After the competition, Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian entered the initial ranking of the Heroes List, while Shi Xingyang, who participated in the challenge with them, ended in failure.
Shi Xingyang clenched his fists. The three of them had gone out together, but now he was the only one who had failed the challenge. When he returned to the crowd alone, he felt a faint gaze sweeping over him, as if mocking his overestimation of his abilities.
After the Heroes Ranking Challenge, the rankings within the Heroes Ranking will be determined.
The members of the Heroes Ranking will be teleported to a small secret realm to complete this trial.
The Heroes Ranking is divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced ranks. Members of each rank will be teleported to different locations, where the trials will be completed in this secret realm.
After the competition, Qi Zhiheng met with Sheng Mingyue again. Sheng Mingyue successfully entered the top of the Elite Ranking in this challenge. After participating in the ranking trial, she is just waiting to win the next internal challenge of the top ranking so that she can truly join the Yuansheng Academy.
For details regarding the ranking trial, everyone will be teleported to a private secret realm within the Source Academy. This secret realm is just one of the Source Academy's secret realms, called the Silver Huaihai Secret Realm.
The entrance to the Yin Huai Hai Secret Realm is in Yin Huai Hai, hence the name of the secret realm.
Minor secret realms represent the foundation of a sect. The Yuansheng Academy holds a superior position and possesses the most minor secret realms in the entire Shengliang Kingdom. Qi Zhiheng knows of at least three such realms, but he is not very clear about the other minor secret realms that have not been publicly announced.
The Yinhuaihai Secret Realm is divided into outer, middle, and inner areas. Disciples ranked in the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels will be teleported to these areas respectively.
"Although we're all in the same secret realm, the areas are different, so I might not be able to look after you all. Please be careful," Sheng Mingyue reminded them.
“We will be careful,” Qi Zhiheng replied.
This trial and challenge is different; it allows the use of pills, talismans, and weapons. Yang Yitian proudly stated that the talismans he had drawn recently could also come in handy.
As for the content of the trial, it has not been revealed yet. It is said that the objective is different each time, but it generally involves finding certain quest items.
After leaving Sheng Mingyue's residence, Qi Zhiheng went to find Jin Yu.
Jin Yu shared all the information he had found about Shi Xingyang with Qi Zhiheng.
“Shi Xingyang’s original power base was also in the imperial city. His father was an elder of the Qinglan Sect, and his grandfather was a seventh-level alchemist of the Qinglan Sect,” Jin Yu explained. “Shi Xingyang himself has good aptitude, and his alchemy skills are entirely inherited from his grandfather. However, it is said that he would prefer to be stronger. Alchemists’ physiques are often weaker than those of ordinary spiritual cultivators, and Shi Xingyang did not want to be such a weak alchemist, so he went out to make his way in the world.”
Yang Yitian interjected, "He sounds like a young man chasing his dreams, but I don't think he's a good guy."
Jin Yu slightly agreed: "I think so too! Those with good aptitude have the nerve to complain about everything, have they considered how those with less aptitude feel?!"
Qi Zhiheng didn't show it on his face, but in his heart, he had already been completely attracted to the "Qinglan Sect".
In his previous life, Qi Zhiheng was captured only because of the combined efforts of Xu Jin and the Qinglan Sect.
Furthermore, his family members from his previous life also died at the hands of the Qinglan Sect.
Qi Zhiheng asked, seemingly casually, "So what exactly do you think Shi Xingyang is trying to do?"
He would have to deal with the Qinglan Sect sooner or later, but he didn't know what tricks they were up to this time.
Jin Yu really couldn't find out: "I can't give a definite answer, but if I had to guess, the Qinglan Sect probably thinks they should recruit you before you grow up?"
Students from the Yuansheng Academy are at best a reserve force for the academy, and it is common for them to be recruited after leaving the academy.
It's normal that Qi Zhiheng, with his high skill in alchemy, would be recruited.
Qi Zhiheng sneered inwardly. He didn't think that Qinglan Sect just wanted to recruit him. He still remembered the grudge against Qinglan Sect from his previous life, and if he could find an opportunity, he would never let go of any possibility of dismantling Qinglan Sect.
Qi Zhiheng guessed that Jin Yu was also unaware of the situation, but it was enough that he could find out that the sect behind Shi Xingyang was Qinglan Sect.
As for Shi Xingyang's purpose, this person is like a stubborn plaster; he won't give up so easily, so his true purpose will be exposed sooner or later.
Qi Zhiheng wrote a letter and gave it to Jin Yu to deliver to the Qi family. In the letter, he instructed his family to be extra careful, not to leave the capital for the time being, and to accelerate their cultivation progress.
It's time to gather for the trials of the Heroes Ranking.
Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian arrived at the meeting point and followed instructions.
The group gathered together and set off for the Silver Sea aboard the Yuansheng Academy's flying treasure ship. Compiled by the Yuxi team. Please stay tuned.
Three days later, the group arrived at their destination.
