"Are they here?"
"Who's here?"
The crowd followed Chen Chang'an's gaze and saw two figures rapidly flying toward his location in the distance.
"Chen Yunxuan?"
"Ye Zhiqiu!"
"It's them!"
"The top two on the Human Ranking—are they finally arriving?"
"Damn, does that mean Chen Chang'an knows these two?"
"Could they really both be connected to him?"
"We'll find out soon enough."
Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu landed directly in front of Chen Chang'an, their smiles already giving away the answer.
"Ye Zhiqiu pays respects to Master."
"Chen Yunxuan pays respects to Ancestor."
Sigh.
Of course.
It had to be this way.
The crowd had gone from shock and disbelief to sheer numbness. At this point, no matter how absurd the situation, nothing could shake them anymore.
The top five on the Human Ranking—all connected to Chen Chang'an. And all five were absolute freaks of nature.
But what about Chen Chang'an himself? Before this, he had never appeared in the public eye. Just how monstrous was he?
"Alright, everyone else has already finished testing. You two go ahead and take the test."
Test?
Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu had just arrived and weren't yet aware of the testing process.
"See those testing monuments over there?"
"Just place your hands on them."
"Yes, Master."
"Yes, Ancestor."
The two nodded and walked toward the monuments, one on the left and one on the right.
"Ninety!"
"Their combat power is definitely breaking ninety."
"Of course. They're the top two on the Human Ranking—their power levels should be close. What do you think, ninety-five stars?"
"Hmm, I’d say around ninety-five too."
"Ninety-five stars… what does that even mean? At the very least, they’re invincible within their realm. But against Immortal Realm opponents? How far can they go?"
"Hard to say, but ordinary Immortal Realm cultivators probably can’t handle them."
The top two on the Human Ranking were finally about to test, and the tension in the air was palpable. Everyone speculated—could they break ninety stars? By how much?
No one doubted their talent or strength. They just wanted to see exactly how monstrous these two were.
Boom!
As expected, the testing monuments trembled violently once more.
Golden light erupted, so intense that the crowd felt completely engulfed by it.
"Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu’s results are even more intense than ours—no, all three of ours."
"Young Master, just how high will their combat power reach?" Gu Xian'er asked curiously.
"Probably similar, but the exact number is hard to say."
Chen Chang'an couldn’t predict the exact results, but breaking ninety stars was a foregone conclusion.
"It's fading! Ye Zhiqiu’s light is fading!"
"Age: 24, Cultivation: Supreme Realm (Third Layer), Combat Power: 99 Stars. Qualified."
Ninety-nine stars?!
Ye Zhiqiu’s combat power had reached a terrifying ninety-nine stars?!
"Holy shit!"
"Ninety-nine… that has to be the limit, right?"
"If Ye Zhiqiu is this strong, Chen Yunxuan should be about the same."
"Wait, has Chen Yunxuan’s result come out yet?"
"It’s fading! His light is fading too!"
"How much?"
"Age: 22, Cultivation: Supreme Realm (Fourth Layer), Combat Power: 100 Stars. Qualified."
One hundred stars?!
What the hell?!
So ninety-nine wasn’t the limit after all?
Ye Zhiqiu’s ninety-nine stars had been shocking but still within reason. But when Chen Yunxuan’s hundred stars appeared, everyone lost their minds.
"One hundred stars?! How is that possible?"
"What even is the limit of these testing monuments?"
"Damn, I thought nine stars was the max, then eighty came along."
"Eighty was insane enough, but then eighty-nine, ninety-nine…"
"Just when I thought it couldn’t get crazier, a hundred stars shows up?"
"How is the gap this ridiculous? How is anyone else supposed to compete?"
"Are Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu going to dominate the top two spots on the Earth Ranking after the Human Ranking?"
"Not just the top two—these five will probably take all five top spots again."
"Sigh… this era belongs to them."
"But doesn’t it feel like this era actually belongs to Chen Chang'an?"
Chen Chang'an?
Now that they thought about it, it made sense. All five of these prodigies were connected to him.
One was his maid, one his fiancée, two his disciples, and one his junior from the family.
Damn, was being associated with Chen Chang'an the secret to becoming a peerless genius? Could he mass-produce freaks like this?
"Well, I’m still a step behind you. But don’t worry—I’ll catch up soon," Ye Zhiqiu said to Chen Yunxuan with a smile.
"I’ll be waiting," Chen Yunxuan replied, amused. He enjoyed this kind of healthy rivalry.
"Alright, now that all five of you are together for the first time, take this chance to get acquainted."
Chen Chang'an gathered them together, and only then did they realize—the top five on the Human Ranking were all on the same side?
"So this is Junior Brother Li Qiye?"
"Li Qiye greets Senior Brother."
"No need for formalities. We’re all family now. If you need anything, just say the word."
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
"Uh, Master… this is your fiancée? What do we call her?"
"You’re peers—just address her however feels natural."
Chen Chang'an chuckled before turning to Chen Yunxuan. "Have you been back to the Chen family?"
"Yes, I returned after the Human Ranking concluded."
"The family is doing well," Chen Yunxuan replied.
"Good."
"There are less than five days left until the Earth Ranking begins."
"Use this time to prepare. I expect the top five spots to be yours again."
Chen Yunxuan and the others nodded firmly. Securing the top five on the Earth Ranking was their goal as well.
Even though the competition this time was fierce—with millions of participants passing the test—in their eyes, there were only a handful of true rivals.
Unless someone was at the Immortal Realm, they weren’t even worth considering as opponents.
With Chen Yunxuan and the others done testing, the crowd lost interest in watching anyone else. No matter how strong the others were, they couldn’t compare.
Better to focus on the Earth Ranking, which was about to begin.
"Five days pass so quickly."
"The three-year deadline… has arrived."