Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 289: The Current Ranking of Troubled Times

Heavy snow blanketed the green mountains, covering the area inside and outside Yanmen Pass in white.

Within Yanmen Commandery, at the commandery chief’s mansion, the best guest courtyard was occupied.

At this time, the first hidden dragon, known and praised throughout the world, was not participating in the pursuit. Instead, he lay limp in a soft chair, his face pale and lips blue, barely clinging on to life.

He had endured three clashes against Vulture Beak, not to mention a desperate full-force strike from Vulture Beak during the last exchange. Surviving that was an impressive feat in itself.

While other aspects of his ranking might be just supplementary, this confrontation was the core achievement that earned him even Batu’s admiration.

Unfortunately, the last thing he cared about right now was whatever core achievement. The pain from his injuries, the weakness from activating all of his buffs, and the aftereffects of surging vicious blood qi were overwhelming. Zhao Changhe, who had been all bright and heroic on the battlefield, now just wanted his Big Sister Yue to come and comfort him.

Yue Hongling knew what her lover was thinking, but in the presence of Cui Wenjing and the others, the proud heroine could not bring herself to rush in for dual cultivation with her lover. She could only act like she did not know him and go join the pursuit instead.

So, it was Cui Wenjing who was left to face Zhao Changhe’s pitiful look in the room.

“I don’t really care if you show that sour face to others, but you actually dare show it to me too?” Cui Wenjing’s expression was even worse than his. “Do you think I’m preventing you from being intimate with your heroine? Fine, go be intimate with her, but don’t expect anything else from me.”

Realizing that this was his prospective father-in-law, Zhao Changhe could only apologize, “Not at all, I’m just in pain from my injuries... Uncle, can you give me any medicine? I’ve run out...”

“This entire time you’ve been wandering the jianghu, you’ve been using the medicine from my Cui Clan!”

Zhao Changhe couldn’t retort.

Actually, he had long since used up the medicine he had gotten from the Cui Clan. Most of the supplies he got later came from the Tang Clan and the Demon Suppression Bureau. However, it did not seem wise for him to argue with Cui Wenjing at the moment, lest he die at his hands before any barbarians could even get to him.

“Forget it. You were a hero this time, so there’s no point in me being harsh with you.” Cui Wenjing’s voice softened as he tossed over a bottle of medicine. “This medicine is better than what Yangyang gave you before. It’s the best medicine we’ve got for treating internal injuries. It’s also excellent for strengthening your body and helping you recover from the backlash and weakness. “

Zhao Changhe took the medicine and felt somewhat better. He then asked curiously, “Uncle, why do you have the time to stay here? Shouldn’t you be out there dealing with Timur?”

Cui Wenjing looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “You were unconscious for a short time after returning to the pass. The battle is over now. Do you really think that you just got back?”

Zhao Changhe’s eyes widened.

Shit, I passed out?

Even after having suffered so many injuries during his time in this world, Zhao Changhe had never experienced anything like this before. It seemed that the gap between him and the top-ranked expert on the Ranking of Man was even wider than he had estimated. It was a miracle that he had even managed to survive.

Cui Wenjing said, “Timur has retreated into the desert with his remaining forces. Batu is sweeping across Monan. This will lead to a division between the north and south. The Golden Horde in Mobei, and the Warring Lion Tribe in Monan. Batu is perceptive, he has already petitioned to submit to the empire. If the emperor grants him a title, he will likely become the King of Monan.”

Zhao Changhe said, “If Timur is just hiding and still alive, is Batu not afraid of him just coming back and beheading him?”

“Are you not worried that he might want to behead you instead?”

“I’m constantly moving around in the Central Plains. How would he know where I am at every moment? It’s not like he’s some clairvoyant. The Wang Clan and Snow-Listening Pavilion looked for me all over the world and never even saw my face. Batu, on the other hand, has a fixed territory and can’t run away.”

“That is exactly why Batu seeks to become a subject of His Majesty, becoming a vassal. That way, Timur will have to reconsider his actions.”

“That’s it? If I were in his place, I wouldn’t care about any deterrence. With things as they stand, I’d go all out to kill him to achieve peace of mind.”

Cui Wenjing smiled and said, “That’s why you’re a hero and not a king.”

Zhao Changhe said, “So am I unyielding without desire, or am I unrestrained without burdens?”

“A weakling at the eighth layer of the Profound Gate, someone who almost died from a single hit from Vulture Beak, dares to talk about such things in front of me? Laughable.”

“...”

“Timur’s recent defeat has triggered many chain reactions. He’s got a mess on his hands, and he might not even have enough grains for his tribes to survive the winter. Stabilizing Mobei will be a headache for him, and it be at least half a year before he can think about doing anything else.” Cui Wenjing sighed. “So, can you stop worrying about these things and just rest? You say you’re unburdened, but the moment you wake up, you’re concerned about Timur’s counterattack.”

Zhao Changhe glanced at him. “Uncle, so you do care about me. I haven’t even made it to the Ranking of Man yet.”

