Capítulo 41: Earth Ranking
Editor: Lucas
Chapter 41: "Earthly Ranking"
A three-story building that took up an extremely spacious land could be seen on the center of the main road in Yi City. On top of the main entrance hung a board with three big golden words written—Wan Xiang Tower!
In an alley that was slightly over ten Zhang away from the Wan Xiang Tower.
"Qingshan and I will be going to Wan Xiang Tower. Head to Old Wang's place on the street in front and sell all the beast hides. Let's meet up again in this alleyway." Teng Yongfan gave out instructions before he glanced toward Teng Qinghu and asked, "Qinghu, you haven't been to the Wan Xiang Tower before either. Do you wanna come with us to take a look at the things sold by Wan Xiang Tower?"
"Of course!" Teng Qinghu lifted his head and said.
"Alright, then ask the others to help you keep your weapons temporarily." Teng Yongfan said, "Qingshan, hand over your spear as well. No one is allowed to enter Wan Xiang Tower with weapons.
"They have such strict rules!" Teng Qingshan also handed his Damascus Steel Spear to the other clansmen.
With this, Teng Yongfan, Teng Qingshan, and Teng Qinghu walked towards Wan Xiang Tower.
The entrance of Wan Xiang Tower was guarded by two valiant and heroic looking ladies with a sharp sword hung at their waist. The two ladies smiled as they welcomed every guest. Simultaneously, they reminded the customers not to bring their weapons into Wan Xiang Tower.
Dressed like hunters, Teng Qingshan and the others walked in directly without being stopped by the two ladies.
"This place is really big." Teng Qinghu said as his eyes widened in shock.
Teng Qingshan was also taken aback. With many counters everywhere, the interior of Wan Xiang Tower was extremely spacious. Just the number of member of the staff who stood at the counter alone surpassed 100. Moreover, this was just the first floor.
"Qingshan, everyone of any background can enter Wan Xiang Tower. In addition, you can find all sorts of things here." Teng Yongfan said, "The first and second floors are both for selling things. As for the third floor.. Outsiders are not allowed. The good items sold by Wan Xiang Tower are extremely costly!"
Teng Qingshan looked at the many pieces of items displayed on the counters and exclaimed to himself, "Wan Xiang Tower is really bold to be displaying all of their precious items outside. They aren't afraid that people would snatch or rob them!" Teng Qingshan's gaze swept across the room and he noticed that there were also some people patrolling the place.
"They're probably inner strength experts, preventing people from stealing." Teng Qingshan thought to himself.
Teng Qinghu's eyes widened as he stared at a bangle on the counter and said, "Isn't this a Blue Flower Stone bangle? When we chance upon a large piece of the Blue Flower Stone in the mountains, we only sold it for one hundred silver taels. The one piece of Blue Flower Stone we found could be used to make several bangles. Yet, this bangle actually cost one hundred and twenty silver taels."
The staff who stood inside the counter only cast a look of disdain at Teng Qinghu.
It was clear that Teng Qinghu was a poor villager from the mountains. His clothing showed that there was no way for him to buy these exquisitely made bangles.
"Alright, let's go in a take a look." Teng Yongfan frowned and glared at Teng Qinghu. He then walked to the side and said in a soft voice, "Qinghu, don't be creating a fuss. It's embarrassing. Got it?"
Teng Qinghu grinned and did not say another word.
"Father, what are you buying?" Teng Qinghu asked.
"Some materials for forging weapons. The forging of all those Frost Jade Sabers has depleted most of our materials. Therefore, it's time to buy some more. Wan Xiang Tower is the only place in Yi City that sells these materials." Teng Yongfan then headed inside. "Come, let me broaden your horizon. Let's go and take a look at the counter that sells the materials for forging weapons.
When most men from the village first come to the Wan Xiang Tower, they were all extremely shocked.
However, to Teng Qingshan, this place was much smaller in size than those large-scaled departmental stores from his previous world. There were also much fewer items in comparison. Therefore, he was not very surprised.
Teng Qingshan and the others came to the counter that sold materials for forging weapons.
"There are so many messed up things here." Teng Qinghu mumbled.
