Jiang Chen and the others had been staying at the inn recently and rarely going out.
There were two reasons for this.
First, Cold Realm City had not been very peaceful lately.
At first, it was just the guards going mad, and then many cultivators mysteriously disappeared, only to be found in the same crazed state.
In just over ten days, hundreds of mad cultivators appeared in Cold Realm City!
This left Jiang Chen speechless, and he was even more convinced of his ‘poisonous’ buff.
He chose to hide and not meet people.
Because as soon as he appeared in the city, many mad cultivators would appear, wanting to say something to him and then bursting into tears.
It made him almost mentally exhausted.
He couldn’t properly claim his system rewards!The second reason was that Jiushuang was showing signs of awakening and was about to condense into a ghostly form.
For safety’s sake, it was better to go out less.
Of course, although Jiang Chen was in the inn, he would still send Zhang Hu out to gather information.
In the evening, Jiang Chen took out the Ghost Tower and was observing Jiushuang’s condition when Zhang Hu suddenly arrived.
Zhang Hu held a golden cloth, panting and extremely excited, “Eldest Senior Brother, the Heaven’s Pride Ranking has appeared!”
“Heaven’s Pride Ranking?” Jiang Chen was startled.
The appearance of the Heaven’s Pride Ranking meant that the Grand Sect Competition was about to begin.
But whether it was in his past nine lives or in the original story, this timing seemed a bit early.
He couldn’t help but feel emotional.
The current plot had completely escaped control and was utterly unpredictable.
“Hmph, it seems the Imperial Dynasty wants to make a move,” Jiang Chen mused after a moment’s contemplation.
Although the power center of the Imperial Dynasty was in the Upper Domain, both the Lower Domain and the Central Domain had supervisory institutions called the Imperial Pavilion.
And this Heaven’s Pride Ranking was issued by the Imperial Pavilion.
Jiang Chen guessed that it must be that the Imperial Pavilion had noticed changes in the Central Domain’s landscape and wanted to reshape it by starting the Grand Sect Competition ahead of schedule.
There might even be intentions targeting him!
Because once the Jiuyan Sect was promoted to an Upper Domain sect, it would be right under the nose of the Imperial Dynasty.
At that time, the Jiuyan Old Ancestor would no longer be able to protect him, and the Jiang family, for his sake, would have to change their low profile and come to the forefront to confront the Imperial Dynasty head-on.
Jiang Chen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache.
He knew this day would come, but he didn’t expect it to arrive so quickly.
The plot of this life truly caused him endless trouble.
And the instigator of all this was the dog system!
If it weren’t for the system causing people to go mad wherever he went, the plot would not have completely escaped control.
The good news was that even if the Heaven’s Pride Ranking were to be announced today, the Grand Sect Competition would still be a year or even several years away.
During this time, Jiang Chen had ample opportunity to grow stronger continually with the help of his system and accumulate resources for the Jiang family.
“Hand me the Heaven’s Pride Ranking to take a look,” Jiang Chen said, spreading his hands.
Zhang Hu hurriedly passed the list he was holding.
There were thirty prodigies listed on the Heaven’s Pride Ranking.
From the bottom up, Jiang Chen quickly glanced through it.
【30th Ranked Prodigy】
【Name: Zhang Hu】
【Cultivation: Middle Stage of Earthly Origin】
【Affiliated Sect: Sixth True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Ninth Peak】
【Evaluation: Skilled in the Way of the Poison, suspected to be a disciple of a certain Grandmaster of the Way of the Poison. Wealthy, possesses a sixth-grade innate spiritual fire, and numerous poison pills and spiritual weapons.】
“???”
These words caught Jiang Chen’s eye, leaving him full of question marks.
He truly hadn’t expected this.
In his previous nine lives, Zhang Hu, as Lin Feng’s underling, had always remained unknown.
But in this life, after becoming his underling, he had actually made it onto the Heaven’s Pride Ranking!
No wonder Zhang Hu was so excited. Now he finally understood it was because of this!
People from the same household knew their own affairs.
Jiang Chen was well aware that Zhang Hu’s skill in the Way of the Poison was due to the Way of the Poison Grandmaster’s Diary that he had given him.
His wealth came from Xiao Hongyi, who had given him many valuable items to facilitate his poisoning!
“It’s all thanks to Eldest Senior Brother and the Peak Master,” Zhang Hu said while scratching his head with a slightly embarrassed expression.
