Chapter 53: The Release of the Mortal Rankings

Outside the yamen.

On a huge white jade stone wall, a large ranking list was posted. A large crowd of martial artists from the pugilistic world had gathered around, discussing it animatedly.

Every now and then, someone would let out a gasp of astonishment, as if they had discovered something incredible.

Others sighed repeatedly, looking as though someone they favored had just been defeated.

The crowd was bustling and noisy.

"Damn it, all of you step aside and let me look first! Let me see if my name, Wu Tiande, is on there!"

A rough, booming Sichuan-accented voice suddenly rang out.

Chen Xuan aggressively shoved the crowd aside and strode forward.

A group of martial artists frowned, feeling displeased.

Hadn't the people from the yamen already been the first to look?

Why was this fellow still coming over to join the commotion?

Besides, who on earth was Wu Tiande?

Bang!

Someone immediately channeled their internal energy secretly, exerting force through their shoulder, intending to jolt Chen Xuan away and make a fool of him.

However, as soon as that force surged out, it vanished completely without a trace.

The other party's body was like a bottomless black hole, rendering his internal energy utterly ineffective.

That person was startled on the spot and hurriedly retreated.

What kind of demonic martial art was this?

He had merely brushed shoulders with Chen Xuan, yet his internal energy had instantly diminished by two or three years.

"Make way, all of you make way! Damn it, let me see if I, Wu Tiande, am on there!"

Chen Xuan continued to push into the crowd, shouting aloud.

"Damn it."

Many cursed under their breath as they were forcefully shoved aside.

Chen Xuan reached the very front and cast his gaze upon the white jade stone wall.

A gigantic imperial ranking list, woven entirely from top-grade silk, was posted on the translucent white jade wall. Shone upon by the sunlight, it gleamed brightly, and line after line of eye-catching names came into view.

Number One on the Mortal Rank: 'Sword Piercing the Firmament' Wang Jiuxiao.

Number Two on the Mortal Rank: 'Lone Wanderer of Ten Thousand Li' Zhang Shouzhen.

Number Three on the Mortal Rank: 'Palms Supporting Heaven and Earth' Venerable Monk Zhenhui.

Number Four on the Mortal Rank: 'Chivalrous Heart and Righteous Gall' Luo Tianqing.

Number Five on the Mortal Rank: 'Invincible Iron Palm' Shangguan Han.

...

Rank Forty-Six on the Mortal Rank: 'Sun-Eclipsing Sword' Liu Hai.

...

Rank Fifty-Two on the Mortal Rank: 'Shadows of Ghosts' Feng Changfa.

...

Rank Sixty on the Mortal Rank: 'Three Palms Blocking the River' Tian Wanli.

...

Rank Sixty-Two on the Mortal Rank: 'Cloud-Covering Hand' Zhao Longfei.

...

Chen Xuan scanned down the list one by one, his brow furrowing slightly.

"How is 'Extinction Hand' Chen Xuan not on here?"

He muttered to himself quietly.

Then he suddenly woke up to himself.

Pui!

What Extinction Hand?

Clearly, it was Young Master Xiaoyao!

"How is Young Master Xiaoyao not on here?"

He muttered again.

Muttering aside, on the surface he began to clamor: "You turtle's sons, what kind of lousy Mortal Rank is this? It doesn't even have the great name of me, Wu Tiande! My nickname is 'Iron Palm Water-Drifter', and my pair of iron palms shakes the entire world. Who dares refuse to submit!"

Everyone's mouth twitched.

What the hell, where did this lunatic come from?

Some Iron Palm Water-Drifter—they had never even heard of it.

Only one person among them had a shocked expression. Standing at the very edge of the crowd, he still felt somewhat dazed, looking at his own palm and then at the endlessly clamoring Chen Xuan.

Just now, it definitely hadn't been an illusion. Had his internal energy really vanished by nearly two or three years in an instant?

This guy was simply demonic!

Since when did the yamen have such a character?

"Zhang Qing, you were told to look at the Mortal Rank, why are you standing here in a daze?"

Suddenly, several companions walked over from afar and asked.

That person snapped back to reality and said in shock, "It seems a true expert has come to the yamen?"

"Ha."

The others sneered.

"What kind of expert could leave even you like this? Even if he's an expert, he certainly won't be a match for the Young Master. By the way, what rank did the Young Master get?"

A man in a cyan robe asked with a smile.

"I just checked, he's Number Sixty-Nine on the Mortal Rank: 'Cold-Faced Young Master' Xiao Yunxi."

The man from before replied.

The cyan-robed man nodded gently and said, "The Young Master has only just entered the pugilistic world, and his battle achievements aren't prominent yet. Just wait, in a few months, he will definitely break into the top fifty of the Mortal Rank."

The people around him all nodded.

"What is Zhang Qing still staring at? Let's go?"

The others laughed. "You don't really think an expert has appeared in the yamen, do you?"

That person's expression still failed to calm down, and he said, "Just now, I brushed against that constable, and in an instant, nearly three years of my internal energy vanished. What kind of martial art is this? Have any of you ever seen it?"

"Oh? There's such a thing?"

The others revealed strange expressions and looked at Chen Xuan once more.