Indeed, there were various pieces of metals, stones, powdery items, and other items on the counter. Anyway, although all the things here did not appear to be expensive, their prices were astonishingly high.
"Qingshan, look," Teng Yongfan pointed at a piece of silver metal with unique prints on it and said, "This is called the Star Patterned Steel. It can be considered the steel with the best tenacity. It's the best material for the forging of the body of a longspear! Of course, it is extremely costly as well."
Seeing that Teng Yongfan was a person who recognized the value of the Star Pattern Steel, the member of the staff at the counter boasted, "The body of a longspear made from this Star Patterned Steel is something even unrivaled experts who have reached the legendary Innate Realm would find it hard to break."
"Innate Realm?" Teng Qingshan was taken aback.
It was really as the records in the "Millennium Chronicles"stated, the era with bountiful Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth could create innate experts.
"What?!" Teng Qinghu stared at the piece of paper under that small piece of Star Patterned Steel, "One Jin of Star Patterned Steel costs one Jin of gold?"
Teng Qingshan also looked at that price in astonishment.
The Star Patterned Steel is of equivalent value as gold. In this world, the purchasing power of gold was very astonishing. Yet, one tael of Star Patterned Steel was equivalent to one tael of gold, and one tael of gold was equivalent to one hundred silver taels.
"The Star Patterned Steel is very heavy and if a longspear is made completely of this material, it would require at least one hundred Jin of Star Patterned Steel." The staff smiled and said, "That would be one hundred Jin of gold, which is one hundred thousand silver taels! Unless the person is very wealthy or a powerful cultivator, they wouldn't be able to afford so much money.
Teng Qingshan gasped.
One hundred thousand silver taels to make a single spear? The spare money that Teng Jia Village had was only around twenty thousand silver taels at most.
"Millennium Coldsteel?" Teng Qingshan stared at the piece of black stone that was next to the Star Patterned Steel. It was emanating a threatening cold Qi which could be sensed even without touching it.
"Mmm, this Millennium Coldsteel cannot be refined and had been uncovered from various places. However, it is a lot cheaper than the Star Patterned Steel. One Jin of Millennium Coldsteel requires two gold taels!" Teng Yongfan explained from the side. The price of the Millennium Coldsteel was twenty percent of the Star Patterned Steel.
Of course, it was still not something which Teng Qingshan and the others could afford.
"These materials..." Teng Qingshan exclaimed inwardly. As expected, an era where there was bountiful Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth could nurture many amazing materials. In his previous life, materials like the Millennium Coldsteel could only be found in books. Such amazing metals could no longer be found in the modern world.
"Qingshan, the two of you can go take a look at the other places. When I'm done purchasing the materials, I'll call the two of you and we'll leave together." Teng Yongfan said.
"Alright, Father."
Teng Qingshan and his cousin Qinghu went to browse around the other counters in the Wan Xiang Tower.
"Qingshan, Qingshan," Teng Qinghu suddenly tugged Teng Qingshan, who looked at him puzzledly, asking "What's the matter?" He followed Teng Qinghu's gaze and looked toward Wan Xiang Tower's entrance. A handsome man wearing long-sleeved aquamarine-colored clothes and a cute girl who was wearing a white marten fur coat entered Wan Xiang Tower together.
There were guards and servant behind them.
"That's the daughter of that great salt merchant." Teng Qinghu lowered his voice and said.
"It's really her." Teng Qingshan had noticed that as well. However, his attention was more on that guy. "It's winter now, but that handsome young man is only wearing a set of long-sleeved clothes. He doesn't seem cold at all. He must be an expert who cultivated inner strength."
"Qingshan," Teng Qinghu stealthily glanced toward the distant, lowered his voice and said, "This rich young lady is really different from the girls in our village in the mountains. Look how fair her skin is and how tender her face is… Her face is even more tender than the ladies in the brothels."
Hearing this, Teng Qingshan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He then responded to Qinghu with a smile, "If you want to look at her, go closer. Why are you peeking at her from afar? After all, we won't be able to see her when we are back in the village.
