The moment the new Human Rankings dropped, the entire world exploded.

  Not just the Five Phoenixes—Tianyuan went berserk too.

  What the hell was this?!

  Only two from Tianyuan cracked the top ten?

  Zhong Nan, the pride of the Absolute Blade Sect, a Nine-Revolution Golden Core genius, placed third?

  The Tianyuan cultivation world could not accept this!

  First place going to the Overlord? Fine, they could stomach that. The lunatic had literally outlasted Zhou Haisheng to death and could fight Nascent Souls head-on.

  Yes—to Tianyuan powerhouses, the Overlord was a complete madman, through and through.

  In a friendly spar, Zhong Nan might edge him out.

  But in a life-or-death battle? Zhong Nan wouldn’t stand a chance.

  So Overlord taking first? Tianyuan had no complaints.

  But second place—Li Sansi?

  Who the hell was this guy?!

  No one had ever heard of him. How did some nobody climb to second?!

  Both sides—Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan—were utterly baffled.

  Many inwardly cursed the list. If it hadn’t come from Tianji Pavilion, they would’ve trashed it openly long ago.

  Feng Yilou and Nie Changqing’s placements also raised eyebrows.

  On pure strength, Feng Yilou should crush Nie Changqing.

  But Nie Changqing was a disciple of White Jade Capital. That title alone silenced most complaints.

  You don’t mess with White Jade Capital disciples.

  Tianyuan experts were absolutely livid about the top ten.

  “What’s with this Lu Changkong at sixth?!”

  In Martial Emperor City, a purple-robed Golden Core disciple demanded.

  Who even was this guy?

  “Lu Changkong… That’s Young Master Lu Ping’an’s father.”

  Someone who knew the name whispered.

  Instant silence.

  Young Master Lu’s old man?!

  Then he was everyone’s dad!

  No one dared speak again.

  Sixth place was an insult—he should be higher.

  Then the outrage shifted targets.

  Seventh—some chicken-raising girl from the Nine Phoenix Institute?

  Eighth—a broke painter who patched his own clothes?

  Fine, those two were acceptable. One founded the Painting Sect; the other had made a name at Buzhou Peak—using spiritual energy as ink, splashing mountains and rivers, trapping a Nascent Soul. Their rankings were convincing enough.

  But ninth and tenth…

  How in the world did those two make top ten?!

  Demon Monkey King—what even was that?!

  A beast?

  Some Five Phoenixes cultivators protested: “It’s not even human! Why is it on the Human List?”

  Tianyuan cultivators, however, were unfazed. The old Tianyuan Human List had included demon races too.

  Still—where did this Demon Monkey King come from? No one had heard of it.

  And then… Tantai Xuan.

  How did the King of Northern Xuan, a mere second- or third-stage Qi Core cultivator, make the list at all?

  This guy was a glitch!

  …

  The Human Rankings shook the world.

  Wolong Ridge.

  Zhong Nan took the profound yellow paper from his blade attendant. Seeing himself ranked third, his face darkened.

  “Bullshit ranking.”

  He crushed the paper. Blade qi erupted, shredding it into confetti.

  He stood and strode into the Prison Gate.

  He refused to accept this.

  As a proud blade cultivator, he wouldn’t even accept the Overlord above him.

  Now the world would think Zhong Nan was inferior to the Overlord—and that Tianyuan’s geniuses were weaker than the Five Phoenixes’.

  He would not allow that perception to stand.

  He’d been too low-key for too long.

  Time to let his blade speak.

  …

  Nie Changqing looked at his own ranking without joy or anger.

  After tempering his body in the Rebirth Pool of the Dead Spirit City within the Prison Gate, and cultivating the Heavenly Lock path, he had reached the Seventh Extreme Heavenly Lock.

  The later stages of Heavenly Lock were brutally hard, but the combat boost was immense.

  Seventh Extreme Heavenly Lock was already comparable to an Eight- or Nine-Revolution Golden Core.

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  He wiped his Dragon Slayer with a cloth, aura faintly pulsing.

  He was waiting.

  He knew—this list would make some people restless.

  Even if he could sit still, the world wouldn’t let him.

  …

  Southern Commandery, Tang Manor gardens.

  Tang Xiansheng rocked in his chair while Tang Guo peeked curiously.

  “The World Prodigy List?”

  Children were naturally drawn to such things, especially in this cultivation-crazed era.

  “Yup, the Human List,” Tang Xiansheng smiled, white hair fluttering.

  “Is big brother on it?” Tang Guo’s eyes sparkled.

  “Nineteenth—Yimo. Very impressive,” Tang Xiansheng patted her head.

  Tang Guo pouted, clenching tiny fists. “Big brother will definitely make top ten!”

