Dragon Ranking Grand Competition

Chu, Imperial Capital, Zhenguan Academy.

Today, this academy, as old as the Chu State itself, welcomed the annual Dragon Ranking Grand Competition.

From early morning, the area within a hundred-mile radius of Zhenguan Academy was buzzing with excitement. They were all from far and wide, gathered in the Imperial Capital today to witness the annual Dragon Ranking Grand Competition.

Every year, the Dragon Ranking Grand Competition is divided into two stages. The first stage is "Guardian Ranking," meaning the three hundred students who were on the Dragon Ranking in the previous session need to defend their positions during this stage.

In this stage, over ten thousand students from Zhenguan Academy can challenge the three hundred students on the Dragon Ranking. If the challenger wins, they inherit the Dragon Ranking position; the same applies to the defender.

The second stage is "Ascending the Ranking." After the first round of "Guardian Ranking," the three hundred outstanding students will engage in a battle for ranking on the Dragon Ranking, ultimately determining their positions.

Don't underestimate the rankings on the Dragon Ranking; even a difference of one position leads to vastly different treatment.

Especially the treatment for the top ten on the Dragon Ranking, which is exaggerated to an unimaginable degree.

This year's Dragon Ranking Grand Competition is once again held on the "Jiaolong Plain." This is the venue for past Dragon Ranking Grand Competitions and the birthplace of the Dragon Ranking. On the Jiaolong Plain stands a stone tablet that pierces the clouds.

The names of the three hundred students who make it onto the Dragon Ranking after the annual competition are carved onto it for all to admire.

Therefore, this stele is also known as the "Ascension Stele." Once on the Ascension Stele, one's life is no longer ordinary.

At a quarter past nine in the morning, the Jiaolong Plain was already packed with people. The surrounding grandstands were filled with spectators coming to watch the Dragon Ranking Grand Competition.

In the center of the grandstands, the Ascension Stele towered into the clouds.

Scattered around the Ascension Stele were three hundred arenas. These arenas will be the venue for the first round, "Guardian Ranking." The three hundred Dragon Ranking students will be on them, accepting challenges from all students within the academy.

"There are so many people!" Ma Feifei and his group found a spot in a grandstand and sat down, marveling at the sea of people around them.

The number of people within the Jiaolong Plain was no less than two hundred thousand!

This was the first time Ma Feifei had seen so many people gathered for an event since arriving in this world. Over two hundred thousand! What an astonishing number. It could only happen in this world of cultivation. Otherwise, given the distance between the grandstands and the arenas, ordinary people wouldn't be able to see clearly; they'd be smaller than ants. Without giant screens, it would be impossible to see the matches.

But in this world, for these cultivators, this distance is truly not an issue.

Ma Feifei and his companions had relatively good seats, located at the front of the grandstands. It was said that Zhou Guanyu obtained these tickets from his father. Such tickets were used to entertain distinguished guests from various countries, or important figures and powerful cultivators from the Chu State.

Zhou Zhuling and Yun Qingyang sat beside him, one on each side. Zhou Zhuling was fine; she had attended the Dragon Ranking Grand Competition before and was accustomed to such occasions. Yun Qingyang, like Ma Feifei, was looking around with curiosity. Hearing Ma Feifei's exclamation, she, who rarely spoke, couldn't help but nod in agreement, "There are indeed so many."

Zhou Guanyu sat next to Zhou Zhuling. Upon hearing this, his face lit up with pride, and he couldn't resist boasting, "This is nothing. Shopkeeper, you haven't seen our Chu State's national banquet; that's truly spectacular."

"National banquet?" Ma Feifei blinked, as if remembering something, and said, "You mean the national banquet held every five years by your Chu State's monarch?"

The current monarch of the Chu State, King Chu Saint, was the twelfth monarch of Chu. He had reigned for over two hundred years. Although King Chu Saint had only reigned for over two hundred years, his fame was second only to the founding monarch, Emperor Chu the Conqueror, making him one of the most renowned Chu monarchs.

To speak of King Chu Saint's great achievements, well, there weren't any significant ones. His cultivation was merely at the Spirit Venerable realm. So why was he famous? It was because during his reign, he established this national banquet held every five years.

The entire Chu State mobilized its resources to entertain guests from four nations.

Simply put, it was inviting people from other countries to Chu to eat, drink, and have fun, all for free! After they left, they would also be sent off with a large pile of gifts, treated so meticulously that no fault could be found.

Who wouldn't come for such a good deal? Thus, on the Azure Dragon Continent, the Chu State's national banquet was extremely famous. Each banquet could completely overwhelm the Imperial Capital's traffic.

Gathering two hundred thousand people in one place like this was nothing compared to the national banquet; those were calculated in the millions.

"Precisely!" Zhou Guanyu's expression was very excited. "King Chu Saint established the national banquet, celebrating with the entire nation and its people, allowing all nations to pay homage and experience the five thousand years of Chu's splendor. Such an event is unprecedented."

"King Chu Saint is comparable to the Conqueror!"

Ma Feifei sat listening to Zhou Guanyu's words and couldn't help but curl his lips, thinking to himself that this was another fanboy of King Chu Saint. There were two views on King Chu Saint's establishment of the national banquet: one was that King Chu Saint's actions not only showcased the Great Chu's heritage and allowed the Great Chu to enjoy the treatment of all nations paying homage but also boosted the prosperity of the entire Great Chu. It was a feat comparable to Emperor Chu the Conqueror founding the Chu State.

The other view was that although King Chu Saint gained considerable honor outwardly, he was actually depleting the Great Chu's foundation. If this continued, the Great Chu would head towards decline, even annihilation, under King Chu Saint's leadership.

Of course, the majority held the first view.

When it reached the level of national honor, Ma Feifei found it difficult to argue with him. As someone from Huaxia, a civilization with five thousand years of history, Ma Feifei had seen too many dynastic rises and falls in history books. History had already provided a clear answer for actions like King Chu Saint's.

Zhou Zhuling, however, had been observing Ma Feifei. Having known him for a long time, she understood some of his subtle actions. Seeing him curl his lips, she couldn't help but ask, "Brother Ma seems to have a different opinion on the national banquet?"

Ma Feifei shook his head. This matter really had nothing to do with him; what was the point of discussing it? Just as he was about to speak, the surrounding environment suddenly fell silent. Ma Feifei looked up and saw that everyone's attention was focused below. Following their gaze, Ma Feifei saw a middle-aged man standing in the air above the arenas.

"That's my father," Zhou Zhuling whispered.

The Vice Dean of Great Chu's Zhenguan Academy, the Wuji Spirit Emperor—Zhou Wuji.

Ma Feifei nodded. The middle-aged man bore a slight resemblance to Zhou Zhuling, with a feminine appearance for a male. It wasn't difficult to guess their relationship.

The vast Jiaolong Plain fell silent. Zhou Wuji, standing in the air, surveyed the surroundings and said with a smile, "It is once again time for Zhenguan Academy's annual Dragon Ranking Grand Competition. As the Vice Dean of Zhenguan Academy, I, Zhou Wuji, welcome everyone who has traveled from afar to witness this Dragon Ranking Grand Competition on behalf of Zhenguan Academy."

As his voice fell, thunderous applause lasted for nine seconds.

When the applause stopped, Zhou Wuji continued, "We are honored to have invited renowned figures from the Azure Dragon Continent to watch this year's Dragon Ranking Grand Competition. I will now introduce them one by one: they are, King Chu Saint of Chu State, King Yan Heng of Yan State, Chu Saint, Yan Sage, Zhao Saint, Crown Prince Zhao..."