Five on the Heavenly Ranking

As usual, Wei Yuefu first checked the rankings on Tianya Pavilion. Even though his aptitude had been enhanced to the initial stage of Heaven Grade, he still remained in third place. Further down, two more names had appeared. Wei Yuefu glanced over their codenames; his own Southeast the Peacock Flies was still the most unusual of the bunch. He had heard of both individuals before. Their codenames were Confucian Scholar Zhao Jiuzhong and Lord Wuyang. One was a renowned Confucian scholar of the current age, and the other was a famed recluse... A great scholar made sense, but Wei Yuefu could never quite comprehend how a recluse could become famous far and wide. He figured that their seclusion was mostly a sham, while the hype was very real; none of these figures were simple. It was now confirmed beyond doubt: the higher a Qi Refiner's aptitude, the stronger their capabilities. This was indeed deeply unfair, but... the world did not care about fairness. The world was already on the brink of death. To save itself, it naturally had to recruit capable individuals rather than fuss over fairness and justice at a time like this. When even the finest paragons among men could fail their missions, recruiting a crowd of ordinary people would be nothing short of wishing for a swifter demise. Besides, the Great Xuan Dynasty was a feudal empire; notions of fairness were nothing more than empty talk anyway. Next, Wei Yuefu turned his attention to the forum posts. In the thread he had created explaining parts of the martial arts system, there were already comments from newcomers. He then discovered that functions such as editing and deleting posts had actually been introduced. Unfortunately, the paid-access feature he desired had not appeared. In hindsight, it was likely not that the function could not be developed, but rather that there was no corresponding currency, making commercial transactions impossible. Dao Seed points were clearly non-transferable. Though they were termed points, in truth they were not; they were more like a form of power bestowed by heaven and earth. After a moment's thought, Wei Yuefu added some newly acquired martial arts knowledge to the post. There were not many posts on Tianya Pavilion, and the vast majority had been made by Emperor Wu of Great Xuan. His threads covered practically everything, from recruiting subordinates to purchasing heaven-and-earth marvels and heaven-and-earth treasures. Yet no one had any intention of selling to him; after all, anyone with half a brain knew these were precious goods. The moment anyone acquired such an item, their immediate priority would be to refine and use it. "Tsk, how is it that not a single one of them goes off the rails?" Wei Yuefu stroked his chin. Going by standard novel tropes, there should always be one or two unhinged fools acting absurd and brainless. In reality, there were none. Everyone spoke logically, coherently, and even with great politeness. One could only say that the world had chosen its candidates with exceptional care. Afterward, Wei Yuefu left a comment under one of Emperor Wu of Great Xuan's posts, sharing some information regarding the former dynasty's treasuries. [Southeast the Peacock Flies: To stage a restoration, the previous dynasty left treasuries scattered across various regions. Too much time has passed, so the medicinal herbs inside are ruined, but there are still gold, silver, jewels, rusted weapons, armor, and martial arts manuals. Go look for them yourself.] Not two minutes after Wei Yuefu posted it, Emperor Wu of Great Xuan responded with words of gratitude. Emperor Wu of Great Xuan even asked if Wei Yuefu had any needs, offering his assistance if possible. Naturally, Wei Yuefu did not reply. He certainly had needs, but the distance between them was far too vast. Distant water could not quench a nearby fire. Besides, he doubted the emperor could spare any hands to help him anyway. From the content of various posts, it was evident that while everyone's Descent Mission differed, the difficulty was, in all probability, comparable. Though Wei Yuefu's tasks might seem low in difficulty, proceeding without apparent danger, in truth he had to snatch food from the jaws of a tiger like Shen Qianjun—a suspected protagonist—while getting dragged into the messes that formed in the wake of Shen Qianjun's growth. The first crisis had been absorbed by Ding Shoucheng, which paved the way for Wei Yuefu's arrival. The second had been even more dramatic, forcing them to flee Dingyuan City in a scramble overnight. What was worse, while Wei Yuefu had to endure the trouble brought by Shen Qianjun, his own growth could not keep pace with the man. Without a doubt, Shen Qianjun had not only brought the Sifang Martial Arts Hall's three arts of nourishing, practicing, and fighting to full mastery, but had probably nearly perfected the Pure Lotus Precious Scroll as well. If Wei Yuefu had not possessed decent tricks of his own, the other man might already be on the verge of minor mastery in the Mount Sumeru King Immovable Divine Art by now. It was this terrifying rate of growth that allowed Shen Qianjun to handle trouble with ease. Following the current logic, the person truly meant to contend with Shen Qianjun was likely Emperor Wu of Great Xuan. Wei Yuefu had merely been arranged to delay Shen Qianjun's development. Meanwhile, Emperor Wu of Great Xuan was also developing. Because no one was hindering him, he had been able to snowball a rebellion across the north of the Great Jing Dynasty. With one side hindered and the other surging ahead, the gap widened naturally. Even so, Wei Yuefu did not mind handling these tasks. After all, they suited him well, and the benefits were far from meager. If nothing else, should he manage to bring back the Eight Treasures Golden Body and the Mount Sumeru King Immovable Divine Art from the next trip, his strength would take another leap forward. As for the slow progress in his lingering wish identity as 'Ding Shoucheng'... that could not be helped. He had already poured in every resource available, but martial arts cultivation was ultimately a slow, meticulous grind. No matter how fast one was, it required time. In a low-martial world, this process of accumulation and growth was indispensable. Wei Yuefu grumbled about the speed, yet compared to other martial artists of the Great Jing Dynasty, he was already extraordinarily fast. It would just be better if he did not have someone like Shen Qianjun to compare himself against. ----- "Just who is this Southeast the Peacock Flies?" The Emperor of Great Xuan rubbed his temples, attempting to glean some clues from the person's phrasing. Judging by speech habits, the person hardly seemed like a traditional scholar, yet looking between the lines, they were clearly not unlearned either. "Do they favor peacocks, or are they surnamed Kong? Or perhaps they hold a longing for somewhere in the southeast?" Standing nearby, the attendant eunuch kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, acting as though he had heard nothing. "Companion, how goes the investigation at the Hanlin Academy?" the Emperor of Great Xuan asked again. "Have they discovered where these five characters originate?" "Replying to Your Majesty, the Hanlin Academy has no leads either," the eunuch immediately answered upon hearing the question. It truly was a matter of a single casual inquiry from the master sending the servants running ragged. Among the five on the Heavenly Ranking, setting aside himself, there were three whom the emperor knew well, and he planned to pay personal visits to invite them. This was an unprecedented upheaval, and naturally he had to seize the opportunity. Only this Southeast the Peacock Flies remained entirely enigmatic. Not only had they been the first to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the martial arts system, but now they had even disclosed information regarding the former dynasty's treasuries. In truth, the Emperor of Great Xuan possessed quite a few martial arts manuals and had attempted to practice them. However, a Qi Refiner's spiritual power was not vital blood after all. Forcing it to substitute for the circulation of vital blood had ultimately resulted in severe internal injuries. It was not that he did not wish to develop vital blood; rather, no matter how a Qi Refiner cultivated according to the practice methods, they could never produce vital blood, merely squandering their Essence, Qi, and Spirit in vain. In the end, the Emperor of Great Xuan had been forced to admit that Qi Refiners and martial artists shared no common ground whatsoever. Consequently, he had no choice but to give up on martial arts. Even so, his eyes still lingered hungrily upon martial arts. The mere fact that cultivating them could delay aging and prolong one's peak state held immense appeal for him as an emperor. To say nothing of how they could bolster his combat strength.