My Hidden Strength Was Exposed by the Heavenly Dao Ranking List – Chapter 115

Chapter 115: A Century Passes in the Blink of an Eye

To maintain a vast empire spanning thirty million square kilometers, a considerable number of experts are needed.

When Peng Feng was around, with his reputation for killing Temujin and reaching the Loose Immortal Realm, he could still suppress the world and maintain this massive empire.

But…

When Peng Feng went into seclusion, the Song State only had Peng Yun, a mere Heavenly Human Realm expert, who was utterly incapable of maintaining such a vast empire.

Starting from 1310 AD, internal strife became frequent within the Great Empire, with rebellions occurring in various places.

In 1315 AD, many areas broke away from the rule of the Great Song Empire.

By 1320 AD, the Song could only maintain a territory of about ten million square kilometers. Its lands in Europe, Central Asia, West Asia, and Africa were almost entirely lost.

In 1345 AD, Emperor Lizong Zhao Cha ascended to the throne of the Song Dynasty.

This man was extremely tyrannical and, suspecting the Jin Prince’s Residence of having too much power, no longer trusted them.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty had lasted for more than three hundred years, and the vested interests had grown too large, causing the people to live in poverty and forcing them to rebel.

Finally, in 1351 AD.

Han Shantong and Liu Futong raised the banner of rebellion in Yingzhou. The soldiers, with red turbans wrapped around their heads, called themselves the “Red Turban Army” and proclaimed Han Shantong as the King of Ming.

Following this, Xu Shouhui rose up in Qizhou, and Li Er, Peng Da, and Zhao Junyong rose up in Xuzhou. Within a few months, various places responded in succession.

The Song Dynasty, therefore, perished.

This was an era of heroes rising together.

Heroes from all sides displayed their skills.

Among these heroes, the most powerful ones were:

Zhu Yuanzhang, who accumulated grain and delayed proclaiming himself king.

Chen Youliang, who was born with the Holy Body of Water.

There were also Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, and others.

But the two strongest were Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang used a technique that burned seventy years of his lifespan to forcefully elevate his realm, reaching the Loose Immortal Realm. He became the sixth person in thousands of years to reach the Loose Immortal Realm and defeated Chen Youliang, who was in the Heavenly Human Realm.

Then, in 1368 AD, he founded the Ming Dynasty.

However,

Zhu Yuanzhang, after all, had burned too much of his lifespan when fighting Chen Youliang. By 1395 AD, he felt his lifespan was about to end.

Then, fearing that his grandson, Zhu Yunwen, who had become a Land Immortal through the infusion of the dynasty’s Dragon Qi, would not be able to secure the dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang slaughtered his meritorious officials. His three Heavenly Human Realm subordinates, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Liu Bowen, were all executed. Even Land Immortals like Fu Youde and Lan Yu could not escape the butcher’s knife.

Then, in 1398 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away.

At this time, the Heaven List of the Great Ming Dynasty was as follows:

Heaven List First: Prince of Yan Zhu Di （Heavenly Human Realm, Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son）.

Heaven List Second: Lang Fanyun （Heavenly Human Realm, from the *Overturning Rain and Clouds* novel）.

Heaven List Third: Zhang Sanfeng. （The founder of Wudang）.

Heaven List Fourth: Li Ruohai.

Heaven List Fifth: Ghost King Xu Ruowu.

Heaven List Sixth: Peng Chongxu, the sixth generation Prince of Jin from the Jin Prince’s Residence.

Heaven List Seventh: Zhu Yunwen.

Heaven List Eighth: Geng Bingwen. （A great general under Zhu Yuanzhang, also a fellow villager. Because he was good at defense but not at offense, Zhu Yuanzhang believed he could be left to assist Zhu Yunwen without causing major chaos.）

Heaven List Ninth: Prince of Ning Zhu Quan （Zhu Yuanzhang’s seventeenth son）.

Heaven List Tenth: Shan Yuru, the Sect Leader of the Yin Gui Sect.

Heaven List Eleventh: Cihang Fairy Qin Mengyao. （A rare genius in the Cihang Pure Abode in thousands of years.）

Heaven List Twelfth: Bandit Hegemon Chi Zunxin. （The Sect Leader of the Zunxin Sect, one of the three major underworld sects.）

Heaven List Thirteenth: Blood Hand Qianluo. （The City Lord of Qianluo Mountain City, one of the three major underworld sects.）

The current strength of the Great Ming was much stronger than the Song Dynasty before Peng Feng’s rise, but it was much weaker than in Zhu Yuanzhang’s era.

However, because Zhu Yuanzhang had passed away.

The uncle and nephew, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di, were destined to clash.

