Xuanji Sect.
Jade Lake.
Sushang sat by the lake, feeding Mung Bean as she gazed at the Heavenly Ranking, her heart filled with astonishment.
Master was first on the Aptitude Ranking!
Master swept the top four spots on the Dharma Artifact Ranking!
Especially...
Those world-shaking Dharma artifacts!
The Beacon Cloud Hook?
Wasn't that Master's fire poker?
The Supreme Dream Robe?
Wasn't that what Master wore?
The Azure Profound Fan?
Heavens!
She had not only used it to fan fires, but had even had her palms smacked with it!
No wonder it could smack her palms red...
She was a Primordial White Tiger!
Everyone knew beasts were forever unrivaled in physical strength, okay?!
Yet it had actually hurt her!
And finally...
The Immortal-Slaying Furnace?
That pitch-black pill furnace used to roast lotus-leaf chicken?
A quasi-sacred artifact!
That rank was super, super powerful.
What a criminal waste of heavenly treasures!
Sushang was dumbfounded. The seemingly unremarkable things around Master were actually this terrifying?!
Looking around now, Sushang even felt that every blade of grass and speck of dust beneath her feet was something that could shock the world!
Gulp...
Sushang swallowed.
She blinked, astonishment appearing on her dewy, apple-round face.
Master was so amazing...
Had he seen the Heavenly Ranking? I have to tell him!
With that, Sushang hitched up her bloomers, turned, and ran off, her retreating figure nimble as a kitten.
Eastern Continent.
Azure Luan Clan.
Above Cloud Cliff, ten thousand meters high, black clouds weighed down the sky. Silver lightning writhed violently like thousand-foot dragons and snakes, stirring the winds and clouds into turmoil.
This was...
The sign of Tribulation Crossing!!
Terrifying lightning power churned through the sky, as though it might strike at any moment and split Cloud Cliff in half.
Just then!
An azure phoenix phantom burst through the black clouds, unleashing thousand-foot shock waves. Before that tremendous power, the thunderclouds turned to ash and smoke!
Beneath the azure phoenix phantom, a woman appeared.
She had a slender, graceful figure and long hair like a waterfall. Beneath her dark-blue short skirt were two smooth, slender, long legs.
Qiuye!
Her cultivation had successfully entered the Tribulation Transcendence Realm!
High above, two golden Heavenly Rankings shone upon one another. Qiuye gazed at them, a thoughtful look appearing on her exquisite, radiant face.
She suddenly recalled the indistinct figure behind that woman in the Land of Blood Slaughter that day.
"Xie Feng, could it be you?
"Ahh, I suddenly want to see your true face!"
Central Continent.
Azure Dragon Clan.
The Heavenly Ranking spanned the ages. Beneath its boundless golden light, one man watched in silence. His silhouette was no longer as lean as before, but had actually grown somewhat muscular!
Qu Jiangxuan!
He narrowed his dragon eyes slightly, dark clouds gathering over his half-demon, half-human face!
"Xie Feng!"
For some reason, whenever he saw this name, he thought of that day in the Land of Blood Slaughter!
Mu Shuangling's death and the dissolution of his Dao...
The dawn light filling the sky...
The woman holding the Radiant Sun Sword...
And...
The mysterious person behind her!
A powerful conviction told him that the mysterious person was the Heavenly Ranking's number one!
"That woman called him 'Master'...
"The Heavenly Ranking's number two is actually number one's slave?!
"But that doesn't matter!
"What matters is that I want to kill her and thereby prove my Ancestral Dragon Demonic Dao!"
A faint smile quietly appeared on Qu Jiangxuan's demonically alluring face.
"However...
"Killing that Xie Feng seems more challenging, and more interesting!"
Qu Jiangxuan's blood boiled!
Once he killed them, his Ancestral Dragon Formless Demon Physique would be invincible under heaven!
At this moment, every placement had appeared on the Heavenly Ranking, arranged in orderly rows.
Dong!
After the bell rang, a voice resounded through the heavens!
"The second round of rankings has been fully announced!
"In three months, the third round of rankings will be announced: the Grace Ranking!
