Long Chen’s eyes were instantly drawn to one name: East - Xuantian Dao Sect’s Chu Yao, rank 13.

This rank wasn’t won by Chu Yao, but by Liu Ruyan. Liu Ruyan was Chu Yao’s contractual housepet, and their souls were linked. That was why the devil creatures Liu Ruyan killed counted for Chu Yao.

“How ridiculous!”

Long Chen’s jaw dropped. Liu Ruyan had been unleashing large area attacks ever since the devil creatures appeared. She had never stopped killing. However, she was only ranked thirteen. That wasn’t even in the top ten!

Each person had a jade plate, and the rankings they saw were the same. Chu Yao had 3107 kill points, while first place had already surpassed ten thousand.

“Ruyan’s calculated it and says that for these devil creatures, killing ten thousand counts as one point,” said Chu Yao. Her expression was solemn. No wonder Qu Jianying had said that she didn’t have much confidence in Long Chen entering the top ten. It seemed the Martial Heaven Continent was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. These monstrous figures were coming out now, taking this chance to make their names shake the continent.

“Ten thousand is just one point. In other words, big sister Ruyan has already killed thirty million of them. As for first place… how terrifying!” exclaimed one of the wood cultivators.

“First place is someone called Xia Chen. Why does that name sound familiar?” wondered Gu Yang.

First place was recorded as: East - Grand Xia’s Xia Chen. The first word referred to what region he was in, with east representing the Eastern Xuan Region. The second term was what power he belonged to, and then it was his name.

“It’s not strange that he would be first.” Long Chen smiled upon seeing that name. That mysterious fellow had finally appeared.

Long Chen was also very curious about Xia Chen. Just what kind of person was he? Xia Yunchong had said that he came from a branch of the Grand Xia, but they didn't have any real details about him. He was too mysterious. Now he had shown his head, using the status of a member of the Grand Xia Ancient Nation to dominate the Devil Slaughter Rankings. Perhaps it was to make the Grand Xia’s name shake the continent?

“How can he be so terrifying? Ruyan has never paused her attacks. Is his attack range and killing power even greater than Ruyan’s?!” demanded Tang Wan-er competitively.

“I don’t know if his killing power is above Ruyan, but his attack range is definitely beyond your imagination. That’s why it’s not strange that he would be first place,” said Long Chen.

“Why?”

“Because he’s a formation cultivator. That’s practically cheating. All he has to do is establish a formation that kills all the devil creatures that enter it. In terms of area attack, he can make it as big as he wants. No one else can compare to him.”

“What the fuck, that’s definitely cheating! However, I’m not going to lose in terms of cheating, hehe!” laughed Guo Ran. That evil, sinister expression of his gave others goosebumps.

“Xia Chen’s clearly a member of the Eastern Xuan Region. Why isn’t he fighting with us?” asked Tang Wan-er.

“Isn’t it simple? He’s afraid of us taking his kills, so he entered the core region where no one would fight over kills with him. He can then kill indiscriminately,” said Long Chen lazily. This was the benefit of being alone. Unfortunately, Long Chen couldn’t be a solitary hero.

“Isn’t he afraid that we won’t be able to hold back the devil creatures? If the devil creatures charged into the Grand Xia, wouldn’t it be too late for him to regret his actions?” demanded Tang Wan-er.

Long Chen gently pinched Tang Wan-er’s stubborn nose. “Do you have so little confidence in me? This fellow clearly knows that we’ll have no problem defending our side, so he went out alone. Even a stranger has more confidence in me than you.”

“Ah, I was wrong, Long Chen. Don’t get angry.” Tang wan-er laughed, putting on a cute expression. However, that cute expression of hers didn’t look like the expression of someone admitting they were wrong no matter how you looked at it.

“Ranks two to nine are all from the Central Xuan Region. It seems the Central Xuan Region really is powerful,” said Meng Qi as she observed the rankings.

Tenth place was someone from the Southern Xuan Region, which surprised everyone. Hadn’t the Southern Xuan Region’s experts been annihilated?

However, when they thought about it, some sects were so powerful that they didn’t even care about the Jade Lake Pageant, or perhaps there was nothing inside the Jade Lake Sacred Land that they wanted, so they hadn’t participated.

Qu Jianying had also said that some sects had been very low-key for many years. They hadn’t had any disciples come out in hundreds or even thousands of years. However, that didn’t mean that they would be silent forever. They were waiting for one opportunity to soar and restore their former glory.

“Sister Chu Yao’s name has risen again! It’s twelfth now!” exclaimed Tang Wan-er. The kill points on the rankings were constantly increasing. Ruyan hadn’t paused from the start. She killed the majority of the devil creatures, while only allowing a few to charge out as training for the Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples. Tang Wan-er regretfully said, “If Ruyan fought all-out, Chu Yao could definitely get in the top ten.”

