Twentieth and Nineteenth Place on the Heavenly Pride Ranking! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

[Three Realms Heavenly Pride Ranking · Human Ranking 20th Place: Nanjiang Martial Arts University, Zhang Xuan!]

[Zhang Xuan, Rank-1 realm, excellent aptitude, perseverance far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Although born into poverty and hardship, he was able to tenaciously test into a martial arts university and join the ranks of martial artists; his future is immeasurable.]

"Who is Zhang Xuan? Where did this nobody come from!"

"What! It's actually Zhang Xuan from Nanjiang Martial Arts University, how is this possible!"

"Unbelievable, Zhang Xuan actually made it onto the Heavenly Pride Ranking!"

"Twentieth place on the Heavenly Pride Ranking... inconceivable!"

"..."

The entire Capital Base exploded in an instant!

Zhang Xuan, a sophomore at Nanjiang Martial Arts University, was at the peak of Rank-1.

Among all the Rank-1 martial artists in the Capital Base, his combat power was not particularly outstanding, nor did he have any special traits.

No one expected that the first prodigy to make the list would be him!

Especially since Zhang Xuan and Wang Jinyang were in the same cohort and were fellow disciples.

Wang Jinyang was Rank-4, while Zhang Xuan was only Rank-1.

It was only natural for people to think he was weak.

Wang Jinyang's expression was solemn, though he wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, Zhang Xuan's parents had both passed away, and he had grown up in an orphanage yet still managed to test into a martial arts university and successfully break through to become a martial artist by his sophomore year!

Even if he had only tempered his bones once, his talent, perseverance, and temperament were ranked highly among his peers—at the very least, he surpassed 90% of martial arts university students!

Students from ordinary families had it incredibly hard; most families had to exhaust the majority of their savings just to buy a single Vitality Pill that cost ten thousand yuan.

Not to mention buying the even more expensive Bone Tempering Pill for bone tempering.

"Zhang Xuan, you're in trouble!"

Wang Jinyang's eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Zhang Xuan solemnly.

He had a very good relationship with Zhang Xuan, so naturally, he was concerned for him.

Even without making the list, Zhang Xuan would have been targeted if he participated in the Three Realms Martial Arts Exchange Tournament.

Now that he had made the Heavenly Pride Ranking—and was the first human martial artist to do so—there would inevitably be many enemies wanting to use him as a stepping stone to make a name for themselves!

Zhang Xuan patted Wang Jinyang on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry, Old Wang. I'm not the one in danger; I am the danger itself!"

Wang Jinyang's expression remained grave: "I'll help you with special training from now on!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan chuckled and accepted Wang Jinyang's good intentions with a smile.

Not far away, Fang Ping, Fu Changding, and Zhao Lei were quite shocked!

Over the past few days, they had gained some understanding of Zhang Xuan.

Neither his combat power nor his talent was considered particularly outstanding.

Although it was quite impressive for Zhang Xuan to break through to Rank-1 in his sophomore year at Southern Martial University, he would be considered at the bottom of the barrel at Magic Martial University.

They truly hadn't expected an "ordinary" martial artist like Zhang Xuan to be the first to make the Heavenly Pride Ranking!

Even if it was only the twentieth place, this was the Heavenly Pride Ranking for the entire human race!

"Zhang Xuan must be hiding his true strength!"

Fang Ping felt he had uncovered the truth!

A martial artist who could be a fellow disciple of Wang Jinyang couldn't be too weak, no matter what.

Some instructors at Magic Martial University held Zhang Qingnan in high regard.

As a standout among Rank-5 martial artists, the students taught by Zhang Qingnan certainly wouldn't be subpar.

Moreover, Zhang Xuan's background was even more miserable than his or Old Wang's.

With both parents dead, he probably couldn't even eat meat regularly.

If his talent were truly mediocre and his perseverance weak, how could his vitality have reached the standards for the martial arts track?

In fact, he had even saved for over a decade just to pay the ten-thousand-yuan registration fee for the martial arts university, and only managed to pay it with the help of kind teachers and fellow villagers.

To be able to test into a martial arts university despite such poverty, and to become a martial artist by his sophomore year, he was something of a minor legend at Southern Martial University.

Han Xu, who had tempered his bones three times, was also somewhat surprised, but he didn't question it.

The main reason was that he had sparred with Zhang Xuan a few times, yet he had almost been unable to defeat him!

Although Zhang Xuan hadn't been able to defeat him either, thinking about it carefully now, the other party might have been hiding his strength!

There was still a gap in vitality between three-time bone tempering and one-time bone tempering.

Under the same realm, the vitality erupted by three-time bone tempering was definitely far superior to that of one-time bone tempering!

