The downfall of the Blood Sword Sect and the Liuyun Sect, as well as the submission of Beixue Mountain Villa to the Heavenly Sword Faction, were major events that naturally couldn't be suppressed.
Therefore, the news quickly spread throughout the Yan Kingdom.
In a royal mansion of the Yan Kingdom's capital.
A handsome prince with an elegant and scholarly demeanor, upon hearing the news, had a gleam of intrigue in his eyes.
His name was Yan Ran, the Third Prince of the Yan Kingdom. Due to his outstanding abilities and his practice of recruiting talented experts, as well as his mother's influential family, he held a prominent position in the Yan Kingdom.
However, he ultimately could not surpass the Crown Prince Yan Hua.
Yan Hua was quite wary of Yan Ran's reputation and influence, always viewing him as a thorn in his side.
Especially as the King of Yan's health declined in recent years, he feared that Yan Ran might rebel and seize the throne, always wanting to eliminate him quickly.
Therefore, Yan Ran had a very difficult time in recent years.
"Interesting, among the Four Great Sects, there emerged such a figure who could suppress the other three. Uncle Chi, how do you think he compares to our Yan Kingdom's top-grade national scholars?"
After listening to the general news about the downfall of the Blood Sword Sect and the Liuyun Sect, Yan Ran looked up at a middle-aged man opposite him and spoke softly.
Uncle Chi, hearing this, hesitated for a moment and said, "To suppress three sects alone, his strength should not be much inferior to 'Yeqing City', 'Li Mufan', or 'Suxiao', at least he could rank around the top three on the 'National Guard List'."
"Hmm, I think so too. Then invite him to our mansion; I want to host him properly."
Yan Ran said with a sigh, "Recently, my imperial brother has been getting quite close with the national scholar. If I continue to retreat, I'm afraid that after Father is gone, they truly intend to make a move against me!"
"Hmm." Uncle Chi also showed a hint of concern in his expression and said, "If Your Highness can enlist this extraordinary Heaven's Pride who reached the early peak of the Fanxu Realm before twenty, the Great Crown Prince certainly won't dare to act ruthlessly towards you. I will personally go invite him..."
With that, he hastily left the royal mansion.
As Yan Ran stood at the window after he left, looking at the bright moon in the sky, he whispered, "The top three of the National Guard List, if I can truly make good relations with him, then once Father is gone, my imperial brother would definitely not dare to act ruthlessly towards me."
The National Guard List they mentioned was the most authoritative and top-grade ranking list in the Yan Kingdom.
It was incomparable to the so-called Inner Gate List of Outstanding Talents of the Heavenly Sword Faction or the Four Sects' Genius Ranking.
After all, the Four Sects' Genius Ranking, with the top-ranked Dao Wuming, had strength only at the Peak Ninth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, and the recent breakthrough into the Fanxu Realm was only recent.
However, the individuals on the National Guard List, at the very least, possessed strength at the peak of the First Layer of the Fanxu Realm, and the top-grade national scholars among them had strength at the Fourth and Fifth Layers, incredibly powerful, incomparable to Dao Wuming.
Of course, this huge disparity was also related to the different statistical methods used for the lists.
The Four Sects' Genius Ranking included talents of the recent generation of Heaven's Pride disciples and did not account for strong individuals like Zhou Yun at the Fourth Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
On the National Guard List, however, it was different. Most were around a hundred years old; even the youngest were sixty.
Like Zhou Yun, who died at the hands of Mu Jinyu, was ranked sixth on the National Guard List.
That's why the gap between the two lists appeared so large!
If Dao Wuming hadn't died at Mu Jinyu's hands, he might have had a chance to break into the National Guard List fifty years later.
Thus, the original Heaven's Pride ranked Mu Jinyu, who instantly gained the strength to enter the National Guard List, naturally made the Third Prince Yan Ran excited, wishing to befriend him.
He was a significant figure with the strength to be in the top three of the National Guard List, and the strong individuals on it all have the ability to guard a region, intimidate the surroundings, and keep invaders at bay. The top three of the list are even more exceptional.
For instance, Yan Hua became the Crown Prince because his mother's family had two generals who were in the top ten of the National Guard List, keeping Yan Ran suppressed!
And recently, getting close to the Yan Kingdom's first strongman, the unparalleled national scholar "Yan Chengyun," had the alarm bells in Yan Ran's heart ringing, feeling an immense threat to his life.
Therefore, Yan Ran recently visited various national scholars on the National Guard List, hoping to get closer to them so that Crown Prince Yan Hua would hesitate to act against him after the King's death.
Unfortunately, those he visited mostly either slammed the door in his face or treated him coldly, indifferent.
So upon hearing the news of Mu Jinyu, though excited to befriend him, Yan Ran didn't hold much hope.
"No, letting Uncle Chi invite him seems not sincere enough. Although there's little hope, meeting this extraordinary Heaven's Pride isn't bad."
At this moment, Yan Ran calmed down and felt he should personally invite Mu Jinyu.
Thus, he immediately called for someone to prepare a horse and went to the Heavenly Sword Faction to visit Mu Jinyu.
...
At the Crown Prince's Mansion.
The stern-faced Crown Prince Yan Hua quickly learned from underlings' reports that Yan Ran left the royal mansion late at night, heading south.
He had already known about Mu Jinyu and, coupled with Yan Ran's recent frequent visits to national scholars on the National Guard List, he naturally guessed that his brother was prepared to earn favor and make a personal attempt to win over Mu Jinyu.
"Your Highness, should we also visit the Heaven's Pride of the Heavenly Sword Faction?"
An underling respectfully inquired.
"No need." Yan Hua waved dismissively and said, "That Mu Jinyu, though young, has broken into the Peak Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm, becoming famous in one fell swoop. He must be conceited and arrogant. How could my brother's influence win him over?"
"Besides, even if this guy doesn't know when to stop and insists on colluding with Yan Ran, so what? The Yan Kingdom Scholar has agreed to protect our Yan Kingdom for another century; how could one Mu Jinyu be a threat?"
When Yan Hua spoke, his eyes were full of reverence and pride when mentioning the Yan Kingdom Scholar, but hidden disdain and envy when mentioning Mu Jinyu.
After speaking, he paused, then waved again and said, "However, although I don't care about Mu Jinyu, letting Yan Ran have his way unopposed doesn't seem right either. Let Uncle Guan take a trip to the Heavenly Sword Faction."
"Yes." The underling replied respectfully.
Then he stepped back to summon the butler of the Crown Prince's Mansion, Uncle Guan.
After a conversation with Yan Hua, Uncle Guan also set off on an exotic beast carriage, heading for the Heavenly Sword Faction.
Not only were Yan Ran and Uncle Guan heading to the Heavenly Sword Faction, but also notable noble families within the Yan Kingdom, upon learning of Mu Jinyu's divine prowess, sent people to invite him.
Whether it was the head of a family personally inviting or sending a clan's Heaven's Pride, a storm was brewing within the Yan Kingdom.