Consecutive Rankings, The Soul Clan Withdraws

[Family Ranking, Eighth Place: Central Continent—Shi Clan]

[Reason for Being on the List: The Shi Clan was one of the Eight Ancient Clans of the Dou Qi Continent. Its Direct Lineage Clan Members and millions of Descendants lived inside the Independent Space, the Stone Realm, opened by their Dou Emperor ancestor;

The Shi Clan's members also possessed the Dou God Bloodline. Their bloodline and cultivation methods emphasized defense. Their physical bodies were unparalleled, and their defensive power was astonishing.

The Shi Clan Patriarch was a late-stage Six-star Dou Saint. The Great Elder was an Early Six-star Dou Saint. The clan also had several Dou Saint elders and countless experts. With its profound foundation and overall strength, it ranked eighth on the Family Ranking.]

[Reward for being on the list: One Heaven-tier Intermediate Cultivation Method and one Heaven-tier Intermediate Legacy Secret Technique.]

[All members of the Shi Clan increased by one star in rank.]

[Three clusters of Nine-grade Dou God Bloodline Origin belonging to the Shi Clan. (Fusing with the origins granted the potential to advance to the Dou Saint realm, with no bottlenecks before the Dou Zun realm.)]

[Special Reward: The Bloodline Concentration of all Shi Clan members increased by one grade, or—visible only to the clan patriarch—choose one of the two.]

With the Ling Clan's appearance earlier as a prelude,

the Shi Clan, another Dou Emperor Legacy Family, appearing on the list this time did not stir up too great a commotion across the continent.

The discussion was fairly ordinary.

As for the disappearance of the Ling Clan's Spirit Realm, apart from the Soul Clan, the other Ancient Clans still knew nothing about it.

Therefore,

the outside world remained quite peaceful.

Under the gaze of countless people, the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking soon announced the seventh place on the Family Ranking.

[Family Ranking, Seventh Place: Central Continent—Yao Clan]

[Reason for Being on the List: The Yao Clan was one of the Eight Ancient Clans of the Dou Qi Continent. The clan was located in the Medicine Realm, deep within the Shennong Mountain Range in the extreme south of the Central Continent;

Its members possessed the Dou God Bloodline and specialized in alchemy, with powerful souls;

The clan possessed the tenth-ranked Nine Nether Wind Flame and the thirteenth-ranked Turtle Spirit Earth Fire on the Heavenly Flame Ranking as its inheritance flames.

The clan leader, Yao Dan, was a Mid Seven-star Dou Saint and a Grandmaster Alchemist capable of refining Ninth-Grade Profound Pills;

Elder Yao Wanhuo was a Six-star Dou Saint and a Grandmaster Alchemist capable of refining Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills. The clan also had several Dou Saint elders and countless alchemists. With its profound foundation and overall strength, it ranked seventh on the Family Ranking.]

[Reward for being on the list: Two Heaven-tier Intermediate Cultivation Methods and two Heaven-tier Intermediate Legacy Secret Techniques.]

[All members of the Yao Clan increased by one star in rank.]

[Four clusters of Nine-grade Dou God Bloodline Origin belonging to the Yao Clan. (Fusing with the origins granted the potential to advance to the Dou Saint realm, with no bottlenecks before the Dou Zun realm.)]

[Special Reward: The Bloodline Concentration of all Yao Clan members increased by one grade, or—visible only to the clan leader—choose one of the two.]

"!!!"

"Wo Cao, the Yao Clan actually has a Grandmaster Alchemist capable of refining Ninth-Grade Profound Pills!"

"They even have two such divine objects as inheritance flames. As expected of a Dou Emperor Legacy Family, their foundation is terrifying..."

"With the Gold Ranking's reward, their clan will only grow stronger. I wonder when the Gold Ranking's rewards will fall into the hands of ordinary people like us..."

"..."

While the outside world was filled with discussion,

the Shi Clan Patriarch and Yao Clan Leader, who had just received the Heavenly Dao Blessing, were caught in a difficult choice.

The reason was that neither clan leader had chosen to increase their clansmen's Bloodline Concentration.

Instead, they had selected the second special reward, obtaining the Shi Clan Chronicle and Yao Clan Chronicle, which recorded the life histories of their respective clans.

After reading the contents of the two chronicles,

and learning that the Shi Clan and Yao Clan would be annihilated by the Soul Clan in the future,

although they stood in different places, the Shi Clan Patriarch and Yao Clan Leader murmured almost simultaneously, "In other words, the Nine-star Dou Saint mentioned by the Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall back then was the Nihility Devouring Flame..."

