Slapping Wind Thunder, One-Star Dou Saint

Central Continent, Wind Thunder Pavilion.

The massive square was utterly silent.

Countless Central Continent powerhouses invited by Thunder Venerable had gathered to witness Wind Thunder Pavilion make the ranking.

At this moment, they all looked at the embarrassed Thunder Venerable on the elevated platform with amusement in their eyes.

They wanted to laugh, but did not dare.

It was quite amusing.

Several days ago, Thunder Venerable had sent invitations to the famous clans and forces near Wind Thunder Pavilion, inviting them to watch the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking reveal the Ten Great Sects.

Even Myriad Sword Pavilion and Yellow Springs Pavilion, which were also part of the Four Pavilions,

had not been left out.

As for Thunder Venerable's thoughts,

everyone understood them clearly. He merely believed that with a Peak Three-Star Dou Venerate like him presiding over Wind Thunder Pavilion, it would definitely make the ranking.

That was also what most people had expected.

After all,

the strongest sect forces in the Central Continent

were none other than the eleven powers known as One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions.

And of those, Hall of Souls, Pill Tower, Tianming Sect, Flower Sect, Burning Flame Valley, Glacier Valley, and Sound Valley—

the seven sects—

were all stronger than Wind Thunder Pavilion.

Therefore, Thunder Venerable had never thought of forcing his way onto the ranking from the start.

Aside from those seven sect forces, the only ranked force remaining in the Central Continent was the Four Pavilions.

Starfall Pavilion had previously relied on Venerable Wind, a Peak Four-Star Dou Venerate,

to overpower Thunder Venerable, who was also a Peak Three-Star Dou Venerate.

Not to mention

that its strength had now soared.

After Yao Chen's resurrection, his cultivation had directly broken through to High-level Half-Saint.

Moreover, Starfall Pavilion had Xiao Yan, a monstrous genius who had killed Old Ghost Xing Zhai, a Peak Five-Star Dou Venerate of Hall of Souls, while possessing the cultivation of a Two-Star Dou Venerate.

Excluding the eight forces listed above,

Wind Thunder Pavilion, with Thunder Venerable, a Peak Three-Star Dou Venerate, presiding over it, was already the strongest sect in the Central Continent.

That was also the confidence that had allowed Thunder Venerable to invite the other forces to Wind Thunder Pavilion to witness the ranking together.

As for forces outside the Central Continent,

he had never considered them.

It was no secret that the powerful sects of the Central Continent considered themselves superior and looked down on the "east, west, south, and north" continents of the Dou Qi Continent from the bottom of their hearts...

Today,

Thunder Venerable had originally wanted people to envy and flatter him.

He had never expected the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking to slap him mercilessly.

The last-ranked member of the Ten Great Sects' Forces was Sound Valley, which he had never even considered competing with—and its strongest sect member was only an Initial Half-Saint!

In other words...

His Wind Thunder Pavilion did not even have the qualifications to take a seat at the table in this grand ceremony of the Heavenly Dao bestowing rewards upon the sects.

At this moment,

it was not only Thunder Venerable's face that was gloomy.

Even Venerate Sword and Venerate Yellow Springs beside him

looked as miserable as if they had eaten a fly. Before the tenth place had been revealed, the two of them had also fantasized that their own sects might make the ranking...

Looking at the generous rewards the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking had bestowed upon Sound Valley,

Thunder Venerable, Venerate Sword, and Venerate Yellow Springs were so envious their teeth ached, yet there was nothing they could do. They had been outmatched, and could only endure the humiliation.

After a long silence,

the three of them turned to look at one another.

Then, Thunder Venerable's unwilling murmur rang out faintly:

"Sound Valley, with an Initial Half-Saint presiding over it, only ranked tenth. It seems the waters of the Dou Qi Continent are deeper than we imagined!"

"This time, among the Central Continent's Four Pavilions, I'm afraid only Starfall Pavilion will make the ranking!"

At the same time,

in a pavilion atop a towering mountain somewhere in the Central Continent,

apart from Hun Tiandi,

the clan leaders of the six Ancient Dou Emperor Legacy Families—the Ancient Clan, Yan Clan, Lei Clan, Yao Clan, Ling Clan, and Shi Clan—were all seated in the pavilion, gazing at the scenes on the Light Screen in the void.

After seeing Sound Valley rank tenth,

Gu Yuan was stunned at first, then said in surprise, "Sound Valley is tenth? It seems our previous predictions were greatly mistaken."

"There are powerful sects on the continent that we have never known about."

Hearing this,

the Lei Clan's leader,

Lei Ying, a Late Eight-Star Dou Saint, immediately followed up, "Brother Gu, since the ranking differs from our predictions, how should we divide the allocation quotas we discussed earlier?"

