Chapter 10 – First on the Heavenly Ranking!
After the Earth Ranking was revealed, it was naturally time for the final Heavenly Ranking.
At this moment, within the Heavenly Stele Pavilion, the dewdrops clinging to the jade-green railings suddenly trembled.
A golden streak split through the clouds high above.
"It's starting!" In the plaza, the hunchbacked old cultivator's tobacco pipe slipped from his hand onto the blue bricks, sparks scattering onto the embroidered shoes of the young girl beside him.
The girl ignored her skirt, standing on tiptoe to gaze toward the hundred-zhang-high Heavenly Stele Pavilion.
It wasn't just these two ordinary cultivators.
At this moment, even those cultivators from top sects and aristocratic clans seated in the loft above rose to their feet involuntarily.
Because… if the names on the Earth Ranking were still familiar tales whispered among the people,
then the names on the Heavenly Ranking were true myths and legends.
Although those names might not change even once in thousands of years, although every sect could recite them by heart, whenever the Heavenly Ranking was unveiled, they would still rise to show respect.
The Saint Realm is not to be insulted!
But this unveiling of the Heavenly Ranking was destined to be recorded in history!
Even the appearance of the final name alone stirred an uproar around the Heavenly Stele Pavilion—
Twelfth place: Yunfu Holy Master, Chu Huaizhou.
"This is impossible!"
"How could this happen?!"
From the third floor of the Stargazing Pavilion came the sound of a jade cup shattering, as the sect master of a top sect gripped the railing tightly.
The plaza had already erupted into a roar.
"What happened? What's going on?"
Some younger cultivators, unaware of the situation, looked around in confusion, seeking answers.
"You're too young to understand! Chu Huaizhou, Holy Master of Yunfu Holy Land, is the only one in nearly three thousand years to have ascended to the Saint Realm. Being in the last place on the Heavenly Ranking should make sense… but… but…"
"But what?!"
"But in the previous ranking, the elder was in eleventh place!"
"What?!"
A terrifying thought flashed almost simultaneously through everyone's minds.
Could it be that, within this century, a new cultivator had ascended to the Saint Realm—reached the level of Dao Inquiry Supreme?
And as familiar names emerged one after another,
the weight in everyone's hearts grew heavier…
…
Seventh place: Medicine King Valley, Qin Suyi.
…
Third place: Purple Heaven Sword Venerable, Xiao Bieli.
Second place: Grand Supreme Emperor of Great Zhou, Ji Wuque.
…
When the second place on the Heavenly Ranking was revealed, the entire plaza suddenly fell silent.
Second place: Grand Supreme Emperor of Great Zhou, Ji Wuque.
This peerless genius who had suppressed all sects and clans of the Xuan Ying Continent to the point they could barely breathe, this powerhouse who had dominated the Heavenly Ranking for nearly ten thousand years,
had actually fallen by one place!
Which meant that the newly emerged Saint in this century, upon appearing, had directly suppressed all ages and ascended to the very top of the Heavenly Ranking!
"This is impossible! Could the Heavenly Ranking have made a mistake?!" Some cultivators had already begun to reject reality, muttering nonsense.
"Mind your words!" A silver-armored general stepped through the air, the jade token at his waist reflecting the Heavenly Stele's golden light. "The Heavenly Stele is a divine artifact of the Upper Realm—how could it be wrong?" Behind him, twelve Jinwu Guards formed hand seals, pressing the voices of doubt into faint, fragmented whispers.
More of the upper-echelon cultivators merely watched the Heavenly Stele with dark expressions, their thoughts unsettled.
They were not naïve enough to think the Heavenly Stele had erred. What concerned them far more was the stance of this newly emerged Saint who could even surpass the Grand Supreme Emperor of Great Zhou, Ji Wuque.
For tens of thousands of years, the Xuan Ying Continent had been unified.
The open and hidden struggles between the Great Zhou royal family and the top sects and aristocratic clans had only grown more intense.
Though the conflict had not yet reached the point of being irreconcilable, it was undeniable that the current situation on the Xuan Ying Continent was far more delicate and dangerous than when the Great Zhou had just been founded and held sway over the four seas.
Gilded light flowed at the top of the Heavenly Stele, as though someone were writing in the air with a cinnabar brush.
It finally settled into a line of ancient seal script—
First place: Chen Chang'an.
"This Chen Chang… cough, this Saint—what is his origin?" Whether in the plaza or the loft above, cultivators stared at this unfamiliar name in mutual puzzlement.
Saint Realm cultivators had long become like the legends of ancient times, woven into the very bones and blood of the Xuan Ying Continent.
From the day a Saint was born to the day they ascended to the Saint Realm… even the most vivid and detailed biography could never capture their full legend and charm.
Moreover, every Saint's emergence was inevitably tied to the fate of the entire continent.
This world would never produce a Saint out of thin air.
"Could he be of the demonic path?"
"Impossible. The demonic path has long been dormant these years. If someone there had attained sainthood, how could they endure such humiliation in silence?"
"Then could it be…"
In an unnoticed corner of the plaza, a cloaked woman stared at the name on the Heavenly Stele and murmured, "He's actually first on the Heavenly Ranking? Such a powerhouse—why would he willingly live in seclusion in that valley?"
Her gaze wavered slightly but soon returned to normal.
"Hmph, what does he have to do with me? Still… the absence of those few names on the Heavenly Stele means they… truly have all perished."
Even Saints had lifespans.
The longest-lived Saint recorded in human history had only reached one hundred thousand years.
Now certain that all her enemies had died of old age, the woman's emotions grew dark and unreadable.
She slowly left the plaza. Though she was utterly inconspicuous, the crowd around her parted as though the sea itself were opening.
A rogue cultivator's shadow-recording jade clearly captured the edge of her cloak, yet his pupils remained veiled in gray mist as he instinctively made way, without even knowing why.
In the loft above, the discussions among the upper-echelon cultivators continued.
But regardless of their conclusions, at least one point was certain—
"…No matter who this newly emerged Saint may be, if he can take the top of the Heavenly Ranking… the entire cultivation world's balance will surely change…"
…
Countless undercurrents surged within the cultivation world.
At the same time, within a valley—
"Father, if you don't flip it over soon, the egg is going to burn!"
…