I've never felt happy to become an immortal.

Chapter 166 Meishan Town

The White Plum School holds a sword-fighting tournament on average every three years.

The prize is a pot of plum wine for the top ten finishers in the sword-fighting tournament.

The top five will also have the opportunity to take away the remains of the Sword Immortal.

As long as you gain the approval of the Sword Immortal's remains, you can simply take it away.

It has been held dozens of times in the past, and more than a hundred years have passed, but no one has ever succeeded.

Even so, the number of participants in the sword-fighting tournament was still extremely large.

A good reputation in the martial arts world is like a beautiful sedan chair that everyone carries.

The Sword Debate Tournament was hosted by the White Plum Sect, a top power in Qingzhou. To put it simply, it's like a dominant guild teaming up with the game's official team to organize an event, complete with prizes and a stage, so players would naturally be eager to sign up and participate.

These kinds of events, organized by top-tier organizations, not only provide opportunities for young talents from all walks of life to emerge, but also serve as offline networking events, attracting many renowned figures.

From the Crouching Dragon Ranking to the Human Ranking and even the Earth Ranking, the White Plum Sect will appear.

With so many people in the same place, some conflicts are bound to occur.

Minor conflicts are natural; people in the underworld are known for their power and influence, and they don't care if someone dies.

With the White Plum Divine Nun of the White Plum Sect present, even a Heavenly Realm expert could easily suppress several Earthly Ranking Grandmasters with a mere wave of their hand. Even Earthly Ranking Grandmasters would at most utter empty words here.

This relatively fair competitive environment doesn't consider background or origins, but only hard power.

Every rising star in the martial arts world longs to make a name for themselves on such a stage, as it's a golden opportunity to rise to the top in one step.

Therefore, each martial arts tournament attracts participants from all over the world, with nearly a thousand people attending, and the venue is always packed.

……

Meishan Town is located at the foot of Meishan Mountain.

Meishan Town has a permanent population of around 5,000.

The number is already quite large. Because of its proximity to Bai Mei Pai, they live a relatively comfortable life, with their main source of income being various fruits, plus the unique tourism resources of this area.

Although it's a small town, the cost of living is quite high.

The boat docked at the shore.

The dock was bustling with activity, and you could see all sorts of boats, some majestic and others slender.

Bai Xuan's gaze swept across the area, and he saw martial arts practitioners carrying swords and knives almost everywhere.

"It's really lively," he said.

"The sword-fighting tournament is naturally very lively," Xi Qingqing said. "However, I imagine a group of people will be eliminated soon."

"You came before?"

“I came here three years ago, when I had just become famous and planned to pick out a few easy targets.”

"They're after the easy target?"

"Well, it's a pity that we found a fat sheep, but the other party was too vigilant and we failed to get it." Xi Qingqing sighed, "I could only rob a few rich disciples to earn back my travel expenses, and then somehow I offended Jin Yu Ge, one of the six major sects, and was chased all the way out of Qingzhou."

Bai Xuan asked expressionlessly, "Didn't you go and seek revenge against that Golden Jade Pavilion?"

Xi Qingqing was eager to try: "I've never had a chance before, why don't we try now? Maybe we can find an opportunity to rip you off later?"

"Aren't you bored?" Bai Xuan shook his head to show his disinterest: "Me, the top of the Crouching Dragon List, going to do something so low-class with you? I'm not short of money."

The three of them arrived at a large inn in Meishan Town. It looked very grand from the outside, unlike anything that could be found here.

"Hello, sir/madam. Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Are there any rooms available?

"There's one 'Heaven' room and two 'Earth' rooms left," the waiter replied.

Bai Xuan: "There are still rooms available?"

He thought he was about to trigger the passive skill that guaranteed there would be no vacancies at the inn.

The waiter replied, "The Red Dust Inn is run by the elders of the White Plum Sect. It's specifically for receiving travelers from the martial arts world, but there are some strict requirements to stay here."

