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    ## Chapter 442: Final Ranking

    “Dongpan actually lost?”

    “Dongpan’s soul will is so strong, yet he couldn’t withstand Xu Yuan’s soul attack?” Thousands of Heavenly Flight Demigods in the Temple were in an uproar. Demigod Saints like Yue Shan and He Feng all looked extremely solemn.

    Bai Feng losing was already surprising.

    But Dongpan losing was even more shocking! After all, Dongpan cultivated and comprehended the Laws of Earth and the Mysteries of Space. The combination of the two made his defenses incredibly strong. He often ranked 2-5 in the Godfire Tower because his attack power was lacking.

    However, in recent ranking battles, he consistently held the second position. Among the dozen or so Demigod Saints, only Jing Kui could break through his defenses with his absolute speed.

    This time, against Li Yuan, Dongpan didn’t slack off at all. Through the ranking points, he’d guessed that Li Yuan might have some special techniques. He’d prepared early to counter soul attacks.

    But even with his full preparation, he still lost?

    If even Dongpan lost, how many other Demigod Saints could possibly win against Li Yuan?

    “Amazing!”

    “Dongpan actually got hit? Before Jing Kui’s breakthrough, Dongpan’s Law comprehension was always higher. But he still lost?” The seven True Gods on the platform were all quite surprised.

    Why was Dongpan, a seven-star脉 Demigod, always ranked second on the Demigod list? It was due to his incredibly strong Law comprehension.

    The higher the Law comprehension, the greater the influence of the Great Dao’s essence, which in turn usually led to a stronger soul will.

    Before the battle, this group of True Gods had all believed that Dongpan had a higher probability of winning.

    “It seems Xu Yuan’s soul attack technique is even stronger than we thought,” Yue Yi True God said in a low voice.

    “If even Dongpan lost, it’ll be even harder for the others. I guess only Jing Kui has a chance of resisting.”

    “Yes, let’s see if Jing Kui can hold on,” This became the consensus among the seven True Gods.

    Defeating Dongpan allowed Li Yuan to effortlessly win all the remaining battles in the second group.

    He won all matches! 99 points!

    With an absolute advantage, he secured first place in the second group and also obtained the first spot on the Demigod list’s top twenty.

    Dongpan, after losing to Li Yuan, quickly adjusted and also won all the remaining matches, ending with 98 points and becoming second in the second group.

    Bai Feng secured third place.

    Huff! Huff! Huff! The hundred participants of the second group finished their battles faster than the first group and all returned to the ground of the great hall.

    Almost everyone’s eyes were focused on Li Yuan.

    After consecutively defeating the two Demigod Saints, Bai Feng and Dongpan, his strength was undeniable. He was strong enough to earn the respect of all Heavenly Flight Demigods.

    “Xu Yuan.”

    “Haha, congratulations!” Yue Shan and Yang Di both greeted Li Yuan with smiles.

    Even someone like Yue Shan, who might encounter Li Yuan later and potentially become his opponent, was happy for Li Yuan’s achievements.

    “Xu Yuan.”

    A deep voice suddenly rang out. Bai Feng had arrived in front of Li Yuan, and he whispered, “I lost the bet this time. Here’s ten thousand Divine Crystals. Take them.”

    Whoosh! Bai Feng waved his hand, and immediately a storage treasure flew towards Li Yuan.

    Li Yuan reached out to take it, and with his divine mind, he scanned the treasure, confirming the presence of ten thousand Divine Crystals within.

    Precisely as promised.

    “Mm,” Li Yuan nodded slightly and watched as Bai Feng retreated into the crowd.

    The other party was willing to admit defeat and was very humble. Li Yuan naturally wouldn’t say anything more.

    “Tsk tsk, this guy,” Yang Di transmitted, laughing, “Before, every time he fought with Yue Shan, even if he lost, he would never give in, always shouting about how he would get back at him next time. This time, he readily accepted defeat.”

