Chapter 1168 - Getting into the Ranking
The Supracloud Sanctuary had made sure to spread the news about Yu Ziqian far and wide to end him. Given that he barely fought and rarely showed his prowess, there were many that believed the news that was being spread about him. Even though Lan Xingyao had been defeated by Yu Ziqian before, he had to make sure, considering they were talking about an important artifact like the minorsky stele. He only needed a single move to see if Yu Ziqian was faking it or not. Even without a skyward eye around, the thousands of witnesses nearby would be enough to let the entire world know about Yu Ziqian.
"Go!" Lan Xingyao ordered. His fellow disciples acted immediately; they were from one of the top ten sects and not to be underestimated. The Blueblood Starocean had sent a hundred thousand disciples in total to the Voidsky Realm!
Yu Ziqian panicked, though he still feigned a tough look. Oh my... It'll be over for me!
Right as he thought that, the thousands of disciples near them cried out in shock.
"Everyone, look at the Skyward Stele!"
"There's a name on it!"
"Who managed to get on the imperial star ranking?"
The appearance of the first name on the stele shocked everyone in the Voidsky Realm. Most eyes in Orderia were struggling to make out the name. Though it was only the very beginning of the fight and the first one whose name was marked on the stele didn't mean they would stay on it throughout the entire event, it was still an honor nonetheless. There was something to be said about being the only name to feature on the gigantic stele that was temporarily regarded as the top rank.
"Who is that?"
"I haven't heard of him before."
Similar words echoed throughout Orderia. That name was foreign even to those from the top ten sects.
"Tianming.... It can mean 'mission ordained by the heavens' or 'fate of the heavens'. What a domineering name to have."
"Indeed. No matter who the brat is, the name alone sounds impressive."
The first golden name to be inscribed on the stele was none other than 'Li Tianming'! It definitely had something to do with his procurement of the minorsky stele.
"Li Tianming!"
This was the first time Tianming’s name had publicly echoed throughout the Myriad Solar Sects of Orderia. They all muttered the name at the same time and he felt the resonance. His divine will strongly pulsed as well. His road of cultivation yearned for this nova source world filled with powerful higher races. Tianming had shown up in the skyward eye once, and even defeated Yun Feiyang from Supracloud Sanctuary, so quite a few people had already seen him. However, they didn't know his name back then. Now that he was on the ranking, he would be a household name in Orderia soon enough, assuming he remained there.
"Some numbers appeared next to his name!"
There was another commotion which caused Lan Xingyao and the rest to stop moving. They looked at the Skyward Stele with envious eyes, thinking that Lan Xingyao would've been in the ranking had Tianming not been there.
"Three thousand?"
That was what the number next to his name read. The whole line read: First Place, Li Tianming (Azuresoul Palace), 3000. The sect that was ranked thirty-eighth now had everyone's attention.
"The Azuresoul Palace? Isn't that Yu Ziqian's sect?"
"That's right."
"Interesting. Even though it might be temporary, it's already impressive that one of their disciples managed to get in the ranking before the first-rate sects."
Most people were more concerned with the meaning of the number.
"Is that the number of enemies he's defeated?"
"Will the Voidsky Skirmish rate participants by the number of enemies defeated this time?"
"Why’s there no skyward eye centered around Li Tianming? He's ranked number one, so we should at least see what he looks like."
Many people brought up similar requests. There had been quite a few battles up till now, but nobody had managed to make their way up the rankings. By now, a skyward eye finally zoomed in on Tianming, but too little too late. Nobody had seen how he had managed to deal with the minorsky stele.
"So that white-haired kid's Li Tianming, right?"
"Yeah. I think he faced off against a disciple of Supracloud Sanctuary before."
"So he's also a disciple of the Defender of Azuresoul Tower, Jiang Qingliu."
Quite a few people at Azuresoul Sword Peak, which was located in the distant Azurecloud Continent, were shocked to see a disciple whose name they didn’t recognize.
