Chapter 351: Rank Six
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the blink of an eye, several months went by.
Xu Ning had been in the Arcanist World for more than a year.
Over the past few months, Jiang Xu fulfilled his promise to Xu Ning and continued to give a lot of resources to Xu Ning.
This allowed Xu Ning to naturally accumulate 120,000 units of energy. Xu Ning used this opportunity to advance to a rank six arcanist.
A rank six arcanist was considered a top expert in the entire southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
Duan Huiye, the Core Sea Demon Lord, had descended into the Arcanist World multiple times, but the best he had achieved was only rank six.
Whereas, Xu Ning reached this realm in less than a year in his first attempt.
However, although he had advanced, Xu Ning was not very happy.
If he wanted to continue to advance, the energy needed to advance from rank six to rank seven had reached a terrifying 3 million units.
In the Arcanist World, advancing from rank six to rank seven was equivalent to advancing from the void realm ninth stage to the dao realm third stage. Not only did he advance three realms in a row, but he was also crossing a major realm.
Therefore, a huge amount of energy was necessary.
'Do I need to leave the southern part of the Barren Wind Region already…'
Xu Ning stood in the courtyard and looked at the sky.
'The resources that the Ice Feather Institute can provide me are limited now…'
Xu Ning thought to himself.
The Ice Feather Institute could still provide more than 100,000 units of energy, but it was almost impossible to provide him with more than a million units of energy.
The southern part of the Barren Wind Region was already a small stage for Xu Ning.
After deliberating for a while, Xu Ning decided to leave.
'However, before leaving this place, I have to get rid of the troubles of the Ice Feather Institute.'
Xu Ning had principles.
For him to advance to rank five and to rank six had consumed a vast amount of resources from the Ice Feather Institute.
If he left suddenly, not only would the Ice Feather Institute suffer a huge loss, but it would also be gradually eaten away by other forces because of the loss of high-level combatants.
Xu Ning had already made a plan. Even if he wanted to leave, he had to deal with the Wind Sea Institute first, then find a suitable high-level combatant for the Ice Feather Institute.
Xu Ning walked out of the courtyard and went to find Jiang Xu.
"Brother Jiang."
When Xu Ning found Jiang Xu, Jiang Xu was still working.
Jiang Xu was a little surprised to see Xu Ning.
Ever since the situation stabilized, Xu Ning rarely came out to walk around.
"Brother Xu, it's rare to see you here."
Jiang Xu stopped working.
"Brother Jiang, it is time to completely resolve the feud with the Wind Sea Institute."
Xu Ning went straight to the point.
Jiang Xu was taken aback.
"What do you mean…"
Jiang Xu couldn't react for a moment.
"I have advanced to a rank six arcanist, so I can fight against the Wind Sea Institute."
Xu Ning said.
Not only did the Wind Sea Institute secretly harm the Old Institute Head and take the resources of the Ice Feather Institute, but they also sent assassins to assassinate Xu Ning.
Therefore, whether it was from the perspective of institute rivalry or personal grudges, Xu Ning had to resolve this matter.
"Rank six!"
Jiang Xu was shocked.
Xu Ning had just advanced to rank five a few months ago, so how did he break through to rank six so quickly?
Jiang Xu was a little dazed.
He had thought highly of Xu Ning, but he still underestimated him.
'With this aptitude, can Xu Ning advance to the legendary rank nine in the future?'
This thought suddenly appeared in Jiang Xu's mind.
A rank nine arcanist was a top existence in the Arcanist World.
Jiang Xu gradually calmed down with great difficulty.
"Brother Xu…"
Jiang Xu slowly recovered and slowly said, "Now that you have just advanced to rank six, isn't it a little too hasty to attack the Wind Sea Institute? After all, the two rank six arcanists of the Wind Sea Institute have already been at their current realm for many years…"
Xu Ning smiled. "It's okay, Brother Jiang, don't forget that when I just advanced to rank five, I already killed a rank five opponent."
After being reminded by Xu Ning, Jiang Xu thought of Xu Ning's terrifying combat strength.
With this kind of aptitude and ability, Jiang Xu could already foresee Xu Ning's future achievements.
"Brother Jiang, make the arrangements first. After everything is ready, I will deal with the high-level combatants of the Wind Sea Institute."
