After the meal, Du Mao took Chen Xin on a tour around the printing plant, introducing the defense layout.
After the tour, Chen Xin sighed inwardly, realizing why the Divine Robe Guards had nothing to do here and treated it as a pure vacation. The defenses organized by the Imperial Printing Bureau were already enough to stop the vast majority of hot-headed Jianghu people at the Inner Realm level.
As for true experts at the Outer Realm and Profound Master levels, none of them would want to offend both the Imperial Authority and the Master of All Knowledge’s organization at the same time, just to see the rankings of the Jianghu Manual a few days early.
"Therefore, with your power, Chen Copper Order, guarding the printing plant is a bit of a waste of talent." Du Mao paused, suddenly recalling something. He stared intently at Chen Xin. "Speaking of which, a few days ago, a Copper Order from the Divine Robe Guard led a team to utterly crush the Celestial Fragrance Sect. His surname is also Chen, and his strength is at the Inner Realm as well. Could it be..."
"That would be me," Chen Xin said, rubbing his nose. He wondered how the Imperial Palace had heard about the Celestial Fragrance Sect incident; it wasn’t exactly a massive affair.
Du Mao was taken aback, then quickly came to a realization. "I knew it! How could there be so many extraordinary people with the surname Chen holding the title of Copper Order in the Divine Robe Guard?"
Chen Xin smiled and voiced the question he had just been pondering.
"Haha, you’re mistaken, Chen Copper Order. The Celestial Fragrance Sect has neither experts nor influence; they truly aren’t a serious threat. But they are like a stubborn annoyance, constantly jumping around and making a fuss in front of His Majesty. How could that be allowed?
"A few of my senior brothers mentioned that the Eastern Depot was going to take action in a few days. We didn’t expect the situation to change so suddenly, with you uprooting the Celestial Fragrance Sect from the Capital City."
Chen Xin nodded. So that was why.
Moreover, the mention of "senior brothers" meant Eunuch Du was no simple figure; he was actually a disciple of the Rootless Sect within the palace.
The Imperial Court Rootless Sect was highly influential. They possessed Miraculous Skills exclusively cultivated by eunuchs, such as the *Taiyin Profound Mirror*, the *Sunflower Technique*, and the *Exorcism Swordsmanship*. Every Eastern Depot Admiral invariably originated from their ranks.
Once someone joined the Rootless Sect, as long as they survived in the palace, a meteoric rise to power was guaranteed.
"Chen Copper Order, I’ll leave the West Gate in your care."
After chatting for a little longer, Du Mao glanced around the plant, offered his farewells, and left.
Chen Xin then began his exceedingly boring guard duty.
...
After Noon.
From a distance, Chen Xin sensed a cold, gloomy aura approaching. When the figure drew near, it was indeed Du Mao.
Eunuch Du hadn’t just brought a freshly printed copy of the Jianghu Manual this time; he also delivered a box of pastries to Chen Xin. He came and went in a hurry, dropping the items off and leaving after exchanging only a few words.
"It would be unjustifiable if I don’t bring Eunuch Du some delicacies from Shuiyun Pavilion or the Drunken Immortal Inn tomorrow," Chen Xin muttered with a shake of his head. He opened the pastry box and flipped open the Jianghu Manual, ready to enjoy some gossip while snacking.
The White Paper Ward printing plant was staffed with paper artisans, mounters, folders, calendar cutters, printers, Black Ink Artisans, brush makers, painters, and Engravers—most of whom were drafted directly from the palace.
Because of this, the Jianghu Manual possessed the same qualities as the Imperial Printing Bureau’s editions: large format, exquisite paper, wide line spacing, large fonts, bold black margins, and elegant layouts.
Whether the scholars and officials liked it or not was unknown, but Chen Xin and the Jianghu people found it pleasing to the eye and easy to read.
The Jianghu Manual opened with the ranking of the Top Ten Sects.
There wasn’t much to debate here. The world already acknowledged the Nine Great National Sects, which were the nine factions that had helped the Grand Ancestor conquer the realm at the dawn of the Taixuan Dynasty: Wudang, Shaolin, Kunlun, the Five Peaks Sword Alliance, the Iron Palm Sect, the Sword Casting Manor, the Tang Sect, Penglai, and Diancang.
While the disciples of these nine factions constantly bickered over their internal rankings, it was a trivial matter.