Meeting the gazes of the other clan leaders,

Gu Yuan pondered briefly and soon came up with a solution.

He said, "How about this? Our six clans will first provide protection to the sects that make the ranking. As for the distribution of resources, we can discuss it after the sect rankings are finished."

"That works too!"

Faced with Gu Yuan's solution,

Lei Ying, Yan Jin, Yao Dan, and the other five clan leaders all nodded in agreement.

To their clans, although the rewards the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking had bestowed upon Sound Valley were extraordinary, they were nothing special.

The cultivation increase that had moved them and the Sect Protecting Grand Formation could not be traded away...

As for the Earth-tier High-grade Cultivation Method and battle technique, they, as Dou Emperor Legacy Families, were not lacking in them at all.

The ten Eighth-grade Pills were even less worth mentioning. Which of the Ancient Clans present did not have an eighth-grade alchemist?

Since that was the case,

it would be better to wait until the Gold Ranking was complete

and see what rewards the higher-ranked sects would receive, then distribute them all together. That would be more reasonable.

While the various forces were shocked and discussing the matter,

Sound Valley, at the Eye of the Storm, was currently divided into two sharply contrasting sides: some were delighted, while others were worried.

At that time,

in the void above Sound Valley,

stood a silver-haired old woman and a young woman in palace attire.

They were respectively Sound Valley's Old Ancestor, Grandma Fengqin, an Initial Half-Saint, and Sound Valley's Valley Master, Fairy Miaoyin, a Five-Star Dou Venerate.

Regarding the ranking and rewards the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking had granted Sound Valley,

although the two were extremely satisfied, not the slightest smile appeared on their faces. Instead, they gazed anxiously beyond the sect.

They formed a stark contrast with the elders and disciples below, who were celebrating Sound Valley's appearance on the ranking.

The reason they were so troubled at this moment

was very simple.

That was,

Sound Valley's Old Ancestor had already sensed

quite a few obscure yet powerful auras outside the valley.

Clearly, after making the ranking, Sound Valley had already been targeted by certain forces. Moreover, the other side possessed powerful strength and backing, enough to fearlessly face Sound Valley's Old Ancestor, who was about to break through to One-star Dou Saint.

"Miaoyin, although my Sound Valley has never fought for anything in the past,"

"if those people outside go too far, Sound Valley will never compromise!"

After Sound Valley's Old Ancestor finished speaking, the Valley Master, Fairy Miaoyin, immediately replied, "Rest assured, Old Ancestor. No matter how powerful the enemy is, Miaoyin will defend Sound Valley to the death!"

Just as Sound Valley's Old Ancestor was about to say something more,

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

countless dazzling streaks of golden light suddenly flew out of the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking, like falling meteors, and shot straight toward Sound Valley.

This commotion

instantly drew cheers from countless Sound Valley disciples.

Everyone understood that the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking was distributing the sect's rewards.

Then, under the gazes of countless onlookers, an extraordinarily dazzling streak of golden light first merged into Sound Valley's Sect Protecting Grand Formation.

It upgraded Sound Valley's Sect Protecting Grand Formation, which had been eroded by time, allowing it to withstand attacks from a One-star Dou Saint while accelerating the condensation of the world's energy within Sound Valley.

Next,

a command token controlling the Sect Protecting Grand Formation, two azure scrolls, and several Jade Bottles containing Eighth-grade Pills descended from the sky and floated before Sound Valley's Old Ancestor and the Valley Master.

The remaining golden lights

then scattered like flowers from heaven.

They surged separately into Sound Valley's Old Ancestor, the Valley Master, the elders, and all the disciples.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Accompanied by countless muffled sounds of breakthroughs,

the noises came from within the bodies of all Sound Valley's members.

Every member of Sound Valley rose by one star in strength.

The Valley Master, Fairy Miaoyin, rose from Mid Five-Star Dou Venerate to Mid Six-Star Dou Venerate.

As for Sound Valley's Old Ancestor, Grandma Fengqin, who had been an Initial Half-Saint,

after the strand of Heavenly Dao golden light that enhanced her cultivation entered her body,

her cultivation rose like a rocket, climbing straight past Intermediate Half-Saint and High-level Half-Saint before finally settling at Initial One-Star Dou Saint.

Boom~

Sensing the terrifying aura radiating from the Old Ancestor,

within Sound Valley below,

countless disciples clasped their hands toward Sound Valley's Old Ancestor standing in the void, their faces flushed with excitement as they said, "Congratulations, Old Ancestor, on advancing to Dou Saint!"