Once upon a time, there was a swordsman named Little Li, who was currently feeling a bit gloomy, truly wishing he could get his hands on a bunch of ice chunks to cool off; he was a tad worried about losing his cool.
Unfortunately, Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were fresh out of ice chunks.
So, he sucked in a deep breath of icy air and gradually eased his mood.
Seeing Li Mo’s face filled with existential dread, Ying Bing tilted her head.
“Isn’t that nickname catchy?”
Li Mo struggled to explain. “Well, it’s not that it’s bad, but… it’s just that… well, you won’t get it if you don’t know what it means…”
“Beneficial to many, is called ‘Li Qun’?” Ying Bing thought for a moment, seeming to find it quite fitting.
“…..”
Staring at her for a while, Li Mo suddenly burst into a chuckle. He realized that the nickname did have a certain ring to it.
Why fuss over it so much?
Li Qun Swordsman is just Li Qun Swordsman…
Once the Qianlong List was released, the grandeur of the midday gate shifted from dragon flying and phoenix dancing to a blooming spectacle, with layers upon layers of onlookers, all holding their breath in excitement.
Next up was the real deal!
Countless gazes converged at the midday gate, petals fluttering along the path, raising a flurry of flower rain.
【Hundred Rankings First】: “Qiao Liuzhu.”
【Hundred Rankings Ninety-Ninth】: “Tan Jingqiu.”
【Hundred Rankings Ninety-Eighth】: “Wang Ning.”
…..
As the names appeared, the participants of the Hundred Yi Festival began to step down from their carriages, dressed to the nines, traversing through the midday gate with ethereal grace.
Though it was midsummer, the chaos of beauty was already dazzling the entire city.
“This life is worth living!”
“No wonder Young Hero Li managed to snatch up Wanchun Courtyard. If I had half that talent, I’d go into debt just to have a piece of that!”
“No, wait! I own a tea house directly across from Wanchun Courtyard where Young Hero Li regularly comes for tea…”
The scene was unprecedented, and the entire Imperial Capital felt like it was boiling over with excitement, chatter buzzing all around.
It was a bit chaotic; even though the Tianwei Guards and Yulin Army were trying to maintain order, it was more like trying to stop a boiling pot with a ladle.
After all, the folks trying to uphold order probably weren’t too focused on that themselves…
Now, up on the unassuming third floor of a tea house in the crowd.
The whole building had changed hands long ago.
With a bronze mask on his face, the Master of Xueliantang, the Master of Hall of Beasts Luo Yexian, and the Master of Yin Yang Hall were sitting at a tea table, narrowing their eyes and scrutinizing the scene ahead with grave expressions.
These members of the Demon Cult were dead serious, as if they were engaged in some very important matter.
“I think Wang Ning deserves to be called a little jewel of the heavens, she shouldn’t be just ninety-eighth.”
“Nonsense! The girl ahead of her, Yu Shiyao, isn’t even close! Cute doesn’t compare to sexy!”
“Tu Yan is the real deal, she trumps skills with her appeal!”
The members of the Demon Cult were bickering fiercely.
It’s common knowledge that their tempers would flare in an instant, and a minor disagreement could have them venting on each other, almost leading to a fistfight.
Smack—
The Master of Xueliantang slammed his palm onto the table with a resounding bang:
“We are here to serve the ancestral god! We are on a mission for our great cause! Deputy Master Yuwen is risking his life, and you lot are acting like useless mud! Just a few pretty faces and you’ve forgotten your last names, your eyes are practically popping out!”
“If we don’t gear up, we might lose our heads!”
With that, he skillfully pocketed his viewing device tucked in his sleeve.
“I…”
“Cough, Master, keep it down! You’ll attract the Tianwei Guards!”
“We need to blend in at the Hundred Yi Festival; otherwise… it’s just better to blend in naturally, less likely to be spotted. Anyone staring too intensely will look suspicious.”
“Never forget the importance of our ancestral god!”
The cult members all appeared sheepish, some even awkwardly trying to justify themselves.
The Master of Xueliantang snorted coldly and began assigning the next tasks:
“Once we infiltrate, as soon as the Deputy Master makes a move, we’ll create chaos together. You know how to create chaos, right?”
“k*ll people?”
“Start a fire?”
“Steal offerings from the temple?”
The cult members were spouting off their own specialties.
“So, look at you bunch of shortsighted fools.”
The Master of Xueliantang scanned the crowd, mocking them:
“Since it’s the Hundred Yi Festival, the best way to stir chaos… is of course to snag the girls listed on the rankings!”
“!!”
As soon as these words left his mouth, the cult members felt as if they’d been struck by lightning, their eyes glazing over, slowly starting to show signs of enlightenment.
Epiphany!
Yeah! They could just go after the girls!
“Into the ranks, grab the girls!”
“Into the ranks, grab the girls!”
“Right, let’s go for the pretty ones, the famous ones!”
Even the Master of Yin Yang Hall was swept up in the enthusiasm of the cult members, waving his hand and proclaiming grandly.
“Hey, then you should target that one!” A subordinate suddenly pointed out the window.
“Humph, if I make a small move, I think…”
The Master of Yin Yang Hall followed the direction of his finger, and abruptly halted his sentence.
After a moment of silence, he smacked the subordinate on the head.
“That’s the empress!”
The subordinate looked a bit wronged. Wasn’t that totally up to your standards?
In front of the midday gate.
A phoenix carriage glided down the long street, and no one expected Empress Chuge to pass through the midday gate. Was this a whim or planned?
As Empress Chuge approached in her luxurious carriage, people instinctively lowered their heads, but suddenly, a lightning bolt struck in their minds.
Wait a minute…
The last rankings mentioned the Hundred Yi’s first-place, right?
Who was that first place?
For the seasoned folks of the Imperial Capital and the commoners, finding that answer wasn’t too hard.
In an instant, a name sprang to mind.
“That first… is it Ying Bing?”
“Gasp… the Yantian Sect’s ranking this time is too bold, they really don’t fear stepping on toes! The Crown Prince has lost to Li Mo, everyone’s seen that, but beauty isn’t exactly a duel…”
“Right? Just like me, I think no one can outshine my wife, right, dear? Be gentle, my ear is almost gone…”
People felt a bit strange in their hearts.
Not that they thought Cold Fairy was inferior to Empress Chuge.
After all, Cold Fairy’s musical skills were profound, her martial prowess unspeakably deep, and she was at that prime age of a woman…
But the latter was, after all, the one revered by all, making it reasonable for her to be the top beauty.
Unless the gap in beauty was so huge that even blind folks could notice it.
Was it really necessary?
