Zhao Mingya

"The rankings have changed. Miss Ying is in first place now, with Lin Yunsheng in second biting at her heels. Wu Yin in third is also frantically collecting spirit plaques. From fourth place onward, the plaque values are gradually widening."

As they watched the ever-changing Hunting Tournament rankings, the spectators outside barely dared to blink.

The battle was simply too intense.

The top three rankings kept shifting. First place had changed hands several times already, which meant that within the Ancient Spirit Realm, at least three battlefields were carrying out brutal harvesting.

Compared to last year's one-sided situation, this was undoubtedly far more exciting.

"Heh, Lin Yunsheng endured for a year and finally made it this far."

At that moment, a group of special individuals in the venue were also watching the rankings.

Looking at the names on the board, a young man spoke mockingly.

"He had no ambition, suppressed his cultivation for an entire year, and still can't overpower that little girl Ying Xue'er. What a disgrace."

"Ye Xin, if you'd known beforehand that Bai Ye wouldn't be participating in the tournament, would you have been in such a rush to break through to the Heaven Merging Realm?"

At that moment, a gentle voice beside him teased the young man.

It belonged to a girl dressed in opera costume. Among the nine disciples of the Colorful Clouds Chamber, she ranked third. Her name was San Yin.

"The most embarrassing part is that even after breaking through to the Heaven Merging Realm, you still got beaten up by him. Completely crushed, at that."

The moment San Yin finished speaking, another voice immediately chimed in.

His name was Han Tiansheng, and he was also one of Ying Longcheng's younger generation powerhouses.

Ye Xin was not angered by their words. He merely smiled lightly. "What? You make it sound like you won."

Which one of them present was not in the Heaven Merging Realm? Which one had not been crushed by Ying Madman last year? And which one had not, despite possessing Heaven Merging Realm cultivation, been pinned to the ground and rubbed into the dirt by the late Divine Soul Realm Bai Ye?

They were all fellows sharing the same misery. What was the point of insulting each other here?

The dozen or so people seated there all shook their heads at those words. All they could say was that they were completely convinced by that heaven-defying figure.

Convinced from the bottom of their hearts.

"Lin Yunsheng's spirit plaque value is skyrocketing."

At that moment, someone among them who had been watching the rankings closely spoke up, surprise in his voice.

"Wu Yin has dropped out of the top five."

At those words, surprise flashed through everyone's eyes. It truly was rather unexpected.

Ye Xin turned to San Yin and asked with a frown, "Wu Yin should be at the late Divine Soul Realm now, right?"

San Yin narrowed her eyes, her expression shifting as she nodded.

She understood Wu Yin's strength very well. There was no reason for her to suffer a loss at Lin Yunsheng's hands.

"Looks like something unexpected happened inside."

Han Tiansheng tilted his head and said with a smile.

In terms of factions, he, Ye Xin, and Lin Yunsheng all belonged to the Council of Elders within Ying Longcheng. Seeing the Colorful Clouds Chamber of the City Lord's faction lose its ranking should have made them happy.

"Now it depends on Ying Xue'er's team."

Another woman in opera costume beside San Yin spoke.

San Yin nodded but said nothing, merely continuing to watch the rankings.

Within the Ancient Spirit Realm, a woman in opera costume hid in the forest, her eyes icy.

She turned her head to observe the person pursuing her from behind, her fists clenched tightly.

"Wu Yin, that's enough. You can only keep running for so long."

A voice suddenly sounded beside her. Spiritual energy gathered in Wu Yin's hand as she struck down with her palm without hesitation.

But in the next instant, the spiritual energy in her palm vanished into thin air. Wu Yin's body was violently slammed against a tree, her arm dislocated and hanging limply at her side.

"Lin Yunsheng, aren't you afraid the people of Ying Longcheng will despise you for using such methods?"

Wu Yin lifted her eyes, her gaze incomparably cold.

"Despise me? Why? I accidentally broke through to the Heaven Merging Realm in the Ancient Spirit Realm. Is there a problem with that?"

The man in luxurious robes smiled as he walked toward her. "Hand over your spirit plaques. I'm taking first place this time."

"Heh, I'll be waiting for you outside."

Wu Yin smiled viciously and tossed out her spirit plaques.

Her body instantly vanished from the Ancient Spirit Realm. At the same time, Wu Yin's name disappeared from the rankings.

Lin Yunsheng put away the spirit plaques with their extremely high value and smiled faintly. Then he quietly said to the people behind him, "Come. Let's go meet the Eldest Miss."

Outside, the crowd erupted in uproar. No one had expected Wu Yin of the Colorful Clouds Chamber to be defeated so quickly. Lin Yunsheng's name stood high atop the rankings, having opened an enormous gap from Ying Xue'er in second place.

It seemed that the final victor had already emerged.

"What happened?"

Ye Xin looked at San Yin, only to discover that the gentle girl's eyes were now filled with fury.

