Monarch Night
Chapter 128 - 86: Each Has an Ulterior Motive, Ranking by Martial Prowess

Chapter 128: Chapter 86: Each Has an Ulterior Motive, Ranking by Martial Prowess

The seven walked side by side.

Yu Zhongge laughed heartily, "How about this, I’ll make a suggestion, what do you think?"

Everyone said in unison, "What suggestion?"

"For these five years, we can have casual bouts. Based on the win rate, whoever wins more will be the big brother! Then we’ll rank according to strength. If the big brother loses in the next bout, he naturally gets demoted, and the new victor becomes the big brother! This will continue until our fifth year, by which time the order will basically be set in stone. What do you think?" Yu Zhongge said with a smile.

Hearing this, Mo Gan Yun, Jing Shuanggao, and Qiu Yunshang’s eyes lit up as they agreed simultaneously, "Great idea."

Xie Gongping also immediately agreed, "Good!"

Fang Che’s lips curved into a smile, "That’s a good idea."

Only Ding Jie Ran had not expressed his stance.

But with six out of seven agreeing, Ding Jie Ran’s opinion no longer mattered, and everyone collectively ignored him, "It’s decided then!"

Ding Jie Ran: "???"

Fang Che smiled at the corners of his mouth.

He watched this group of interesting young individuals.

One thing was certain; someone who made a suggestion like ’the winner is the big brother’ was definitely harboring ulterior motives.

According to combat power, the ranking from the first to the seventh was clear at a glance.

It is worth mentioning that these seven individuals are Baiyun Martial Academy’s newcomers with the highest qualifications, and undoubtedly, they have the brightest futures.

In the future, perhaps descendants from the Shi Family will rise after reaching the Innate Grandmaster level.

But that may not necessarily surpass these seven.

At least Mo Gan Yun, Qiu Yunshang, Jing Shuanggao, and Yu Zhongge, these four, are impossible to overcome.

After all, they do not lack the same resources.

These family’s sons indeed were each a sharp one.

If one of those four, like Mo Gan Yun, ended up as the big brother and managed to secure their position firmly; harnessing the power of these geniuses... one could only imagine how much support they could provide in the future.

Moreover, it was conceivable that as long as the big brother was willing to contribute and maintain fairness, some of the brothers in these martial arts wagers and ranking battles would gradually transform into true brothers!

And Yu Zhongge and Mo Gan Yun, among others, would certainly not lack resources, much less make decisions that would cause division. This was an essential lesson for descendants of great families.

Therefore, the real purpose behind Yu Zhongge’s proposal was to build his own support base for the future.

And Mo Gan Yun, Qiu Yunshang, and Jing Shuanggao shared this intent.

Or rather, the moment Yu Zhongge made the suggestion, these three understood his intentions. But it was of no consequence. What they wanted was the suggestion itself.

Because the final winner may not be the one who made the suggestion.

Whose game the deer falls to remains unknown. It’s still not certain who will be the big brother.

The key point was that the proposal came from Yu Zhongge, which was the clever part. Because his family’s level was the highest.

That’s why when he suggested it, no one felt otherwise.

But conversely, if Ding Jie Ran or Xie Gongping had made such a proposal, then Yu Zhongge and the others would not have accepted it—or if they did, the proposer would have been quickly cast aside.

Because that would signify ambition, aspirations to rise through association, an intent to take advantage of the momentum—and even if this intent did not exist, to propose first meant it did.

Thus, Fang Che inwardly marveled that these were indeed descendants of great families. Just for a seemingly trivial matter, the scheming and strategizing involved were beyond what average folk could imagine.

The only ones who couldn’t possibly take a leading position in this team were himself, Ding Jie Ran, and Xie Gongping.

Because their family backgrounds were too weak.

Regardless of how exceptionally talented the three of them were, their families wouldn’t allow their own direct descendants to be underlings to someone from a Level 8 or Level 9 Family!

As for Xie Gongping, his current thoughts were still unknown, but one thing was for sure—his family was a Level 8 one, much weaker compared to the previous four. Within this team, all he needed to do was be a good brother, and his family would naturally gain immense support!

This, too, was a road leading straight to heaven.

Ding Jie Ran... Ding Jie Ran had secrets, and his future might not necessarily see him fitting in, or perhaps he would be kicked out, or leave of his own volition, or perhaps some other development would unfold.

So, those with weaker family backgrounds also had their plans and schemes following this proposal.

To the outside, this seemed just a friendly competition among youths, but beneath the sincere and bright smiles of these seven young men lay countless calculations, hopes for the future, and their little schemes... Truly beyond imagination.

Fang Che watched their retreating figures with deep eyes.

But this did not affect his agenda of being the big brother for the time being. The future could wait.

Because at this stage, none of them were his match.

...

As the group of seven made their way to the Great Training Ground, three others were also headed towards it.

Wu Zhibing, Jun Hefang, Hua Kaixie!

The recent high-altitude combat involving the Ningxue Sword had greatly excited these three, and now they practiced with a craziness bordering on recklessness.

The great tournament of the World Martial Academy was about to start, and the three were busy with intense preparations.

"What level are you two at now?" Wu Zhibing asked as they walked.

"And you, boss?" Jun Hefang said.

