While eating and chatting, Guan Xin's words and actions were very proper, and he did not show any arrogance towards the group.

Li Ming nodded secretly; this was the proper upbringing of a scion of a noble family.

Those arrogant and conceited individuals are almost always mediocre. Their families know that investing too much resources in their upbringing is a waste, so they don't discipline them much, and these people eventually give up on themselves.

They have redirected their pursuit of martial arts elsewhere, such as into romantic relationships or even developed in a morbid and distorted direction.

Any martial artist who pursues the way of martial arts and has a decent temperament will at least appear proper on the surface, and even if they harbor hatred, they will not show it.

Just like Lin Xun, whom Li Ming encountered before.

Guan Xin reached for a wine jug, poured a few cups, and a burst of spiritual energy mixed with the aroma of wine wafted over, intoxicating the senses. He said earnestly:

"Please don't overindulge in this fine wine. This is a top-quality wine that I had to swallow my pride and get from my uncle. Normally, it's a good wine suitable for a fourth-rank expert."

"It's not that I'm stingy, but it contains too much energy. Too much of anything is bad, and drinking too much might actually cause harm."

Li Ming took the cup, took only a small sip, and his eyes lit up.

The blood and qi within his body seemed to be restless. With a large amount of energy entering his body, Li Ming's internal true qi unconsciously began to refine it, and his cultivation level began to increase visibly.

Compared to the food on the table, this wine is far more effective.

As expected of a fourth-grade spirit wine, an ordinary person who takes a sip would likely risk their life.

The other constables were sweating profusely. They had only taken a sip and their faces were already flushed. This was not only because of the high purity of the wine, but also because of its enormous energy content, which made it very difficult for them to digest. However, the benefits they gained after digesting it were equivalent to ten days of hard training.

Li Ming took a sip, and the blush on his face quickly disappeared before he continued drinking.

He accepted all toasts offered by Guan Xin.

The group of people stared in disbelief.

This alone shows the difference in their physical attributes.

Suddenly Guan Xin spoke up:

"With Brother Li's talent, he is sure to win the Heavenly Pride Tournament a year from now."

The Gathering of Prodigies is a grand event jointly organized by the Great Xuan Imperial Family and other forces such as the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. It is only held when there is an abundance of geniuses and a golden age of martial arts.

Within the capital city of Da Xuan, a ranking list will be set up, recording the rankings of the top thirty-six people.

Then, within this month, all the geniuses who meet the criteria for making the list will gather in Xuandu City to challenge each other, regardless of life or death. The top thirty-six geniuses will be given incredibly generous rewards.

Therefore, geniuses from all major forces will emerge during this period, vying for a place on the ranking list.

Then, considering that many people's strength is actually hidden very well, and the ranking on the Human Ranking would not be accurate, after a series of discussions, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion finally decided to give the prodigies a month to challenge themselves and determine who is superior.

Li Ming said calmly, "I come from a humble background and have never left Cangzhou. The Heavenly Pride Gathering is a platform for me to see the talents of the world, so I will naturally go."

Faced with Li Ming's answer, Guan Xin nodded, unsurprised. In fact, he was quite suspicious that Li Ming's sudden emergence and rapid rise to fame in Cangzhou, reaching the top seventy-two, was all for this grand event.

Many people even believe that he was a prodigy promoted by some hidden force in order to compete for the top spot in the Prodigy Tournament.

"It's a pity. In previous years, I might have had a chance to enter the top 36 in the Heavenly Pride Tournament, but this year, it's probably difficult."

Guan Xin sighed, looking rather helpless.

Li Ming was quite surprised and asked, "Brother Guan, you've already ranked seventy-second since you were born. If you were to unleash your full strength, you wouldn't even be able to get a place in the top thirty-six?"

Guan Xin frankly said, "I thought it was natural that I was not as good as the top few people on the list. The number one, Wan Qiankun, came from the top sect, Wanfa Sect. With his unparalleled comprehension and innate divine eyes, he cultivated the Wanfa Sect's divine skill, the 'Myriad Manifestations Divine Scripture,' and was known as being able to understand all laws with a single glance, using their own methods against them."