The girls living in the mountains were subjected to manual labor from a young age and were exposed to harsh weather conditions. How could they possibly be compared with these young ladies from wealthy families who had everything brought to them at their request?
"Mmm, I'll go and take a closer look." Teng Qinghu was really bold and actually headed over.
...
"Big Brother Liu, you boasted to me about how amazing you are. Then let me ask you. Is your name on this Hidden Dragon Ranking?" As they got nearer, Teng Qingshan overheard the salt merchant's daughter questioning the young man.
"Qingyu, those who can get onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking are the few elites across the Nine Prefectures in the world. These elites have been cultivating inner strength since young. I had started off late… However, I don't care about that Hidden Dragon Ranking. My goal is to be listed on the Earthly Ranking!"
The salt merchant's daughter, 'Li Qingyu' covered her mouth and laughed, "You're thinking of getting onto the Earthly Ranking even though you can't get onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking?"
The young man's face flushed red as he replied, "Qingyu, don't tease me. This is just my dream! Also, my Eldest Martial Brother is an elite of this generation who is listed on both the Hidden Dragon Ranking and the Earthly Ranking. What about your Gui Yuan Sect? No one in the Gui Yuan Sect is in the Hidden Dragon Ranking or the Earthly Ranking, right?"
"Your Eldest Martial Brother is the amazing one, not you," Qingyu grumbled.
"Alright, Qingyu, don't be angry." The young man hurriedly coaxed, "Weren't you here to purchase a copy of the Hidden Dragon Ranking and the Young Phoenix Ranking? Staff, get us two copies each of the Hidden Dragon Ranking and the Young Phoenix Ranking."
Teng Qingshan could distinctly see that the staff had brought out four thread-bounded books that were as thick as a finger. The book stacked on top of the other two had three big beautifully written words—Hidden Dragon Ranking. The servant behind the young man immediately made the payment with four pieces of silver notes, each worth one hundred silver taels.
"Four hundred taels?" Teng Qingshan thought to himself, "Four books cost four hundred taels? Why is it so expensive?"
By right, books should be cheap.
That pair of handsome and pretty couple headed for the other counters while Teng Qingshan came to the counter which the couple had purchased the books. The three books that stood out the most were the "Hidden Dragon Ranking", the "Young Phoenix Ranking", and the "Earthly Ranking". The "Hidden Dragon Ranking" and the "Young Phoenix Ranking" were both very thick while the"Earthly Ranking" was the only book that was very thin.
The "Hidden Dragon Ranking" and the "Young Phoenix Ranking" costs one hundred silver taels while the "Earthly Ranking"costs ten silver taels.
"What are these three books?" Teng Qingshan enquired.
The staff threw a glance at Teng Qingshan, who was still young, and said with a smile, "Young lad, these three books lists down the famous elites across the Nine Prefectures as well as their biographies. If you want to buy them, go get money from the adults at home." People who purchased these books were mainly those who trained their inner strength or members of a wealthy family who held great admiration for cultivators. Therefore, these books were priced at a very high cost."
Teng Qingshan was tempted.
Although he now knew that there were eight great sects on the Land of Nine Prefectures, he was still not clear about many things.
"I'll be buying that "Earthly Ranking"." Teng Qingshan said as he took out ten silver taels.
As the leader of the of the clan's Hunting Squadron, he would be given ten silver taels each month. In the clan, the leader of the Hunting Squadron, the Spear Art Master, and the best blacksmith gave the greatest contribution to the clan, and thus, received the most money. However, compared to some guards in Yi City, a monthly allowance of ten silver taels was already considered low.
However, they were providing help for the clan after all and thus could not possibly ask for too much.
"Qingshan, ten silver taels for a book?" Teng Qinghu, who was beside Teng Qingshan, had just withdrawn his attention and realized that Teng Qingshan had just spent ten silver taels purchasing a book.
"That's right. This book is worth the money." Teng Qingshan smiled and took the book from the staff.
"Hmph, if your father were to hear of this, he'd definitely nag at you." Teng Qinghu pouted and said.
However, Teng Qingshan just stood where he was and started reading through the book.
