High Martial Arts Era 457
by adminChapter 457: Rankings! The Perplexity of the Divine (Extra Chapter)
Inside the Ancestral Realm.
Amidst a sprawling mountain range.
Boom! With a resounding clap that reverberated through the valley, a giant turtle-like Ancestral Realm creature was smashed into pieces in the lake below, dissolving into several beams of divine light.
“Killing a Void God-level Ancestral Realm creature is indeed much more troublesome,” Li Yuan landed gracefully beside the lake. “But it does grant 100 points.”
“There’s no need to rush,” he muttered to himself. “I’ve already climbed to 16th place. The rankings were chaotic for the first few months. I just need to maintain my position, not fall too far behind. Later, the remaining participants will surely have even higher scores. By then, defeating them will earn me a significant amount of points.”
In the initial stages of the Ancestral Realm War, Li Yuan had put his heart into fighting and hunting down his opponents.
But soon, he realized it was too inefficient. It was exhausting to sense the void, find his enemies, defeat them, and only receive a single point for each.
Too tiring.
Therefore, within a few days, Li Yuan stopped actively seeking out opponents and switched to hunting Ancestral Realm creatures instead. Although these creatures were formidable, almost all of them were Void God-level.
The points earned were generous. Over the past half a month, his ranking had been steadily rising.
In between battles, Li Yuan spent most of his time contemplating his Gun Fa, diligently cultivating the True God Chapter of the *Mind Soul* scripture.
As one progressed, both the understanding of laws and the combat techniques became increasingly difficult to cultivate.
Though Li Yuan’s will had already reached the True God level, his soul had not yet broken through. Even though he had cultivated the *Mind Soul*’s Void God-level techniques to their peak and had the assistance of *Six Realms of Mind Illusion*, the Dream Realm Stone, and other techniques and treasures, comprehending the True God-level soul techniques was still incredibly challenging.
At least, it was still quite difficult for Li Yuan at this stage. However, years of honing and cultivation had brought him considerable progress.
“The True God-level techniques of *Mind Soul* aim to construct an illusory world, with a total of 9834 difficulties,” Li Yuan pondered, sitting on the lake. “I’ve only grasped over three thousand difficulties.”
Several hours passed.
Suddenly –
Whoosh!
Six streams of light darted across the sky, abruptly descending above the lake. They immediately noticed Li Yuan meditating on the techniques at the edge of the lake.
“There’s someone by this lake?”
“We didn’t sense him before.” The five Half-Gods were a bit taken aback, but they didn’t pay much attention.
Divine consciousness scanning was not omnipotent. If one cultivated techniques to conceal their aura or distort space, they could evade detection.
Of course, all of this was contingent on concealing their own aura fluctuations.
“They’re charging in?”
“I was just about to get into the flow of comprehending the techniques. I don’t want to be interrupted by fighting,” Li Yuan sighed, standing up and speaking loudly. “All of you, if you leave now, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you. How about that?”
“Black-robed kid, what are you talking about?” A purple-armored youth among the six roared. “You’re unlucky to have encountered us! Just attack and kill him!”
Boom!
The purple-armored youth took a step forward, transforming into a purple lightning bolt as he lunged towards Li Yuan, his momentum overwhelming. The previously calm lake was once again thrown into turmoil.
“Suppress him.” A woman in white pointed from a distance, and instantly, countless silver chains shot out from her body. The artifact chains glowed brightly, their speed even more astonishing as they enveloped Li Yuan like giant serpents.
“Sleep,” a youth with mesmerizing eyes directly unleashed a soul attack, attempting to engulf Li Yuan in its depths.
In an instant.
The six Half-Gods unleashed their power. Three brandished their weapons and attacked close-quarters, two launched long-range attacks to restrain him, and the last one employed a soul attack, a perfect coordinated assault.
Their individual strengths were formidable as well. Each one possessed Void God-level combat prowess, with the leading purple-armored youth even exhibiting the power of a near-Void God mid-level.
It could be said that this combined attack, even against a Void God mid-level, could stand a chance.
Moreover, facing Li Yuan, a Half-God whose strength was unknown to them, they still launched a full-fledged attack, demonstrating their caution.
“Boom!”
The two sides collided, their vast and surging domains clashing. The lake reverberated, and the surrounding mountains instantly collapsed.
“Roar!”
“Roar!” “Roar!” From the crumbling mountains, numerous yellow divine dragons emerged, each emitting a terrifying aura. The yellow dragons roared towards the heavens, their attacks coordinated. Several sharp dragon claws tore through the air, as if they were going to rip apart the void, forcing the leading purple-armored youth to stagger backwards, spitting blood, and vanish into the void in a rage.
