Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Chu Hao couldn't help but laugh, waving at his opponent.

Zhu Donghui snorted and turned his head away, no longer looking at Chu Hao.

"Have you become friends with him?" Tang Xin asked, as he no longer needed to follow his team leader and had moved to stand with Chu Hao.

Chu Hao thought for a moment and said, "Fortune-bringing Boy!"

Tang Xin couldn't help but make a strange face. What kind of friend is a Fortune-bringing Boy?

However, Chu Hao thought to himself that without Zhu Donghui's "gifts" of three rings, a Spring Flower Wooden Sword, and more importantly the Tortoise Shell Armor—which had alleviated so much pressure for him—he would have had to devote much more energy to defense, and his slaughtering efficiency would have at least halved!

Fortune-bringing Boy, such a good person!

"We will now announce the top ten rankings of this competition between the Eastern and Western Factions!" Two deputy deans from Thousand Winds Academy appeared; they stood with their hands behind their backs, each at a distance, clearly indicating that they did not see eye to eye.

"Tenth place, Western Faction's Tao Gang, 829 points!"

Because of the last-minute change in competition format, the rivalry between the Eastern and Western Factions had turned into a full-scale mobilization with everyone participating. However, strong contenders are indeed strong, and Tao Gang was originally one of the eight strongest candidates fielded by the Western Faction.

However, the tenth place from Earthly Institute and the tenth place from Heavenly Court are truly incomparable—the difference is just a fraction of the other's.

"It's no surprise it's Tao Gang, amazing!"

"People from our Western Faction entering the top ten must be more than the Eastern Faction!"

"Yes, maybe we could even sweep the top three places!"

"Nonsense, the first place is from your Western Faction, because you have only this one spot in the top ten!"

"Rubbish talk!"

Students from both factions immediately started arguing. The concept of opposition between the Eastern and Western Factions had been instilled from the first day they entered the academy; deep-seated enmity is not formed overnight, and students from both factions could start arguing anywhere.

"Silence!" the teacher announcing the rankings shouted sternly. He was from the Great Mahayana realm, and under the pressure of his booming voice, the surroundings immediately fell into complete silence.

"Ninth place, Eastern Faction's Yun Tianhao, 845 points!"

"Eighth place, Eastern Faction's Mo Xuannan, 857 points!"

"Seventh place, Western Faction's Peng Cheng, 869 points!"

"Sixth place, Western Faction's Lu Jie, 883 points!"

"Fifth place, Western Faction's Wei Fang, 892 points!"

"Fourth place, Eastern Faction's Huang Yaping, 904 points!"

Upon hearing Huang Yaping's name, students instantly erupted.

"What! Huang Yaping is only in fourth place? Does that mean the top three are all from the Western Faction?"

"How is that possible? Senior Brother Huang is the strongest in our Eastern Faction!"

"I don't believe it! I absolutely don't believe it!"

"How could Junior Brother Huang only be in fourth place? Then who are in the top three?"

The Eastern Faction members were incredulous, while those from the Western Faction were smugly triumphing, though most of the students were too naive to notice that the faces of teachers from the Western Faction didn't look too pleased.

—If the top three were all from Western Faction, wouldn't they be overjoyed?

"Silence!" the teacher shouted again, and once everyone had shut their mouths, he continued, "Third place, Eastern Sect's Tang Xin, 1022 points!"

Tang Xin!

"Tang Xin actually ranked higher than Senior Brother Huang!"

"Truly worthy of being the genius of Tang Family!"

"Awesome!"

Hearing that the third place was still one of their own, the students from Eastern Faction finally looked slightly happier. Counting now, the Eastern Faction had four students in the top ten; four to six ratio meant they still lost, but it wasn't as bad as three to seven, or having the top three all taken by the Western Faction.

"Second place, Western Faction's Chen Lu, 1067 points!"

"What!"

Now, it was the Western Faction students' turn to be astounded. How could this be? Chen Lu was the top expert of the Western Faction; how could he have dropped to second place? And with Eastern Faction's Huang Yaping only securing fourth place, who else could have displaced him?

Hearing this, Chu Hao was certain in his heart; he had to be in first place!

Although he didn't remember exactly how many ferocious beasts he had killed, he surely made it into the top ten! Since his name wasn't in the first nine, there was only one spot left for him: the first!

"Chu Hao, what a pity!" Tang Xin patted Chu Hao's shoulder, "After all, you started late! But don't dwell on it too much, Earthly Institute is just a transition; the real competition begins at Heavenly Court!"

Chu Hao rolled his eyes. Did even Tang Xin lack faith in him?

True, Tang Xin didn't know his real strength. Normally, even if one could afford Strong Muscle Powder and Strong Body Pills, one could only use them once every three days, not to mention the meat of ferocious beasts, which at this stage could at most increase one's strength by 30 pounds per day!

—You have a Treasure Artifact, but don't others have them too? Especially traditional nobilities like Tang Family and Fu Family, not to say they have countless Treasure Artifacts, but producing a few is definitely not an issue.

Chu Hao couldn't help but smile and patted him back on the shoulder, but said nothing.

What does that mean?

Tang Xin was somewhat baffled.

"The first place—" the teacher seemed a bit surprised himself, pausing before announcing, "Chu Hao from the Eastern Sect, 4892 points!"

Spurt! Spurt! Spurt!

Almost everyone spat out in disbelief, How could this be possible!

Chu Hao! How could it be Chu Hao!