Capítulo 42: Hong Si of the White Horse Gang
Editor: Lucas
Chapter 42: Hong Si of the White Horse Gang
It was written on the first page of the "Earthly Ranking".
"On the Land of the Nine Prefectures, there are countless courageous and powerful experts."
"For example, Hong Tian, the King of the Northeast, who had ruled Youshou and Yanzhou, the bitter-cold lands in the north. Hong Tian had conquered a large part of the nine prefectures with his eighty thousand cavalrymen. The Qin Mountains in Yongzhou in the northwest that spanned three thousand Li had even gave birth to the Heavenly Emperor of Qin Mountains, someone who was unsurpassed in his generation. Back in the days, the Heavenly Emperor of Qin Mountains had stopped the flow of Yan River, which had a width of one hundred Zhang, with a single attack of his palm. Since then, he had been admired by the people and his story passed down from generations to generations. Beside Emperor Yu, he was the only other great and courageous hero to have conquered all nine prefectures! The prefecture Yuzhou located in the center of the Land of the Nine Prefecture gave birth to Emperor Yu, the most amazing hero since the creation of this world. Back then, Emperor Yu had leveled mountains, unified the Nine Prefectures, repartitioned the land, and forged the nine cauldrons. He became the number one emperor in history and had set up his capital in Yuzhou. Yuzhou, being the land of the Emperor, had countless elites…"
"However, over the several thousand of years, many heroes had turned into white bones. Several hundred years later, they were all forgotten by the descendants of the Nine Prefectures. When the Martial Ancestor of Wan Xiang Sect 'Jiang Jun' thought of this, he would sigh endlessly. At a later time, he had the idea of compiling the "Heavenly Ranking" and "Earthly Ranking" for the Land of the Nine Prefectures. The disciples of Wan Xiang Sect worked together and travelled the world, recording the tales of marvels of the heroes and elites from various places and modifying the collected information. And so, four rankings in the Nine Prefectures—the "Heavenly Ranking", "Earthly Ranking", "Hidden Dragon Ranking", and the"Young Phoenix Ranking"were produced."
"The four rankings of the Nine Prefectures would be updated every six months! It records the heroes and elites coming from all over the Nine Prefectures."
"Wan Xiang Sect is determined to record the names of the great heroes on the Land of the Nine Prefectures in the four rankings so that the later generations born one thousand or ten thousand years later would be able to know the heroic stories about their ancestors."
When Teng Qingshan read this page, he felt excited.
Wealth and riches might not be a form of temptation to many heroic experts. However, many of these powerful experts dreamt of having their names passed down from in history.
Teng Qingshan flipped to the second page.
"In the four rankings of the Nine Prefectures, the "Hidden Dragon Ranking" records one hundred and eight most outstanding young heroes in the Nine Prefectures who are within thirty years old. The "Young Phoenix Ranking" records the one hundred and eight most outstanding young female heroes in the Nine Prefectures within thirty years old."
When Teng Qingshan saw this, his eyes lit up.
Across all the men and women in the Nine Continents, only the top one hundred and eight of each category was chosen. Each one of them was truly favored by the gods.
"The"Heavenly Ranking" and "Earthly Ranking"are the core of the four rankings. The cultivation realm on the Land of the Nine Prefectures is primarily divided into two—the Postliminary Realm and the Innate Realm! There is probably only one innate expert out of ten million people. Therefore, the great heroes across the world are still mostly Postliminary Expert. The "Earthly Ranking"records the seventy-two most amazing Postliminary Experts!"
Teng Qingshan's eyes lit up as he thought, "There's no age limit to this Earthly Ranking. Only the truly powerful ones can be ranked amongst the top seventy-two across the hundreds of millions of people across the nine prefectures. The Earthly Ranking is a lot better than the Hidden Dragon Ranking and the Young Phoenix Ranking. Each and every person listed on the Earthly Ranking aren't to be underestimated."
Teng Qingshan continued reading.
