The famed Armament Ranking, a scroll listing the world’s most renowned weapons, though only the top hundred grace its pages.

In truth, throughout the vast expanse of the known world, there exists no single, definitive ranking of celebrated armaments that garners universal acclaim and conviction.

Yet, due to the sway it holds, its existence is deemed necessary. The right to pronounce judgment, naturally, rests with the world’s preeminent powers: Jing, Qin, Chu, and Qi. However, within each nation’s borders, the rankings diverge.

The placement of a celebrated weapon hinges not solely on its intrinsic might but also upon its wielder. For the most part, the world’s supreme cultivators serve as deterrents, rarely engaging in battles to the death. Even they, before a true confrontation, find it nigh impossible to predict victory or defeat.

Each nation crafting its Armament Ranking invariably favors the mightiest cultivators within its own domain, the degree of this bias varying.

For instance, Qi’s Armament Ranking bestows the first position upon Jiang Mengxiong’s “Fu Jun Sha Jiang” – a pair of knuckle dusters, one named Fu Jun and the other Sha Jiang. “Fu Jun Sha Jiang” signifies the destruction of an army and the slaying of a great general. It is said Jiang Mengxiong bears this name as a self-admonishment, yet it also carries the implication of inflicting such calamity upon his adversaries.

Qin and Jing nations largely follow this practice. Their rankings are topped by the weapons of their respective nation’s foremost cultivators.

The most egregious offender is Chu’s Armament Ranking, where within the top ten, nine positions are occupied by Chu’s own weapons. It utterly lacks credibility, yet within their borders, it is immensely popular.

Presently, the Armament Ranking compiled by Jing is generally considered the most impartial, though it too faces considerable dissent.

The Armament Ranking mentioned by Lian Que, of course, refers exclusively to the Qi iteration. While its ranking of celebrated weapons within Qi itself is relatively trustworthy, it is limited in scope.

“Chang Xiang Si,” having just emerged from the forge, undoubtedly possesses the quality of a celebrated weapon. However, it can only be said to possess the *qualification* to be listed. Its true placement upon the ranking still awaits the prowess of its master.

For a weapon crafter, the ultimate standing attained by their creation reflects their own glory.

“Chang Xiang Si” was borne by the Clan Head of the Lian clan, Lian Zhu Ping, to the ancestral hall for veneration. Three days hence, a grand ancestor worship ceremony was to be held.

Upon the ceremony’s completion, the sword would be wrapped, its tassel affixed, and a sheath crafted. Only then would the Lian clan deem this celebrated weapon truly finished.

During this period, Jiang Wang could only reside in Lian Que’s abode. Though they held no recollection of their experiences within the Heavenly Secret Realm, their dispositions aligned, and having forged “Chang Xiang Si” together, they had truly become fast friends.

Jiang Wang also learned from Lian Que why the Lian clan was making such a spectacle of “Chang Xiang Si.” It was because in the preceding half-century, the Lian clan had not produced another celebrated weapon.

Among the world’s five great sacred lands of weapon crafting, the Lian clan now held the lowest rank, their position precarious and on the verge of falling out of the esteemed list altogether. The birth of “Chang Xiang Si” had thus consolidated their standing.

Jiang Wang had initially believed that for such a sacred land of weapon crafting, forging a celebrated weapon would be a matter of course. However, in truth, the creation of a celebrated weapon necessitates the confluence of heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony – it is exceedingly difficult to force.

This time, in forging “Chang Xiang Si,” Lian Que, in order to repay a favor, had nearly exhausted his resources, utilizing the most precious materials. As one of the mere ten elite disciples of this generation within the Lian clan capable of controlling their own life plaque, his years of accumulation were melted into a single furnace.

During the crafting, they also employed the ancient furnace that members of the Lian clan are permitted to use only thrice in a lifetime. This sword furnace, having endured the vicissitudes of time without its flames ever extinguishing, served as an intrinsic guarantee of quality.

And in the forging process, the spiritual wills of both the sword’s owner and the weapon crafter remained perfectly aligned, seamlessly infusing themselves into the blade.

All these elements, combined, finally brought forth “Chang Xiang Si.” Such a feat was almost impossible to replicate.

The Lian clan’s ancestor worship grand ceremony this time was conducted with immense fanfare, attracting individuals from various regions within the Qi territory. Even Chong Xuan Sheng, ever the flatterer, dispatched emissaries bearing congratulatory gifts.

