Chapter 523: Chapter 305: Bloodline

Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to a sour hater like Zhang Hanzhou, and Sun Tao merely responded with a polite smile.

"This is just the preliminary list. Many dark horses have yet to show their true colors. Staying on the Lingyun List after the selection is a real testament to one’s true ability," Qi Xuancheng said with a laugh.

Xu Yang continued scanning the list and was surprised to spot two more disciples from the Purple Sun Sect.

Ranked eighty-fifth on the Lingyun List: Li Chuyang. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Purple Sun Sect disciple. Cultivated the Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique to the Great Success Realm. Comprehended the Silver Moon Martial Dao Imagery a mere month after breaking through to Celestial Essence.

Ranked forty-third on the Lingyun List: Jiang Fan. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Purple Sun Sect disciple. Upper Grade A Root Bone. Future Iron Blood Marquis.

Both Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan had actually made the list, and both were ranked higher than him. Even Li Chuyang, whom he had previously defeated, sat at eighty-fifth.

What surprised him the most was Jiang Fan. Despite being ranked forty-third, his description only noted an Upper Grade A Root Bone and his status as the future Iron Blood Marquis.

"An Upper Grade A Root Bone isn’t enough to secure such a high rank. It must be related to his status as the future Iron Blood Marquis," Xu Yang pondered.

There had to be something he didn’t know. Otherwise, they wouldn’t list the title of the future Iron Blood Marquis on a ranking based entirely on talent and potential.

"You defeated Li Chuyang before, so how is his ranking higher than yours?" Sun Tao was genuinely perplexed when he saw Li Chuyang’s name.

Logically speaking, if someone with Li Chuyang’s background had lost to Xu Yang, it should mean his talent and potential were inferior.

"Xu Yang has great Body Refining Talent and cultivated the Golden Gang Skill. It was completely normal for him to defeat Li Chuyang during Marrow Cleansing, but that doesn’t mean his talent and potential surpass Li Chuyang’s just because he won once," Qi Xuancheng interjected.

"The Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique is a Superior Technique of the Li family. It is incredibly profound, and its true power only erupts once it reaches the Great Success Realm.

"This Cultivation Technique requires exceptional talent and Comprehension just to reach the Entry Level. Li Chuyang expended most of his energy on the Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique, causing him to fall behind in other areas, which was why he lost to Xu Yang.

"Now that Li Chuyang’s Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique has reached Great Success and he has comprehended Martial Dao Imagery, if they were to fight again, Xu Yang wouldn’t be his match even if he also comprehended Martial Dao Imagery."

Qi Xuancheng spoke with absolute certainty because he knew exactly what kind of Cultivation Technique the Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique was. If it weren’t exceptionally strong, Li Chuyang wouldn’t have ignored powerful Cultivation Techniques like the Purple Sun Sect’s Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique to practice it.

He turned to Xu Yang with a smile. "Have you comprehended Martial Dao Imagery?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "How could I have?"

Qi Xuancheng’s face filled with a smug expression, almost as if he were Li Chuyang himself.

"Even if Xu Yang comprehends Martial Dao Imagery, he still wouldn’t be a match for Li Chuyang?" Sun Tao asked, puzzled. His rise had happened too quickly, and he had spent most of his time in seclusion absorbing the effects of that bizarre Spirit Medicine, leaving him with limited knowledge of the Martial Dao.

Qi Xuancheng nodded. "Of course. Martial Dao Imagery is also divided into grades. You didn’t really think all Martial Dao Imagery was equally powerful, did you? If that were the case, everyone would just cultivate the same imagery. Why would there be so many different types of Martial Dao Imagery and Martial Techniques?"

Zhang Hanzhou sneered mockingly, "Sun Tao, your knowledge of the Martial Dao is shockingly shallow. You don’t even know that Martial Dao Imagery has varying degrees of strength? Take the weakest kind, for example—our Purple Sun Sect’s Fuyue Bear King’s Palm. Even if one comprehends its Martial Dao Imagery, it’s still the weakest, most bottom-tier imagery there is.

"Generally speaking, Fierce Beast imagery belongs to the weaker category of Martial Dao Imagery.