Another yellow dragon opened its bloody maw, directly biting into an unprepared elder, tearing his body apart.
Death!
“Whoop!” A majestic, earthy yellow domain blasted the axe-wielding middle-aged man, severely injuring him. In shock and fury, he activated his Realm Token and fled.
“What?”
“This?”
“16th place? You’re the Awakened Star Xu Yuan, ranked 16th?” The remaining three Half-God men and women, who were a hundred kilometers away, stared intently at the figure clad in black in the void, surrounded by numerous colossal yellow dragons.
Their hearts sank.
He was too strong!
They were all geniuses of the Evergreen Ancient City, Half-Gods who had gathered together by chance. Once they formed a team, their combined strength was considerable.
But in a single exchange.
One of them had perished, and two had fled. Such terrifying strength naturally caused their hearts to tremble.
“You should all have sensed my aura by now,” Li Yuan grinned. “So let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to kill you, you can just activate your Realm Tokens, and I won’t have to bother anymore.”
Within the Ancestral Realm, when Half-Gods encountered each other, it was often difficult to discern their identities from their appearance, as it was too easy to change their attire.
But once they attacked, then, among the top hundred ranked powerhouses, their attacks would contain a unique aura. This was a special rule of the Ancestral Realm.
It allowed others to instantly identify the attacker’s information.
Li Yuan could no longer recall how many times he had revealed his identity in the past ten days.
But Li Yuan didn’t care.
Exposure? How many people could possibly stop him? Like now, six powerful Half-Gods with strength comparable to Void Gods had joined forces, only to be defeated by him.
“Surrender willingly?” The three Half-Gods from the Evergreen Ancient City exchanged glances.
Escape separately!
The three simultaneously retreated, turning into three streams of light, fleeing in different directions, attempting to make their escape.
After all, activating the Realm Token meant losing half their points and a chance at a redo, something no one desired.
“Sigh, they’re running again?” Li Yuan sighed and moved.
Whoosh!
Like a gust of wind, Li Yuan had already rushed to the white-clothed woman, his body instantly transforming into a ten-meter-tall giant. He raised his palm like a blade and slashed down.
Fast! Precise! Brutal!
“Pu!”
The palm, like a celestial blade, ripped the white-clothed woman in two, annihilating her spiritual consciousness.
Death!
“Don’t blame me. I gave you two chances to live,” Li Yuan wasn’t averse to killing, but it didn’t mean he would be soft all the time.
He then glanced at the white-clothed woman’s remains and then toward the other two figures, a hundred kilometers away.
That single glance sent chills down their spines.
Too terrifying.
Li Yuan had traversed over a hundred kilometers of void in a single flash. What kind of speed was that? It was likely that even a Void God at his peak couldn’t match it.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!” The two, without hesitation, activated their Realm Tokens, vanishing into the void.
The void once again fell silent.
“They’re really rushing to send me points,” Li Yuan muttered, receiving a message from the Realm Token. “Oh, the points from those six are pretty good. I’ve actually jumped to 14th place?”
Whoosh!
Li Yuan waved his hand, collecting the treasures left behind by the two Half-Gods he had slain, and then lightly landed on a cliff.
“I’ll continue cultivating for a bit before leaving.”
So far, Li Yuan had encountered many opponents, but none had forced him to go all out.
Not even one had forced him to use his “Primordial Divine Weapon.”
Generally speaking, Li Yuan could sweep through everything with his major star techniques unleashed.
Soon after.
Li Yuan, after cultivating and comprehending for a while, saw that his ranking on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard had dropped to 15th place, and he transformed into a beam of light, continuing his search for targets to hunt.
Battle and slaughter!
Sweep away!
An occasional attack would cause Li Yuan’s ranking to rise again and again.
…
The capital of the Abyss Kingdom, Nine Sounds Pavilion.
As the pinnacle of luxury in the capital, in the past, many Half-Gods wouldn’t dare to patronize it. It was simply too expensive.
But these days, the Nine Sounds Pavilion was bustling, even more lively than when the “Nine Sounds Realm” was open. Countless people from the capital flocked to it.
The reason was simple.
The entrance fee to the Nine Sounds Pavilion was waived for a limited time, and all beverages, food, and other amenities were offered at a 20% discount. The previously exorbitant performances by musicians and dancers were now completely free.
Such low prices were unheard of in the thousand-year history of the Nine Sounds Pavilion, attracting countless flying Half-Gods from the capital.
Everyone knew the reason.
Celebration!!
“The Ancestral Realm Leaderboard! Our Abyss Kingdom’s unparalleled genius, Xu Yuan, is actually ranked 6th!”
“Unbelievable!”
“It’s only been about a decade or so since Half-God Xu Yuan ascended, and he’s already so powerful?”
“The Ancestral Realm War, legend has it that not only Half-Gods from the Three Thousand Divine Kingdoms participate, but also Half-Gods from countless other life-bearing stars in the Outer Realm. Those who are strong enough will participate.”
“In such a situation, Xu Yuan can actually break into the top ten. Just how powerful is he?”
“Half-God Xu Yuan, he’s the pride of our Abyss Kingdom.” It wasn’t just the Nine Sounds Pavilion, in the city, countless flying Half-Gods could see the giant “Ancestral Realm Leaderboard” in the void with a quick glance.
The leaderboard had a total of ten thousand names, and the higher the ranking, the more prominent it was.
——
1. Ning Chi
2. Awakened Star Jing Kui
3. Heavenly Serpent Liu Bing
4. Dong You Lian Yun
5. Moon Blade
6. Awakened Star Xu Yuan
7. Divine Dragon Ao Feng
8. Kong Yin
9. Cloud in the Painting
10. Yu Ting
…
19. Awakened Star Dong Pan
…
88. Awakened Star Yue Shan
…
Above the Nine Sounds Pavilion in the void, there was a giant void hall that ordinary Half-Gods couldn’t perceive. This was the best platform to view the “Ancestral Realm Leaderboard.”
Now, within the hall, hundreds of “Void Gods” from the Abyss Kingdom capital had gathered. As time passed, more and more Void Gods arrived after receiving the news.
“It’s really Xu Yuan? When he went to the Awakened Star Ancient City ten years ago, he was only at the Flying Level?”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Half-God Yue Shan is known as the most talented individual of our Abyss Kingdom in the past thousand years. He ascended to Half-God level hundreds of years ago, and he’s only ranked 88th.” Many newly arrived Void Gods expressed their astonishment.
They mostly knew Xu Yuan.
After all, he had created quite a stir in the Abyss Kingdom capital back then.
“It’s Xu Yuan.”
The Thousand Illusions Void God beamed. “I went to visit the Master in person, and the Master told me with his own mouth that Half-God Xu Yuan was already the Saint Son of the Awakened Star Ancient City several years ago.”
“Moreover, the Master also said,”
“The Ancestral Realm War has been ongoing for nearly a month. He can still break into the top ten, proving his terrifying strength. His understanding of laws is probably already at the True God level,” the Thousand Illusions Void God stated seriously.
His understanding of laws is comparable to a True God?
The numerous Void Gods present were dumbfounded.
If someone else had said it, they wouldn’t have believed it. After all, how long had Xu Yuan been cultivating? Even being ranked in the top ten of the Ancestral Realm War was still questionable.
But the one who said this was the Nine Sounds True God!!
…
Deep in the void above the capital, amidst the endless clouds, stood the Nine Sounds Divine Mountain.
A charming woman, clad in a flowing, soft purple gauze robe, with two long, furry ears, lay leisurely on a chair, able to see the “Ancestral Realm Leaderboard” at the edge of the void.
“Sixth?”
“It’s truly incredible, how long has he been cultivating?” The Nine Sounds True God muttered to herself. “The Sovereign has already become a Divine.”
“Could it be that Xu Yuan will also become a Divine in the future?” The Nine Sounds True God sighed.
…
The Ancestral Realm War had been ongoing for nearly a month.
The ranking achieved by Li Yuan had sent shockwaves through the Abyss Kingdom.
However, the True Gods from various powers throughout the realms who knew Li Yuan’s past information had not doubted it too much.
“Xu Yuan’s soul attacks are terrifying. Back then, even Dong Pan of the Awakened Star Ancient City couldn’t withstand them.”
“Relying on soul attacks, he can easily sweep through a large number of participating Half-Gods, so it’s normal for him to be ranked sixth.”
“Soul attacks are formidable and very advantageous in this kind of large-scale melee, but he’ll be at a disadvantage when it comes to the final battle for the Ancestral Realm Order.” This was the general consensus among the True Gods of the various major powers.
They all believed that Xu Yuan had climbed to sixth place on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard thanks to his soul attacks.
…
However, in the void above the Ancestral Realm, the consensus among the True Gods of the various powers was different.
“Tai You, Jiang Yuan, the Xu Yuan you’ve nurtured is indeed impressive.”
“He’s only been cultivating for over forty years, and he’s broken into the top ten of the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard solely relying on material attacks?” Qing Hong Divine and Long Chuan Divine expressed their amazement.
Unlike the True Gods who could only infer based on the leaderboard rankings.
