Chapter 261 The Heavenly Ranking is Updated Again
The cultivators on these peaks naturally all come from ninth-level forces.
Their purpose in coming here was precisely to recruit the third Fighting King—Wu Shaogan.
After the last update of the Sky Ranking, all newly listed Dou Wangs were enveloped in a beam of light to pinpoint their location.
Although not every refresh brings new Battle Kings, this time there were indeed five or six new ones.
These forces discovered that a beam of light was not too far away from them.
Although they didn't know the identity and ranking of this Battle King, they quickly prepared the resources to recruit him and sent people to investigate—they hoped they would be lucky enough to find the one who had just parachuted in.
It doesn't matter if they aren't. As long as they are Battle Kings, they are worth recruiting. It's just that the treatment they receive will be different... Once they recruit Battle Kings into their respective forces, their treatment will inevitably continue to increase as the Battle Kings' rankings rise.
These forces carried different mustard seed rings containing different levels of treatment, so that they could offer sufficient resources to invite any Battle King they found.
And those carrying the resources... were the Nirvana clones that were originally intended for the Third Dou Wang.
If they happen to encounter the Third Fighting King, they have one version of events; if it's someone else, they have another.
Of course, during the time they were investigating and rushing there, the Fighting King would not be waiting in the same place, but that's not a big problem. Anyway, it's in that area, so they can just search more carefully.
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Then it was the evil sorcerer who provoked them.
Since their routes were similar, these Nirvana beings also came to check on the situation.
It was here that they received news of Wu Shaogan.
It really is Wu Shaogan!
Then I heard that his Daoist partner, Master Zhong, went to do research, and Wu Shaogan went in to accompany him. The couple were very busy. Master Zhong developed the antidote and was so tired that he rested for a long time and did not wake up...
It's been like this ever since.
They couldn't be too pushy, so they waited until Wu Shaogan and Zhong Danshi left the town before taking the initiative to meet them and extend an invitation.
Meanwhile, many forces have also secretly prepared a suitable alchemist.
Because they hadn't anticipated this situation, some of their Nirvana clones didn't have enough resources or weren't compatible with alchemists, so they sent their companions to buy them before the main body appeared.
While waiting a little longer may attract more competitors, it's not entirely without its advantages—at least it allows for alternative preparations and helps to bridge the resource gap between different factions.
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Just as their forces were locked in a fierce battle, a large patch of thick clouds suddenly appeared in the sky.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a level nine warship!
The warship was entirely black, not only was it large in size, but its hull was also covered with all sorts of extremely deadly weapons, as well as countless hidden formations that shimmered with sharp patterns—it looked like an incredibly terrifying fighting machine!
The buildings on the deck all carried an endless sense of desolation, and the entire warship exuded a surging fighting spirit that seemed ready to ram into people!
Interestingly, near those imposing buildings, there were also rather delicate dwellings, with an air that didn't match the powerful architecture... Yet, somehow they were built in perfect harmony.
On the deck, several men and women stood side by side.
Some men and women exude a relatively gentle aura, while others exude an incredibly unrestrained aura, giving off very different vibes. Yet, they can still gather together in twos and threes... and surprisingly, it still feels quite harmonious.
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The level nine warship hovered directly, and the men and women seemed to only then realize that they had arrived, and they all gracefully descended.
The warship itself fell into the hands of a handsome young man with a gentle demeanor.
These cultivators also landed on a mountaintop, adjacent to several other peaks.
Then, the gentle-looking man greeted the others amicably.
The cultivators on the other peaks, who were originally ostracizing each other, softened their attitudes after seeing this gentle man.
However, there was still a hint of unhappiness.
One of the male cultivators shrouded in lightning spoke up: "Why has Emperor Xiao Dan come in person? The Third Dou Wang is a guest on the Martial Arts Ranking. If he were to join your Lingxian Sect, I'm afraid it would cause some delays."
The gentle man, Xiao Danhuang, said with a smile, "My Lingxian Sect also has a Martial Arts Hall, and we should always strive to win one or two." As he spoke, his expression softened even more, "Moreover, Xiaoyou Wu's Daoist partner, Xiaoyou Zhong, is a perfect match for our sect. Xiaoyou Wu and Xiaoyou Zhong are deeply in love, and I'm afraid they don't want to be separated."
Beside Xiao Danhuang, a robust young man stepped forward and interjected, "Even if you can't join the Lingxian Sect, joining my War God Hall would be fine! My War God Hall and the Lingxian Sect have been on good terms for many years, and it's common for us to teach each other's disciples!"
A tall, slender woman, who shared a similar air with the robust young man and was clearly from the same school, chimed in, "One can go to the Spirit Immortal Sect, and the other can come to the War God Hall! Anyway, our two families have a lot of dealings, so it won't delay them!"
