Chapter 393: Chapter 393 - Ranking Revealed
I quickly clicked on the post, and a ranking list appeared before me.
To my shock, the top spot wasn’t mine, but belonged to someone called Everest Levy.
Everest’s achievements were pretty solid—he’d taken down multiple Grandmasters while still in the Grandmaster Realm.
He’d recently broken through to the Grandmaster level himself, earning recognition as the Central Plains region’s top prodigy.
Sure, he didn’t know about my forceful climb up the stairway to heaven, but his foundation was rock-solid, and people loved him—totally different from my more aggressive reputation.
Most crucially, he had a legendary mentor, supposedly the former number one in the Central Plains, named Walton Greer.
I kept scrolling down the list, but I wasn’t second or third.
I was ranked fifth.
Right below me was Zendaya Andrew.
Besides Zendaya, I spotted another familiar name.
Lainey Kessler.
"Fifth place? Really?" I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
That didn’t make sense. With my track record of beating three Peak Form Grandmasters at Grandmaster Peak, hardly anyone should be able to pull that off, right?
I kept reading and found the analysis section, particularly the part about me.
"Mason Raymond ranks fifth because he has too many enemies, limiting his growth potential. Without this factor, he’d easily make the top three."
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
Deep down, I definitely didn’t buy this ranking.
Just then, I sensed several auras moving past outside.
The presences weren’t overwhelmingly strong, but they’d reached the Grandmaster Realm.
Before I could process this, someone knocked on my door.
"Is Mr. Raymond home?" An elderly voice called out.
I stood up and opened the door.
Two men waited outside—one older, one younger. The older guy looked about fifty, while the younger one seemed to be in his twenties.
"Who are you?" I asked, studying them both.
The elderly man pulled out a business card and spoke politely, "You must be Mason Raymond, the King of Chuzzle? Here’s my card."
I took the card and saw that this man was Hawk Isolde, president of the River North Martial Arts Association.
"President of the River North Martial Arts Association?" I raised an eyebrow, a cold smile tugging at my lips.
They sure moved fast.
"Please, come in." I stepped back and let them enter.
After they settled down, Hawk Isolde explained politely, "Mr. Raymond, I sincerely apologize for using your property without permission."
I sneered, "President Isolde, skip the small talk."
Hawk Isolde sighed, "Honestly, I’d rather not, but as River North Region’s president, I must contribute to our association’s growth, correct?"
"That’s why I’ve spent years traveling throughout the River North Region, searching for suitable cultivation sites for our members to use."
"So you picked my house? And broke in without asking?" I asked coldly.
Hawk Isolde apologized once more, "I’m truly sorry. I hope you understand my good intentions. Everything I do serves the association’s development."
I stayed quiet, but inside I was laughing coldly.
"Mr. Raymond, you’re now River North Region’s pride. Calling you the King of River North wouldn’t be wrong!" Seeing my silence, Hawk Isolde started laying on the flattery.
Any regular person would’ve been charmed by his words.
Too bad I wasn’t buying it.
"President Isolde, I’ve set up a spiritual energy gathering formation here and spent nearly a year accumulating qi," I said coldly.
"Now that the qi’s been drained, how do we settle this?" I asked icily.
Hawk Isolde thought for a moment and said, "Well, the River North Martial Arts Association’s Vice President position is still open. Would Mr. Raymond be interested?"
"Vice President?" That actually surprised me a bit.
Hawk Isolde nodded, "Yes, I’ve wanted to invite you for some time, but haven’t found the right opportunity."
As they say, you can’t hit someone who’s smiling at you. Isolde’s attitude made it hard to stay mad.
But I had zero interest in getting mixed up with organizations like this.
So I shook my head and said, "Forget the Vice President thing. How about this—give me a hundred-year medicinal herb, and we’ll call it even."
I didn’t actually need a hundred-year medicinal herb.
I just wanted to teach Hawk Isolde a small lesson.
However, Hawk Isolde frowned, looking quite troubled.
"The qi in my formation isn’t something a simple hundred-year medicinal herb can match. President Isolde, you surely understand that, right?" I said with clear annoyance.
"You really think too much of yourself!" At that moment, the young man beside Hawk Isolde suddenly burst out impatiently.
Hearing this, I immediately fixed him with a cold stare.
The young man continued, "I’ll be straight with you—there are at least a hundred vice presidents in the River North Martial Arts Association. It’s just a title, and you’re taking yourself way too seriously!"
"The River North Martial Arts Association inviting you is your good fortune, got it?"
I turned to Hawk Isolde and said coldly, "President Isolde, is this your opinion too?"
Hawk Isolde frowned and said, "Mr. Raymond, that’s not what I think."
"President Isolde, I’m only letting this slide because I respect your efforts to develop the Association. Are you really unwilling to part with even one hundred-year medicinal herb?" I said with a stern expression.
Hawk Isolde stood up and laughed, "Fine then, I’ll have it sent to you later. Goodbye."
After saying this, Hawk Isolde turned and walked out.
——
Once he stepped outside, his expression instantly turned cold.
"Want a medicinal herb? Keep dreaming!" Hawk Isolde spat on the ground.
——
Not long after Hawk Isolde left, Conrad Schroeder arrived by car.
Upon entering, he said excitedly, "Mr. Raymond, you’re back."
I nodded, looked at Conrad, and asked, "Did you know about the River North Martial Arts Association taking over this place?"
Conrad was stunned and smiled bitterly, "I knew, but... I couldn’t stop it. The River North Martial Arts Association has always been tyrannical, and I can only feel angry without speaking up."
"Always tyrannical?" I frowned.
"Yes, especially the Association’s president, Hawk Isolde. Using his position, he grabs land everywhere, and countless people have suffered under his oppression," Conrad explained.
Hearing this, I was somewhat surprised.
"He doesn’t seem like that type of person. Would a president dedicated to developing the Martial Arts Association really do such things?" I asked, confused.
Hearing this, Conrad couldn’t help but sneer, "Developing the Martial Arts Association? Mr. Raymond, you’re giving Hawk Isolde too much credit."
"He just uses the Martial Arts Association’s reputation to gain benefits for his son. The River North Martial Arts Association has long been their personal property, and they’ve monopolized all the good stuff."
"Take this place, for example—after seizing it, he wanted his son to practice here. Unfortunately, his son is completely useless."
