"All right."
Young Master Jing waved a hand. "I won't pry into your private affairs, elder brother, but Soul Dissolution is dangerous. You must be careful."
With that, he looked toward the Auction Stage.
Seeing nothing worthwhile, he withdrew his gaze. "The unexplored regions of the Star Ruins are too far away from us. Even if you go there, elder brother, you won't be able to reach them. I'll tell you about the distribution of powers within the accessible areas, so you know what to expect."
"Wonderful."
Chen Lin leaned in, making a show of listening attentively.
Young Master Jing was greatly pleased and immediately began his explanation.
"First are the Ten Great Powers of the Central Area."
"First is the Celestial God Palace, second is Yin-Yang Island, third is Three Rooms, and fourth is Four Seasons Villa, which backs the Lake-Fishing Old Man."
He did not pause.
Taking another breath, he continued, "Fifth is Five Elders City, sixth is the Six Paths Samsara Hall, and seventh used to be this Seven-Star Realm. After the Star Lord and Saintess Heqing disappeared, the realm's grade fell, reducing it to an insignificant backwater. The Seven Passions Sect took its place."
"Eighth is Eight Trees, ninth is the Nine Monster Realm, and tenth is Ten-Surname Village."
Chen Lin looked puzzled.
He had heard of at least half these ten powers, and even Yin-Yang Island was among them. Yet listing them by the numbers in their names rather than their rankings felt rather strange.
So he asked, "Why arrange them by number? Is there some significance to it?"
"Not really."
Young Master Jing shook his head.
"Some busybody arranged them that way to make them easier to remember. Their relative strength happened to match that order back then, so it caught on."
"But times