The tenth spot, however, was a different story. Every time its placement in the Jianghu Manual changed, it stirred up a massive uproar.
This time, the newly crowned tenth faction was the Five Poison Sect.
Located in the Miaojiang Valley of Ten Thousand Spirits, far from the Central Plains Martial Arts world, the Five Poison Sect revered five poisonous creatures: snakes, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and toads. They excelled in Poison Manipulation, and their disciples rarely left the valley.
Had they not made the ranking this time, most Jianghu people probably wouldn’t have even heard of their name.
The Master of All Knowledge evaluated them with a poem: *Snakes and scorpions as companions, spiders as neighbors. Jade Toad in their embrace, walking with centipedes. The world calls them venomous heartbreakers, but who knows that the most poisonous thing is the human heart?*
"Good heavens," Chen Xin mused aloud. "Putting the Five Poison Sect in tenth place is just painting a target on their backs. Does the Court have its eyes on Miaojiang?
"It’s a good thing their disciples rarely leave Miaojiang. Otherwise, they’d have a hard time traveling through the Martial World. They would get provoked wherever they went by people wanting to test the mettle of a Top Ten Sect’s disciple.
"If this isn’t the Court’s arrangement, then things are about to get very interesting."
Chen Xin picked up a pineapple cake and tossed it into his mouth. It was crispy, sweet, and perfectly tart—an Upper Grade pastry undoubtedly made by a master.
The Jianghu Manual was co-produced and distributed by the Court and the Master of All Knowledge, with the Court holding primary control.
This was exactly why Chen Xin suspected the Court had designs on Miaojiang. Why else would they elevate the Five Poison Sect?
After all, a prominent position invites trouble. If the Five Poison Sect lacked true strength, the various factions that had been bumped out of the "tenth spot" wouldn’t let them off easily.
Chen Xin picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and turned to the next section: the Top Ten Grandmaster Ranking. This was the true heavyweight list.
He glanced at it and was instantly taken aback, his hand freezing just inches from his mouth.
"The tenth place goes to the new Sect Leader of the Five Poison Sect.
"She’s only sixteen years old, yet she has reached the peak of the Divine Realm! Furthermore, the Master of All Knowledge recorded her combat history against other Divine Realm experts: one draw and two victories.
"Her three opponents were all renowned, older-generation Divine Realm masters.
"Absolutely terrifying," Chen Xin murmured, almost gasping in shock. This new Sect Leader was incredibly fierce.
Factoring in their previous generation’s Guardian, who was also at the Divine Realm, the Five Poison Sect ranking tenth suddenly didn’t seem so unreasonable.
Awe aside, people in the Martial World typically began practicing Martial Arts around twelve or thirteen. Given Chen Xin’s "A Man among Men" Talent Evaluation, if he had started training at that age, he wouldn’t be any weaker than her.
"Among the Ten Grandmasters, the first place belongs to the Kunlun Sect’s ’Three Extremes Immortal’, Xu Jin. Second is Master Sanfeng of Wudang’s chief disciple, ’Master Wuwei’, Xie Daozhi. Third is the Iron Palm Sect’s Gang Leader, the ’Sovereign of Jiangnan’, Huo Wuji...
"Lord Purple Gold remains in ninth place, and the tenth is the newly listed Five Poison Sect Leader."
Apart from them, experts of the Demon Path, experts of the Imperial Palace, and Hidden World masters were entirely excluded from the Top Ten Grandmaster Ranking.
Xu Jin had dominated the current Martial World for two decades. He was previously known as the "Wine Sword Immortal," but three years ago, he heavily injured the Blood Hound Sect’s "Moluo Child" within three breaths using a Supreme Zither Skill. After that, he became known as the "Three Extremes Immortal."
Xie Daozhi had personally inherited the *Tai Chi Divine Skill* from Master Sanfeng. Having also cultivated Supreme Divine Skills such as the *Innate Shaoyang Sword Qi*, the *Nine Heavens Dragon Slaying Technique*, and *One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones*, he fully deserved the second place.
The most controversial spot on the Top Ten Grandmaster Ranking was the ninth place. Since the very first issue of the Jianghu Manual, every successive Purple Gold Divine Robe had been ranked ninth, as if the position were specifically reserved for them.
It was an interesting placement. It wasn’t too high, so it wouldn’t pressure the Jianghu people, but it wasn’t too low either, preventing the Martial World from looking down on the Divine Robe Guard.