"Dividing the Tunling Clan... extracting the bloodlines of the Dou Emperor families..."

"So this is the secret behind the Soul Clan's enduring prosperity and its Dou God Bloodline never withering!"

Inside the Stone Realm,

the Shi Clan Patriarch fell silent for a moment.

Then he took out the Space Stone that the Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall had given him half a year earlier and murmured, "I didn't expect this step to come so soon."

"Does the Seven Star Palace possess the ability to predict the future..."

Soon, the Shi Clan Patriarch truthfully told the clan elders about meeting the Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall in the Meteor God Ice Plain and everything they had discussed.

After learning everything, the Shi Clan elders held an intense discussion and voted on the matter.

Knowing that their chances of surviving after being targeted by the Soul Clan were slim, they ultimately made the same choice as the Ling Clan. They crushed the Space Stone and agreed to become an Affiliated Clan of the Seven Star Palace.

Before long,

Lin Yuan used the same method to move the Shi Clan's Stone Realm to the Meteor God Ice Plain, placing it right beside the Spirit Realm.

When the Shi Clan Patriarch and the elders emerged from the Stone Realm with faces full of shock,

the scene before them

made all their pupils contract abruptly.

The reason was that, besides the masked Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall, there was also the entrance to the Spirit Realm and the figure of the Ling Clan Patriarch.

The moment he saw the Ling Clan Patriarch, the Shi Clan Patriarch blurted out, "Why are you here too? Could it be that the Ling Clan was also targeted by the Soul Clan?"

"Of course!"

"Given Hun Tiandi's temperament, would he attack only one clan?"

Hearing this, the Ling Clan Patriarch said irritably, "Our situation was far more dangerous than the Shi Clan's at the time. The Nihility Devouring Flame had nearly reached the entrance to the Spirit Realm..."

Before the Shi Clan members could recover,

a new Spatial Gate suddenly appeared beside the Spirit Realm and Stone Realm. Faintly, the fragrance of medicine wafted out from within.

Under the gazes of countless people,

Yao Dan, the Yao Clan Leader, soon emerged with many elders.

The instant he saw the Ling Clan Patriarch and Shi Clan Patriarch, Yao Dan's entire body jolted. He immediately realized that since the Soul Clan had already attacked his Yao Clan, how could it possibly spare the weaker Ling Clan and Shi Clan?

Seeing that all three clans had arrived,

the Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall did not wait for them to continue chatting.

He said directly, "Since everyone has arrived, the three of you clan leaders will come with me to meet the Mistress. The three clans' elders will stay behind and handle the aftermath."

With that said,

the space before the Hall Master of Tian Quan Hall collapsed, and a Spatial Channel suddenly took shape. He stepped into it, and the Three Clan Leaders followed closely behind.

On the other side,

the Soul Clan Experts, including the Nihility Devouring Flame, were still heading toward the Shi Clan.

Suddenly, Hun Yan, one of the Four Demon Sages, seemed to have received some intelligence.

With a look of shock, he said to the Nihility Devouring Flame, "I just received a message. The clansmen responsible for monitoring the Shi Clan personally saw the entrance to the Stone Realm disappear... It disappeared—it didn't close."

As Hun Yan's voice fell,

Hun Sha, one of the Four Demon Sages, immediately spoke as well, "The same thing happened to the Yao Clan. It disappeared without warning!"

"What!"

The Nihility Devouring Flame cried out instinctively, "The Shi Clan and Yao Clan have disappeared too? Damn it, this must be related to the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking's reward!"

"Is this Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking targeting our Soul Clan?"

"Has the clan sent any information?"

Hearing this, Hun Yan immediately reported, "After learning of the situation, the clan leader ordered us to return first and temporarily stop all operations!"

"Furthermore, the Ancient Clan still has Dou Saint elders and geniuses from the Ling Clan, Shi Clan, and Yao Clan. The three clans won't abandon them. Once the Heavenly Tomb ends, they will eventually reveal a flaw."

"The clan leader said that they might escape for a time, but not forever."

"Let's first see what the Gold Ranking's reward for our Soul Clan is, and then discuss the rest."

Hearing this,

the Nihility Devouring Flame was just about to say something.

Unexpectedly, in the next instant, the Heavenly Dao Gold Ranking high in the firmament suddenly rang out with a Dragon Roar that shook the Nine Heavens.