After disembarking from the flying treasure ship, a vast silver sea stretched out before us, as if covered with a thin layer of ice. Because the sea was covered with a layer of silver frost, it was difficult for ships to navigate on the water, and this sea area appeared very calm and peaceful.
"Rumor has it that there are no living things within the Yinhuaihai area, but I don't know if it's true."
"Why are there no living things? Is it because of this layer of silver frost on the sea?"
Yang Yitian expressed his curiosity about the layer of silver frost on the sea: "What is that white stuff? Could it be salt?"
Qi Zhiheng hadn't inquired about the situation here beforehand, but said, "It does look quite like salt."
Sheng Mingyue interjected, "That's salt."
"So much salt? No wonder there's no life here. If there were, they'd be too salty to survive." Yang Yitian clicked his tongue twice.
Sheng Mingyue chuckled and said, "Maybe so, but no one has ever investigated it."
After all, the main purpose of the Silver Huaihai is to lead to the small secret realm; all the other details are just incidental.
Disciples from the initial, intermediate, and advanced ranks of the Heroes Ranking all travel to Yin Huaihai, so they all board the same flying treasure ship.
At this moment, the team leader took out a box containing a series of storage bags with identical patterns. Inside each storage bag was a mission scroll.
The mission objectives are determined by drawing lots, and the mission objectives you draw will determine the mission items you need to obtain during the mission.
Everyone lined up to draw lots. Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian each drew a storage bag. Inside was a long scroll of mission objectives.
Each quest scroll is a unique quest. Only by finding the items in the quest objective can you earn points. Other spiritual items and herbs, even if found, will not help your ranking.
The quest items in the quest scroll are also limited. For example, the [ten portions of Tian Kui Grass] that Qi Zhiheng is seeing now proves that only the first ten Tian Kui Grasses obtained will be recorded as points. If eleven Tian Kui Grasses are found, one of them will not be recorded.
After obtaining the quest scroll, all that's left is to wait for the secret realm to open.
After everyone had drawn their scrolls, the five Spirit Saints who had come with the group came out. The group flew together into the air above Silver Huaihai. Four of the Spirit Saints stood in the four directions of east, west, south, and north, while the last one stood in the middle.
Their expressions were solemn, and they were surrounded by spiritual energy. Judging from the fact that they could open the secret realm, there was absolutely no problem with them!
The problem is that each of them is holding a cylindrical object, about the thickness and length of a cucumber, and raising it upwards, emitting a green light.
Yang Yitian shook Qi Zhiheng's arm: "Why do I feel like something's off..."
"You, you're seeing things." Qi Zhiheng said this, but in his heart he also felt that what these Spirit Saints were holding was really too—evil!
Yang Yitian's lips twitched, and his attention returned to the sea.
At this moment, several Spirit Saints had already driven the pillars in their hands into the sea. The silver frost on the sea surface was impacted by some kind of force, and the water in five directions seemed to boil. After churning, the five pillars broke through the sea surface at the same time and spread upwards!
Extending dozens of meters into the air, breaking through the lower clouds, the five pillars echoed each other, forming a curtain of light at the top.
The five spiritual saints withdrew from this area.
The tour leader handed each person a small token and then said, "Let's go, we can go in now."
The token determines the area to which the owner will be teleported. This token cannot be mixed up. If someone who was supposed to be on the outer perimeter ends up in the inner perimeter, their life will probably be in danger.
Looking at the passage that had opened in the sky, Yang Yitian said, "I thought this passage would open in the sea, but I didn't expect it to open in the sky."
Qi Zhiheng was also surprised. Who would have thought that the name "Silver Huaihai Secret Realm" was actually in the sky? He took Yang Yitian's hand and said, "Let's go in."
People have already flown in one after another.
Qi Zhiheng took out his flying artifact and flew upwards with the crowd.
Once inside the pillar's coverage area, a force lifted them upwards, thus reducing the amount of force they needed to exert compared to before.
"Hold on tight." Qi Zhiheng was afraid that something might happen if they went inside, so he hugged Yang Yitian tightly.
Yang Yitian tightened his grip on Qi Zhiheng's arms as well.
The disciples who were ascending together glared angrily at him.
"In public! This is indecent!"
"Shameless!"
"Are you taking advantage of me because I don't have a boyfriend?!"
The two people were completely unconcerned by the fierce stares of the crowd; after all, looks can't kill.
After passing through the light curtain above, Qi Zhiheng only felt a white light before his eyes, and when he appeared, he was already in a snowy and icy world.
Yang Yitian shivered: "Why is it so cold here?"
Qi Zhiheng hugged the man tightly to keep him warm. He instructed, "Use your spiritual power to protect him."
Yang Yitian protected his entire body with his spiritual energy, and only then did he feel a little better.
"Let's look around." Qi Zhiheng was about to walk forward with Yang Yitian when he felt the moon beast in the space calling to him. He probed his space with his spiritual power, wanting to ask about the moon beast's situation.
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