Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 866 - 116: Earth-Shattering Scam

"Thank you, Xi Ya. If it weren’t for you, I really wouldn’t have known who to ask to escort the Heavenly Witch Pill," City Lord Changsun gazed with satisfaction at Xi Ya, who was kneeling on one knee.

"You’ve exaggerated, City Lord. The Bo Family has been loyal to the Four Symbols City for generations, and my mother, the Xileng Family, has reached her current stature thanks to the support from the Four Symbols City. All of this Xi Ya keeps in mind, never daring to forget," Xi Ya appeared weary, and he had just donned the Merit Ring with a value of "1,860 Merit Points" on his finger.

Unlike other Dark Practitioners who came to Four Symbols City for the Xuyang Trial, Xi Ya came this time not merely to seize the top place, but to complete a highly secretive mission.

This mission is known by very few across the Canglong Continent, and even within Four Symbols City, only City Lord Changsun, Xi Ya’s father, and the Xileng Family are aware.

The mission is to transport the Heavenly Witch Pill, from the Star Plane over the Boundary River, to hand it off to an unknown boatman on the river.

This task has made Xi Ya isolate himself from the public eye as soon as he entered Four Symbols City, thereby postponing the selection for the Four Symbols Team.

In fact, Xi Ya does not care about the selection for the Four Symbols Team. Few people know, including Mercenary King Bo Sai, that the Bo Family has for millennia acted under the orders of the Four Symbols City. The family’s martial arts, even Bo Sai’s position as Mercenary King, are backed by the behemoth Four Symbols City.

Upon accepting this commission from City Lord Changsun, Xi Ya also made an additional request: he wanted to compete with one of the Dark Practitioners who came for the Xuyang Trial.

City Lord Changsun initially thought Xi Ya would choose to challenge a young genius on par with himself, such as Junior Minister Zong Shaoqing, or the rising star Fa Xiaoyi, or even the rare Double Dragon Knight Yue Minzhi. Yet Xi Ya chose none of them, solely opting for Yue Jinghua.

Since Xi Ya wanted to compete fairly with Yue Jinghua, when Yue Jinghua "won" the first place on the Weekly Ranking, naturally Xi Ya also became the first in the weekly ranking.

The Merit Points of over a thousand were rewards from City Lord Changsun for completing that special mission. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Even if Yue Jinghua obtained ten thousand Merit Points this time, Xi Ya would still share the honor of being first in the Weekly Ranking with her.

"Aren’t you curious why I publicly announced the theft of the Heavenly Witch Pill, yet had you secretly send it out?" City Lord Changsun was quite satisfied with Xi Ya, who adhered to his father Bo Sai’s lineage—laconic and loyal—while also inheriting his mother Xileng Family’s acumen.

Xi Ya is someone strongly driven by desires for fame and fortune, a nature best suited for manipulation.

"Whatever reasons the City Lord has, Xi Ya is but a servant while the City Lord is the master; how could a servant inquire into the master’s affairs," Xi Ya shook his head.

The person who took the Heavenly Witch Pill away on the Plane Boundary River remains unknown to Xi Ya. He only knows that just standing in its presence gives one a terrifying sense of being devoured and destroyed.

The profoundness of this person is far from what someone of Xi Ya’s standing could aspire to.

"Good, to reward you further, I shall bestow upon you the Holy Beast Heritage of the Chen Wu Clan, known as the Nine Turtle Technique. The technique is divided into three levels; reaching the highest level allows one to fend off even divine punishment. Its effects are astonishing, essentially defying the Heaven and Earth Laws. But to practice this technique requires undisturbed focus and steadfast resolution. Though the Nine Turtle Technique is the Chen Wu Clan’s heritage, no member has ever learned the highest level in a thousand years. Today, I pass it on to you in hope you will achieve it," City Lord Changsun said, handing over a complete mantra book to Xi Ya.

Originally, Xi Ya wanted to receive a cultivation technique to enhance his movement or attack power. Unexpectedly, he received a defense-oriented heritage, which left him somewhat displeased.

Inwardly, he thought: No wonder the Chen Wu Clan is the weakest among the Four Great Holy Beasts; even their Holy Beast Heritage merely turns you into a turtle hiding in its shell.

Though Xi Ya mused like this inwardly, outwardly he remained composed, mechanically memorizing the Zigui Technique just enough to satisfy City Lord Changsun before being dispatched to the Divine Ruins.

Within the Divine Ruins, after City Lord Changsun announced the names on the Weekly Ranking and the survival ratios of various teams, the reactions varied greatly.

The top ten Dark Practitioners are all deeply powerful individuals, whom none dare provoke.

The remaining ones are hardly easy foes either; Xi Ya, born to the son of the Mercenary King, possesses unusual prowess.

Yue Jinghua, however, from the Four Unlikes Team, an unknown Dark Practitioner, drew increasing inquiries into her background.

In the first month, all team members were uncertain of Yue Jinghua’s situation, momentarily hesitant to launch an ambush.

However, the Demon Beasts within Divine Ruins suffered greatly, as team members began large-scale hunting. Solo Demon Beasts would be promptly slain upon appearance.

The Demon Beasts of the Divine Ruins weren’t foolish; upon realizing their numbers dwindled daily, they sensed something amiss. They started gathering and appearing together, predominantly during the day or night, avoiding Human Race practitioners’ active times.

Thus arose a situation of supply failing demand, with some Dark Practitioners’ impatience prompting queues even provoking group Demon Beasts, only to be quickly slain themselves.

Some other Dark Practitioners began venturing out at night and day, braving cold and heat on their own.

Consequently, the number of practitioners found dead on the streets and outskirts continued to rise.

With the second week elapsed, as City Lord Changsun announced the Weekly Ranking positions and survival ratios once more, a significant increase occurred in the number of fatalities, injuries, and resignations, diminishing each team’s fighting capacity by nearly one-third, leaving about seventy members.

In contrast, the Four Unlikes Team fared the best; aside from one member’s minor injury, the rest were in good condition.

When the Weekly Ranking was announced, the position order among the top ten barely changed.

Yet despite this consistency, a surprising occurrence unfolded: Yue Jinghua remained at the top, gaining an additional two hundred Merit Points despite the scarcity of Demon Beasts.

What startled everyone even further was that Xi Ya maintained an identical amount of Merit Points as Yue Jinghua, not a single point more or less.

"This is too odd, what scheme is Xi Ya up to?" Learning that Xi Ya continued to share the top weekly rank with her, Yue Jinghua sensed something was off.