  Tang Xiansheng laughed warmly.

  “He will.”

  But he knew Tang Yimo needed a true transformation first.

  And such opportunities were rare.

  Rubbing the profound yellow paper, Tang Xiansheng narrowed his eyes.

  He didn’t question the rankings—Tianji Pavilion represented White Jade Capital’s face.

  Lü Mudui wouldn’t publish without certainty.

  “Such a shame…”

  “The Five Phoenixes have talent, but only a handful can truly stand at the peak…”

  “The balance is still too lopsided.”

  He sighed.

  Out of the top hundred, only a dozen or so were from the Five Phoenixes.

  The rest were Tianyuan Golden Cores.

  Still, Tang Xiansheng held hope.

  He looked north.

  Tantai Xuan was right to build the Great Xuan Academy. That was the future—the only way the Five Phoenixes could catch up.

  He ruffled Tang Guo’s hair.

  “Guo’er, do you want to cultivate like your big brother?”

  Tang Guo’s eyes lit up like stars.

  “Yes!”

  She’d dreamed of it—wanted to protect everyone, just like Tang Yimo.

  Every child idolizes heroes.

  “Then one day you’ll go to a place called the Academy. You have to work hard, okay?”

  Tang Xiansheng pinched her flushed, excited cheeks.

  …

  Dongyang Commandery, Martial Emperor City.

  Du Longyang, Empress Ni Chunqiu, Ye Shoudao, and Young Master Tianxu gathered.

  This meeting had been called by Du Longyang.

  “Old Du, what happened to your face? Who beat you black and blue?” Young Master Tianxu asked curiously from his sedan chair.

  Du Longyang’s face darkened.

  He knew this guy would poke at his sore spot.

  Lu hadn’t hit too hard, but the precision left bruises that wouldn’t fade for days.

  Du Longyang had no complaints—he’d been the one dumb enough to attack Zhulong.

  According to Young Master Lu, that girl was his little sweetheart.

  If someone touched Du Longyang’s little sweetheart, he’d be just as merciless.

  He ignored Tianxu and shared his insights on breaking through to the Yin Spirit Realm.

  They were all exploring this new realm. Sharing breakthroughs accelerated progress.

  For survivors of a world-ending tribulation, such camaraderie made sense.

  “You’re saying… within half a year, you’re confident in reaching Yin Spirit Realm?”

  The Empress’s red lips parted, eyes narrowing.

  Suddenly she realized something.

  “Du Longyang, be honest—did Brother Lu secretly give you pointers?!”

  She glared.

  Du Longyang rubbed his bruises righteously. “Absolutely not!”

  “No way—I’m going to find Brother Lu too!”

  The Empress fumed.

  Du Longyang quickly changed the subject: “After today, I enter death seclusion. I won’t emerge until I reach Yin Spirit Realm.”

  “Consider this a farewell. If my insights help any of you, I hope we can spar as Yin Spirit cultivators someday.”

  His words stirred genuine emotion.

  They had once been rivals atop Tianyuan.

  Now they ruled the Four Holy Lands.

  They cherished these moments. The path of cultivation was long and uncertain—death could come at any turn.

  They drank and talked.

  Eventually, the new Human List came up.

  “Zhong Nan has grasped Sword Intent and is close to Dao Intent, yet he only got third…”

  “What’s the deal with this Li Sansi?”

  Du Longyang was curious.

  The Empress and Tianxu were clueless.

  One-armed Ye Shoudao finally spoke: “I know him.”

  “He inherited the Vine Demon’s legacy. He has the Vine Demon Physique.”

  The Vine Demon Physique?

  The others’ expressions shifted.

  “That woman’s physique?” Du Longyang asked gravely.

  Ye Shoudao nodded. He had been the one to awaken it.

  Without him, who knew how many years it would’ve taken.

  “The Vine Demon had a tragic life,” the Empress sighed, then shot Ye Shoudao a disdainful glance.

  Ye Shoudao said nothing, his expression complicated as he touched his empty sleeve.

  “With the Vine Demon Physique, his potential is limitless,” Young Master Tianxu said.

  “Second place makes sense. But the demonic qi is hard to control—one slip and he becomes a bloodthirsty monster.”

  Tianxu Palace walked the unorthodox path; they understood demonic qi well.

  “Whatever,” Du Longyang waved it off.

  “The Five Phoenixes have terrifying potential. It’s Young Master Lu’s world, after all. The Overlord, Nie Changqing—they’ll all reach Infant Transformation someday, maybe even the Three Gods Realm.”

  “We’d better not let them surpass us. That would be embarrassing.”

  Silence fell.

  They bid farewell.

  Ye Shoudao left with his blade on his back.

  The Empress and Tianxu departed.

