Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 412 - 409 Ranking on the Golden List

Chapter 412: Chapter 409 Ranking on the Golden List

Not far away, a middle-aged man with an imposing demeanor, holding a sword in both hands, came into view. From him, Ye Xuan could feel an extremely intense aura of sharpness, a distinctive trait of swordsmen. Indeed, Liu Qinghe of the Sword Sect was worthy of his title, concealing his aura without showing it, and only someone like Ye Xuan, who was also proficient in the Sword Dao, could sense his unique sharpness.

"Sword Sect’s Liu Qinghe." Li Ziting pronounced slowly, by his side.

"True to the Sword Sect, he indeed possesses the demeanor befitting his title."

Ye Xuan nodded. It was his first meeting with Liu Qinghe, and it wasn’t appropriate to discuss the latter’s true strength yet. However, judging solely by his aura, the title of the Sword Sect seemed to carry the substance beneath its reputation.

After pausing momentarily on Liu Qinghe, Ye Xuan’s gaze landed on a man in a black robe, who was wearing a green metal mask. However, Ye Xuan’s attention lingered only briefly before shifting behind him to a stiff figure.

"A puppet?"

A soft exclamation slipped out, and Ye Xuan’s pupils slightly constricted. The stiff figure bore no signs of life, not even the slightest hint of breath. A black, thin thread extended from the palm of the man in the black robe, connecting him to the puppet.

Continuous subtle fluctuations transmitted from the hands of the man in the black robe, which then traveled to the puppet, animating it with creaking noises.

"Puppet Masters are indeed rare."

Ye Xuan wasn’t surprised; the art of Mechanical Puppets had existed since ancient times, profound and expansive. However, cultivating it was extremely difficult and could greatly harm one’s own body and even affect one’s lifespan. Nevertheless, the strength of a Puppet Master usually surpassed that of an ordinary martial artist, with higher-grade puppets yielding stronger combat capabilities.

"It’s him I mentioned yesterday. Ye Xuan, what do you think?"

Li Ziting looked at the man in the black robe warily and whispered to Ye Xuan.

"He’s not simple; handling him might prove as challenging as dealing with the Swordsman from earlier."

Ye Xuan nodded slightly. He wasn’t exaggerating. Although it was also his first time seeing this man in the black robe, he could feel that the aura between the man and his puppet was nearly fused and inseparable.

This meant that the other’s puppetry skills had reached a highly proficient level. Though Ye Xuan was only superficially familiar with puppetry techniques, he could still discern that the level of the man’s puppetry was quite high.

"Is he that strong?"

Nangong Yao and Li Ziting exchanged looks. Liu Qinghe’s strength was widely acknowledged, though they hadn’t witnessed it firsthand. Ranked second in the Master List by Heavenly Mechanism Tower, the accuracy of this ranking was undisputed, suggesting that it would be difficult for anyone under fifty to rival him.

However, neither Demon Sword Jue Wuchen, ranked first, nor Liu Qinghe, ranked second, would appear in the next Master List because they had already achieved the level of a First Grade Martial Venerate and were no longer considered among the Martial Sect Masters, naturally excluding them from the Master List.

"Alright, since the test is over, let’s head back." After all five of them had passed the test, it didn’t take long before Qin Qi looked toward the group and spoke.

Ye Xuan nodded. He was somewhat interested in the man in the black robe and after sizing him up briefly, he soon shifted his gaze. Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze and leave, his eyes suddenly fixed on a figure in a white robe.

The silhouette of the person in the white robe seemed somewhat familiar to Ye Xuan. He looked at the person’s face and then furrowed his brows. The person in the white robe wore a white jade mask that covered the face completely—except for the eyes and mouth, barely revealing that the figure was a woman.

"What’s wrong?"

Nangong Yao sensed something unusual about Ye Xuan and couldn’t help but ask.

"There’s nothing, it must be my imagination."

Ye Xuan shook his head. In the Chaotic Sea Domain, he had not met any acquaintances. There were many women in the world with similar figures; he must have mistaken someone else for an acquaintance.

The group then left the area.

However, just as Ye Xuan turned and was about to leave, the white-robed, masked woman suddenly turned around. Her bright eyes fixed on Ye Xuan, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up, "I finally found you. I knew you would definitely attend this tournament."

"I didn’t expect that wearing a mask would make me unrecognizable to you, and you’ve gathered so many new beauties around you. Let’s meet on the battle platform, and don’t you lose to me by then."

The smile on the masked woman’s lips grew even richer, and then she disappeared into the crowd.

...

The next day.

When the first ray of morning sunlight touched the ground, Shenxiu Island quickly became noisy, filled with a cacophony of sounds.

With the central arena as the focus, within a ten-mile radius, there was a densely packed sea of people. Although many viewing platforms had been constructed in advance, they were still insufficient. In the end, only those with a certain level of capability could qualify to watch the tournament. Those with weaker abilities couldn’t even qualify to watch.

"It’s really a grand occasion."

Ye Xuan, witnessing the multitude of people dense like ants, couldn’t help but exclaim. Among these people, most were Martial Sect Masters; so many Martial Sect Masters gathered together created an aura that changed the very winds and clouds above Shenxiu Island, causing constant tremors.

On the other side of the field, not far from the battle platform, there was a viewing platform with the best view. On this platform, seven figures in various magnificent robes were seated. These figures were all Martial Venerate Experts, their gazes exceedingly indifferent as they watched the grand scene unfold before them without a trace of emotion.

These seven individuals were the Sect Envoys from the Spirit Martial Continent. Among them, the central figure was an elder in a golden robe with an exceptionally strong aura. This person hailed from the only Sixth Grade Sect present, the Xuantian Sect, and his status was higher than the others.

"That over there is the combat jade bi, inscribed with the names of all the participants in the tournament and the battle sequence. Each match is generated randomly within certain rules."

Qin Qi pointed to a translucent light wall not far away. This combat jade bi was itself a Heavenly Grade treasure, its interior engraved with extremely complex inscriptions to accurately manage the tournament and generate the battle sequences.

Ye Xuan scanned the combat jade bi and found his name among the hundreds of others half a minute later; his opponent was a person named He Liancheng.

"The topmost layer of this combat jade bi is the Golden List. After the tournament, the top ten will appear on the Golden List from top to bottom, with the first-place name appearing at the very top. It’s said that the winner receives very substantial rewards," Qin Qi continued.

"The Golden List?"

Following Qin Qi’s gaze, Ye Xuan’s eyes landed on the highest part of the jade bi, a blank area that, after the top ten emerged, would be inscribed with their names, starting from the empty space. The position for first place, as Ye Xuan saw, was at the very top of the Golden List, the most prominent spot on the entire jade bi.

At this moment, not just Ye Xuan, but all the hundreds of participants in the field were eagerly eyeing the position on the Golden List. Undoubtedly, everyone present dreamed of being listed on the Golden List to gain the recognition of the various Sect Envoys, thereby transforming from a mere nobody to a celebrated figure, soaring to the Spirit Martial Continent’s Sects, and completely changing their destinies.