“Chang Xiang Si” was Jiang Wang’s weapon. Jiang Wang was currently under his wing. The greater the prominence of “Chang Xiang Si,” the greater Jiang Wang’s renown, and thus, the more prestigious Chong Xuan Sheng himself became.

In many instances, fame and fortune are intertwined. In the inevitably arduous struggle between him and Chong Xuan Zun, there might have been those who initially favored Chong Xuan Zun. Yet, swayed by this newfound prestige, they might now choose to align with Chong Xuan Sheng.

When two towering trees vie for survival, people often fail to perceive the intertwined roots beneath the earth, their gaze fixed solely on the outward display of lush branches and foliage.

Jiang Wang sought to comprehend these matters. The mortal realm refines the heart; this, too, is a form of cultivation.

Feng Xian County lay in the northwestern reaches of the Qi territory. Zhang Family Town was a small settlement within Feng Xian County.

In this town resided a household with the surname Zhang, whose life was considered comfortable, yet only within the confines of this small town.

Looking back several centuries, the Zhang family had undoubtedly been a prominent and influential clan. Not to mention the small Zhang Family Town, even Feng Xian County itself was largely governed by the Zhang family. They were a name that resonated throughout the entire Qi nation.

But as the tides of time flowed, the Zhang family’s later generations saw their talents wane, and they gradually declined. Their various industries were dispersed, their power repeatedly curtailed. In the end, they could only return to their ancestral lands, to this small town where people of the Zhang surname had resided for generations.

The formerly illustrious Feng Xian Zhang Clan, once a beacon of power in Qi, was now reduced to this slender branch of descendants. As for their surrounding neighbors and townsfolk, their blood ties traced back so many generations of ancestors that they were almost nonexistent.

This generation of the Feng Xian Zhang Clan produced a child named Zhang Yong. This child was originally the third generation’s sole descendant, and though the family’s circumstances were not grand, they doted on him immensely, holding him in their mouths lest he melt, carrying him in their hands lest he fall.

However, this child did not become spoiled. Instead, he knew compassion and understood gratitude. Yet, due to the excessive protection of his elders, his personality was somewhat introverted and shy.

The Zhang family possessed a quota for the Heavenly Secret Realm, a legacy passed down from their ancestors. Nowadays, it was almost worthless. It was not that no one dared to attempt this precious quota, but in consecutive generations, the most outstanding descendants who ventured into the Heavenly Secret Realm never returned alive. This was one of the reasons for the Zhang family’s decline.

The Heavenly Secret Realm was so perilous, and with the Zhang family’s several generations of single descendants, they naturally dared not risk it lightly.

However, what no one expected was that Zhang Yong, despite his usual introversion and shyness, possessed a mind of his own. He actually left a letter and secretly journeyed to Heavenly City!

The Zhang family’s old matriarch cried until her eyes were nearly blind. Father Zhang sighed throughout the day, Mother Zhang washed her face with tears, but none of this could alter the fact that their sole seedling had ventured into danger, and the Zhang family bloodline might thus be severed.

But what was even more astonishing was that Zhang Yong miraculously became the victor of the Heavenly Secret Realm! He successfully secured a position within the Divine Ability Inner Mansion!

News of the Heavenly Secret Realm spread, reaching here. Not only did the town officials come to offer congratulations, even the city lord dispatched emissaries bearing gifts, and the county government’s official document lauded him!

The Zhang family’s courtyard was suddenly bustling with visitors, and the Zhang family themselves were overjoyed and tearful. Father Zhang even ambitiously proposed a plan to restore the family’s prestige.

The entire Zhang Family Town, indeed the whole city, awaited Zhang Yong’s return. They awaited his glorious return in fine clothes, his triumphant homecoming.

However, just two days before Zhang Yong’s arrival, a terrifying event transpired. The entire Zhang family, in a single night, was utterly annihilated. Old and young, including servants, a total of twenty-three souls – none survived. Not even a chicken or a dog remained alive.

The city specially sent investigators, but they could not uncover the truth. The cause was unknown, the process a mystery, the perpetrator elusive.

People only knew this:

The Feng Xian Zhang Clan, with its history spanning several centuries, was now left with only Zhang Yong. That youth, who was to make a splash with his glorious return, was still en route, yet he had no home to which to return.