Xiao Danhuang smiled again, saying nothing more, which was taken as tacit agreement.
The others all curled their lip in disapproval.
So your Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall are in cahoots?!
……Oh shit.
There really are only two of you who can have such a great relationship!
Why hasn't Senior Wuming Danzun dumped Senior Ba Xue Tian Dao yet? What's so great about Senior Tian Dao, who's so cold-blooded and ruthless!
These two have been a couple for thousands of years without breaking up, and their disciples follow suit and also like to get together!
However, it must be said that Lingxian Sect, as a ninth-level alchemy sect, does have a significant advantage.
However, things might change in a few days.
News of Master Zhong's victory over the Evil Poison Master has spread, and other ninth-level alchemy forces from various regions, as long as they are not too far away, will probably all rush here...
At the very least, Danxin Valley, Danding Sect, and Wancao Mountain are all places that can be reached quickly.
Even alchemist factions that focus solely on alchemy and feel they lack strength in martial arts will still compete for the title of Battle King—please go back and nurture them properly, as this will also strengthen their faction's defenses—the large quantity of pills that alchemist factions can provide is quite attractive.
Several alchemy sects have actually recruited Dou Wang (Battle King) or near-Dou Wang (quasi-Dou Wang).
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What you say comes true.
Before a day or two had passed, more than a dozen other forces arrived.
As expected, it included several alchemy factions.
The verbal sparring between them naturally intensified, and they also readily allocated additional resources.
While the various factions were engaged in verbal battles, they also sent some cultivators to investigate the situation in Qingyu Town.
All of Wu Shaogan and Zhong Cai's movements will be relayed to them.
In this way, people from various factions know what opportunity is most suitable to seek.
Many forces can be divided into those that "clash" with the outside world and those that discuss things in private.
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The same applies to the peaks where the Lingxian Sect and the War God Temple are located.
The two forces arrived together after receiving the news.
The two families have actually been related by marriage since the very beginning.
Because the founders of these two forces were none other than the Lifeless Pill Master and the Bloodthirsty Heavenly Blade.
The reason for its creation is quite simple—after experiencing countless trials and tribulations and encountering numerous fortuitous events, Wuming Danzun wanted to settle down, and Baxue Tiandao accompanied him in carefully selecting and finding such a vast region.
Before the two factions were established, this place was just a desolate wilderness. The newly established faction was only a level seven faction. It was only after the two founders continuously improved their strength and obtained countless opportunities that the faction continued to grow and attract the allegiance of countless smaller factions, and continued to expand...
In less than a thousand years, their power level has risen to level nine!
By now, both forces have been established for ten thousand years, and the two founders have already survived one tribulation. However, compared to other level nine forces, these forces, which have only existed for ten thousand years, are still far less established.
If the two of them hadn't been so young back then, unsure if they could cherish each other forever, perhaps the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Hall would have been two branches of the same major sect!
After much deliberation and consideration, the two decided that it would be better for one of them to focus on alchemy and the other on martial arts, with each managing their own power separately.
That's how things came to be.
Over the next thousand years, the relationship between the two founders was not without its ups and downs, but it was indeed stronger than gold.
While the two sides are not exactly inseparable, they are certainly intricately connected.
Even this level nine warship—which clearly belongs to the Temple of War—has two architectural styles that are strange yet harmonious.
The reason is as simple as it gets.
This is practically the "mount" prepared by the Tyrant Blood Heavenly Blade!
Buildings with a somber and austere atmosphere are used by disciples of the War God Temple, while buildings with a gentle and mild atmosphere are used by disciples of the Spirit Immortal Sect.
In any large-scale event, the War God Temple would provide the means of transportation to carry the people of the Spirit Immortal Sect together, advancing and retreating together.
These two forces have developed to the point that even if the two founders go their separate ways, they will still maintain a close relationship—as long as they don't become enemies and fight each other, neither force will have any problems!
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This time, the Lingxian Sect originally planned to help the War God Temple increase its benefits related to pills to attract the Third Dou Wang to join the War God Temple.
—Although the Lingxian Sect has established a Martial Arts Hall, just like the War God Hall has an Alchemist Hall, they are actually quite ordinary.
The War God Temple is still too young, and because its founder is exceptionally talented and has very high standards, it is very selective about the Battle Kings it recruits.
Besides the conventional requirement that the Battle King himself cannot belong to the evil path, the Battle King's ranking must be consistently in the top fifty, his age cannot be too old, and his personality cannot be the kind of mean-spirited and heartless person.
The Battle King is very selective about the forces he joins. The War God Temple, being "too young," often struggles to compete with other established level nine forces.
Therefore, in the entire War God Hall, only one Level 5 Dou Wang ranked forty-sixth and one Level 8 Dou Wang emerged.
