Sage of Humanity-Chapter 773 - 771: Individual Rankings

"Did you do that on purpose?"

In the combat field, Lan Ziyi looked at Lu Ye with an expression of annoyance.

Out of a hundred people, he just had to choose her. What else could it be, if not deliberate?

Lu Ye couldn't be bothered to explain anything to her. Even if it wasn't intentional, what did it matter if it was?

Raising his hand to the hilt of the Boulder Mountain Saber, his entire being entered a state of readiness for battle, poised to charge out in an instant.

"Don't lift a hand, I will admit defeat on my own."

With a single sentence from Lan Ziyi, Lu Ye was caught in an awkward position, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Although he had previously bested Lan Ziyi in a contest, he had only revealed the capabilities of a magic cultivator. To concede without a real fight in the midst of the Cloud River competition, Lu Ye didn't know whether to call this woman time-wise or cowardly cautious.

"Though I do not know where I have offended you, enough to warrant such targeting, I still want to say, you can't kill me, and no amount of targeting will help. Also, the words you said last time, I cannot..."

Before he could finish, Lu Ye had already dashed out, leaving behind afterimages under the boost of Move-Like-The-Wind.

Lan Ziyi, out of breath with irritation, blurted out, "I concede!"

As her figure disappeared, Lu Ye also reached the spot where she had originally been.

"If you concede, then concede. No need for so much chatter."

What he didn't know was that, after Ying Wuji, the second person in the world who wished never to see him again had just emerged.

Indeed, the battles among the top one hundred were extremely fierce; almost every match would last for a long duration, and according to the rules set by Heaven's Augury, the challenged had three Shichen to rest and recover.

In other words, even if they accepted the challenge, they had six hours to adjust their condition and heal any injuries.

This resulted in long intervals between each of Lu Ye's battles. After defeating Lan Ziyi, he waited a full six Shichen before he successfully challenged his second opponent.

The battle ended quickly, and naturally, he was utterly victorious.

It has to be said, the personalities of the top figures in the Cloud River were all exceptional. Even when they knew they were being challenged by Lu Ye, and even if they were injured and not fully recovered, nobody ever rejected his challenge; some even took the initiative to challenge him.

Perhaps they did not believe the rumors of Lu Ye's exaggerated strength, perhaps it was out of confidence in themselves, or perhaps they did not want to miss the opportunity to fight Lu Ye. In any case, these prodigies from the top sects, after clashing with Lu Ye, were injured in body and somewhat wounded in spirit, no matter how lightly or severely.

Because the strength that Lu Ye showed had surpassed their perceived limits.

And what nobody knew was that this was not Lu Ye's limit.

According to the rules of Heaven's Augury, he could have brought the Amber with him. If he had merged his blood Qi with the Amber, his strength would have been even greater.

After two days, the ten battles were finally over.

He returned to Emerald Bamboo Peak to resume his deep cultivation, quickly forgetting the passage of time.

It was only when there was a stir in his battlefield marking that Lu Ye came to his senses.

The third round of the Cloud River competition had ended.

He checked his own battlefield marking.

The last line of information had changed.

Cloud River competition ranking: First Place.

The first round of Cloud River competition selects three thousand people from amongst the countless Cloud River Realm cultivators.

The second round then whittles these three thousand down to one hundred.

However, there are no rankings for the first two rounds, only after the end of the third round, through the battles among the top hundred, are temporary rankings determined.

These one hundred individuals, undoubtedly, are the most elite of the Nine Provinces Cloud River Realm in the past five years, each with the potential to advance to the Divine Sea. As soon as the second round ended and the names were announced, it garnered the attention of major and minor sects in the Nine Provinces, and now with the rankings out, the enthusiasm for attention is even higher.

Despite some prior predictions, when those powerful figures from various sects saw the name ranked first, they still found it somewhat difficult to believe.

Lu Yiye!

With a Level 8 cultivation base, he overshadowed a generation of prodigies. Looking across the entire Nine Provinces, such a feat had never happened in the history of the Cloud River competition.

Every Cloud River competition's top position, without exception, has always been held by someone with a Level 9 cultivation base.

The gap in one level of cultivation can often be vast as heaven and earth.

He captured first place at Level 8, so just how terrifying would his strength be at Level 9?

And after this Cloud River competition, Heaven's Augury will grant rewards again, and Lu Yiye is already not far from Level 9!

The order of names on the list is determined by Heaven's Augury without any room for human interference, so nobody questions its fairness. That means if Lu Ye is listed at the top, then he possesses the strength of the top position.

Fortunately, others still have a chance, because this list is only temporary.

The fourth round of the Cloud River competition is the battle that will set the final rankings!

Based on the outcomes of the third-round fights as well as the performance of the cultivators in earlier combats, Heaven's Augury temporarily determines the rankings of the top one hundred.

But to finalize the ranking list, the fourth round of the contest had to end.

