Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye had already left, and in the mine tunnel, Duu Lang was left alone.

Only after a long while did a hint of determination emerge on his face as he softly murmured, "I withdraw!"

As he finished speaking, a gentle power arose out of thin air, enveloping him. This power was like a gentle breeze, swirling around him, and as it swirled, the space he was in began to distort.

It took a full dozen breaths before his figure disappeared.

In the end, he didn't dare to take the risk. Compared to his own opportunities, the future of the home domain was far more important. Even though no one knew whether the plan could succeed, it still had to be tried.

Almost simultaneously with Duu Lang's disappearance, a massive repulsive force surged from afar, quickly spreading throughout the Taichu Realm.

The first month of the Divine Sea contest had passed!

Exiting the Taichu Realm, Duu Lang immediately appeared on the previous enormous platform. An elder with snow-white hair saw him return safely and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although he knew Duu Lang would likely return with some gains at this time, he couldn't resist asking, "How did it go?"

Duu Lang responded solemnly, "Mission accomplished!"

The elder was greatly relieved, nodding continuously, "Good, good, good!" He then showed a look of apology, "It must have been tough on you..."

Duu Lang shook his head, "The ancestral land gave birth to me and raised me, the sect taught and nurtured me. In this time of the ancestral land's rise and decline, it is my honor as a disciple to contribute."

The elder was more than gratified, "It's best that you think this way, let's go."

The purpose of bringing Duu Lang here was achieved, so there was no need to stay longer. The wonders of other domains were ultimately just that of others. The most outstanding Divine Sea Realm of this generation on the Red Sky Continent forsook his own opportunities for the future of the ancestral land. Whether it would be a blessing or a curse was yet to be known, but staying here would only disturb the mind unnecessarily.

Duu Lang followed the elder out, but in the end, couldn't help but look back at the direction of the Taichu Realm's portal.

The portal always existed, with two huge pillars standing on each side. On the left pillar, there were almost but not quite two thousand names, while the right one had a hundred.

Compared to the beginning of the Divine Sea contest, the names on the two pillars had decreased by about five hundred. Most of these people had died in the Taichu Realm, with only a quite lucky few managing to walk out alive.

Now, with a month passed, the list of the current top hundred rankings was freshly announced.

Duu Lang couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, his body halted!

The elder noticed and looked back, "What's wrong?"

Duu Lang looked astonished, "I see a friend's name."

The elder, upon hearing this, smiled, "Oh? You have friends in there?"

Duu Lang wasn't sure if they counted as friends, maybe they did. Even though they hadn't known each other for a full month, they had assisted each other during this time and even shared drinks at the end, which could be considered a friendship.

"Is that person on the right pillar?" the elder asked. Merely seeing a friend's name wouldn't evoke such a significant reaction from Duu Lang; it must be because the name appeared on the right pillar that moved him so.

Duu Lang nodded.

"Which one? What rank?" the elder became interested. To be temporarily listed on the right pillar doesn't mean they'll always stay there, but it does show those people have the capital to vie for opportunities, and being currently on the right pillar means they already have gains in hand.

Monstrous talents from various domains compete, and having achieved gains at the current stage indicates a strong foundation, surpassing most others.

Such a person, if they manage to survive, is worth befriending.

"The one ranked eleventh!" Duu Lang stared intently at the right pillar of the portal, at the line of golden characters in the eleventh position.

Nine Heavens World, Lu Yiye!

This time, it was the elder's turn to be shocked, "Him?"

It shouldn't be. If remembered correctly, this person was only at Divine Sea Level 8 cultivation, even if possessing some skills and qualifying to participate in the Divine Sea contest, he shouldn't have achieved such a high rank at this stage!

When the Taichu Realm's portal opened previously, Lu Ye departed relatively late, so many powerful individuals noted his cultivation and remembered Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens. The elder was among those, thinking at the time that this young fellow from the Nine Heavens World was likely in for a grim fate, unlikely to last long.

But now it seemed he had been mistaken?

Duu Lang was also incredulous, "It shouldn't be!"

When he encountered Lu Ye, Lu Ye was already mining spirit jade in that cave. For more than twenty days thereafter, the two were almost inseparable, and no battles broke out. So, what is this ranking all about?

There can't be a case of duplicate names; even with the same name, the domains of origin are different. So he can be completely sure that the one ranked eleventh is Lu Yiye, whom he met in the spirit jade vein.

Could it be that before meeting him, Lu Yiye had already killed many people? So even though he gained nothing in the more than twenty days that followed, he could still be ranked eleventh?

