Chapter 57: Ranking Battles

　　Frightened, Sun Zhengzong pulled back the words he was about to say, and covered his cheek with one hand while staring venomously at Yunxiao. He could not figure out why he was slapped by Yunxiao despite him having the strength of a nine-stars warrior, yet he even felt that he was unable to dodge the slap.

　　“You’d better get out of here while I’m still in a good mood now!” Yunxiao cried out. Hearing that, Sun Zhengzong turned and walked away with a ferocious expression.

　　A murderous look appeared in Li Chunyang’s eyes as he said coldly, “Boy, you will bring yourself endless future troubles by letting go a third-tier alchemist after you have offended him! I’ll go up and kill him now!”

　　“No!” Yunxiao said in a low voice. “All alchemists registered in the Alchemist Association are only under the jurisdiction of the association. Although he only has the strength of a third-tier alchemist, he is a recognized man in Firecrow Empire. If he dies for no reason, the association will definitely find us. Let him go…He can’t stir up too huge of a storm.”

　　Pointing toward the badge in Yunxiao’s hand, Li Chunyang said, “Don’t tell me this is a real thing?”

　　Yunxiao snorted coldly and said, “Of course it’s real! Who dares to imitate this thing in Heavenly Martial Continent?”

　　Traces of cold sweat oozed out of Li Chunyang’s forehead as he asked cautiously, “Then you… you… you really are…”

　　“Well, I’m just a little alchemist at the moment,” said Yunxiao casually.

　　The room was silent for a moment, then Li Chunyang’s loud roar suddenly rang out.

　　“How much more do you keep from me, little bast*rd? You are really good at pretending, aren’t you?”

　　Chen Dasheng, who was sitting in the barrel, said with a wry smile, “Brother, you really have a worthy heir! Although Yunxiao is so young, he is not only a four-stars warrior, but also a second-tier alchemist. I don’t think we can find another person like him in the whole Tianshui!”

　　“This boy…this boy…” Although Li Chunyang was still scolding angrily, his face was filled with undisguised joy.

　　“I’d be satisfied if my grandson had even one-tenth of Yunxiao’s achievements.”

　　Yunxiao looked at him and said, “The old man called you brother, and your name is Dasheng. Are you Chen Zhen’s grandfather? Didn’t you die a few years ago in a battle?”

　　Li Chunyang’s eyes flashed with sadness as he sighed and said, “Dasheng became like this because he replaced me. I was supposed to participate in that battle, but I was cultivating in seclusion at that time. In a hurry, Xiao Qingwang chose Dasheng to go with him.”

　　Yunxiao said in surprise, “Xiao Qingwang? Did his internal injury also come from the battle you mentioned?”

　　“Yes,” Li Chunyang nodded and said. “In those days, in order to compete for the position of the upper-rank vassal state of the Firecrow Empire, the state of Tianshui and the state of Baizhan sent experts to fight each other at the border between the two states, that is, in the city of Kunjin belonging to Baizhan. Although the number of participants was small, the fight was no less intense and violent than that of millions of troops. In that battle, the commanders of all five units of State Guardians were killed. Meanwhile Xiao Qingwang’s deputy, Zhou Lin, who was also a Martial King, was killed as well. It was then that Dasheng got his injury.”

　　Although he did not see it with his own eyes, he could imagine the intensity of the battle. Chen Dasheng recalled bitterly, “Although our state won at last, we paid a heavy price. A total of more than one hundred people took part in the battle, all of them were experts equal or above the rank of Martial Masters. But, only a dozen of them were able to come back alive, and all the survivors have basically become disabled. At that time, I thought I was dying too. But, my brother invited Sun Zhengzong from Firecrow Empire to stabilize my injury.”

　　“No wonder all the current unit commanders of the State Guardians are young people. It turns out that the old ones have died,” Yunxiao said in astonishment. “I didn’t expect the ranking of small states can also lead to such a miserable battle! What exactly is this ranking battle?”

　　Upon hearing his words, Li Chunyang laughed and said, “If they are young people, then you are still drinking milk!” After that, his face became bleak and he began to explain to Yunxiao what the ranking battle was.

　　Firecrow Empire was one of the three great empires in the southern part of the Heavenly Martial Continent. It had a total of nine vassal states, which were divided into three upper states, three middle states, and three lower states. If a Martial Grandmaster of the Six Directions realm or a fourth-tier Alchemist Lord emerged in a certain state and was willing to stay there, the state would automatically rise to become an upper state.

　　If the three positions of the upper states could not be filled, the vacancy would be contested for by the middle states. But, to become a middle state was also conditional, that was, the state must have a Martial King of the Five Elements realm or a third-tier alchemist.

　　Five years ago, there was a vacancy for the upper state, and a total of three states were eligible to compete—namely Tianshui, Baizhan, and Dongshu. Although Dongshu had a third-tier alchemist, its strength was still far weaker than that of Tianshui and Baizhan, so the vacancy was contested by the two states.

　　Yunxiao suddenly asked, “How is the outcome of the ranking battle decided? Is it to kill all the Martial Kings or third-tier alchemists from the other state?”

　　Li Chunyang glared at him as he smiled and said, “Although the resources of all states belong to them, once someone breaks through and becomes a third-tier alchemist or Martial King, he or she must register in Firecrow Empire and become the reserve force of the empire. Once there is a war between the major powers, they must all answer the call. Of course, the benefits after registration are great. Every year, Firecrow Empire allocates a large amount of various cultivating resources to the registered people.

