"How is this possible?"
At that moment, Terrance stared fixedly at the rankings on the blue stone stele ahead, his eyes filled with shock.
He had reached Wind Domain Second Level and broken into the top ten of the overall rankings. How could Lu Qingshan rank even higher than him?
Could it be...
Just as a thought flashed through Terrance's mind, the other First Grade Elites around him had already formed their own guesses.
"It's a Third-Stage Domain!"
"That's right! I'm certain Lu Qingshan has reached a Third-Stage Domain. That's how he managed to rise to sixth in the overall rankings!"
"Heavens! Isn't this far too unbelievable? How many years has it been since he reached Domain Second Layer? And he's already reached a Third-Stage Domain?"
At that moment, every First Grade Elite present had recognized Lu Qingshan's terrifying talent.
That was a Third-Stage Domain!
Among the current First Grade Elites, only three had truly reached a Third-Stage Domain!
Yet Lu Qingshan's breakthrough to a Third-Stage Domain this time was completely different from that of the other First Grade Elites with Third-Stage Domains!
Just then...
"Lu Qingshan's out!"
As that voice rang out, all the First Grade Elites present involuntarily turned to look.
They saw Lu Qingshan walking out of the Trial Pagoda in his earthen-yellow battle armor. He looked no different from usual, but everyone's feelings were completely different from before.
In particular, the gazes of the high-ranking Parich, Liu Guangyuan, Bonas, and the others were filled with complicated feelings as they looked at Lu Qingshan.
Among them, Parich was an exceptional genius who had reached a Third-Stage Domain. He had held first place in the First Grade Elite overall rankings for ninety-eight consecutive years, and in just two more years, he would become a Special Grade Elite of Heavenly Pillar Mountain;
Although Bonas was a warrior, he too had reached a Third-Stage Domain and could likewise be called one of Heavenly Pillar Mountain's favored sons of heaven;
Although Liu Guangyuan was only at Domain Second Layer, he had also cleared the Trial Tower's Tenth Layer. This was absolutely unique among the First Grade Elites at Domain Second Layer. Even spirit readers like Terrance, who had likewise reached Domain Second Layer, could not accomplish it. Once he reached a Third-Stage Domain in the future, his strength would definitely surpass Parich's;
Leises, an exceptional genius who had reached a Third-Stage Domain over twenty years ago, could be said to inspire boundless envy in all the other First Grade Elites!
All of them currently ranked ahead of Lu Qingshan, and they would even be able to keep him beneath them in the rankings for the next several decades.
But they also knew very well just how astonishing the gap between them and Lu Qingshan truly was!
After all, among the four of them, even Parich, whose cultivation progressed the fastest, had taken a full four hundred years to break through from Domain Second Layer to a Third-Stage Domain!
And Lu Qingshan?
Fifty years ago, Lu Qingshan had only just reached Earth Domain Second Level, and now he had reached Earth Domain Third Level!
If the difference had only been one- or twofold, they would still have entertained the thought of competing with Lu Qingshan. But now, with a full eightfold difference, what could they possibly use to compete with him?
Never mind the few of them-even those Special Grade Elites whom Heavenly Pillar Mountain treasured so dearly had taken far longer than Lu Qingshan to advance from Domain Second Layer to a Third-Stage Domain!
"Brother Qingshan!"
While all manner of thoughts flashed through the First Grade Elites' minds, Parich, who had held first place in the overall rankings for ninety-eight years, quickly took the initiative to approach Lu Qingshan. "You reached a Third-Stage Domain after fifty years of cultivation. Your cultivation speed truly is unbelievable!"
"Parich!"
Seeing Parich, who had never interacted with him before, take the initiative to greet him, Lu Qingshan soon said with a smile, "You're about to become a Special Grade Elite. Compared to you, I still have a long way to go!"
"Brother Qingshan, you're far too modest!"
After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Parich soon said with a smile, "With your terrifying cultivation speed, Brother Qingshan, I'm afraid you'll likewise become a Special Grade Elite of our Heavenly Pillar Mountain in a little over a hundred years at most!"
Parich knew very well that even if he became a Special Grade Elite, he would definitely be the weakest among them.
That was because all three of Heavenly Pillar Mountain's current Special Grade Elites had already reached a Fourth-Level Domain, while he likely still had some way to go before reaching a Fourth-Level Domain. He would only be able to become a Special Grade Elite because he had ranked first among the First Grade Elites a hundred consecutive times.
Although Lu Qingshan was somewhat weaker now, and was even only at Star Level Second Stage, with his terrifying cultivation speed, not even the three Special Grade Elites of Heavenly Pillar Mountain would look down on him in the slightest.
While Lu Qingshan and Parich were talking, Bonas, Liu Guangyuan, and Leises also walked over from nearby.
After all, Parich and the other two, who had consistently claimed the top three spots in the past, formed a small circle, and Leises had taken the initiative to join them after reaching a Third-Stage Domain.
Aside from them, they thought nothing even of that spirit reader at Domain Second Layer who could rank in the top five every time.
Yet now, all of them had taken the initiative to walk over and greet Lu Qingshan.
But when the other First Grade Elites saw this, they found nothing inappropriate about it. After all, they too wanted to step forward and build a good relationship with Lu Qingshan.
However, their strength could not compare to Parich's group at all, so naturally, they could not go up at a time like this and invite a snub.
Even Beavis and the others, who were on relatively good terms with Lu Qingshan, had no intention of stepping forward to interrupt their conversation at that moment.
As Terrance watched the scene from the side, however, he no longer had any desire to compete with Lu Qingshan.
Previously, when Lu Qingshan had reached Domain Second Layer and surpassed him in the overall rankings, he had still been deeply unconvinced.
That was because he had felt at the time that Lu Qingshan had already spent a long time at Domain First Layer, which was why he had been able to reach Domain Second Layer so quickly after joining Heavenly Pillar Mountain.
In fact, not only he but many of Heavenly Pillar Mountain's First Grade Elites had thought the same way.
But now, Lu Qingshan had taken only fifty years to break through from Domain Second Layer to a Third-Stage Domain, truly making him recognize the gap between himself and Lu Qingshan.
After all, he had taken more than a hundred years just to advance from Domain First Layer to Domain Second Layer!
At that moment, Terrance already understood very clearly that the enormous gap in talent between himself and Lu Qingshan was simply not something he could make up for through hard work!
Yet when Terrance's gaze swept over Parich and the others talking with Lu Qingshan, his fighting spirit flared up once more!
"I can't measure up to Lu Qingshan, but can't I measure up to you?"
For him, surpassing Lu Qingshan was certainly no longer possible at all, but if it were anyone else, he still dared to compete!
"Perhaps I can learn a thing or two from Lu Qingshan!"
Terrance thought to himself, "Once my Wind Domain reaches the third level, I'll definitely be able to copy Parich's path, take first place in the First Grade Elite overall rankings a hundred consecutive times, and then become a Special Grade Elite of Heavenly Pillar Mountain!"