Not Yet Hit, Rankings Already Set; Wang Hao's Heavenly Prodigy List Drives the World Mad

"Prodigy Roll · Draft Roll."

Five large characters stretched across the top of the list, flowing with golden light.

Below the heading, exactly one hundred names were densely listed.

After each name followed a string of incredibly detailed information—

Age, sect, family background, battle record, talent assessment, temperament assessment, secret realm performance, and overall ranking.

The most outrageous part was that at the very end of each name, there was a short comment.

The crowd surged forward, pushing and shoving, their heads almost squeezed against the wall.

"Who's first? Who's first?"

"Let me see! Let me see!"

"Holy shit—"

An exclamation rang out.

The crowd instantly went silent for a moment.

At the very top of the list, three characters were clearly written.

"Xiao Chen."

The comment that followed was—

"Sacrificed himself to block the Evil Eye in the secret realm. Resolute battle intent, astonishing potential. Sole regret: easily deceived, mindset slightly naive."

In the crowd, a certain Xiao Chen, who was squatting behind a pillar gnawing on a steamed bun, almost dropped his bun on the ground.

"..."

Easily deceived?

Mindset slightly naive?

Was this damn thing a draft roll comment, or a critical illness notice personally issued to him by Wang Hao?

Bai Zhantang, standing to the side, laughed so hard he bent backward and forward. "Hahahahaha, His Majesty really understands you, brother!"

Xiao Chen's face turned ashen as he stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth and took a vicious bite.

"... Sooner or later, I'm going to drag that dog emperor off his dragon throne."

"And then what?"

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth.

"And then—"

"I'll make him write me a two-thousand-word letter of apology."

Bai Zhantang: "..."

Are you serious, brother?

Second on the list, Ye Guyun.

Comment: Transparent sword intent, solitary and arrogant. A pity he joined the gang just for a broken blade, his moral integrity slightly inferior to the rumors.

The moment Ye Guyun saw the comment, he froze in place.

The passersby next to him silently took three steps back.

Because they could clearly feel that the air around this sword fanatic was freezing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"..."

"..."

"... Wang Hao."

He slowly spat out two words.

His tone was calm.

So calm it was like the thin ice on a lake in deep winter, where one step would drop you into an ice hole.

Third on the list, Gu Han.

Comment: Fierce saber intent, resolute determination. Sole problem: talks too little, hard to judge whether he's profound or just awkward.

Gu Han looked at the comment expressionlessly.

A long time passed.

He closed his fan (he hadn't even been holding a fan) and turned to leave.

"Profound or awkward..."

"Wang Hao."

"Very well."

Fourth on the list, Bai Zhantang.

Comment: Exceptionally astute, smooth and slick. If this person does not enter the court as an official, it will definitely be a lifelong regret for the Great Zhou, and he is the Great Zhou's officially recognized seeded player.

Bai Zhantang: ???

He stared at the list for a long time, his face alternating between red and white.

Finally, he clutched his chest and let out a pained sigh.

"Your Majesty... you really do understand me."

"But are you praising me, or hinting that I should go mix in the imperial court?"

Beside him, Rong Xiaotian spoke in a muffled voice, "I think it's the latter."

Bai Zhantang: "..."

Fifth on the list, Rong Xiaotian.

Comment: Astonishing physique, brute strength unmatched among peers. It is recommended not to enter the field to compete in intellect with others.

Rong Xiaotian's knuckles cracked.

"... This dog emperor is going to get a beating from me sooner or later."

Bai Zhantang patted his shoulder.

"Don't rush, get in line."

But what truly made the entire capital explode were the names and comments ranked from sixth to one hundredth.

A certain direct descendant of the Gu family in the Southern Ridge, Gu Chengyu, ranked seventeenth.

Comment: Profound family learning, yet cultivation growth over the past three years highly matches the family's pill procurement records. Suspected of piling up resources.

Upon reading this comment, Gu Chengyu spat blood on the spot.

"..."

"Your court even checked how many pills my family bought?"