Here they come, here they come, following the unique rules of the inn.

"Is it only people who have mastered the Book of Mending the Heavens who can live here?" Bai Xuan asked.

The waiter blinked: "It's not entirely true... Those who have made it onto the Heaven-Mending Book can naturally get priority check-in. The top 100 on the Earth Ranking, Human Ranking, or Crouching Dragon Ranking can stay for free. If you're not on it, you'll have to pay three times the fee."

Ning Jianshuang smiled: "As expected of Lu Jufu's daughter, she really knows how to make money."

Lu Hongchen, the third elder of the Bai Mei Sect, is the daughter of Lu Jufu, a wealthy and powerful man from the Southern Chu Kingdom.

Lu Jufu's wealth is comparable to that of Shen Wansan, and he is extremely well-known.

The old master once jokingly commented on Lu Jufu, "Making money is also a form of cultivation; you're at least at the Heavenly Rank."

This statement was made after Lu Jufu donated several buildings to the Wudang Sect.

The young man, holding a notebook, cast an inquiring glance: "Gentlemen, are you here to pay or register?"

This question immediately quieted down the first floor of the inn, drawing the attention of many people who were eating and snacking.

Those who dare to stay at the Red Dust Inn are all strong individuals, with only slight differences in strength and wealth.

At this moment, neither Xi Qingqing nor Bai Xuan were recognized by anyone.

Both women wore veils or hats to conceal their faces, so they were not particularly conspicuous among so many martial arts practitioners.

Bai Xuan's hair was a mix of white and black, which was different from many other people with white hair, so naturally few people made any connection to it.

Bai Xuan didn't want to reveal his identity too early, so he planned to switch to another inn.

Ning Jianshuang, on the other hand, found it troublesome and figured she could just pay more money.

Xi Qingqing then asked, "Is the White Moonlight staying here?"

Bai Xuan cast a glance at him—was it intentional or accidental?

Xi Qingqing, though unconvinced, was still quite assertive—she decided to first check for counterfeits. These days, there are quite a few gray-haired people in Meishan Town, and there are bound to be many high-quality imitations circulating everywhere.

The story of the real and fake Monkey King, Li Gui and Li Kui, appeared as early as in the Water Margin.

Given Bai Xuan's fame, it's not surprising that one or two imposters would appear.

This question has indeed piqued the curiosity of many people.

Inside the inn, several strikingly beautiful women also cast their gazes in that direction.

These women rarely sat alone; they were almost always accompanied by several other people, either their teachers or fellow disciples, or traveling companions.

However, most female warriors keep a cold face and remain aloof, taking the route of a cold and aloof fairy, both to raise their own status and to guard against evil people.

Beautiful women are never short of admirers, it has always been this way, but as always, admirers don't get the house.

No matter how much they fawned over them, after hearing the mention of the 'white moonlight,' the aloof and cool female warriors in the inn all turned their gazes toward them, their eyes filled with a hidden, intense passion.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

A record corresponds to strength, and strength corresponds to status.

Bai Xuan has been incredibly popular lately.

It's practically a walking traffic generator.

Any topic related to him always attracts everyone's attention immediately.

Thank goodness there's no internet or trending topics in this world, otherwise all sorts of sensationalist headlines and rumors from various self-media outlets would have been flying everywhere, and people would have made a killing off him.

The Crouching Dragon Ranking is different from the Human Ranking and the Earth Ranking... The latter two only look at battle records, which are earned through hard power, and are therefore more prestigious.

The ranking on the Crouching Dragon List is calculated as potential plus performance record, with a ratio of approximately four to six.

Therefore, most people on the Crouching Dragon List only have one or two classic achievements, and have no real results in the years that follow. This may be because they are low-key, or it may be because their level of skill has stagnated.

Once someone reaches the top fifty of the Crouching Dragon Ranking, they become a precious gem in the eyes of many. No one would be willing to let them go out to fight to the death. They all have to be treated well, except for the five major sects in the Northern Five Kingdoms, which are too troublesome there.