"Isn't the other brat Yu Ziqian?"
"It is."
"Looks like Jiang Qingliu is a man full of mysteries."
"Aren't those disciples from the Blueblood Starocean? Are they going to fight?"
"They already got into conflict. Looks like they're trying to take something."
While they didn't get to see where the three thousand 'points' came from, due to the eye coming late, they did witness an interesting clash.
"I heard Yu Ziqian is actually a faker. This is his first time encountering disciples from the Blueblood Starocean."
"We'll find out whether he's a useless mule or a horse after he starts running."
"That kid looks like he's always trying to hide. Looks like the rumors are true. Are those folks from the Azuresoul Palace making a comedy skit or something?"
"The Azuresoul Palace and Supracloud Sanctuary have been vying for supremacy this entire time. Having even one disciple ranking in the top ten will be enough to change the status quo of the Azurecloud Continent, so it’s of utmost importance. It won't matter how amazing the other disciples perform. The Voidsky Skirmish is the ultimate confrontation of geniuses, and the disciples from the top ten sects usually dominate. Li Tianming should actually rank around two thousandth among the rest."
"That's already good enough."
"Oh, looks like Yu Ziqian's going to show his flaws."
"The Azuresoul Palace will finally be embarrassing themselves."
Everyone was looking at the youths after the skyward eye appeared. Lan Xingyao knew that this was his time to shine. Though he had stopped when the ranking changed, this was his chance to defeat Yu Ziqian and obtain the minorsky stele. He might even replace Tianming on the Skyward Stele if he did so! That was certainly an alluring prospect for a hot-blooded young man like him.
"It's over for you, Yu Ziqian," Lan Xingyao said as light gathered in both his hands. He had heard that Yu Ziqian actually ran for his life from a tenth-level ascendant. He sent the starlight flying toward Yu Ziqian. Though it looked like a simple application of astralforce, it was more than capable of exterminating a tenth-level ascendant in an instant. If Yu Ziqian was truly as weak as they said, there was no way he would be able to hide it anymore! "Show your true self!"
Yu Ziqian's face paled as the light came, but he still fanned himself in a relaxed manner and smiled. "Show myself? I'm afraid your mind wouldn't be able to process my true magnificence."
The light was right in front of Tianming now. That instant, the white-haired youth flashed in front of him and easily shattered the light with his huge black and gold sword. Yu Ziqian's buying time and the delay caused by the commotion with the Skyward Stele had given him enough time to distill the raging nova source he had absorbed into his albi, allowing his astral discs to grow much stronger until he finally broke through to the Nonahonor Sky level. Tianming was actually quite surprised that a coward like Yu Ziqian could force himself to keep calm and buy him the time he needed. Though they had met not too long ago, he already considered him a friend.
Dammit, why do I feel a sense of security when I look at his back? Is this what it feels to be spoiled and loved? The thought of that caused Yu Ziqian to shudder. Clearing his throat, he composed himself and turned to Lan Xingyao. "Shitty brat, do you think you’re my match with only that level of power? My junior brother is more than capable of dealing with you. Come to think of it, would you mind leaving me one of your sister's transmission stones? I'm interested in exploring the various dimensions of love and intimacy with her."
Yu Ziqian would never miss out on a chance to gloat. Lan Xingyao's glare at Tianming and Yu Ziqian intensified even further. "I’ll be taking your hands and eyes, along with that fool's tongue." He directed that at Tianming, having concluded that Yu Ziqian currently wasn't his match. He would have to swiftly take Tianming down to get the stele. Otherwise, other factions may come to fight him over it. There were already thousands gathering to watch the show, ready to pounce for the stele at any moment.
"Lan Xingyao, your sect is ranked tenth, right? Let's see how powerful you are," Tianming said. The others who had thought him to be rather meek didn't expect his first words to be a provocation.
"Die!" Lan Xingyao struck with five other disciples following behind him.