Chapter 3201: Top 10
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Branch leader, Duan Ling Tian and that woman have entered the upper realm again… They must be preparing to enter the grade-two secret realm.” Zhang Yun Ting’s son who had been lurking in one of the safe zones in the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm immediately sent a message to the Phantom Fox Clan’s branch in the Southern Heaven Territory as soon as he discovered Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er had returned to the upper realm.
“Lord envoy.” Zhang Dong Nan, the Branch Leader of the Phantom Fox Clan’s branch in the Southern Heaven Territory, quickly conveyed the message to Zhang Jin Yi who was resting at this moment.
“Grade-two secret realm?” Since this was Zhang Jin Yi’s first visit to the Southern Heaven Territory and the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm, he did not know much about the upper realm.
“Lord envoy, the upper realm’s scoreboard would be refreshed annually. Those who are ranked in the top 100 would be permitted to enter three secret realms respectively according to their rankings,” Zhang Dong Nan explained, “Tomorrow is the day when the scoreboard will reset. If you enter the upper realm today, your Ident.i.ty Jade Token will send you into the grade-one secret realm with the others who are ranked in the top 10 to explore the secret realm.”
Since Zhang Jin Yi was ranked in the top 10, he would, naturally, be allowed to enter the grade-one secret realm.
“Will I be able to meet that woman whom we suspect to be a Thousand Phantoms Ice Fox in the grade-one secret realm?” Zhang Jin Yi asked.
“No,” Zhang Dong Nan replied, “That woman and Duan Ling Tian are only granted access to the grade-two secret realm. Since the grade-one and grade-two secret realm are separate, you won’t be able to meet them.”
“If that’s the case, I have no interest in entering the secret realm… When the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm reopens, I’ll use a pseudonym to enter the upper realm and find them.”
Zhang Jin Yi had no interest in the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm and the secret realms and the treasures within. In his opinion, the Southern Heaven Territory was like a small place in the countryside. He already possessed the things that were regarded as treasures here before he even broke through and became a Celestial King. In the past, when he had just become an Overarching Heaven Supreme Celestial, the Phantom Fox Clan had already given him a Royal Grade Celestial Weapon. After he became a Celestial Duke, he was then given a purely defensive Royal Grade Celestial Weapon. As for other things like Celestial Pills and Celestial Talismans, he had never lacked them. In fact, he even owned some escape-type Celestial Talismans that were inscribed by t.i.tled Celestial Lords!
“Lord envoy, I have a suggestion… Why don’t we look for a sectless cultivator who consistently ranks at the top and kill him before the scoreboard resets? After that, you can use his ident.i.ty in the upper realm and look for Duan Ling Tian and the woman. You can keep track of their rankings and follow them into the same secret realm at the end of the year if you don’t meet them beforehand. Your name is too inconspicuous, and using a pseudonym might not work since they would probably be wary of a new and unfamiliar name,” Zhang Dong Nan suggested.
“I’ll act according to your suggestion.” Zhang Jin Yi was quick to agree to Zhang Dong Nan’s suggestion. Perhaps, he had learned from his previous mistake. “However, I’m not familiar with the sectless cultivators here so I’ll leave this matter to you.”
“Lord envoy, I’ll take care of everything. All I need is your consent.” Zhang Dong Nan was relieved that Zhang Jin Yi agreed to his suggestion. He had been worried the arrogant direct descendant from the main clan would spurn his suggestion. Fortunately, Zhang Jin Yi was willing to listen to his advice.
…
In the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm.
In just a blink of an eye, a day had pa.s.sed. There was only an hour left before the scoreboard would reset.
At this moment, Duan Ling Tian and Huan’er were waiting at a corner of the safe zone. Since most people were aware of how powerful they were now, n.o.body dared to provoke them. Moreover, they were ranked 13th and 15th respectively. This meant there were not many people who were stronger than them in the upper realm.
‘That person…’ Duan Ling Tian who was looking around his surroundings discovered a person who would look at him and Huan’er from time to time. He found the person rather familiar. After a while, he recalled he had seen the person thrice.
“Huan’er, is that person a member from the Phantom Fox Clan?” Duan Ling Tian asked. After probing that person with his Divine Consciousness, he discovered the person’s aura was somewhat similar to Zhang Yun Ting, a member of the Phantom Fox Clan. For this reason, he asked Huan’er for confirmation since she could easily identify members of the Phantom Fox Clan due to her ident.i.ty as the Thousand Phantoms Ice Fox.
Upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words, Huan’er turned to look at the person. When that person looked away, she extended her Divine Consciousness to probe that person. In just a brief moment, she said to Duan Ling Tian, “Brother Ling Tian, he’s really a member of the Phantom Fox Clan…”
“As expected.” Duan Ling Tian smiled. “No wonder Branch Leader Zhang is aware of our movements. As it turns out, he has a spy here.”
