Chapter 26: Top Five Hundred of the Profound Heaven Ranking, Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with the Prodigies of History!

Before the Xuantian Ranking.

Li Wudao’s gaze was searing as he swept upward from the very last position, his eyes taking in ten lines at a glance.

Three thousandth, two thousand five hundredth, two thousandth...

He bypassed Murong Yan and skipped past Wu Shaotian.

Even when he reached Jiang Churan’s name, his own was still nowhere to be found.

Li Wudao’s eyelids twitched, his heart a mixture of tension and anticipation. At this point, there were only two possibilities: either his rank surpassed Jiang Churan’s, or he hadn’t made the list at all. He leaned toward the former.

Filled with a surge of excitement, the young man continued to look further up the stone stele.

Nine hundred and fiftieth, nine hundredth...

Still nothing. Still not there.

Eventually, Li Wudao had to step back a few meters to take in the names higher up on the stele.

Five breaths later, the boy’s gaze froze on a single spot, remaining there for a long time without shifting.

"What’s wrong with Brother Li?"
"Let’s go, let’s go take a look."

Not far away, Qiu Zishi and Wang Zhao noticed his strange behavior and approached, puzzled.

"Brother Li... what are you looking at so intently?"

Qiu Zishi stood beside the boy and, following his line of sight, curiously looked up. The next instant, his pupils dilated as if he had been struck by an earthquake, his eyes widening into perfect circles as he stammered, "Brother Li, you... this..."

Seeing his expression, Wang Zhao grew confused. The Xuantian Ranking had nothing to do with them; what was there to see? Could the two of them be conspiring to pull a prank on him?

"What 'you,' what 'this'... don't think you can fool me this time, kid!" Wang Zhao glared at him, clearly expecting a ruse.

"No, I’m really not lying to you. Just take a look for yourself and you’ll understand." Qiu Zishi reached out with a trembling arm, pointing toward the top of the Xuantian Ranking, his emotions in turmoil.

Seeing that his friend didn't appear to be acting, Wang Zhao suppressed his confusion and cast a suspicious glance at the Xuantian Ranking. He had to see what on earth could make the steady-as-a-rock Qiu Zishi lose his composure like this.

A moment later, a cry of pure, unfiltered shock erupted before the Phantom Demon Tower.

"Holy shit!"
"Are you kidding me, man? Is this for real? This is fucking insane!"

Wang Zhao’s vocabulary became increasingly colorful as he stared fixedly at the top of the Xuantian Ranking, his speech incoherent.

"Li Wudao, sixteen years old, peak Blood-Moving Realm, fifteenth floor, one hundred and twenty-five breaths."

Ranked four hundred and ninety-eighth on the Xuantian Ranking!

At this moment, the two disciples stood as still as statues, staring blankly at that name, unable to believe their eyes. In the five thousand years since, no sect disciple had ever squeezed into the top one thousand of the Xuantian Ranking; the sect had fallen too far. And as for the top five hundred, those who had made the list had done so ten thousand years ago—an era far removed from their own, the most glorious period of the Xuantian Sect, when everyone was like a dragon and prodigies emerged in succession.

Li Wudao had only entered the sect half a month ago, yet he had managed to step into the top five hundred, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the most monstrous geniuses in the sect's history. It left them with a sense of dizziness, a feeling of utter unreality.

"Brother Li, did you really clear the fifteenth floor?!" Qiu Zishi swallowed hard, his expression increasingly horrified. He suddenly realized a problem: if the information on the list was correct, did it not mean that Li Wudao possessed the strength to defeat enemies across an entire major realm? In other words, Li Wudao’s strength was at least comparable to the peak of the True Essence Realm!

"I suppose so." Li Wudao smiled faintly, though he felt a strange sensation in his heart. He had thought his rank would be similar to Jiang Churan’s, perhaps leading by a few spots, but he hadn't expected to surpass her by such a wide margin. Still, the feeling of winning against the young Empress felt quite good.

Wang Zhao also realized the gravity of the situation; his expression shifted constantly, filled with doubt. To his knowledge, some inner disciples who had entered two years ago were still only at the True Essence Realm. Even those capable of fighting above their rank could only win by one, or at most two minor stages—it was impossible to be this monstrous!

"I’m off." Li Wudao didn't linger, leaving with an air of ease.

"Old Qiu, do you think there’s really someone in the world this monstrous?" Wang Zhao watched the boy’s retreating figure, hesitating to speak. "Do you think it could be..."

