Winds rise from the green duckweed,
and people hide in deep mountains and old forests.
Jiujiu...
Xie Feng wore a suit of green robes, his face handsome and his eyes lazily half-closed. He was resting comfortably on a rocking chair, holding a chipped old teacup in his hand and taking a sip.
Outside the door, a purple bamboo swayed in the rainy night. Above the lintel, three mottled characters stood exposed-
Xuanji Sect.
Xie Feng was a transmigrator.
He had died of a traffic accident in his past life, and his soul had transmigrated to an abandoned infant in this world. He was accidentally picked up by the master of the Xuanji Sect and taken in as the final closed-door disciple.
The Xuanji Sect was located in a Nameless Domain, nestled upon Xuanji Mountain. Its exterior was unremarkable, but inside the sect there was another world of its own. The Scripture Pavilion, Cultivation Method Pagoda, Alchemy Room, Martial Arena... everything was present. Behind the mountain, apart from the herb garden, there was also a lake, and an old tortoise was raised in the lake.
There had originally been four people on the mountain. Aside from Master, Xie Feng had two senior martial brothers, but later they successfully finished their apprenticeships and left one after another.
Master had a lazy personality, spending all day drinking, viewing flowers, and fishing, leaving his disciples to drift. Xie Feng, on the other hand, immersed himself in the Cultivation Method Pagoda or Alchemy Room all day, self-studying many things.
Since childhood, he possessed outstanding natural talent. In both alchemy and martial arts, his cultivation speed was very fast, all because of his extraordinary physique-
the Chaos Sacred Body!
Those with a Sacred Body could become a sage even as a mortal!
Because of such a powerful physique, by the time Xie Feng was twenty years old, he was already at the third stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm!
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Tribulation Crossing, Mahayana, Ascension, Immortal Ascension...
Each realm was divided into ten stages.
This was the cultivation system of this world!
In the world today, at the end of the era, Spiritual Qi was weak. Those who could reach the Spirit Transformation Realm needed to go through at least a thousand or even ten thousand years of effort!
Xie Feng thought of ten years ago, when his wild and unrestrained master suddenly brought back a nun.
Master pulled that wrinkle-faced old nun with one hand and him, Xie Feng, with the other, and entrusted him with a smile, "Good disciple, your master's energy is growing weaker day by day, so this sect will be left to you to manage. Your master is going into closed-door cultivation!"
Xie Feng, "Master, why bring a nun along for closed-door cultivation?"
Master, "Shut up! Ask less about adults' affairs!"
Xie Feng, "..."
"Sigh."
"His elder master has been in closed-door cultivation for ten years, and now his whereabouts are still unknown..."
"Staying on the mountain to cultivate all day is truly too boring."
"Why not go down the mountain and walk around?"
Xie Feng muttered to himself. He stood up from the rocking chair, his figure flickering slightly, and stepped out of Xuanji Mountain.
On this day, rain fell across heaven and earth.
Above heaven and earth, within that boundless starry river, strange phenomena arose everywhere!
A massive fireball rushed flying into the Three Thousand Worlds.
The fireball transformed into a long scroll!
Brilliant light shone upon the firmament, and a scroll emanating an ancient and sovereign aura slowly unfolded from the edge of the sky.
At this moment, it spanned across the path of the starry river!
The unusual movement startled and shocked the earth, and numerous probing auras gathered from all directions toward a single location.
At this time.
High up in the sky, a voice piercing through the heavens resounded across the firmament-
"Vast common people, scorched and battered earth, the end of times has arrived!
"Now, the Heavenly Ranking will open, the era will restart, and Spiritual Qi will revive!
"The first round opens with the Aptitude Ranking!
"Taking the young talents of the world, the top ten will be listed. Whoever makes the list shall receive a bonus of Great Dao rewards!"
The Heavenly Ranking scroll cut across the Heavenly River, its golden light even more intense than the midday sun.
Golden light shot into the vault of heaven!
The boundless earth instantly burst forth with blinding brilliance, leaving the darkness nowhere to hide, and even the ten-thousand-zhang subterranean Devil Grotto flickered with a faint light.
The Heavenly Ranking appeared, shocking the entire world!
There were a hundred and ten great continents in the world, among which the experts mostly gathered in the Eastern Continent, Heavenly Continent, Spirit Continent, Central Continent, and Sacred Continent.
In the Central Continent, the Azure Dragon Clan.
"The Heavenly Ranking! The Heavenly Ranking is about to descend!"
"Grandmother, what is this? Why are you so surprised?"
"The Heavenly Ranking began in the boundless and returns to the boundless. It represents the order of the Great Dao. Anyone who makes the list is an unparalleled prodigy of their age!"
