NOVEL NEXT Chapter 823: 824: Villain's Guild Dominates the Rankings!
Chapter 823: Chapter 824: Villain’s Guild Dominates the Rankings!
“Sect Master, you mustn’t do this, how can you treat a novice Disciple like this!”
“You should not encourage his arrogance!”
Elder Ouyang’s face turned pale in shock, as he hurriedly spoke.
“I indeed intend to foster his arrogance. To use Elder Ouyang’s words, this is called the art of controlling people. In the future, if any Sect Disciple surpasses him, I will immediately transfer all his benefits to that Disciple. This is also to cultivate a forward-moving spirit among our Disciples.”
“For talented Disciples, the Sect will not hesitate at any cost to cultivate them into superpowerful beings. Whoever dares to be a stumbling block in the Sect’s rise will take the consequences!”
“If you disagree, then surpass him.”
The young Sect Master said indifferently, a rare smile appearing on his impassive face, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mockery.
He certainly knew what these Elders were thinking; these old fellows had always relied on their status and position. On one hand, they continually fought for benefits for their own Disciples, and on the other hand, they used their Disciples as shields to secure their own advantages, pocketing a large share, resulting in fewer and fewer resources reaching the lower-level Disciples—clearly becoming parasites within the Sect.
The timing of Li Xiaobai’s emergence was perfect; he could utilize this to completely crush the little schemes in everyone’s hearts.
You all want the Sect Disciples to progress together, don’t you?
Then let your True Disciples progress as well!
“I understand… I will listen to the Sect Master’s decision…”
Elder Ouyang’s face swelled to the color of a pig’s liver, first ridiculed by the younger generation, and now indirectly reprimanded by the Sect Master, completely losing face.
“Since that’s the case, Li Xiaobai will also be included in the trip to the Sword Tomb in one month,”
the young Sect Master said.
“Sword Tomb?”
Li Xiaobai was somewhat puzzled.
“This is hardly a secret within the Sect. Inside the Sword Peak in front of the mountain gate lies a Sword Tomb, which is the burial site of countless predecessors and powerhouses of the Sword Sect. The swords they wore in life are also placed there with their bodies.”
“Over many years of nurturing, many ancient swords have developed spiritual consciousness and can autonomously seek and choose new owners. Hence, every so often, the Sword Tomb opens. The increasingly fierce Sword Intent atop Sword Peak is the signal that the Sword Tomb is about to emerge.”
“At that time, the Sect will select its finest Disciples to climb Sword Peak and enter the Sword Tomb. Firstly, it is to comprehend the Sword Intent from the residual will of the ancestors, and secondly, to see if any Disciple can gain the recognition of an ancient sword. You should know, the ancient swords in the Sword Tomb were once used by masters who are at least at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and even by ancestors at the Saint Realm. If one can obtain such a sword, it represents a tremendous opportunity and fortune.”
The young Sect Master briefly introduced the origins of the Sword Tomb, and Li Xiaobai’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
Isn’t this saying that there’s a treasure hidden atop Sword Peak?
And from the sound of it, there’s quite a few of them. Most importantly, these items can completely be circulated within the Sword Sect. The ancient swords are exactly what countless core Disciples pursue, and if released, they would definitely fetch a good price.
To not harvest this crop would be a disservice to my own defensive power!
“However, the Sword Intent inside the Sword Tomb is vast and extremely dangerous. Everything must be measured according to one’s ability. Often, opportunities come with risks, and every year, a considerable number of cultivators die inside,”
Elder Sun stated, offering a word of caution. He felt that there was something unsettling about Li Xiaobai’s gaze, giving him a rather bad premonition.
“Disciple understands.”
“Thank you for the kindness of the Sect Master and all the Elders.”
…
After leaving the Sect Master Hall, Li Xiaobai returned to the Second Peak.
A significant number of cultivators had already been assigned here to rebuild the Grand Hall. Due to the absence of the Sect’s Big Brother, the cultivators of the Second Peak had mostly dispersed, and the Grand Hall had fallen into disrepair over many days.
