Chapter 500: The Easiest Time |
Time passed minute by minute. Su Chen's gaze was fixed on the three continuously jumping black dots, cycling in sequence, jumping non-stop, but there was no reaction for a long time.
It lasted until he felt himself zoning out, yet he still hadn't matched an opponent.
Blinking... Su Chen checked the time; two hours had already passed.
He tried to pull up the leaderboard.
In an instant, the white mist around him suddenly surged like wildly dancing silver snakes, coiling and stagnating, eventually converging into a massive stone monument towering into the clouds.
Its entire body was grayish-black, looking as if it was cast from obsidian, and layers of fine, dense golden text floated on its surface, flashing continuously.
"It changed into this format..." Su Chen was amazed. This Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update was indeed worthy of being a grand event; even the leaderboard display scene had special effects.
Su Chen scanned through it. The flashing text on it was innumerable, constantly changing; these were all the people currently participating in the Star Ranking update.
Although this Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking would only record the top one hundred in the end, it was also a rare tempering opportunity. With good luck, one might even run into people from the Five Pillars, and if they managed to win, they could show off for quite a while.
He looked towards the very top. The text below was chaotic and disorderly, but the top one hundred names were arranged according to the previous ranking.
Names like Chang Geming, Xu Yingshen, and Xuan Kai were all grayish-white.
Let alone the top ten, even among the top fifteen, there were hardly any lit up, proving that these people hadn't participated. It wasn't until around the twentieth place that names started to light up.
"No wonder I couldn't match anyone. It seems truly no one is participating." Su Chen muttered somewhat to himself, unable to help but ask: "If I can't match an opponent, how will my rank be arranged?"
"If no opponent is matched during the first round of screening, you are considered first," the intelligent system of the Martial Proof Hall briefly responded.
"That's fine then..." Su Chen nodded.
This leaderboard update was divided into three rounds in total. The first round was the preliminary screening, lasting for fifteen days. The matched enemies would be those ranked around ten places above and below one's own previous ranking.
After fifteen days passed, an initial ranking would be conducted. Based on the wins and losses during these fifteen days, a new ranking would be assigned.
Following that, it would enter the second round, lasting ten days. The matching targets would then become the top and bottom ten of the current leaderboard for another round of verification.
Under this method, not only were the uncertain factors caused by mentality changes due to the tension and excitement of true-body battles preserved, but because multiple rounds of matching were required, some people would even fight more than once, thereby eliminating minor discrepancies.
Compared to projection combat, this method could better reflect one's own characteristics; one might perform exceptionally well, or they might underperform.
After twenty-five days of chaotic battles, the result of the second ranking would have very high credibility. If someone was still dissatisfied or unconvinced with their rank.
Then, during the remaining five days, they could initiate challenges. To avoid instances of malicious challenges, one could only challenge people within ten ranks above themselves.
A day quickly passed.
Su Chen was increasingly speechless. Staying here was truly utterly boring. Not only couldn't he develop his profession progress, but he couldn't even descend his consciousness into his clone.
After all, a battle could start at any time, and he wouldn't be able to sense whether his main body entered a battle.
If he had participated before, he could have joined halfway. But because this was his first time participating, he had to go through the entire process and could only wait here.
Even to avoid external influence, he couldn't even connect to the Cosmic Void; he truly could only endure the wait here.
Upper Firmament Heaven.
"Martial Uncle Tong Zhuo..." A scrawny, hale, and hearty old man saw Tong Zhuo approaching from the opposite direction and hurriedly stood to the side, bowing respectfully.
"Mhm, mhm..." To maintain his persona, Tong Zhuo could only reply perfunctorily. After walking straight past, his face immediately collapsed, his brows furrowed tightly, looking quite unwell.
"Those guys won't release the hawk until seeing the hare. Five thousand portions of Faith Essence, they can actually ask for this kind of price... Damn it."
"If the Dao Sovereign wasn't suppressing things, how would a mere Xuanwu Heaven dare to negotiate terms with me!" Tong Zhuo coldly snorted inwardly and opened the Selection Ranking List to take a look.
Xu Yingshen had left everyone in the dust and already defeated five people. Chang Geming followed closely behind and defeated three. He and Kong Ye had each defeated two.
Their strength originally belonged to the most powerful batch. Those True Radiances who had obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons were fundamentally not their match.
But now, the problem wasn't whether they could win, but that no one was willing to fight him, or rather, unwilling to fight him without any benefits.
The two he had previously defeated were both guys from the High Three Heavens who had obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons. Right now, only Du Yunfei was left in the High Three Heavens.
Both of them were Azure Gods; the other party couldn't possibly be willing to lose to him.
He could only find opponents from other Heavens, naturally giving those guys an opportunity to exploit the situation.