Xu Ning was talking about taking over the resources of the Wind Sea Institute.
"Okay…"
Seeing Xu Ning being so resolute, Jiang Xu finally expressed his support.
A few days later.
Jiang Xu found Xu Ning again.
"Brother Xu, everything is ready."
Jiang Xu looked at Xu Ning. "We have also secretly spread the news of the death of the Old Institute Head."
"Good."
Xu Ning also understood that Jiang Xu's move was to take advantage of public opinion.
They had to let the other forces in the southern part of the Barren Wind Region know that the proactiveness of the Ice Feather Institute was for revenge and not to invade.
Although the two sides had compromised in the past, the hatred was too deep. This battle was inevitable.
"Then the rest is up to you."
Jiang Xu was full of expectations for Xu Ning.
"Don't worry."
Xu Ning left the Ice Feather Institute and went to the Wind Sea Institute.
At the same time, several instructors and a large number of disciples began to move towards the Wind Sea Institute.
…
Wind Sea Institute.
Inside a courtyard.
"The Ice Feather Institute seems to be a little disobedient lately."
The person who spoke was a bald old man. He frowned and looked a little annoyed.
"Indeed."
Opposite the bald old man was a ruthless-looking old woman. "They have violated our previous agreement and released a lot of information that is detrimental to the Wind Sea Institute."
"Unbelievable…"
The bald old man snorted.
"Forget it, we all know that the agreement is only temporary. There will inevitably be another battle between the two sides. It seems that they are going to take the first move."
The old woman was a little puzzled. "I just don't understand, what gives them the confidence to take the initiative to attack us? With just their foreign rank five arcanist?"
"Mmm…"
The bald old man fell into deep thought.
"Could they have contacted other helpers?"
The old woman asked again.
"Probably not… No faction in the southern part of the Barren Wind Region is willing to directly oppose us…"
The bald old man was quite confident.
The two were confused for a moment.
While the two were thinking, they suddenly felt that something was wrong.
The next moment, the two felt several huge spiraling forces tearing at their bodies.
"Enemy attack!"
The two instantly realized what was going on. They quickly activated the power of arcanism to break free from this force.
However, they still re
reacted a little too slowly.
When they struggled free, they were already seriously injured.
"Who are you?"
The two huddled together, their eyes full of panic.
"Ice Feather Institute… Xu Ning."
Xu Ning appeared.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two giant wind blades flew out.
Pfft Pfft!
The two rank six arcanists couldn't resist at all and died on the spot.
1
"All done…"
Xu Ning chuckled.
After Xu Ning killed the two rank six masters of the Wind Sea Institute, everything went much smoother.
Because of Xu Ning's intimidation, the Wind Sea Institute was taken over by the Ice Feather Institute without any resistance.
While all this was taking place, those who had participated in the assassination of the Old Institute Head and Xu Ning were dealt with in different ways.
Among them, for the experts above rank four in the Wind Sea Institute and did not participate in harming the Ice Feather Institute, they were given the choice to submit. Those that were willing were allowed to join the Ice Feather Institute, while those who were unwilling to submit were expelled from the southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
This was to ensure the stability of the Ice Feather Institute.
With this, the Ice Feather Institute gained two rank five arcanists and six rank four arcanists, greatly increasing their overall combat power.
Because with Xu Ning around, they didn't have to worry about these people daring to rebel internally.
The sudden movement of the Ice Feather Institute brought a huge impact to the southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
Instantly, many large forces in the southern part of the Barren Wind Region were anxious, afraid that the Ice Feather Institute would attack them as well.
They had all learned that Xu Ning, who was comparable to a rank seven master, was present in the Ice Feather Institute.
Xu Ning's strength was already at the ceiling of the southern part of the Barren Wind Region. The entire southern part of the Barren Wind Region was extremely afraid of him.
But soon, the Ice Feather Institute expressed their goodwill.
The evidence of the Wind Sea Institute's malicious attack on the Ice Feather Institute made the other forces in the southern part of the Barren Wind Region understand that the rumors were true.
Although the Ice Feather Institute had forcibly annexed the Wind Sea Institute, the Wind Sea Institute was in the wrong first.
In that case, the other forces were relieved.
However, they still had some inexplicable fear towards the Ice Feather Institute.
After this incident, they had realized how terrifying top-level combatants were in a power struggle.
