jdhmnovel Chapter 23 The Prestige of the Xuan Tian Ranking: The Young Empress Makes the List!
Chapter 23 The Prestige of the Xuan Tian Ranking: The Young Empress Makes the List!
Li Wudao dragged himself along, reluctantly arriving at an open space.
He flipped his hand and took out the Dragon Abyss Sword, then began to practice his sword moves.
"Huh, this sword..."
Xia Gucheng's eyes flickered slightly as they fell on the longsword in the boy's hand.
With his keen eye, he immediately recognized its extraordinary nature.
It is at least a top-grade Earth-rank spiritual artifact, and even faintly possesses the sharpness of a Heaven-rank spiritual artifact.
He was somewhat surprised, as such a spiritual artifact was extremely precious even in the Xuan Tian Sect, and even inner sect elders might not possess one.
"His cultivation technique is suspected to be an Emperor-level scripture, he possesses the Pure Yang Sacred Body, and now he's produced a pseudo-Heavenly-grade spiritual artifact. All of these things actually come from a scion of an ordinary noble family..."
Xia Gucheng narrowed his eyes, feeling that the sword-wielding youth was like a mist, unfathomable.
at the same time,
Li Wudao began practicing the second level of swordsmanship.
With his exceptional comprehension, he had already mastered the sword techniques, and every swing of his sword was clean and swift, without the slightest hesitation.
In just a few breaths, the boy had already drawn his sword a hundred times.
"Keng——"
Because of the excessive speed, sword shadows appeared in the air, blurry and indistinct, yet sharp and menacing.
Suddenly,
The air around Li Wudao began to ripple, and an invisible aura of killing intent spread out.
The sand and gravel on the ground rose up on their own without wind, and the bamboo forest was also affected, with its branches and leaves rustling.
The boy was simply practicing swordsmanship and did not use any true energy.
However, the area within a radius of fifty meters seemed to have suffered an invisible wound. With each sword strike, a shockwave would emanate from the air, extremely sharp.
Seeing this scene,
Xia Gucheng was taken aback and stood up abruptly.
The aftershocks of the sword strike demonstrated a level of mastery.
And this is also a sign of the completion of the third level of the Gengjin Sword Manual!
It should be noted that with his talent in swordsmanship, he mastered the third level in just three months, which was enough to make him stand out among his peers and earn him the title of swordsmanship prodigy.
As for Li Wudao
In just half a month, he went from nothing to mastering the Emperor-level sword technique. What extraordinary talent!
Xia Gucheng took a sip of wine, his mind still reeling.
I was just thinking of giving some pointers on swordsmanship, to get a feel for being a master.
But now it seems unnecessary.
What's the point of teaching this?
I can't teach even a little bit.
"Ugh--"
Xia Gucheng sighed deeply, feeling utterly devastated.
He originally took Li Wudao as his disciple, finding him somewhat interesting, but he never expected the boy to be so monstrous.
He's a born kendo prodigy!
A quarter of an hour later,
Li Wudao approached Xia Gucheng with a grin and said smugly, "Master, how well have I practiced?"
"Ahem, not bad, but still a bit inferior to your teacher."
Xia Gucheng snapped out of his daze, took a swig of wine with some embarrassment, but in his haste, he choked and his face turned bright red.
Seeing the old man's expression, Li Wudao's lips curled up slightly.
Sure enough, this old man is just like Jiang Churan, stubbornly proud and arrogant.
"It's nothing, disciple will go back to my room to cultivate now."
Li Wudao turned around, intending to make a run for it.
He had barely taken a step when Xia Gucheng pulled him back.
"You can't just shut yourself in and work in isolation. Instead of cultivating today, go and challenge the 'Illusionary Demon Tower'. It will help you accumulate combat experience."
Even the most talented prodigy, if they only bury themselves in hard work, will be like a flower in a greenhouse, easily broken in actual combat.
"The Illusionary Demon Tower? I've heard of it."
Li Wudao stroked his chin.
These days, he has been in the library, learning about some of the sect's secrets and past.
The so-called "Illusionary Demon Tower" is a precious treasure refined by the founder of the Xuantian Sect, and is one of the important foundations of the sect.
This tower contains various formations that can project demonic beasts of the sixth rank and below, allowing them to fight on the same stage.
There are thirty levels in total, corresponding to the martial artist's Body Tempering Realm - Martial Venerable Realm Perfection.
It is said that the projected monsters are incredibly realistic, even simulating their aura, making the battles feel like you're actually there, almost comparable to real combat.
the most important is,
If you are seriously injured and unable to defeat the enemy, you will be automatically teleported out of the tower, so there is no need to worry about dying.
"Alright, in that case, I'll go and give it a try."
Li Wudao became somewhat interested.
Practicing in the air all day long will ultimately result in no concrete perception.
He was also eager to know how strong he was at the moment.
Without further ado, Li Wudao greeted Xia Gucheng and turned to leave.
.........
After a stick of incense.
Li Wudao appeared in front of a 31-story tower.
The tower is a hundred meters tall, like a small mountain, requiring the young man to look up at it.
This is the "Illusionary Demon Tower".
This pagoda existed when the sect was founded, and it has survived for over ten thousand years. It has endured wind, frost, rain, and snow, and its body is mottled and yellowish-green, full of antiquity, but it has ultimately stood firm.
At a glance, one can see the passage of time, giving one a sense of being in another world.
