Chapter 449 371: Blissful Harmony, Fortune and Calamity Intertwined

The carriage left Beicang Town, heading along the Long'an Trade Route toward Five Peaks Mountain City. The sky was dim, but a fair number of caravans and travelers were still on the move. Despite the recent Beicang Chaos, profit was a powerful motivator, and trade along the route had inevitably resumed.

However, the volume of traffic showed that it had still been significantly affected.

As the carriage traveled the Long'an Trade Route, it would occasionally pass the route's patrol teams. The patrols on this side, near Beicang Town's entrance to the route, were far less stringent than those on the other end. The overall patrol force was much weaker here.

Even so, every patrol squad had an Inner Qi Realm expert overseeing it. Some elite squads even had masters who had reached the Third Stage of Inner Qi: Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown.

Chen Ping'an sat inside the carriage, quietly contemplating the events of the past few days.

'Fifth on the Rising Star Chart!'

Beicang Town was situated right on the trade route, so information flowed freely. While resting in town, Chen Ping'an had heard that the Rising Star Chart had been updated and promptly sent someone to buy a copy.

Gu Qingchan had mentioned his fifth-place rank on the Rising Star Chart the moment they'd met. He'd had an inkling then, but now, after carefully examining the chart, he fully understood.

There was one thing, however, that Chen Ping'an hadn't expected. 'With the kind of combat prowess Little Five Poison Lan Yingjun showed that day, she didn't even make it to first place on the Rising Star Chart?!'

'Not only did she not get first, she didn't even get second. She's only third!'

'The strength Lan Yingjun showed that day was unquestionably at the very highest level. In a one-on-one fight, even Exquisite Water Hibiscus might not have gained an advantage!'

'To be ranked only third with that kind of power... then the strength of the two people ahead of her...'

'Could they have already reached the level of the Dragon and Tiger Chart?!'

Chen Ping'an mused to himself.

However, he gave the matter only a passing thought. With his current strength, he was long past the stage of caring about the Rising Star Chart. Forget the Rising Star Chart; he barely even paid any mind to the Dragon and Tiger Chart!

While in town, he had briefly heard that Furious Vajra was ranked seventeenth on the Dragon and Tiger Chart, but he hadn't bothered to learn any specific details.

Compared to the Rising Star Chart, which could be bought anywhere, information about the Dragon and Tiger Chart was a tier higher. Not just any shop carried it.

'The Qiankun Bureau's impeachment hearing is more or less over, but with Cao Yingxiong's death, the affair isn't fully resolved. Then there's the dispute over the credit for dealing with the three Profound Light Elders from the Ten Thousand Demons Sect...'

'And with the death of Soul-Severing Saber Li Pingjiang, retaliation could come at any moment...'

As he thought of all this, a sense of urgency rose within Chen Ping'an.

Cultivation!

Inside the carriage, Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged and began to perform a Circulation, cultivating the Heart Method of the Three-Point Human Tribulation Finger.

As a green light flickered, streams of Cultivation Experience flowed past.

+1!

...

The carriage traveled on. By the time it reached Five Peaks Mountain City, guests were already waiting for him.

Chen Ping'an slowly opened his eyes, and a panel materialized in the air before him.

Name: Chen Ping'an

Realm: Early Jade Balance Stage-Condensed Spiritual Flower

Martial Arts: Great Success in Three-Thirds Human Tribulation Finger (1089/1600), Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique (Minor Achievement) (0/640), Minor Achievement of Soul-breaking Blade (0/640), Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill Perfect, Great Vajra...

...

PS: I didn't expect so many comments; I'm truly moved. Even though my updates are so slow, many friends have still used their monthly passes to vote for this story. It's the first time in my life I've broken into the top 500 on Qidian's monthly pass chart. I'm at a loss for words. I'll just focus on thinking hard about the upcoming plot.