The Ranking War: A Tyrant’s Challenge and a Dragon’s Awakening

The Cangnan Realm had been specifically created as a battleground for the Ranking War.

Golden light shimmered across the vast expanse of the Cangnan Realm. Thousands of stone pillars, towering and majestic, were arranged in a single, imposing line. At the forefront, upon the most massive pillars, stood the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking.

From Su Han’s current vantage point, she could clearly see Bailuan’s cold, impassive face. Once all the students had taken their places on the pillars corresponding to their ranks, Su Han also swooped down.

Her path incidentally took her past Bailuan. Su Han had initially intended to ignore him, but Bailuan, surprisingly, spoke first, his tone dripping with extreme mockery. “Oh, isn’t this our resident trash?”

“I’m sure you already know, don’t you? Who would have thought that a waste who can no longer advance in either magic or combat aura could actually enter the inner academy? Since when did Cangnan Academy open its doors to any stray cat or dog?”

Su Han no longer bothered to conceal her intense disgust. “Scum,” she spat, without a backward glance, before swiftly descending to the seven hundred and thirty-third stone pillar.

What was the point of engaging him? At best, it would only invite ridicule and bring trouble upon herself. Now, only strength could prove Su Han’s worth; true power lay in a hard fist.

However, in her current state, Su Han couldn’t defeat Bailuan. Even if she poured all her might into an attack, she might not even scratch him. Therefore, no matter how much Bailuan mocked her, she could only choose to endure for now.

Each student’s rank corresponded to a stone pillar. To Su Han’s left, countless towering pillars stretched into the distance, while to her right, there were only a few hundred.

This meant that all those on her left outranked her, while those on her right were ranked lower. Those on the right would challenge those on the left, and Su Han was no exception.

‘To think he can endure so much; it seems I can’t let him live!’ Bailuan mused. ‘Su Han, don’t blame me. The rule of this world is, after all, survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle. If you die, you can only blame your own weakness, not anyone else!’

As Bailuan spoke, he pulled out a long-range communication stone and addressed the person on the other end. “In a moment, go challenge the person on pillar seven hundred and thirty-three. Be precise; I want you to kill her!”

Silence stretched for a long time before a hoarse voice replied, “Understood, Master!”

‘Su Han, oh, Su Han, you should never have touched the game ‘Other Shore’, because it truly isn’t suitable for you!’ Bailuan sighed. ‘Now, you can only accept your fate, can’t you?’

Bailuan’s gaze shifted towards Su Han, a playful smile gracing his exquisitely handsome face. To Su Han, however, it was nothing but a mocking smirk.

Not only Bailuan, but Ye Qi also glanced in Su Han’s direction. Although she saw Su Han speaking with Bailuan, she hadn’t caught the specifics of their conversation and felt somewhat puzzled.

“Sister Ye Qi, what’s the relationship between Su Han and Bailuan?” Michele, who had been intently watching Su Han, inquired.

“I don’t know.” Ye Qi simply shook her head gently.

Upon each stone pillar, students were already poised and ready for battle.

“Brother Nangong, if you please.” A figure flew from a pillar into mid-air, directly issuing a challenge.

“Haha, you lost to me last time and still dare to come back?” the other person laughed. “Tell me, what’s the wager?”

“If I win, I’ll take your place. If I lose, I’ll offer an epic-grade magical artifact!”

“Good, I accept the challenge!”

Nangong Yunqi, the one challenged, let out a chuckle before soaring out to meet his opponent.

Rules governed the Ranking War. Each disciple could challenge someone no more than fifty ranks above them. There was no limit to the number of challenges, but losing three times would result in disqualification from further challenges.

However, being defeated in a ‘challenged’ match did not count towards the three-loss limit.

Winning meant occupying the victor’s position.

The defeated party had to offer a treasure of equivalent value to the position they were replaced from.

For those ranked after seven hundred, challenging someone fifty ranks higher each time, reaching the top position would require at least thirty battles. With so many participants able to challenge each other, countless battles would occur, making it quite normal for a single Ranking War to last one or two years.

“Sister Liu’er, your big brother is here to challenge you!”

“You disgusting fatty!”

“Who will accept my challenge?”

“I will!”

“Brother Cheng Feng, you have to go easy on me!”

“Not again, Sister Xin’er, are you challenging me again?”