"The Grace Ranking will likewise focus on young geniuses. Judging criteria will include disposition, potential, appearance, and sufficiently representative iconic moments!
"These three months will be your time to display your grace to your hearts' content!
"All other rules remain the same as those of the Aptitude Ranking!"
Once the rules had been announced, the Heavenly Ranking gradually faded from sight, and peace returned to heaven and earth.
Everyone erupted into discussion!
"Once the Grace Ranking comes out, we'll get to see the true faces of those legendary geniuses!"
"I consider myself the flower of the city. Maybe I'll make the ranking!"
"Bullshit! The Grace Ranking judges disposition, potential, appearance, and iconic moments, not just your face!"
"What's an iconic moment?"
"Probably doing something sensational enough within these three months!"
Xuanji Sect.
My name appeared...
Xie Feng looked helplessly at the Heavenly Ranking. His name shone on both golden lists!
Just then!
Four streaks of white light appeared: rewards from the Great Dao!
He casually accepted them.
His immediate priority was finding some pill-refining implements for Sushang.
This one's too battered!
This one's broken!
This one's warped!
Xie Feng buried himself in the search, finally discovering two things in a dust-filled corner.
An exquisite pill cauldron!
A flame seed!
The pill cauldron was palm-sized and dark blue. It had been sealed beneath dust for who knew how many years, and even its patterns had grown somewhat indistinct.
The pill cauldron's name-
Water Dragon Chant!
Xie Feng's second senior brother had used it, but later found it boring because it would not explode, so he had casually tossed it into the storage room.
The greatest taboo in pill refining was an exploding cauldron!
It was a sign of an alchemist's inadequate ability!
But his second senior brother was unlike ordinary people. He pursued the most spectacular explosions possible, while Water Dragon Chant ranked first in hardness among pill furnaces!
Some pills had violent natures and could very easily make a cauldron explode, but Water Dragon Chant completely suppressed volatile pills. It was stable as hell.
Every pill furnace had its own characteristic. For instance, Xie Feng's Immortal-Slaying Furnace possessed "annihilation." It could contain the world's strongest flames and refine all things, and it would temper its master's soul power while he refined pills!
Xie Feng's soul power far exceeded his alchemical realm!
Xie Feng already possessed full tenth-grade soul power!
However, he had always sought steady progress in cultivating his soul power, never advancing realms lightly, only slowly improving himself. The stronger his soul became, the greater its assistance to his martial cultivation!
Xie Feng turned his gaze to the flame seed.
This had also belonged to his second senior brother. He had far too many flames!
Xie Feng had carefully selected this purple-gold flame seed:
Silken Heavenly Fire!
If Xie Feng's Northern Nether Illusory Flame was the world's strongest flame in offensive power, then this Silken Heavenly Fire had the highest temperature!
While Xie Feng focused, the storage room door quietly opened a crack. A small figure crouched by the doorway, bending at the waist and craning her neck forward as she quietly opened the door, a hint of mischief hiding in her big, limpid eyes.
Sushang!
She wanted to sneak over and scare Xie Feng.
However...
Despite her utmost care, her Primordial White Tiger strength was simply too great. The moment she put her hand against it, the narrow door could no longer bear the burden...
Bang!
The door opened.
Sushang flew through the air and tumbled straight into the room. Then her knees bent, and she landed on them before Xie Feng with a thump!
Xie Feng naturally knew what had happened. Suppressing his laughter, he put on a stunned expression.
An awkward second passed.
Suddenly, Sushang lowered her head, stuck her bottom up, and pressed her forehead to the floor. Slowly, devoutly, and thinking herself clever, she said, "Master, I'm paying you an early New Year's visit!"
Wow, I'm really quick-witted in a crisis.
This makes it seem less awkward!
Ahahaha...
The little girl frantically consoled herself inwardly.
Black lines descended over Xie Feng's forehead.
But this made it even more awkward, okay?!
It was the middle of summer, hey!
"Get up. I haven't prepared a red envelope, though."
Xie Feng teased her.
Sushang rose, her face bright red. Cupping her burning, apple-round cheeks, she secretly muttered, He knows I'm embarrassed, yet he still teases me like this. So mean...