Heavenly Ranking

Chapter 281 In the Game

Longshou Town.

"Captain, we have news."

Fang Qiyun quickly took out a document.

Tiandu City is the political center of the Great Shang Federation. Even though Ji Fuyou and others are unwilling to easily set foot in Tiandu City again for various reasons, it does not mean that they want to completely cut themselves off from Tiandu City.

Ever since Ji Fuyou appointed Fang Qiyun as "housekeeper," she has been intentionally using the Su family's influence to develop information channels in Tiandu City.

They didn't expect to get firsthand information from the Supreme Hall, but at least they wouldn't be completely unaware of the upheavals that occurred in Tiandu City.

"The entire Tiandu City is currently under martial law, and there are many reports of people witnessing fierce battles between Martial Saint-level experts in Tiandu City. Currently, the two Martial Saints, King Pingdeng and King Taiyang, are retreating towards Tianji Ridge."

"Skyline Ridge?"

Ji Fuyou knew that this was a forbidden area not far from Tiandu City.

He said calmly, "It seems that this is indeed a ridiculous self-directed and self-acted drama. He Jinglan even claimed that they were going to retreat to the southern border and hide in Tianji Ridge. When Xiao Juechen, Zuo Chunqiu, Zhao Changkong and the others block the entrance, do you think the King of Equality and the King of the Sun can hide inside for a year or two?"

"Well... there's more to it than meets the eye."

Fang Qiyun carefully considered his words before saying, "The distance between mists is not the same as the distance we know. Two places that are thousands or tens of thousands of miles apart in our world can be reached by passing through two forbidden areas through the mist. As far as I know, Sky Ridge leads directly to the recently formed Death Rift Valley."

"The Great Rift Valley of Death?"

Ji Fuyou frowned.

"The Great Rift Valley of Death is located in Qingzhou, less than 300 kilometers from the southern border. Therefore... if King Pingdeng and King Taiyang really intend to use the Great Rift Valley as a route to escape the Shang Dynasty, then He Jinglan's statement that they will exit from the southern border makes sense..."

Fang Qiyun said.

After saying that, she continued, "The actions of the two Martial Saints, Sun King and Equality King, have thoroughly enraged the Supreme Council. The nine council leaders have reached a rare consensus—to annihilate these two foreign Martial Saints within the country with overwhelming force. To this end, one group blocked the entrance to Sky Ridge, while the other group headed straight for the Death Rift Valley."

"Such a big movement?"

Ji Fuyou was somewhat surprised.

Was it not a self-directed and self-acted performance?

Did King Pingdeng and King Taiyang really invade Tiandu City and attack the hiding place of the members of the Heavenly Ranking?

"Jingle Bell!"

Soon, the phone rang.

Ji Fuyou glanced at it and saw it was Gu Yinbing.

He immediately answered the phone, and her voice came through quickly: "Ji Wusheng, have you finished using the detection compass? I need to use it."

Ji Fuyou quickly understood what he meant: "You want to use the Detection Compass to find the Sun King and the King of Equality?"

"Yes, you already know what happened in Tiandu City, right? The actions of the Sun King and the King of Equality show that they completely disregard our Federation. We must make them pay the price! I will take a special plane to Dragon Head Town as quickly as possible..."

Gu Yinbing paused as she spoke, then added, "Of course, if you can go to Qingzhou, we can meet up in the Death Rift Valley, which will save us more time."

"So... these two Martial Saints really attacked the location of the Heavenly Ranking members?"

Ji Fuyou pressed on, "Or... are these two Martial Saints pawns of the Nine Council Speakers, whose true purpose is to use this accident to plunder and devour the ranks of all those on the Heavenly Ranking?"

"What a surprise."

Gu Yinbing truthfully said, "Perhaps we all think that this was all orchestrated by the nine speakers, but in reality... the nine speakers underestimated these foreign martial saints, which led to them suffering a great loss."

"Um!?"

"During this period, the two Martial Saints, the Sun King and the Equality King, were very active. Their people even appeared in Tiandu City, but... all nine Speakers were misled."

Gu Yinbing hesitated for a moment before saying, "I just received this news myself... Although the major council members noticed that these two martial saints were being too active, they always thought that their activities were aimed at you, Ji Fuyou, and that they were trying to test you by using the power of foreign martial saints. As a result, the major council members chose to turn a blind eye to these activities."

"Oh, so?"

"Yes, their real target has always been the 61 members on the Heavenly Ranking who are under house arrest."

Gu Yinbing said, somewhat uncertainly, "After all, I heard that even if the positions of these 61 people were divided among 6 people, they could create 6 Martial Saints or Spiritual Masters. If they could be merged into one... it would be of great help to Martial Saints in stepping into a higher realm."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Compared to this kind of benefit, a third of the underground market in the Eastern Divine Continent and the divine weapons and treasures left behind by Zhu Long are naturally inferior."

Ji Fuyou pondered for a moment after hearing what Gu Yinbing said.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "Who told you this analysis?"

"It's my brother."