Now this mountain peak was temporarily allocated to Li Xiaobai, to set up shops and attract numerous Sect Disciples for cultivation, also letting Second Peak return to its former peak.
Seeing Li Xiaobai return safely, everyone was relieved.
“Kid, I just challenged the twentieth position on the Human Immortal Ranking List. Guess what happened?”
The old beggar asked with a mysterious air.
“He wasn’t available to accept the challenge?”
Li Xiaobai thought for a while and then said,
“That’s right, the old beggar leaped straight up to the twentieth spot, he really picked up a huge bargain.”
The old beggar seemed very pleased with himself, having easily secured a pretty good ranking, he felt quite satisfied.
“Um… your luck is really good, senior.”
Li Xiaobai didn’t know what else to say, since the twentieth rank was actually taken away by him. But seeing the old beggar so happy, he decided not to dampen his spirits.
“Kid, what did the Sect Master want you to do? He didn’t give you a hard time, did he?” Ergouzi asked.
“If he dares to touch our shop, we’ll take all the disciples of the Sword Sect, and if worst comes to worst, we’ll just flee back to the Earth Spirit Realm. Could he even chase us to the Lower Realm?” Ji Wuqing also spoke with a murderous air, already prepared to fight fiercely.
“Don’t worry, the Sect Master is on our side. From now on, this Second Peak will be the territory of our Villain’s Guild!”
Li Xiaobai smiled and briefly recounted his upcoming trip to the Sword Tomb in a month. The rare opportunity to acquire treasures was right before his eyes, and he must seize it. He needed to advance to the Earth Immortal Realm as soon as possible to ensure safer passage within the Sword Tomb.
A flash of light in the void, and the Human Immortal Ranking List materialized, showing a massive shift in rankings, all occupied by Sword Sect disciples who clearly couldn’t resist the temptation and had challenged those kidnapped disciples to rise to the top ranks.
“This Sword Sect really knows how to find loopholes.”
“However, when one’s strength does not match their rank, that can create major problems. It seems they haven’t learned their lesson from me,” Li Xiaobai said.
Li Xiaobai shook his head. The prodigies listed would soon notice something fishy and challenge these Sword Sect disciples. Without matching strength, they were bound to suffer great losses.
“Gosh, what in the world happened for the list to change so dramatically, with all the top spots taken by Sword Sect disciples?”
The Old Beggar was puzzled, wondering if the Sword Sect had secretly nurtured a batch of super elites who exerted their strength at the same time, hence appearing together on the list all at once.
But soon his question was answered.
The hovering ranking list in the void changed again, and the top ten underwent a significant shuffle, with most of the prodigies plummeting and several familiar names suddenly appearing before everyone’s eyes.
Human Immortal Ranking List.
First place: Villain’s Guild Gang Leader Li Xiaobai!
Second place: Villain’s Guild Su Yunbing!
Third place: Villain’s Guild Ye Wushuang!
Fourth place: Villain’s Guild Lin Yin!
Fifth place: Villain’s Guild Yang Chen!
Sixth place: Villain’s Guild Ling Feng!
Seventh place: Villain’s Guild Liu Jinshui!
Eighth place: Zhang Kuang!
Ninth place: Monk Yiye!
…
Nineteenth place: Villain’s Guild Long Xue!
Twentieth place: The Most Handsome Elder Tianwu of the Villain’s Guild!
…
This wave was a forceful showing by his fellow disciple-brothers and sisters and his wife—they actually dominated the list.
Li Xiaobai looked a bit strange as Zhang Kuang’s ranking dropped again and again. Wasn’t this saying he was repeatedly overcome by his fellow disciple-brothers and sisters?
However, he hadn’t expected Long Xue to make the list. In just a month or two, she had advanced to the Human Immortal Realm, seemingly with her sect fully backing her.
It seemed everyone was doing quite well, which was definitely good news.