Therefore, more than 60% of the top 100 on the Crouching Dragon List are from the Northern Zhou. They are more daring and fierce, have more battles that make them famous, and are more competitive, so the rankings are updated more quickly.

Previously, the top spot on the Crouching Dragon Ranking was held by Xi Qingqing. She also fought her way up, and although she had a powerful background, it didn't help her. She followed the same path as Bai Xuan.

However, Xi Qingqing made it onto the Wolong List after only three years in the industry, and then held the top spot for more than a year with a dominant presence. Her situation was similar to that of the others.

Once they broke into the top 30, their ranking rarely changed; they basically landed wherever the leaderboard took them.

Xi Qingqing jumped directly from ninety-ninth to third place. The other two weren't pushed down by her, but rather they reached the age limit and were automatically removed from the list.

Bai Xuan was different; he directly jumped to the top of the list and then repeatedly stepped on the heads of the Grandmasters on the Earth Ranking to make his presence felt once again.

The last man to have the same level of popularity as Bai Xuan was called Zhu Que Jian.

He is different from Bai Xuan, but he is also highly regarded.

This person broke through to the next level at the age of fifteen. He dared to leave the seclusion to hunt down a group of bandits after reaching the first level of Body Forging. He spent half a month killing all the bandits and became famous in one battle, and was parachuted into the 150th place on the Crouching Dragon List. In the next three years, he rose all the way to the top 30 on the Crouching Dragon List.

Three years later, he broke into the top ten of the Crouching Dragon List.

Now 22 years old, ranked eleventh.

If Bai Xuan hadn't suddenly appeared in first place and pushed him down, he would have been the most famous swordsman in Southern Chu.

This person's journey to fame was very long, taking six years and climbing step by step, making him a true inspirational role model.

This is why he has a huge fan base and supporters, much like a young veteran who has finally won a world championship after many years.

Bai Xuan, on the other hand, is a demon king who reached his peak right from his debut and continues to create new peaks.

Germanic winning philosophy teaches us just how important 'winning' is.

Winning can also be categorized into different types.

Winning consistently and winning decisively once are not the same thing.

What does it mean to keep winning? Wei Qing.

What does it mean to win completely? Huo Qubing.

Which one do people want to be?
Most people would answer the latter.

The waiter flipped through the booklet in his hand, then smiled and said, "Currently, there are seven people checking in at various inns in town who have registered under this name."

Xi Qingqing: "Wow, that's quite a lot."

Ning Jianshuang was displeased: "Didn't you even bother to verify their identities?"

"Why do we need to confirm?" the waiter said with a smile. "There were eleven yesterday, and eight or nine more were added today... so now there are only seven left."

This means that people in the martial arts world will verify it themselves.

Once it's identified as a counterfeit, I'll definitely give it a good beating to vent my anger.

It wasn't necessarily to vent Bai Xuan's anger, but rather because he felt that while beating up these imposters, he was also upholding the role model of the martial arts world in his heart.

Just as Bai Xuan was contemplating whether or not to take advantage of the situation for free, he heard a sound from outside.

"I heard that Zhuque Sword and Yue Qianqi have arrived in Meishan Town!"

Immediately, everyone in the inn was drawn to it.

Amidst the commotion, many people left, all rushing to see the splendor of those at the top of the list of hidden dragons.

Especially the female warriors, who left in a great hurry... There are hardly any toxic solo stans in this era.

Even the waiter couldn't help but look up a few times: "This time it might really be true, because when we were registering names before, there wasn't such a big commotion."

Bai Xuan said, "One 'Tian' room and two 'Di' rooms, I'll take them all."

Waiter: "Then..."

“Remember the top spot on the Crouching Dragon List,” Bai Xuan said first.

"And there's the second-ranked person on the Crouching Dragon List," Xi Qingqing continued.

(End of this chapter)