Ninety-nine bolts!
The same ninety-nine heavenly thunderbolts!
Ye Zhiqiu's heavenly tribulation was identical in number to Chen Yunxuan's, and no one found anything unusual about it.
Atop Mount Taihua
At this moment, Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu exchanged glances, momentarily unsure of what to do next.
"Is it really over just like this?"
"Mount Taihua's summit actually has no oppressive aura at all. Had I known, I would've stayed below to cultivate a little longer," Chen Yunxuan said helplessly.
"I didn’t expect this either. I thought the summit’s pressure would be even stronger, but… there’s nothing. Does this mean we’ve completed the Earth Ranking’s trial?" Ye Zhiqiu was equally puzzled.
"Not sure. Let’s wait."
"However, Li Qiye and the others have the oppressive aura to aid their cultivation. They’ll probably catch up to us soon."
"Without the pressure, our cultivation speed will revert to normal. Improving our strength won’t be so easy now."
"Well, let’s do our best. They shouldn’t reach the summit too quickly."
With nothing else to do, Chen Yunxuan and Ye Zhiqiu could only continue cultivating atop Mount Taihua.
As time passed, three months later, Li Qiye finally ascended the summit and faced his own heavenly tribulation.
Half a year later, Gu Xian'er and Gu Fengyao reached the peak simultaneously.
"Five heavenly tribulations have appeared—it must be Chen Yunxuan and the other four, right?"
"It seems they’ve all made it to the summit."
"Tsk, the Earth Ranking has fifty spots. Do the remaining forty-five even stand a chance?"
"They should. Those still inside must have improved their cultivation significantly by now."
"Let’s hope so."
After so much time had passed, the initial excitement and anticipation had long faded. The only reason people remained was their unwillingness to leave without seeing the final outcome after such a long wait.
"Old man, what are you staring at again?"
In a distant mountain village, an elderly man kept his gaze fixed on Mount Taihua.
"Thunder’s striking over there again."
"Isn’t that normal? It’s been thundering for nearly a year now."
"Ah, tell the kids in our family never to go there—getting struck by lightning is no joke."
"Fine, fine. They wouldn’t go that far anyway. Who knows what’s happening over there? Must’ve done something terrible to deserve so much lightning."
"By the way, that Li boy from the east end of the village said he’d go check out the commotion half a year ago. Has he come back yet?"
"Oh right! It’s been over six months. Did he get struck by lightning too?"
"Ah, that Li boy was a good lad. What a shame."
The relentless heavenly tribulations atop Mount Taihua had become a topic of widespread discussion.
However, most ordinary folk, unaware of cultivation, could only gossip idly.
Those with real knowledge understood—this was the work of cultivators undergoing tribulation at the summit.
"Fifty people!"
"Exactly fifty!"
When the fiftieth person arrived at the summit, the barrier surrounding Mount Taihua vanished.
"Is it over?"
"Has the Earth Ranking trial ended just like that?"
"Seriously? The so-called Earth Ranking competition was just about reaching the summit?"
"Damn it! I thought there’d be a fight. How anticlimactic!"
"Anticlimactic? Scaling Mount Taihua took over three years—how is that anticlimactic?"
"It was incredibly difficult. Too many were eliminated, and only the strongest could reach the summit."
"I wonder how powerful those at the summit are now."
"The barrier’s gone. Should we go up and see?"
Go up?
In the past, the moment the barrier disappeared, people would’ve rushed up immediately.
But now, after witnessing Mount Taihua endure endless heavenly tribulations, fear had taken root.
Meanwhile, atop the summit, Chen Yunxuan and the others exchanged uncertain glances.
"My cultivation has reached the fifth level of the Immortal Realm, so why am I only ranked eighth?"
"Eighth? I was already at the first level of the Immortal Realm when I entered the barrier, and now I’ve reached the sixth level. Yet I’m only one rank above you—seventh!"
"Oh, so we’re ranking ourselves now? Just because you arrived earlier doesn’t mean you’re actually seventh or eighth, does it?"
"Exactly! The Earth Ranking never said the first to reach the summit would be first place. If that were the case, I—"
"You what? Do you think you could’ve been the first?"
"Hmph! All I know is I’m no weaker than any of you."
Every person standing here was a prodigy from their respective factions, hailed as geniuses. None were willing to admit inferiority, and the tension was palpable.
Especially toward Chen Yunxuan’s group—many had been dissatisfied since the testing monument and had waited for the Earth Ranking to prove themselves.
But no one expected the trial to be so unconventional.
"Seems like… some are targeting us?"
"Implying we arrived early but aren’t actually strong?" Chen Yunxuan remarked with a faint smile.
"That’s the vibe I’m getting too," Ye Zhiqiu agreed.
"Fight or not?" Li Qiye’s question was brief and direct.
"Forty-five opponents. Nine each?" Gu Xian'er suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Gu Fengyao nodded.
Their words instantly darkened the expressions of the others. Such arrogance!
Nine each? They were being utterly dismissed!
"Uh, I’m not fighting!"
"I’m from the Luo Divine Palace."
"Me neither. I’m from the Gu Family—Young Mistress, how could you forget your own people?"
"Ahem… I fought Ye Zhiqiu before and lost. Count me out."
"Eh, I’m not here to fight. You guys go ahead."
In moments, over half had withdrawn. Some knew they stood no chance against Chen Yunxuan’s group, while others were aligned with them from the start.
The remaining opponents wilted under the realization.
What was the point now?
Those who refused to fight Chen Yunxuan’s group didn’t say they wouldn’t fight the others. If a battle broke out, they’d side with Chen Yunxuan, leaving no hope of victory.
"So… no fight?"
"The Earth Ranking—"
Before the words could finish, a dazzling golden light erupted across the sky, startling everyone.
The Earth Ranking… had finalized!
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
