Fearsome Numbers

At that moment, everyone across the Great Profound Realm turned their eyes to the sky.

After rising into the air, the Human Ranking unfurled slowly, like a scroll.

It seemed to be spreading until it covered the entire sky. Yet the ranking was completely blank.

"W-what's going on? Does anyone know?"

"No idea. I've never seen anything like this."

"Could something major have happened?"

"Obviously! Do you even need to ask? Something huge must have happened."

For a time, people throughout the Great Profound Realm speculated among themselves. After all, few truly knew of the Human Ranking or what it was for.

"I never thought that after all this time, the Heaven Earth Human Three Rankings would finally appear again."

"The opening of the Human Ranking marks the start of another cycle!"

"Who will stand out this time, and who will be swept off the stage of history?"

Inside the royal palace of the Great Zhou Kingdom, Chen Changan looked up at the Human Ranking spread across the sky, then turned to Da Huang in confusion.

"Da Huang, have you seen this before? What is it?" Chen Changan asked.

"Never seen it. But... it feels like something extraordinary."

"Of course it's extraordinary. Even a fool can tell that."

Seeing that Da Huang didn't know either, Chen Changan didn't press him. Instead, he waited to see whether anything else would change in the strange spectacle overhead.

A moment later, rows of tiny words began to appear on the Human Ranking.

The characters were small and high in the sky, yet strangely, cultivators and ordinary people alike could see them clearly.

It was as if the words were floating right before their eyes. As long as they looked up, they could read what was written.

"The Human Ranking has opened? So that's what this thing is called?"

"What's the Human Ranking? What does it do?"

"Probably some kind of ranking. As for what it's for, I don't know."

"Stop talking. The rules are below. Read them yourselves."

The Human Ranking has opened. The rules are as follows:

Anyone in the Great Profound Realm under the age of thirty may participate, whether a cultivator or not.

The first stage ranks participants according to their cultivation level.

The competition will last three years. The rankings will be updated once a year. After three years, the final list will be determined, with five hundred people selected.

Those on the ranking will receive a gift from the Heavenly Dao.

A gift from the Heavenly Dao?

Those who made the ranking could actually receive a gift from the Heavenly Dao?

That reward was enough to drive everyone wild.

Even some of the heaven's favored ones who had already heard rumors of it couldn't help but feel their blood surge and their hearts pound when they saw the rules.

"The first stage?"

"Does that mean there's a second stage?"

"The last time the Human Ranking appeared, it wasn't this complicated."

When the Human Ranking's rules appeared, Mu Yunyao furrowed her brow.

She had experienced the previous appearance of the Heaven Earth Human Three Rankings. Back then, the Human Ranking had only held preliminary selections: five hundred of the most talented young people were chosen, then they competed for the Earth Ranking.

But this time, the words "first stage" had appeared. That meant that after the five hundred were selected, there would likely be a second round of evaluation.

"Hey, more words are appearing."

"I-is that the ranking? Wasn't it supposed to be updated once a year? Why is it appearing now?"

"I get it. It must be an initial assessment and ranking of the talented younger generation in our Great Profound Realm."

"This is so exciting! I want to see how powerful the number-one young person is."

"Even a genius under thirty has limits, right? It can't be that outrageous."

"It's here! Damn, they're starting with the number one?"

As everyone discussed it, they realized the first name on the list was, in fact, the top-ranked person.

First place: Nie Haotian, age: twenty-nine, cultivation: Spirit Transformation Realm, first level

Spirit Transformation Realm?

A twenty-nine-year-old in the Spirit Transformation Realm?

"What level of cultivation is the Spirit Transformation Realm?"

"I... I've never heard of it. The highest realm I know is the Divine Ability Realm."

"That's terrifying. The outside world must be dangerous, huh?"

"What's it got to do with you? It's not like you can leave."

"Hmph. Can't I just say what I'm thinking?"

"Sure, sure. Go ahead and think away."

With the first name revealed, everyone began talking at once.

Seeing the ranking announced, Nie Haotian wore a proud expression.

"As expected, I'm the number-one young person. No one else could be," Nie Haotian said smugly.

"Damn it! We're both at the first level of the Spirit Transformation Realm. Why does he get first place?"

"This is outrageous! I refuse to accept it!"

Second place: Ye Beiming, age: twenty-nine, cultivation: Spirit Transformation Realm, first level

Third place: Gu Fengyao, age: twenty-nine, cultivation: Spirit Transformation Realm, first level

Fourth place...

As the names were revealed one by one, everyone discovered that all five of the top five were at the first level of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Their age and cultivation level stunned countless people across the Great Profound Realm.

At the same time, it made them realize what a gulf in strength really meant.

The Spirit Transformation Realm was a height many people would never reach in their entire lives. Yet these young people had reached it before turning thirty.

"Old Ancestor, I... I made the ranking too, but my position..."

Chen Yunxuan finally found himself on the list, but his rank was far too low.

He was ranked thousands of places down, which was quite a blow to Chen Yunxuan.

"The Great Profound Realm is vast. Reaching the Transcendent Realm at sixteen is already quite impressive."

"Those others are only ahead of you because they have an advantage in age."

"You're already at the Transcendent Realm. If you had another ten years or so, what level of cultivation would you reach?"

"Don't lose heart. You still have three years."

Hearing Chen Changan's words, Chen Yunxuan took a deep breath and steadied himself.

"The Old Ancestor is right."

"There are still three years. They only started cultivating a few years before I did."

"I'm going to fight for a place on this Human Ranking."

Seeing that Chen Yunxuan hadn't been affected too badly, Chen Changan nodded in satisfaction.

Unfortunately, this had nothing to do with him. He was simply far too old.

"Da Huang, what are you staring at?"

Seeing Da Huang fixed on the ranking without moving, Chen Changan asked curiously.

"I'm wondering if this ranking is going to list every person under thirty."

"How many names would that be?"

"There must be a lot of people under thirty in the Great Profound Realm."

"Hm?"

"How many are listed now?"

"397,857,653."

How had so many names appeared in such a short time?

Chen Changan looked up too and saw that the list was filling at astonishing speed. Nearly a hundred names appeared in the blink of an eye.

"It's reached a billion! It's passed a billion!"

"So many people? That's insane!"

"Oh my god, with that many people, they're only choosing five hundred in the end? This isn't one in ten thousand. It's one in tens of millions!"

Only then did everyone begin to grasp the population of the Great Profound Realm.

There were already so many people under thirty. How many were there altogether? How many would that make?

Yet the number kept climbing, as though the list would soon fill the entire sky.

"Isn't this a bit ridiculous?"

"Look, even the names of little kids just a few years old are appearing now."

"Does the Human Ranking really think these kids can qualify within three years?"

"What do you know? The Human Ranking was formed by the Heavenly Dao. Those are the rules."

"So everyone's name will appear as long as they meet the rules? Even if they have no chance of making the ranking?"

"Exactly!"

"Damn, is it over? Has it ended?"

"Looks like no new names are appearing."

"There are 2.8 billion! There are actually more than 2.8 billion people!"

It was a terrifying number, but it included everyone under thirty—even newborns.

"Is that all?"

"W-why did the Human Ranking disappear?"

Once the list had been fully revealed, the Human Ranking suddenly vanished from the sky.

"I understand now. It should appear again in a year, when the ranking is updated!"