Despite discovering a spy from the Phantom Fox Clan, Duan Ling Tian did not rush to take action since they were in the safe zone where fighting was strictly prohibited.
…
After an hour…
The rankings on the scoreboard stopped changing; there was no movement for 15 minutes. Following that, the scoreboard was refreshed.
Then, those who ranked in the top 100 were sent to their respective secret realms according to their ranks.
…
Those who ranked in the top 10 were transported to a huge cave. It did not take long before they discovered there were only nine of them instead of ten.
“There are only nine of us here… Where’s the other person?”
After a short moment, someone said, “It’s Zhang Jin Yi. He’s not here.”
A grey-clad middle-aged man said, “Zhang Jin Yi appeared out of nowhere… He even managed to kill the Bodhi Zen Sect’s Tuo Ku.”
“Tuo Ye, Tuo Ku’s your senior brother… Did he manage to send a message back to the Bodhi Zen Sect before he was killed by Zhang Jin Yi?” A handsome young man dressed in a white robe and holding a fan asked a young monk dressed in black and white kasaya.
The white-clad young man had an elegant and n.o.ble bearing. He was none other than the inner disciples from the Tao Scholar Profound Sect, Yan Ru Yv, who was ranked at the top. He was the person who had defeated the pride of the 10,000 Battles Heaven Sect and became the new peerless genius in the upper realm.
“No. Senior Tuo Ku didn’t manage to send a message before he died.” The young monk, Tuo Ye, shook his head and sighed. “If he had time to send a message, he would have been able to crush his Ident.i.ty Jade Token and escape. It’s likely that he didn’t expect that he’d die.”
At this moment, a handsome young man asked with a smile, “Yan Ru Yv, you’re the strongest among us now. Do you think you’re capable of defeating Zhang Jin Yi?”
The handsome young man seemed rather familiar with Yan Ru Yv. He was Ouyang Yv Hao, the son of the Sect Leader of the Hundred Flowers Celestial Sect and a core disciple of the sect. He was also one of the few male disciples in the Hundred Flowers Celestial Sect.
At this moment, a beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure could be seen holding Ouyang Yv Hao’s arm. She was even more eye-catching standing among the crowd of men. She was known as the most beautiful woman in the upper realm of the Southern Heaven Ancient Realm, Ouyang Yu Wei. Similar to Ouyang Yv Hao, she was also from the Hundred Flowers Celestial Sect. In fact, she and Ouyang Yv Hao were fraternal twins.
“I’m not confident.” Yan Ru Yv waved the fan in his hand and shook his head. “Although I’m confident I’m stronger than Tuo Ku, due to his defenses, it’s impossible for me to kill him…”
Many people nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. Tuo Ku’s defenses were the best in the upper realm… Even if we were stronger than him, it’d be impossible for us to kill him…”
“Where did Zhang Jin Yi come from? Why is he so powerful?”
Many people were curious about Zhang Jin Yi and could not help but wonder about his origin.
As time pa.s.sed, the topic gradually changed from Zhang Jin Yi to something else.
At this moment, a tall and muscular young man looked at Ouyang Yu Wei and said with a smile, “Junior Yu Wei, I heard those who had seen the woman, Huan’er, said that you’re not a match for her. She has to be quite strong to be able to rank 15th on the scoreboard. Moreover, it was her first time entering the upper realm. I’ve also heard that the man by her side, Duan Ling Tian, is actually quite useless. He only managed to rank so high because of her.”
The muscular young man was Hou Tong Xuan, a core disciple of the Wind Thunder Dao Sect.
“Given the chance, I’d love to meet her.” Ouyang Yu Wei smiled as her eyes narrowed imperceptibly. “I’d love to see if she’s as strong as the rumor says.”
Meanwhile, Yan Ru Yv shook his head as he looked at Hou Tong Xuan. “Hou Tong Xuan, it’s a mistake to underestimate Duan Ling Tian… He’s not a simple person. Thirty years ago, he was invincible in the middle realm. This was his first time entering the upper realm, and he has already managed to rank 13th. Do you really think someone like that is a pushover?”
Among the people present on the scene, no one knew Duan Ling Tian as well as Yan Ru Yv did. He had long heard of Duan Ling Tian before Duan Ling Tian had joined the Profound Nether Mansion and was still in the Simplicity Celestial Sect. However, at that time, he did not think much about Duan Ling Tian. Duan Ling Tian was just someone who would occasionally come up in his conversation with his good friend, Chen Li, who was the son of one of the Vice Leaders of the Blood Skull Gang.