A cacophony of challenges constantly echoed through the arena.

“Which one is seven hundred and thirty-three?” A voice suddenly cut through the din.

“Uh, that would be me…” Su Han hesitantly raised her hand.

“Will you accept the challenge?”

“Alright… no, no, no, wait a moment,” Su Han quickly waved her hand after locating the source of the voice. “Isn’t it a bit unfair for someone ranked seventeenth to challenge me, who is ranked over seven hundred?”

Su Han was perplexed. Why would someone ranked seventeenth challenge her without reason? Could it be… Su Han seemed to deduce something.

“Enough talk. Just tell me, do you dare to accept the challenge?”

“Alright, fine, I accept!” Although her opponent was ranked seventeenth, Su Han wasn’t afraid. After a month of cultivation, especially her experience in the Death Fortress, she had considerable confidence in her own strength.

“What? Xie Jun, ranked seventeenth, is challenging someone ranked after seven hundred? What’s he after?” someone exclaimed. “Could Xie Jun be intentionally going easy to curry favor with that woman? You know his strength could even put him in the top ten!”

“No way. Xie Jun is ruthless. How many cruel deeds hasn’t he committed? Who knows what scheme he’s brewing.”

Xie Jun, ranked seventeenth on the Heavenly Ranking, was a Knight of Saint-tier (Magic Knight), known as the “Tyrant.” He was utterly merciless; none of his opponents emerged from battle unscathed. They either died or were severely injured, with broken arms and legs being common. He was practically a madman!

Xie Jun’s strength would have originally placed him in the top ten, but he had mistakenly killed an elder’s son in the last Ranking War. He was then confined, missing the latter half of the competition, and was only released from punishment for this current event.

It was a well-known fact that Xie Jun was guaranteed a spot in the top ten for this year’s Ranking War.

He was also the very person Bailuan had contacted earlier via the long-range communication stone, with the sole purpose of killing Su Han as Bailuan had instructed.

At this moment, the other disciples grew quite excited. Challenging someone hundreds of ranks below oneself—this was a first in the history of the Ranking War!

“Um, although my rank is lower than yours, you should still put up some stakes, right?” Su Han said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Since she could gain an advantage for free, it would be a loss not to seize the opportunity.

“Whatever you want if I lose, I’ll give it to you, as long as I possess it!”

“Really?”

“Yes, I give you my solemn word!”

“Damn, I didn’t realize this pretty girl was so cunning!” The spectators muttered softly, eager for the show.

“Take this!” Black, sharp rays suddenly shot from Xie Jun’s body, tearing through the air and leaving crimson trails before rapidly blasting towards Su Han.

As the black rays drew closer, Su Han slowly exhaled, activating [Gluttony]. Her blood began to boil, and surging crimson light flowed forth, roaring like a torrent through her meridians before erupting from her body, instantly elevating Su Han’s aura to its peak!

Her foot lifted slightly, then slammed down with a resounding crash. The sound of cracking floorboards echoed beneath her feet as Su Han transformed into a black streak of light, carrying an intense, oppressive wind, and met the black rays with a single punch.

Her fist, generating a sonic boom and imbued with a force more potent than a wind blade, shattered the sharp rays. Without losing momentum, she surged straight towards Xie Jun.

Xie Jun snorted, his body tensed, and then a powerful, deep purple combat aura surged forth. He compressed his combat aura to a single point, which then exploded at his feet. Utilizing the cushioning force of the aura, he dodged Su Han’s punch with a sidestep, then executed a roll in mid-air before kicking Su Han squarely in the abdomen.

The tip of his foot, carrying a combat aura vortex, struck deep into Su Han’s body. Su Han wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, then, for the first time, used her exclusive skill—[Copy]. Immediately, deep purple combat aura, identical to Xie Jun’s, erupted from within Su Han.

Su Han’s combat aura transformed into lightning and shot out. Then, her dual pupils manifested, and a [Kaleidoscope Aperture] allowed her to predict Xie Jun’s next move and preemptively defend, before she launched a kick.

Xie Jun had just begun to condense his combat aura into a light sword when Su Han’s kick landed on his wrist, causing the half-formed light sword to dissipate. Seeing Su Han right before him, Xie Jun had no choice but to brace himself. He momentarily froze when he saw Su Han’s combat aura was the same deep purple color as his own, before quickly regaining his composure. However, in that split second of his distraction, Su Han delivered another kick to his neck.

