Rankings

Association Headquarters, Tianshu. Beneath the dazzling sunlight, towering white buildings pierced the azure sky, while the cries of birds carried on the sea breeze. Amidst the solemn majesty lingered a subtle sense of ease and tranquility. Everything was always unhurried, measured and orderly. Not only the visiting artisans, but even the local residents took pride in this, walking with steady, composed strides and serene expressions, never betraying the slightest impatience. Yet today, at the Association's headquarters, everyone moved with hurried steps and tense expressions. Gone was their usual calm and leisure, replaced by poorly concealed anxiety and nervous anticipation. At first, panic had broken out over the Tower of Myriad Transformations losing control and suffering excessive drain. But later, as fresh news spread, people's minds grew even more unsettled. Though it was during working hours, countless artisans and staff members had uncharacteristically abandoned their duties, gathering in the grand hall and murmuring among themselves. From time to time, they glanced up toward the offices on the upper floors, waiting for firsthand news. For a moment, the usually tranquil hall buzzed with noise and bustle. "Tianlu?" A latecoming artisan stared in shock. Having barely sat down and caught his breath, his expression shifted. "A grandmaster personally intervened? It was just an exam—how could it possibly warrant disturbing that personage?" A white-haired administrator sighed in world-weary resignation. "Word has it he was struck by a sudden whim and came on impulse to try it out." "Was it truly an impulse?" The artisan fell silent, not pressing further. At this moment, glances crossed between the onlookers, before all eyes finally turned toward the two directors arriving late at the main doors. Gustav and Jiang Tongguang. Primarily Gustav. Yet throughout it all, Gustav remained completely expressionless. He silently submitted the exam records and turned to leave. He showed neither triumph nor relief, nor any other discernible emotion. Just like that, after giving a nod to the staff, he turned and departed. "In the end, his hand was superior after all." Someone sipped from a teacup and murmured softly in appraisal. Only those with no stake in the matter could speak so calmly. In the hall, curious bystanders glanced around, examining the impassive faces, scrutinizing the corners of eyes, brows, and lips to decipher hints of schadenfreude, wild exultation, or grim solemnity. At this critical juncture, Tianlu's movements were a life-saving straw for some, but a fatal blow to others! And right now, at the center of the storm stood none other than the practical steward of the Association: Director-General Delong! Yet Delong himself was not strictly irreplaceable. What everyone had their eyes on was the Director-General's chair! Director-General of the Ring of Taiyi, embodiment of the Association, holder of an essential high seat among the Twelve Virtues, representative of countless artisans throughout the entire Association... One of the most consequential positions of power in the entire world! Delong was advanced in years and had decided to step down and retire years ago. After being delayed this long by all manner of messy affairs, he had finally resolved to complete the transition this year. Over the past seven or eight years, no one knew how much friction and maneuvering had erupted within the Association over this. Among the eight-member council of directors, aside from the outgoing Delong, who didn't want to take that step up? Oh, Jiang Tongguang—there just to make up the numbers—had no such desire, and no one had ever considered him anyway. But who dared look down on Gustav, who had risen so meteorically in recent years? Had there been any shortage of struggles, both in the open and in the shadows? Yet now, for "merely" an artisan qualification exam, Tianlu had actually been drawn into the field. Was the grandmaster making a statement through this? Was he dropping a hint? Was he signaling support for Gustav? The potential implications struck like thunderclaps, throwing the Association into turmoil in an instant. Politics was tedious like that; sometimes a single sneeze could be interpreted in half a dozen different ways. Especially when it involved a contemporary grandmaster, the strongest of Embers—Tianlu... Even if it genuinely had been an impromptu visit, who would dare treat it lightly? Now, following Gustav's departure, countless people had already hurried after him hoping to offer congratulations or pledge allegiance. As for the rest, some refused to accept it deep down, while others hesitated because of the crowd outside, waiting for a chance to fall to their knees and speak in private... "Disperse, all of you." When the office door pushed open, Delong walked out alone. The aged Director-General made no effort to conceal his decrepitude. Leaning