Chapter 115: Top Ten
The name that appeared at the eleventh position on the Azure Cloud Ranking was not Qijian of the Lishan Sword Sect, but Zhuang Huanyu, the pride of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Regarding Zhuang Huanyu, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion offered no commentary, which meant that in the past half year or so, they believed his strength and realm had not undergone significant change.
The person who replaced Zhuang Huanyu's tenth position was indeed Qijian. This swap left many people bewildered. After all, Zhuang Huanyu had once defeated Qijian, and Qijian had lost to Tang Thirty-Six at the Green Vine Banquet. Why hadn't his ranking fallen, but instead risen further?
From the Preaching Hall came the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's commentary. In those few brief remarks, they gave quite a high evaluation of Qijian's performance at the Green Vine Banquet. The teachers and students on both sides of the Divine Path listened intently. Chen Changsheng did not listen; he looked toward the guest courtyard, wondering how it could still be so quiet at this moment.
The roll call officially entered its most critical stage, reaching the top ten of the Azure Cloud Ranking. The names that appeared at this point were all the most talented youths or maidens on this continent.
Somewhat unexpectedly, yet seemingly inevitable, the name that followed Qijian was not Luoluo. The ninth position belonged to a young genius from Huaiyuan Academy.
Chen Changsheng had never heard of that young genius's name; presumably, he had ranked higher on the previous list. At this moment, he only cared about where Luoluo would ultimately place and how many positions she would advance.
What happened next truly caught everyone off guard.
The eighth position on the Azure Cloud Ranking was not Luoluo, nor was the seventh. That spot belonged to Liang Banhu—this distinguished disciple of the Lishan Sword Sect, the fifth of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, had been ranked sixth on the Azure Cloud Ranking for the past two years. Today, it seemed he, like those several young talents who had sequentially fallen back, had been pushed down by Luoluo.
Chen Changsheng listened intently, lowering his head. If Luoluo could advance to the top six of the Azure Cloud Ranking, he would already be very satisfied. But for some reason, he felt she should rank higher—he knew how much progress she had made in these months at the National Teaching Academy and hoped the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion knew it too.
Suppressed exclamations of surprise erupted from the autumn forests on both sides of the Divine Path.
By this point, many had vaguely guessed the reason for today's temporary change to the Azure Cloud Ranking, because… the sixth position still wasn't Luoluo.
Chen Changsheng hadn't even clearly heard who that person was. His hands clenched slightly within his sleeves, tense and anxious. He both hoped Luoluo would continue advancing and knew this was already very difficult.
After the exclamations came dead silence. Presumably, at this moment, many places in the capital, like the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Star Picking Academy, were equally quiet, all waiting for Luoluo's name to appear.
The sound transmission array at the Preaching Hall remained unaffected by any tension. In a monotonous, even slightly dry tone, it read out the fifth name on the Azure Cloud Ranking—Guan Feibai. It was Guan Feibai. Indeed, it was Guan Feibai. The fourth of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, Guan Feibai, had actually been replaced from the position he had held for three years. Countless gazes turned toward the courtyard behind the snow pine forest on the right side of the Divine Path's end, yet the guest courtyard remained silent.
After a moment, those gazes fell upon Chen Changsheng and the other students of the National Teaching Academy on the Divine Path, their expressions extraordinarily complex. People were shocked and somewhat puzzled.
Judging by the current release of the Azure Cloud Ranking, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had fully acknowledged the outcome of the battle between the National Teaching Academy and the Lishan Sword Sect at the Green Vine Banquet. But those two matches were different from ordinary fights—how could they determine who was superior?
Moreover, according to past precedent, if the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion truly recognized that battle's result, Guan Feibai should have fallen directly to the ninth position, and Her Highness Luoluo would have advanced by at most one or two spots. How could Guan Feibai only drop one place, while Her Highness Luoluo shot straight into the top four?
One had to know that appearing in the top ten of the Azure Cloud Ranking meant being the most outstanding young talents on the continent, with very small gaps between them. Thus, evaluations were more cautious, and advancing even one step was difficult. Since Guan Feibai had fallen to fifth, the fourth position naturally belonged to Her Highness Luoluo. Just as everyone prepared to hear her noble name, another surprise occurred.
Suddenly, an uproar erupted on both sides of the Divine Path. The clamor of discussion burst forth like a wave, startling countless roosting birds in the forest, as if it might overturn the pale autumn sky.
The fourth position on the Azure Cloud Ranking was still not Her Highness Luoluo—it was another name. Chen Changsheng, somewhat dazed, asked, "What's wrong? Who is this person?"
Tang Thirty-Six was also full of shock at this moment. It took him a while to come to his senses before he said, "The third of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom. After Qiushan Jun and Gou Hanshi went to the Gold Point Ranking, he became the strongest from the Lishan Sword Sect on the Azure Cloud Ranking." Then he added very seriously, "He's always been ranked third on the Azure Cloud Ranking."
It took Chen Changsheng some time to fully understand—more accurately, it took him some time to snap out of it. The corners of his mouth twitched. He wanted to suppress his smile, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.
… Luoluo had entered the top three of the Azure Cloud Ranking.
As Luoluo's teacher, having spent so much time together at the National Teaching Academy day and night—though the phrase "ear to ear, temple to temple" wasn't quite fitting—they still shared the bond of sitting together under the same tree. He now felt even happier than if he himself had entered the Azure Cloud Ranking.
