187: Chapter 187 Earth Ranking, Enlightenment

The next day.

The thin morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the air held a bone-chilling cold.

Chen Ran pushed open the courtyard gate and walked out.

What met his eyes was a scene of devastation.

Last night's sudden earthquake had dealt a heavy blow to the entire Outer City.

The Outer City lacked a defensive Formation, so many already dilapidated houses had collapsed, turning into piles of rubble.

On the streets paved with bluestone, shocking cracks had split open.

Squads of the City Defense Army darted through the streets with tense expressions, maintaining the precarious order.

Chen Ran withdrew his gaze, his expression emotionless.

He pulled his collar tight and wandered down the street into a teahouse that was still relatively intact.

The teahouse was already bustling with noise.

It was almost completely full.

"Waiter, bring a pot of tea and two steamers of buns."

Chen Ran found an empty seat in a corner and sat down, casually tossing out a few copper coins.

"Coming, sir, please wait a moment!"

"Lord Chen, good morning."

"Morning."

Chen Ran casually greeted the tea drinkers he knew and bought a copy of the latest gazette from a passing newsboy.

As soon as he shook it open, the front-page headlines were entirely occupied by the two major events of last night.

The first was this strange earthquake that had affected the entire capital.

The second was the shocking incident at the Execution Ground.

"Did you hear? That prisoner at the Execution Ground yesterday actually broke free from his shackles!"

At the neighboring table, a man with a full beard lowered his voice, looking excited.

"How could I not have heard? That was the last surviving member of the Wu Family, and his head was crushed alive just like that. Tsk, tsk, what a miserable death."

"Serves him right. The Wu Family usually bullied men and women, doing all sorts of evil. This can be considered retribution."

"Shh, do you want to die? How dare you say things like that!"

The tall, thin man at the same table quickly covered his mouth, looked around, and then lowered his voice:

"Even though the Wu Family is gone, they were a former noble Family after all. What would other Families think if they heard you?"

The bearded man shrank his neck, sheepishly picked up his teacup and took a sip, not daring to say anything more.

The tea drinkers discussed it heatedly, spittle flying everywhere.

But soon, the center of the topic shifted to another matter.

Although there was a mysterious expert who suddenly intervened at the Execution Ground yesterday in addition to the prisoner's riot, and managed to retreat calmly in front of so many people from the Six Doors.

However, since this involved Jianghu affairs, the tea drinkers were not very interested in it.

On the contrary, these tea drinkers focused their attention on the sudden earthquake last night.

When talking about this, a few of the tea drinkers sighed.

"The capital is probably going to change, the losses in the Outer City last night were not small..."

"Not only that, didn't you notice that last night's earthquake was strange?"

In the corner, a young man dressed as a scholar waved a folding fan and said mysteriously.

"I heard it wasn't an earthquake at all, but that Heaven couldn't stand it anymore."

Everyone was shocked.

"Be careful with your words, be careful!"

The teahouse owner turned pale with fright and quickly ran over, bowing repeatedly.

"Dear guests, please do not discuss state affairs, do not discuss state affairs!"

Chen Ran picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip, the fragrance of jasmine spreading in his mouth.

He finished his buns leisurely, paid the bill, and wandered out of the teahouse.

Not long after walking, he saw a large crowd gathered at the street corner ahead.

Three layers inside, three layers outside, completely packed.

Chen Ran stopped outside the crowd and scanned from a distance.

That was the notice board jointly set up by the Six Doors and the Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, a brand-new wanted poster was posted in the most prominent position on the notice board.

The portrait on the wanted poster was very blurry, only vaguely showing a black-haired man wearing a bamboo hat.

Below, a few large characters were written in cinnabar.

[Wanted Criminal: Mountain Lord]

[Ranking: First Place on the Earth Ranking]

[Realm: Return to Truth Realm Middle Stage (Suspected)]

[Bounty: Ten thousand taels of gold, one supreme Cultivation Technique, three Barrier-Breaking Pills]

[Note: This person is extremely dangerous, suspected to be a member of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult. If encountered and unable to defeat, report to the Six Doors immediately!]

"Ten thousand taels of gold, it seems the Six Doors is really serious this time."

"If I remember correctly, he was only in the top hundred of the Earth Ranking last time, but today he has climbed to the first place on the Earth Ranking. What on earth happened..."

Bursts of exclamation erupted from the crowd from time to time.

Chen Ran looked at the wanted poster and raised an eyebrow.

"First place on the Earth Ranking?"

He didn't expect that his alter ego would directly drop to the top of the Earth Ranking.

Since when was the imperial court's efficiency so high?

This bounty alone was enough to drive countless Jianghu outlaws crazy.

"It's a pity that I can't claim this bounty myself."

Chen Ran muttered to himself.

However, this was exactly what he wanted.

What does the shocking case committed by "Mountain Lord" have to do with me, the prison guard Chen Ran?

Chen Ran shook his head and turned to squeeze out of the crowd.

...

Outside the capital, by the riverside.

The river wind was biting, scraping across his cheeks like a knife.

The surging river water flowed endlessly, emitting a deafening roar.

Chen Ran stood by the river with his hands behind his back, watching the churning water, remaining silent for a long time.

This was the place where Shi Taichu's fiancée threw herself into the river.

There was no tombstone, no grave.

Only this cold, biting river water became her final resting place.

Chen Ran took a flask of clear wine from his bosom, pulled out the stopper, and slowly poured it into the river.

The wine was instantly swallowed by the river, not even causing a ripple.

"Shi Taichu is dead, and the Wu Family has perished."

Chen Ran's voice was calm, with no discernible emotion.

"Your revenge can be considered avenged."

He looked at this seemingly magnificent river.

Beneath this river, who knows how many innocent bones like hers, forced to death by noble Families and powerful officials, died with grievances.

The prosperous age of Great Wei, on the surface, was like oil cooking on a fire, blooming with flowers.

In reality, it had long since rotted to the bone.

The powerful and wealthy were high and mighty, regarding human life as worthless as grass.

The common people at the bottom were like ants, trampled upon at will.

In this man-eating world, there was no reason to be reasoned with, and no fairness to speak of.

Only absolute power could ensure that one would not become a pile of dry bones at the bottom of this river.

A sudden epiphany struck Chen Ran; perhaps the law of the jungle was the essence of this world.

"To live a peaceful life, my current strength is far from enough. I must become stronger."

"Until... there is no one left in this world who can threaten me."