on his walking stick, he looked thoroughly past his prime. He merely glanced at the crowd below, waved a hand, and couldn't even be bothered to say more. His assistant, who had been waiting for a long time, hurried forward to follow behind him. Only after they had walked a good distance did the assistant fail to suppress his curiosity, asking softly, "What were the grandmaster's thoughts?" "Nothing in particular." Delong sighed. "Drank a cup of tea, chatted about a few things." The tea wasn't expensive, and the matters weren't grand—little more than pleasantries. Before leaving, Tianlu had taken out quite a few items from his private collection to replenish the Association's drained reserves, and even left an IOU as compensation, which counted as settling accounts. Such a monumental incident had been wrapped up in such a trivial, offhand manner. One could only call it absurd. Yet coming from the contemporary Tianlu, it seemed... entirely normal? As Director-General, alongside shouldering the Association's development, one of his duties was maintaining good relations with the grandmasters. After all, a grandmaster could not give a damn about the Association, but the Association dared not slight a grandmaster. If things went wrong and a grandmaster threw a fit, deciding to found a new Ring of Taiyi, everyone would be royally screwed. Besides, it wasn't as if such a thing had never happened in history. Unlike the stubborn coldness of the Carrion Eater or the withdrawn isolation of the Plowsmith, this generation's Tianlu was ridiculously easy to talk to. No, "easy to talk to" didn't even cover it—he answered almost every request, treating everyone like total bros! Unfortunately, whenever he needed something from you, he wouldn't hold back in the slightest either. Silently draining half of the Association's reserve spiritus and essence was already mild. When he had come up with a sudden whim in the past to overhaul the combat plan against the Nether Sea Worm, that had been a true bolt from the blue for the Association. No matter how affable he seemed, he was still Tianlu! And very likely the strongest Tianlu across all generations. "If..." The assistant hesitated. "I mean, if the grandmaster has preferences, then the next..." Delong paused in his tracks, turned his head, and fixed him with an expressionless gaze. "There are no 'ifs.'" Delong enunciated every word clearly: "The grandmaster soars above the nine heavens, moves like thunder, and remains as inscrutable as darkness itself. How could petty scurriers like us ever presume to guess his thoughts? "As for related matters, you had best not even think about them." The assistant lowered his head in silence, not daring to utter another word. Delong looked up, gazing past the corridor toward the distant plaza where crowds came and went. Bustling, clamorous, utterly frantic. "Look at them..." He sighed softly. "Everyone looks just like ants." To Tianlu, what difference was there between the Association's petty squabbles and the affairs of ants? *** The next day, afternoon. After resting through the night in the luxury hotel arranged by the Association, Ji Jue had indulged in a rare bout of sleeping in, staying in bed until eight before finally getting up. After breakfast, he checked out popular tourist spots in Tianshu to snap photos, grabbed a bowl of Federation pig's trotter rice from a street stall, and only then hummed a tune as he leisurely made his way to the venue per the text notification. If there was one thing to be said for the Association's efficiency, it was fast. The exam had only finished yesterday, and results were already being posted today. They didn't even grant the apprentices time to let loose after the test, wishing they could release the scores on the very same day so that failed apprentices could head home promptly to receive the loving lash of their mentors' whips. After all, this battle-royale style of assessment was so comprehensive from theory to practice that it mirrored reality. Wins, losses, and rankings were clear-cut, leaving zero room for tampering. The Association had already declared that it went wonderfully, and they would continue doing it this way in the future! One could only imagine the wailing of future apprentices. In any case, after this, Gustav would probably find himself cursed via voodoo dolls by generations of apprentices who failed to make the cut. "Whoa, Old Lou, didn't sleep well last night?" Right beside a vending machine outside the venue, Ji Jue spotted Lou Feng at a glance. Lou Feng had dark circles under his eyes and was yawning as he chugged espresso. "Your face looks terrible," Ji Jue asked curiously. "Who pissed you off?" "..." Lou Feng was silent for a long time, staring dead ahead at this dog of a human being who was practically radiating shamelessness. "What do you think?" Ji Jue had slept like a baby last night, but every time Lou Feng closed his