"The second is Jiang Yuanba, the nineteenth prince of the Great Xuan Dynasty. He was born with the power of the Four Symbols. Coincidentally, he also practiced the Overlord Fist and has now developed a Dragon Elephant Body, earning him the nickname Little Overlord."

"The third is Shangguan Yunrou, the goddess of Xuanmiao Mountain. She was born into the Shangguan family, a family of divine weapons masters, and later joined Xuanmiao Mountain. She is gentle, has unparalleled beauty, and is born with a seven-aperture exquisite body. She is known as the number one beauty of the Great Xuan, the ethereal fairy."

When talking about Shangguan Yunrou, Guan Xin unconsciously revealed a sycophantic expression.

Li Ming rolled his eyes at the sight, "This Shangguan Yunrou, has Brother Guan seen her in person? Does she really have such great charm?"

Guan Xin sensed Li Ming's teasing and coughed lightly, "Ahem, I was fortunate enough to meet him once, but unfortunately I never saw his true face."

However, just by looking at her demeanor and figure, one could tell that she was absolutely a stunning beauty.

Then Guan Xin said solemnly, "These past few days I have traveled the world, making friends with swords, and witnessed the strength of many prodigies. There are almost no undeserving people, and many unknown figures within some aristocratic families and sects have begun to rise. Even I dare not underestimate them..."

"oh?"

Li Ming seemed to be deep in thought when he heard the last sentence.

Heroes are made by the times. Perhaps in the future, he will encounter the kind of protagonist from his previous life's novels, whose main plot revolves around being jilted, getting humiliated, and then rising to power. He might even encounter a true martial saint or a reincarnation of a martial god.

Guan Xin joked, "It's a pity that we two have had too little time to grow. Otherwise, even if we can't compete for the top three, we can still have a place in the top thirty-six. This year is still too short... But if Brother Li can continue to progress so quickly, perhaps in a year, you can compete with the top three on this ranking."

Li Ming smiled and said, seemingly casually, "Perhaps we'll have a chance to fight them in the future."

His current realm may seem far below that of the geniuses at the top of the Human Ranking, but in reality, the Refining Spirit Realm, a stage that tests a martial artist's comprehension of intent and divine abilities, poses no difficulty for him.

The lower three ranks of martial artists require more testing of their physical aptitude, and in the future, comprehension will also become extremely important.

This is one of the reasons why Wan Qiankun was able to rank first. He had exceptional comprehension and a pair of divine eyes, making him far ahead of others in the middle three-grade cultivation.

Sipping his wine, Guan Xin's face was flushed, and he looked at Li Ming with burning eyes, asking:

"Brother Li, we hit it off immediately. May I ask you a question?"

Li Ming raised an eyebrow. Don't think he's drunk and careless; his mind is actually quite clear. He could sense a very strong aura coming from the next room, likely from someone's protector or something similar. However, since he'd eaten their food, he decided to be cautious:

"Brother Guan, please ask..."

Of course, whether he tells the truth or not is up to him.

"It is said that Brother Li came from humble beginnings, yet rose to prominence so quickly. Rumors circulate in the martial world that you are either the disciple of a peerless master or the heir of a hidden sect. Is there any truth to this?"

Guan Xin shook his head, a little drunk. He had overestimated his ability to sober up, and after drinking seven or eight cups with Li Ming, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Don't worry, I'm a tight-lipped person, there's no way this will get out."

"Just tell me."

Li Ming's origins are a mystery in the martial arts world, too mysterious to be true. Normally, he might know it's inappropriate to ask Li Ming this, but now that he's drunk, he simply can't resist his curiosity.

Meanwhile, an old man next door remained calm and discreet, concealing his breathing, wanting to hear Li Ming's answer.

Li Ming glanced around and saw that the other constables who had come with him were all drunk and unconscious.

Seeing this situation, Li Ming said without any hesitation:

"Haha, it doesn't matter if it gets out. I am just from a small clan. It's all information that can be easily found out. I have already severed ties with my family."

As for Li's achievements today, they are entirely due to his own efforts... After all, Li's talent is mediocre, and besides diligent practice, he has no other way.

There's a saying that goes, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

I, Li Ming, did not use any cheat codes.

Defying fate also relies on one's own talent.

Upon hearing this, Guan Xin couldn't help but spit out his drink.