Plundering the Heavens - Chapter 348

Just are there were countless cultivators in the world, there were also countless elites. Truthfully speaking, as long as a clan or sect used all of their resources to nurture someone, that person would have a chance of being considered “elite” no matter what kind of background they had. It would be rather strange for such people to not be better than ordinary cultivators after having so many resources thrown at them, but there were different levels among these elites as well.

The lowest level of elites were like those youths from the seven small countries surrounding Chufung who’d gathered at the Snowy Mountain. Their talent wasn’t bad—they wouldn’t have been specifically chosen by their clan or sect for nurturing otherwise—and the additional resources meant they’d typically have above-average accomplishments allowing them to stand above their peers within the same generation.

A step higher were people like Ye Gu’yin and Hou Guimen, the elites of a sect. Not only did they have vast amounts of resources and great talent, but they also had their own specialty and could be considered invincible among their peers within the same generation.

Even better than these were the elites like Prince Chu Huang and Xiao Xue. Not only did they have their own speciality, they’d already formed a very stubborn idea about cultivation and sought to master one aspect to the extreme. Xiao Xue, for example, had a very ordinary background, yet with a single sword she was able to challenge all of the Chufung elites—she hadn’t been “considered” invincible, she’d proven it directly. Others such as the four top elites of the western deserts, the prince of the Ghost Kingdom, and the three fairies of the northern mountains were all at this same level as well.

The people fighting for a spot on the Monument Slab were all at least at the third level, as it was unlikely anyone weaker would be able to cross the God’s bridge in the first place. There were perhaps no more than a dozen of these people in all of Jambu, and all of them were extremely talented within the realm of cultivation. The truth was they all wanted to leave such a small place like Jambu and hoped that by placing their names on the slab, they’d be given a chance to continue their cultivation in one of the large sects on the Videha continent, allowing them to rise up to completely new heights. In the end, though, it was still a very difficult thing, due to one reason in particular: there were simply too many elites.

The word “elite” had a very strong but subjective connotation. In the eyes of a little beggar on the street, the young masters of wealthy merchant clans who had all the meats and clothes they desired while traveling alongside horse carriages were “elites”, an existence they could never touch. As for the young masters themselves, the neighbor who lived a poor life but studied very hard could be seen as an “elite”, because if they passed the exams and became a government official after studying so hard all their life, that person could become an existence the young masters couldn’t touch.

It was the same in the realm of cultivation. An elite might have power over a small area, but they might suddenly realize they’re completely ordinary once they left. The Spirit Stage disciples of the Snowy Mountain had had this experience; perhaps they’d been invincible, fawned over, and admired in their own small country, but once they entered the Snowy Mountain, they discovered talent like theirs was actually common.

At least thirty percent of the elites in all four continents had gathered to seek out the opportunities and treasure found within the Mysterious Domain. This was an extremely high number, and being noteworthy within their peers was not an easy task at all. It was so difficult that even someone like the Huangfu clan’s young master wasn’t certain he’d manage to get his name within the top thirty-six rankings of the Big Dipper, so how could the other young cultivators of Jambu even dare to think about doing similar? Since their opponents included people from Videha, all they could hope for was getting onto the list at all.

“There’s news….”

A black-clothed cultivator excitedly flew over from far away and loudly reported to his sect, “Our Fish Dragon Sect’s fourth disciple, Mo Yangzi, has already passed God’s Bridge and used his own power to break open a mysterious formation. Words appeared in the sky and announced his name being left on the Monument Slab; his ranking is one hundred and seven. Mo Yangzi is currently making his way to the nearest teleportation altar in preparation to leave the Mysterious Domain….”

The Fish Dragon Sect cheered with joy. They were a large sect of the northern mountains, and the fact their disciple had gained even the second-to-last rank on the slab due to their formation knowledge caused them to become extremely excited. There was even an elderly cultivator who was so happy he was nearly in tears.

“I just heard one of the top four elites of the western deserts—the daughter of the Wang clan—has killed her way into the innermost depths of the Mysterious Domain using her wind-and-fire wheels ¹ ! After killing forty-five corpse fiends, her name was left on the slab at rank ninety-nine!” Someone else sent over another message, causing another uproar of cheers.

……

“Ghost Kingdom’s news, Princess Li Hongyi of the Ghost Kingdom has her name on the slab. Rank eight-one, reason unknown!”

…

……

Fang Xing had arrived at the area surrounding the Mysterious Domain by now and was observing what was going on. The perimeter was filled with news of the top elites successfully getting their names on the slab, followed immediately by an explosion of cheer and joy from the cultivators.

Of course, not all of the news was good news. Happiness was mixed with sorrow, with people shouting each time a new bit of information arrived.

“Misfortune! The northern mountains’ young master of the ancient Zhong clan wished to challenge Ghost Kingdom’s Princess Li Hongyi and was killed!”

“Such sadness! Fish Dragon Sect’s Mo Yangzi was robbed and killed on his way to the teleportation altar, and his name was wiped from the Monument Slab!”

“How painful! The daughter of the western deserts’ Wang clan was challenged by others. She failed to defend herself and her blood was scattered all across the Mysterious Domain, causing her name to drop out of the rankings….”