Even with his triple-honed bones, he had failed to defeat Zhang Xuan, who had only honed his bones once.

As Han Xu pondered this, he suddenly felt that Zhang Xuan's strength must be immense, perhaps even terrifying!

"How do Wang Jinyang and Zhang Xuan cultivate? Each one is more outrageous than the last!" Han Xu felt somewhat dejected.

Zhang Tao, Li Zhen, and Nan Yunyue were also quite surprised.

They had made predictions beforehand, but they hadn't expected the first person on the list to be someone outside their projections.

"Zhang Xuan..."

Zhang Tao shook his head. Zhang Xuan was not from Yang City, so he should have no connection to the Three Emperors Great Dao laid out by the War Heavenly Emperor.

It was almost certain that the Future Human King was Fang Ping.

However, the Three Emperors Great Dao must have its bearers, and these individuals were equally important to the human race.

Wang Jinyang was one suspect, but there should be two others.

Li Zhen's expression was grave: "Now that Zhang Xuan is on the Heavenly Pride Ranking, he will inevitably be viewed by the Earth Cave as a primary target for assassination!"

"We must intensify his training program over the next few days to bolster his strength!"

Zhang Tao and Nan Yunyue nodded in agreement.

Martial artists on the list would inevitably face fiercer enemy offensives, and they would also draw fire away from those not on the list, making it necessary to enhance their strength.

In the Earth Cave, "Zhang Xuan? I want his head!"

Liu Ji, who had already fallen in rank, looked on with cold eyes, his tone chilling: "This person will be the first human Heavenly Pride to fall under my blade!"

The others said nothing more.

He was just a bottom-tier fighter; what did it matter if they left him to Liu Ji?

Besides, Liu Ji was in a foul mood, and the others didn't want to offend him over such a trivial matter.

Originally, as a Heavenly Pride martial artist from Heaven Beyond Heaven, Liu Ji had intended to drop his rank to the sixth grade, but he had accidentally dropped too far, falling directly to the first grade—a stroke of bad luck.

"Future immeasurable? Hahahaha, what future does he have now!" The Earth Cave martial artists jeered and laughed.

"Hahahaha!"

"A first-grade human can be considered a Heavenly Pride? In my prime, I could swallow one in a single bite!"

"The first person on the Death Ranking has appeared!"

"Once on the Death Ranking, death is the only outcome!"

"I look forward to the second human stepping up to throw their life away!"

The martial artists of the Earth Cave and various other factions burst into laughter, filled with disdainful mockery.

A first-grade Heavenly Pride was, in their eyes, someone they could kill with a flick of their hand!

For a moment, they looked forward to the commencement of the Three Realms Martial Arts Tournament with great anticipation.

When the time came, watching the Martial King and the Heaven Suppressing King witness their human Heavenly Pride martial artists being killed in a single strike—their expressions would surely be magnificent!

On the other side, The God Emperor, the Heaven Fighting Emperor, and the Eastern Emperor were somewhat surprised by the first human Heavenly Pride to appear, yet they did not find it entirely unexpected.

"First grade, ordinary aptitude, yet the future is immeasurable... It seems the Heavenly Pride recognized by the Sky Screen does not look solely at innate talent."

The Eastern Emperor smiled, looking as if this was exactly as he had expected.

The Heaven Fighting Emperor looked at the Sky Screen and whispered: "I just wonder if there is an age restriction."

The God Emperor stood with his hands behind his back and said: "The Sky Screen likely won't rank only the younger generation of Heavenly Prides."

"Human martial artists with such brilliant talent as Zhang Tao should also appear on the list."

Hearing this, the Heaven Fighting Emperor and the Eastern Emperor nodded in agreement.

In the Human Realm, Zhang Xuan watched the Sky Screen, a smile curling the corners of his lips.

By now, many people must be wanting to kill him, right?

He was truly looking forward to the magnificent expressions on their faces when they looked at him at the moment of their deaths!

He was participating in the first-grade Three Realms Martial Arts Tournament specifically to "fish" in these shallow waters.

Zhang Xuan had considered taking on the entire battlefield by himself, but that would be too abrupt.

The list hadn't even been fully revealed yet; how could he flip the Three Realms upside down just yet?

Three Realms Martial Arts Tournament... it should be the Three Realms Funeral Tournament, Zhang Xuan whispered to himself.

Those being buried would not be the human race, but a group of greedy monsters who couldn't recognize their own place.

[Basic Reward: Unimpeded Great Dao, Transcending the Three Realms.

Advanced Reward: Perfection of insufficient foundations, one hundred years of martial arts experience.]

"Holy crap, he actually Transcended the Three Realms?!"

"The rewards from the Sky Screen have become generous again! But why is it still not me!"

"If I kill Zhang Xuan, I will make a name for myself!"

