Chapter 51: Armament Manual

Great Shun, the Capital.

High atop a tower that pierced the clouds, the catalog known to the world as the Armament Manual shifted, and the officials on duty immediately rushed over.

This place was the Renown Oversight Terrace.

As the name suggested, it was the imperial department responsible for publishing the Armament Manual and managing the realm's renown. Its status within the Great Shun court was exceptionally unique and transcendent.

To the officials of the Renown Oversight Terrace, the shifting ranks of the Titled Martial Masters on the Armament Manual were an everyday occurrence. The list changed almost daily. In fact, this was the very purpose of the Armament Manual: to incite the realm's martial artists to fight amongst themselves.

After all, in this life, people lived for nothing more than fame and fortune.

Not to mention, to this day, the simplest and most efficient path to becoming a Titled Martial Master was the Armament Manual. Every martial artist coveted it.

And the rankings on the Armament Manual were determined solely by strength.

It was purely a matter of the strong preying on the weak. Whoever was stronger took the higher spot. Furthermore, once someone ascended the Armament Manual, they would be cloaked in renown, gaining Divine Intent, which in turn could further elevate their strength.

As for how to get onto the Armament Manual, the method was mostly uniform.

One simply had to seek out the Titled Martial Masters at the very bottom of the rankings and find a way to kill them, such as through an ambush or sneak attack.

Succeed, and you took their place on the Armament Manual.

As for climbing higher, that depended on the martial artist's own mental cultivation, natural talent, and comprehension—whether they could use limited renown to cultivate stronger Divine Intent.

However, as the saying goes, the first step is always the hardest. Heaven's favored children might rely on their talents to rapidly climb the ranks, but to get on the Armament Manual in the first place, they all had to defeat the strong as the weak. If they couldn't cross that initial hurdle, even the most incredible genius was worthless.

Because of this.

When the officials of the Renown Oversight Terrace saw the shift in the Armament Manual's rankings, they all plunged into a profound, indescribable shock.

"Wang Ping... th-thirty-seventh?"

"Has this person ever appeared before?"

"No!"

"Xu Bingzheng's name has vanished... No, that's not right. He was ranked three hundred and forty-second. If this Wang Ping killed him, he should have just taken his place."

"Why would he instantly skyrocket to thirty-seventh?"

The officials exchanged dismayed looks. Finally, one of them raised a hand and whispered, "Could it be that the Armament Manual determined this person killed Xu Bingzheng too effortlessly?"

"Strictly speaking, the Armament Manual is also a weapon, and a Divine Object-grade weapon at that. It's by no means a dead object. It possesses its own set of standards when judging a martial artist's rank. If the newly listed martial artist is vastly stronger than the Titled Martial Master they killed, the Armament Manual will elevate them accordingly..."

Before he could finish, someone immediately shot back:

"You said it yourself—elevate them accordingly. Jumping a few spots, or even a dozen spots, is the absolute limit. How could someone instantly leap to thirty-seventh?"

"Even the heirs of Shenlong Temple aren't this absurd!"

"The top one hundred and eight make up the Human Ranking. The top thirty-six are the Earth Ranking, and the top five are the Heaven Ranking. Thirty-seventh... that practically makes him first on the Human Ranking!"

At this moment, a white-haired elder finally spoke up:

"Since that is the case, let us take a look."

"Open the Armament Manual. Let us see exactly how this Wang Ping slew Xu Bingzheng, so we can bestow a fitting title upon him."

Just like Xu Bingzheng's Divine Rope, or Li Yiran's River and Mountain Brush.

Getting on the Armament Manual was only the first step. For a Titled Martial Master, the emphasis lay heavily on the title itself—it had to connect to their preferred weapon and combat style.

Soon, the elder stepped to the front, and the other Renown Oversight Terrace officials took their positions. They simultaneously formed hand seals. Suspended high above the terrace, the Armament Manual instantly reacted. Layers of brilliant light bloomed across the catalog, slowly converging on Wang Ping's position.

Soon, the radiance took shape.

The officials watched with rapt attention, some even pulling out paper and brush to take notes. After all, this was the weak defeating the strong; they assumed it had to be a grueling, drawn-out battle.

Their duty was to analyze.

From the battle process displayed by the Armament Manual, they needed to deduce this rising star's combat style, preferred weapon, the strength of his Internal Force, and even any fatal flaws...

"Here it comes!"

Finally, the light solidified.

The projection displayed the exact moment Wang Ping killed Xu Bingzheng. It was even shown from Xu Bingzheng's first-person perspective, accompanied by a text description below.

[Wang Ping threw a punch. Xu Bingzheng detected it early through his Divine Intent, deploying the Divine Rope to intercept it, mobilizing his Internal Force for defense, and using his qi and blood to protect his body.]

[Xu Bingzheng died.]

Finally, the image froze on Xu Bingzheng's last sight: an unfathomably massive fist, as imposing as a towering mountain.

"...That's it?"