eyes, all he saw was that damned bastard grabbing him by the collar and refining him on the spot. Every time he drifted off, he heard voices in his dreams saying crap like "Be partners for life" or "Artisan, you wouldn't want me to become your uncle, would you?" He would wake up in a cold sweat, tossing and turning in bed. As the young master of a prestigious clan, he had never lacked for wine, food, and pleasure growing up. Sweet romances and bitter realities were second nature to him. Yet never in his wildest dreams had Lou Feng imagined that the first, second, and third times in his life he suffered from insomnia would all be because of a man! And the very same one, no less! Under Lou Feng's profoundly resentful stare, Ji Jue felt a sudden chill and took a cautious step back. "Wait, I haven't offended you recently, have I?" "You motherf—" Lou Feng's fists instantly clenched tight. You just tormented me yesterday, and today you're acting like it never happened?! "Ah? Oh, oh, come on!" Ji Jue finally slapped his thigh in sudden realization. "That was so long ago! Why are you still being so petty?" I spent months grinding inside that dungeon simulation, who has time to remember trivial stuff like that? Just as Lou Feng was expressionlessly rummaging through his pockets to craft explosives and blow himself up along with this bastard right there and then, Ji Jue timely poured a bucket of cold water over the powder keg to defuse it. "The scores should be out by now, right?" he asked curiously. "What place did you get?" "..." Lou Feng went quiet. Rage and relief warred across his face until it twisted into a numb grimace. He looked thoroughly dead inside, yet the corners of his mouth were harder to hold down than a giant python. "Third." There were no walls in this world that didn't leak wind. The Association had vast assets and just as many people; with so many people, connections were inevitably tangled. For a young master like Lou Feng, finding out inside information took no effort at all. Most major workshops had probably received the news before the scores were even posted. Only a carefree idiot like Ji Jue had gone straight back to sleep after the test, ignoring his phone and not even stepping outside. Yet even without going out, showing his face, or making a sound, could anyone possibly be unaware of his score... could anyone possibly shake his position? By contrast, Lou Feng, who had been on pins and needles, had laughed so maniacally upon learning his rank that his cackles rang all the way from the ninth floor down to the first, more penetrating than an anti-materiel sniper rifle. Anyone out of the loop would have thought the place was haunted. Well, there certainly were plenty of "ghosts." In the middle of the night, who knew how many people were wailing like banshees. Those rejoicing over passing, those furious over ranks that were too low, or those mourning over having failed... Every few years, this exact spectacle played out in Tianshu. Everyone was nearly used to it. The roster had already been released at dawn, and along with the accompanying logs, the storm it stirred up had yet to subside. The total number of apprentices who earned artisan qualifications in this exam was thirty-one. Compared to previous years, that wasn't too few. Yet anyone who looked at the records knew how absurd the caliber of this session was. Calling it a gathering of elites didn't even do it justice. Never mind the top thirty-one—even the top hundred were veritable dragons and phoenixes among men who would have guaranteed top spots in any previous exam! The competition was utterly insane. Even for an artisan exam, it had never been rat-raced to such a ridiculous degree. Lou Feng knew his own limits; even if he smothered his conscience, he couldn't bring himself to say he deserved third place. By his own estimate, even if he passed, his rank would probably have been between ninth and eleventh. Yet who could have anticipated that after Ji Jue grabbed him by the collar, the two of them went on an absolute rampage, shooting his rank up like a rocket? Before he knew it, he was the bronze medalist! In all fairness, such a boon and boost surpassed even sworn brotherhood sealed in blood, paper burnings, and prostrations. Bowing down and calling him "Godfather" wouldn't have been an exaggeration. Too bad Ji Jue didn't possess such a thing as a conscience. And so, their relationship glitched out right here: More than friends, less than enemies. At this moment, watching this guy's utterly oblivious, nonchalant demeanor, Lou Feng felt a swirl of mixed emotions. Envy, astonishment, admiration... and gratitude as well. In the end, all the resentment and indignation melted into a helpless sigh. "Let's go, Your Excellency Chief." Lou Feng stepped aside of his own accord, looking toward the distant hall and assembly room that had been waiting so long. The mantle of leadership awaits; why delay?