Even this Battle King is a descendant of a sworn brother of the Overlord Blood Heavenly Blade, and was not recruited from outside!
At the same time, because of the strength of the War God Temple, it has cultivated some cultivators who can compete with the bottom-ranked Fighting Kings on the Sky Ranking, ranging from level five to level eight, and they should not be underestimated...
It was also because the Temple of War was too picky. Although the Western River Region was on this route, the Temple of War still took longer than other forces to investigate Wu Shaogan. Of course, for someone like Wu Shaogan, who was ranked third, some standards could be relaxed.
After confirming that Wu Shaogan cherished his Daoist partner, the War God Temple looked forward to Wu Shaogan even more.
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That being said...
As the Lingxian Sect and the War God Palace rushed towards this location, they discovered Zhong Cai, a delightful surprise.
The large amount of resources that had been brought along to provide assistance to the Temple of War were quickly gathered together and instead formed a generous gift list to attract Zhong Cai!
For the Lingxian Sect, no matter the cost, they must recruit Master Zhong to the Lingxian Sect!
In fact, some Nirvana cultivators, upon learning of Zhong Cai's news, immediately sent a message to the Lifeless Pill Master, requesting a reserved spot for a ninth-grade pill.
Yes, in order to recruit Zhong Cai and for the War God Temple to successfully recruit Wu Shaogan, even though it hurts, the Spirit Immortal Sect Nirvana decided to grit its teeth and offer this treatment!
They are determined to win!
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However, it wasn't just the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Palace that were determined to win.
All factions are generous when it comes to recruiting talent... The amount of resources they are willing to spend on recruitment reflects their assessment of the value of talent.
Typically, the forces that invest the most resources are the ones that successfully "acquire talent."
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Within Qingyu Town, the alchemists spent many days researching together.
Since Zhong Cai joined, he explained and deduced the ideas behind the poison formula, which made all the level 5 alchemists understand it clearly and benefited greatly.
The component that Zhong Cai couldn't identify was a challenge for him, and also for other alchemists... it's just that they hadn't researched this aspect in their early stages.
When Zhong Cai reached that point in his explanation, he asked other alchemists if they knew anything about this item.
However, the other alchemists were also unaware of this.
One of the Azure Sky Pill Kings suggested that this situation was mostly because its ingredients were carefully cultivated by Wei Li using his unique methods, which is why none of the many pill masters present had heard of it!
At the same time, when Zhong Cai proposed how to solve these difficulties, he received a lot of praise from many alchemists... Some alchemists even had an epiphany on the spot and improved their alchemy skills.
Unbeknownst to them, many alchemists were immersed in the exchange of alchemical techniques, and quite some time had passed.
Zhong Cai also really likes this kind of academic atmosphere.
The alchemists on the top continent, especially the Azure Sky Pill King, may not have been able to develop an antidote in time this time, but each of them is quite skilled. The insights that Zhong Cai gained from their exchanges were immense.
During their sparring sessions, Zhong Cai had a sudden flash of inspiration and developed a new type of antidote pill that was several times more potent than many of the existing level-five antidote pills. It used the method of fighting poison with poison to neutralize the deadly poison, and all the main and auxiliary ingredients were poisonous herbs.
The other alchemists were all amazed. They had all witnessed Zhong Cai suddenly come up with a new formula and quickly try it out. After only a few batches of pills, he had already successfully refined them to the highest quality!
This talent is truly indescribable.
Even the several Sky King Pill Masters couldn't help but feel that they had learned something new.
One of the Sky Pill Kings sighed, "In the great domain where I lived in my early years, alchemy was flourishing. I once watched a sixth-level Pill King, ranked fifteenth on the Sky List, explain alchemy to the public, and countless alchemists came to listen!" He still felt a sense of longing when he thought about it. "I still remember that the Pill King suddenly had an epiphany while he was explaining, and quickly came up with the prototype of a peculiar pill in front of everyone, which earned him praise from a higher-level alchemy senior who also came to visit him."
It was that observation that sparked his yearning for alchemy in the heart of this Sky Pill King. He also quickly discovered his own talent and worked hard all the way up to the Sky Ranking, just like the sixth-level Pill King he admired back then.
However, his talent was ultimately inferior to that senior's, and his ranking was far lower.
The Azure Sky Pill King continued to sigh, "Now that I have the good fortune to witness Master Zhong's insights, I can't help but think of what happened back then. At this moment, it seems that Master Zhong's alchemy skills and talent are even superior to that senior from back then."
...It refreshed his understanding of talent.
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The Dan Kings got along very well.
Zhong Cai always had a smile on her face, seemingly without any temper.
However, no one present really thought so—just by looking at how Zhong Danshi could still "use materials" on the spot and solve problems without being affected by the fact that he was surrounded by zombies, it was clear that he had a tough side.