  The Empress, unwilling to lose out, flew over the sea searching for the giant whale and immortal island.

  The ocean was endless. She found nothing.

  Her magnificent robes fluttered as she glared resentfully at the waves, then turned and vanished back to the Qian Female Palace.

  …

  Time flowed on, indifferent to all.

  The Human Rankings from White Jade Capital were live-updated.

  Lü Mudui tapped his bamboo staff, divining the world’s cultivation affairs.

  Whenever someone broke through, the list updated swiftly.

  Naturally, controversy raged. Many felt slighted.

  They wanted to storm Tianji Pavilion—but didn’t dare.

  So they took their frustration out on those ranked above them.

  In the following months, countless battles erupted among the ranked prodigies.

  Lower-ranked challengers fought those above them.

  To everyone’s shock—the results matched the rankings perfectly.

  Even ninth-place Demon Monkey King and tenth-place Tantai Xuan faced challengers.

  Traces of the Demon Monkey King were soon found: a desert beyond Great Xuan, shrouded in towering demonic qi.

  Mount Tai.

  Tantai Xuan stood outside the small tower.

  Tianyuan Golden Core geniuses came to challenge the “Qi Core weakling” sitting at tenth.

  Tantai Xuan smiled graciously, exuding the poise of a top master.

  The fight began.

  He let his opponent strike a hundred times.

  Imperial dragon qi surged.

  The challenger exhausted all spiritual energy without breaking his defense—and was even backlash-injured by the dragon qi, coughing blood, spirit wounded.

  What the hell…

  Tantai Xuan stood atop the peak the entire time, gazing at the heavens, robes fluttering in the wind.

  The very picture of a lonely master.

  After several Golden Cores failed, no one dared challenge him again.

  With imperial dragon qi protecting him, he was a porcupine—attack and get stabbed.

  If he had any offensive power, he’d rank even higher.

  Another surprise was second-place Li Sansi.

  At first, the top ten stayed quiet.

  But as time passed, battles finally broke out.

  Fifth-place Feng Yilou skipped fourth-place Nie Changqing and challenged second-place Li Sansi instead—shocking the world.

  Everyone expected Feng Yilou to win.

  Who was this unknown Li Sansi?

  But the battle was held in secret at Li Sansi’s request.

  The result?

  Feng Yilou nearly died.

  Li Sansi’s second place was cemented.

  No one knew exactly how he was so strong, but defeating Feng Yilou proved he belonged in the top five.

  A month after Feng Yilou’s defeat, Zhong Nan—unable to progress further in the Prison Gate—emerged.

  He didn’t challenge Li Sansi.

  Instead, he carried his plain blade all the way to the Western Liang capital.

  He challenged the Overlord.

  They agreed to fight on the Dongyan River.

  Zhong Nan stood atop the river, arms folded around his blade, waiting silently.

  …

  As Zhong Nan issued his challenge,

  Origin Lake, Heart Island.

  Lu wheeled his Thousand-Blade Chair across the green grass.

  He found Ni Yu hugging the Heaven-Facing Mirror under the morning chrysanthemums, giggling foolishly at the battles within, Little Yinglong sprawled atop her head.

  “The one-year wager between Great Xuan and Western Liang is almost up. I set and witnessed that bet myself.”

  “Ni Yu, you go oversee the duel. If anyone interferes, kill them. Your call.”

  Ni Yu’s eyes lit up like fireworks.

  Was she dreaming?

  Happiness came too suddenly!

  Little Yinglong lifted his head, eyes brimming with tears of hope as he stared at Lu.

  From afar, Ning Zhao approached gracefully.

  “Young Master…”

  Lu glanced at her. “Keep cultivating. Ni Yu can handle this. You’re close to comprehending Dao Intent—don’t miss this chance.”

  Ning Zhao bit her lip and nodded solemnly.

  “You too, stupid dragon.”

  Three Purple Spirit Crystals appeared in Lu’s hand.

  “The winners get these three crystals as reward.”

  He tossed them to Ni Yu.

  She stuffed them into her pouch, cheeks flushed with excitement.

  Finally—she could leave the island!

  Finally—she could see the outside world!

  Finally—no more looking at Young Master’s annoying face!

  Her heart sang.

  Little Yinglong flapped his fleshy wings in joy.

  Lu’s smile slowly faded.

  As if reading her thoughts.

  “Go.”

  He flicked a finger.

  BOOM!

  A terrifying blast erupted.

  Ni Yu’s heart clenched.

  Did Young Master know?!

  How did he always know?! Was he the devil?!

  Before she could explain, she and the bewildered Little Yinglong were launched into the sky like cannonballs.

  Their screams echoed over the island long after their figures had vanished into tiny black dots on the horizon.