Starting from the Greyhound, seventy-two changes.

Chapter 106: Using force to make friends
There was a buzz of conversation in Yaowang Hall. Even though it was the coldest time of the year, the faces of the servants and apprentices in the hall were beaming with excitement as they looked at the young man who was surrounded by them.

Junior Brother Chen Ku.

I'm only seventeen years old this year.

He actually became one of the top ten young masters in the city.

The most crucial list is not the one that ranks the young people in Baojiao County, but the one that was ranked after many dragons, tigers and leopards from the city entered Baojiao County. Needless to say, its value is very high.

With such a young genius right beside them, in their Yaowang Hall, how could they not feel proud?

Chen Ku frowned as he looked at the list.

To be honest, ever since he was reborn in this martial arts world, he has always been following a safe and stable approach, storing up food and building high walls.

Whether or not one is on the list has no appeal to him.

As the saying goes, there is no first in literature, and there is no second in martial arts.

Especially young people.

It is a time when people are competing for fame and fortune. Putting young people on such a list will make them targets, whether they like it or not. They will be watched and evaluated by the world. It is related to their own honor and disgrace. It is not a good thing to be involved in it.

Especially the ranking of this list.

In Chen Ku's opinion, there was something sinister in his intentions.

In this list, there is no dispute about who is ranked first among the city's top young masters. It is Xie Qingfeng, the thirteenth young master of the Xie family of Chai Tiepu, who has already ranked among the older generation in strength.

This Thirteenth Young Master Xie, who is twenty-eight years old this year, is already a rare fourth-level meridian master in the city. He has opened up all the meridians in his body, slowed down his pulse and heartbeat, and kept his internal organs clean and tidy. He is a person who can live to the limit of the human lifespan without doing anything.

Xie Qingfeng, 28 years old, practiced the 'Nine Sun-Changing Swords' which had been passed down in Chai Tiepu for hundreds of years. When he was only 15 years old, he entered the realm of the state. When he was 20 years old, he traveled to four prefectures and eight counties. Not only in Baojiao County, he also left a reputation as a handsome young man with peerless swordsmanship in other prefectures and counties.

It can be said that this Thirteenth Young Master is basically the authentic archway of the younger generation in Baojiao County. After this archway is erected, no one will question the fame and strength of the Thirteenth Young Master.

Even though many well-known young masters of Qiulong came to the city before the New Year, they could not take away Xie Qingfeng's glory.

But it was different after Xie Qingfeng.

The second-ranked person was no longer a young man from Baojiao County, but a young man from Qiulong Prefecture named Yu Dao.

Yu Dao was nicknamed "Divine Sword Xiao Yu" by the people in Qiulong Mansion. No one knew his master or disciple. They only knew that he had lightning-fast sword skills. At the age of 25, he had already killed an old-generation master who had reached the fourth level of meridians.

After Yu Dao, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth places are basically all young masters from the city.

Only in the seventh place did the name of a young man from Baojiao County appear.

She is the most talented disciple of this generation in Yulong Society. Her name is 'Ning Jiuzhen'. She is a woman. She is the legitimate daughter of 'Ning Family' among the eight major clans in Baojiao County in the city. She never deals with the outside world and doesn't make many friends. She never goes out of the main door or the second door of the Ning Family's small building on East Street. But everyone knows that she is a rare female genius, and she has a peerless appearance.

The eighth place is Shangguan Qian, the son of Lord Shangguan. He is only eighteen years old this year, but he has already entered the realm of perfect internal energy. As the son of the number one man in the city, he is not well-known in Baojiao County, but no one doubts the talent, aptitude, and strength of this "Young Master Qian".

Chen Ku ranked ninth.

The tenth is Zhao Chuanzu from the "Ancient Elephant Sect" who came from the provincial capital. It is said that he practices a martial art called "Nine Dragons Combined", which is the Ancient Elephant Sect's secret martial art and is rarely seen in the martial arts world.