"Next up are natural landscapes, like ocean waves and towering mountains.

"Finally, there is imagery related to the moon, sun, and stars, which belongs to the absolute strongest category.

"The Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique cultivates the Silver Moon Imagery, which is one of the strongest existences among all imageries.

"With Li Chuyang’s talent, if he had been cultivating a Fierce Beast imagery instead of the strongest tier, he probably would have comprehended Martial Dao Imagery even before breaking through to Celestial Essence. Did you really think Li Lingdu’s son would be a disappointment?"

Sun Tao completely ignored the mockery. Having climbed his way up from the very bottom, he had lost count of how many times he had been sneered at. As long as he got his questions answered, it didn’t matter. He was long accustomed to Zhang Hanzhou’s passive-aggressive attitude.

"Then what about Jiang Fan? The talent he has displayed is about the same as Li Chuyang’s, so why is Li Chuyang only eighty-fifth while he ranks forty-third?" Xu Yang asked curiously.

"This..." Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng, who had been speaking with such confidence just moments ago, were suddenly struck dumb. They couldn’t utter a single word.

They were equally baffled by why Jiang Fan’s ranking was so high.

"It turns out your knowledge of the Martial Dao isn’t much better than ours," Sun Tao said, highly amused. The two of them had been running their mouths endlessly, yet a single question from Xu Yang had left them completely speechless.

"The title of Iron Blood Marquis represents more than just a noble rank; it represents the inheritance of a powerful bloodline. Jiang Fan being the future Young Master Marquis means he possesses the densest bloodline of the Iron Blood Marquis lineage in this generation," a voice suddenly interjected from the side.

Xu Yang and the others turned around in surprise and saw a man dressed in a moon-white robe, exuding an extraordinary aura.

"May I ask, brother, what exactly is a bloodline?" Sun Tao asked, cupping his fists respectfully.

The man smiled. "If you ask me what a bloodline is, I couldn’t give you an exact answer. You can think of it as a talent similar to a Spirit Bone. However, unlike a Spirit Bone, bloodlines are only found in families whose ancestors were once peerless powerhouses.

"It’s said that some top-tier bloodlines are even more terrifying than Spirit Bones.

"Of course, it is incredibly difficult to awaken a bloodline. If Young Master Marquis Jiang Fan’s bloodline were to awaken, he wouldn’t be ranked forty-third; he would immediately break into the top ten.

"If anything, I feel this Lingyun List is being somewhat conservative in its estimation of his potential."

Breaking directly into the top ten would make him comparable to a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride. None of them had expected Jiang Fan to carry such a formidable bloodline. It was just a pity that, according to this man, such a powerful bloodline was exceedingly difficult to awaken.

"Thank you for clearing that up, brother!" Sun Tao bowed once more.

Xu Yang and the others also cupped their fists in gratitude, finally realizing that such a thing as bloodlines existed outside of Root Bones.

The man smiled, shaking his head gently before turning his attention back to the Lingyun List. Xu Yang and his group fell silent as they, too, continued scanning the rankings.

He soon spotted another familiar name—Li Yunzhou.

Ranked fifty-second on the Lingyun List: Li Yunzhou. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Cold Water Sect disciple. Cultivated the Guishui True Technique and comprehended the Guishui True Intent. Once fought single-handedly against two Cold Water Sect Elders without losing, and exchanged dozens of moves with Huo Xiaochen.

To think he was ranked fifty-second. It seemed the Honored Guest Elder recruited by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was quite impressive.

Reading further, Xu Yang found yet another familiar name.

Ranked fourteenth on the Lingyun List: Huo Xiaochen. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Iron Sword Sect disciple. Perfection Level Root Bone. Slew a Celestial Essence Martial Artist in a hundred and fifty moves just three months after breaking through to Celestial Essence.

Xu Yang felt a chill in his heart. Even with Root Bone Perfection, Huo Xiaochen was only ranked fourteenth.

Of course, this was just the preliminary list, so it wasn’t entirely accurate. Perhaps Huo Xiaochen hadn’t revealed his full strength to the public, or maybe there were other hidden geniuses like him. Huo Xiaochen’s rank could very well drop even further down the list. For the Lingyun List to be truly authoritative, they would have to wait until after the selection. Right now, it was merely for reference.