Gu Yinbing said, "They originally wanted to borrow the detection compass from my brother, but I delivered the compass to you, so my brother called me... He mentioned this matter during the call."

"Gu Qing."

Gu Yinbing's words are not trustworthy.

She might be easily fooled into believing everything with just a few words.

But Gu Qing...

Although he is extremely low-key and rarely gets involved in the political vortex of Tiandu City, and most of the time the nine speakers can't find him, he is well aware of many events and secrets.

Ji Fuyou analyzed the situation briefly... King Pingdeng and King Taiyang had already made a commotion, showing signs of wanting to take action against him.

but……

He was, after all, a spiritual master who had assassinated Zhu Long. These two martial saints made such a big show of things before they even actually made a move, as if they were afraid he wouldn't escape into the fog to avoid their sharp edge.

Moreover, the commotion they made lasted a bit too long, giving off a sense of bluffing.

Now, comparing this with the message Gu Yinbing mentioned from Gu Qing, the foremost spiritual master...

"So, this time, it really was those speakers who overreached and made a mess of things?"

Ji Fuyou Road.

"It is said that someone above them cooperated with them, which is why the speakers were able to keep their grasp of the situation a secret."

Gu Yinbing offered an explanation.

She still holds the nine speakers in high esteem.

After all, without their leadership, the Great Shang Federation would not have achieved its current prosperity and flourishing.

Ji Fuyou, however, had no doubts about this.

He personally felt that, ultimately, it was because the nine speakers were too confident, so confident that they believed their words carried weight and that they could control everything by issuing orders at will.

But they clearly forgot that power never comes from the top down, but from the bottom up.

When those below them are no longer of one mind with them, their so-called power is nothing but a castle in the air.

In such a situation, if someone who was truly loyal to them suddenly stops respecting their authority and turns against them, it can naturally bring them incalculable losses.

"Ji Fuyou, do you think we should meet at the Death Rift Valley in Qingzhou, or should I fly directly to Dragon Head Town?"

Gu Yinbing brought the topic back.

He then added, "We need to hurry. According to the latest news, King Equality and King Sun have retreated into Skyridge. Skyridge has several connecting passages that lead directly to the Great Rift of Death. We need to hurry."

"The Great Rift Valley of Death..."

Ji Fuyou pondered for a moment and said, "They may not go to the Death Rift Valley. It is very likely that they will come out directly from the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes."

"The Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes?"

Gu Yinbing was taken aback, then immediately realized something, her pupils suddenly shrinking: "You mean... there's a connecting passage in the Death Rift that leads directly to the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes?"

"good."

Although Ji Fuyou did not travel to the Death Rift Valley through the connecting passage of the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes, he did encounter giant centipedes, pincers, and other monsters unique to the Death Rift Valley.

"I estimate that the reason why Zhu Long, King Pingdeng, and King Taiyang dared to target those members of the Heavenly Ranking in Tiandu City is because of the existence of this connecting passage. The Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes has always been under Zhu Long's control, and outsiders should not know that this connecting passage exists."

He boldly speculated: "When everyone thought that the Sun King and the Equal King had fled into Sky Ridge to escape from the Great Rift of Death, they turned around and went to the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes, and left through Dragon Head Town. Who could stop them?"

"This……"

The sudden news left Gu Yinbing stunned on the spot.

She clearly lacked the ability to process these messages.

He immediately replied, "I will contact the Third Speaker right away."

"No need to contact them anymore. Even if you tell them, time is of the essence, and they may not believe you. Do you have any items that contain the aura of King Equality or King Sun? Bring them to Dragon Head Town, and we'll know with a single scan using our detection compass."

Ji Fuyou calmly said, "Just consider it as you coming here to get the detection compass."

"Zhao Wusheng and Zuo Wuzun joined forces to injure Pingdeng Wang. His blood was left at the scene. I will go and retrieve it now and head to Longshou Town to meet you."

Gu Yinbing said this and hung up the phone.

Upon seeing this, Ji Fuyou's expression also became slightly solemn.

Originally, he thought this was a grand drama orchestrated by the speakers themselves, in order to use a plausible excuse to kill the 61 members of the Heavenly Ranking who were under house arrest, and to complete the allocation of the 6 Martial Saint and Spiritual Master positions.

Now it seems……

That doesn't seem to be the case.

Fang Qiyun was also beside him when the two were on the phone. Seeing that he had hung up, she couldn't help but ask, "Captain, were those members of the Heavenly Ranking really killed by the Sun King and the King of Equality?"

"It now seems highly likely that their cleverness has backfired."

Ji Fuyou said, "They think they are the chess players and want to use the power of these two martial saints to force me to take sides. Little did they know that they are also caught in the game without realizing it."

"If they really are going to come out of the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes, Captain, you..."

Fang Qiyun looked somewhat worried.

Ji Fuyou remained silent.

After a moment, he said, "Now that I know about this, and that they've run into me... not for the so-called honor of the Federation, but even for the sake of those Heavenly Ranking members who died at their hands, how can I stand idly by?"

(End of this chapter)