For the top hundred cultivators in the Cloud River realm, what they needed to do in the fourth round was to challenge those ranked higher than themselves. If they defeated the challenged party, they could take their place on the ranking list.

They had three opportunities!

That is, they had three chances to fail.

If they failed three challenges, then they would have no more opportunities to advance.

The rules of Cloud River's power struggle had always been so, never changing across generations. Hence, some cultivators did not reveal their true strength in the first three rounds of the fight. Instead, they feigned incompetence under the pretense of possibility, only going all out in the fourth round, unleashing their full power.

The biggest difference between the fourth round and the previous three was that it could be observed.

Nine Provinces cultivators, regardless of their cultivation, just needed their own battlefield marking, and they could immerse their minds in those battles through the marking, watching the battles of these prodigies as observers.

For the older generation of cultivators, such observation allowed them to see their apprentices' performance firsthand, recognize their shortcomings, and then provide targeted guidance for the future while also spotting the potential of young talents from rival factions.

For the younger generation of cultivators, such observation undoubtedly allowed them to absorb a lot of useful experience, to witness the strength of others, realize the gap between themselves and the powerful, and strive to catch up with vigorous efforts.

Therefore, throughout history, in the time that the fourth round of Cloud River's contention lasted, each and every battle, with its thrills and intensity, captured the immersed attention of countless cultivators through their markings. These spectacles would be the talk of the town for a good while, leaving much to reflect upon.

On Emerald Bamboo Peak, Lu Ye set off toward Righteous Peak while checking the complete list of the top hundred.

He saw many familiar names, as well as many he had never come across before.

The name directly below his was that of Muk Qingyun.

Lu Ye's eyes flickered. If he remembered correctly, the surname of the Beixuan Sword Master was Muk. It was highly likely that this Muk Qingyun was a sword cultivator from the Beixuan Sword Sect, and moreover, the current Sword Heir!

However, on the Cloud River battlefield, Lu Ye had never heard of Muk Qingyun. Judging from this, he must be one of those who had stayed in the Cloud River Realm for a long time, deliberately not advancing to the True Lake, just waiting for the Cloud River contest.

Such people generally did not move around within the Cloud River battlefield. They were usually within the Nine Provinces, so even if they had made a big name for themselves before, their fame would gradually fade over time.

Looking around, the top ten were all seemingly strong figures who had burst onto the scene out of nowhere. However, if their names had been placed one or two years earlier, they would certainly have been well-known on the Cloud River battlefield.

Just like him today.

Lan Ziyi was ranked eleventh.

Although Lan Ziyi had conceded twice in front of him, the woman was actually very strong; it was just bad timing for her.

In Lu Ye's estimation, her strength could definitely land her in the top ten.

However, the main factor affecting the current rankings was the outcome of previous battles, and since Lan Ziyi had been defeated by him, her ranking naturally could not be too high.

But if she truly had the corresponding strength, she could naturally climb up slowly thereafter.

The one who had introduced himself to him, Fong Rulie, was ranked fifteenth.

These were not the ones Lu Ye cared about. He just gave them a cursory glance and then paid them no more attention.

Finally, he found the name he was looking for at the thirty-sixth position on the list.

Giant Armor! This big fellow really achieved a remarkable result.

Compared to Lu Ye's cultivation, his was even lower, merely at the Cloud River Level 7, but being ranked thirty-sixth was already a very high position.

This meant that in the previous rounds of the fight, he had been defeated no more than three times!

Having a strong physique did have its advantages. In the face of an enemy, no matter what Secret Technique or secret technique you have, you just need to charge forward with a hard head!

Nevertheless, Giant Armor was ranked even higher than his fourth senior brother and Feng Yuechan, something unexpected for Lu Ye. He also did not know by what standards Heaven's Augury had judged this.

At the forty-second and forty-third places, Lu Ye saw the names of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, back to back in the list.

He stopped looking at the rest of the list; he only cared about a few close names around him.

As for others...let's wait another ten years to see how many peers remain.

Even Lu Ye himself dared not claim what he could achieve ten years from now. Too many accidents and tribulations could occur in a cultivator's growth process. There were plenty of prodigies from generation to generation who fell before they could fully grow.

The fierce confrontation between the two big factions buried the dreams of countless Nine Provinces cultivators.

Soon after reaching Heaven's Augury Hall, Lu Ye sat cross-legged in front of the Heaven's Augury Pillar.

He was the top-ranked among the hundred, naturally, he didn't need to challenge others. All he could do was one thing, wait here for others to challenge him!

Luckily, he had plenty to do—digesting the bounty from the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, reviewing the books he took from Madam Yun, and casually consuming elixir pills for cultivation—so even just waiting wasn't boring for him.

Time ticked away slowly, and the battlefield marking showed no reaction.

Lu Ye wasn't surprised.

According to the rules, the only ones now qualified to challenge him were the second-ranked Muk Qingyun and third-ranked Yang Yuan. Most likely, these two didn't lack the courage to challenge him; it just wasn't the right moment yet!