"Gasp, it's that amazing?!"
"Ancient texts record that when the Heavenly Ranking appeared three million years ago, ten people made the list. Without exception, every one of them accomplished earth-shaking feats and left their names in the annals of history!"
At the border between Yin and Yang, two figures appeared atop a floating island.
The taller one was a handsome young man, dressed in finery. Two strands of hair at his forehead, shaped like dragon whiskers, added to his graceful bearing.
The Azure Dragon Clan's young lord, Qu Jiangxuan!
The shorter one was an old woman, her hair white as blood, a hooked nose hanging above her upper lip, and eyes as sharp as knives.
The Azure Dragon King's mother, Xuan Tugu!
The old woman looked at her grandson, praise and worry mingling in her eyes:
"With the Heavenly Ranking opening, the mighty will emerge, and the winds and clouds will be stirred.
"In terms of talent, among the dragon race's pure-bloods, my grandson has the strongest bloodline of the Azure Dragon lineage. He already stands head and shoulders above the rest.
"Back then, the Azure Luan Clan still contended with our Azure Dragon Clan. But now the Azure Luan Clan has fallen into decline, and no junior of prodigy caliber has appeared in three thousand years!
"On this Heavenly Ranking, my grandson is sure to make a stunning debut!"
Hearing this, Qu Jiangxuan could hardly contain his excitement and pride.
He had been a prodigy from birth.
His singular Azure Dragon Divine Physique had made him the most valued junior in the entire dragon race, without exception!
The most perfectly awakened physique!
The youngest Spirit Transformation Realm powerhouse!
In just a few decades, he had never known defeat!
Who could forget the day he took up the Azure Dragon Saber and defeated three thousand fiendish geniuses at the Prodigy Gathering? Who in the world had never heard of him? Who dared refuse to acknowledge him?
Qu Jiangxuan said with boundless pride, "If the Heavenly Ranking opens this time, your grandson will surely amaze the world and bring boundless glory to you, Grandmother, and the Azure Dragon Clan!"
Xuan Tugu nodded again and again, smiling with satisfaction. "A son should be like my grandson! Good, very good!"
At this, Qu Jiangxuan's lips curled upward. He looked up at the enormous golden ranking list, shining above in the firmament, his heart surging with excitement!
Next...
All that remained was to wait for the list to open!
Spirit Continent.
The Heavenly Sword Holy Land.
There was a floating island forged from countless towering giant swords. It was bizarre and imposing, and the faint clang of swords rang through the air.
A man stood holding a sword. He gazed up at the Heavenly Ranking, restrained fervor in his eyes.
Mu Shuangling!
The youngest Sword Master in the Heavenly Sword Holy Land's million-year history!
At his birth, swordlight filled the sky. He learned swordsmanship at three, defeated everyone under heaven at ten, defeated his entire clan at fifteen, comprehended the Dao at twenty, and was crowned Sword Master at twenty-five. Now, at just thirty, his swordsmanship had long since surpassed all others, ancient and modern, earning him the title "Heavenly Sword."
A terrifying heaven-blessed prodigy!
"With a divine ranking descending from the heavens, anyone who makes the list must be among the strongest of this age. In terms of talent, your Grand Mysterious Sword Physique is unparalleled since antiquity!"
"In the Holy Land's million-year history, only two or three people have possessed the Grand Mysterious Sword Physique!"
"Lord Sword Master will surely rank near the top!"
"What do you mean, 'near the top'?! With Lord Sword Master's strength, he'll surely take first place!"...
Behind Mu Shuangling, one swordsman after another appeared. The quiet atmosphere instantly erupted as they offered their sincere praise.
"I've studied the sword for nearly thirty years and never suffered defeat. To stand as Sword Master, innate physique is indeed important.
"Even if the Heavenly Ranking opens, I'm absolutely confident. Let's set a small goal first: the top three!"
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Mu Shuangling gave a modest smile.
Cloud Continent.
The Azure Cloud Holy Land.
Amid the blood-red glow of the sunset, a young man in yellow robes, flowing like clouds, leisurely played chess alone beneath a red maple tree.
Ye Yuan.
The Saint Venerable of the Azure Cloud Holy Land!
"The Heavenly Ranking is opening. Has it startled all those people?"
Heavenly Sword Holy Land...
"The once-glorious Holy Land now had only Mu Shuangling left. And yet he was still a youngster in need of tempering."
He murmured, lifting a white piece between his slender fingers and lightly placing it on the empty chessboard. The fading sunset glow fell across his extraordinary eyes.
Mysterious light, hazy shadows, overlapping pupils...
That was...
Double Pupils!