Asura Emperor Venerable
Chapter 587: New Rankings Released

Chapter 587: Chapter 587: New Rankings Released

Upon receiving the news that Shi Hao was not dead, Weng Nanqing didn’t know if she should feel happy or angry, but she immediately rushed over either way.

Shi Hao gave an "ah" and said, "I was being chased by a bunch of high-level elementals, always hiding here and there, with no other way out!"

He spread his hands, passing the matter off completely.

Weng Nanqing snorted and said, "Without my permission, you are absolutely not allowed to die!"

How domineering!

Shi Hao couldn’t help but ask cautiously, "Senior Sister, you haven’t really fallen for me, have you?"

"Get lost!" Weng Nanqing slapped Shi Hao but then shyly turned her head and ran away immediately.

Bang!

Shi Hao crashed into the courtyard wall, with his entire butt stuck in it.

This is what you get for having a smart mouth.

Shi Hao sighed. He was already spoken for, so why couldn’t he sometimes keep his mouth shut?

What if he really stirred someone’s emotions?

In the future, he must be cautious with his words and deeds.

Shi Hao rested for a while. After so many days in the Great Void Realm constantly cultivating, he was still very tired in spirit.

The next day, he applied to the academy for permission to enter the Elemental Cave for cultivation.

He had thought it was just a matter of procedure, but to his surprise, his application was unexpectedly rejected.

Without the academy’s approval, he couldn’t enter the camp, and naturally, he couldn’t enter the Elemental Cave either.

Huh, what’s going on?

Shi Hao found it odd since the academy strongly encouraged students to enter the Elemental Cave to practice and eliminate enemies, and he had been down there countless times before, always swiftly getting approval.

What was the reason this time?

Shi Hao inquired around, but couldn’t find out the reason. Just as he was about to seek out Shi Feng, he was interrupted by an event.

——The Heavenly Path Association released the latest martial arts ranking.

Martial artists pursue tangible benefits but also place great importance on reputation.

Fighting to the death over titles like Saber King or Sword King, or the order of a ranking, was by no means strange.

Undoubtedly, the rankings released by the Heavenly Path Association were the most authoritative and thus carried the most weight in people’s minds.

Therefore, as soon as the rankings were out, everyone tried every means to get a copy to study closely.

Shi Hao also managed to get a copy and naturally first looked at the Self-Observation regular list.

To his surprise, he was not ranked first.

The top of the list was Shi Ze.

The list introduced him like this — Shi Ze, born in the Stone Clan, 28 years old, at the Peak of the Ninth Phase, and it is speculated that he has likely achieved unity of the phases, currently ranking first on the Self-Observation regular list.

Record of Battles: Last year, he defeated three members of the Founding King Court, though all were First Kings, but being able to triumph across a major realm, his strength is undoubtedly the first of Self-Observation.

The second place was not Shi Hao either, but someone named Woo Zheyuan.

Shi Hao continued to look, from third to one hundredth, his name was not there.

Although Shi Hao did not care much for fame, completely ignoring his existence and accomplishments, what did that mean?

Could it be?

Shi Hao nodded, perhaps because he had been missing for too long, the academy had declared him dead, so when the Heavenly Path Association was ranking, they overlooked him.

——What’s the point of ranking a dead person?

So be it, Shi Hao casually set aside this ranking list and then picked up another one.

The Supplementing Divine Temple ranking.

Of course, there was not a single student from the academy on it, for even individuals like Weng Nanqing and Luo He had not yet ignited their Incense Flame; therefore, they, no matter how talented, could not compare to those who had.

Shi Hao looked at the first name on the list.

Shi Zhong!

With Shi Ze in Self-Observation and Shi Zhong in Supplementing Divine Temple, this family obtaining first place on both lists was truly frightening.

The list read as follows—Shi Zhong, born into the Stone Clan, aged twenty-six, of the Supplementing Divine Temple, ignited the Incense Flame last year. It is speculated that he might have broken through the Great Sacrificial Heaven. However, until news is confirmed, he remains within the Supplementing Divine Temple level.

Combat achievements: He defeated the top ten of the previous Supplementing Divine Temple ranking, manifesting an unrivaled demeanor.

Shi Hao took a deep breath; Shi Zhong had not only ignited the Incense Flame, but he was also very likely to have reached the Great Sacrificial Heaven already.

His combat achievements were shocking, and his cultivation advance was even more terrifying!

Calculating, Shi Zhong was only four years his senior, yet had exceeded him by two major realms.

Part of this was certainly due to the Stone Clan’s entire nation supporting his upbringing, but more so because Shi Zhong’s own talent was simply too high.

"Then, I must reach the peak of the Supplementing Divine Temple ranking in three and a half years, or even less time," Shi Hao resolved in his mind. If he couldn’t catch up to or even surpass Shi Zhong in realm by the same age, what revenge could he speak of?

However, the academy suddenly barred him from entering the Elemental Cave, making a rapid increase in cultivation difficult.

Another issue was that he had cultivated to the tenth phase, and his Soul Force had hit a ceiling, no longer advancing ahead of his realm, thus becoming a bottleneck.

Shi Hao wanted to leave and take a turn outside the academy to see if he could find some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but to his surprise, he was notified to remain on standby within the academy for the month.

Eh, were they keeping him under house arrest?

He went to ask Shi Feng, but Shi Feng had not received any news either.

However, Shi Feng’s killing intent had already arisen, declaring that if anyone dared to harm his son, he would make them pay dearly!

Now, he was only a hair’s breadth away from a breakthrough, possibly stepping into the Ascending to Saint Position at any moment.

In light of this, Shi Hao told his father to focus on breaking through with ease. He had the Immortal Abode after all; he could just bide his time for a while, and once Shi Feng succeeded, father and son could make a big fuss together.

But merely ten days later, Shi Hao understood why the academy would neither allow him to enter the Elemental Cave nor to go out for experience.

—Heavenly Palace Academy was to hold an exchange with another academy, and Shi Hao was the main force representing Self-Observation in the competition.

Eh, there’s another academy?

Never heard of it before.

When the academy released the news, many people were utterly surprised; however, some students were not at all astonished.

Shi Hao then went to Weng Nanqing to inquire about the situation.

"Indeed, there is another academy," Weng Nanqing nodded, "because there’s not just one entrance to the earthly grotto discovered!"

"The name of that academy is Ling Tian."

Damn!

Shi Hao couldn’t help but grimace. Their academy was named Heavenly Palace, while the other was called Ling Tian—surpassing the Heavenly Palace. Wasn’t that an outright provocation?

"They do have the qualifications to carry such a name," Weng Nanqing continued, "The students Ling Tian Academy recruits are the geniuses among geniuses. For instance, Shi Ze, who is first in the Self-Observation ranking, belongs to Ling Tian Academy."

Suddenly, Shi Hao recalled a strange remark made by Bei Yan, "If you are a person from the Stone Clan, why did you come here?"

At the time, he was perplexed, but now it seemed clear that Bei Yan was aware of Ling Tian Academy’s existence and thought that Shi Hao should have joined Ling Tian Academy, not having ended up at Heavenly Palace Academy.

So, he had always wondered why individuals like Xiao Hei and Yue Feifei had also not joined Heavenly Palace Academy. Now it appeared they had likely been accepted by Ling Tian Academy.