What truly makes alchemists occasionally lose their focus... is that Master Zhong would often secretly glance back at his Daoist partner.
What made them even more embarrassed was that sometimes, even when Master Zhong had clearly gained some insight, he would very naturally look at his Daoist partner, who would then give him an encouraging smile...
The alchemists had mixed feelings.
During the research and exchange, Master Zhong Dan occasionally became distracted and his attitude seemed a bit superficial. However, every time Master Zhong Dan received encouragement from his Daoist partner, it was as if he suddenly replenished his energy and spirit, and his mind worked even faster!
It's quite subtle.
Could the encouragement from the Third Fighting King, Hanxiao, be some kind of supplement?
Many alchemists also saw the encouragement, but didn't feel anything.
I just felt it was a bit too cloying.
However, considering that while they were improving their alchemy skills, Master Zhong was improving even faster, had more spiritual insights, and could give them in-depth explanations... they didn't think too much about it.
If Master Zhong thinks he can draw nourishment from his Daoist partner, then go ahead. They are far inferior to Master Zhong! Besides, alchemists have different personalities and their own quirks, so they have no right to criticize him.
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A few more days passed.
The sky outside trembled slightly—invisible and without shadow, yet it seemed to permeate the primordial souls of many cultivators.
In an instant, it attracted the attention of countless cultivators!
It's the beginning of the month again, and the Sky Ranking has been refreshed once more!
Countless regions, countless forces, countless cultivators... all went out or walked to the window and looked up at the sky.
Check out this month's Sky Rankings.
The enormous light screen projected from high above continued to unfold at an extremely rapid pace, exactly the same as last month...
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At this moment, all the martial arts cultivators and alchemists in Qingyu Town put down whatever they were doing and focused their attention on the Sky Ranking.
Besides whether Wu Shaogan's ranking would drop, what they were concerned about was where Zhong Cai would end up on the Sky List!
Especially the numerous alchemists.
The reason they lingered in this central town for so long after relieving Qingyu Town of its poison was not only to exchange alchemy skills with Zhong Cai and improve themselves, but also to check Zhong Cai's ranking in the closest possible location.
At this moment, all the alchemists focused their attention on the fifth-level alchemy ranking list and quickly searched for Zhong Cai!
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Zhong Cai didn't rush to look, but quietly slipped out from among the craning alchemists and stood next to her old master Wu.
Wu Shaogan smiled, took Zhong Cai's hand, and whispered, "Is Cai nervous?"
Zhong Cai said with a grin, "I'm not nervous at all!"
Wu Shaogan sighed and squeezed Zhong Cai's fingers again.
Zhong Cai's smile widened—his husband, Lao Wu, was quite nervous, just like last month when he was looking at the rankings, he was extremely concerned about Lao Wu's ranking!
After seeing his old man Wu silently look up at the sky, Zhong Cai stopped talking. However, he first looked at the Sky Martial Arts Ranking and headed straight for the top three positions—old man Wu was still in third place, which was quite stable.
Because his combat strength did not improve significantly, Lao Wu's ranking did not rise, and the fourth-ranked player behind him was unable to pull Lao Wu down.
Clearly, the gap in combat power between the top few remains firmly established.
If you only slightly increase your strength, it won't be enough to suppress the one above you.
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At this moment, Zhong Cai suddenly felt that her husband, Lao Wu, was gripping her hand tighter, and immediately looked at him.
Wu Shaogan happened to be looking over as well.
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows.
Wu Shaogan's eyes and brows were full of smiles as he happily said, "A-Cai, you made the list!"
Zhong Cai knew, of course, that she would be on the list. Before she even looked at the list herself, she became smug and looked at it while feeling pleased with herself.
Searching from bottom to top...
Wu Shaogan poked him.
Zhong Cai turned her head to look at him.
Wu Shaogan pointed his finger upwards.
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows even higher and immediately looked in the direction her old man was pointing—sure enough, she saw that line of words.
10th place: Zhong Cai.
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Zhong Cai blinked.
Tenth.
The ranking is pretty good.
However, he felt it was only right that he took this position! Old Wu said he was amazing! He should be this amazing, haha!
The alchemists who also saw the rankings couldn't help but show expressions of utter shock.
Several alchemists even had blank expressions on their faces—
10th place—?
It's ranked tenth!
How did they manage to rank so high?!
That's a bit outrageous!
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Many alchemists did not underestimate Zhong Cai; on the contrary, they secretly overestimated him.
Because they all knew very well that Zhong Cai was only around forty years old this year, much younger than them. He was practically still a cub. No matter how talented he was, his accumulation and experience were inevitably insufficient.
In their view, this alchemist's ranking would be at most in the twentieth or thirtieth place—roughly the position of the evil poison master.
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