In such a chaotic situation, there were also those who were specifically carrying messages back and forth. A total of three great doors served as an exit for the Mysterious Domain, and all of the news had come from them. Some of the more powerful sects had a large number of disciples within the Mysterious Domain not for the sake of opportunities, but so the disciples could collect important news to bring outside. They were sent inside for specifically this purpose and this purpose alone, and it was they who’d been bringing out the most recent updates. Simply put, the large-scale conflict between the elites trying to get ranks on the slab had filled the hearts and minds of countless others.

“Big news! Huangfu’s young master has finally made his move, killing ninety-nine corpse fiends. Ranked fifty-four….”

“How thrilling! Princess Li Hongyi was challenged by two unknown assailants. She lost and fled, but due to the unfairness of the challenge, her name remains….”

“How shameless! It’s rumored the two who challenged the Ghost Kingdom’s princess were Ghost Prince Li Ying and the western deserts’ son of the Han clan. To join forces with an outsider to scheme against his own sister, this Ghost Prince is such a disappointment….”

Even discounting everyone else’s thoughts, when the southern border’s Ghost King heard the news, his face became as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

“Northern mountains’ successor Ye Xuan’ang made his move, breaking through three great formations. Ranked seventy-two….”

“A little medic saved a mysterious spiritual being in the depths of the Mysterious Domain and left her name on the slab due to her medicinal abilities. Ranked ninety-six….”

When this news came around, it left a small clan from the southern borders terrified and shocked. That little medic had been a girl from their clan who was stubborn enough to enter the depths of the Mysterious Domain despite her battle prowess being only ordinary. Everyone had expected her to die, yet she’d actually managed to leave her name on the slab by rescuing a mysterious being.

Regardless, this kind of result was not something her clan was happy about—someone without battle prowess leaving their name on the slab was not necessarily a good thing. If even the Fish Dragon Sect’s Mo Yangzi had been killed after leaving his name, a small medic like her was doing nothing but bringing misfortune upon herself. However, what was even more surprising was that this little medic’s luck was so great she actually met a sect from Videha who took a liking to her and instantly accepted her as one of their own.

“Huangfu clan’s young master has done it again! After accepting the challenges of ten powerful masters and winning against all of them, his rank has increased to forty-one!”

“…”

“…”

Although there were occasionally some unknown names being called out that surprised everyone, most of the announcements involved the large sects’ disciples who’d already been famous before, and this young master of the Huangfu clan was undoubtedly at the forefront of everyone’s attention. He increased his rank on the slab by a large amount with every action he took, and others had interpreted his actions to mean he intended to get within the ranks of the Big Dipper.

The cultivators from Jambu and Videha both fought over the same rankings, making things incredibly challenging. Most people were concerned with simply getting their name on the slab, and it was only outstanding people like this young master from the Huangfu clan who weren’t yet satisfied and continued fighting to enter the ranks of the Big Dipper.

Such news continued for around eight days. All of the information was extremely astonishing, even more prominent than the news that Fang Xing had killed his own teacher. In mere moments, all anyone talked about was who’d successfully left their names on the slab, or how the Huangfu’s young master had increased his rank once more. By comparison, no one was talking about that little demon who’d caused all kinds of chaos in Jambu a few days prior.

Seven days passed just like this. The news reduced, and it seemed as though the rankings had stabilized with very few changes.

Only ten people from Jambu had managed to leave their names on the slab, with three using medicinal or formation abilities and the remaining seven using battle prowess. The young master of the Huangfu clan was ranked thirty-seven; Ghost Princess Li Hongyi was at ninety-three; western deserts’ daughter of the Wang clan—Wang Qiong—was at one hundred and one; Snowy Mountain disciple Xiao Xue at one hundred and four; and Ghost Prince Li Ying had also finally made his name on the slab, although he’d only managed to place last at one hundred and eight. There was also news about another Jambu cultivator’s name being on the list, although the identity was very mysterious and no one knew who it was.

After so much time had passed, Fang Xing assumed Han Ying would no longer have any chance of leaving his name behind, but news came on a random day announcing that the western deserts son of the han clan—Han Ying—had killed off an elite from Videha in a single strike, taking over his ranking at sixty-four. Something like this had left everyone shocked. as it was the very first time someone from Jambu had gained a spot on the list by challenging a Videha cultivator. Everyone thought the son of the Han clan was going to die soon afterwards, yet not only was he not killed, he was actually chosen by a Videha sect and was taken under their wings. With the protection of that large sect, it could be said Han Ying’s life had been saved.

On the twenty-first day after Fang Xing left the Mysterious Domain, the last news finally arrived: the young master of the Huangfu clan had challenged the Videha cultivator ranked thirty-sixth and—after a great battle—he won a narrow victory with a final strike and obtained the rank of his opponent. He became the first cultivator from Jambu to enter the rank of the BIg Dipper and decided to leave the Mysterious Domain.

All the cultivators began cheering in joy upon hearing the news. To have a Jambu cultivator step into the ranks of the Big Dipper left them with a sense of honor and pride.

Fang Xing, on the other hand, finally stood up and walked towards the area the Huangfu clan had claimed. All manner of thoughts and schemes were being spun, like silk being made from cocoons….