Li Wudao became slightly lost in thought.
As far as he knew, the seemingly ordinary tower in front of him was actually a royal-grade treasure.
Above the highest-grade Heavenly Rank spiritual artifacts are the "treasure artifacts".
The difference between the two is that the treasure has a spirit, it has already developed a spirit, and it has intelligence.
Treasures can be further divided into: King Rank, Emperor Rank, and Saint Rank.
The difference between each level is like a chasm, far beyond what a magical artifact can compare to.
The Illusionary Demon Tower is located in the core area of the sect, standing in the center of a plaza.
This tower is a public resource that all disciples can use.
When Li Wudao arrived, he saw some disciples attempting to break through the tower.
Most of these people were older disciples, not from the same cohort as him.
He did see a few people among the group that joined that day.
But a short while later, he was teleported out by the tower spirit, covered in dust and looking resentful.
"No, why is this Illusionary Demon Tower so difficult to pass? I'm at the late stage of Body Tempering Realm and I can't even get past the third level?"
A boy dressed in inner-school uniform got up from the ground, questioning the meaning of life.
He was a newcomer this year. He had heard about this tower and found it interesting, so he came to give it a try.
"Hey, the demonic beasts inside this Illusionary Demon Tower can crush martial artists of the same realm. It won't be easy to win."
Beside him, an older disciple explained in a condescending manner.
Li Wudao did not rush to enter the tower, but decided to observe for a while.
Just then, another disciple was teleported out.
"Damn it! I was so close to clearing the fifth level, and now the reward is gone!"
The young man, who had reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, stood up in frustration and sighed to the heavens.
His talent is too poor. He has been in the sect for two years and has never been able to pass the fifth level. This time he was just a little short and missed it again. It's so hateful!
"There are rewards for clearing the tower?"
Li Wudao was surprised and stepped forward to ask.
He only learned the general outline from the book and did not know the details.
"The rules are all written on the stone tablet. If you don't understand them, just read them yourself."
The young man was in a bad mood and didn't say much. He waved his hand and pointed to a stone tablet in front of the tower.
Having said that, he left, feeling troubled.
Li Wudao paid no attention and walked curiously toward the stone tablet.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the stone tablet was enormous, as tall as a ten-story pagoda.
On the left side of the stone tablet, three rules for the challenge are engraved:
Anyone under the age of thirty can participate by presenting their identity token.
Each attempt to enter the tower requires a payment of fifty low-grade spirit stones.
You can claim a reward every five levels you clear, but only once.
Below are the rewards for completing the level.
Fifth level: One Grade 5 Spirit Pill.
Tenth level: 500 low-grade spirit stones.
Fifteenth level: Mid-grade Xuan-level spiritual artifact.
..........
The higher the level you clear, the richer the rewards become.
"It costs fifty low-grade spirit stones each time you challenge the tower, that's not cheap."
Li Wudao felt a little sad.
It should be noted that outer disciples only receive ten low-grade spirit stones per month, while inner disciples receive only fifty.
One attempt at conquering the tower is equivalent to an inner disciple going a month without food or water.
He suddenly realized why he hadn't seen many new disciples; they simply couldn't afford it.
Indeed, at this level of spending, only true disciples could probably afford it.
As for outer disciples, if they come from poor families, they would probably have to save up for a long time before daring to attempt a single tower challenge.
Li Wudao suddenly realized why that brother had been so vulnerable just now.
The early disciples who entered the outer sect had neither talent nor background, so they could only work hard in vain.
Perhaps he really needs this Rank 5 elixir...
Li Wudao shook his head and glanced to the right of the stone tablet.
At the top, three large characters come into view: Xuan Tian Bang (玄天榜).
Below that were densely packed names, exactly three thousand people.
These are all disciples who made the list, each belonging to a different era, with the earliest dating back to ten thousand years ago.
Each person on the list has their name, age, level, number of levels, and time taken clearly recorded.
Li Wudao carefully scanned each name, his eyes filled with respect.
Despite the large number of participants (3,000), the list is actually highly prestigious.
It should be noted that the Xuantian Sect has been established for over ten thousand years.
The number of disciples recruited was as numerous as carp crossing a river, and those who made it onto the list were all exceptionally talented.
Suddenly, Li Wudao's gaze stopped, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He discovered that five thousand years later, the ranking of the Xuan Tian Ranking had a historic gap, with far fewer disciples making the list, less than half of what it used to be.
The next three thousand years passed, and even less time was lost.
Over the past thousand years, the number of disciples who have made it onto the list has been pitifully small, less than ten.
In the last century, it seems that only two people have made it onto the list.
One is the sect leader, Murong Yan, who is twenty-nine years old and ranks two thousand three hundred and thirty-third.
The other person is Wu Shaotian, the young sect leader, who is 25 years old and ranks 1,800.
Compared to Murong Yan, Wu Shaotian's grades were indeed much better.
Moreover, he is still young, and he still has a chance to climb the tower before he turns thirty. His future ranking will definitely move up several levels.
In comparison, Wu Shaotian's appointment as the young sect leader is not without reason.
Li Wudao pondered for a moment, his gaze continuing to sweep across the area.
"Ok?"
Suddenly, he saw a familiar name above the stone tablet.
Jiang Churan.
At fifteen years old, he reached the peak of the Blood Refining Realm, at the thirteenth level, with one hundred and thirty breaths.
Ranked 999th.