"I’m now at the level of Third Grade Emperor, having just broken through," Wu Zhibing’s expression remained calm, "I feel hopeful about progressing further in the next few months."

"Peak of Ninth grade King," Jun Hefang said, "I’ve come back this time to prepare for my breakthrough."

Hua Kaixie frowned deeply and said, "I’m also at the Peak of Ninth grade King, but I don’t feel like I’m about to break through; coming back this time is also to look for a solution."

Wu Zhibing said, "Then you’re a bit slow in your progress. Today, we’ll throw some moves at you, hit harder, and you pay attention to the insights."

Hua Kaixie nodded, "Alright!"

Wu Zhibing let out a sigh and said, "There’s less than a year left. I originally wanted to graduate at the Martial Monarch Level, but it seems the hope is not very big."

With a snort, Jun Hefang said, "Boss, you really dare to dream. For thousands of years, I’ve not heard of a Martial Academy student who graduated at the Monarch Level! In our Baiyun Martial Academy, the highest before was Third Grade Emperor, and you surpassing this target shouldn’t be a problem at all."

Hua Kaixie also advised, "Surpassing a Third Grade Emperor would already create a history for Baiyun Martial Academy."

Wu Zhibing huffed, "The record at Tianren Martial Academy is Eighth Rank Emperor!"

Jun Hefang and Hua Kaixie fell silent.

"Have you forgotten how we three were defeated at the Tianren Martial Academy last year?"

Wu Zhibing’s face grew stern, "Starting from today, not only must I work desperately, you two as well. No matter what, raise your cultivation as quickly as possible. This time, we must redeem our past shame!"

Jun Hefang and Hua Kaixie’s expressions turned solemn, their eyes suddenly sharp.

The humiliation from their defeat at Tianren Martial Academy was eternally lingering in their minds. Defeating Tianren Martial Academy to redeem their past shame had become their highest short-term goal!

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the Great Training Ground.

Wu Zhibing exclaimed, "Someone’s actually fighting. Are they this year’s freshmen?"

"Looks like it. A single rod difference."

Wu Zhibing’s gaze grew serious as he carefully watched, "This batch of freshmen isn’t weak at the foundation. It’s only been a few days, and there are already Second and Third Level Wuzhong fighting."

"It’s okay, about the same as when we were freshers."

The three simply found a place to sit down and watch the battle.

It’s worth noting that everyone had the task of mentoring the new students. When the freshmen began to go on missions, senior students would accompany and protect them covertly, which was also a part of the seniors’ tasks that counted towards academic credits.

It was the same for evaluating strength, preparing to recruit under one’s command in the future.

This tradition of passing on knowledge continued until after graduation.

Now, the ones fighting on the field were Jing Shuanggao and Xie Gongping, battling fiercely. Though they hadn’t used weapons, they were already fighting with all their might.

Xie Gongping’s cultivation was similar to Jing Shuanggao’s, but his martial skills were far inferior. Starting from the Grandmaster level, the lack of his deep roots had gradually become apparent.

Many combat skills from the great families were something that the sons of Level 8 and Level 9 Families couldn’t come in contact with in their entire lives.

The gap between people existed everywhere, and here it was shown: absolute fairness and absolute unfairness.

"Xie Gongping lost," said Fang Che, sighing.

Next were Ding Jie Ran and Yu Zhongge; Ding Jie Ran won the battle, but after the fight, he stood in the field for a long time, his face overcast.

Ding Jie Ran’s victory was owed to his sharpness, his cultivation, but he lost in terms of depth.

Even Fang Che and the others could see that once Yu Zhongge improved his cultivation, Ding Jie Ran would no longer be his match.

Because Yu Zhongge’s martial arts couldn’t unleash much power with his current cultivation, but as his cultivation improved, so would the combat power he could exert.

For example, Yu Zhongge’s martial arts had already reached the realm of ’force.’

But Ding Jie Ran’s combat skills, swordsmanship, and so on were already at the peak of Level 8 Families, yet they still stayed at the level of mere moves.

Initially, Ding Jie Ran wouldn’t fall behind, but once their cultivation leveled up, mere ’moves’ wouldn’t be able to withstand ’force.’

Moreover, Yu Zhongge’s martial arts still had room for further improvement, whereas Ding Jie Ran’s swordsmanship couldn’t advance any further.

So, although Yu Zhongge was defeated, he was smiling.

Ding Jie Ran had won, yet his face was ugly.

Then came Mo Gan Yun and Qiu Yunshang. The two had long wanted to fight each other, and this battle was like a clash between dragons and tigers.

The rumbling sounds in the arena rose continuously.

Both were from Fourth Level Families, and their confrontation was like a fierce rivalry.

But Mo Gan Yun’s ability to withstand hits had been trained by Fang Che during this period.

In these days, Fang Che had been like a hammer, constantly pounding on Mo Gan Yun, who was now as refined as if he had been tempered a thousand times.

Meeting Qiu Yunshang’s assault head-on, Mo Gan Yun took it with his flesh body, then struck fiercely, brutally rolling Qiu Yunshang on the ground. Mo Gan Yun raised both hands and bellowed, "I won!"

Then they started a free-for-all battle.

Fang Che first faced Yu Zhongge and defeated him, then faced Ding Jie Ran and won, against Xie Gongping and won, then faced Qiu Yunshang and won... finally, he faced Mo Gan Yun.