The Person on the List

Before long, the Spirit Crystals had all been distributed. While Yang Chen and the others were still immersed in their joy, Lin Chuan brought Wang Kui and the other two aside. "What was this month's task completion rate for the newcomers?"

The three exchanged glances, each seeing the unease in the others' eyes.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Kui said, "Sir, this month's task completion rate was ninety percent."

Lin Chuan's sharp gaze settled on Wang Kui. His eyes seemed to weigh a thousand tons, pressing Wang Kui until he could barely breathe.

"Last year's new disciples had a task completion rate of ninety-three percent. How am I supposed to answer to Steward Han because of you three? And how am I supposed to face the other supervisors?"

Lin Chuan's tone was not harsh, yet it left Wang Kui and the other two drenched in cold sweat.

"Next month, if the task completion rate is below ninety-three percent, you three need not remain as overseers."

As his words fell, Lin Chuan leaped away, seeming to vanish into thin air without a trace.

Only after he had been gone for more than a dozen breaths did the three dare let out a long sigh. After wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Wang Kui said coldly, "Brother He, Brother Liu, you saw the supervisor's attitude. Tell me what you think."

Brother He, as he was called, was a short young man. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. "Heavily punish those who failed to complete their tasks this month!"

The other man also said frostily, "Be severe and strict. We must raise the task completion rate."

Wang Kui nodded. After exchanging looks with the two, he walked to the table. "Silence! Task settlement begins now!"

The task settlement had little to do with Yang Chen. The tasks assigned to their small group were the simplest of all.

But for the very few disciples who had failed to complete their tasks, they would have no choice but to face harsh reprimands and deductions in resources.

After the task settlement came the much-anticipated distribution of next month's resources. As usual, Yang Chen received three Spirit Crystals and a bottle of Qi Strength Pills.

This brought his available Spirit Crystals to sixteen. Among the many Labor Disciples, he could be considered wealthy.

Once everything was concluded, Yang Chen left together with Zhu Xi.

On the road, Zhu Xi was visibly excited. "Old Yang, this cultivation Rankings Board is a hen that lays golden eggs. I have to charge my way onto it!"

"We must fight for a ranking, but getting onto the board won't be so easy."

Yang Chen naturally had every intention of competing, but he knew only too well how difficult it was to make the rankings. "This is for all the new disciples across the entire Nineteen Peaks. From what I understand, our batch at Nineteen Peaks alone has more than six thousand new disciples."

"There may be a lot of people, but I believe in myself!"

Zhu Xi was highly confident. He had improved tremendously this month, and that filled him with confidence for his cultivation ahead.

"Old Zhu, confidence is fine. Arrogance is not."

Yang Chen shook his head, far less optimistic than Zhu Xi. "Think about it. Why are we cultivating so quickly?"

"Among those six thousand people, do you think others don't have what we have? I doubt it. Not only do they have it, there are probably quite a few of them, and some may even possess more than we do."

"Think about Meng Shijun. He's a direct descendant of the Meng Clan of Leizhou. When he entered the sect, would he have carried fewer Spirit Crystals than us? He isn't an isolated case. In our Area 8, there are at least seven or eight people who can compare to Meng Shijun. And those three, including Xu Qingqing—I'd say they may even surpass Meng Shijun."

"When these people entered the sect, they were already Qi Martial Realm martial artists. Who knows how far their cultivation has risen after this month? So for the first month of the cultivation Rankings Board, we shouldn't place too much importance on it. That way, we won't be crushed by disappointment if our expectations are too high and we fail to make the board."

He had gradually learned about people like Meng Shijun and Xu Qingqing over the past month.

Meng Shijun was the thick-browed youth who had argued with him. He came from an extraordinary background, a direct descendant of the prominent Meng Clan of Leizhou.

The backgrounds of Xu Qingqing and the other two remained unknown. The three had always kept a low profile, but Yang Chen had the feeling that they were likely the new disciples in Area 8 with the deepest foundations—especially that young man surnamed Huang among them.