　　“So, all third-tier alchemists and Martial Kings are precious resources, and Firecrow Empire will be very careful to avoid any casualties. The condition of victory is to fight until one side surrenders. If neither side surrenders, then they will continue to fight until the strength of one state is completely exhausted!”

　　Yunxiao sighed, “I can’t believe how cruel it is to compete for a ranking!”

　　Li Chunyang put on a serious face and said seriously, “Cruel? To survive on this continent, the most important thing is to have strength! And what guarantees strength? Resources! The battle for resources lies behind the battle for rankings! There was a state that refused to surrender once, and as a result, the whole state was uprooted, and all members of the royal family were killed!”

　　Soaked in the barrel, Chen Dasheng sighed and said, “Heaven and earth are unkind…they treat all things like stray dogs!”

　　Li Chunyang went on to explain, “What really determines whether a state is strong or weak is high-end fighting forces. This is why all states must recruit strong warriors. In fact, behind many empires are powerful sects or aristocratic families. For example the Firecrow Empire, to which we are attached, is backed by the Jutian Sect.”

　　“Jutian Sect?” Yunxiao was taken aback and his expression became a little strange.

　　He vaguely remembered that his eldest disciple, Hua Qianshu, seemed to have taken in a disciple, who was the son of Jutian Sect’s Sect Leader. But, he forgot his name. At that time, Hua Qianshu specially brought this disciple to see him. He did not give the disciple any gifts but just some random advice. That was twenty to thirty years ago.

　　‘What’s the boy’s name, I can’t remember…’ Yunxiao tried his best to recall.

　　“That’s right!” Li Chunyang’s eyes showed a trace of fear and awe. “Rumor has it that the Sect Leader of Jutian Sect, Qi Feng, is a Martial Emperor of the Seven Constellations realm, and he is only one step away from becoming a Martial Supreme of the Eight Desolation realm! Moreover, he is Martial Sovereign Hua Qianshu’s personal disciple, so even the backers of other empires dare not to mess with him.”

　　A look of enlightenment appeared on Yunxiao’s face as he said in his heart, ‘Oh, I remember now, his name is Qi Feng! I can’t believe he has become a sect leader now, and little Hua has also become a Martial Sovereign. This should have happened after I passed away. I remember that he was still stuck in the Eight Desolation realm.’

　　“Yunxiao, if you have the chance to go to Firecrow Empire in the future, remember never to offend anyone from the Jutian Sect,” Li Chunyang sternly warned Yunxiao. “Even the emperor of Firecrow Empire has to put on a smiling face when he sees any inner-sect disciple of Jutian Sect. If we offend them, what awaits us is definitely a fatal disaster!”

　　Yunxiao chuckled and said, “Don’t worry! As long as they don’t provoke me, I won’t offend them.”

　　Li Chunyang felt dizzy, and he said hastily, “This disposition of yours will get you into great trouble sooner or later! If they provoke you or even break all your teeth, you will swallow the resentment and do nothing!! In Firecrow Empire’s territory, Jutian Sect is absolutely above the royal family!”

　　Yunxiao changed the topic and said, “Is it time for the five-yearly ranking battle again?”

　　Li Chunyang said in a deep voice, “Yes. The battle five years ago has greatly reduced the strength of our state, so the wisest move is to withdraw from this competition for the position of upper states. Although this means that we need to pay more taxes and resources, it can make the state recuperate and recover.”

　　“Then we’ll have to speed up,” said Yunxiao faintly. “With His Majesty’s current state, I don’t think he is willing to withdraw from this ranking battle. Only by putting Prince Yue on the throne can I persuade him to withdraw.”

　　“Prince Yue?” Chen Dasheng cried out in surprise.

　　Li Chunyang sighed and told him briefly about the current situation and the Li Family’s decision.

　　Chen Dasheng said sadly, “His Majesty’s treatment of loyalty and kindness really chilled our hearts. Too bad I’m dying… Brother, Yunxiao, the Chen Family will be in your care after I passed away.”

　　Those words cut Li Chunyang’s heart, and he said sadly, “Don’t worry, my brother! As long as the Li Family still exists, the Chen Family will not fall!”

　　Yunxiao laughed, “What you have in your body is just the poison of extreme coldness, so you don’t have to be so sad as if you are parting forever. I found that Xiao Qingwang also has this kind of cold poison in his body. Although it is not much, it has also penetrated into his bone marrow. The two of you should have been injured by the same person.”

　　With hatred in his eyes, Chen Dasheng gnashed his teeth and said, “You are right! The man who wounded us is the strongest expert of Baizhan, Martial King Yi Xiaoshan!”

　　Yunxiao seemed to think of something. He thought for a moment and then said, “Just now, the Martial Lord beside Old Eight used an ice-element martial technique in the courtyard, which seems to be this extremely cold force. However, as that man’s strength is not strong enough, the cold force he unleashed is far weaker than the cold poison in you.”

　　“What?” Li Chunyang was shocked. His eyes grew cold as a murderous look appeared in them. “I understand now. No wonder this fella, although so gifted, would come to our residence to be a lowly servant, and climb so fast! It turns out that he has not only His Majesty behind him, but also Yi Xiaoshan’s man!”

　　He gnashed his teeth and said regretfully, “If I had known this, I would have killed him right then! Now that he has escaped, I don’t think it’s going to be easy to hunt him down again!”