He had indeed made it to the top eight in the Eastern Sect selection, but that was because he clung to Tang Xin's coattails! Moreover, in the cemetery race, strength did not play a full role. But when fighting ferocious beasts, it was all about strength.

—Luck is indeed important, but luck alone without strength is equally useless!

So, how could it be Chu Hao!

"There must be some mistake!"

"Yeah, how could that fool possibly be first!"

"And a Slaughter Value close to 5000, that's enough to surpass most of the brothers and sisters from Heavenly Court!"

"Maybe there are two Chu Haos in the city, and someone got their scores mixed up!"

Everyone speculated, unable to believe it.

"Silence!" the teacher waved his hand emphatically, "These are the statistics from the City Lord's Mansion. If anyone has objections, they are free to protest at the City Lord's Mansion!"

With that said, the room went silent immediately.

Who would dare!

But most people still thought there was some mistake, Chu Hao first? What a joke! Not to mention the people from the Western Faction expressing their dissatisfaction, even the students from the Eastern Sect found it hard to accept.

"You little rascal—" Tang Xin turned around and punched Chu Hao in the chest, "just how many ferocious beasts did you actually kill?"

Chu Hao himself didn't know, recalling that the City Lord's Mansion had issued Slaughter Values rather than numbers; it seemed he had killed quite a few fourth and fifth-tier ferocious beasts from the Middle Mahayana realm, which would definitely be worth much more than those from the Lesser Mahayana realm.

"You definitely owe us a treat today!" Tang Xin said with a laugh.

"Alright!" Chu Hao nodded. Getting first place was naturally a cause for celebration.

This competition between the Eastern and Western Factions ended in a draw in terms of the top ten, but with the first place on the Eastern side, it was naturally a victory for the Eastern Sect! Consequently, the teachers and students of the Eastern Sect were all elated, whereas those from the Western Faction appeared quite dejected.

The top ten went on stage one by one, each receiving a reward, differing only in the rarity of the prize.

Chu Hao received a small jade vase containing just one pill, the Fire Spirit Pill!

He carefully stored the jade vase away. Consuming the Fire Spirit Pill required a completely quiet environment, which was obviously not suitable at the academy.

The students from both factions returned to their respective sides, and naturally, the training resumed.

"Chu Hao, the competition between the Eastern and Western Factions has ended, and I'm going to enter Heavenly Court!" Tang Xin told Chu Hao as they walked back.

Chu Hao nodded. The top ranks from both factions had actually already advanced to the Middle Mahayana realm, but they had refrained from advancing in order to participate in the battle for the Fire Spirit Pill. Now that the competition was over, it was foreseeable that they would all move up to Heavenly Court.

After all, students in Heavenly Court could consume five kilograms of ferocious beast meat daily, at least from beasts of the Middle Mahayana realm, which was more beneficial for enhancing strength.

"When can you enter Heavenly Court?" Tang Xin asked again.

Chu Hao thought for a moment and said, "I guess it'll be pretty soon after I consume this Fire Spirit Pill!" Although such a rate of advancement was still astoundingly fast, it was at least acceptable to people.

"Your cultivation speed makes even me jealous!" Tang Xin said. Even though she was a year younger than Chu Hao, Chu Hao had only truly been cultivating for two months. To advance into the Middle Mahayana realm within two months—although it was partly due to the Fire Spirit Pill—it was still incredibly fast.

If she knew he had already advanced to the Middle Mahayana realm a few days earlier, what expression would she have on her face?

Chu Hao just thought about it in his mind and did not articulate it, not wanting to upset her—although she was already quite stimulated.

During the day's training, Chu Hao was somewhat distracted, constantly thinking about the Fire Spirit Pill in his pocket.

Finally, as the sun set and the day's training ended,

Chu Hao immediately took off running, planning to consume the Fire Spirit Pill as soon as he got back.

"Chu Hao!" Just as he reached the gate of the academy, he was called out. There stood a young man in black at the entrance, slender and not particularly burly, but giving Chu Hao a strong sense of danger.

Hmm, similar to a few days ago when he faced that ferocious ape!

"Hey, isn't that Senior Brother Cheng?"

"What does he want with Chu Hao?"

"Who knows!"

The surrounding students quietly discussed.

Chu Hao was also puzzled. Cheng Peiyun, the top-ranked student from the Eastern Heavenly Court, had suddenly sought him out. What could it be for? He cupped his hands together and asked, "What guidance does Senior Brother Cheng have for me?"

"My younger brother is just short of advancing to the Middle Mahayana realm and needs a Fire Spirit Pill for his breakthrough. You are at most in the Second Tier Lesser Mahayana realm, likely unable to withstand the potency of the Fire Spirit Pill. It'd be a waste for you to keep it. Give the Fire Spirit Pill to me, and consider it a favor you owe me!" Cheng Peiyun said indifferently.

Chu Hao instantly became angry. It was clear that the other party was demanding a precious item, yet it sounded as if he was the one taking advantage!

Do you owe you a favor? Does your favor have the value of a Fire Spirit Pill?

Chu Hao smiled faintly in response, "Whether or not I can handle the potency of the Fire Spirit Pill is not something Senior Brother Cheng needs to worry about!"

Cheng Peiyun's face immediately darkened. In his view, all Chu Hao needed to do was follow his orders! After all, he was a direct descendant of one of the Eight Great Nobles, the Cheng Family; his martial prowess was also terribly strong, being the top of the Eastern Faction said enough!

But Chu Hao dared to refuse!