There was a disciple from a Northern Region sect ranked forty-seventh, whose comment read—

"Solid martial arts foundation, passable temperament. Sole flaw is a stubborn mouth, so stubborn that the West Factory can't even be bothered to chat with him."

As soon as these words came out, that disciple's face turned red to the roots of his ears on the spot.

There was also an Eastern Wasteland sword sect prodigy ranked sixty-third, whose comment was even more ruthless:

"Sword intent unformed, but first learned how to show off. The path is still long, recommended to shorten the sleeves a bit first so as not to trip easily while walking."

That sword sect prodigy was so angry he almost chopped down the noticeboard on the spot.

The most absolute one was a certain Central State Holy Maiden disciple ranked eighty-ninth, whose comment read—

"Excellent talent, a pity her mind is too focused on male beauty. Recommended to resolve emotional issues first before talking about the martial dao."

That Holy Maiden disciple immediately rushed forward to tear down the list.

She was stopped by two West Factory guards with smiling faces.

"Miss, the list cannot be torn."

"If you want to change the comment, follow the rules."

She gritted her teeth: "How do I change it?!"

The West Factory guards continued to smile.

"The appeal channel is open."

"The specific rule is—"

"Go beat the people ranked ahead of you."

That Holy Maiden disciple: "..."

She glared at the list, glared at the West Factory, and glared at the crowd of onlookers filling the street.

Finally, she viciously flicked her sleeve.

"Just you wait!"

"I will definitely beat down all those in front!"

The West Factory guards cupped their hands to her.

"Good luck, miss."

Within an hour, the atmosphere in the entire capital changed.

It became more restless than ever before.

Those ranked high started being challenged in turns by the prodigies ranked lower, blocking doors, blocking roads, blocking restaurants, blocking latrines.

Those in the middle ranks, in order to sprint for the top ten, started frantically challenging each other to battles.

Those at the bottom ranks were furious, feeling the court was biased, and insisted on fighting for justice.

Those who didn't make the list at all went with red eyes to line up at the list appeal desk.

In front of the appeal desk, an official from the Ministry of Rites rubbed his temples, surrounded by piles of appeal documents.

"Next!"

"What? You say your senior brother's talent isn't as good as yours, and you insist your senior brother give up his spot?"

"... Please go beat your senior brother first."

"Next!"

"You say your senior brother went to beat the people ranked ahead of you, so you want to ride his coattails and get on the list too?"

"... We don't handle this kind of thing, go talk to your senior brother yourself."

"Next—"

That official looked up at the appeal queue, the length of which had almost extended outside the city gates.

He took a deep breath and silently cursed in his heart.

"Your Majesty..."

"You really are something else."

Hall of Supreme Harmony, side hall.

Wang Hao sipped his tea while flipping through the "Capital Dynamics Briefing" submitted from below.

The contents of the briefing were incredibly exciting.

"7:45 AM, East City Number One Restaurant, seven people scheduled to fight, several tables and chairs destroyed."

"8:15 AM, West Ward Martial Arena, battle between rank thirty-two and rank nineteen, two hundred spectators, gambling pool turnover three hundred taels."

"9:15 AM, South Gate Avenue, a certain Eastern Ridge disciple dissatisfied with ranking, engaged in a street brawl with a fellow disciple, later dragged away by his master."

"9:30 AM, in front of the Prodigy Gang headquarters, the number of people lining up to appeal has reached over four hundred."

"9:45 AM, Great Zhou Times temporary stall, special edition 'Full Record of Today's Capital Brawls', sold out."

When Wang Hao saw the line "Great Zhou Times special edition sold out," he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I just love this bunch of people."

"If they want to compete, let them compete. If they want to duel, let them duel. They are competing fiercely and fighting until the sky turns dark, and they've even boosted my newspaper sales in the process."

He closed the briefing and looked at Shen Xue and Yun Meng standing to the side.

Shen Xue's expression remained cold and aloof.

But the way she looked at Wang Hao was so complex that it bordered on... awe.

Having watched all this unfold, she finally understood one thing completely.

This draft ranking list was far more than a simple tool to stimulate competition.

