While Hong Yu was on a killing spree inside the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, the Cyan Nether Mountain Range was also exceptionally lively.
As the trial continued, the battles within the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm grew increasingly fierce.
Strong participants were constantly being eliminated, while others, of course, began to distinguish themselves, their points steadily accumulating.
The Invitation Jade Scroll, one for each person, displayed a leaderboard ranking from one to twelve thousand, clearly recording the point changes of the more than ten thousand Sword Sect disciples inside the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm.
They couldn't see what was happening inside the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, so naturally, they could only focus on the changes in the rankings.
It could be said that every change on the leaderboard tugged at the heartstrings of countless people.
When they saw their own disciples' points rise, they would unconsciously straighten their backs. Of course, if they saw a disciple's rank fall, or even get eliminated entirely, their posture would slump, and their faces would turn as sour as if they'd chewed on a bitter lon.
In the Audience Seats, the smiles on the faces of the Hong Family's Elders never faded.
Of the Hong Family's Four Kings, aside from the one ranked second who didn't seem to be participating in the Inner Sect promotion match, the rankings of Hong Renjie, Hong Gang, and Hong Long were all quite high.
Hong Renjie, in particular, had his points skyrocket starting from the third day.
He had now reached an astonishing tally of over thirty-nine thousand points, placing him first on the leaderboard!
As for Hong Gang, his points kept him stable in the top five.
Hong Long was a bit further behind, but he was still ranked in the top one thousand.
In addition, other experts familiar to Hong Yu, such as Feng Xue Xin, Tie Shou, and Ling Tian, were also on the list. Ling Tian's sudden rise was especially notable; with twenty-eight thousand points, he was ranked fifth overall. For a newly-promoted disciple to climb to such a position was enough to shock all sides.
As for Hong Yu, however, he had yet to appear on the leaderboard at all.
The Fifth Elder glanced at the leaderboard, a wide smile on his face, and shot a look at the gloomy-faced Hong Tianduan.
He let out a grating, cold chuckle. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, look everyone! Renjie and little Gang's points have gone up again. Sigh, these kids just can't keep a low profile. I told them to be more discreet. Being too flashy can easily hurt soone's pride. Fourth Brother, don't you think so?"
The Fourth Elder paused for a mont, then saw the Fifth Elder winking at him and smiled in understanding. He chid in, "Isn't that the truth? Look, soone else who called himself a genius... When we first arrived at the Sword Sect, we heard quite a few rumors about him, but now you can't even find his shadow in the top ten thousand!"
The two went back and forth, their words like a million flies buzzing in his ears.
Hong Tianduan's expression was grim. How could he not know the two were secretly mocking Hong Yu to get at him?
With a dark face, his flickering gaze remained fixed on the Invitation Jade Scroll in his hand. He was filled with doubt. 'This shouldn't be happening. I've seen Hong Yu's strength with my own eyes. With his power, he's at least not much weaker than Hong Long. He should be able to break into the top eight thousand, or even the top five thousand. How could he not even make it onto the leaderboard?'
Unresigned, Hong Tianduan scrolled down the leaderboard, all the way to the very end.
"Sigh, still nothing..."
Hong Tianduan gave a dejected, bitter smile.
The Fifth Elder happened to see this. He smiled sinisterly, nudged Hong Tianduan, and offered so false comfort. "Third Brother, are you looking for Hong Yu's na? Ah, don't be too disappointed. After all, that little guy just joined the Sword Sect. It's perfectly normal for him not to make it into the Inner Sect. Besides, the trial has just begun, there's still a chance later on. Fourth Brother, am I right?"
The Fourth Elder nodded, a mocking grin on his face. "That's right. Just wait a few more years, he should be able to break into the top ten thousand by then! Don't you worry, Third Brother!"
"You two can stop with the sarcastic remarks. Hong Yu, he... Huh?"
Anger surged in Hong Tianduan's eyes. Just as he was about to retort, his gaze froze.
He stared at the leaderboard in his hand in astonishnt, his expression turning extrely peculiar...
It shifted from his initial disappointnt and anger, gradually turning into surprise, excitent, and shock, until finally, the corners of his mouth nearly split to his ears...
"Huh?"
The Fifth and Fourth Elders exchanged a puzzled glance.
A sense of unease suddenly crept into their hearts.
They both looked down at the Invitation Jade Scrolls in their hands. The top of the list was still mostly unchanged, but when they scrolled to the very bottom, they were stunned.
At rank 11,500, Hong Yu's na was conspicuously present.
His points had also reached a total of four hundred.
After a brief mont of shock, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. He had only just broken into the ten thousands. A result like that was just scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The Fifth Elder put on a teasing expression and sneered, "Tsk tsk, so he made it onto the leaderboard after all! Congratulations, Third Brother."
"Hehe, but Third Brother, you shouldn't get your hopes up!"
The Fourth Elder shook his head smugly. "This rank of 11,500 is a bit on the low side. He probably got lucky and ran into a few unfortunate Outer Disciples to get those points. The trial in the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm is long. The mont he runs into a few Inner Sect Disciples, he'll likely be eliminated!"
"Fourth Brother is right. Luck always runs out. Soone like Hong Yu..."
The Fifth Elder was in the middle of his taunt when his peripheral vision caught sight of the leaderboard. His expression changed instantly, and he swallowed the sarcastic words that were on the tip of his tongue.
The Fifth Elder's face twitched, his eyes staring blankly at the leaderboard in his hands. His hands even began to tremble.