San Yin did not answer. She already had a guess, but she did not dare confirm it. Did Lin Yunsheng truly dare?

"Bring Wu Yin over."

San Yin spoke to Si Yin beside her.

Si Yin nodded and left.

The others watched San Yin's actions in silence. Normally, their established circle did not allow outsiders to come over on their own, but seeing San Yin's expression now, no one dared provoke her anger. Besides, they were also curious about what had happened within the Ancient Spirit Realm.

After all, although Lin Yunsheng was indeed somewhat stronger than Wu Yin, he should not have been stronger to such an extent.

Wu Yin had fallen too quickly.

Before long, Si Yin returned with a beautiful girl dressed in opera costume. She had already changed into clean clothes, and aside from the wounds on her face, no one could tell that she had experienced a fierce battle.

"What happened?"

San Yin immediately asked, getting straight to the point.

Wu Yin drew a deep breath and replied indignantly, "Lin Yunsheng is in the Heaven Merging Realm."

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of several people present darkened at once.

"Only members of the younger generation at the Divine Soul Realm may participate." Though this was merely an unspoken rule of the Hunting Tournament, no one had ever dared to deliberately break it over the years.

It was a rule everyone instinctively upheld.

For so many years, there had never been an exception. Yet now, in their generation, someone like this had appeared.

By doing this, Lin Yunsheng had essentially slapped the faces of all the Heaven Merging Realm cultivators who had given up on the tournament—twice, hard.

As their faces darkened, they suddenly felt a chill run through their bodies as a wave of cold energy swept toward them.

Everyone raised their heads in unison and saw that, at some unknown time, an additional figure had appeared in the seat beside San Yin.

The instant they saw him, everyone's eyes trembled, their hearts beginning to pound uncontrollably.

Pale, disheveled long hair. Cold Gilded Gold eyes. A trace of a smile on that handsome face that made them feel uneasy.

The instant they saw him, Ye Xin, San Yin, and Han Tiansheng all fell silent.

Bai Ye raised his head and watched the constantly changing rankings without speaking.

"Bai Ye, you..."

Among those present, only San Yin dared to speak to Bai Ye at such a time.

Bai Ye raised a hand and leaned back in his chair, smiling. "It's fine, Sister San Yin. Isn't it not over yet?"

San Yin nodded. In truth, when she learned of Lin Yunsheng's true cultivation, her perceptive mind had already roughly guessed the significance behind it.

For an outstanding figure of the younger generation to lower himself and do such a thing, it certainly could not have been merely for first place in the Hunting Tournament.

Lin Yunsheng belonged to the Elder Faction, which had always been at odds with the City Lord's faction.

No, it was more than just conflict.

What they wanted was simply to stop the surname "Ying" from reaching the top of the Hunting Tournament rankings again.

Especially with Bai Ye about to leave Ying Longcheng, Ying Xue'er would become the primary representative of the City Lord's faction among the younger generation for the coming years.

Suppression. Building momentum.

That was their true goal.

And Bai Ye surely understood that perfectly well.

San Yin looked toward Bai Ye and found that he had closed his eyes to rest, as though he was somewhat tired.

Looking more closely, his complexion seemed abnormally pale as well.

At that moment, a sudden uproar erupted from the distant spectator stands.

Everyone looked toward the source of the commotion and saw a black-clad figure walking directly toward them.

His resolute face seemed to proclaim, "I refuse."

His eyes shone brightly, and he carried an unstoppable air as he arrived before them.

Likewise, everyone fell silent without uttering a single word.

In all of Ying Longcheng, only two people could cause such a reaction.

Everyone focused their gazes on those two people, including the crowds of spectators below. The shifting rankings had instead lost all attention at this moment.

Even Qiu Zidao, seated at the highest point, could not help turning his gaze over.

These two were legendary.

"You've reached the Heaven Merging Realm."

At that moment, the black-clad man took the initiative to speak.

Bai Ye opened his eyes and looked straight at him, with only calm remaining in his gaze.

"Yes."

"After the Hunting Tournament ends, you and I will have a match."

The entire venue erupted.

These were two extraordinarily talked-about geniuses. Each had claimed the top spot in a different tournament, yet they had never fought a true battle.

Thus, throughout Ying Longcheng, the title of "number one among the younger generation" had always been highly disputed.

But now, before the entire crowd, one of them had actually taken the initiative to issue a challenge.

Unlike ordinary spectators, people such as San Yin and Ye Xin knew more.

Bai Ye was about to leave Ying Longcheng, which meant this was the final chance for the two to determine who was superior. That was why the man could not resist coming forward to challenge him.

Under everyone's gaze, Bai Ye rose from his seat and met his eyes.

This was Zhao Mingya. He had the right.

Then, amid everyone's expectant gazes, he gently opened his mouth.

"Alright."

Boom! The entire venue erupted in cheers.