The Famous Artifact Ranking was a list of the most renowned artifacts under heaven, selecting only the top one hundred.
In truth, across the entire world, the Famous Artifact Ranking did not yet possess a truly accurate list that satisfied all parties.
However, due to its considerable influence, such a ranking had to exist.
The right to speak naturally belonged to the powerful nations like Jing, Qin, Chu, and Qi, but when it came to specific rankings within each country, there were differences.
The ranking of a Famous Artifact depended not only on the artifact itself but also on its wielder.
In most cases, the world’s top experts existed as a form of deterrence, rarely engaging in mortal combat. Before a true clash, even they themselves found it difficult to judge who would win or lose.
Every country’s version of the Famous Artifact Ranking would inevitably favor its own experts, the only difference being the degree of bias.
For instance, in the State of Qi’s Famous Artifact Ranking, the number one position was occupied by Jiang Mengxiong’s “Decimating Armies and Slaying Generals”—a pair of knuckle dusters, one named “Decimating Armies” and the other “Slaying Generals.”
“Decimating Armies and Slaying Generals” referred to the destruction of armies and the killing of generals. It was said that Jiang Mengxiong used this name to warn himself. There was also the meaning of bringing this calamity upon his enemies.
The States of Qin and Jing were mostly the same. The top spot was always held by their own experts and their weapons.
The most excessive was the State of Chu’s Famous Artifact Ranking, where Chu itself occupied nine of the top ten positions. It was utterly lacking in credibility. Yet, it was extremely popular within the country.
Currently, it was generally believed that the Famous Artifact Ranking listed by the State of Jing was the most impartial. However, it too was not recognized by many.
When Lian Que mentioned the Famous Artifact Ranking, he naturally referred only to the State of Qi’s version. Within the State of Qi itself, the ranking was quite reliable.
Changxiangsi had just been forged and was indeed of Famous Artifact quality. However, it could only be said to have the qualification to be listed. To truly make the list, it still depended on its master.
For a Weapon Forger, the final position his forged weapon could reach was also a source of his glory.
Changxiangsi was taken by Lian Que, the patriarch of the Lian clan, to the ancestral hall for consecration. Three days later, the Ancestor Worship Ceremony would be held.
Only upon completing the wrapping of the hilt, the tying of the tassel, and the fitting of the scabbard during the ceremony would the Lian clan finally consider this Famous Artifact complete.
During this time, Jiang Chen could only wait at Lian Que’s home.
Although neither remembered what had happened in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, their personalities meshed well, and having forged Changxiangsi together, they had truly become friends.
Jiang Chen also learned from Lian Que why the Lian clan was making such a big fuss over Changxiangsi.
It was because for the past fifty years, the Lian clan had not produced another Famous Artifact.
Among the five great weapon-forging holy lands under heaven, the Lian clan was now ranked last. It was even on the verge of collapsing and falling out of the ranks of weapon-forging holy lands.
And the birth of Changxiangsi consolidated this status.
Jiang Chen had originally thought that for such a weapon-forging holy land, forging a Famous Artifact was a matter of course.
But in reality, the birth of a Famous Artifact required the right time, place, and people, and was very difficult to force.
This time, to repay a favor, Lian Que had almost given his all to forge Changxiangsi, bringing out the most precious materials.
He was the only elite member of the current generation of the Lian clan capable of controlling his own Life Tablet, and years of accumulation were melted into the furnace.
During the forging, he also used the ancient furnace that Lian clan members could only use three times in their lifetime. That sword furnace, which had burned through the ages without extinguishing, was itself a guarantee of quality.
And during the forging process, the spiritual will of both the sword’s master and the weapon forger remained consistent, penetrating the sword.
All these factors finally came together to create Changxiangsi.
It was almost impossible to replicate.
The Lian clan held this Ancestor Worship Ceremony with immense fanfare, and people came from all over the State of Qi to attend.
Even Chong Xuan Sheng eagerly sent someone to offer congratulations.
Changxiangsi was Jiang Chen’s personal weapon.