"On the other hand, the "Heavenly Ranking" records thirty-six great experts who have reached the innate realm. As there are few innate experts, the rankings to the "Heavenly Ranking" change very little even throughout the span of ten to twenty years. On the contrary, the "Earthly Ranking" has the most intense competition. Out of so many people in the world, only seventy-two people could be listed in the "Earthly Ranking" Compared to the Earthly Ranking from half a year ago, eleven people out of the seventy-two people on the ranking had been removed and replaced by another eleven."
Teng Qingshan briefly read through the descriptions regarding the four great rankings.
It was clear that…
The "Hidden Dragon Ranking" and the "Young Phoenix Ranking" were the ones that that recorded the talented young heroes. Although many people valued the"Hidden Dragon Ranking" and the "Young Phoenix Ranking", the "Heavenly Ranking" and the "Earthly Ranking"were considered more important. However, because Innate Experts were few in number, the"Heavenly Ranking" rarely changed. Therefore, the"Earthly Ranking" became the most competitive ranking.
Numerous heroic experts had risked their lives just so their names could be on the "Earthly Ranking".
"There are people attracted by money, there are people who loved beauties. However, even more heroes value 'fame'." Teng Qingshan sighed and was about to flip the page to continue reading about the seventy-two powerful experts on the Land of the Nine Prefectures who had made it to the Earthly Ranking.
"Qingshan," A voice suddenly rang out.
"Hmm? Father!" Teng Qingshan was jolted awake.
"What are you looking at? You were so engrossed in it." Teng Yongfan asked with a smile.
At the side, Teng Qinghu grinned and said, "Qingshan spent ten silver taels to purchase this book"Earthly Ranking"."
"You really don't hold back with spending money." Teng Yongfan did not blame Teng Qingshan. "Since we've bought all the things we need, let's go. Let's wait for the other members of the clan in the alley." Teng Yongfan, Teng Qingshan, and Teng Qinghu all left the Wan Xiang Tower and came to the alley which was next to Wan Xiang Tower.
******
There were clearly lesser people in the alley than before. The other people from the clan had yet to arrive. Teng Qingshan leaned against the wall and continued reading the "Earthly Ranking".
The "Earthly Ranking" described the seventy-two heroes and also wrote about some of the famous incidents concerning them.
"As long as one can cultivate inner strength and spend several decades in training, most of them would be able to reach the Postliminary Realm. However, even if they have the equal amount of inner strength, they vary a lot in power." As Teng Qingshan read this book, he couldn't help but sigh. Based on the descriptions in the"Earthly Ranking", there were far too many people who had reached the Postliminary Realm.
Because there were many different types of secret cultivation manuals and different level of comprehension each person had, their abilities and power varied.
Take Teng Qingshan as an example.
The same Teng Qingshan who had and who had not cultivated the "Crossing Worlds" were on two different levels altogether. At this time, the secret manuals they had for cultivating inner strength would take up a huge effect.
There was also the consideration for the individual's comprehension.
Teng Qingshan had comprehended the two great spear arts—the 'Pursuing Shadows' and 'Transmutation Unity Qi'. Even if he were to exert a strength of only one thousand jin, he would be able to kill over 100 wild wolves easily with the use of a spear. Teng Qinghu, who could also exert a strength of one thousand jin, would still need Teng Yonglei and Teng Qingshan to help him if he was attacked by a pack of wolves.
The amount of inner strength was merely the foundation.
The way the inner strength was put to use and the individual's comprehension level were very important as well. This was also the reason why certain secret cultivation manuals would bring about a massacre.
"Hmm?" As Teng Qingshan saw the biography of the person ranked fifty-eight in the Earthly Ranking, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"When Yang Fan was forty-eight years old, he pursued the notorious four brothers of Hong Clan for three days and three nights and for a distance of over a thousand Li. Three out of the four brothers died, leaving only 'Hong Si' behind. Hong Si fled to his hometown in Yi City and established the White Horse Gang. However, for the past twenty years, Hong Si had not dared to look for Yang Fan to seek vengeance. The year Yang Fan turned fifty-two…"
This was Yang Fan's story, and Hong Si was just someone who was briefly mentioned.
However, Teng Qingshan was taken aback.