His face was gloomy, his eyes cold. "The position of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith's Chosen is so important, shouldn't they cooperate with me? Each and every one is so short-sighted!"
Suddenly, his footsteps paused slightly, and he looked up. In front of his residence, someone was impressively waiting.
"Qi You?" Tong Zhuo frowned. He didn't like this senior brother who always had a genial expression all day long, but alas, this person had won the Sect Master's favor.
"How's the situation?" Qi You inquired mildly, not minding his rudeness either.
"Each and every one of them won't release the hawk until seeing the hare, so short-sighted. If they helped me become the Selection Envoy, how could I forget them in the future?" Tong Zhuo became increasingly resentful and couldn't help but say: "Does Sect Master have nothing to say?"
"Xu Yingshen has left everyone in the dust and is about to become the first person to complete the Ordained Path. His weight in the eyes of the Spirit of the Vast Sun might surpass Senior Brother Qin Guanyu. We need risk hedging."
Risk hedging? Qi You paused slightly and shook his head: "The Radiant Sun Selection is a comprehensive test. Means and temperament are also among them."
"Furthermore, without the Dao Sovereign's order, Sect Master has no way to command the other Heavens to cooperate. Besides, there's also Du Yunfei. You need ten, and he also needs ten."
Tong Zhuo coldly snorted. He actually understood this in his heart, but watching Xu Yingshen walk further and further on the Ordained Path inevitably made him anxious.
"Then what business do you have looking for me?" Tong Zhuo questioned very unceremoniously.
Qi You frowned and reminded: "Su Chen is participating in this Hidden Star Ranking update."
"Hm?" Tong Zhuo couldn't help but be astonished. "He's so bold? Isn't he afraid the top few will intercept him?"
"Perhaps he has no intention of fighting for the Radiant Sun Selection." Qi You shook his head.
"No intention..." Tong Zhuo narrowed his eyes. This guy was quite cunning, taking advantage of this time to go; at the worst, he would be guaranteed a top-three finish.
If truly no one cared about him, he might really be allowed to snatch first place.
Tong Zhuo couldn't say he was excited; after all, on the path of competing for the Chosen, Su Chen wasn't a formidable competitor.
Even if the other party gave up, it wouldn't bring any benefits, at most it would just make him feel a bit more comfortable.
It was just that while he was working hard to seek the Chosen position here, Su Chen's uncaring appearance made him somewhat uncomfortable.
"He also obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons," Qi You reminded.
"You want me to go intercept him?" Tong Zhuo reacted and subconsciously resisted, "No!"
Perhaps realizing his reaction was too intense, Tong Zhuo closely followed up with an explanation: "It's inappropriate at this time. It's too risky. What if other top-ranking people intercept him as well?"
"He only has True Brilliance Talent. With no ambition for the selection, he might not care, but I still have to continue working hard so as not to disappoint the Dao Sovereign's expectations."
Qi You looked at the junior brother before him and couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Having researched Su Chen for so long, do you not even have the confidence to fight him again?"
He believed Tong Zhuo wasn't without hope of winning. Being too bold was indeed bad, but being too cowardly wasn't good either. Where was there anything completely foolproof in the world?
Right now, the news of Su Chen participating was still confined to High Heaven. According to the rules of the leaderboard update, if Tong Zhuo went, nine times out of ten he would immediately match and fight Su Chen.
If he was afraid of being sniped by others, he could just not go through the whole process. But with Tong Zhuo saying such a long bunch of words, the essence was still that he didn't dare.
And it didn't even involve death... This hesitating and over-deliberating temperament was destined to make it difficult for him to walk far in this selection.
Tong Zhuo currently didn't dare to look at Qi You's eyes, hurriedly walking past him and returning to the hall.
The hall door closed, and Tong Zhuo consoled himself: "Su Chen is only a True Brilliance, he can be reckless and uncaring. But I am an Azure God, why should I take this kind of risk?"
Time gradually passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was five days.
"Su Chen?"
Within the Machine Domain, in a certain laboratory, the four walls and ceiling were all made of high-strength alloy plates, their surfaces as smooth as mirrors, twisting reflections like a water surface when reflecting figures.
There were precise instruments everywhere. On the vertical metal platform in the center, Xuan Kai's body was disassembled. A large number of nanoparticles swam along the quantum field, leaving almost only a metal skeleton, while a holographic screen was reflected in his pupils.
"This person is quite bold, what a pity... In order to advance to Morning Star, I have to eliminate the excess modification facilities in my body."
Xuan Kai shook his head. Su Chen was also a person with the Recognition of the Three Dragons. If there was an opportunity for a head-on clash, it would be equivalent to a free win. But right now, if he had to reassemble himself, it would waste a long time again.
The news of Su Chen participating in this Stealth Rankings update was no longer limited to High Heaven and had gradually spread out.