As for those who could rival him and Zhu Xi, he was not putting himself down when he said there were at least twenty or thirty such people.

Averaging it out, there would be no fewer than two or three hundred people across ten areas who could match them. Add in disciples with even deeper foundations than Meng Shijun, and Zhu Xi's chances of making the Rankings Board in the first month were virtually zero.

Even Yang Chen himself was not certain he could make it.

His words left Zhu Xi silent for a long while. "Old Yang, after knowing you for more than a month, I feel like I'm just a child who never grew up."

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"Come to think of it, those rumors back in Fulong County City really must have been slander against you. You're not some useless young master at all. On the contrary, you're an outstanding young talent with unwavering martial resolve and clear self-awareness."

Me? A useless young master?

Yang Chen was stunned for a moment.

But only for a moment. Then he shrugged helplessly, because according to his memories, he really had been somewhat ignorant and good-for-nothing.

But that dark bit of history had little to do with him, right...

"Haha, seeing you get stumped has put me in a great mood. I'll listen to you—we won't fight for it this month. We'll fight for next month instead!"

Zhu Xi laughed heartily and left, leaving Yang Chen looking somewhat disheveled in the wind.

"What kind of nonsense is this..."

Yang Chen muttered before returning to his residence as well.

The first thing he did upon returning was cultivate.

He believed that after Lin Chuan's warning, everyone would cultivate like mad from now on. Those disciples of humble origin who had been muddling along in confusion would surely have gotten on track after a month of stumbling and fumbling.

When everyone cultivated diligently, ruthless competition was inevitable.

Naturally, Yang Chen had no desire to remain beneath others. Wasn't it just a contest of who could grind harder? He had long been used to it.

The night passed without incident.

Before four in the morning, while the sky was still dark, Yang Chen woke early.

After a night's rest, he felt utterly refreshed.

Yet, hearing the scattered footsteps outside, he knew he had not risen particularly early. Still, getting up early was hardly any great talent.

The reason he could sleep until now was that his task was easy. That was called remaining calm and unhurried.

After washing up, he headed out. Naturally, his first destination was the dining hall. As he passed by it, he heard waves of astonished cries rising now and then from the nearby square.

"I'll eat first, then go take a look."

Yang Chen's resolve was firm. Eating was the important matter. As for the rankings, he knew that, as he was now, he probably had no chance of making the Rankings Board.

He still went up to the second floor. Only after eating and drinking his fill did he stroll unhurriedly to the square beside it.

At that moment, more than a hundred people stood in the square, the clamor unceasing. Most of the voices carried despairing disbelief.

Yang Chen walked up to the conspicuous Rankings Board and looked up.

It was one thing not to look, but the instant he did, even though he had long expected it, his expression changed drastically in shock.

[First Place: Zhang Zhixian, Cultivation: Qi Martial Seventh Level, Affiliated Area: Area 1]

[Second Place: Gu You, Cultivation: Qi Martial Sixth Level, Affiliated Area: Area 5]

[Third Place: Huang Tianyu, Cultivation: Qi Martial Sixth Level, Affiliated Area: Area 8]

[...]

[Eightieth-Second Place: Xu Qingqing, Cultivation: Qi Martial Fourth Level, Affiliated Area: Area 8]

[One Hundredth Place: Li Hanyu, Cultivation: Qi Martial Third Level, Affiliated Area: Area 7]

Looking at the names on the board, Yang Chen finally realized deeply just how laughable his previous judgment had been. He had thought he had seen through everything, but in truth, all he had seen was the tip of the iceberg.

Without this Rankings Board, no one would have believed that after merely one month since entering the sect, so many people had already reached such high levels of cultivation!

Still less would anyone have believed that someone at the Qi Martial Seventh Level could appear.

He took one deep look at the board, his desire to test his cultivation completely gone. Then he turned and strode away.