"Master Hong Si of the White Horse Gang actually have such a history." Teng Qingshan was astonished as he thought to himself. The White Horse Gang was considered the local despot of Yi City and its Great Master 'Master Hong Si' was known to be a top-notch figure in Yi City. Who would have expected that an influential character like him would have a time when he was in terrible straits.
"Father, look." Teng Qingshan smiled and passed the book to his father, "Take a look at this."
Teng Yongfan took it from Teng Qingshan with bemusement. He read that section and then said in surprised, "Master Hong Si had three elder brothers? No wonder he is called Hong Si [1]! But who on earth is this powerful Yang Fan?" Teng Yongfan then also started reading this book from the beginning.
Teng Qingshan smiled bitterly.
He had not expected that his father had gotten so engrossed in the book as well. However, it was fine since he had already read a large part of the book.
"Master Hong Si should be extremely strong as well." Teng Qingshan inferred based on that event. "Those who could be listed in the Earthly Ranking were said to be at the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm. They are powerful characters even across the entire Land of the Nine Prefectures. That Yang Fan had given chase after the four brothers of Hong Clan for three days and three nights, yet Master Hong Si had still managed to flee. Master Hong Si's abilities are not to be underestimated. Moreover… The Hong Clan's four brothers are said to be 'extremely notorious'. If they didn't have some sort of skill or ability, they would not be given such ratings."
The individuals who were briefly mentioned on the"Earthly Ranking"definitely had extraordinary strength.
After all, if the Hong Clan's four brothers were not in power, this event would not have been recorded.
...
While the three of them were waiting for the other members of the clan, on the streets several tens of Zhang away from where they were at:
"Do you see them? Over there. The three hunters there." A man dressed in black whispered as he pointed in the direction of Teng Qingshan's group.
"I see them. Brother Lang, you said that they have a note of ten thousand silver taels?" A skinny man with triangular-shaped eyes said in surprise.
The man dressed in black smiled coldly and said, "Would I lie to you about this? If not on the account that we're from the same hometown and village, would I share this piece of information with you? This time around, our Lord had ordered weapons from them and we'd just given them a note that was worth ten thousand silver taels."
"Ten thousand silver taels..." The man's triangular eyes gleamed and then he grinned, saying, "Brother Lang, rest assured. After our people had killed and robbed them, we will not forget your share of the benefit. However, there's something I don't understand. Why is your lord telling us this and letting us rob them after he had ordered the goods and paid them?"
The man dressed in black laughed and said, "You don't understand. Our Lord is someone who will seek revenge for the smallest grievance! This time around, he hadn't planned on paying these villagers. Who would have expected that they would kick up a fuss, causing even the Old Master to have come out. Our Lord was left with no choice but to pay them the money. However, with his character, how could he possibly accept this? He might not have the audacity to express his anger toward the Old Master and his Eldest Martial Brother, but he definitely had the audacity to create trouble for these villagers."
The man with triangular-shaped eyes replied with a grin, "Your lord is really brutal and vicious. But we like it. Haha."
"Hmph. Followers like us also benefit quite a lot from following a lord like this. If the Old Master had not come out, I would have gotten at least one hundred silver taels out of these ten thousand silver taels." The man dressed in black said.
"Don't worry, Brother Lang. If we were to really get our hands on ten thousand silver taels, I'll definitely bring you more than one hundred silver taels." said the man with triangular-shaped eyes.
The man dressed in black responded with a smile.
"Hmmm? Look, the other hunters are all here now. It seems that they're going to leave. You better go make the necessary preparations quickly." The man dressed in black said.
"Don't worry. We're very familiar with Yi City. There's no way that they would be able to escape." The man with triangular-shaped eyes cupped his hands together as he said, "Brother Lang, I'll be going off first. I'll look for you tonight."
"Go on." The man dressed in black said.
...
By this time, everyone from Teng Jia Village had gathered.
"Since everyone's here, come, let's head back." Teng Yongfan smiled and passed the book back to Teng Qingshan. "This book really isn't bad. After we get back, you must lend it to me so that I can read it thoroughly." With that, the group of hunters from the Teng Jia Village joked and laughed as they began their journey home.
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[1] The ‘Si’ in Hong Si stands for four.
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