Seeing Zhao Changhe’s cheeky face, Cui Wenjing resisted the urge to punch him.

Ranking of Man in three years, huh? He’s already at the eighth layer now. How many hurdles are left before he makes it onto the Ranking of Man?

Of course, there were many at the ninth layer of the Profound Gate, but only a dozen or so made it onto the Ranking of Man. Breaking through to the Profound Mysteries was a huge barrier. Most people could not do it, but that did not mean that Zhao Changhe could not.

At this point, no one doubted that Zhao Changhe would make it onto the Ranking of Man. Even if he got stuck at the Profound Gate, he could still make it to the bottom of the Ranking of Man. Cui Wenjing even suspected that Zhao Changhe could challenge the person ranked at the bottom of the Ranking of Man even as he was now and possibly succeed.

Wait, who’s at the bottom of the Ranking of Man now? Is it Xue Canghai? No...hold on, it’s actually Situ Xiao.

In this war, Cui Yuanyong and Situ Xiao had both made it onto the Ranking of Man. Timur’s son, Prince Lada of the Golden Horde, encountered Cui Yuanyong on the battlefield and was soundly defeated. As a result, Cui Yuanyong took over Lada’s spot on the Ranking of Man, moving to the seventy-first place without dispute.

Although there were no other direct confrontations or deaths on the Ranking of Man, the rankings still shifted. The Tome of Troubled Times updated the ranking, removing Hu Lie, citing that his severe injuries had left him incapacitated, leading to his removal from the rankings.

Consequently, Cui Yuanyong, who had just secured the seventy-first spot, moved up to seventy. At the same time, Xua Canghai advanced to seventy-one, and Situ Xiao took seventy-two.

Situ Xiao was visibly displeased at the moment. Unlike Cui Yuanyong, who had rightfully earned his position by directly challenging and defeating an opponent on the Ranking of Man, he had merely moved up to fill in the rankings. In the eyes of the public, he had yet to truly prove himself worthy of being on the Ranking of Man. Cui Wenjing thus suspected that Situ Xiao was already out looking for Xue Canghai.

This process of replacing the likes of He Lei and Hu Lie with new entrants might give the impression that the rankings of the Tome of Troubled Times were weakening as the newcomers were weaker than before, but Cui Wenjing knew otherwise.

The overall strength of the Ranking of Man had likely increased. Previously, some lower-ranked individuals had been there as placeholders, their notable achievements long past and no recent progress. Now, those on the ranking were truly battle-tested, exceptional talents, and there were much fewer weaklings.

The current top rankers on the Ranking of Hidden Dragons were almost guaranteed future entrants to the Ranking of Man, with little doubt about their qualifications.

Zhao Changhe held the top spot, followed by Wang Zhaoling, Xia Chichi, and Han Wubing.

No one doubted their eventual ascension to the Ranking of Man; it was just a matter of time.

Cui Wenjing was proud of his son, who had earned his place on the Ranking of Man by defeating a formidable enemy rather than simply moving up to fill the spots. Looking at Zhao Changhe, who was also about to join the Ranking of Man, Cui Wenjing wore a disgruntled face.

If he had known that Zhao Changhe would become so formidable, he would have finalized the marriage agreement earlier. Instead, he had insisted on some condition of reaching the Ranking of Man in three years. Now, there were endless rumors about Zhao Changhe’s romantic exploits. Ignoring his potential affair with Tang Wanzhuang, it was hard to believe that nothing had happened between Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling after their long time together in the Grasslands. Only a pig would believe otherwise.

Cui Wenjing wanted to slap himself, but the announcement had been made publicly. He had to stick to it even if it pained him. Until Zhao Changhe officially made it onto the Ranking of Man, he was not Cui Wenjing’s son-in-law. If Zhao Changhe wanted to pursue other women, then he had no say.

But letting Zhao Changhe wander for another year or two meant more potential romantic entanglements. Cui Wenjing wished he could just push Zhao Changhe onto the Ranking of Man and get him to marry his daughter immediately.

Cui Wenjing stared at Zhao Changhe for a long time before squeezing out a sentence through clenched teeth, “You’re not planning to deliberately wander around for two more years, waiting to hit the three-year mark before making it onto the Ranking of Man, are you?”

Zhao Changhe blinked innocently.

He indeed had such thoughts—of course, it was not because he wanted to pursue women. The real reason was that he wanted to break through to the Profound Mysteries first and then ascend directly to the top ranks of the Ranking of Man.

What was the point of crawling at the bottom of the Ranking of Man while he was still locked behind a Profound Gate? It was a waste of time and effort. Only after unlocking the Profound Mysteries would he truly be a contender on the Ranking of Man, on the genuine Ranking of Man that the Tome of Troubled Times wanted it to be.

Back then, both Chi Li and Yue Hongling aimed to enter the Ranking of Man at a decent rank rather than just squeezing in at the bottom.

Zhao Changhe’s ambitions were even wilder. He wanted to break into the top fifty directly.