"Unimpeded Great Dao, Transcended the Three Realms?

Heh, a man on the verge of death doesn't deserve such rewards!"

"..."

Inside the Earth Cave, Changshan Qi looked at Liu Ji with an indifferent gaze and said coldly, "Liu Ji, Zhang Xuan now possesses a hundred years of martial arts experience; I'm afraid you might not be able to kill him!"

"Heh, just a wet-behind-the-ears brat, laughable!"

Liu Ji smiled faintly, "If this person were the reincarnation of the Demon Emperor or the Future Human King, I would naturally not underestimate him."

"But he is merely twentieth on the Human Realm Heavenly Pride Ranking, so he is not worth mentioning!"

"I can kill him with a wave of my hand!"

Hearing this, the Earth Cave martial artists and those from various factions burst into laughter.

"A mere hundred years of martial arts experience; many of us were top-tier powerhouses who fought for hundreds or thousands of years in the past!

Would we fear a low-rank martial artist?"

"If it were Martial King Zhang Tao, Demon Emperor Mo Wenjian, or the Future Human King at the same rank possessing a hundred years of martial arts experience, we would naturally have to avoid their edge!"

"But twentieth on the Heavenly Pride Ranking?

Heh! I would like to weigh just how miraculous this person is to be recognized by the Sky Screen!"

In the distance, at the gathering place of the Heavenly Fate Royal Court.

Ji Yao listened to the dismissive sneers of the crowd and felt very annoyed.

Although she was arrogant and wild, she would never believe that a prodigy recognized by the Sky Screen would be someone who sought fame without substance.

Zhang Xuan could not be killed so easily.

Future Human King... who exactly will the Future Human King be? Ji Yao gazed at the Sky Screen, her beautiful eyes flickering as she whispered in her heart.

In the Origin Source, The Western Emperor looked at the Sky Screen, dejected and resentful.

Another one who Transcended the Three Realms... when would he finally be able to appear on the Sky Screen rankings and Transcend the Three Realms!

"Zhang Xuan... twentieth place! There are actually twenty people on the Human Realm Heavenly Pride Ranking!"

The Human Emperor was surprised.

Previously, the Sky Screen had exposed people ten at a time, but when it came to the Human Realm Heavenly Pride Ranking, it had changed to twenty!

It was enough to show that the number of future powerhouses in the Human Realm must be vast; no wonder they were able to kill the Heavenly Emperor and suppress the Three Realms!

The Human Realm truly possessed extraordinary destiny!

In the Human Realm, Zhang Tao, Li Zhen, and Nan Yunyue could not help but feel happy when they saw the rewards the Sky Screen gave to Zhang Xuan.

What Zhang Xuan, Fang Ping, and the others lacked at this stage was precisely the martial arts experience gained from life-and-death combat!

Among powerhouses of the same rank, the Military Department was the strongest, followed by the martial arts universities!

Military Department martial artists began fighting in the Earth Cave from the first rank, living between life and death every day.

Martial arts university students began fighting from the third rank, relying on themselves for all resources and experience.

For low-rank martial artists, the key to combat was the martial arts experience gained from killing!

The gap between a low-rank martial artist who had undergone three bone-honing sessions and one who had undergone only one was not large; it was common for the weak to defeat the strong!

With the Three Realms Martial Arts Tournament imminent, Zhang Tao and the others had given them all the resources they could.

But as for combat experience, Zhang Tao and the others naturally could not take all the participating martial artists into the Earth Cave for true life-and-death struggles!

Since it wasn't a true life-and-death struggle, no matter how much they taught combat techniques or had them kill captured human traitor martial artists, it was still somewhat lacking.

Moreover, if the Sky Screen really gave the human prodigies divine weapons, True Blood, and other incredibly precious resources, they wouldn't be able to protect them.

Even if they absorbed them themselves, once killed by Earth Cave martial artists, the other side might eat their flesh raw.

At the Capital Base, Wang Jinyang could not help but breathe a sigh of relief for Zhang Xuan.

With a hundred years of martial arts experience, Zhang Xuan would likely have few opponents among the first rank.

Even if he were truly no match for his opponent, he would not end up dead.

In this way, there was no need to worry too much about Zhang Xuan's safety.

Han Xu, Fu Changding, and the others were a bit envious; they wanted martial arts experience too!

Previously, the Military Department martial artists had almost completely suppressed them.

This was precisely because these martial arts university students lacked the life-and-death combat experience that they possessed.

Once a person panics and feels fear, they cannot even utilize the strength they have.

Fang Ping felt envious, and at the same time, he was deep in thought.

"What exactly does it mean to perfect an insufficient foundation?"

Does it mean pulling a first-time bone-honing directly to the level of a third-time bone-honing?