While the old and the young from Red Sky Continent were astonished here, a great uproar erupted on the platform.

Almost every strong cultivator's gaze was drawn to the presence of Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens, each finding it unbelievable, inconceivable.

At the time, many were focused on Lu Ye's cultivation. Even if they weren't paying attention before, the act of Yang Qing throwing the Dragon Ball into the treasure pond afterward also drew attention to him.

It could be said that focusing on this place, even those monstrous talents from top realms weren't as eye-catching as Lu Ye, because everyone wanted to know when he would die. If he died, then Yang Qing would not be able to retrieve the Dragon Ball from the treasure pond.

How could the top realms not be thinking about such a nine-star valuable treasure? With inadequate preparation for this journey, no matter whether Yang Qing wins or loses, no one can take the Dragon Ball away.

But the next century presents a chance; when those top realms are ready with their stakes, that's when they can fish the Dragon Ball out from the treasure pond.

So all along, there have been many strong cultivators watching the changes in Lu Ye's name.

If he died inside or voluntarily withdrew, his name would disappear from the left column.

Now, his name has indeed disappeared from the left column, but it has appeared on the right, temporarily ranked eleventh!

This is simply unbelievable!

Looking again at the hundred people on the right column, the top sixty positions are almost entirely taken up by those from top realms. Lu Ye's name is the only one among them not from a top realm, resembling a lamb among a pack of hungry wolves.

It's only after the sixtieth place that some cultivators not from top realms begin to appear. From this point alone, it shows the profound differences in background between cultivators from different domains. If it were just an isolated case, it wouldn't mean much, but when a large group emerges, the differences brought by domain origin become evident.

The fact that Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens is temporarily ranked eleventh is indisputable. The many strong cultivators are now curious about just one question: how much has he harvested in the Taichu Realm over this month?

In a month, less than five hundred Divine Sea Realm participants have been eliminated. To achieve the eleventh rank at this stage, one should have at least five or six harvests on hand.

This is very remarkable.

Although the top one hundred ranked currently might not necessarily make it to the end, especially those leading the ranks who will surely face more targeting, according to the patterns of past God Sea Struggles, with such a harvest now, he just needs to find a place to hide for the remaining time, and by the end of the three-month period, he will likely have a safe victory.

No wonder that strong cultivator dared to wager such a valuable treasure; clearly, they have immense confidence in their own junior.

Somewhere on the platform, a few strong cultivators born from top domains gathered together. They too had participated in the God Sea Struggle, but that was many years ago, and they were very familiar with its ins and outs.

Lu Ye's ranking surprised them, but it was just surprise, nothing more. Watching from the outside, none knew what happened inside. Regardless of Lu Ye's current rank, it appeared to them as having an element of luck.

They were more concerned about another group of existences.

An elder with a Dao Bone appearance spoke: "Indeed, the Blood Race is on the move. Those ranked between seventy and ninety are almost all their people."

A beefy guy sneered: "When have the Blood Race not taken action? Even if they originate from different domains, sharing a common source means they have special communication methods, making it easy to gather together. Naturally, they appear large and powerful in the early stages of the God Sea Struggle."

"Unfortunately, we humans can't emulate this communication method; otherwise, we could certainly target them!"

"That's a bloodline ability; how could the human race imitate it? Not to mention their bloodline abilities, even ordinary communication methods are greatly diminished in an environment like the Taichu Realm."

Before, they had thought about gathering manpower to eliminate Blood Race cultivators entering the realm early, but in the Taichu Realm, ordinary communication methods are less effective, making it challenging to gather manpower. The Blood Race is different; relying on their bloodline's unique abilities, they can easily clump together, sweeping through and establishing a significant advantage in the early God Sea Struggle stages.

Once this advantage is established, it's hard to erase.

So every time the God Sea Struggle concludes, the Blood Race occupies a significant portion of the victorious seats, which is the most daunting group of opponents for the human race from various top domains.

Even those cultivators from top domains, once surrounded by the Blood Race in the early stages, rarely escape unscathed. No matter how deep their roots, they cannot triumph over sheer numbers.

However, the Blood Race's method also has its drawbacks, with too many people gathered initially, making harvest distribution problematic, hence leading to generally low rankings.

But right now is the best time for these Blood Race cultivators to increase their ranks, as a large number of cultivators are driven by the Taichu Realm's rules to converge toward the center. They just need to sweep and intercept en route to easily gain rewards.