"What's wrong?"
The Fourth Elder frowned and also looked down at the leaderboard.
"Oh my god... this can't be real, can it?"
The Fourth Elder's reaction was even worse; he nearly fell out of his seat.
On the leaderboards in their hands, Hong Yu's rank—originally 11,500 with a pitiful 400 points—had changed once again.
It hadn't dropped as they predicted. Instead, it had risen. No, it had skyrocketed!
Hong Yu, 1,200 points, rank 10,058...
Hong Yu, 2,600 points, rank 9,432...
Hong Yu, 4,400 points, rank 7,620...
...
With almost every breath, Hong Yu's ranking changed.
Each change, each rocket-like ascent, felt like an invisible hand slapping them hard across their old faces. Rembering their recent comnts and taunts, both of them felt their cheeks burn with sha.
"Th-This... how is this possible?"
"Son of a bitch! In the ti it took us to speak, he's already shot past ten thousand points and reached thirteenth place?"
"Cheating! He must be cheating! H-How could he be so fast? Damn it, he's already in twelfth place now?"
The Fourth and Fifth Elders' faces turned ashen as they cursed and roared incessantly.
They found this reality impossible to accept.
Their faction had always been able to suppress Hong Tianduan's faction, making it so they couldn't even raise their heads. The most important reason for this was the existence of the Four Kings.
But now...
...Hong Yu's appearance had shattered this state of affairs.
The higher Hong Yu's rank, the more confidence the Third Elder's faction would have, which would have a crucial impact on the struggle for the family's interests!
"T-Tenth place? How is that possible?"
The two looked at each other, no longer able to suppress the shock in their hearts.
This teoric rise had almost completely shattered their indignation and doubt.
Even Hong Renjie, who was ranked first, took three days to reach thirty-nine thousand points. But how long had it taken Hong Yu?
A mont ago, he was ranked outside the top twelve thousand, and now, in just a few minutes, he had chased all the way to tenth place?
The change on the leaderboard also caught the attention of other experts...
"Who is this guy nad Hong Yu? How did he rush into the top ten in such a short ti?"
"I heard he used to be an Outer Disciple, and he only just joined over half a year ago..."
"Another new disciple? This year's batch of new disciples is too strong, isn't it? First, there was Ling Tian's powerful rise—he's already in fifth place—and now there's a Hong Yu?"
"I heard he's from the Hong Family of Shishui City, the sa family as last year's Newcor King, Hong Renjie."
"Shishui City? How could a backwater place like that produce so many geniuses one after another? Holy crap, I'll have to make sure to get in touch with the Hong Family and build a good relationship with them!"
The changes on the points leaderboard stirred people's hearts, and naturally, also stirred the web of interests behind them.
In the history of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, a new disciple breaking into the top ten was an event that happened maybe once every fifty years. Now, for two new disciples to enter the top ten at the sa ti was a first since the Sect's founding.
The nas Ling Tian and Hong Yu had also, for the first ti, entered the sights of the various powerful clans of the Fengyue Kingdom.
The previously unknown Hong Yu, in particular, drew the attention of countless people.
Among them were quite a few Inner Sect Elders.
Li Tie was one of them. He stared in amazent at the na in tenth place, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. "This kid is actually so fierce? Old Bai's judgnt is as sharp as ever. If he could return to the Inner Sect to teach disciples, he could definitely cultivate many talented experts. It's just a pity that after that incident, he stopped taking apprentices..."
Pondering, Li Tie murmured to himself, "This Hong Yu is worth cultivating. After the promotion match, if he can maintain a spot in the top one hundred, I'll take him as my disciple!"
The shockwave caused by the change in Hong Yu's points was greater than anyone could have imagined.
However, Hong Yu himself was unaware of any of this.
After a fierce battle, he had already slaughtered all fifty people Hong Long had brought with him.
Amidst the broken walls and ruins, only Hong Yu and Hong Long remained.
"H-Hong Yu, what do you think you're doing?" Hong Long clutched his blood-soaked arm, his face pale as he stared at Hong Yu and continuously backed away.
He had just exchanged blows with Hong Yu, but to his dismay, Hong Yu was simply too ferocious. Using his profound "Wandering Dragon" Body Technique, he had not only killed all fifty of his n but had also crippled one of his arms within three moves. Now, gazing at the approaching youth with a Long Spear in hand, Hong Long felt despair and fear for the first ti.
He couldn't believe that the boy he could trample like an ant just six months ago had beco so formidable.
Hong Long swallowed hard and roared, his voice fierce but his heart trembling, "Hong Yu, you can't kill ! Brother Jie and Brother Gang are both looking for you. If you don't kill , I can plead on your behalf and get them to let you finish the trial. Otherwise, even if you kill , you'll still be eliminated."
"Hong Renjie and Hong Gang?"
Hong Yu narrowed his eyes and grinned. "Don't worry. Even if I kill you, they won't be able to eliminate !"
"N-No, you can't..."
Hong Long was a mixture of shock and fury, watching in despair as Hong Yu flickered and appeared right in front of him.
His fingers spread and locked around Hong Long's neck, slowly lifting him up. A glint in his eyes, Hong Yu was just about to strike the killing blow.
Just at that critical mont, a sharp and violent aura suddenly shot in from outside the ancient city, followed by a roar like a clap of Thunderous Fury...
"Insolent Hong Yu, cease your violence!"
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