The Starcom Consortium was renowned for its three rankings: the Land Rankings, the Human Rankings, and the Genius Rankings. Among them, the most crucial and weighty was undoubtedly the Land Rankings. Any one of the Grandmasters listed therein wielded the power to determine the fate of an entire region or even the whole world.
However, those who truly had a vested interest in the Land Rankings were primarily martial arts powerhouses.
For the common folk and even the majority of martial artists, most simply paid a cursory glance to whoever held the top spot, and perhaps the Land Rankers from their own continent.
As for the Land Rankers from other continents? The ordinary people scarcely bothered to take notice. After all, such heights were too lofty, too far removed from their daily lives.
Generally speaking, within each continent, the focus of attention unquestionably lay with the Human Rankings.
This list, teeming with countless names, encompassed renowned Savant experts and first-rate Adepts from every corner of a continent, figures well known to the citizens of each province and county.
For the vast majority of martial artists, the Land Rankings seemed distant, while the Human Rankings were a more tangible and attainable pursuit.
Even land bandits and water thieves across the region paid close attention to the annual Human Rankings.
Why so? Because often, righteous experts would sweep through the lands, annihilating the bandit threats along their path. Hence, land bandits and water thieves committed to memory the experts listed in the Human Rankings. Should they come across one, they would do their utmost to avoid provoking them, increasing their chances of survival.
As for the Genius Rankings? Those listed also enjoyed a significant level of fame, albeit much less when compared to the Human Rankings. After all, the young prodigies had to reach maturity before they could secure a place on the Human Rankings. In terms of deeds and legends, the majority of geniuses paled in comparison to the experts of the Human Rankings.
This year, however, the circumstances in the Jiang Continent had changed.
Among the experts and common folk of the sixteen provinces of Jiang Continent, the topic of the Genius Rankings overshadowed even the Human Rankings. And all because of a single individual: Wu Yuan!
He was listed on the Jiang Continent Genius Rankings for the first time before the age of fifteen, one of the youngest ages ever recorded among the prodigies of various powers within the continent. And not only did he make the list, but he claimed the top spot.
This signified that, in the opinion of the Starcom Consortium, Wu Yuan was already recognized as the foremost talent of the current generation in the Jiang Continent! Even Xu Hui, who became a first-rate Adept at the age of 23, was placed second.
One must understand that copies of the Genius Rankings were sold even at the municipality-level Starcom Consortiums.
And thus, the whole of the Jiang Continent was shaken. Countless martial artists and commoners had the same question on their minds: what in the world had Wu Yuan done to deserve such a rank?
The Starcom Consortium's introduction of Wu Yuan offered little insight, consisting only of two sentences: A special recruitment disciple of the Cloudstride Sect. He broke a record set by Grandmaster Fang Xia!
"Heavens! Ascending to the top of the Genius Rankings at the age of fourteen and a half, how talented must he be?"
"Grandmaster Fang Xia, I've only heard of him."
"Is he a Grandmaster of the Cloudstride Sect?"
"Fang Xia is the greatest Grandmaster in the history of the Cloudstride Sect, one of the top Grandmasters that the Jiang Continent has produced in the last 500 years."
"So, is Starcom Consortium implying that Wu Yuan is even more impressive than Grandmaster Fang Xia in his youth?"
"The top two talents of Jiang Continent are now both from the Cloudstride Sect." The entire Jiang Continent buzzed with discussion.
The name Wu Yuan truly echoed throughout the Jiang Continent!
The Starcom Consortium, universally recognized for its comprehensive intelligence network, was unique in its capacity to erect branches in any power across the lands, openly amassing information. Their published lists held unmatched credibility.
The three major lists of the Starcom Consortium garnered immense attention from the six major powers and various factions, who, upon receiving the lists, naturally sprang into action. Apart from them, numerous large families within the Cloudstride Sect also rapidly scrambled to gather any and all information on Wu Yuan.