“This is just the start. These rankings are essentially meaningless for now. What matters is the last half month. If you use up all your energy at the start, not only will you lose your ranking, but you might also lose your life. Don’t treat this battle as a game, and don’t worry about these early rankings. All we need to do is save our energy for the final eruption, and we’ll definitely surpass the others. Don’t worry, first place will definitely belong to Guo Ran. His position cannot be touched by anyone,” said Long Chen confidently.

“Him? Really?” Tang Wan-er glanced at Guo Ran.

At some point, Guo Ran had taken out a table. He was sitting there, holding a translucent cup with wine in it. He was swirling the amber wine gently. This little fellow had finally learned how to act reserved in order to show off.

Seeing everyone look at him, Guo Ran sighed, “Perhaps you didn’t realize, but ever since I joined the Dragonblood Legion, I’ve been hiding my true power. However, now the Martial Heaven Continent is in danger. Millions of lives are at risk. I feel like I can no longer be low-key. I have no choice but to take on the mantle of savior of the world and make the Dragonblood Legion’s name resound through the cosmos!”

Guo Ran slowly drank the wine after speaking. He then crushed the cup, turning it to dust.

“Just watch. I, Guo Ran, will reveal my true power! My light will drown out all others! Hahahaha!”

Guo Ran’s crazy laughter caused quite a few people to retreat from him. They looked at him warily. Some were covering their own butts.

“Boss Guo Ran couldn’t have gone crazy again, right? Everyone, watch out for your butts!” warned the Dragonblood warrior who had had his butt bitten by Guo Ran last time.

Guo Ran coughed up a mouthful of blood. His crazy fit last time was now a permanent stain on his life. Even now, he had an urge to find a hole to bury himself in.

“It’s too bad I don’t see sister Zhiqiu. I wonder if she’s participating this time? I miss her.” Tang Wan-er suddenly thought of Ye Zhiqiu. The sad scene of her sacrificing herself to save Long Chen reappeared in her mind.

“Don’t worry, she’ll definitely come. However, the Divine Ice Palace is equally as famous as the Illusive Music Immortal Palace, and it is also one of the protectors of the continent. They aren’t under the administration of the Martial Heaven Alliance, so we can’t receive much news of her. Once the real battle starts, the real experts will reveal themselves. Only at that time will it be possible to see who the truly powerful geniuses are,” said Long Chen.

Time passed bit by bit. Hua Shiyu was growing more confident with directing the army, and the disciples’ cooperation also improved.

The Empyreans were each leading a portion of the experts. They had formed eight groups, all eagerly attacking. They had lost their previous fear and were able to face the battle head-on.

However, despite that, hundreds of disciples had still died after one day. This was unavoidable. Many people were like greenhouse flowers who only knew how to cultivate, but not how to fight life and death battles. For them to instantly adapt to such a harsh environment was very difficult.

There wasn’t enough time for them to get used to battle. Those unable to cope were cut down by the devil creatures’ claws. Only now did they realize how terrifying these creatures were. Their claws and teeth were highly toxic and could directly extinguish a person’s Yuan Spirit.

For only a few hundred people to die out of one hundred and eighty thousand experts was already an extremely remarkable result. Hua Shiyu had definite talent when it came to leadership.

“Long Chen, are you raising Hua Shiyu as your successor?” asked Meng Qi.

Long Chen was sitting there, occasionally tossing medicinal pills into his mouth. He vaguely answered, “It’s not really raising her. Hua Shiyu is strong-minded and has some brains. Furthermore, she kills decisively and has the air of a general. If I’m not in the Xuantian Dao Sect, she will definitely be capable of leading everyone. It was my arrival that changed her fate. I’m just returning the position that should have belonged to her.”

“Is this insurance for the Xuantian Dao Sect?” asked Meng Qi again.

Long Chen was solemnly quiet for a moment. “I suppose. In truth, I feel some kind of crisis is about to descend. I don’t know the source of that feeling, so I don’t know how to deal with it. The Xuantian Dao Sect is my home, so I don’t want to implicate it. I have to make preparations for it.”

Ever since advancing to the Soul Transformation realm, Long Chen had felt like there was a shadow on his heart. It was like a pair of invisible hands were approaching him from behind and might clamp down on his neck at any moment. That feeling of danger made it difficult for him to breathe.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and Chu Yao’s name finally reached rank ten. Most likely, some people had used up too much energy at the start and so they were surpassed by Liu Ruyan, who was fighting very steadily.

On the seventh day, strange cries rang out from the distance, drawing out startled cries from the Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples.