Heavenly Ranking

Tianzheng Academy is located on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, in the northwestern part of the Star Dou Forest.

On a day in June, three transfer students arrived in Class 2 of the junior division.

A little boy, a little girl, and a young woman in a white dress who carried herself with a mature, elegant air.

Within just a few days, Xue Qingwu had become the center of attention in Class 2.

All three of them had enrolled as commoners.

After spending a few days together, the three of them—Xue Yuheng, Xiao Xiao, and Xue Qingwu—quickly caught the attention of the dean due to the talent they displayed.

The dean's office was located at the far east end of the third floor of the teaching building, a space that was not large but showed traces of the passage of time everywhere.

Dark bookshelves stood against the walls, reaching from floor to ceiling, packed with yellowed soul master classics and neatly stacked student files.

On the main wall hung five faded yet still imposing portraits; they were the five founders of Tianzheng Academy. Below the portraits hung a black sandalwood plaque, inscribed with four vigorous, powerful characters: "Talent Above All."

Sitting behind the desk was a man nearing fifty, with a square face, thick eyebrows like ink, and temples already tinged with frost. He wore his white academy uniform stiffly and straight.

He was Zhao Yan, the dean of Tianzheng Academy, an eighty-seventh-level power attack system Soul Douara, known throughout the school for his impartiality and his tendency to protect his own students.

At this moment, he set down his fountain pen, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the three children standing before him, his tone softening a fraction: "Yuheng, Xiao Xiao, and Qingwu. Your talent surprises me."

"For those of you from commoner backgrounds, having such talent can also be a form of suffering."

"Of course, as long as you are at my Tianzheng Academy, I will mobilize every resource to cultivate you."

"Next, I want to introduce you to the unique grade promotion system of Tianzheng Academy."

"It is called the Heavenly Ranking."

"Our Tianzheng Academy was founded two thousand one hundred and thirty-seven years ago by five like-minded Title Douluo."

Zhao Yan's voice deepened, carrying a hint of genuine pride.

"These five predecessors were all brilliant and talented individuals. Since none would submit to the others, they erected a stone tablet in the back mountains of the academy and carved their names on it to compete for superiority. This was the original Heavenly Ranking."

"Later, their competition influenced the entire atmosphere of the academy. Students followed suit, and the Heavenly Ranking gradually evolved from a ranking of Title Douluo into a ranking for all our students, eventually becoming the academy's official rule for grade promotion."

He pointed to a massive electronic screen hanging on the wall, where a dense list of names and numbers scrolled by. "In every grade, only the top one hundred students on the Heavenly Ranking are qualified to advance to the next grade."

"The rest must either repeat the grade or withdraw from the academy."

"The Heavenly Ranking is divided into three types: the Singles Ranking, the Doubles Ranking, and the Seven-Person Team Battle Ranking."

Zhao Yan continued, counting on his fingers, "To accommodate these ranking battles, the academy has built thirty-six martial arts arenas with different environments, ranging from plains, forests, and deserts to ice fields, volcanoes, and the deep sea—everything you could imagine."

"There are also hundreds of simulated cultivation grounds where the soul power concentration is three to ten times that of the outside world, and the environments can be simulated at will."

"The higher your ranking, the more resources you can obtain."

Speaking of this, Zhao Yan's tone grew noticeably heavier. "For every rank you climb, you earn corresponding academy contribution points. These points can be exchanged for soul guidance devices, soul bone fragments, rare medicinal herbs, and even exclusive access to the simulated cultivation grounds."

"The top three on the school-wide overall ranking can even directly receive a soul bone over ten thousand years old!"

"And for the number one on the overall ranking, the academy will dispatch a Soul Douluo-level teacher to personally hunt the most suitable soul ring for you."

These rewards were extremely tempting even for noble soul masters, let alone for the majority of Tianzheng students who came from commoner backgrounds.

Precisely because of this, the competition for the Heavenly Ranking was exceptionally fierce, with dozens of battles taking place on various arenas almost every day.

Zhao Yan picked up the enamel mug on his desk, took a sip of warm tea, and looked at the three of them, asking: "Do you have any other questions about the Heavenly Ranking?"

As his voice fell, the office remained silent for a few seconds.

Xue Yuheng, Xiao Xiao, and Xue Qingwu did not speak, but they exchanged a glance in unison.

In the air, a silent fighting spirit quietly rose.

Geniuses also need to be tempered.

Xue Yuheng intended to transplant this entire system to Shrek; that was the reason he had chosen Tianzheng Academy.

Soul masters were not ascetics, and rote, step-by-step meditation was far too boring.

Zhao Yan looked at the fighting spirit in the eyes of the three and nodded with satisfaction, a rare smile appearing on his face: "Very good, that is the right spirit to have. Let me tell you about the specific challenge rules."

"For the Singles Ranking, students with lower rankings can challenge students within ten ranks above them. However, the difference in soul power levels between the two parties cannot exceed three levels, otherwise, the challenge is invalid. This is to prevent people from maliciously harassing the cultivation of higher-level students."

"If the challenge is successful, the two swap rankings."

"If the challenge fails, you cannot initiate another challenge for three days."

"The Doubles Ranking involves 2v2 battles with teams of two. Rankings are calculated by team; you can freely choose your teammates or disband and reorganize at any time."

"As for the Seven-Person Team Battle Ranking, that is specifically used to select the team for the Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition. Only students in the fifth and sixth years of the advanced division can participate, so it has nothing to do with the three of you for now."

Time flew by, and soon it was the last day of June.

After school, Xue Yuheng took Xiao Xiao and Xue Qingwu to the cafeteria for a simple meal of two meat dishes and one vegetable.