Zhang Xuan deliberately vibrated his vitality, which felt incomparably thick and heavy; even Han Xu, who had undergone third-time bone-honing, could not compare to him!

Seeing this, everyone's eyes narrowed!

"Is this the gold standard of the Sky Screen? It's invincible!"

Everyone was filled with envy, their gazes burning with anticipation as they looked at the Sky Screen, hoping that they, too, might make the list.

Zhang Xuan patted Wang Jinyang on the shoulder and laughed, "Old Wang, it's my turn to give you special training now."

Wang Jinyang chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I'll suppress my realm. Want to spar?"

Compared to Zhang Xuan, Wang Jinyang was not lacking in combat experience.

Even if Zhang Xuan possessed a hundred years of martial arts experience, Wang Jinyang believed that at the same realm, he would not be defeated!

"Sure."

Zhang Xuan's eyes brightened slightly. A chance to beat up Wang Jinyang?

That sounds interesting.

The reward from the Sky Screen was nothing more than a facade.

A hundred years of martial arts experience? He didn't even lack ten thousand years of martial arts experience now!

However, with the Sky Screen as a cover, he could naturally display an invincible posture.

Zhang Xuan and Wang Jinyang sparred briefly, causing an uproar among Fang Ping, Fu Changding, and the others!

Strong, too strong!

Wang Jinyang and Zhang Xuan were both absolute monsters!

Fang Ping and Fu Changding admired them both immensely.

Wang Jinyang was the student with the greatest fame and strength among the ordinary martial arts universities in recent years!

At the First-Grade realm, he swept through Magic Martial University; at the Third-Grade realm, he swept through the Northland. Even the vice-presidents of the Capital Martial Arts University Martial Arts Club had been defeated by his blade!

Zhang Yu, the current president of the Magic Martial University Martial Arts Club, wouldn't dare claim he could suppress Wang Jinyang.

Li Hansong, the president of the Capital Martial Arts University Martial Arts Club, also wouldn't dare say he could steadily win against Wang Jinyang at the same realm.

They had thought that Wang Jinyang appearing at Southern Martial University was already a surprise, but they hadn't expected another one!

Zhang Xuan's strength was simply not what a First-Grade martial artist should possess!

Everyone present had a keen eye, so they naturally noticed that something was off about Zhang Xuan.

"Hiss, if the twentieth place on the Heavenly Pride Ranking is this strong, how strong must the geniuses ranked above Zhang Xuan be?!"

Thinking of this, Fu Changding, Han Xu, and Zhao Lei felt a toothache.

Using Zhang Xuan as the benchmark, it was unlikely that they would be able to make the Heavenly Pride Ranking.

Unless... Zhang Xuan didn't have a long-term future and fell midway!

That would explain why the Sky Screen only ranked him at twentieth!

If that weren't the case, why wouldn't the Sky Screen directly state what realm Zhang Xuan would reach in the future?

Instead, it summarized his future with the phrase "future immeasurable."

At this moment, Fu Changding, Zhao Lei, and Han Xu all felt complicated emotions.

"A genius? Perhaps only a genius who can survive until the end is truly a genius..."

Zhang Tao and the others also took note of the brief sparring between Zhang Xuan and Wang Jinyang.

They shared the same speculation as Fu Changding and the others.

The strength and talent Zhang Xuan displayed should not be at the level of twentieth place.

Unless...

"Did he fall midway?"

Zhang Tao frowned, but his mood did not become overly heavy.

Martial artists must fight and nourish themselves with blood!

Everyone has the possibility of falling and dying!

In recent years, quite a few geniuses of the human race have died in battle because of the Earth Cave.

But precisely because they are geniuses, they should fight all the more!

If one fears death and avoids battle, how can they ever grow into a true powerhouse?

Even he, Li Zhen, or Nan Yunyue... perhaps they too will die in battle in the future.

This scene remained unknown to the forces outside the human realm.

The martial artists of the Earth Cave, Heaven Beyond Heaven, and other factions were still clamoring:

"Why hasn't the Sky Screen revealed the next human prodigy yet?"

"Bring out the next person destined to die!"

"What realm will the next human prodigy on the Death Ranking be? I truly look forward to it!"

Rumble!

Golden light erupted from the Sky Screen, and the gilded characters shifted once more!

[Three Realms Heavenly Pride Ranking · Human Realm List, 19th Place: Magic City Martial University, Chen Yunxi!]

Please keep reading and support me in every way possible, thank you all!

Didn't expect that, did you? The Heavenly Pride Ranking has twenty people!

I will explain later and compare why Chen Yunxi is the last prodigy in the true sense of the word.

Additionally, feel free to guess who the number one prodigy will be.