"Huo Xiaochen has a Perfect Root Bone, yet he’s only fourteenth? That’s terrifying!"

The surrounding crowd was visibly shaken to see someone as renowned as Huo Xiaochen ranked only fourteenth. A Perfect Root Bone was second only to a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride. It was hard to fathom that there were thirteen people with even greater talent ranked ahead of him.

"Someone actually said earlier that this year’s batch of geniuses was a bit sparse. Does this fucking look sparse to you? A Perfect Root Bone is only ranked fourteenth!"

"Sparse? What complete bullshit! Unless it’s a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, whoever dared to say that needs to step out and show themselves."

"How much did that guy drink to claim there’s a lack of geniuses this time around?"

Remembering Zhang Hanzhou’s earlier remarks, some people in the crowd began cursing loudly.

Zhang Hanzhou’s face turned beet red. He didn’t dare utter a single word at this moment, forcing himself to swallow his pride and endure it in silence. He hadn’t checked the top rankings earlier; out of pure jealousy that both Xu Yang and Sun Tao had made the list, he had cynically claimed the talent pool was lacking. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that a figure like Huo Xiaochen would only place fourteenth, failing to even breach the top ten.

Qi Xuancheng and Ye Qiuling quietly distanced themselves from him, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

"This list is inaccurate. How could Senior Brother Huo Xiaochen only be fourteenth? He should be in the top ten at the very least!"

A few Iron Sword Sect disciples, with massive black greatswords strapped to their backs, voiced their discontent. Aside from the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, they refused to accept anyone else being ranked above Huo Xiaochen. Until Martial Artists actually crossed blows, no one would willingly admit inferiority.

"I will personally challenge everyone ranked ahead of me, one by one." Huo Xiaochen was present as well.

Carrying his black greatsword, he emanated a surging battle intent, clearly dissatisfied with his placement. In truth, it wasn’t just him. Many of the geniuses on the list were displeased with their rankings, and those who hadn’t made the cut were equally indignant.

Ranked thirteenth on the Lingyun List: Li Feiyun. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Haisa Sect disciple. Comprehended Martial Dao Imagery at Marrow Cleansing Perfection. Slew a Celestial Essence Beast, the Crimson Flame Tiger, and defeated several veteran Celestial Essence Martial Artists.

Ranked eleventh on the Lingyun List: Lin Jingyu. Cultivation: Celestial Essence First Layer.

Yellow Maple Valley disciple. Age: twenty-one. Comprehended Martial Dao Imagery at Marrow Cleansing Great Success. No record of slaying a Celestial Essence opponent. Possesses Body Refining Talent.

"Lin Jingyu is actually ranked eleventh?" Qi Xuancheng’s face was filled with sheer disbelief.

Back then, he had exchanged numerous moves with Lin Jingyu before finally losing. Why did Xu Yang make the list because of this exact battle record, while he was left completely unranked?

"Is that the same Lin Jingyu that Xu Yang defeated when they were in the same realm?"

"Xu Yang actually defeated the eleventh-ranked Lin Jingyu before! No wonder he placed ninety-eighth."

The surrounding crowd looked at Xu Yang in disbelief. Earlier, when they read Xu Yang’s battle record, they had wondered who this Lin Jingyu was. To think he was a powerhouse ranked eleventh!

"How could a genius like that ever lose to Xu Yang? And if Xu Yang could defeat a genius of that caliber, why is he only ranked ninety-eighth?"

"Lin Jingyu must have lost to him on purpose!"

Doubts quickly began to ripple through the crowd. If a peerless talent like Lin Jingyu had comprehended Martial Dao Imagery at Marrow Cleansing Great Success, what exactly did Xu Yang use to beat him?

Martial Dao Imagery?

If Xu Yang had also comprehended Martial Dao Imagery, then why was he stuck at ninety-eighth?

"Brother Lin, did you intentionally lose to Xu Yang?"

A group from the Yellow Maple Valley was also present at the stele pavilion, checking the Lingyun List. Someone immediately turned and asked Lin Jingyu out of curiosity.

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