The spatial fluctuations in the Black Wind Mountains suddenly intensified, and one after another, white lights flashed, forcibly sending the participating cultivators back to the training ground by the teleportation array.

Standing in the crowd, Xiao Chen felt the familiar touch of the ground and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Several days of fighting had left him somewhat exhausted, and returning to the training ground finally allowed his tense nerves to relax a little. He looked around and saw the surrounding cultivators gathered in twos and threes; some were helping each other tend to their wounds, some were excitedly showing off their scores, and others looked dejected, clearly having been eliminated early due to insufficient points.

What score did you get?

"Don't even mention it, only 800 points, definitely won't make the top 100."

"I was lucky and managed to kill a fourth-tier magical beast, which gave me 1200 points. I should be able to barely advance."

"Have you heard? Senior Brother Ling Chen from the Northern Region is said to have killed a peak fifth-tier thunder beast, and his points are probably going to break four thousand!"

Discussions rose and fell, mostly revolving around the points. Xiao Chen listened silently, his fingers unconsciously stroking the points jade token—after the last few days of hunting, his points had risen to 4980, just one step away from 5000.

"quiet!"

The old cultivator from the Northern Region, who was presiding over the event, once again stood on the high platform, holding a crystal ball that recorded the points in his hand. His voice resounded throughout the entire arena: "The Black Wind Mountain Range points competition has ended. We will now begin tallying the points. Those whose names are called, please come forward to register. The top 100 in points will advance to the next round!"

The crystal ball emitted a soft light, and the old cultivator's voice rang out clearly: "Northern Region, Ling Chen—4500 points!"

Whoosh—

The entire venue erupted in cheers!

"4500 points! My God! How many monsters did that take to kill?"

"Senior Brother Ling Chen is indeed the number one genius in the Northern Region! I'm afraid no one can surpass his score, right?"

"Don't even mention surpassing him, we'd be grateful if he could even reach 4000 points. Senior Brother Ling Chen is the undisputed number one!"

The cultivators from the Northern Region stood tall and proud, their faces beaming with pride, their eyes filled with undisguised smugness as they looked at the cultivators from other regions. Ling Chen stood before the Northern Region's group, his expression calm, as if 4500 points were nothing special to him. He merely nodded slightly, a gesture that seemed to acknowledge the astonishment of the crowd.

"Western Regions, Burning Sky Valley, Mo Yan - 4100 points!"

Another gasp rippled through the crowd. While 4100 points wasn't as high as Ling Chen's, it far surpassed everyone else's, and the Western Region cultivators cheered. Mo Yan stepped forward, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Ling Chen, his eyes gleaming with a defiant fighting spirit—he was only 400 points behind; he wasn't without a chance.

"Eastern Region, Sword Pavilion Ye Qingyu - 4000 points!"

The cultivators from the Eastern Region were equally excited. Ye Qingyu, dressed in white and holding a long sword, exuded a cool and aloof aura. He bowed slightly to the high platform, neither arrogant nor impatient.

The announcement of the three rounds of high scores brought the atmosphere to a climax. Everyone felt that the top three on the leaderboard were already set, especially Ling Chen's 4500 points, which seemed to be an insurmountable peak.

The cultivators from the Southern Region remained somewhat silent. Their highest score was only 3200 points, a significant gap compared to the top three. Many secretly glanced at Xiao Chen with complex expressions—they wondered how many points this fellow disciple, who had shone so brightly at Jiaolong Pool, could possibly have.

The old cultivator glanced at the crystal ball, paused, and seemed somewhat surprised before loudly announcing, "Southern Region, Qingyun Sect, Xiao Chen—4980 points!"

"Buzz—"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

A few breaths later, an uproar erupted that was more violent than ever before!

"How many? 4980 points?!"

"Did I hear that right? Taller than Senior Brother Ling Chen? How is that possible!"

"A cultivator from the Southern Region? What monster did he kill to get so many points? He must be cheating!"

The cultivators from the Northern Region were the first to erupt in disbelief, their eyes filled with skepticism and wariness as they looked at Xiao Chen. Even Ling Chen, whose face had been calm, showed a hint of surprise. He looked at Xiao Chen, his eyes revealing a newfound curiosity—this cultivator from the Southern Region had actually surpassed him in points?

The cultivators from the Western and Eastern Regions were also discussing the matter, mostly with doubt and confusion. In their minds, the Southern Region was a "weak region," so how could a formidable figure with nearly five thousand points emerge from there?

"Cheating?" Standing in front of the Southern Region team, Xiao Chen heard the surrounding doubts and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. He didn't explain, but silently stepped forward and handed his points jade token to the old cultivator for verification.

The old cultivator took the jade tablet, infused it with spiritual power, and Xiao Chen's points details instantly appeared on the crystal ball: 12 third-tier demonic beasts killed (120 points), 25 fourth-tier demonic beasts killed (500 points), 8 fifth-tier demonic beasts killed (400 points), half-step Nascent Soul Black Water Flood Dragon killed (1000 points), 360 points stolen from other domain cultivators, ... a total of 4980 points.

The details are clear and there are no flaws.

The old cultivator returned the jade token to Xiao Chen and announced loudly, "The points are valid! Xiao Chen from the Southern Region, 4980 points, currently ranked first!"

"Hiss—" The entire audience gasped.

Killing a half-step Nascent Soul dragon? And that's worth 5000 points? No wonder his score is so high! Even so, to be able to solo a half-step Nascent Soul dragon, that's terrifying strength!

The initial skepticism gradually subsided, replaced by shock and awe. Those cultivators who had witnessed Xiao Chen slaying the dragon at Jiaolong Pool were especially shaken—they finally understood that this Southern Region cultivator's "weakness" was all an act.

Ling Chen looked at Xiao Chen, his surprise turning into intense fighting spirit—4980 points, nearly 500 points higher than him. Only an opponent like this deserved his full effort.

Xiao Chen returned to the Southern Region team, seemingly oblivious to the stares around him. His score was unimportant to him; what mattered was that he had proven with his strength that the Southern Region cultivators were by no means a "weak force."

"Silence!" the old cultivator spoke again, silencing the murmurs in the arena. "The top 100 points have been tallied. We will now proceed to the second round—the arena competition!"

He waved his hand, and the ground in the center of the training ground shook violently. A huge blue stone arena rose from the ground, its edges engraved with defensive runes, exuding a heavy aura.

"Round Two Rules: Each of the four domains will send ten people to engage in one-on-one arena battles. The winner will receive 10 points, and the loser will not lose any points. The domain with the highest final domain score will receive three additional 'Domain Lord Tokens'!"

"The first match is between the Western Regions and the Southern Regions!" the old cultivator's voice boomed. "Both sides may send disciples to fight, or disciples may volunteer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man stepped forward from the Western Regions team. He held a flaming longsword and glanced at the Southern Regions team with a provocative look: "Which fellow Daoist from the Southern Regions would like to come up and offer his guidance?"

The cultivators from the Southern Region looked at each other, noticing that Mo Yan was the number one in the Western Region with 4100 points and formidable strength. Many of them hesitated.

This first arena match, even before it began, had already ignited the passion of cultivators from all four regions.