"You want to say the Xuantian Ranking made a mistake?" Qiu Zishi thought for a moment and shook his head bitterly. "Unlikely. The Phantom Demon Tower is a heavy treasure left by our founding ancestor; the Tower Spirit’s judgment has never been wrong all these years."

With that, both fell into silence. What they had seen today far exceeded their comprehension; the depth of the shock was something they would struggle to forget for the rest of their lives.

"So... are you still going to clear the tower?" Qiu Zishi broke the deathly silence.
"No, I don't really have the heart for it. I want to be alone." Wang Zhao shook his head, deeply doubting his own existence.
"Me too... forget it, let's just focus on cultivation. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll be left too far behind by Brother Li in the upcoming newcomer competition." Qiu Zishi sighed.

The two turned back, walking in silence, both lost in heavy thoughts.

...

Meanwhile, after leaving the Phantom Demon Tower, Li Wudao headed straight for the Inner Affairs Hall. Since he had cleared the fifteenth floor, he couldn't afford to waste those rewards.

Just as he stepped onto the stairs in front of the hall, he passed by two disciples. After Li Wudao entered, the two men’s expressions changed slightly, and they both stopped.

"Brother Deng, was that Li Wudao?" Tang Yi looked back, his tone uncertain.
"It’s him. After waiting for so many days, we’ve finally caught the brat." Deng Lin’s eyes were cold.
"What do you want to do? He’s still a formal disciple, we can’t go too far." Tang Yi pondered for a moment. "How about we just bully him a little? That should be enough to finish the job."
"Don't worry, I already have a way to deal with that brat..." Deng Lin’s eyes rolled, his brow smoothing as an idea took hold.

"You stay here and keep watch. I’m going to prepare. If anything happens, contact me immediately." A cold smirk played on his lips as he turned and hurried away.

Inside the hall, Li Wudao walked up to the counter and handed his identity token to an elder.

"Redeeming Phantom Demon Tower rewards."

The elder, leaning back in his chair, glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "You look unfamiliar, young man. Must be new. It’s quite good to be able to clear the fifth floor at your age."

Rewards could be claimed every five floors cleared in the Phantom Demon Tower. Seeing Li Wudao so young, he assumed he was a newcomer; based on past experience, they usually only reached the fifth floor.

The boy said nothing, waiting quietly. After the previous scene, he couldn't be bothered to waste his breath—they wouldn't believe him anyway, and he would only be treated like a fool.

"This newcomer is a bit introverted," the elder thought to himself as he began checking the information on the token.

A moment later, the scene from the front of the Phantom Demon Tower was perfectly replicated inside the hall.

"This... how is this possible?!" The elder of the Inner Affairs Hall slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and shouted in disbelief.

A sixteen-year-old boy, having just joined the sect, had cleared the fifteenth floor of the Phantom Demon Tower—it was unheard of! He would sooner believe that a sow could climb a tree or the sun would rise in the west.

"???"

His shout instantly drew the attention of the other disciples, all of whom wore looks of confusion. Was the old man having a fit in broad daylight?

The other elders’ expressions shifted slightly. This Elder Sun was highly experienced and never made a scene; why had he lost his composure so suddenly? What had just happened?

"You..." At this moment, Elder Sun’s body trembled as if he had experienced something terrifying, his breathing becoming labored.

"Elder, I’m in a hurry. Could you please hurry it up..." Li Wudao supported his forehead with one hand, feeling utterly speechless. If he had to deal with this level of shock at every turn, he would never get anything done.

Hearing this, Elder Sun realized the situation, took a deep breath, and apologized repeatedly.

"I apologize, it was my loss of composure. I hope Elder Li will forgive me." The old man’s expression became instantly sincere; he handed back the token with both hands, his smile blooming brighter than a chrysanthemum. "Please wait a moment, I will bring your reward items immediately."

With that, he trotted off toward the depths of the hall.

This scene left the surrounding disciples stunned, and they couldn't help but rub their eyes. What was going on? They were actually seeing respect, awe, and even a faint trace of fawning on the face of the stern Elder Sun?

Instantly, dozens of eyes fell upon Li Wudao, everyone whispering and guessing his identity. Some thought he was a newly accepted disciple of a peak master; others even suspected that the handsome young man was the illegitimate child of a core elder or even the sect leader...

For a time, the disciples were lost in their own thoughts, and the massive hall fell into dead silence.