Manpower and resources were mobilized to investigate every detail from the time of his birth - his growth trajectory, experiences, family background, enemies, friends, relatives, and so forth...
Nested underground within an unassuming mansion in the Southdream Province was a hideout of the Great Jin Empire.
"Such a prodigy? Even more talented than Xu Hui?" The youth held up the list in disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"The Starcom Consortium wouldn't rank him number one without reason," the middle-aged woman in purple robes retorted, a cold gleam in her eyes, "He must possess Grandmaster potential."
"Then we...?" The youth gulped, an anxious look on his face.
"We’re in deep trouble," the woman in the purple robe stated icily. "Such a talent has emerged from the area within our jurisdiction, and though we noticed him early on, we failed to mitigate the risk. A catastrophe has brewed. The higher-ups will surely penalize us."
"Moreover, I have checked his background. His father died in the Battle of Hillstride. Once he matures, he will surely seek revenge against our Great Jin Empire. Report it!" The woman in the purple robe commanded.
In truth, even before they could relay this information, the upper echelons of the Great Jin Empire had already issued a decree: "Rank Wu Yuan as fourteenth on the Jiang Continent Current Danger Index and first on the Potential Danger Index."
The reason for Wu Yuan's relatively low placement as the fourteenth on the index was because the thirteen above him were either Grandmasters, or among the top ten on the Human Rankings, powerful Savant experts that stood a great chance of ascending to the Grandmaster level.
In other words, in the eyes of the high-ranking members of the Great Jin Empire, Wu Yuan posed a greater threat than most of the Savant experts. His existence called for urgent elimination.
Although Wingborne Sect was situated in the Dong Continent and not the Jiang Continent, the two sects were nonetheless nemeses, and they paid close attention to any news about the Cloudstride Sect.
"I've said it before, Wu Yuan is a significant threat. A bunch of incompetents," Luo Beixiong raged, "We should have deployed a Savant expert to kill him long ago."
How could he not be enraged? His heir, Luo Fu, had perished, yet the enemy he most wanted to kill was soaring to new heights.
At the Jiang Continent branch of the Ninedeaths Circle, a man in black robes asked, "Have you found out where his family members are?"
"His only two immediate family members were escorted to Cloudhill City a month ago, and are currently under heavy protection. There are Savant experts stationed there all year round, along with numerous Adepts. It's impossible for us to abduct them unnoticed.”
"Forget it then," the man in black robes shook his head, "The Cloudstride Sect has always provided excellent protection for the families of their martial artists."
"Keep an eye on Wu Yuan and keep up to date on any information about him."
"What? Our Ninedragon Peaks had once attempted to assassinate him? Does the Cloudstride Sect know?”
As a second-rate underground organization, the Ninedragon Peaks was taken aback when they discovered this forgotten detail while gathering information about Wu Yuan. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the Cloudstride Sect was likely aware of their failed assassination attempt.
The higher echelons wasted no time in deliberating on the situation.
"We must keep a low profile at once."
"Cover up any evidence regarding this incident. For our branches within the territories of the Cloudstride Sect, consolidate the organizational strength as much as possible. In addition, send someone to apologize to the Cloudstride Sect, and put this matter to rest."
In the east of Cloudhill City, a grand mansion stood. This was the permanent residence of the top clan in the Cloudstride Sect, the Fang Clan.
Although the Fang Clan had fallen into decline, without even a single Savant expert in their midst, they were still irrefutably the number one clan of the sect. This was because they were the clan descendants of Ancestor Fang Xia, the legal basis of the Cloudstride Sect's command over the four provinces.
"Wu Yuan is not yet married, right? His clan is a small one, and could use our assistance."
"Immediately utilize all connections. Have our clansmen in Cloudhill and disciples in the Cloud Martial Hall make contact with Wu Yuan," the current patriarch of the Fang Clan ordered, "As long as he is willing, my family will gift him 500,000 contribution points and two million silver taels."
"Agreed!" The top ranks of the Fang Clan quickly reached a consensus.