    “That’s because Brother Xu Yuan is strong,” Yue Shan said with emotion, “My strength is similar to Bai Feng’s. I’ve even cultivated longer. It’s normal for Bai Feng to be resentful… But Brother Xu Yuan, how long has he been cultivating? This is the first time he has directly defeated both him and Dongpan… He will only continue to surpass him by a far margin.”

    “Don’t just talk about Bai Feng.”

    “Even Jing Kui, I think he’ll be far behind Brother Xu Yuan in the future.” Yue Shan smiled.

    “You’re exaggerating,” Li Yuan shook his head.

    Shortly after the second group’s battle ended, the first group’s battles also concluded.

    Jing Kui, with 99 points, secured first place in his group.

    Back on the ground, he quickly learned about the results of the second group.

    “Dongpan lost?”

    “Xu Yuan won, first place in the second group?” Jing Kui, who was always calm, had a hint of surprise in his eyes, “He used soul attacks? Even Dongpan couldn’t resist?”

    As his biggest competitor, Jing Kui understood Dongpan’s strength very well.

    Even though he had just broken through, it would be difficult for him to quickly defeat Dongpan, it would take at least a dozen moves.

    “Jing Kui, you have to be careful,” Dongpan transmitted in a cold voice, “Your soul will is stronger than mine, but Xu Yuan’s soul attack is terrifying… I’ve seen many powerful Void Gods, and I’m afraid only a few of them could match his soul attack.”

    “Don’t let yourself fall into another ditch, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing for us old folks.” Dongpan said.

    “Mm.”

    “I will be careful, of course,” Jing Kui smiled faintly, but his eyes also flickered with a serious look.

    For the first time, he saw Li Yuan as an opponent who could match him.

    Time passed, and groups of participants entered the void arena, one by one. They then decided their final rankings.

    For a full day and a half, the top two, top ten, and top thirty of each group were gradually determined.

    The top twenty of the Demigod list was finally decided.

    Jing Kui, Dongpan, He Feng, Yue Shan, and other Demigod Saints all entered the top twenty.

    Only two Demigod Saints were eliminated.

    One was Bai Feng, and the other was ‘Yang You Demigod’, who had ranked thirteenth in the previous Demigod list.

    She was in the same tenth group as Yue Shan.

    But both of them failed to secure first place in their group and instead lost to another reserve member, Xia Ju!

    “Xia Ju, ranked only around sixty on the previous Demigod list.”

    “Yet he secured first place in the tenth group.”

    “He consecutively defeated the two Demigod Saints, Yue Shan and Yang You, that’s amazing. His Star Art power is so strong, and his swordsmanship is also sharp.”

    When everyone saw Xia Ju defeat Yue Shan, they were shocked.

    As a veteran Demigod Saint, while Yue Shan wasn’t as strong as Dongpan or Jing Kui, his ranking had always been stable. He had never fallen out of the top ten in the last five ranking battles.

    And yet he lost?

    “Interesting, a Xu Yuan appears, and now a Xia Ju emerges?” Jing Kui’s eyes lit up. Compared to Xu Yuan, he was more interested in Xia Ju.

    After all, Xia Ju’s swordsmanship was tangible and demonstrably incredibly strong.

    “Jue Xing Ancient City is truly a hidden dragon and crouching tiger. Another eight-star脉 appeared,” Li Yuan was also quite surprised.

    Previously, there were nearly ten thousand people in the Godfire Hall, and Li Yuan was constantly fighting. He naturally wouldn’t use ‘Divine Palace Investigation’ on everyone. And back then, Xia Ju wasn’t very conspicuous.

    He only ranked around fifty in the Godfire Tower.

    Li Yuan hadn’t paid much attention to him.

    It was only in the second round of ‘Ten-Group Battles’ that Xia Ju emerged, defeating Yue Shan in one fell swoop, that Li Yuan used Divine Palace Investigation and discovered that Xia Ju’s life level was ‘48.9’.

    Another eight-star脉!