This caused many people with similar thoughts in the other Pillars to secretly curse. They had wanted to take the opportunity to snatch high ranks while the top-ranked guys were away...
"This guy could defeat Tong Zhuo. Although it was based on an asymmetry of information between the two sides at the time, this person's strength is indeed not bad."
"Right now, the others are all busy competing for the Chosen. This person is quite smart, taking advantage of the vulnerability to sneak in."
"If no one obstructs him, he will fearlessly definitely ascend to first place."
"..."
And some guys who had obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons, upon noticing Su Chen, also quickly withdrew to avoid suffering heavy losses. Just like that, after waiting for another two or three days, Su Chen finally encountered his first enemy—[Matching successful, Target—Zhu Feng, True Brilliance Talent, ranked nineteenth, from the Red Maple Clan.]
"It actually spread all the way to the nineteenth rank..." Su Chen shook his body, watching the misty clouds before his eyes as the scene gradually became clear, turning into the Martial Proof Arena.
On a small mound in the distance stood a stout guy with a terrified face.
"Holy crap, how did I get matched with this guy!" Zhu Feng's thick cheeks were trembling; he hadn't even reacted when he just saw the target.
He naturally knew who Su Chen was. Within the Five Pillars, some less important news often spread to the Abyssal Domain.
Coupled with the matter of Taixuan Hong a while ago, as one of the only two who hadn't made a move against Taixuan Hong, he would more or less be mentioned.
"Under 30 years old, yet able to achieve a rank-defying slaying of an 8th-tier peak Azure God, a freak among freaks..." Zhu Feng felt helpless inwardly. There were truly too many people ahead who didn't participate, and he actually managed to match with this guy.
Seeing the countdown ending, the young figure having already started to move his body, Zhu Feng hurriedly shouted: "Wait, I surrender!"
He knew he wasn't a match, and the equipment of their faction wasn't considered high-end. If he suffered severe injuries, he wouldn't be able to recover immediately in a short time.
It would waste a lot of time, and if he missed a few battles, it might affect his initial ranking.
Therefore, he didn't even have the thought of witnessing Su Chen's strength.
"Surrender?" Su Chen looked over from afar. Before he could even speak, he saw the white mist surging around him, having already returned to his personal designated Martial Proof Space.
[Congratulations, you have obtained victory in battle!]
"This..." Su Chen sighed helplessly. Staying here was truly too boring. He finally managed to match a person, thinking he could stretch his limbs a bit.
"Forget it, I'll just endure it." Su Chen could only restrain himself.
Soon, another seven or eight days passed. In these seven or eight days, Su Chen only matched two battles. In one of them, the opponent also decisively surrendered.
In the other, he matched a person from the Machine Domain, stretched his limbs a bit, and sent the opponent back.
On this day, the black, heaven-reaching monument not far in front of Su Chen trembled suddenly, and then rapidly shrank, while the countless golden texts on it were also drifting away.
A holographic screen popped up—[The first round of preliminary screening has ended, and the temporary leaderboard has been established. Congratulations, you are temporarily ranked first on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking.]
At this moment, that black stone monument had shrunk to the height of a single person, and the spots on it were only a hundred left. Bearing the brunt, the first was impressively the two words 'Su Chen'.
The second place was Xia Yun, also possessing Azure God Talent, from a major faction called the Black Rock Duchy. He was also the second guy who surrendered to him.
"Ha..." Su Chen looked at it and couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh my, this first place covers such a broad range and has so many benefits, yet it's the easiest one to get."
He didn't have any thoughts of "not having fun to the fullest". Whether the enemies in the battles were strong or weak, whether the number of times was many or few, the benefits he received wouldn't be discounted.
Although staying here was a bit boring, naturally, the less trouble the better.
[The second round of Initial Ranking is about to begin, please prepare...]
The ten-day matching battles began again, still with the ten people above and below.
"Now this won't be boring." Su Chen stretched, and the white mist surged, having already covered him.
In the current leaderboard, the people who didn't participate last time had already been excluded. With no empty spots in the top ten, he naturally didn't have to endure waiting idly.
Outside the Martial Proof Hall, many people had appeared one after another.
After the first round of screening passed, only one hundred people remained on the leaderboard. The rest were naturally expelled.
"How could this happen..." Someone looked frustrated and found it hard to understand. "I actually didn't squeeze into the top one hundred? My rank the year before last was clearly one hundred and five. This time, a dozen or twenty people ahead of me didn't participate, so why am I still one hundred and five?"
"Senior Brother Li actually squeezed into the top one hundred. He'll probably boast about this for a long time when he returns."
Some were happy, some were sad, some shook their heads in helplessness, and someone also exclaimed: "Su Chen truly ascended to first place; it seems no one obstructed him!"
The moment the leaderboard came out, someone opened the temporary leaderboard that was still in screening and saw the two words located at the top.