The male disciples from the visiting sects, the rugged brawlers of the Crimson Blade Sect, the calculating scholars of the allied factions did not swoon.
They executed rapid, deeply paranoid tactical analyses.
They looked up at the Obsidian Ranking Board ledger projected in golden light above the plaza.
They looked at Rank 3: Lin Ji'an — 131,200 Merit Points.
Then they looked at the relatively petite, ridiculously relaxed figure in the blazing red trim.
"Do not be deceived by his lack of heavy plate armor or massive broadswords, brothers," the Lead Gen-1 Disciple of the Crimson Blade Sect hissed to his vanguard, his eyes narrowing into paranoid slits as he gripped his heavy hilt. "To secure the Third Overall Rank in a sect populated entirely by monsters like the Ice Demon and the Sword Lord, while possessing a physical frame of such modest proportions... he must be a supreme master of the most terrifying hidden subterranean assassination Daos."