    “This Xia Ju Demigod, his Law comprehension was slightly inferior before. It seems he made a breakthrough in the last five years,” Li Yuan pondered, “Once his Law comprehension nears other Demigod Saints, his Source Power cultivation and Star Arts will be even stronger, naturally surpassing other Demigod Saints.”

    Besides Jing Kui, the other Demigod Saints were only seven-star脉 Demigods.

    “Xia Ju, finally broke out.”

    “He’s cultivated for nearly three hundred years, finally achieving something. I almost thought he wouldn’t become a Demigod Saint and would directly break through to Void God.” The seven True Gods on the platform exchanged messages with each other.

    The Heavenly Flight Demigods were shocked by Xia Ju’s sudden breakthrough.

    Because, regarding star脉 talent, all reserve members kept it confidential from each other. Except for Li Yuan, who was an anomaly, everyone else didn’t know that Xia Ju was an eight-star脉.

    But these True God powerhouses had known for a long time.

    “Including Xu Yuan, now there are four eight-star脉 Demigods in the Godfire Hall.”

    “Jing Kui, Xu Yuan, and Xia Ju all entered the top twenty.” Yue Yi True God chuckled, “However, Luan Su, clearly an eight-star脉, didn’t even make it into the top hundred on the Demigod list.”

    “Luan Su has been cultivating for less time, he’s only about two hundred years old.”

    “His Law comprehension speed is also slow,” the other True Gods shared their thoughts.

    High star脉 talent often leads to high Law comprehension talent, but the two are not absolutely correlated.

    Like the ‘Man Huo’ mentioned by Gu You and Li Yuan, he was only a six-star脉 True God. However, in just tens of thousands of years, he managed to comprehend four Law Daos, creating secret techniques even stronger than most Heaven Gods.

    The same applies to the Demigod stage.

    Even with the same cultivation time, an eight-star脉 Demigod is not necessarily stronger than all seven-star脉 Demigods.

    Before Li Yuan, out of the three eight-star脉 Demigods in the Godfire Hall, only Jing Kui exhibited an overwhelming talent, surpassing other seven-star脉 Demigods, revealing his Heaven God potential.

    Thus, he was highly regarded by Tai You Heaven God.

    Boom~ An invisible pressure enveloped the entire Godfire Hall, instantly silencing the noisy hall.

    “After discussions with the other True Gods and reporting to the higher authorities of the Ancient City,” Chi Yang True God said with a booming voice, “It has been decided that there will be eighteen Saint Child positions awarded in this Demigod Ranking Battle.”

    Boom!

    Eighteen Saint Child positions?

    Li Yuan, Xia Ju, Yue Shan, and others in the top twenty were all solemn.

    This meant that two out of the twenty of them would be eliminated?

    Reaching this stage, who would willingly be eliminated?

    “The following battle rules are simple.”

    “Each group’s first-place winner will be randomly paired with the second-place winner of other groups for cross-battles. The winners will advance to the top ten and become Demigod Saints directly, competing for the final first place.”

    “The losers will then compete in round-robin battles for the remaining eight Saint Child positions,” Chi Yang True God explained.

    This rule was expected.

    Those who secured first place in their respective groups would naturally have an advantage in the following battles and wouldn’t face other group first-place winners.

    Soon, the order of the twenty-to-ten battles was announced.

    ‘Jing Kui’ vs ‘Yue Shan’

    ‘Xu Yuan’ vs ‘Yan Dong’

    ‘Xia Ju’ vs ‘Dongpan’

    Each of the ten battles was highly anticipated. Everyone who had reached this stage was undeniably strong.

    The most anticipated battle was undoubtedly Xia Ju versus Dongpan.

    Xia Ju was this ranking battle’s standout performer besides Li Yuan, his swordsmanship was incredibly powerful.

    Dongpan, on the other hand, was widely recognized as being among the top three on the Demigod list. Even though he lost to Li Yuan, no one thought he was weaker than the other group first-place winners.

    “Yue Shan, you’re in trouble. You encountered Jing Kui,” Yang Di couldn’t help but say.

    Yang Di’s final ranking was 361, and his ranking battles had ended.