Not bothering with him, Jiang Chen continued to look up the list.
The prodigies ranked from thirty to twenty were basically people he had no impression of.
But those ranked above twenty were all familiar faces.
【20th Ranked Prodigy】
First True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Sword Peak, Zhou Jian.
【19th Ranked Prodigy】
Third Buddhist Disciple of the Buddha Temple, Ci Fa.
【18th Ranked Prodigy】
Fifth True Disciple of the Myriad Dao Demon Sect, Chen Bin.
【17th Ranked Prodigy】
Sixth Sword Disciple of the Seven Luminaries Sword Pavilion, Jian Liu.
【16th Ranked Prodigy】
……
He quickly glanced through and found no one of interest to Jiang Chen.
Finally, he turned his attention to the top ten to see the rankings of himself and his Junior Brothers and Sisters.
【10th Ranked Prodigy】
Third True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Ninth Peak, Qingning. (Gone mad)
【6th Ranked Prodigy】
Second True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Ninth Peak, Lin Mubai. (Gone mad)
【5th Ranked Prodigy】
Fourth True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Ninth Peak, Mu Kui. (Gone mad)
【4th Ranked Prodigy】
Fifth True Disciple of the Jiuyan Demonic Sect’s Ninth Peak, Jiang Lianyue. (Gone mad)
“Pfft!”
Jiang Chen almost burst out laughing.
The Imperial Dynasty truly had a knack for making people feel disgusted.
Now that the Heaven’s Pride Ranking was out, no one would doubt the insanity of Jiang Lianyue and the others.
“Eldest Senior Brother’s ranking must be in the top three!” Zhang Hu, who was beside him, said, sticking his head in.
He had been extremely excited to see his own name on the Heaven’s Pride Ranking and had not looked at it in detail.
In his opinion, with their Senior Brother being so awesome and Jiang Lianyue ranked fourth, Jiang Chen should at least be in the top three or even first!
Jiang Chen thought the same.
Although the Heaven’s Pride Ranking was issued by the Imperial Dynasty, he had always been listed in his previous nine lives, and it should be no different in this life.
Continuing to look up.
【3rd Ranked Prodigy】
【Name: Nangong Jiuxi】
【Cultivation: Heavenly Origin Realm】
【Affiliated Sect: First True Disciple of the Myriad Dao Demon Sect】
【Evaluation: Ruthless and cruel, possesses the Profound Dark Demonic Body constitution, has the demeanor of a Demon Empress.】
“…”
After a moment of silence, Jiang Chen sighed deeply.
【2nd Ranked Prodigy】
【Name: Su Shan】
【Cultivation: Heavenly Origin Realm Sword Cultivator】
【Affiliated Sect: First Sword Disciple of the Seven Luminaries Sword Pavilion】
【Evaluation: Taciturn, has been cultivating the sword for twenty years, achieved Major Accomplishment in the Way of the Sword, and hailed as having the demeanor of a Sword Emperor.】
“Reasonable.”
Jiang Chen nodded in agreement.
The Seven Luminaries Sword Pavilion was full of dedicated swordsmen, and in his nine reincarnations, he was well aware that Su Shan indeed had the strength to be ranked second.
“It seems Eldest Senior Brother should be the number,” Zhang Hu speculated.
“Stay low-key, low-key,” Jiang Chen said with a faint smile, acting as if it was a trivial matter.
But when he looked at the top of the list, he cursed the sky.
“F*ck!!”
“F*ck!!”
Zhang Hu was also stunned, unable to believe his eyes.
The top-ranked individual on the Heaven’s Pride Ranking turned out to be…
【1st Ranked Prodigy】
【Name: Lu Lin】
【Cultivation: Unknown】
【Affiliated Sect: Jiuyan Demonic Sect, exact Peak affiliation and location unknown】
【Evaluation: An unknown man shrouded in mystery, he possesses the Human Sacred Body, capable of overwhelming everyone through the ages.】
The Human Sacred Body.
These words alone are enough to secure a top spot on the list, without a doubt.
But there is a big problem!
“Eldest Senior Brother… who is Lu Lin?” Zhang Hu blinked.
“How would I know?” Jiang Chen was annoyed.
Aside from not knowing where this Lu Lin came from, what he cared about most was that he, the great villain, was not even listed!!!
“Is the Imperial Dynasty trying to disgust me?” Jiang Chen said coldly again.