Surpassing Everyone in an Unconventional Way

"Counting the days, there was only one final Golden Ranking update left."

Inside a pavilion, a young man cultivating was awakened by the bell. He opened his eyes and spoke calmly.

"Fortunately, after completing the tasks, I devoted my time to cultivation. Now I only need a little more to reach the Seventh Stage of Qi and Blood."

Feeling his own cultivation, he revealed a satisfied smile.

"Chen Ping!"

A familiar voice came from outside.

Chen Ping rose and walked out. Standing beyond the door was none other than Chu Ming, whom he had not seen for a long time.

"Why have you gotten fat again?" he asked, seeing that the other had returned to the size he had been when they first met.

Chu Ming sighed.

"Perhaps I ate too much Spiritual Meat. It nourished me too well."

"Not pursuing Ling Qinghe anymore?" Chen Ping remembered that Chu Ming had lost weight for Ling Qinghe's sake and launched a fierce pursuit of her.

"Forget it. She doesn't think much of me." Chu Ming shook his head, his gaze somewhat dim.

"That woman's background is no simple matter. Her standards are probably high," Chen Ping consoled him.

He himself had once held quite a favorable impression of Ling Qinghe. Of course, he had not made it as obvious as Chu Ming, but he had still dropped a few hints.

Unfortunately, she had remained unmoved, and the matter had eventually come to nothing.

"Let's not talk about that. The assessment is about to end. Let's go see the Golden Ranking's current situation."

In the square, assessment disciples crowded around the enormous Golden Ranking.

"I counted. Around ten thousand people have completed the assessment."

An assessment disciple spoke with a grave expression.

"More than four months have passed, and only ten thousand people? I thought the competition would be fierce because of the number of tasks. I never expected it to unfold in this manner."

"Yeah. What stumped everyone wasn't the number of tasks, but their own talent."

"Another three thousand people are only one task short. By the time it ends, about half should pass this assessment."

"Huh? Look, who's that?" someone asked in surprise, pointing toward the very top of the Golden Ranking.

At the very top of the Golden Ranking—

Li Huai'an still held first place, having completed fifty-seven tasks, all rated Grade A, crushing everyone else beneath him.

Yet the person in second place was no longer one of the geniuses they had known before. Instead, it was an exceedingly unfamiliar name.

"Bai Jing?" Everyone searched through the people they knew, but none matched the name.

"Bai Jing!" Chu Ming stared at the second-ranked name and murmured it, his brow deeply furrowed.

He remembered this name. His impression of it was rather deep.

"Bai Jing... could it really be him?" Chen Ping was equally astonished and deeply puzzled.

He recalled that ordinary-looking youth Xu Shan had invited when they had eaten together before.

The two exchanged a glance, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

"It can't really be that kid, can it?" Chu Ming said quietly, his tone full of doubt. In his heart, he did not want it to be that person.

"But among the assessment disciples, there is no second person with this name." Chen Ping pondered for a moment.

The two immediately fell silent for a long while.

It seemed that youth whom they had never regarded highly, the person they had nearly forgotten, had charged into second place on the Golden Ranking in an unconventional way!

"Look, isn't that...?" Chu Ming spotted another familiar name and could not help pointing at the Golden Ranking.

Chen Ping followed his finger. In an instant, he froze again, unable to hide the shock in his heart.

"Xu Shan!"

When did this person become so outstanding? Every single one of his tasks was rated Grade A!

One youth had never been worthy of their notice; the other was someone they had called a laggard. Yet when they saw them again today, both had caused a stir on the Golden Ranking.

"Xu Shan, eighteen Grade As—how impressive! He's almost caught up to that genius girl Ling Qinghe!" Many people had noticed the name as well.

There were not many geniuses on the Golden Ranking who had received all Grade As, and this not particularly famous Xu Shan was one of them.

"No, I remember there being plenty of geniuses in the assessment. Why are there so few who received all Grade As?" someone asked.