Zhu Yunwen was a Land Immortal, the legitimate ruler of the world.

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Zhu Di was in the Heavenly Human Realm, not the legitimate ruler of the world.

It was clear that a battle was about to erupt.

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And at this time.

The remnants of the Mongol Empire in the far north had also established the Later Mongol Empire.

The Heaven List of this Later Mongol Empire was as follows:

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List First: Demon Teacher Pang Ban （Heavenly Human Realm）（Originally from the Evil Extremity Sect, he should have been a disciple of Meng Chixing, but in this life, Meng Chixing was killed by Peng Feng with one punch in Xiangyang City. Thus, Temujin’s eldest son, Chishut, discovered this genius and carefully nurtured him, allowing Pang Ban to reach the Heavenly Human Realm.）

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List Second: Kökö Temür （Heavenly Human Realm）, （This person also had a Chinese name, Wang Baobao. He was a disciple taken in by Temujin’s third son, Ogedai, and inherited Ogedai’s legacy.）

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List Third: Transvestite Li Chimei. （A disciple taken in by Temujin’s second son, Chagatai, and inherited Chagatai’s legacy.）

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List Fourth: Nian Liandan, the Flower Fairy of the Demon Sect Flower Sect. （This person was a rare genius in the Demon Sect Flower Sect in thousands of years, chasing the former Flower Sect’s Evil King Shi Zhixuan.）

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List Fifth: Red Sun Dharma King of the Tantra Sect. （This person’s cultivation was already no less than the former Tantra Sect’s Phagpa.）

Later Mongol Empire Heaven List Sixth: Sword Demon Shi Zhongtian.

This Later Mongol Empire, in terms of the number of people on the Heaven List, was far inferior to the Great Ming.

After all, the Great Ming’s Heaven List had thirteen people.

However, Pang Ban, the number one expert on the Later Mongol Empire’s Heaven List, was an extremely terrifying figure. He had once roamed the Central Plains martial arts world without an opponent, earning the title of Demon Teacher. He had also escaped from Zhu Yuanzhang, who was in the Loose Immortal Realm.

With Zhu Yuanzhang dead, there was no one who could control him.

Moreover.

The Great Ming itself was in chaos. Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di were fighting each other, unable to attend to the martial arts world and unable to unite the strength of the entire Great Ming.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Later Mongol Empire, led by the Demon Teacher Pang Ban, began to invade the Great Ming. The first step was to clear out the Great Ming’s martial arts forces.

The Great Ming’s martial arts forces included the three major underworld sects: the Raging Dragon Gang, the Zunxin Sect, and Qianluo Mountain City.

The two major righteous holy lands: the Cihang Pure Abode and the Jingnian Chan Sect.

And the neither righteous nor evil Evil Spirit Sect.

The others were not worth mentioning.

The forces of the Later Mongol Empire first destroyed the Zunxin Sect, one of the three major underworld sects, forcing Chi Zunxin to perish, and the Great Ming lost a Land Immortal.

Then, they destroyed Qianluo Mountain City, one of the three major underworld sects, forcing the Land Immortal Blood Hand Qianluo to flee everywhere.

Finally, they were about to destroy the Raging Dragon Gang, one of the three major underworld sects. If Lang Fanyun had not suddenly advanced to the Heavenly Human Realm, the Raging Dragon Gang would have been destroyed.

Then, Pang Ban personally took action and, in Yingfeng Gorge, confronted Li Ruohai, the Sect Leader of the Evil Extremity Sect and the fourth on the Great Ming Heaven List. He killed Li Ruohai, who had reached the tenth level of the Land Immortal Realm, and the Great Ming lost another Land Immortal.

At this time, the Great Ming’s Heaven List was left with only ten people.

Then…

This force of the Later Mongol Empire directly went to hunt down the current successor of the Cihang Pure Abode, one of the two major righteous forces, Cihang Fairy Qin Mengyao.

For a time, the entire martial arts world was in panic.

The entire martial arts world was living under the tyrannical power of the Demon Teacher Pang Ban.

At this moment, the Demon Teacher Pang Ban was the number one expert in the East, the most terrifying figure in heaven and earth.

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And at this time.

In a certain nameless valley.

There seemed to be some movement.

Bang!

A mountain rock exploded.

And a person walked out from the broken mountain cave.

（After thinking about it, I decided to write this volume about the early Ming Dynasty martial arts world. This volume has a strong fanfiction flavor, with half of it being fanfiction of *Overturning Rain and Clouds*. If you haven’t read the book *Overturning Rain and Clouds*, you can skip this volume and read the next one. The next volume will be about the mid-Ming Dynasty, where I will beat up the disgusting Emperor Yingzong of Ming, the Gate-Calling Emperor.）