The Hidden Dragon Ranking in the sky slowly faded away.
But the waves it stirred were far from over.
The Martial World of the Ming Dynasty.
Mount Song Sect.
"Great Perfection Grandmaster!"
"Rank 11!"
"Mount Heng's Yi Lin!"
"This is impossible!"
At that moment, Zuo Lengchan, who had long coveted the leadership of the Five Mountain Sects, could no longer maintain his composure.
A thought he dared not believe crept into his mind.
A true threat from within.
He had always thought that only Yue Buqun posed any challenge to his ambitions.
Never did he imagine that a young nun would be the one to ruin everything in the end.
A Great Perfection Grandmaster.
That was a realm even he struggled to reach.
And this little nun would inevitably advance to Great Grandmaster in the future.
By then, he would be no match for her.
"Junior Brother Lu, we agree to all their conditions."
"Senior Brother Sect Leader, those people are ruthless. Are we really going to get involved with them?"
"If they ever cause trouble, our Mount Song Sect won't escape the consequences."
"We could lose everything because of this."
Zuo Lengchan sneered coldly.
"Do you think we still have a choice, Junior Brother Lu?"
"If we agree, there's still a chance to survive. If not, Mount Song Sect will be wiped out."
"They sent only a single servant, and he was already a Great Grandmaster."
"Can we resist that?"
"You are right to worry, Senior Brother. I'll follow your lead."
"We can agree to their conditions, but they must agree to ours too."
"What conditions?"
"Kill this little nun named Yi Lin. Keeping her alive will only bring disaster later."
"Our previous attempt to deal with her likely failed."
"Fine. I'll contact them immediately. Let's hope they don't go too far."
Whether it was Zuo Lengchan or Lu Bai, both felt deeply stifled.
Unfortunately, the situation left them no room to breathe.
They were the weak ones, after all.
Mount Song Sect might be a major sect in the martial world, but it all depended on who they were compared to.
In the eyes of those truly powerful forces, Mount Song was nothing more than a pawn to be crushed at will.
"Why does the Nine Provinces have so many prodigies?"
"I've never even heard of them before!"
"Why doesn't our Mount Song Sect have any Hidden Dragon-level talent?"
"If we had, we wouldn't have to grovel like this."
"Yi Lin, what a brilliant move by Mount Heng."
"While I'm struggling with Mount Hua, your Mount Heng Sect tries to swoop in and steal the prize. Dream on!"
A sense of enormous threat flooded Zuo Lengchan's heart.
Yi Lin didn't even look like she had reached twenty yet.
When she fully matured, even among Great Grandmasters, she would rank at the top.
By then, would Mount Song Sect have to bow to Mount Heng?
Being pressured by unknown forces was one thing.
They were terrifyingly powerful.
But a mere Mount Heng Sect?
Who did they think they were?
==========
Mount Hua Sect.
Yue Buqun stared up at the vanishing golden ranking list, his face a mix of purple and green.
So dark it looked like it could drip ink.
"Yi Lin!"
A character he had never considered important.
Yet she turned out to be a monstrous threat.
Zuo Lengchan's schemes he could still outmaneuver.
But Yi Lin, who had entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking, was someone beyond the reach of mere scheming.
"Must I really do this?"
Yue Buqun was deeply conflicted.
He took out a piece of kasaya from his robes, the words printed on it catching his eye.
He felt both desire and intense resistance.
"No. Absolutely not!"
"I must become a Great Grandmaster as soon as possible. Otherwise, Mount Hua will vanish in the future martial world."
A flash of ruthlessness crossed his face.
He stuffed the kasaya back into his robes, then leapt off toward the back mountain's Cliff of Reflection.
==========
Sun and Moon Divine Cult.
"Rank 11!"
Dongfang Bubai gazed at the now-restored sky, the names on the Hidden Dragon Ranking lingering in her mind.
Those who could make the list were undoubtedly the top prodigies in all of the Nine Provinces.
Even if they were only Grandmasters, they could likely rival weaker Great Grandmasters.
She herself had been able to do so when she was just a Great Perfection Grandmaster.
Dongfang Bubai did not believe these Hidden Dragons lacked that same power.
Though proud, she wasn't arrogant enough to dismiss the talents of the Nine Provinces.
Especially that eleventh-ranked one. For some reason, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Logically, as the leader of a demonic sect, she should want to eliminate such a promising talent from an enemy sect like Mount Heng.
"Someone come. Investigate that little nun from Mount Heng thoroughly."
"Yes, Cult Leader!"
"Cult Leader, should we deal with her directly? If we leave her alone, she might become a real threat to us in the future."
Dongfang Bubai cast a disdainful glance at Yang Lianting.
"You want to go?"
"If you can kill her, I'll reward you handsomely. If you fail, you'll pay with your life. How's that sound?"
Yang Lianting chuckled awkwardly.
He was good at flattery, but completely useless in battle.
Still, a flash of deep malice flickered in his eyes.
If Zhu Houzhao were here, he would have been extremely surprised.
This Dongfang Bubai was not the one he knew.
In fact, she was a woman disguised as a man.
The famous Cult Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Cult, Dongfang Bubai, was actually a woman.
==========
Twenty-Eighth Restaurant.
"Master!"
Seeing Abbess Ding Yi and the others arrive, Yi Lin greeted them gently.
"Yi Lin, are you alright?"
Seeing the corpses scattered around, Abbess Ding Yi's heart clenched and she rushed over with concern.
"I'm fine."
"Good."
Even though she knew Yi Lin was now quite powerful, she still instinctively saw her as a sweet and fragile girl.
Someone who always needed looking after.
Someone who could get hurt if left unattended.
"Yi Lin, what happened here?"
Before Yi Lin could speak, Linghu Chong answered first.
"Abbess Ding Yi, these people were likely sent by the Mount Song Sect to assassinate you."
"Or perhaps to threaten you."
"Their goal was the merging of the Five Mountain Sects."
Abbess Ding Yi stepped forward and examined each body.
"These people aren't from Mount Song Sect. All of them were killed with a single blow."
"The attacker was swift, precise, and ruthless. Very unusual."
She frowned slightly and gave Linghu Chong a thoughtful look.
Still, they were the enemy, and they came to kill her.
Though she felt a bit uneasy about it, she decided to accept Linghu Chong's explanation.
However, in her heart, she did not entirely approve of his methods.