Martial Arts: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

Chapter 60 Yellow List Challenge: Life and Death in the Hands of Fate

After receiving the news of the murder of Chen Dagou and his brother, Tie Qianshan immediately relayed it to Lu Yuan.

On the way to the county town, Lu Yuan remained silent the entire time.

Old Huang was driving the carriage in front, while Lu Yuan was holding Lele in the back carriage.

About half an hour later, Old Huang suddenly spoke.

"Young master, once we arrive in the county town, this old servant suggests you change your name."

"Lu Yuan's name has already spread throughout Qingzhou City... More importantly..."

He paused, "The Six Meridians... try to avoid using them if possible."

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment.

I think Lao Huang makes sense.

Currently, Tie Qianshan can recognize himself as the former crown prince of Nanzhao through the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

Then other people could be involved as well.

It seems that the fewer people who know about the Duan family's lineage, the better.

Moreover, hiding his identity is actually more advantageous for him in terms of boosting his keyword ranking.

Since the Iron Bone Sect election, there hasn't been such a good opportunity to boost keyword rankings.

Appearing in the county town as a stranger, every move he makes is a completely new cognitive shock, and his efficiency in harvesting keywords is much higher than relying on his past achievements in Qingzhou City.

As for the Six Meridian Divine Sword, he originally intended to keep it as a trump card.

"Let's call him Chen Big Dog," he said.

The image of that simple, middle-aged man practicing martial arts under the moonlight unconsciously resurfaced in my mind.

"Brother Chen, I've fulfilled your dream in a different way," Lu Yuan murmured to himself.

Old Huang glanced at him sideways but didn't ask why.

However, Lele, who was in Lu Yuan's arms, perked up one ear and twitched it, as if in response to something.

Old Huang took a few steps forward before slowly speaking, his voice not loud.

"If the Chen brothers knew that the young master had made a name for himself in the county town using their names, they would be laughing in the afterlife."

Lu Yuan did not answer.

The trees on both sides of the official road rustled in the wind, and he bounced Lele up a little.

The carriage continued towards the county town.

Wuyun County City is more than ten times larger than Qingzhou City.

The city wall was made of huge, bluish-gray bricks and was over three zhang high.

At the city gate, carriages and horses lined up in droves, and the people queuing to enter the city stretched from the city gate all the way to the bend in the main road.

Lu Yuan held the clearance documents prepared by Tie Qianshan, and the guards waved him through after only glancing at them.

After entering the city, there is a wide main street lined with shops on both sides, bustling with activity.

The arena is located on the east side of the martial arts square in the center of the county town.

The entire arena is magnificent, with a plaque hanging above the main entrance bearing three large characters: "Martial Arts Hall".

Lu Yuan handed the letter of introduction given to him by Tie Qianshan to the servant in charge of the office.

The servant saw that the letter clearly bore the three characters "Iron Bone Sect".

His expression changed, and he quickly ran towards the inner hall.

A moment later, a woman in a long purple dress, with a graceful figure and alluring manners, walked out quickly.

His brows and eyes exuded a capable and heroic air.

"This servant is Shen Qingyan. I greet Young Master Lu. I am your attendant, arranged by the arena to accompany you throughout your stay in the city. I will be in charge of coordinating all your affairs."

"Do you know me?" Lu Yuan asked. Tie Qianshan's letter of introduction did not reveal his name, but the woman in front of him recognized him immediately, which made Lu Yuan very curious.

Shen Qingyan smiled and said, "If I didn't even recognize Young Master Lu, I wouldn't be able to manage this Shen Family Bank."

"Sect Master Tie is a distinguished guest of my Shen Family Bank. As Sect Master Tie's only personally taught disciple, it is only natural that I should personally receive him."

Shen Qingyan was very enthusiastic, and Lu Yuan couldn't refuse.

She gestured "please" and led Lu Yuan toward the inner area, introducing the place as they walked.

"This martial arts training hall was built with funds from our Shen family. The Shen family is the head of the merchant guild in Wuyun County... If you need anything in the future, you can come to me anytime."

"By the way, the Shen family will be holding an auction in a few days. If you have time, Mr. Chen, you might as well come and take a look... you might be able to find some good stuff."

Lu Yuan wasn't particularly interested in the auction that Shen Qingyan mentioned.

"Tell me about the yellow list and this arena."

Shen Qingyan added to him, "Young Master Lu, you may not know this, but this arena listed on the Yellow List is also called the Great Qian Martial Arts Hall."

"The four major ranking lists—Yellow, Black, Earth, and Heaven—are spread throughout the world. They were established at the initiative of the royal family and with the assistance of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Every major city above the county level has such a arena, with the aim of discovering martial arts geniuses throughout the Great Qian Dynasty."

"The people of Tianji Pavilion will analyze the performance of martial artists in every battle, collect information from all sides, organize and summarize it, and finally compile a list."

"The accuracy of the four major ranking lists is extremely high—so high that even the Golden Scale Guards around the emperor sometimes refer to the Heavenly Ranking List to determine the promotion of generals."

"Winning five consecutive matches on a Yellow-level battle platform will earn you a place on the Yellow Ranking; winning five consecutive matches on a Black-level battle platform will earn you a place on the Black Ranking, and so on."

As Shen Qingyan introduced things to him, she led him through the front hall toward the registration desk.

"The Yellow List only accepts martial artists below the Meridian Opening Realm. With Young Master Chen's cultivation level, he perfectly meets the requirements of the Yellow List."

However, there are only twenty Yellow List warriors in the entire county now.

There's no time to rest when participating in the Yellow List Challenge; you have to keep fighting.

After five battles, your ranking will automatically improve depending on which opponent you defeat.

In fact, there is a lot of movement among the Yellow List martial artists.

Of course, every year when the old Yellow List warriors leave, new Yellow List warriors will be born.

The total number remains largely unchanged.

...

Lu Yuan and his group soon arrived at the registration desk.

The clerk at the registration office was a lean, middle-aged man who was bent over his desk, flipping through a thick booklet.

When Lu Yuan walked to the desk, the steward looked up, glanced at Lu Yuan's face, then looked at Old Huang behind him and Lele, whose head was half-peeking out from his arms, and pushed up his glasses.

"Register? What should I call you?"

"Chen Da Gou." Lu Yuan answered without hesitation.

Shen Qingyan glanced at Lu Yuan with surprise, but wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

They continued to lead Lu Yuan into the inner area.

Upon entering the inner arena, the center of the arena is a sunken circular space.

The stadium is surrounded by tiered stands that extend upwards in layers, capable of accommodating thousands of spectators.

In the very center was a square blue stone arena, about three zhang in size.

The air was filled with a faint smell of blood mixed with the aroma of medicinal wine.

As Shen Qingyan led him past the players' stands, she casually added a brief explanation of the rules.

"The Yellow List Challenge is open to all weapons and martial arts techniques. The contest continues until the player concedes defeat or is knocked off the stage. The outcome is determined by the stage manager, and the player is responsible for any injuries or deaths."

At this moment, a Yellow List challenge is taking place on the arena.

A burly man was being forced to retreat repeatedly by a swift sword.

Lu Yuan had seen that burly man before; he was a rogue cultivator who almost made it into the top eight in the Iron Bone Sect's grand selection.

He had some skill at the martial arts arena in Qingzhou, but now he can't even find a chance to fight back on this arena in the county town.

With a flash of light from the swift sword, the burly man screamed and tumbled off the stage, covered in blood. He lay on the ground, twitching a few times before falling still.

The head rolled all the way to Lu Yuan's side.

The Yellow List Challenge: Life or death is in the hands of fate!