The number three has always held a special significance for people. Perhaps because three is the most stable, or for some other complex spiritual reason, in short, three is different. For instance, the Grand Examination only takes the top three, and the ranking only lists three people. Thus, being in the top ten of the Azure Cloud Ranking is one feeling, but being in the top three is another.
Luoluo's placement in the top three of the Azure Cloud Ranking meant she had reached the pinnacle of her peers in this era. From this moment on, she would not only possess an immensely noble and powerful bloodline but also an immensely noble and powerful status—and the latter was earned through her own arduous cultivation, unrelated to her surname. What kind of glory was this?
Chen Changsheng looked up toward the Qingxian Hall at the top of the long stone steps, wondering if Luoluo, now in the Pope's Green Leaf World, had yet learned of this news.
Yet the shock did not end there.
The third position on the Azure Cloud Ranking was still not Luoluo.
The autumn forests on both sides of the Divine Path fell into dead silence. People were numbed by the shock. Within the palace complex of the Li Palace, exclamations rang out everywhere.
Tang Thirty-Six's face paled slightly. He said in disbelief, "How is this possible?"
Chen Changsheng had little understanding of the geniuses in the top ten of the Azure Cloud Ranking, so his feelings weren't as intense as Tang Thirty-Six's. Especially when he recalled that night at the National Teaching Academy, seeing Luoluo's respectful and obedient demeanor before Chen Changsheng, he found it hard to accept that such a delicate young girl could surpass that cold-blooded wolf cub who survived by hunting lone demons in the northern snow and wind.
Finally, this moment arrived.
People had waited a long time to hear this name. At the very beginning, surely no one imagined they would need to wait this long.
"National Teaching Academy, Bai Di Luoluo, Azure Cloud Second."
The dead silence on both sides of the Divine Path remained dead silence. The exclamations in the Li Palace's halls grew even louder. Even from the quiet guest courtyard of the southern delegation, faint sounds emerged.
The entire capital, even the entire continent, must now be immersed in shock.
Bai Di Luoluo, Her Highness the Demon Princess, formerly ninth on the Azure Cloud Ranking, had entered the top three in just a few short months and ultimately claimed second place.
Everyone understood that on a ranking like the Azure Cloud Ranking, where advancing becomes increasingly difficult, going directly from ninth to second was far more incredible than moving from last place into the top ten.
What terrifying speed of progress was this? In the history of the Azure Cloud Ranking, such occurrences were rare. In the past decade or so, only when Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong first entered the ranking had similar things happened.
Did the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion believe that Luoluo was now approaching the level of Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong?
Many people pondered this question, especially considering that at the Green Vine Banquet, while Luoluo's performance was strong, it wasn't far beyond her peers—at least, it didn't convince the world why she could surpass that northern wolf cub.
To find the answer, people naturally wouldn't miss the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's routine commentary.
The Heavenly Mechanism Elder's assessment of Luoluo was still concise, and it was domineering and direct, very much in the style of the Bai Di clan—stating outright that she had already crossed the cultivation barrier for the demon race. With her overwhelmingly domineering bloodline talent, except for figures like Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong, no one could be her opponent.
Such a domineering assessment left people stunned, so much so that many didn't catch that at the end of the commentary, the Heavenly Mechanism Elder vaguely indicated that meeting a wise teacher was the key to all of this.
Some people heard this sentence, like Su Moyu and Tang Thirty-Six.
Su Moyu looked at Chen Changsheng, his emotions extremely complex.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him, his emotions full of admiration.
No matter how calm Chen Changsheng's temperament was, he couldn't help but feel some joy and pride at this moment. He would heal Xuan Yuan Po's injuries; he had also solved the problems Luoluo encountered in her cultivation. Today, three people from the National Teaching Academy had made it onto the Azure Cloud Ranking—all of this was worthy of his pride.
But in the next moment, he quickly returned to calm—true calm. The voice from the Preaching Hall continued; there was still one last name to appear on the Azure Cloud Ranking.
Those things he was proud of were not strong enough in the face of that name.
By now, the people present knew that the reason for the temporary change to the Azure Cloud Ranking was Her Highness Luoluo's rapid progress in strength and realm, so they now seemed somewhat disinterested.
Not because they dared not respect that name, nor because the top spot on the Azure Cloud Ranking was unimportant, but because for the past two years, through three consecutive ranking changes, that name had always held the top spot—there was no novelty left.
No one thought any other name would appear at the top of the Azure Cloud Ranking, unless she herself wanted it.
"Xu Yourong, Nanxi Zhai, Azure Cloud First."
(Today is the fourth anniversary of my marriage to the leader. Thank you for the gift sent by Haitang, which reminded us two fools of this day. Then, many things came to mind. Four years ago, I received many gifts from everyone—various books, various trinkets—still deeply remembered in my heart. I hope everyone is well, and we are well. Thank you. Although I almost forgot, since I was reminded, I had to go eat a meal, take a stroll, which delayed some time, making the update late. As for the next chapter, it will definitely be later… No need to wait; reading it tomorrow morning is fine. Finally, before midnight, please cast today's recommendation votes. We're about to be overtaken on the recommendation list. Thank you.)