The lead elder's eye twitched. Behind him, the officials stared at each other with wide eyes. So Xu Bingzheng had been killed with a single punch?

Was he really that weak?

After a moment of silence, the elder formed the hand seals once more, forcing the Armament Manual to replay the scene just to confirm there was no error and the artifact wasn't broken.

"Incredible."

The elder gasped in awe, letting out a long breath. "No Internal Force. No weapon. An External Arts practitioner just beat a Titled Martial Master to death with a single punch."

"I'm afraid this Wang Ping possesses the talent of an extraordinary person."

An official immediately chimed in to agree: "Your judgment is brilliant, my lord. There must have been an oversight at Fangxian Dao, which is why they missed him."

"Not necessarily an oversight."

Another person pointed at Wang Ping in the projection: "Look at his body. Muscles like steel, aura like fire. That is the Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong."

"He's most likely from the Tribute Hall."

Realization dawned on everyone's faces.

"Ah, the Tribute Hall. That explains it. The Grand Tribute probably snatched him up from Fangxian Dao to train him as a new tribute."

"If that's the case, what should his title be?"

The elder felt a bit of a headache, sighing helplessly. "Why would a young prodigy from the Tribute Hall come meddling with the Armament Manual? Don't they have their own internal titles?"

"It's probably just a stepping stone."

An official guessed, "After all, he's only first on the Human Ranking. That's not high enough for a Tribute Hall title yet, so maybe he's just coming to our Armament Manual to acclimate?"

"That's possible."

"Huh?" An official holding a dossier suddenly exclaimed in surprise. "This Wang Ping is actually a Capital native? And a Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard?"

"What?"

Several officials immediately crowded around to check the text description beneath the Armament Manual. After verifying it, they looked even more troubled.

Following a moment of silence, one of them suggested:

"This man fights with his fists and doesn't seem to like weapons. This shows a reckless style, yet he has a body of indestructible hard qigong. In my opinion, why don't we call him..."

"Don't even think about it," another official immediately objected. "He's a young talent favored by the Tribute Hall and a Brocade Guard. We can't emphasize his reckless style—it sounds terrible. We need something more elegant and profound, something that highlights his status so the palace retains its prestige."

"Then what about his martial Realm? Do we just write External Arts practitioner?"

"What else is there?"

"Won't that seem a bit too exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated is good. It's not a lie, anyway. It's perfect for fooling some reckless fools into thinking someone picked up an easy win, baiting them into challenging him."

At this, the tones of the Renown Oversight Terrace officials turned extremely cold.

"True enough. They're just martial artists of the pugilistic world anyway. The more of them that die, the more peaceful the realm becomes. Otherwise, why would the Grand Ancestor have gone to such great lengths to forge the Armament Manual back then?"

"..."

After several rounds of deliberation, the elder finally made the decision. He added a stroke above Wang Ping's name, designating the title that would gather his renown:

[Dragon Fist].

"This man killed Xu Bingzheng with three punches. His physical strength must be extraordinary. As the saying goes, the pinnacle of strength is the True Dragon Tendon, and since he fights with his fists, this name is perfect."

"Furthermore, the word 'Dragon' can serve as a metaphor for the Son of Heaven. It's highly fitting for a Brocade Guard."

The elder stroked his beard and smiled, clearly satisfied with the title he had chosen. With a flourish of his brush, he firmly added it right in front of Wang Ping's name.

Almost instantly, every copy of the Armament Manual distributed to key locations across the realm's states and commanderies reacted, the text on them shifting in tandem.

Thus, less than fifteen minutes after Xu Bingzheng's death, the title of the newly crowned rank one on the Human Ranking—Dragon Fist Wang Ping—spread north and south of the great river via the Armament Manual. Soon, there was no one in the Central Plains who hadn't heard of him.

Meanwhile, in Longxing County.

"Who are you!?"

Li Yiran stared in terror at the heroic-looking young man before him. His entire body's muscles were pulled taut; it was as if he were standing before a terrifying beast, not a human.

This wasn't just because he had completely failed to notice the moment the youth killed Xu Bingzheng, leaving him no time to save the magistrate. More importantly, it was because his Realm was higher than Xu Bingzheng's. While Xu Bingzheng could only vaguely sense an impending crisis, Li Yiran could clearly feel the sheer magnitude of the threat.

'I can't fight him!'

Li Yiran stepped back. A sharp pain stabbed between his brows as his Divine Intent surged through his body, causing every muscle and every drop of his blood to scream in warning.

Run! You can't win!

You'll die!

Right at that moment, an indescribably terrifying wave of renown descended from the void. Wang Ping, who had just been preparing to deal with Li Yiran, suddenly froze in place.

"Hmm?"

This was the renown brought by ranking thirty-seventh on the Armament Manual. Stimulated by this sheer weight of prestige, Wang Ping's spirit felt as if it had been instantly yanked from his body.