Over time, the Martial World grew accustomed to the ninth place being exclusively reserved for the Purple Gold Divine Robe.
Even so, no one was foolish enough to believe that the Purple Gold Divine Robe’s true strength was merely at the ninth level.
Even the third-ranked "Sovereign of Jiangnan," Huo Wuji, had once stated that he and Luo Yangyi had engaged in an aura confrontation across a river, and the result had been a draw.
Chen Xin continued to read the Jianghu Manual while savoring his pastries. He flipped through the Celestial Pride Ranking, the Weapon Ranking, the Beauty Ranking...
The afternoon drifted by leisurely.
Swallowing the last Fuling cake, Chen Xin felt incomparably satisfied. Basking in the sun, his mood brightened even further.
His meridians automatically underwent Qi Circulation, and his Dantian continued to expand.
If the Dantian were a well, then the Divine Illumination Internal Power was the water inside it.
Since last night, the well’s water had reached the brim and was on the verge of spilling over. However, an invisible force had continuously smoothed it out, preventing it from overflowing.
Now, as Chen Xin cleared his mind, his body instinctively entered a profound state of meditation, seemingly merging with heaven and earth.
This finally pushed the "well" of his Dantian to take the final step—overflowing.
Following nature’s laws, he gained unfettered enlightenment.
With his spirits lifted, the Divine Illumination Skill naturally broke through.
Chen Xin opened his eyes, a divine light flashing within them.
After his Dantian’s Divine Illumination Internal Power "overflowed," it became unstoppable, immediately doubling in volume.
Even so, Chen Xin could feel that he still had a long way to go before filling it again.
His Dantian’s Inner Strength capacity had skyrocketed by more than tenfold.
[Name: Chen Xin]
[Talent: A Man among Men]
[Realm: Outer Realm]
[Weapon: Long Blade: Unstoppable]
[Evaluation: Entering the Hall and the Room]
[Martial Arts: Divine Illumination Skill, Majestic Seven Luminaries Finger, Soul-Stealing Secret Manual, Seven Kills Saber Technique, Meteor Meteor Body Technique, Hundred Victory Saber Technique]
In the game, the Outer Realm also corresponded to six Evaluations: "Refined and Masterful," "Entering the Hall and the Room," "Slightly Accomplished," "Outstanding and Unusual," "Breaking the Flood Dragon and Piercing the Tiger," and "Mastery."
The moment he broke into the Outer Realm, the interface skipped "Refined and Masterful" entirely and gave him the second Evaluation. It truly thought highly of him.
But that was only natural.
Chen Xin felt that with a single finger, he could now obliterate the likes of Venerable Wuxiang and Venerable Zhenyan.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Du Mao rushed over at top speed, executing the *Sunflower Flying Shadow* footwork.
"This is..." Du Mao swept his gaze over the area and instantly grasped the truth.
Du Mao stared at Chen Xin in shock and suspicion. He had hurried over after sensing an unusual aura.
He originally thought some suicidal Outer Realm expert was trying to force their way in. He never expected that it was actually Chen Copper Order who had achieved a breakthrough.
When he delivered the Jianghu Manual, the man had clearly still been in the Inner Realm. How could he have advanced to the next Grand Realm after just a short while?
Furthermore, Du Mao had never heard of anyone breaking through to a Grand Realm so casually—while reading the Jianghu Manual and eating pastries, no less...
"Congratulations, Chen Copper Order."
His myriad thoughts condensed into a single sentence. Du Mao was both shocked and envious. "This is a real eye-opener. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone break into the Outer Realm like this. What a pity. If only the bottleneck of my *Taiyin Profound Mirror* could be broken through just as easily."
"I also have to thank Eunuch Du for the pastries that assisted me," Chen Xin said with a laugh.
"These pastries are from the Brocade Studio. I’ve eaten them several times myself; why didn’t I know they possessed such miraculous effects?" Du Mao shook his head. He cupped his hands in farewell and turned to leave. "Chen Copper Order, with an Outer Realm expert like you around, the printing plant is solid as a rock."
Chen Xin curled his lips helplessly. Eunuch Du thought he had been teasing him.
However, what Chen Xin didn’t know was that after Du Mao returned, he dispatched a little eunuch to the Brocade Studio to buy another box of pastries, specifically requesting it to be exactly the same as the one he had given away.