Chapter 222 - 164: Ranking
Bai Yimeng hesitated for a moment.
Then she said, "The Sword Discussion Conference will be divided into the ’Scholar Sword Discussion’ and the ’Ordinary Sword Discussion.’"
"As the name implies, the ’Ordinary Sword Discussion’ is for the common Sword Cultivators who have come to attend the Sword Discussion Conference."
"As for the ’Scholar Sword Discussion,’ the participant list must be personally drawn up by the Sect Master."
"From what I know, the list for the ’Scholar Sword Discussion’ will have around fifty people."
"When the time comes, the ’Scholar Sword Discussion’ will be held in a separate venue. The masters can share their Sword Dao and Swordsmanship, and they can also invite one another to spar."
Lu Changfeng nodded slightly after hearing this.
’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’Too many ordinary people have come to Sword City for the Sword Discussion Conference this time. If they were all gathered together with the Bone Refining and Rebirth experts, it would be completely out of place.’
’Looks like I’ll have to part ways with Wei He and the other two then.’
’Given their Realm and strength, they’ll definitely be participating in the ’Ordinary Sword Discussion.’’
’Still, even the ’Ordinary Sword Discussion’ is a rare opportunity. It’s enough for Wei He and Nie Yu to make significant progress on their Sword Dao path.’
’Well, it will be good for Nie Yu. That guy Wei He is just like my identity, Lu Jun—his real Talent might not be any worse than mine. He’s just another one putting on an act.’
According to Bai Yimeng, the ’Scholar Sword Discussion’ should be conducted in a relatively peaceful atmosphere.
This time, all the famous Swordsmen, including Lu Changfeng, were likely here for Jiang Changge.
Because in this chaotic era, Jiang Changge was the only Swordsman who had openly managed to break into the ranks of the top-tier experts!
Every Swordsman wanted to learn from Jiang Changge! To obtain the secret to becoming stronger!
In the world today, even the top-tier experts were divided into several levels.
The first tier of top experts included the Saint Demon Sect Master, the Daliang Sword Saint Pei Yuanshi, and, barely making the cut, the Divine Sword Sect Master Jiang Changge.
The experts in this first tier shared one thing in common: they were a level above ordinary True Spirit Body cultivators.
Before the Saint Master and Jiang Changge appeared, the only experts in this tier were Pei Yuanshi and the former Divine Sword Sect Master, Li Zongdao. The living former Saint Master, Yang Jingtian, and the Saint Demon Sect Master, the Ancient Purple Lotus Demon, also counted.
Although Jiang Changge was still in the Primordial Spirit Body Realm, he could already be counted among them thanks to his Supreme Talent.
Among them, the Saint Master—Lu Changfeng—was actually the most underestimated in terms of strength.
After consolidating his Supreme Talent, the [Demon God Body], as long as he had enough Annihilation Value, Lu Changfeng could completely crush Pei Yuanshi and Jiang Changge.
The second tier of top experts included Lingkong of Yunfo Temple, Grandmaster Ming, Clone Yang Jingtian, the Ancient Fire Qilin, the Ancient Floral Fiend Hua Chengyu, and others.
The experts in this second tier were not far apart in skill level, all of them being in the True Spirit Body Realm. When they fought, victory and defeat were determined by whether their Martial Arts True Intent or Demon Fiend Bloodline countered the other’s. Under normal circumstances, there would be no landslide victories.
Further down, if one were to continue the ranking, there would be a third tier of experts. These were the powerhouses among the Primordial Spirit Body cultivators, including Xuansha and Lii Tianxing of the Profound Nether Sect. They had all comprehended Advanced Martial Arts True Intent and possessed outstanding Demon Fiend Bloodlines. As there were too many of them, a detailed ranking will be omitted.
For Jiang Changge to break into the first tier of top experts at the Primordial Spirit Body Realm, every Sword Cultivator understood that he must have comprehended some supreme principle of the Sword Dao.
It was a different path, distinct from Martial Arts True Intent.
Although they knew it was impossible to replicate Jiang Changge’s path, they would surely benefit immensely from hearing him speak about his Dao.