    “Jing Kui is indeed hard to defeat,” Li Yuan said lightly.

    Even though he hadn’t seen Jing Kui unleash his full potential, his performance in the Godfire Tower showed that he was much stronger than other Demigod Saints.

    “It’s okay.”

    “Just getting second place in my group, I knew that it would be difficult to get into the top ten this time,” Yue Shan Demigod was quite composed. He chuckled, “Even if I hadn’t met Jing Kui, would He Feng or Xia Ju be any easier to deal with? Not to mention, if I had met you, Brother Xu Yuan, I think I would have lost as well.”

    “No matter win or lose.”

    “Let’s fight our best.”

    “Even if we lose, we still have a chance to get a Saint Child position,” Yue Shan smiled.

    He had always been like this, very easygoing.

    After the list of the top twenty battles was announced, everyone only rested for a short while before the battles began swiftly.

    Perhaps to motivate other Heavenly Flight Demigods, they were not held concurrently this time, but one by one.

    The first match, Jing Kui versus Yue Shan. Even though Yue Shan fought with all his might, Jing Kui still won easily.

    Jing Kui’s effortless victory demonstrated that his strength had evolved to a higher level than five years ago.

    The second battle was Li Yuan versus Yan Dong.

    This battle was also highly anticipated.

    Swish! Swish!

    The two simultaneously flew into the void arena, standing on opposite sides of the arena, attracting everyone’s attention.

    “Xu Yuan and Yan Dong, who will win?”

    “Definitely Xu Yuan. Even Dongpan couldn’t resist Xu Yuan’s soul attack, let alone Yan Dong?”

    “Yan Dong Demigod was only ranked sixteenth in the previous session. He was the lowest-ranked Demigod Saint. He also lost to He Feng Demigod. Wanting to win against Xu Yuan? Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!”

    Previous victories had already established Li Yuan’s formidable presence.

    Nine out of ten viewers believed that Xu Yuan would win.

    On the void arena, Li Yuan and Yan Dong stood dozens of kilometers apart, facing each other.

    Yan Dong Demigod was wearing blue battle armor, his face was strangely beautiful, and he held two steel tridents in his hands. He had a strange image, somewhat resembling a ‘Sea-巡海夜叉’ with a murderous look, his eyes locked on Li Yuan.

    Li Yuan was still in his black clothes.

    “Xu Yuan, your soul attack is powerful?” Yan Dong Demigod fixed his gaze on Li Yuan, his eyes full of seriousness, “But judging from his ranking in the Godfire Tower, his physical attacks should be quite weak.”

    He knew Li Yuan’s strength, and he was the biggest obstacle to his entry into the top ten.

    Suddenly.

    The two of them moved at the same time.

    Yan Dong Demigod instantly turned into a stream of light, like a lightning bolt flashing across the void, instantly transforming into a hundred illusion bodies, each like a illusion, attacking Li Yuan.

    It was clear that he had also cultivated a illusion-based Star Art similar to ‘Nine Shadow Void’.

    “Phantom?”

    “It’s the fluctuation of the Wind Law! The information from Yue Shan was correct. This Yan Dong Demigod comprehended the Laws of Wind and the Mysteries of Space,” Li Yuan’s eyes were calm.

    Phantoms? They could evade divine mind investigation.

    But could they evade a domain?

    “Rumble~” Li Yuan thought, and immediately a vast domain descended, with a mighty surge of yellow earth energy sweeping in all directions, impacting the illusory figures.

    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! The domain collided with Yan Dong’s illusory figures, nine yellow dragons roared, and quickly extinguished the weaker illusory figures.

    In a blink of an eye, only three illusory figures remained, and they were all close to each other, with blue light surrounding them, resisting the invasion of the Heaven and River Domain.

    “Bang!”

    “Bang!” “Boom!” The terrifying trident struck down, and two yellow dragons were instantly torn apart.

    “Xu Yuan, your domain can’t bind me,” Yan Dong Demigod roared with momentum as he attacked Li Yuan.