The Divines could directly perceive the entire Ancestral Realm.
Therefore, as the Ancestral Realm War continued and time elapsed, one by one, the formidable Half-Gods displayed their brilliance, and they had all been noticed.
There was no doubt about it.
Li Yuan was one of the most dazzling geniuses in the Ancestral Realm War to date.
Without relying on his “soul attacks,” which were mentioned in the intel, he had swept through numerous Half-Gods, including several formidable ones, with his material attacks alone.
No Half-God had been able to stand against him.
“Haha, he’s still a bit short,” Tai You Divine laughed. “Xu Yuan is only ranked sixth right now, not as good as Liu Bing and the others.”
“Tai You, don’t joke around,” Qing Hong Divine shook his head. “We’re all watching, and we know very well that this is because the little fellow Xu Yuan is kind-hearted… most of the time, he only defeats his opponents, not killing them madly for points.”
“Secondly, he’s been cultivating for much of the time, not fighting.”
“If he combines his material attacks and soul illusions to trap his enemies, then goes all out to kill, I’m afraid he would’ve already been able to challenge for the top spot on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard.” Qing Hong Divine sighed.
Defeating an opponent only earns half the points.
Killing them earns all the points.
After observing for a long time, the Divines had already discovered that Li Yuan could easily kill many Half-Gods, but he was always very “merciful” and spared his opponents, giving them a chance to teleport away.
This also caused Li Yuan to miss out on many points.
The exchange between Tai You Divine and Qing Hong Divine made Dong Jun even more uncomfortable.
The more dazzling Li Yuan was, the more he disliked him.
“Hmph!”
“Just wait. He’s dazzling now, killing quickly, but he’s just relying on his extraordinary speed and domain, presumably he’s condensed the True Meaning of Space and cultivated the Ninefold Evasion Star Technique.” Dong Jun’s eyes became increasingly cold. “When it comes to fighting for the Ancestral Realm Order, he’ll need to engage in direct confrontations and kills, and he’ll definitely lose.”
“Well, Lian Yun has mastered the True God technique, and his direct combat power has become incredibly formidable.” Dong Jun was quite satisfied with his disciple, “Lian Yun Half-God,” for his achievements.
Fourth place on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard, a very good ranking.
Suddenly.
“Everyone, the one called Ning Chi is about to have a clash with ‘Xia Ju’ of the Awakened Star Ancient City,” Si Kun Divine suddenly spoke.
In fact, the other Divines had also noticed this battle.
With their divine power, the Divines could effortlessly envelop the Ancestral Realm with their consciousness and observe tens of thousands of people simultaneously.
They wouldn’t miss a clash between such high-level geniuses.
Ning Chi, ranked first on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard, was suspected to possess peak Void God strength, and his origins were shrouded in mystery, unknown to these Divines.
Xia Ju, ranked 26th on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard, was also incredibly formidable.
This level of clash between top-tier geniuses had only occurred twice since the Ancestral Realm War began a month ago.
…
In the Ancestral Realm, above a vast mountain range, Xia Ju Half-God and Ning Chi Half-God were already locked in a fierce battle.
“You are Ning Chi?”
Xia Ju Half-God, clad in black armor, stood ten meters tall, his aura thick and domineering. He wielded a giant war blade and stared intently at the seemingly lazy figure in the distance.
He couldn’t believe that the Half-God he had encountered by chance was actually the terrifying individual ranked first on the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard.
Ning Chi!
The name was unfamiliar. It wasn’t in Xia Ju Half-God’s intelligence reports… but being ranked first already proved everything, because Jing Kui was only ranked second.
“Xia Ju?”
“Ranked in the top thirty, you’re indeed quite strong.” Ning Chi Half-God seemed lazy, but his eyes were bright. “Give me your all, otherwise, you’ll lose miserably.”
Before the confrontation, neither party knew the other’s identity.
Once they engaged in battle, the rules of the Ancestral Realm would guide them, revealing their auras, allowing them to learn each other’s identities.
“Kill!”
“Nine Blades! Annihilation!” A cold glint flashed in Xia Ju Half-God’s eyes as he went all out, a terrifying blue light emanating from his body, making his figure extremely blurred.
Countless terrifying blade energies roared towards Ning Chi Half-God.
As an Eight-Star Meridian Half-God, Xia Ju Half-God’s Star Techniques were undoubtedly terrifying.
“Good timing.”
“Divine Technique?” Ning Chi Half-God’s eyes lit up, like vast oceans, and he moved instantly. His twin swords emitted mysterious fluctuations, with wisps of water mist forming around them.
“Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!” Layer upon layer of sword energies emerged, as fast as lightning yet as elusive as mist, easily blocking the violent blade energies of Xia Ju Half-God.
One was savage, his blade techniques powerful and unmatched.
The other was gentle, his sword energies like flowing water, overcoming strength with softness.
The battle was fierce.
Suddenly.
“Whoosh!”
Ning Chi Half-God’s right sword spun abruptly. This single sword strike was breathtakingly beautiful, leaving behind a trace in the void that shook the space for a long time, directly severing Xia Ju Half-God’s arm.
Puchi!
Xia Ju Half-God was shocked and enraged, but he was too late to retreat. His arm snapped instantly, his war blade flew away, and blood splattered.
More sword energies rushed towards him.
“No good.”
“Retreat!” Xia Ju Half-God’s mind moved, and he immediately activated his Realm Token, disappearing into the void, causing the sword energies to miss their target.
In this battle.
Ning Chi Half-God emerged victorious, retaining his position as number one.
…
Above a mountain peak.
“Hmm?” Li Yuan noticed the change in the Ancestral Realm Leaderboard, a hint of confusion crossing his eyes. “Xia Ju’s ranking has suddenly plummeted? He’s almost fallen out of the top hundred. Was he defeated by someone?”
With Li Yuan’s strong soul, it was effortless to divert a small portion of his mind to sense the changes on the leaderboard.
“But in that instant, no one’s ranking has changed drastically except Xia Ju. It shouldn’t be someone from the top ten,” Li Yuan mused. “Who defeated Xia Ju? Was it someone from the top ten?”
Gaining half of Xia Ju’s points, in theory, even if it were a top ten powerhouse, their ranking would likely change.
“Could it be Ning Chi, ranked first?” Li Yuan thought to himself. “This Ning Chi, along with Moon Blade, Yu Ting, Kong Yin, and Cloud in the Painting, who are all in the top ten, where did they come from?”
Li Yuan had been closely watching the rankings.
In the top ten, there were five names that he had never heard of before in the intelligence reports from the Awakened Star Ancient City.
And within the top fifty, there were over twenty names that were completely unfamiliar to Li Yuan.
Given the Awakened Star Ancient City’s intelligence gathering capabilities, it was normal for a few unknown genius Half-Gods to appear in the top hundred, after all, the realms were vast, and there were always hidden talents… but dozens of them? That was strange.
Especially in the top ten, five unfamiliar names? That was truly bizarre!
“Did the other geniuses use aliases? No, that’s not right.” Li Yuan frowned. “Ao Feng, Liu Bing, these geniuses from the intelligence reports who had a chance to challenge the top ten have all appeared… none of them are missing.”
All this could only mean one thing.
These Half-Gods with unfamiliar names possessed incredible strength, but in the past, they had seemingly never appeared in the intelligence reports from the Awakened Star Ancient City.
…
Not only was Li Yuan puzzled.
Jing Kui, Liu Bing, Lian Yun, Dong Pan, and other top-tier geniuses, none of them were fools. Almost all of them had noticed the anomalies on the leaderboard, and they all became cautious.
Everyone realized that this Ancestral Realm War was not as simple as they had imagined.
…
Above the Ancestral Realm.
The eleven Divines who had descended with their consciousness were observing Ning Chi and Xia Ju’s battle.
“That sword strike.”
“It’s a True God-level technique! There’s no doubt, being able to defeat Xia Ju so effortlessly, this Ning Chi is definitely a peak Void God.” The Divines had sharp eyes.
Previously, Ning Chi had not encountered an opponent as strong as Xia Ju, so the Divines couldn’t fully confirm it, but now they could.
“Where did he come from?”
“Such formidable strength, he’s likely no less than Jing Kui, and he’s never appeared before.” The Divines were all puzzled.
They knew that all known regions in this realm were completely occupied by the Three Awakened Star Ancient Cities and the Six Sacred Lands.
Each faction was working hard to discover and cultivate geniuses… It was normal to miss out on some Half-Gods with initial Void God strength.
But a Half-God possessing peak Void God strength? Such a peerless genius, who could potentially grow to peak True God level in the future, would be nearly impossible to miss.
Even Xu Yuan had exceeded their expectations, but at least he had a track record, after all, he had made a name for himself and had been cultivated by the Awakened Star Ancient City.
But what about Ning Chi? There was no trace of him before.
“I suspect,”
“This Ning Chi, along with Moon Blade, Yu Ting, and the others, are not geniuses from this realm.” A low, deep voice suddenly sounded. “A single genius emerging suddenly is possible.”
“But a group of peerless geniuses appearing out of nowhere is not normal.” (End of Chapter)
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