"I heard that after those people broke through to the Fifth Stage of Qi and Blood, they held themselves back from doing assessment tasks. Rather than becoming the bird that stuck out, they continued to build their foundation, only choosing to take tasks after reaching Perfection of the Five Viscera. One genius once said that Perfection of the Five Viscera far surpassed imperfection," a well-informed disciple gave the answer.

By the time the other geniuses realized this, it was already too late.

For example, Chen Ping and Chu Ming. Only now did they understand why Xu Shan could appear on the Golden Ranking with all Grade As.

"Xu Shan is such a petty man. We treated him so well, even telling him information about the immortal path," Chu Ming thought angrily.

He had such an idea, yet never told him. They had at least drunk and made merry together.

If he too had chosen to reach Perfection of the Five Viscera before completing tasks, then surely there would have been a place for him on that list of all Grade As.

Yet Chu Ming had forgotten how he himself had distanced himself from Xu Shan.

Chen Ping glanced at him expressionlessly.

He had been led astray by this man. If he had not listened to Chu Ming and distanced himself from Xu Shan, perhaps Xu Shan would have reminded him.

What a pity, Chen Ping sighed inwardly.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, look." At that moment, Chu Ming patted Chen Ping's arm. The latter was originally somewhat impatient, but when he followed Chu Ming's gaze into the distance, his expression changed slightly.

"Those two are running away already?"

Meanwhile, in the distance, Xu Shan and Bai Jing walked over together.

Xu Shan spotted Chen Ping and Chu Ming from far away. He had been planning to go over and mock them, but the two seemed to have noticed him as well and actually scurried off in the opposite direction.

"They ran fast enough!"

Xu Shan sneered, not caring much about it.

"Eighteen Grade As, ranked thirty-third on the Golden Ranking!" Upon arriving before the Golden Ranking, Xu Shan could not help showing off to Bai Jing.

"Congratulations," the latter offered.

"It was all thanks to Brother Bai." Xu Shan did not forget to thank him. Then he looked over the Golden Ranking again and again, yet failed to find Bai Jing's name. "Brother Bai, where are you?"

"Look up."

"Huh?" Xu Shan raised his head and immediately froze.

Name: Bai Jing

Tasks Completed: Fifty!

Ratings: Grade A (three), Grade B (thirty-two), Grade C (fifteen)

"Fifty!" He stared at the second-ranked name high above, thinking his eyes had deceived him.

But this was reality!

Bai Jing's task ratings were not outstanding, yet with an extremely high number of completed tasks, he had surpassed nearly everyone and taken second place!

"Brother Bai, I was wondering why I could never find you during this time. So you were planning to stay silent until you made a single cry that startled the world!" Xu Shan exclaimed. At this moment, Bai Jing's standing in his heart rose greatly.

"Cultivation left me no choice," Bai Jing said modestly, though it was also the truth. In the end, he had done it to earn Ascension Coins in exchange for cultivation resources.

"Brother Bai, when we go to the dining hall later, I'm eating two—no, three plates of Spiritual Meat. You're paying!" Xu Shan said seriously.

"No problem!" Bai Jing nodded. During his poorest days, Xu Shan had often supported him.

"Then without further delay, let's go."

Not long after the two left for the dining hall, a young man arrived in the square.

The moment he appeared, everyone turned to look.

The top figure of the assessment, Li Huai'an.

"Bai Jing!" He stood before the Golden Ranking, looking at the unfamiliar name beneath his own and murmuring to himself.

There were only seven tasks between them. Though in terms of ratings, one was in the heavens while the other was underground.

He did not linger and soon left.

Someone observant noticed that the direction this renowned super genius headed in was precisely the Ascension Tower!

Dong!

Ten days flashed by. As melodious bells rang out one after another, this assessment officially came to an end!

P.S. Thanks to reader 20171029164206796 and reader Chengzhong Mu Xuehan for their monthly ticket support.