    Other Demigod peak powerhouses would have been crushed and swept away by Li Yuan’s domain.

    But it couldn’t completely suppress such an exceptional Demigod.

    “Life and Death Scenery!” A trace of daze flashed in Li Yuan’s eyes. He didn’t hesitate to launch his soul attack.

    Hum! Hum! Hum! Three waves of soul fluctuations erupted simultaneously, sweeping towards the three illusory figures.

    If Li Yuan had to simultaneously maintain a soul attack on a hundred illusory figures while maintaining the strongest attack power, he wouldn’t be able to do it.

    But attacking three targets was easy.

    “Hum~”

    Invisible soul fluctuations instantly invaded Yan Dong Demigod’s mental realm… His mental realm shook.

    “Here it comes,” Yan Dong Demigod instantly realized that his greatest challenge was here.

    If he resisted, there was a chance to win!

    If he couldn’t resist, he would lose without a doubt.

    “Mental Light! Myriad Color! Nine Heavens Melody!” Yan Dong Demigod exploded deep within his mental realm. The terrifying techniques he had concealed for years were fully unleashed in an instant.

    “Sizzle! Sizzle!” Li Yuan’s soul attack almost immediately caused Yan Dong Demigod to lose himself.

    Whoosh! His mental realm transformed, as if countless celestial palaces emerged, sacred and vast. Divine light circulated, its power boundless, protecting his mental realm.

    “Rumble~” Li Yuan’s soul attack was eroding.

    Yan Dong Demigod’s mental realm was violently resisting.

    “Such a powerful soul attack.”

    “The soul defense secret technique I’ve been cultivating for many years, combined with the ‘Myriad Color Heart Orb’ gifted by my teacher, almost failed to resist?” Yan Dong Demigod was incredibly shocked, returning to his senses in an instant, “If I hadn’t cultivated my soul defense secret technique to a profound level, or if I didn’t have the Myriad Color Heart Orb, I would have definitely been lost and fallen.”

    “This Xu Yuan, his soul attack is truly terrifying,” Yan Dong Demigod was astonished.

    In fact, when he saw that he was matched with Xu Yuan, he felt a hint of joy.

    If he had fought another group’s first-place winner, he wouldn’t have been confident.

    Only Xu Yuan relied on soul attacks to reach this point. And Yan Dong’s teacher was a ‘Soul Master’ even more terrifying than Jiu Yin True God.

    Therefore, when teaching Yan Dong, he always emphasized soul defense.

    Yan Dong Demigod clearly remembered his teacher’s words, “The path of soul virtual realm is vast and profound, no less than the operation of matter. You are only a Demigod, teacher doesn’t expect you to achieve great success in the soul path, but you must pay attention to soul defense.”

    Other Demigod Saints might also pay attention to soul defense.

    However, they didn’t all invest as much effort as Yan Dong Demigod. They didn’t spend so much time specifically searching for a mental treasure that was compatible with their soul defense secret technique, nor did they spend so much time cultivating soul defense secret techniques.

    “I blocked it.”

    Yan Dong Demigod’s hazy eyes instantly regained their clarity, and his fighting spirit soared, “Xu Yuan, it’s my turn now!”

    Boom!

    Yan Dong Demigod swung the two tridents in his hands, blue light streaked across the sky, its power unmatched. He instantly smashed to pieces the two yellow dragons that had just approached to attack.

    The yellow dragons, only at the beginning of the Void God level, were no match for him.

    “Kill!”

    The Heaven and River Domain shook, Yan Dong Demigod moved, his speed far surpassed Li Yuan’s, and he had already approached.

    “Blocked?”

    “Even Dongpan Demigod couldn’t block it, but Yan Dong blocked it?” A trace of surprise flashed in Li Yuan’s eyes, he didn’t dare hesitate.

    Whoosh!

    The Dark Star Long Spear pierced the void, causing the void to tremble, as if an invisible thread was torn apart, it struck lightning-fast towards Yan Dong Demigod.