The eleventh is the music style of Chaitiepu in Baojiao County.

……

Inside the Medicine King Hall.

Just as everyone was talking about this list, looking at Chen Ku with envy and pride.

A man walked in from outside the hall and said to Chen Ku:

"Brother Chen Ku, this list is malicious, don't fall into its trap."

Chen Ku looked up.

The man who came over was wearing an embroidered silk gown just like him, but the difference was that there was a bunch of flowers embroidered on his chest, with a "Fu" character hidden in the flowers.

He is in his thirties and has a beard.

"It's Senior Brother Lan!"

"I bow to Senior Brother Lan."

When the waiters and apprentices in the front hall saw the newcomer, they immediately restrained their expressions and saluted Lan Fuxi solemnly and respectfully.

"Senior Brother Lan."

Chen Ku also bowed to the visitor.

Lan Fuxi is the disciple of Cao Shouxiong, the third manager of Yaowang Hall, who was accepted as his disciple ten years ago. He is now thirty years old and has reached the level of Xuanguan cultivation.

He had some good feelings towards the Third Shopkeeper, who had climbed up from the bottom, but he didn't know much about Senior Brother Lan. Although he also felt some malice in the list, he pretended not to know and asked:
"Brother Lan, why do you say this list is malicious?"

"Can't you really see?"

Lan Fuxi said to Chen Ku solemnly:

“On this list, only one young man from each force in the county is deliberately picked out and ranked as a target. In fact, the purpose is to make young people fight among themselves. Take your Junior Brother Chen for example. You do have internal energy cultivation now, but in our Medicine King Hall.

Huo Xiaoxia, the disciple of Nong Lao, Zhang Renfeng, the disciple of the second shopkeeper, and Kou Ming, the successor of the first shopkeeper...

These three brothers and sisters are all under 30 years old, but most of them have reached the Xuanguan realm.

Therefore, among the disciples of Yaowang Hall, your cultivation is actually the lowest, but you are ranked on the list. What do the three senior brothers and sisters in the hall think?
Everyone has a competitive spirit. Several senior brothers and sisters are older than you, and their cultivation is stronger than you, but they are not on the list...

This is clearly a conspiracy by those outsiders from Qiulong Mansion to cause internal strife among the young people in Baojiao County."

Hearing Lan Fuxi say this.

The apprentices in the hall were slow to realize what was happening and were immediately filled with indignation:

"Brother Lan really enlightened me with his words. Indeed, this list is indeed a list with ulterior motives!"

Chen Ku heard Lan Fuxi speak out his thoughts with sincerity, and thought to himself, "This senior brother is a straightforward person, he is a good person."

He immediately bowed and said, "Brother, what you said makes sense. I understand. I will not take this list seriously. Don't worry, I will go find the three brothers and sisters and invite them to dinner to eliminate the estrangement between the brothers in our Medicine King Hall. I will definitely not be provoked by outsiders."

"As long as you don't take it seriously, the three senior brothers and sisters will not be against you because of such a thing." Lan Fuxi warned.

He was afraid that Chen Ku was too young and had a bright future, but his mentality was too complacent, which would affect the harmony between the brothers.

Unexpectedly, Lan Fuxi finished speaking not long ago.

A voice came from outside the hall, laughing, "Brother Lan from Yaowang Hall is really demonizing the people from our city by saying this."

Chen Ku, Lan Fuxi and everyone else in the hall looked outside when they heard the sound.

A person wearing a blue gown walked in from outside the hall. He had a fair complexion, curved eyebrows, and delicate features. He was obviously a woman, but dressed like a man.

It is precisely this kind of neutral and gentle image of a woman dressed as a man that makes many customers in the store's eyes light up, and they can feel the temperament of this woman.

"Who are you? Who are you?" Lan Fuxi frowned.