The glow of the setting sun spilled in through the cafeteria windows, casting a warm golden hue over the bustling dining hall.

The three finished their meal in a hurry and headed toward the advanced division on the west side of the academy.

The registration office for the Heavenly Ranking was located in the martial arts arena hall of the advanced division.

The teacher in charge of registration was a middle-aged woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, who was currently looking down, organizing a thick stack of registration forms.

Seeing three children carrying small backpacks walk in, she paused for a moment, looked up, and asked, "Little ones, are you in the wrong place? The elementary division is to the east."

"Hello, Teacher. We are here to sign up for the Heavenly Ranking," Xue Yuheng stepped forward and said in a calm tone.

Upon hearing this, the female teacher nearly poked her fountain pen into the paper.

She looked the three of them up and down, noting that they were wearing elementary division uniforms and looked to be at most seven or eight years old. She couldn't help but laugh, "Stop joking, little ones. The Heavenly Ranking is for senior students. You are still too young; hurry back to class."

"We aren't joking, we really want to sign up," Xiao Xiao said, looking up with her small face, speaking earnestly.

Seeing their determined attitude, the female teacher shook her head helplessly, "Fine, then let's test your bone age first. That is the rule for registration; no one is an exception."

She led the three of them to a bone age tester in the corner of the hall. It was a silver instrument with a circular indentation in the center.

Based on the strength of a human's life force, it could accurately deduce the birth date of the person being tested.

"Just put your hand inside."

Xue Yuheng was the first to step forward, placing his right hand into the indentation.

A pale green light swept across his wrist, and a clear line of text immediately popped up on the instrument's screen.

Bone age: 7 years, 5 months.

The female teacher nodded and gestured for Xiao Xiao and Xue Qingwu to test in turn.

Xiao Xiao, bone age: 7 years, 4 months.

Xue Qingwu, bone age: 7 years exactly.

"You really are all seven years old," the female teacher frowned, but still pulled out three registration forms and handed them over, "Fill these out then. Martial Soul, spirit power level, and department—write them clearly."

The three took the pens, filled out the forms quickly, and handed them back.

The female teacher picked up the forms and glanced at them carelessly, but the expression on her face froze instantly.

The forms clearly stated:

Xue Yuheng, Martial Soul: Ice Jade Scorpion, level 15 assault-type spirit master.

Xiao Xiao, Martial Soul: Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, level 26 control-type spirit master.

Xue Qingwu, Martial Soul: Ice and Snow, level 28 control-type spirit master.

The female teacher took one look and jerked her head up, her eyes wide as saucers, "Did you fill these out randomly?

Seven years old, only one year since your Martial Soul awakening—how is it possible to have cultivated to over level twenty? This is absolutely impossible!"

"If you want to know if we filled them out randomly, just test our spirit power," Xue Yuheng pointed to the spirit power tester nearby.

The female teacher, half-doubting, led the three to the spirit power tester, "Fine, then test it. If you dare to lie, I will tell your head teacher."

Xue Yuheng stepped forward first and placed his right hand on the crystal ball of the tester.

A pale blue light lit up, and a number clearly jumped onto the crystal ball: 15.

The female teacher's brow furrowed even tighter.

Next was Xiao Xiao.

A dazzling green light bloomed, the number flickered a few times, and finally settled on: 26.

The female teacher's breathing became rapid.

Finally, it was Xue Qingwu's turn.

She placed her slender fingers gently on the crystal ball, and in an instant, a bone-chilling cold spread out, the pale blue light nearly swallowing the entire crystal ball.

The number jumped wildly, soaring all the way from 20, finally stopping steadily at: 28.

A deathly silence filled the hall.

The female teacher stared blankly at the number on the crystal ball, then looked at the three children standing before her without a change in expression; she didn't even notice her glasses sliding down to the tip of her nose.

She rubbed her eyes hard, thinking she had seen wrong, but those three numbers remained clearly displayed there.

"T-Teacher Li! Come over here quickly! Something huge has happened!" She suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted at the top of her lungs toward the venue manager not far away.

Teacher Li, who was patrolling the venue, heard the call and ran over quickly, "What is it, Teacher Zhang? Why are you shouting?"

"You—look for yourself!" Teacher Zhang pointed at the tester and then at the bone age records on the table, her voice trembling.

Teacher Li followed the direction she pointed, and when he saw the three spirit power numbers and the seven-year-old bone age noted beside them, he also froze in place, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

"S-seven years old? Level twenty-eight?" He muttered to himself, his face full of disbelief, "How is this possible? Even with innate full spirit power, it's impossible to cultivate to this level in one year!"

The two looked at each other, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

"Quick! Go call Director Zhao!" Teacher Li suddenly reacted, "Director Zhao must know about this!"

Less than ten minutes later, the dean, Zhao Yan, hurried over.

After hearing their report, he personally watched the three of them re-test their bone age and spirit power. The expression on his face shifted from initial surprise to disbelief, and finally, to undisguised excitement.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the waves in his heart, and looked at the three of them, his voice trembling slightly, "Good! Very good! I, Zhao Yan, have been teaching for thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen geniuses like you! My Tianzheng Academy has struck gold this time!"

"Since you insist on participating in the Heavenly Ranking, I will personally arrange your first opponents," Zhao Yan pondered for a moment, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

Then he turned his head toward the door and shouted, "Yu Mengdi, come in for a moment."

As soon as the words fell, a young girl dressed in the first-year uniform of the advanced division walked in slowly.

Xue Yuheng and the other two were all stunned.

This was an opponent who caught all three of them by surprise.

Angel Senior, Yu Mengdi.