The Ranking of Prodigies

If Bai Lan could use her full power within this city, she might have indulged in conversation.

However, she only ever bothered with such ‘nonsense’ when speaking with Xue Linglong.

Even Luo Yuyan, or anyone else for that matter, rarely earned the courtesy of her full attention.

“Oh, come on, lady, don’t be so cold!

I’m talking myself hoarse here.

Can’t you spare a single word?” Long Lingyu whined, his voice laced with feigned exhaustion.

Bai Lan felt her defenses crumbling.

She truly couldn’t endure him any longer.

Was he harassing her?

Not exactly; he didn’t seem to have such intentions.

Yet, if it wasn’t harassment, why was he prattling on endlessly, asking about everything under the sun?

Most infuriatingly, even when she remained silent, the man actually began guessing the words she wished to speak but held back.
“Fine!

You win.

I’ll answer all the questions you’ve been trying to ask.

Firstly, I dislike idle chatter.

Secondly, I don’t speak to strangers.

Thirdly, you are incredibly annoying.

Fourthly, in this Void Heaven Realm, no one’s true face or identity is certain.”

Bai Lan continued, “I prefer to block you with false words, which is why I chose silence.”

She rattled off her answers in one breath, addressing everything the man had wanted to know.

Upon hearing Bai Lan finally speak, Long Lingyu’s dispirited expression gradually transformed into one of vibrant excitement.
“Ah, I see!

So, it’s because we’re not familiar, and that’s why you’re reluctant to talk much.

But if we become familiar, or even friends, wouldn’t that solve the problem?

Whether it’s your true identity or a fabricated one, you must tell me something, right?” Long Lingyu’s enthusiasm reignited.
Bai Lan’s mouth twitched.
She longed to strike him, but any action here would trigger the restrictive rules of Yellow Sand City.

She could only endure.

“Bai Lan.
My name is Bai Lan.
As for my identity, I am an unknown nobody from a declining sect in a remote region,” Bai Lan replied.

“Oh, I see.
Is this your first time entering the Heaven Realm?
It’s mine too!
How about we form a team and act together?
That way, we can look out for each other,” Long Lingyu suggested, a smile playing on his lips.

The man was truly pushing his luck.

The earrings in Bai Lan’s ears began to glow once more, signaling the rising fury within her.

The earrings were suppressing her anger.

However, these earrings weren’t omnipotent.

If Bai Lan truly reached her limit, she would still erupt.

They merely served as an auxiliary function.

Just as Bai Lan was about to lose her patience, the challenge match concluded.

Mufeng had defeated Li Languang’s avatar in the Xuanjing Mirror, signifying Mufeng’s successful challenge.

Bai Lan’s chance to escape Long Lingyu had arrived.

She abruptly moved to the entrance, stepping into the Sky Pride Pavilion ahead of another challenger.

“Hey!

Woman, why are you cutting in line?” The young man Bai Lan had cut off shouted angrily into the building.

Bai Lan, however, paid him no mind.

Long Lingyu, seeing Bai Lan disappear into the Sky Pride Pavilion, felt a pang of helplessness.

After all, only one person could enter at a time.

“Heh!
You think running into the Sky Pride Pavilion will shake me off?
No chance.
I won’t rest until I melt this great ice mountain of yours,” Long Lingyu muttered with a half-smile, then settled down to watch Bai Lan’s challenge.

After entering the Sky Pride Pavilion, Bai Lan found herself in a grand palace.

Inside, only a woman in a pale yellow dress awaited her, clearly an NPC.

“Welcome, challenger, to the Sky Pride Pavilion.

I am the administrator of this pavilion.

Which tower master do you wish to challenge?” The administrator spoke directly, without preamble.

After all, she was not a true living being and lacked human sentiment.

Bai Lan glanced up at a jade tablet at the front of the palace.

It listed the top five hundred names on the current Yellow Sand Realm’s Sky Pride Ranking.

Any challenger who came to Yellow Sand City would inevitably visit the Sky Pride Pavilion.

These were all the young elites of this generation, naturally brimming with pride.

It was important to note that those on the Sky Pride Ranking were not necessarily the strongest.

As long as no one ousted them from their positions, their names would remain there.

Bai Lan spotted many familiar names.

Those who had been on the list back then were still there now, especially within the top hundred of the Heaven Tier.

Most of those names remained unchanged.

Even Xue Yue’s name was still present.

For each tier, the top ten were considered elite, while the bottom thirty were considered lower-tier.

The middle ranks, naturally, comprised intermediate and advanced.

Xue Yue was currently ranked seventy-sixth in the intermediate Heaven Tier.

Bai Lan gazed at Xue Yue’s name on the ranking, lost in thought for a long moment.

Then, her eyes drifted upwards, and she quickly found the name she sought: Xue Yue’s cousin, Xue Feng.

Back then, Xue Feng hadn’t even qualified for the Heaven Tier, only the Earth Tier.

But now, he was different.

Xue Feng was now ranked thirty-second in the advanced Heaven Tier.

A complex mix of emotions churned within Bai Lan as she saw that name.

She wasn’t sure whether to resent him or to remain calm.

Bai Lan knew that Xue Yue’s divine bone had undoubtedly been integrated into Xue Feng’s body, allowing him to ascend from an Earth Tier talent to an advanced Heaven Tier prodigy in one fell swoop.

The thought of Xue Feng’s father, her second uncle, and everything he had done to her, ignited an inexplicable rage within her.

She took a deep breath, then spoke coldly to the administrator.

“I challenge the thirty-second ranked individual in the Heaven Tier.”

The administrator nodded immediately upon hearing this, then stated, “Please proceed to the Sky Pride Battlefield to await your match.

I will notify the challenged party.

Of course, if the challenged party is not present in the Void Heaven Realm, we will arrange for an avatar to fight you.

Please wait patiently for five minutes.”

After the administrator finished speaking, she waved her hand, and Bai Lan was instantly teleported away by a surge of power.

For Bai Lan, even the second, third, or higher layers of the Void Heaven Realm allowed challengers to descend to the first layer by suppressing their cultivation.

Each layer possessed its own Sky Pride Ranking.

The Sky Pride Battlefield was a colossal arena built amidst towering mountains.

Bai Lan now stood within its confines.

This was not her first visit to this place, so she was unperturbed.

However, shortly after her appearance, figures, both male and female, materialized on the spectator stands beside the Sky Pride Battlefield.

These were all challengers from the first layer whose names were inscribed on the Sky Pride Ranking.

Only those on the ranking were permitted to observe matches in the Sky Pride Battlefield; others were confined to the outside.
“Interesting.

Someone is actually challenging the thirty-second ranked talent.

I recall that the thirty-second spot on the Heaven Tier belongs to Xue Feng of the Snow Clan, right?” commented a few talents who

recognized Xue Feng, their voices laced with interest.

“Indeed, it’s him.

I heard that after their Snow Clan’s young master, Xue Yue, went missing, this fellow awakened a complete Snow Divine Body, greatly enhancing his strength and pushing him into the advanced Heaven Tier.
Is he not in the Void Heaven Realm?
Does anyone know?” someone inquired.

“I haven’t seen him on the third layer.
He probably hasn’t entered,” another speculated.

“It seems the Void Heaven Realm’s rules will force him to use an avatar to battle this newcomer.”

“No kidding, this newcomer is quite the beauty, isn’t she?
Of course, if she’s just as beautiful in the outside world, that would be perfect.”

The crowd offered their assessments of Bai Lan, one after another, though the gentlemen seemed particularly captivated by her appearance.