The woman dressed as a man, holding a folding fan in her hand, bowed slightly to Lan Fuxi and Chen Ku. When she smiled, there were two dimples on her face, and her voice was soft and beautiful:

"I am Ming Shengnan, the person who ranks all the young people in the city."

This statement came out.

Everyone in the Medicine King Hall was shocked. Lan Fuxi's face changed, and a trace of seriousness immediately emerged: "Ming Shengnan, the heir of this generation of Qiulong Mansion, who is known as the 'know-it-all' in the martial arts world, is actually a woman."

Famous artist?

Chen Ku also suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen a person with the same name on the cover of "Qionglong Yaobang", whose name was Ming Qianqiu.

I also heard from Senior Brother Lan that this family seems to be a group of people who like to make rankings for various things.

But then I thought to myself:
"Since ancient times, those who ranked others as 'know-it-alls' always had a miserable end, unless this famous person had the foundation to support this 'backlash'."

He could also understand the significance of this kind of list, which was similar to a tabloid in the martial arts world. There was profit to be made behind it. For example, the Qiulong Monster List. According to Jiang Shaoyou, such a list... Over the past few decades, at the price of one or two taels of silver per copy, hundreds of thousands of copies had been sold in the Qiulong Mansion. Almost every hunter who went into the mountains to hunt had to have a copy.

"Women are not necessarily inferior to men, that's why Jiaci named me Shengnan."

Ming Shengnan tapped his palms lightly with his folding fan and said to Lan Fuxi:
"Just now, Brother Lan said that ranking the young masters in the city was an ill-intentioned move, and that he wanted to cause infighting among your internal forces first. This is not right, so please take it back, Brother Lan."

"Why is it wrong?" Lan Fuxi sneered, "Is my questioning just now wrong? There are obviously more powerful people in the major forces, but you chose to compile people like Junior Brother Chen Ku who have not yet grown up into the list. Isn't it to make other brothers in the hall feel jealous and dissatisfied with Junior Brother Chen?"

"I have always been fair and just when I make rankings for famous people. Brother Lan... you simply don't understand the requirements of my ranking this time."

Mingshengnan said:
"I am not ranking by strength this time, so people like you, Brother Lan, and other people in the city who are not bad in strength are not on the list. The reason is... I am ranking based on 'potential' this time, so this list is also called the 'Potential Dragon List'. The worst of these people on the list has the potential to cultivate the fourth realm 'Open Meridian' with 100% certainty. And people like you, Brother Lan, or the several young masters in your hall... can't be on the list because... although you have reached the Xuanguan realm, you are not 100% sure that you can cultivate the fourth realm Open Meridian."

Lan Fuxi was stunned.

Then shame and anger.

Finally, thinking of the famous master's background and the hurtful words the other party said, he had to clench his fists and endure.

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

He and several other people in the hall did not have absolute confidence and dared to guarantee that they would be able to reach the level of their master in the future.

But Junior Brother Chen Ku is indeed different.

Chen Ku also frowned slightly at this time. Although he had great confidence in his future, he was puzzled. He took a half step forward and asked:

"How can Miss Ming be so sure that I can cultivate the fourth level of meridians?"

"As for personal potential and style, my family has been compiling lists for hundreds of years and already has a set of methods to judge people. Brother Chen's three-day Qi feeling and half-month Qi full cultivation speed... is no secret." Mingshengnan smiled slightly and said, "Coupled with Brother Chen's Four Symbols No Power Bones, your future achievements will definitely not be lower than the fifth realm."

Chen Ku secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

It turns out that it is based on these calculations.

Then he was relieved.

Because the other party's information has an obvious lag, at least, he is standing here now, but the other party doesn't know that he is actually already strong.

If you have the blessing of the three diagrams, you will have the power of perfect internal energy.

Lan Fuxi was still very dissatisfied with this famous lady who took the initiative to rank others, and snorted coldly: "Even so, you took the initiative to rank Junior Brother Chen on your list, which will also cause trouble for Junior Brother Chen."