Xie Jun picked himself up from the ground, twisting his dislocated neck back into place with a crisp ‘crack’. Then, he laughed, “Excellent, excellent, truly interesting!”

Su Han was about to use [Blood Devour] but was intercepted by her opponent. Xie Jun drew a longsword, his weapon as a Knight. He infused the sword with combat aura, then unleashed a single strike. A sharp, deep purple sword qi carved a deep gash into the ground, resembling a fissure created by an earthquake. Then, everyone heard a deafening ‘boom’ as an explosion erupted. Their gazes instinctively darted towards the sound, only to find the blast occurring precisely where Su Han had been.

Consequently, Su Han’s [Blood Devour] technique was interrupted, and she suffered a backlash. This wasn’t even the most severe part; the crucial issue was that the sword qi had struck its target directly, hitting Su Han.

Staring at the massive chasm carved by Xie Jun’s sword qi, countless individuals swallowed hard. Such a terrifying attack, they thought, would likely be indefensible even for a Saint-tier mage. Perhaps she was already dead! They wondered if Su Han could endure it.

The arena fell into a profound silence, which was then broken by a prolonged dragon’s roar, imbued with the weight of ages and vicissitudes.

“An Ancient Dragon?”

“No, it’s the descendant of an Ancient Dragon, in its transformed state!”

Indeed, at the very moment Su Han suffered the backlash from [Blood Devour], she unhesitatingly unleashed her bloodline skill, [Dragon Transformation], narrowly escaping death.

However, Su Han’s [Dragon Transformation] differed from the transformations spoken of by others, such as Shangshan Huichuan’s. While Shangshan Huichuan’s transformation had no time limit, Su Han’s Dragon Transformation lasted only an hour and was followed by a period of weakness.

A colossal dragon, its form interwoven with dark and dark-gold patterns, abruptly manifested in the Cangnan Realm. Its entire body was covered in dark-gold scales, whose defensive power was clearly many times stronger than any meticulously crafted magic shield.

Its dark-gold claws, sharper than daggers (five claws), and its massive head were also covered in fine dark-gold scales. Six sharp horns, arranged in two rows on its head, resembled gigantic swords piercing the heavens. The two thickest dark-gold horns at the front towered like twin peaks.

Its crimson eyes glowed with cold, brutal light, like blood moons, and its colossal maw seemed capable of swallowing everyone in the vicinity whole.

On its back, a pair of enormous dark-gold fleshy wings unfurled, their membranes subtly shimmering with dark-gold patterns radiating a murderous aura. These were bloodline magic patterns possessed only by true, pure-blooded Ancient Dragons—primordial magic patterns representing the universe’s fundamental power, whose mysteries even Divine-tier runemasters could not fathom.

This was a Destructive Demonic Dragon, possessing power that transcended even the gods!

Destructive Demonic Dragons differed from other dragon races. Destructive Dragonkind was born from the cosmos, whereas other dragons originated on the Aelta Continent. This distinction meant that the bloodline of Destructive Dragons was several tiers higher than that of Ancient Dragons, making it not an exaggeration to call them Divine Dragons. However, Destructive Dragons were inherently tyrannical and bloodthirsty, which led to them being called Destructive Demonic Dragons.

Though few in number, they were exceptionally powerful. If the Destructive Dragonkind hadn’t vanished in ancient times, they might have ruled the entire Aelta Continent, enslaving High Elves, Dragons, and Titans. Currently, Su Han was the sole remaining bloodline of the Destructive Dragon race.

Su Han, in her dragon form, flew towards Xie Jun, batting his longsword from his hand with a claw. Then, with a Divine Dragon’s Tail Whip, she struck him fiercely across the chest.

The force of Su Han’s tail whip was immense, sending Xie Jun sliding backward across the floor for nearly dozens of meters before he finally came to a halt. He couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood, his face pale, his combat aura armor shattered.

“I never thought you had such a hidden move!” Xie Jun gasped. “But what you don’t know is that while I am a Knight, I am also a Saint-tier Mecha Pilot!”

“Come forth, ‘Tyrant’!” With Xie Jun’s furious roar, a deep purple mecha materialized in mid-air.