And Jiang Chen was now on his side.
The greater the fanfare surrounding Changxiangsi, the greater Jiang Chen’s fame became, and thus the more prestige Chong Xuan Sheng gained.
In many cases, fame and profit were intertwined.
In his destined difficult competition with Chong Xuan Zun, there might even be people who originally intended to side with Chong Xuan Zun, but switched to Chong Xuan Sheng because of this prestige.
When two great trees competed for living space, people often could not see the tangled roots underground, but only saw the flourishing branches and leaves on the outside.
Jiang Chen tried to understand these things. Tempering the heart in the mortal world—this too was a form of cultivation.
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Fengxian Commandery was located in the northwest of the State of Qi.
Zhang Family Town was a small town within Fengxian Commandery.
In the town, there lived a master surnamed Zhang. His life was considered decent, but only decent within this small town.
Looking back several hundred years, the Zhang family was naturally a prominent and powerful household.
Not to mention a small Zhang Family Town—even Fengxian Commandery was once ruled by the Zhang family. They even held considerable influence throughout the entire State of Qi.
But times changed. The younger generations of the Zhang family were lacking in talent, and they gradually declined.
Their properties were sold off time and again, their power ceded piece by piece. In the end, they could only return to their ancestral land, back to this small town where the Zhang family had lived for generations.
The once-prominent Zhang clan of Fengxian in the State of Qi was now reduced to this thin direct line of descent.
As for the neighbors and townspeople, their blood relations had become so distant after countless generations that they were practically non-existent.
In this generation of the Fengxian Zhang clan, a Zhang Yong was born.
This child was the only heir for three generations. Although the family’s circumstances were no longer as good, he was still doted on immensely—too afraid to let him melt in their mouths, too afraid to drop him from their hands.
However, this child was not spoiled. Instead, he knew compassion and understood gratitude. It was just that his elders were overprotective, making him a bit introverted and shy.
The Zhang family had a spot for the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, passed down from their ancestors. Now, it was practically worthless.
For such a precious spot, it was not that no one in the Zhang family dared to try their luck. But for several generations in a row, the most outstanding members who went to the Celestial Residence Secret Realm never returned alive.
This was one of the reasons for the Zhang family’s decline.
The Celestial Residence Secret Realm was so dangerous, and with the Zhang family having only one heir for several generations now, they naturally did not dare to try lightly.
What no one expected was that Zhang Yong, usually introverted and shy, actually had his own ideas.
He left a letter and secretly ran off to the Celestial Residence City!
The Zhang family matriarch was nearly blind from crying.
Zhang’s father sighed all day long, and Zhang’s mother washed her face with tears, but none of this could change the fact that their only child had gone off to risk his life, and the Zhang family bloodline might be severed right here.
But what was even more unimaginable to everyone was that Zhang Yong had miraculously become the victor of the Celestial Residence Secret Realm. He successfully secured a spot in the Inner Palace realm with a divine skill!
When the news from the Celestial Residence Secret Realm reached here...
Not only did the town officials come to offer congratulations, but the city lord also sent gifts, and even the commandery government issued an official commendation!
The Zhang family’s doorstep was instantly bustling with visitors, and the family wept tears of joy.
Zhang’s father even ambitiously proposed a plan to revitalize the family’s prestige.
The entire Zhang Family Town, and even the whole city, was waiting for Zhang Yong’s return.
Waiting for him to return in glory, to come back to his hometown with honor.
However, two days before Zhang Yong’s return...
A terrifying event occurred.
The entire Zhang family was wiped out overnight.
The whole family, including servants, totaling twenty-three people, not a single one was spared.
Even a single chicken or a single dog did not survive.
Special investigators from the city were sent, but they found no results.
They did not know the reason, the process, or the killer.
The only thing people knew was:
The Fengxian Zhang clan, with hundreds of years of history, was now reduced to only Zhang Yong.
That youth, who had achieved sudden fame and was returning in glory, had already lost his hometown while still on the way back.