He lost all sense of self and surroundings; the changes in the outside world no longer mattered. To describe it more vividly, it was as if he had gained an extra eye atop his head. Not only could he examine his own body from a completely new perspective, but he could even adjust the flow of time in his vision simply by shifting his thoughts.

'Is this... Divine Intent?'

Wang Ping's eyes widened in disbelief. This was a sensory ability similar to spiritual sense, yet entirely different—it was akin to pure intuition.

More importantly, it was capable of microscopic precision.

Closing his eyes, Wang Ping felt as though he could hear the rush of his blood, the churning of his internal organs, and even the pulsing expansion and contraction of his acupoints. He could control them all with pinpoint accuracy!

'Divine Intent... Divine Intent.'

'No wonder Xu Bingzheng's performance earlier was so valiant. Even though my punch was a sneak attack, he was able to detect the danger ahead of time and take defensive action.'

'Even if it was utterly useless.'

However, that was because Xu Bingzheng himself was lacking, not the Divine Intent. This intuitive sensory power, derived from the physical plane, was genuinely remarkable!

'Furthermore, as my Divine Intent grows, it can cover the blind spots of my spiritual sense. After all, spiritual sense relies on physical changes in the environment; even when danger approaches, a spiritual sense can still be deceived. But this abstract, intuitive perception of Divine Intent can warn me instantly.'

Realizing this, Wang Ping was quite pleasantly surprised.

To be honest, he had almost lost interest in Great Shun's martial arts and had been planning to focus wholeheartedly on the Immortal Dao. But after experiencing Divine Intent firsthand, he changed his mind.

'There's still a future in practicing martial arts after all.'

In the next second, Wang Ping slowly relaxed. His detached mind reentered his body. He opened his eyes, just in time to see Li Yiran sprinting away in a frantic escape.

"Hmph, trying to leave?"

Wang Ping sneered and took a step forward.

Instantly, his Divine Intent flared. The flow of time seemed to slow down, yet Wang Ping himself remained entirely unaffected, rapidly closing the distance to the fleeing Li Yiran.

"Y-you can't kill me!"

Sensing the lethal threat approaching from behind, Li Yiran whipped his head around. His Divine Intent vibrated, transmitting his voice straight into Wang Ping's mind through mental resonance.

This was the telepathic transmission technique exclusive to Titled Martial Masters.

It was silent and traceless. By communicating purely through Divine Intent, it triggered a sudden intuition in the recipient's mind, allowing their instincts to interpret the spoken words.

"You're a Gold-Bearing Brocade Guard, aren't you!"

"I saw your robes. Those are specially made for Brocade Guards... and you must have a Military Tally in your hands. That's the only reason Wu Xintai dared to mobilize his troops."

With his life hanging by a thread, Li Yiran's thoughts were sharper than ever:

"I know you must be carrying an imperial decree, which gave you the confidence to strike. But let me tell you, even with a decree, you cannot slaughter a county magistrate on a whim!"

"I didn't kill a county magistrate."

Wang Ping replied flatly, "Xu Bingzheng was conspiring with the White Lotus Sect rebels to commit treason. His crimes are heinous. I am leading troops to quell a rebellion. Everything is perfectly justified."

"Absurd!" Li Yiran gritted his teeth. "Where is your proof?"

"The White Lotus Sect leader, Shouchong, confessed to it himself."

Wang Ping casually added, "Besides, when I attacked him earlier, my original intention was merely to question him. The fact that he dared to fight back proves his guilty conscience."

Li Yiran: "..."

What a monstrous lie!

Boundless fury erupted in Li Yiran's heart, but glancing at Xu Bingzheng's headless corpse, he forcibly choked it down. He continued his telepathic transmission to buy time:

"Even taking a massive step back, assuming Xu Bingzheng was under suspicion, he should have been detained and put on trial."

"As the saying goes, punishments do not extend to senior officials!"

If it were some lowly soldiers, their deaths wouldn't matter. But Xu Bingzheng was a student of the National Academy and a seventh-rank county magistrate. Even if an official like that was genuinely caught doing something illegal, it should be handled privately. At the lightest, a penalty of three cups of wine; at worst, a demotion or banishment to his hometown.

Under no circumstances should he have died—let alone at the hands of some lowly soldier!

"You've broken the rules!"

Li Yiran knew perfectly well how to manipulate people's emotions. His transmission dripped with utter contempt, aiming to provoke Wang Ping's fury and make him lose his rationality.

Once reason was lost, Divine Intent would naturally fall into disorder.

Then, he would be able to carve out a path to survive.

However, to his chilling horror, Wang Ping's Divine Intent wasn't shaken by his provocations in the slightest. Instead, it tightened around him like a rope.

"This is where it ends."

The voice reached him. Amidst the screaming of his own instincts, Li Yiran couldn't stop himself from turning his head back, only to see a mountain-sized fist filling his entire field of vision.

'Mt. Tai crushing down... is this what it feels like to have Mt. Tai crush down on you?'

BOOM!