Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

Inside a palace atop a mountain in the Kunlun Mountains.

A young man, holding a scroll of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion rankings, hurried into the hall.

"Master, there's a force called the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion that ranks you second on the Grandmaster list. This is outrageous!"

"Moreover, they actually ranked someone in their twenties above you."

The boy rushed over, speaking angrily.

Upon hearing this, the old man looked at his impatient disciple and couldn't help but smile helplessly.

"What ranking list? Show it to your master." The old man had not left Kunlun Mountain for many years, and he never expected that the martial arts world still remembered him.

As a reclusive sect, Kunlun Mountain has always maintained a low profile.

Even the matter of taking on apprentices is only done every few years when someone goes down the mountain to select some promising talents, bring them back up the mountain, and teach them properly.

Since taking in his young apprentice eight years ago, the old man in front of him has not stepped out of Kunlun, and has become somewhat detached from worldly affairs.

"This is it!" The young man stepped forward and handed the ranking list to the old man.

The old man smiled with doting affection as he took the ranking list from his apprentice and opened it to examine it carefully.

As soon as he flipped through some of them, the old man saw several familiar names, as well as some he had never heard of before.

The longer the old man watched, the more solemn his expression became.

Originally, the old man was somewhat dismissive of the ranking system.

However, the appearance of familiar names on the page indirectly proves the prestige of the ranking list.

After quickly glancing through the document, the old man looked up at his disciple and said:

"Go practice your skills first, I still have some things to take care of."

Hearing this, the boy was a little confused, but he still obediently nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

After the boy left, the old man opened the ranking list again and carefully reviewed it once more.

After a long while, the old man slowly closed the leaderboard in front of him.

"Afu, what kind of force is the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion?"

The old man spoke calmly to the empty hall before him.

The next moment, a respectful voice came from deep within the hall.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion appeared out of nowhere a few days ago. It has only been a few days since its emergence, and we do not know why it has launched the ranking list!"

"Its power is vast and complex, and the Tianji Pavilion's branches are spread throughout the entire Chinese continent."

"Regarding the persecution of Buddhism within the Great Xia territory the other day, this old servant suspects that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion may very well have been involved."

"It is suspected that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has reached a cooperation agreement with Xia Taige, the Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty."

A few days ago, hundreds of Buddhist temples within the Great Xia territory were uprooted overnight, an event that was bound to arouse suspicion.

Although Donghuang Taiyi attracted attention everywhere that night with his strength as a terrestrial immortal, some quick-witted people were still able to find some clues.

After all, the manpower required to uproot hundreds of Buddhist temples overnight was certainly beyond the capabilities of the still-developing Zhenwu Division.

Upon hearing this, the old man looked at Afu with a puzzled expression, and then asked:

Who is Xia Taige?

Upon hearing this, Afu bowed respectfully and replied:

"Xia Taige is the current crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty. As soon as he showed his talent, he forcefully ascended to the position of crown prince."

"His subordinates are full of experts. Half a month ago, when this person first showed his talent, he established the Zhenwu Division and forced the Cai and Wang families to apologize."

"The Cai and Wang families even said that in the future, their family members would avoid the Zhenwu Division."

"The night before last, when the Buddha of the Great Thunderclap Temple went to the capital of Great Xia, he even revealed the strength of a Grandmaster at the peak, and escaped with his life from the Buddha's hands."

"Moreover, the head of the Zhenwu Division is a powerful expert at the level of a terrestrial immortal."

"According to my calculations, he has at least three Grandmaster-level experts under his command, and more than a dozen other Grandmaster-level experts!"

"The seventh and tenth ranked people in the sect leader's ranking list are both under Xia Taige's command!"

"Moreover, their mental fortitude is extraordinary. In my estimation, the Great Thunderclap Temple will probably not last more than a few months before it collapses!"

The old man remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

With this level of strength alone, they are already no weaker than the Kunlun Sect, which has a history of thousands of years.

The old man never expected that a crown prince of a dynasty would be a Grandmaster at the peak, and that he would have so many experts under his command.

What's more, there's also a powerful expert at the Land Immortal Realm at his disposal, which is utterly ridiculous!

"What a troubled time!"

"It seems that the Great Xia has finally produced a true dragon!" After a moment of silence, the old man sighed and exclaimed.

"This old servant estimates that the current tripartite balance of power among the three great dynasties is very likely to be broken by this man!"

Afu, standing to the side, whispered in agreement with the old man.

The old man shook his head helplessly and slowly said:

"Enough. No matter how fiercely the three dynasties fight, it has nothing to do with Kunlun."

The fact that Kunlun Mountain has been able to remain secluded from the world for thousands of years is naturally related to its solitude.

Moreover, Kunlun Mountain has no ambition to dominate the Chinese mainland; it simply sits on the sidelines and watches the tigers fight.

Moreover, there is a high possibility that a powerful being at the terrestrial immortal realm exists within the Kunlun Mountains, so some forces would not want to cause trouble for themselves.

Seeing the old man's whimsical expression, Afu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up to remind him:

"Um... the sect leader's plans may have changed. Given Yi Chen's personality, who is ranked third on the Grandmaster Ranking, it's likely that he will come to Kunlun soon and challenge the sect leader!"

The old man was taken aback upon hearing this.

If you think about it carefully, this is really possible.

Given Yi Chen's impulsive nature, he dared to break into the Great Shang Dynasty's palace at night eleven years ago, disregarding the risk of being attacked by a powerful immortal in the Great Shang Dynasty, and forcefully took away the Great Shang Dynasty's eldest princess.

It seems not impossible for someone to go up Kunlun Mountain and challenge the Kunlun Sect Leader now.

The old man thought about it and immediately felt a headache coming on.

Given their abilities and years of experience, they are probably evenly matched.

After such a battle, it's unknown how many rounds it will take to determine a winner.

For the old man, winning this fight would likely bring considerable trouble in the future, and Yi Chen would certainly not let it go unpunished.

Losing the fight would damage the old man's reputation, especially with his young apprentice watching from the sidelines.

Losing would damage the old man's image in the eyes of his disciples.

No matter how you look at it, the old man is at a disadvantage.

He had intended to live a secluded life in the Kunlun Mountains, but a single list from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion plunged the entire Chinese continent into turmoil.

This is true of all people; who can truly cast aside the thoughts of fame and fortune?

Once the Grandmaster Ranking, the Innate Ranking, the Beauty Ranking, and the Prodigy Ranking gradually emerge in the future, it is likely that no sect in the martial arts world will be able to remain unaffected.

Afu, standing to the side, saw the old man's ever-changing expression and wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but he didn't know where to begin.

They could only helplessly watch as the old man fell into his inner turmoil.

The old man had been detached from worldly affairs for many years, focusing solely on cultivation and teaching his disciples. He was in charge of most of the forces in Kunlun Mountain. He was well aware of the Tianji Pavilion's recent disruption of the martial arts world and knew that it was impossible for Kunlun to remain unscathed.