    ‘Boundary Cloud Spear’ Fifth Style – Divine Weapon Intent!

    But Li Yuan’s spear technique was impressive, while Yan Dong Demigod’s weapon’s power was even more terrifying. The two tridents smashed down fiercely.

    “Bang~”

    With a loud bang, the world shook. Yan Dong Demigod didn’t move back, but Li Yuan was instantly blown backwards, spewing blood. The protective spiritual light surrounding his body dimmed rapidly.

    In one exchange, Li Yuan realized.

    His soul attack was strong, but if the soul attack was ineffective, he, who had just broken through to Demigod, was still far from being a match for these exceptional Demigods in terms of physical attacks.

    Yan Dong Demigod was at 54-level combat power!

    “Huff!”

    Yan Dong Demigod pressed his advantage and approached like lightning, smashing down again!

    “Bang! Bang! Bang!”

    Li Yuan exchanged three blows with him, and the protective spiritual light surrounding his body instantly dissipated.

    Hum~ He disappeared directly from the arena.

    In this battle, Yan Dong Demigod won! Li Yuan lost.

    “What?”

    “Yan Dong Demigod won?”

    “Xu Yuan actually lost? He defeated Dongpan, but he lost to Yan Dong Demigod?” The crowd erupted in an uproar.

    The result of this battle exceeded everyone’s expectations, even Chi Yang True God and the others hadn’t anticipated this outcome.

    After all, Dongpan, who had consistently held the second place on the Demigod list, lost to Li Yuan, but Yan Dong Demigod actually won?

    But regardless of the outcome.

    The result was settled!

    “Xu Yuan’s soul attack is terrifying, but it seems that there are still some incredibly powerful Demigods who can resist it,” Zi Yi True God couldn’t help but say, “Once they resist his soul attack… If they fight with physical attacks, Xu Yuan will be at a disadvantage.”

    “Yes, Xu Yuan’s physical attacks are indeed weak, only at the 52-level standard.”

    “After all, he just broke through. It’s incredible that he reached this point. He has made great progress. In a few years, when his physical attacks become stronger, he might shine brightly in the Battle of Ancestral Realm.”

    “Soul attack is very extreme. It’s almost invincible if the enemy can’t resist! But its effect will be significantly reduced if the enemy can resist it,” Many True Gods nodded in agreement. They had all seen Li Yuan’s weakness.

    However, at Li Yuan’s rate of progress, once he made up for his weakness in physical attacks, he would become even more terrifying than other exceptional Demigods.

    After the battle between Li Yuan and Yan Dong Demigod, amidst the discussions, the remaining eight matches were swiftly held… and the final top ten of this ranking battle was decided.

    In the subsequent eight matches, seven were won by the first-place winners of their groups.

    Only the battle between Dongpan Demigod and Xia Ju Demigod… both showed their terrifying strength, they fought fiercely, but in the end, Dongpan Demigod emerged victorious.

    Even though he was the second-place winner of his group, Dongpan Demigod secured a spot in the final top ten.

    On the contrary, Li Yuan, the first-place winner of his group, failed to make it into the top ten.

    Time flew by, and the battles for 11th to 20th place were held first.

    There were a total of nine matches. Li Yuan, who had just lost to Yan Dong Demigod, was not affected at all. He once again showed his powerful soul attack.

    Nine battles! All wins!

    Even Xia Ju, who had just shown his brilliant sharpness, couldn’t resist Li Yuan’s soul attack.

    And Li Yuan’s final ranking in the ranking battles was officially decided – eleventh place!

    Although he didn’t make it into the top ten, he ultimately obtained the title and treatment of Demigod Saint.

    ——

    ps: To clarify, not being able to use external objects doesn’t mean that they can’t use treasure weapons or armor, but it means they can’t use Law Treasures, puppets, or technological mist, things that they can’t control themselves. This has been mentioned several times in the original text, but some readers keep asking about ‘eating the setting’ and ‘saying one rule one second and then eating it the next.’

    (End of Chapter)

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