Chapter 701: Chapter 156: Storms in the City, the Marquis Emerges
In the forty-eighth year of Hong Guang, the first snowfall came earlier than last year.
On January 5th, just two days after the New Year’s festival, Lanling City was blanketed in a heavy snow, marking the first snowfall of the new year.
With snow swirling everywhere, the whole of Lanling City was draped in white.
On the city walls, snow covered the glazed tiles. The high tower stood tall, snowflakes swirling in the wind.
The streets were already covered with a thick layer of white snow. As pedestrians in thick cotton robes walked by, the snow beneath their feet made a “crunch, crunch” sound.
Inside a tavern in the Inner City, steam rose in the air amid the lively voices of people.
A wooden block was slammed heavily onto the table, and a storyteller sat in the center of the first-floor hall on a wooden platform:
“How many names are recorded in the annals of history? Endless barren hills in the North Mang. The seeds sown by predecessors are harvested by successors, nothing but a struggle of dragons and tigers!”
“Today, let me tell you about a few events in the martial arts world recently that will go down in history!”
As the storyteller’s words fell, a burst of applause filled the room.
The business of this tavern was booming, and many customers were willing to venture out into the heavy snow to come here because a storyteller was arranged to narrate tales for the guests in the tavern every day.
Moreover, the content of the stories was regularly updated, ranging from court events to legends of the martial arts world, keeping up with the times.
Today just happened to be the ‘update’ time:
“Three months ago, the direct disciple of the Red Dust Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, ranked second on the Fengyun Leaderboard, Shen Tuyue, completed her seclusion and broke through to become a Martial Arts Master!”
“Who is this Shen Tuyue? Some of you present know, while others might not. She is the one who told Marquis Jing’an, ‘In the Tao Foundation Realm, I don’t dare compete with you.’ Back then in the Provincial City of Gan Province…”
The storyteller brought up Shen Tuyue and then introduced some of her achievements, all related to Marquis Jing’an.
As for who Marquis Jing’an was, that didn’t need the storyteller to ‘popularize.’
After a brief introduction, everyone in the tavern understood Shen Tuyue’s prowess.
“When Shen Tuyue broke through, she was a month shy of turning 26, which means she broke the record set by Ming Qi, the contemporary Buddha’s son of Pudu Temple, becoming the new number one in the annals of history!”
The storyteller said with excitement.
After all, Lanling City is the capital, with many martial artists, so the citizens of the city know more about the martial artist’s strength and realms than those in other places.
Upon hearing that Shen Tuyue broke through to become a Martial Arts Master at less than 26 years old, everyone understood the significance of this event.
No wonder the storyteller previously said this was an event that could go down in history!
“Tsk, this year’s Fengyun Leaderboard is truly filled with gold.”
In a private room on the second floor of the tavern, a young man in a mink coat said with a smile while sipping wine.
The man exuded an air of nobility, with a pair of charming peach blossom eyes, making him particularly attractive when he smiled.
He was the ‘disguised’ Third Prince.
Although his own cultivation was not high, he had a fondness for the affairs of the martial arts world.
A small attendant in a thin garment stood by his side like his shadow, always there.
“The top three on the list are more formidable than the other.”
The Third Prince said with a smile.
First, there was Zhu Fenghua of ‘Unparalleled Grace,’ who, despite not being able to ‘Step into the Sky,’ left behind a legend in the Tao Foundation Stage.
Li Fei need not be mentioned, directly becoming the Ancient and Modern First Tao Foundation Period.
Now there was Shen Tuyue, breaking the record for the fastest breakthrough to Martial Arts Master in history.
“Actually, Shen Tuyue was able to break through quickly thanks to Ming Qi.”
Suddenly, the attendant Xiaohua spoke up.
The Third Prince turned to look at her, “Shouldn’t it be thanks to Li Fei and Yan Dongchen?”
The information he received was that Shen Tuyue found the opportunity to break through after watching the match between Li Fei and Yan Dongchen, then returned to the Red Dust Pavilion to enter seclusion, and emerged three months ago, already a Martial Arts Master.
“Breaking any significant record in the history of cultivation carries with it an increase in Qi Fortune.”
The Third Prince nodded, he knew this, and so he understood why his father valued Li Fei so much.
Because Li Fei repeatedly broke records, bringing a lot of Qi Fortune to the Great Lan Dynasty!
For a ‘child of fortune’ like Li Fei, as long as he didn’t rebel, any monarch would favor him.
“Breaking records carries with it an increase in Qi Fortune because it breaks the unseen restrictions. In Taoist terms, it breaks the shackles of the Heavenly Dao.”
“Shackles of the Heavenly Dao?”
The Third Prince mused, “You mean, because Ming Qi was the first to break the Heavenly Dao’s restriction of breaking through to Martial Arts Master by age 26, it made it easier for those who came after to break through before 26?”
Xiaohua nodded: “Yes.”
“In that case, Ning Chuan from the Daluo Sect should also thank Ming Qi.”
The Third Prince said with a smile.
The reason he suddenly mentioned Ning Chuan was because, at that moment, the storyteller downstairs was just talking about Ning Chuan:
“…In the previous ‘Heavenly Pride Theory,’ I think everyone present still remembers, Ning Chuan was rated as an unparalleled prodigy! He took third place in the national martial arts exchange competition the year before last, even before incorporating the Fifth Generation Implant.”
“Last September, Ning Chuan left the Daluo Sect to go to Lingshou Prefecture in Ande Province to challenge Lan Ruoyun, who was ranked third on the Fengyun Leaderboard at the time, and won!”
The storyteller began narrating the battle between Ning Chuan and Lan Ruoyun, describing it so vividly as if he were there watching it.
Lan Ruoyun originally ranked fifth on the Fengyun Leaderboard, but after Yan Dongchen and Zhu Fenghua broke through, she rose to third place.