It was also an incredibly vicious blade.

"You are using this list to precisely dismantle the internal unity of the major sects."

Shen Xue spoke slowly, her tone low.

Wang Hao raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"You deliberately highlighted their families, elixirs, and resource origins in the evaluations."

"You deliberately placed several pairs of fellow disciples in adjacent positions on the list, yet gave them vastly different appraisals."

"You deliberately pitted martial brothers and sisters of the same master against each other."

"You aren't ranking them—you are inciting suspicion among them."

"Today they fight for rankings, tomorrow they will fight for the imperial court's resources, and the day after—"

She paused, her eyes growing colder.

"The day after, they will never be able to return to their original sects."

After hearing this, Wang Hao clapped his hands lightly.

"Xue'er is indeed Xue'er."

Shen Xue said, "Don't call me Xue'er."

Unfazed, Wang Hao continued—

"Correct. The major sects might seem like a unified monolith, but they are actually riddled with internal factions. The conflicts among the younger generation have existed for a long time; it's just that no one had lit the fire."

"Now, I have lit it for them."

"And every internal struggle, every duel, and every scramble for resources that follows this ignition will make them increasingly reliant on my order, my judgment, and my arbitration."

"Because only my list can give them a ranking that is universally acknowledged by the world."

"And in the future, when they compete within their sects for the positions of sect leader, elder, or head disciple, this ranking will carry more weight than a single word from their masters."

Shen Xue remained silent for a long time.

Then, she let out a soft breath.

"Wang Hao."

"You really deserve to die."

Wang Hao smiled gently.

"I know."

Yun Meng, whose scalp was tingling as she listened from the side, couldn't help but interrupt, "Wait, with so many people dissatisfied with this list right now, aren't you afraid that chaos will break out in the end?"

Wang Hao's hand, holding his teacup, paused slightly.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled into a profoundly meaningful arc.

"Chaos?"

"I am eager for chaos."

"The greater the chaos, the easier it will be to execute my next step."

Yun Meng was stunned. "Next step?"

Right at that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

Wei Zhongxian hurried in and bowed to report.

"Your Majesty."

"Today, there were a total of one hundred and twenty-seven duels and conflicts, involving over eight hundred people. Eleven were severely injured, and countless others sustained minor injuries."

"The elders of multiple sects have jointly submitted a petition, requesting the imperial court to strengthen its control and prevent the situation from escalating further."

Wang Hao set down his teacup, the smile on his lips deepening.

"Here they come."

He looked at Shen Xue and Yun Meng, his eyes carrying an almost playful gleam.

"Draft a decree."

"I shall comply with the will of the people."

"All prodigies on the list must regularly participate in demon-suppression combat drills organized by the imperial court."

"They will be uniformly dispatched, uniformly supervised, and uniformly trained by the imperial court."

"Through this—"

"We shall maintain order among the prodigies and put an end to the trend of private duels."

Hearing this, Yun Meng's pupils shrank fiercely.

Shen Xue's face completely darkened.

The two of them realized almost simultaneously—

Wang Hao had deliberately released the draft list, deliberately ignored the duels, and deliberately waited for the sects to submit their petitions.

Then, riding on this momentum, he could justifiably—

Swallow all the prodigies on the entire list into the imperial court's net of jurisdiction in one fell swoop.

How was this a draft ranking list?

This was—

A conscription roster laid out in advance.

Yun Meng took a deep breath, pointing at Wang Hao, unable to speak for a long time.

"You... you..."

Wang Hao smiled amiably at her.

"What about me?"

Yun Meng gritted her teeth.

"You dog emperor—"

"How can you be so utterly shameless!"

Wang Hao looked solemn.

"I do care about my face."

"My face—"

He pointed at himself, and then pointed outside towards the capital.

"Is all resting on them."

"Are you two still participating in this Prodigy Ranking? Being on both the Beauty Ranking and the Prodigy Ranking at the same time would be quite a glorious reputation, wouldn't it?"

Shen Xue and Yun Meng said in unison, "We are not participating."

They were afraid of being sold out by this dog emperor.