Chapter 58

Thousands of kilometers away from Jiangzhou, in the divine capital, it was raining in the early morning.

Outside the martial academy's gate, a notice board stood, made of wood. After years of exposure to the elements, the paint on its surface had almost completely peeled off, indicating its great age.

On the board, a row of red papers were pasted, each bearing a name.

Some of the red papers, having not been replaced for a long time, had almost completely faded.

Suddenly, two people with oiled paper umbrellas approached from a distance, one old and one young. Both carried weapons, clearly martial artists.

The two came to the board, and the young man, looking at the unremarkable board before him, said in disbelief, "This is the legendary Heavenly Dao Board?"

The old man stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the several lists on the board, and smiled, saying, "When I first came here, I was even more surprised than you."

The lists on this board were none other than the famous Grandmaster List, First Rank List, Heavenly Pride List, Hidden Dragon List, and Beauty List, which were well-known throughout the martial world.

All the lists originated from here.

It was said that these lists had existed for over a thousand years, and over the years, their accuracy had been proven countless times.

The young man looked at the board, where ordinary red paper recorded the names of famous strong individuals. The contrast made him feel a mix of emotions.

The old man sighed, "For us martial artists, if we can have our names on this board, our lives would be worth living."

The young man couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if his name could one day appear on one of these lists. The thought made his blood boil.

However, from the degree of fading on the red papers, the most recent list was the Beauty List, which had been updated almost a year ago.

The oldest list was the Grandmaster List, which featured the names of all the world's most powerful individuals, all of whom were at the Divine Realm. It hadn't been updated for many years.

As the two were talking, suddenly, an old man, holding an umbrella in one hand and a bucket in the other, limped over, carrying a red paper under his arm.

With a swoosh, the old man suddenly tore off one of the lists.

"What are you doing—"

The young man, who had just accepted the sacred nature of the board, was enraged to see someone dare to destroy it. Before he could finish his sentence, the old man beside him covered his mouth.

The old man, with an excited look, said, "Shut up, this is the list changer. The list has changed."

What?

The young man was stunned, never expecting the person responsible for changing the list to be a limping old man.

Wait, he said the list has changed?

The young man suddenly looked up and saw that the old man had just torn off the Hidden Dragon List.

The Hidden Dragon List ranked the top 20 individuals under the age of 30 with the highest cultivation.

All those on the list were at least Third Rank.

The top five were even Second Rank.

Those on the Hidden Dragon List were all the most outstanding martial geniuses of the current era. Although not as dazzling as those on the Heavenly Pride List, they were still highly regarded.

In fact, the number of Divine Realm individuals who originated from the Hidden Dragon List was even greater than those from the Heavenly Pride List.

If he remembered correctly, the last time the Hidden Dragon List was updated was over a year ago.

In the martial world, the three most watched lists were the Beauty List, the Heavenly Pride List, and the Hidden Dragon List.

Everyone loved the most beautiful women, but meeting them was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The Heavenly Pride List was full of legendary figures, but they were mostly in seclusion, rarely appearing in the martial world. They had become mere legends.

Only the figures on the Hidden Dragon List were quite active, with their deeds often spreading, making them the most popular.

The young man knew all the figures on the Hidden Dragon List, and none of the top 20 had reached the age of 30.

This meant that the list change was not due to someone reaching the age limit and being replaced. Instead, someone had surpassed the individuals on the list and forcefully climbed to the Hidden Dragon List.

The young man, thinking about this, became excited and stared intently at the old man responsible for changing the list, eager to see who the new addition was.

However, the old man moved slowly, picking up a brush and applying a layer of paste to the board before pasting the new list.

The old and young man couldn't wait and stepped forward, both starting from the last name and moving up. All the names were familiar, and everyone's position was pushed back by one.

When they reached the tenth position, it was still the person who had been ninth before.

The shock in their hearts was indescribable.

To debut at the tenth position, how was this possible?

Finally, they saw a new name at the seventh position.

"Seventh, Gu Yang, from Jiangzhou."

These eight simple words caused a storm in their hearts.

Generally, the Hidden Dragon List would specify the background of the individuals, such as their family or sect.

Such a brief introduction was unprecedented.

This meant that even the Red Mansion, which compiled the list, knew very little about this person, perhaps not even their background.

Too mysterious.

The rain gradually stopped, and more people gathered in front of the board. After discovering the change, they quickly glanced at it and hurried away.

Before long, more and more people gathered in front of the board.

The news of the Hidden Dragon List change and the name Gu Yang began to spread, and it wouldn't be long before it reached the entire martial world.

...

In Pingjun City, the first to receive this news was the governor's mansion, as the imperial gazette was the fastest.

"Gu Yang?"

When Governor Wu Huai saw that the new seventh on the Hidden Dragon List was this name, his eyes narrowed, and he noticed that the person was from Jiangzhou.

Could it be him?

Gu Yang defeated Tian Fei with a single strike just a month ago, and Wu Huai still remembered it.

But wasn't he Fourth Rank?

How did he suddenly become Third Rank and climb to the seventh position on the Hidden Dragon List?

The difference between Third and Fourth Rank was only one level, but the significance was entirely different.

The seventh position on the Hidden Dragon List meant that this person had boundless potential and would surely achieve First Rank, and even the Divine Realm in the future.

He quickly called his most trusted secretary and discussed the matter with him.

...

The second to receive this news was the Fang family, a prominent old family, though somewhat declined, still had its information channels.

"Seventh on the Hidden Dragon List?"

Xue E, upon seeing this news, was stunned, her first reaction being, "It can't be the same name, right?"

The old woman beside her shook her head, "That's unlikely."

There were many people with the same name in the world, but it was almost impossible for them to have such high cultivation.

Moreover, the Hidden Dragon List clearly stated that Gu Yang was from Jiangzhou. How many coincidences could there be?

Xue E swallowed hard, "The last time we met, he was clearly Fourth Rank. Could it be that he just broke through to Third Rank and climbed to the seventh position on the Hidden Dragon List..."

The old woman, with a serious look, said, "The cultivation method he practices is probably not ordinary."

"You mean, a world-shaking divine technique?"

PS: Thank you all for your votes. Starting tomorrow, I will focus on writing, aiming to release a burst of chapters when the book is published.