As for Jiang Changge’s side, Lu Changfeng, being a fellow owner of a Supreme Talent, guessed that he had organized this Sword Discussion Conference because it was beneficial to his own Sword Dao Talent.
Lu Changfeng would know everything in three days.
The replication interface had already updated.
In three days, it would be time to replicate Jiang Changge’s [Supreme Sword Dao].
At that time, the secrets of the [Supreme Sword Dao] would be laid bare before Lu Changfeng’s eyes.
"I wonder, are Demon General Xu Fan from my sect and I on this list of masters?" Lu Changfeng asked with a smile.
Bai Yimeng nodded. "Brother Lu, your Sword Dao Talent is even greater than mine. Of course you’ll be on the list."
"As for Demon General Xu Fan, he was previously the Sect Master of the Moon Concealing Sect. He used to rank among the top ten Sword Dao experts in Song Country, so he will naturally be selected."
Lu Changfeng understood.
...
After leaving the Divine Sword Sect’s residence, feeling rather bored, Lu Changfeng returned most of his consciousness to his identity as Lu Jun.
When Lu Changfeng left only a sliver of consciousness in his clone, Lu Jun, to maintain its basic functions, there was a delay in memory transfer.
Now that he had shifted his consciousness over, Lu Changfeng instantly received the memories from the past half-day.
Wei He, Nie Yu, and Lu Jun had already wandered all over the Inner City of Sword City and were now watching a fight at a street-corner arena.
As he reviewed the memories, Lu Changfeng, through his clone Lu Jun, realized he had encountered several familiar faces.
Of course, those familiar faces didn’t recognize his clone, Lu Jun, at all.
With that, Lu Changfeng decided his main body would simply stay in seclusion at the inn.
He controlled his clone, Lu Jun, to wander around the Inner City with Wei He and Nie Yu to relax.
With Lu Changfeng’s current Heroic Root Bone, his cultivation progress with the [Fengtian Bone Refining Heart Method] was extremely fast. It wouldn’t be long before he had to advance to the Rebirth stage and begin choosing his promotion method and Demon Fiend Bloodline.
With his original body cultivating and his clone wandering about, three days passed in the blink of an eye.
「On the third day.」
Early in the morning, a carriage from the Divine Sword Sect stopped in front of the inn where Lu Changfeng was staying.
Under the astonished gazes of Wei He and the other two, Xu Fan and Lu Changfeng boarded the carriage that had come specifically to pick them up.
Lu Changfeng stuck his head out of the carriage window and waved. "The three of you, remember not to stir up any trouble at the Sword Discussion Conference. Of course, if trouble comes knocking, you don’t need to be afraid. In this world, there is no one the Saint Demon Sect fears."
Such domineering words caused the people nearby to turn and stare.
Wei He and the other two were, of course, very satisfied. They happily went off to queue for the ’Ordinary Sword Discussion Conference.’
As for Lu Changfeng and Xu Fan, they rode the carriage toward another venue.
"The Scholar Sword Discussion. Interesting. I want to see how many of those fellows show up," Xu Fan said with great interest from inside the carriage.
Xu Fan had been navigating the Martial Arts Realm for much longer than Lu Changfeng.
He had also made a name for himself in the Martial Arts Realm with his Sword Dao Talent back in the day, so he likely knew quite a few Sword Dao Masters.
"Demon General Xu, why don’t you offer some analysis?"
"There’s not much to analyze. Below the Divine Sword Sect, there’s the Meteor Sword Sect and the Xuanyuan Sword Sect. There used to be Shu Mountain, but it has since been destroyed. The only two Sword Sects that are even slightly worthy of our attention are those two," Xu Fan said.
Lu Changfeng fell into thought.
The Xuanyuan Sword Sect needed no introduction. It was Xu Fan’s old sect before he betrayed it, and also the sect from which Zhao Xingtian originated.
As for the Meteor Sword Sect, it was one of the three great Demon Dao sects of Cyan Mountain Prefecture, and it was currently thriving there.
To be able to stand on equal footing with Lii Tianxing of the Profound Nether Sect, the current Sect Master of the Meteor Sword Sect, Shang Shizong, was no simple character either.