Far Ahead

Xu Yingwu looked at the rankings hanging high above Ten Thousand Beasts Space and gave a helpless, bitter smile. "My little martial uncle really knows how to crush people's confidence!"

It was now the thirty-second day since everyone had entered Ten Thousand Beasts Space. The talented figures from the major factions had all gone all out to climb the rankings, and the current leaderboard had become something those from minor clans and sects could only look upon in despair.

"Fourth, Xu Yingwu: 40,120 points."

"Fifth, Lu Mingzhe: 39,856 points."

"Seventh, Wan Qing: 39,623 points."

"Eighth, Shi Meng: 38,392 points."

"Ninth, Shi Han: 36,691 points."

"Tenth, Xiao Xun'er: 29,576 points."

The rankings clearly displayed the efforts of the five major factions. After all, there was practically a fault-line gap between the five major factions and everyone below them. This was how terrifying a true leading power was! Of course, after Xu Yingwu and Xiao Xun'er had taught Shi Han a lesson, his martial aunt had left. Yet Xiao Xun'er's performance had still dealt Xu Yingwu quite a blow.

After learning from Shi Han that he had once sabotaged Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er had directly beaten Shi Han up in front of everyone. The once-arrogant Shi Han had been utterly one-sidedly beaten until he lost all temper. Only after beating him until he lost the ability to fight did Xiao Xun'er slowly leave behind one sentence: "I'm not killing you now because he'll come personally."

Xu Yingwu naturally knew that the person Xiao Xun'er meant was his little martial uncle, Xiao Yan!

Xiao Xun'er then left on her own. Her subsequent results shocked Xu Yingwu even more. After all, those at the top had all relied on their factions, while Xiao Xun'er had charged into the top ten alone. It was simply unbelievable.

Of course, if Xiao Xun'er merely left Xu Yingwu astonished, then Xiao Yan had become an outright legend within Ten Thousand Beasts Space. At present, everyone in Ten Thousand Beasts Space knew Xiao Yan's illustrious name. The top three scores on the rankings were simply too horrifying.

"Third, Yang Lingyan: 52,336 points."

"Second, Chu Qun: 53,178 points."

Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun's scores were already unbelievable. After all, neither of them had ever announced the formation of any team. They could only rely on themselves. Reaching such terrifying scores was something that even working oneself to death could not achieve, because in this terrain, no one could guarantee finding magical beasts with precision every time. Although the magical beasts' senses had been weakened, their ability to conceal their auras had become much stronger due to the nature of Ten Thousand Beasts Space. Sometimes, even when they were nearby, they could still be missed.

Of course, if Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun's scores could still be explained somehow, then the score of the first-ranked Xiao Yan was enough to drive the people from the major factions into despair.

"First, Xiao Yan: 75,378 points."

It was nearly a multiple of everyone else outside the top three. No one knew how Xiao Yan had done it. Some had even begun suspecting that Xiao Yan had found a way to alter the rules of Ten Thousand Beasts Space. After all, Ten Thousand Beasts Space had existed for who knew how many years, so it was normal for its rules to have loosened somewhat.

Otherwise, no one could understand why Xiao Yan's score was so absurdly high. Even if one killed magical beasts without making a single mistake, it would have been impossible to achieve this score, because there simply was not enough time. Time within Ten Thousand Beasts Space was limited, and people still needed rest.

Of course, Xiao Yan had rested. At that very moment, Xiao Yan, Chu Qun, and Yang Lingyan were leisurely enjoying a fine meal: bear paw personally prepared by the master chef, Chu Qun.

The meat was incomparably tender. Xiao Yan could not help but admire Chu Qun. Their time together had indeed shown that Chu Qun, who came from Splendid Flower Tower, had extremely high standards for quality of life.

As Yang Lingyan tore into the bear paw, he heaped praise upon Xiao Yan. Smiling, he said, "With our scores, even going back to the founding of Ten Thousand Beasts Space, no one has ever achieved this, right?"

Chu Qun curled his lip. "Isn't it all thanks to Brother Xiao? The increase in soul power brought by the Soul-Turning Secret Technique lets us move around freely at night, giving us twice as much time as everyone else."

During this time, Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan had been completely won over by Xiao Yan. For Chu Qun, the chance for Splendid Flower Tower to become the leading power of the Northwest Region lay right before him. For Yang Lingyan, Heavenly Snake Mansion occupying two of the top three spots would probably make Yang Yue laugh in his dreams once he learned of it.

Then Chu Qun asked Xiao Yan, "Brother Xiao, can your body handle converting Dou Qi day and night like this?"

Every time Xiao Yan converted his Dou Qi into soul power, he would immediately cultivate to recover it. The moment he recovered, he would set off without pause, leading them to hunt magical beasts. Other than eating, he never stopped.

Over the past half month, Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan had both felt unable to endure such relentless strain, yet Xiao Yan had never shown the slightest slackness.

Xiao Yan shook his head. "The Soul-Turning Secret Technique is useful, but if the converted soul power isn't used, it dissipates over time. And it can only detect hidden things; it can't attack. If we want first place, we don't have much time to rest."

Of course, there was something Xiao Yan did not say aloud. Though the constant grind was exhausting, he could sense that under such relentless conversion, his soul power was also slowly improving at an almost imperceptible rate. This was truly an unexpected delight for Xiao Yan. Fatigue was unavoidable, but the growth of his soul power pleased him even more.

Still, Xiao Yan said, "We have been too exhausted lately. Let's rest for the night today."

Both Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun felt as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders upon hearing this. People still needed rest. To secure their position on the rankings, they had practically been holding on through sheer force of will.

After night fell, the three rested where they were. Xiao Yan had examined the surrounding area beforehand and found nothing capable of threatening them. Thus, he told the other two to rest without worry. Xiao Yan also closed his eyes and began to rest. Compared to Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan, he had been under far greater pressure these past days.

When dawn broke, Xiao Yan and the other two rose rather late. Refreshed, all three felt they had returned to their peak condition. Xiao Yan had just used the Soul-Turning Secret Technique and was preparing to scan the area nearby.

Xiao Yan and Yang Lingyan both sensed that something was wrong. The jade ring Yang Yue had given them beforehand had sent a signal.

Because Xiao Yan and Yang Lingyan had spent so much time together, they had proactively turned off the jade ring's alerts. But at this moment, the jade ring's movement proved one thing: they had encountered their own people again.

After sensing the situation, Xiao Yan's face darkened.

Yang Lingyan asked, "Brother Xiao, what's wrong?"

"Qing Lin is in trouble..."