The cyan-robed man shook his head and said, "Let's not stir up trouble for now. We'll go back and ask the Young Master, and we'll know. Now that opportunities are about to appear, Qingfeng City is probably not going to be peaceful."

"Mm."

The few of them nodded and left the place.

Chen Xuan shouted loudly as he squeezed out of the crowd, still feeling resentful that Wu Tiande's name was missing.

The crowd cursed him under their breath.

"Damn it, sooner or later, the great name of me, Wu Tiande, will be written in the number one spot!"

Chen Xuan shouted at the top of his lungs.

Pui!

Many people spat towards him.

Chen Xuan hurriedly dodged, hurled another curse at the crowd, and then straightened his clothes and hat, hitched his waist saber, and walked toward the yamen ahead.

The entrance of the yamen was deserted, without even a gatekeeper, and the front was dilapidated.

Chen Xuan frowned slightly and walked into the main hall.

He saw that this yamen was damaged everywhere; the walls and floors were all cracked, the plaque on the main hall had even lost one half, and the tables were covered in a layer of grime, as if they hadn't been wiped in who knows how long.

What made it even harder for him to accept was that there were several piles of turds on one side of the main hall.

What the hell, who had taken a dump in here?

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he truly wouldn't have believed this was a yamen.

No wonder [Task One] required him to straighten out the security of Qingfeng City—when even the yamen had become like this, one could imagine how chaotic other places must be!

Suddenly, Chen Xuan heard a burst of clamorous shouting coming from the inner courtyard.

"Six-six, five-leader..."

"Eight horses..."

...

"Leopard, leopard, roll a leopard!"

"Hahaha, four-five-six is big!"

...

The chaotic sounds reached his ears. Chen Xuan walked into the inner hall and proceeded following the noise.

In a massive room, a crowd of figures was clustered together, shouting incessantly at the top of their lungs.

Several tables were set up in the room; some people were contesting drinking capacity, while others were gambling in a crowd.

The shouting could be heard from far away.

Chen Xuan was secretly baffled.

This was too outrageous, wasn't it?

What kind of people were these?

Carrying on so wildly right in the back courtyard of the yamen?

Chen Xuan was just about to squeeze into the room when a thought suddenly struck him, and he noticed another damaged room where a middle-aged man wearing tattered clothes was sitting with a bitter expression, sighing heavily.

Around him, a few people dressed like punks, wearing official robes, were frolicking back and forth. Some were putting on official airs, others were singing theatrical tunes, all smiles and full of mirth.

Chen Xuan immediately walked toward that room first.

The few punks suddenly lit up and noticed Chen Xuan.

"Oho, a new constable?"

"That's great then. Quick, quickly take off your official uniform and hand your waist saber over to us too!"

The punks swarmed over.

The middle-aged man also noticed Chen Xuan. Amidst his mournful sighs, he too revealed a trace of slight astonishment.

The imperial court had actually sent a new chief constable?

Soon, he revealed a bitter smile.

In the past three years, a full eleven new chief constables had died right here.

And yet someone still dared to come?

Most likely, they were just like him—having no backing above and suffering ostracism, which was why they were sent here, right?

As soon as the punks rushed up, they started tearing at Chen Xuan's clothes, and one of them went straight for his official saber, intending to strip away all these garments and the weapon.

Bang!

Chen Xuan struck down with a palm, and the punk who had grabbed for the official saber was hit squarely in the head. His skull cracked, blood spurted wildly, and he flew backward, dying a miserable death.

"You turtle's son, I am the dignified Ninth-Rank Black-Clad Chief Constable of the imperial court, and you dare snatch my official saber? Are you looking to die?"

Chen Xuan cursed.

The expressions of the other punks turned horrified. Having never seen such a scene, they immediately retreated in panic.

"You... you..."

"Murder! Someone help, murder!"

They hurriedly shouted.

Puff!

Chen Xuan raised his hand and dropped his blade. The one who had shouted the loudest had his head sliced off on the spot, blood spurting two to three meters into the air.

The other two hurriedly clamped their mouths shut, trembling and terrified out of their wits.

"What are you yelling for? Damn it, my ears are about to burst from the noise!"

Chen Xuan wore a fierce expression as he picked his ear.

The destitute middle-aged man nearby was dumbfounded once again, looking at Chen Xuan in terror.

This... this newly appointed chief constable was this hardcore?

As soon as he arrived, he killed two people back-to-back?

"You... you..."

His voice trembled, unable to form words.

"Damn your ancestors, which one of you is the magistrate?"

Chen Xuan cursed.

The middle-aged man scrambled to his feet, his face horrified. Cupping his hands together, he said, "I... I am Lin Ziedong, the current magistrate of Qingfeng City. May I ask who this constable... who you might be?"

Chen Xuan cast a fierce glare at him.

"You're the magistrate?"

"Yes, it is I."

The middle-aged man nodded hastily.

Chen Xuan pulled a letter from his bosom, unfolded it directly, and imitating the tropes from the movies of his past life, shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The letter of appointment!"

"Hereby appointing Wu Tiande as the Thirteenth Ninth-Rank Black-Clad Chief Constable of Qingfeng City..."