"Brother Gu, do you have some strange idea again?" Looking at Zhang Menglong's peculiar gaze, Long Sen felt he was up to something unusual again.

"Hahaha, no, no, let's go." Zhang Menglong didn't explain his thoughts in detail, but he already had a plan in mind. If those superpowers indeed use them as cannon fodder or have other schemes, he would definitely find a way to stir things up.

…

"Time's up!"

The three of them chatted aimlessly for a while when suddenly an unusual sound came from the Heavenly Prides List. It was hard to describe, but it inexplicably made people think of something ancient, mysterious, and noble, as if some transformation was occurring inside the list.

Moments later, a beam of light shot from its top into the sky, splitting into eighteen parts, scattering asymmetrically in different directions.

[Dean, this thing isn't simple.]

Zhang Menglong suddenly heard Gou Dan's voice in his mind.

"Oh? How is it not simple?" Zhang Menglong, intrigued, knew this was a very high evaluation from Gou Dan.

[This Heavenly Prides List isn't just a simple ranking chart. In that brief moment, I felt a breath of life.]

"This thing is alive?" Zhang Menglong was shocked.

[Of course, it's not alive. Dean, you've read so many novels and experienced so many fantasy and cultivation worlds. Don't you know there's something called an Artifact Spirit? It's a special life form born when some treasures absorb spiritual energy over long years.]

"Oh, so it's an Artifact Spirit," Zhang Menglong nodded, "I've seen those before."

[This one is different. The Artifact Spirits you've seen before were created because those weapons were infused with something that could develop an Artifact Spirit during forging. But this one is different; it was born from nothing, only the highest-level treasures can naturally produce such an Artifact Spirit. Even your ancestors would have to put immense effort into forging a weapon like that.]

"Just this thing?" Zhang Menglong looked at the Heavenly Prides List, "To put it bluntly, it doesn't seem much different from a display screen. Besides showing rankings, what else can it do? Is it still considered an advanced treasure?"

[I don't know, but that's just the way it is. If you have the opportunity, Dean, you should try communicating with the Artifact Spirit of the Heavenly Prides List. You might gain some unexpected benefits.]

"Got it!"

"What the hell is that?" At this moment, the mutation caused by the eighteen beams of light caught Zhang Menglong's attention.

The eighteen beams of light precisely corresponded to the eighteen superpowers. They didn't simply disappear into the horizon but seemed to shoot into some invisible spaces, as if there were doors to other worlds in those places.

And at the points where the light shone, scenes of wonder began to appear one after another.

The nearest wind projected a mountain range filled with spiritual energy. Within this mountain range was a grand hall, seemingly the secluded residence of cultivators in the Immortal Realm.

As the hall was gradually magnified, Zhang Menglong saw faint words like multicolored auspicious clouds in the sky above the mountain range.

"Tian Yue Palace."

Zhang Menglong had gotten some intel from Yang Sande before; this Tian Yue Palace was roughly in the middle tier among the eighteen superpowers. Their disciples mostly lived in seclusion, disliking joining any empire or causing trouble. They preferred finding quiet, elegant places for cultivation and introspection.

Among these eighteen superpowers, Tian Yue Palace was recognized as the one most disengaged from worldly affairs.

As Zhang Menglong was about to look away from Tian Yue Palace, several black dots in his view rapidly enlarged and then several figures flew out from that mirage-like place!

"Seven people, all in the Dao Realm!" Zhang Menglong got their general information from Gou Dan; even the weakest among them appeared stronger than any Dao Realm expert in the Hong Yun Empire.

Especially the one leading them had even reached the level of Third Grade Crystal.

All these people wore white robes, their gazes calm and serene like the afternoon sun. They looked over all the present Heavenly Prides, and the leading elder gently said, "This year's Tian Yue Palace recruits 80,000 disciples. We hope the Heavenly Prides destined for our Palace perform well in this evaluation."

"Eighty thousand? Only recruiting eighty thousand this year? Last year Tian Yue Palace recruited a full 120,000!"

"Damn, the competition is getting much tougher this time."

"I'm here specifically for Tian Yue Palace!"

…

Those young people planning to join Tian Yue Palace suddenly looked a bit bitter. With fewer slots, their hopes diminished significantly. The key question was, if Tian Yue Palace recruited fewer, would other superpowers also reduce their intake?

After that statement, the elders quietly sat in the sky, as if waiting for someone else to arrive.

Sure enough, moments later, another beam of light revealed another set of buildings surrounding a volcano. The volcano's shape resembled a colossal furnace, and most spectacular of all, a giant sword hilt appeared to protrude from the mouth of the vast flames, as if a giant sword was thrust into the volcano.

"Is that Yujian Villa?" Zhang Menglong turned and asked, "Is that thing really a sword?"

"I've never been there, how would I know?" Long Sen drooled at the sight of Yujian Villa, "That's the place I long for the most. If I were lucky enough to join, I'd definitely tell you whether that's a true sword!"

Before Long Sen finished speaking, several figures also flew from Yujian Villa, riding on swords, their auras sharp like blades, in stark contrast to the Tian Yue Palace earlier.

"Yujian Villa, recruiting 50,000 disciples this year!"

"Did they also reduce their numbers?"

"What's going on? They've reached the lowest recruitment numbers from the past years."

"Is there something happening internally within those superpowers?"

"This competition is truly getting fiercer; it seems all forces today are cutting down on their recruitment numbers."

"Look, Inviting Moon Palace people are here!" Suddenly, Zhang Menglong heard a lot of ghostly wailing sounds, and of course, those wolves seemed to be of the lustful variety.

Zhang Menglong had heard that Inviting Moon Palace only recruited female disciples, and appearance was a crucial criterion during recruitment. Anyone who could enter there was almost certainly extraordinarily beautiful.

The aura of those coming from Inviting Moon Palace was also in the Dao Realm, probably elder-level figures, but from their appearance, they all looked young and beautiful, with an additional air of cold pride.

"Damn it, I really want to join Inviting Moon Palace." Long Sen suddenly rubbed his hands together excitedly, "But sadly, they don't accept male disciples, what a pity..."

"Wait, isn't your dream Yujian Villa?" Zhang Menglong teased.

"No," Long Sen shook his head, "My dream indeed is Yujian Villa, but Inviting Moon Palace is every man's dream, and since I'm a man, it's my dream too."

"A pervert is a pervert," Zhang Menglong glared at Long Sen disdainfully, "Can't you learn from me? As martial artists, our dreams shouldn't be these things!"

"What gives you the right to judge me?" Long Sen pointed at Zhang Menglong's pants, "Don't tell me you only have a short knife hidden in your crotch."