A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu was stunned by this answer at first. But on second thought, it made sense. Although he was also a member of the Qingping Society, he did not know what the society's purpose was. Secret societies such as the Ziguang Society, the Lingshan Witch Cult, and the Cult of Fates had very clear motives. They existed to serve the Ancient Immortals by gathering believers, harvesting incense power, making blood sacrifices, fighting against the Daoist Order, and so on.

However, the Qingping Society was very different from other secret societies. Its purpose could not be just to collect Xuan Jades, right? However, the Qingping Society was secretly training its members and influencing the public. It seemed like they had some kind of agenda. Perhaps they were secretly planning something big.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Why did the Qingping Society release these rankings?”

Eighth Tianyang replied, “The Daoist Order might not be threatened by the Qingping Society. After all, many of the leaders of the Qingping Society are inextricably linked to the Daoist Order. But to ordinary people, the Qingping Society is a behemoth. I’m guessing that they want to disrupt the balance in society by pitting people against each other with such rankings.”

Unsure what the Qingping Society’s purpose was, Qi Xuansu chuckled. “Well, that’s presumptuous. As if people will take it seriously!”

“Who knows? Some people don’t care about money, beauty, or food. All they care about is fame. Some may fight others just to get a place on this leaderboard. After all, with fame comes fortune.” Eighth Tianyang reminded.

Qi Xuansu also knew that fame and fortune were often tied together. Otherwise, people would not be competing for power and wealth. He pressed on. “So, what about these three leaderboards?”

Eighth Tianyang explained, “The Wuyou Leaderboard does not involve Immortals, only Pseudo-Immortals. But they didn’t include anyone from the Daoist Order, the Buddhist Sect, the Confucian School, or the Imperial Court. Those not in the Central Plains are also excluded from this list, like the Western Continent’s Holy Court, the Golden Horde, and so on.”

Qi Xuansu scoffed. “Well, they’ve excluded more than 50% of their competition.”

Eighth Tianyang laughed and continued, “Yeah, it’s about there. Now, there are 10 Pseudo-Immortals on the Wuyou Leaderboard. The founder of the Heavenly Court is ranked first, and the current leader of the Heavenly Court is ranked tenth.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Interesting. But this leaderboard is still far inferior to the Venerable Xuan Board. It sounds like it’s equivalent to the Elite Xuan Board. What about the Taiping Leaderboard?”

Eighth Tianyang explained, “Pseudo-Immortals are the best among Heavenly Beings. The Taiping Board is mainly for the rest of the Heavenly Beings, excluding the Pseudo-Immortals. There are a total of 99 people on this list.”

Qi Xuansu silently estimated the number of Heavenly Beings in the Daoist Order. The Hall Masters, the Mansion Masters, and the Palace Masters added up to nearly 40 people. Each hall, mansion, and palace would have a Chief Deputy and a Second Deputy, who were also Heavenly Beings. A conservative estimate would be more than 100 Heavenly Beings in the Daoist Order.

This estimate did not include important halls such as Tiangang Hall or Beichen Hall, which were allowed up to nine deputies. It also did not include people like Daoist Ji from the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion, who was also a Heavenly Being but not a Chief Deputy or Second Deputy. It was no wonder that the Qingping Society wanted to exclude Daoists from this leaderboard.

The total number of Heavenly Beings from the Buddhist Sect, Confucian School, and Imperial Court should be about the same as the Daoist Order. Based on this estimate, there were approximately 300 to 400 Heavenly Beings in this world.

This reminded Qi Xuansu of his time at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. The instructors often said that they should not underestimate the difference of one point in their examinations, because it could mean a gap of dozens of people. Losing ten points would mean falling behind hundreds of people.

There were already more than 400 Heavenly Beings. Qi Xuansu estimated there were at least 1000 Guizhen-stage practitioners and thousands more practitioners in the Yuxu stage. He figured that if he were ranked, he would most likely be behind at least 10,000 people.

Being the first on the leaderboard was something to be proud of. But being the 10,000th person did not sound so great.

Qi Xuansu’s cultivation level increased significantly after obtaining the Xuan Jade. A few months ago, he was only at the Kunlun stage. In that case, he would probably be ranked 100,000th on these leaderboards.

Eighth Tianyang continued, “The first person on the Taiping Leaderboard is a woman, the Mogul of the Seven Treasure Pavilion.”

Qi Xuansu had heard of the Seven Treasure Pavilion, which established countless black markets. He could not help but comment, “Isn’t that too low? I thought the boss of the Seven Treasure Pavilion should at least be a Pseudo-Immortal.”

Eighth Tianyang explained, “There are a total of seven Moguls of the Seven Treasure Pavilion, and she’s just one of them.”

“Right...”

Eighth Tianyang continued, “Actually, the Wuyou and Taiping Leaderboards aren’t that important to us since they are for either Pseudo-Immortals or Heavenly Beings. The one that concerns us is the Ruyi Leaderboard, which is also called the Bronze Leaderboard.

“Just like the original Junior Xuan Board, the Ruyi Leaderboard is for those below thirty. It mainly includes Xiantian Beings, and there are a total of 365 people on the list. The vast majority are from the Guizhen Stage. Only a few talents at the Yuxu stage are included.”

Qi Xuansu lamented. “Wow. It really is like the gold, silver, and copper coins, with clear disparities between each.”

Eighth Tianyang added, “The Qingping Society is aware of the disparities. The only reason they excluded those from the Three Religions and the Imperial Court is that they can’t afford to offend the big shots on the Wuyou and Taiping Leaderboards, who are Heavenly Beings. The Ruyi Leaderboard includes those from the Three Religions and the Imperial Court because they don’t care about offending Xiantian Beings.”

Sui Fan nodded. “That’s true. There are only a few talents at the Yuxu stage who are on the Ruyi Leaderboard. Among these people, I remember someone named Qi Xuansu, a Daoist disciple under 30 years old, who is ranked 352nd on the Ruyi Leaderboard. Although he’s near the bottom of the list, it’s quite eye-catching because he’s only in the Yuxu stage. So he must be outstanding.”

Qi Xuansu was stunned for a moment. He had a strange look on his face.

“Brother Wei, you were from the Daoist Order. Do you know this person?” Sui Fan asked.

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “I haven’t heard of him. But I heard that Tiangang Hall has recently established a new division. Perhaps this guy is a newcomer who recently transferred to the Jade Capital.”

Eighth Tianyang did not ask any other questions. He said, “Speaking of the new Yaoguang Division, the Deputy Hall Master is truly admirable. Apparently, the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor specially established the Yaoguang Division to train this young Deputy Hall Master. What an honor and a rare opportunity! This Deputy Hall Master, Zhang Yuelu, is also on the Ruyi Leaderboard.”

Qi Xuansu smiled and said, “Zhang Yuelu? I’ve heard of her. She’s a prodigy who has made great contributions to the Daoist Order by solving the major Jiangnan case. She’s been promoted for her exceptional talents and even bestowed a semi-immortal object. Where does she rank on the Ruyi Leaderboard?”

Eighth Tianyang held out five fingers. “Fifth. This is very impressive. Maybe in a few years, she’ll make it to the Taiping Leaderboard.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh in his heart. Even in the under-thirty age group, there were still more than 300 people between him and Zhang Yuelu. If older Guizhen-stage practitioners were included, there would probably be thousands of people between them. However, Qi Xuansu was also surprised by Zhang Yuelu’s rank.

Zhang Yuelu was such a genius. If she was not ranked first on the Ruyi Leaderboard, who were the other four people before her? He guessed that they were probably the other Banished Immortals from the Daoist Order.

He also wondered what Zhang Yuelu would think of this leaderboard. She would probably laugh it off and not be bothered by it.

People in the Daoist Order only cared about the Nine-Rank System, while Jianghu people cared about these reputations. After all, being a third-rank Youyi Daoist master was far more impressive than being first on this unregulated leaderboard.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Where can I see the full list of names on these leaderboards?”

Eighth Tianyang answered, “The Qingping Society posted the list in various cities and towns. They even hired storytellers to spread the word. You should be able to see it once we get to Xiping Prefecture.”