time after returning to the pass. The battle is over now. Do you really think that you just got back?”

Zhao Changhe’s eyes widened.

Shit, I passed out?

Although there were no other direct confrontations or deaths on the Ranking of Man, the rankings still shifted. The Tome of Troubled Times updated the ranking, removing Hu Lie, citing that his severe injuries had left him incapacitated, leading to his removal from the rankings.

Consequently, Cui Yuanyong, who had just secured the seventy-first spot, moved up to seventy. At the same time, Xua Canghai advanced to seventy-one, and Situ Xiao took seventy-two.

Situ Xiao was visibly displeased at the moment. Unlike Cui Yuanyong, who had rightfully earned his position by directly challenging and defeating an opponent on the Ranking of Man, he had merely moved up to fill in the rankings. In the eyes of the public, he had yet to truly prove himself worthy of being on the Ranking of Man. Cui Wenjing thus suspected that Situ Xiao was already out looking for Xue Canghai.

This process of replacing the likes of He Lei and Hu Lie with new entrants might give the impression that the rankings of the Tome of Troubled Times were weakening as the newcomers were weaker than before, but Cui Wenjing knew otherwise.

The overall strength of the Ranking of Man had likely increased. Previously, some lower-ranked individuals had been there as placeholders, their notable achievements long past and no recent progress. Now, those on the ranking were truly battle-tested, exceptional talents, and there were much fewer weaklings.

The current top rankers on the Ranking of Hidden Dragons were almost guaranteed future entrants to the Ranking of Man, with little doubt about their qualifications.

Zhao Changhe held the top spot, followed by Wang Zhaoling, Xia Chichi, and Han Wubing.

No one doubted their eventual ascension to the Ranking of Man; it was just a matter of time.

Cui Wenjing was proud of his son, who had earned his place on the Ranking of Man by defeating a formidable enemy rather than simply moving up to fill the spots. Looking at Zhao Changhe, who was also about to join the Ranking of Man, Cui Wenjing wore a disgruntled face.

If he had known that Zhao Changhe would become so formidable, he would have finalized the marriage agreement earlier. Instead, he had insisted on some condition of reaching the Ranking of Man in three years. Now, there were endless rumors about Zhao Changhe’s romantic exploits. Ignoring his potential affair with Tang Wanzhuang, it was hard to believe that nothing had happened between Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling after their long time together in the Grasslands. Only a pig would believe otherwise.

Cui Wenjing wanted to slap himself, but the announcement had been made publicly. He had to stick to it even if it pained him. Until Zhao Changhe officially made it onto the Ranking of Man, he was not Cui Wenjing’s son-in-law. If Zhao Changhe wanted to pursue other women, then he had no say.

But letting Zhao Changhe wander for another year or two meant more potential romantic entanglements. Cui Wenjing wished he could just push Zhao Changhe onto the Ranking of Man and get him to marry his daughter immediately.

Cui Wenjing stared at Zhao Changhe for a long time before squeezing out a sentence through clenched teeth, “You’re not planning to deliberately wander around for two more years, waiting to hit the three-year mark before making it onto the Ranking of Man, are you?”

Zhao Changhe blinked innocently.

He indeed had such thoughts—of course, it was not because he wanted to pursue women. The real reason was that he wanted to break through to the Profound Mysteries first and then ascend directly to the top ranks of the Ranking of Man.

What was the point of crawling at the bottom of the Ranking of Man while he was still locked behind a Profound Gate? It was a waste of time and effort. Only after unlocking the Profound Mysteries would he truly be a contender on the Ranking of Man, on the genuine Ranking of Man that the Tome of Troubled Times wanted it to be.

Back then, both Chi Li and Yue Hongling aimed to enter the Ranking of Man at a decent rank rather than just squeezing in at the bottom.

Zhao Changhe’s ambitions were even wilder. He wanted to break into the top fifty directly.