Just saying.

Then I heard a carriage stop outside Yaowang Hall, and then someone got off the carriage, holding a visiting letter, and shouted outside the door:

"Young Master Zhao Chuanzu of the Ancient Elephant Sect would like to invite Young Hero Chen Ku of the Medicine King Hall to a banquet at the Liangjiang Guild Hall to meet friends through martial arts. This is the visiting card."

The man entered the Medicine King Hall.

He raised his hands above his head and lowered his head slightly, letting the visiting card fall in front of Chen Ku.

Chen Ku frowned for a moment and subconsciously looked at Mingshengnan.

Lan Fuxi was furious when he saw this. He pointed at Ming Shengnan and shouted:

"What else do you have to say now? Look, because of your 'Hidden Dragon List', you've got trouble now. You've made my junior brother a target for no reason, and you still say you have no ill intentions?"

Chen Ku also looked at Mingshengnan with an unfriendly look.

Waiting for the other party's reply.

He even suspected that these people from the city were all from the same place. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that Ming Shengnan came to Yaowang Hall uninvited to explain the list, and then Zhao Chuanzu, who was ranked below him, sent him a "declaration of war".

"I just explained that the list was not created to cause infighting among your county or hall, but it is meant to be a competition for rank among those on the list."

Mingshengnan said slowly:

"My family has always been fair, but if Brother Chen really thinks you don't want to accept this kind of invitation and letter of challenge, just refuse it directly. After all, my Daji Dynasty has its own laws, and it is not against the law to refuse the letter of challenge."

"But it's a disgrace to our reputation." Lan Fuxi sneered.

Chen Ku smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I refuse. I don't have any reputation anyway."

Why would he accept every invitation and challenge for no reason?
"reject?"

The messenger's expression also changed slightly:
"This……"

"Go back and tell Mr. Zhao that I'm not interested in him. Send him away."

Chen Ku waved his hand and said to the others.

Lan Fuxi was also slightly stunned, but soon nodded in agreement. Yes, Junior Brother Chen has no reputation yet, so he doesn't need to be held hostage by this list.

"Messenger, please go back." Ming Shengnan actually spoke up at this time and said to the messenger, "Brother Chen, there is really no need to accept Young Master Zhao's invitation for no reason."

The messenger was silent for a moment, then left dejectedly.

Ming Shengnan then bowed to Chen Ku and said, "Brother Chen, this list is not targeted at anyone. If you encounter such a thing in the future and don't want to get involved in a conflict, just refuse it like you did this time. Goodbye."

Chen Ku and Lan Fuxi watched Mingshengnan leave.

Chen Ku said to Lan Fuxi: "Now that this matter is settled, I will go and pay my respects to the master."

Lan Fuxi's will was shaken by Ming Shengnan's words.

Without saying anything more, he nodded silently.

In the inner courtyard of Yang Luchan.

"Disciple greets Master." Chen Ku bowed respectfully.

"Junior brother, I heard that you were on some list, and even I wasn't on it..." Yang Shaoqi appeared from behind Chen Ku and put his hand on his shoulder: "This is a good thing, right? Should we go to Hongyan Tower for a meal?"

Chen Ku was a little amused and said, "Brother, you didn't see it in the front hall just now. Being on this list is not a good thing. Someone has come to challenge me."

"challenge?"

Yang Luchan sat on the armchair and asked with great interest.

Soon.

I heard the whole story from Chen Ku.

He chuckled and said:
"Then what are you afraid of? It's just a challenge, isn't it? He's just a descendant of the Ancient Elephant Sect from the inner city. Although his Nine Dragons Combined Jade has some skills, your first move of the Violent Ape Thousand-pound Staff has already been perfected. Combined with your Four-elephant Bones, you can be said to be invincible below the level of the Mystical Gate."

Chen Ku coughed and said, "Master, I have never been a combative person in my life."

(End of this chapter)