The Eighth Person

"Hahaha! I've finally broken through!"

Somewhere in the residential area, Wei Xiao's wild laughter suddenly erupted. His face was flushed red, and he was full of high spirits. "Yang Chen! Your temporary lead was always fake. Now that I've broken through before you, leaping into the top ten, I wonder what you'll think when you see this ranking?"

"And Xue Cang, what's so arrogant about being tenth on the board? From now on, I will be above you!"

Wei Xiao had been under a lot of pressure during this time. The main source of pressure came from Yang Chen, who gave people a chilling feeling at the end of every month because he improved so quickly.

Wei Xiao considered himself a genius and didn't lack Spirit Crystals, yet he could only watch as Yang Chen surpassed him step by step. He saw it with his eyes and felt anxious in his heart. Now that he had broken through first, he could finally hold his head high!

Not only did he suppress Yang Chen, but he also firmly suppressed the arrogant Xue Cang.

"I remember checking this morning, and only the top seven had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm. I must be eighth on the board now!"

Wei Xiao was beaming with pride. After a moment of daydreaming, he couldn't sit still any longer. He opened the door and headed towards the plaza. He wanted to immediately have his name enter the top ten and show everyone who the real genius was.

And as he was rushing towards the cultivation rankings board, Xue Cang, having finished his cultivation, was already heading towards the cultivation rankings board ahead of him.

His expression wasn't very good. He had originally thought he would definitely break through this time, but he didn't expect to still be a little short.

Compared to others, his position was somewhat awkward. If he wasn't careful, someone would replace him. The anxiety in his heart was imaginable.

"When I checked before, only seven people had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm. I will definitely break through tomorrow. It won't be difficult to maintain a spot in the top ten, and I might even have a chance to improve by one rank!"

Xue Cang thought this and quickened his pace towards the plaza. Before he even got close, he heard many exclamations of disbelief.

"Not good!"

Xue Cang's heart sank. He guessed that someone else had probably broken through. He cursed inwardly and accelerated again. After approaching the plaza, he looked up and was instantly struck as if by lightning!

"This is impossible!"

Xue Cang exclaimed in exasperation, only to see that the eighth spot on the board had inexplicably become Yang Chen's! And he had become eleventh!

Furthermore, it wasn't seven people who had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm, but nine! He simply couldn't believe it was true.

"It's Senior Brother Xue!"

"Senior Brother Xue, someone as powerful as him, has actually fallen out of the top ten. It's truly terrifying."

"Who would have thought Senior Brother Yang would be so fierce, breaking through to the Blood Martial Realm before others and directly rising from eleventh to eighth place."

"Amazing! This is the highest ranking in our area besides Senior Brother Huang!"

Xue Cang listened to the discussions around him, his face burning with shame.

He had held a spot in the top ten of the cultivation rankings for a full ten months, only to be kicked out of the top ten today. This was simply a deep humiliation!

"Qingqing, just watch. I will definitely get eighth place this time!"

Not far away, Wei Xiao and Xu Qingqing arrived together.

"Huh? Why are there so many people today?"

While chatting, Wei Xiao saw the crowds in the plaza and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Except for the end of the month, there were usually only one or two dozen people under the cultivation rankings board on normal days. Now, at a glance, there were at least a hundred people.

Xu Qingqing was also a little puzzled. The two quickened their pace to the edge of the plaza and saw the changes on the cultivation rankings board almost at the same time.

"What!"

Wei Xiao's eyes widened, unable to believe that Yang Chen had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm before him!

But the facts were right in front of him. Yang Chen had not only broken through but was now ranked eighth. All his calculations had gone awry, and he felt extremely distressed.

He looked at Xu Qingqing and saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes. His heart felt like it was being twisted. He had feelings for Xu Qingqing, and many people knew this. But they were too familiar, so familiar that Xu Qingqing had always treated him as a brother, with no romantic feelings whatsoever.

But even if he had no chance, he didn't want Xu Qingqing to fall for someone else, especially that guy Yang Chen!

"How on earth did he cultivate?"

Xu Qingqing felt curiosity towards Yang Chen for the first time. She considered herself to be diligent in her cultivation and had ample resources, yet her progress speed was still no match for Yang Chen's.

She still needed at least four or five days to possibly break through, which meant the other person had already left her behind.

"Move aside, move aside!"

Wei Xiao, somewhat emotionally charged, directly shouted at the crowd and rushed to the Testing Stele, smashing it with his fist.

The next moment, a number appeared on the Testing Stele – 18,506 kilograms!

Seeing this number, many people around exclaimed again, "Senior Brother Wei has also broken through to the Blood Martial Realm!"

Many people's gazes were drawn, and heated discussions started again.

But Wei Xiao had no time to listen to these flattering words. He could only look powerlessly at the cultivation rankings board.

The cultivation rankings board had changed. He had risen from twelfth to tenth place!

But he couldn't be happy at all. The joy of breaking through to the Blood Martial Realm was torn to shreds the moment he saw Yang Chen's name.

He was unhappy, but someone was even more unhappy than him.

"He broke through too! Damn it, damn it!"

Xue Cang saw that Wei Xiao had also broken through to the Blood Martial Realm, his face so dark it could drip water. He stared fixedly at the rankings, no longer able to bear staying there, and almost scurried away in shame.

At this point, ten people had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm on the cultivation rankings board.

For many, the Blood Martial Realm was a distant goal. Among the disciples in the same cohort as Yang Chen and others, there were even those at the Qi Martial Third Level.

Several people stood in the crowd, their eyes filled with dejection.

They had joined the sect at the same time. Some had already become as brilliant as the sun and moon, while they were like faint dust, unnoticed by anyone.

News of the Rankings Board's changes spread like wildfire, reaching even some of the older disciples.

Some sighed in admiration, others seethed with anger and jealousy, and some even cursed heaven and earth for their unfairness.

All these situations were delivered to the desks of the ten stewards. Lin Chuan, his expressionless face, looked at the collected information and snorted, "A bunch of ungrateful wretches. If it weren't for Uncle-Master Du Ling's compassion for the lower-tier disciples, would you even have the right to complain!"

People don't resent poverty, but inequality. This was especially evident in the Sun Moon Sword Sect.

Resources were limited, and the sect's priority was to cultivate those who excelled at each stage. The cultivation Rankings Board was an opportunity for everyone; if you couldn't make it, why harbor resentment?

If it were up to him, troublemakers would be severely punished.

It was just that he didn't have the authority, nor did he dare to act that way. The base of lower-tier disciples was enormous, and within such a large base, there would still be some who could break through.

To prevent these individuals from harboring resentment towards the sect or their fellow disciples, the higher-ups had always adopted a lenient attitude towards the lower-tier disciples.

Therefore, while cultivating outstanding disciples, they couldn't neglect the feelings of the lower-tier disciples. They had to be given care from time to time, such as occasionally distributing a few Spirit Crystals to appease them, letting them know the sect cared about them.

Another example was the existence of the Hemp-Clad Society. Why did the higher-ups turn a blind eye? It was because of their leniency, giving some disciples from impoverished backgrounds a chance. Otherwise, if they dared to scheme for the spirit fields, even inner disciples would surely die.

Lin Chuan put down the intelligence report and looked at the cultivation Rankings Board in his hand, his mood finally improving.

"It seems that under my leadership, Area 8 still has some outstanding disciples."

Nineteen Peaks was divided into ten districts, and the Rankings Board was for the entire Nineteen Peaks. Currently, three of the top ten spots were from Area 8, occupying nearly half the territory. Who could say this wasn't his achievement?