The overall strength of the Ice Feather Institute was not as good as before, but because of Xu Ning, an almost rank seven master, the situation was reversed.
The other forces were also worried about how they would resist Xu Ning if the Ice Feather Institute had the intention to rule the entire southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
Fortunately, their worries did not become reality.
After resolving the matter of the Wind Sea Institute, in addition to annexing resources, the Ice Feather Institute began to unite with various parties to promote the common interests between the Ice Feather Institute and the various forces.
In fact, this was to pave the way for Xu Ning to leave the southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
Whether it was Jiang Xu, Xu Siqi, or Lu Wang, they all knew that Xu Ning would leave this place sooner or later.
Before he left, the Ice Feather Institute had to do its best to gain independence.
Time flew by, and another two years went by.
Over the past two years, Xu Ning still hadn't left the southern part of the Barren Wind Region.
With his help, the Ice Feather Institute and the big forces in the southern part of the Barren Wind Region had formed an alliance. Even if Xu Ning left, the Ice Feather Institute could ensure that it could operate independently and would not fall behind in level.
In addition, Xu Ning also helped Jiang Xu and Xu Siqi to advance to rank five arcanists. Lu Wang also advanced to a rank four arcanist.
Jiang Xu and Xu Siqi's advancement provided the promise of high-level combat power to the Ice Feather Institute.
Of course, Xu Ning also gained a lot during this period.
Half a month ago, Xu Ning was promoted to a rank seven arcanist.
Over the past two years, the Ice Feather Institute had annexed the Wind Sea Institute and gradually expanded its own forces. During this process, Jiang Xu continued to provide Xu Ning with large amounts of resources as a reward for Xu Ning's previous efforts.
Xu Ning used this opportunity to gather 3 million units of energy needed to advance to rank seven.
It could be said that Xu Ning's 3 million units of energy were the bonus from swallowing the Wind Sea Institute and the Ice Feather Institute's progress.
After this, it would be impossible for him to continue to advance to rank eight in a place like the Barren Wind Region.
So, it was time for Xu Ning to leave.
Before leaving, Xu Ning bid farewell to the people around him.
Although Jiang Xu, Lu Wang, Xu Siqi, and Guan Yue had already foreseen Xu Ning's departure, they were still emotional.
This time, Guan Yue did not decide to travel with Xu Ning.
She could no longer keep up with Xu Ning's pace, so staying in the Ice Feather Institute was the best choice for her.
After bidding farewell, Xu Ning began to walk forward again.
This time, he was going to the City of Arcanists.
The City of Arcanists was the place where arcanists mainly gathered.
There were as many arcanists as mortals there. Powerful arcanists were everywhere, and there were even many rank nine arcanists.
Xu Ning knew that only there could he obtain the tremendous amount of resources he needed to advance.
Xu Ning only needed to advance two more ranks before he could completely comprehend the origin of the Arcanist World. He would then take back his clone and break through to the grandmaster realm.
Time flew by.
Another year went by.
Xu Ning spent the entire year traveling.
Even though he was already a rank seven arcanist, it took him a year to travel there.
'I'm finally at the City of Arcanists!'
Xu Ning looked at the huge wall in front of him. He felt relieved.
After a long journey, he finally reached his final destination.
According to Xu Ning's plan, this City of Arcanists would be his last stop before advancing to rank nine.
Seeing the arcanists walking in and out of the city, Xu Ning walked over as well.
"A new arcanist?"
Xu Ning was stopped by the city guards at the city gate.
Even the city guards were generally above rank four.
The leading city guard was even at rank six.
This kind of strength was considered strong in other regions.
"Yes."
Xu Ning nodded.
"We need to assess your strength and register your information."
The city guards were quite polite to Xu Ning. They had already sensed that Xu Ning was very strong.
"Okay."
Xu Ning was also quite cooperative.
After the city guard registered Xu Ning's identity, he gave Xu Ning a badge certificate. At the same time, he also gave Xu Ning a booklet, on which was the internal map of the city, as well as various rules of the city.
What surprised Xu Ning was that this relatively complicated job did not cost Xu Ning anything.
'As expected of the City of Arcanists!'
After entering the city, Xu Ning sensed the aura of arcanists everywhere.
Among them, rank three and rank four arcanists were the most common, while rank one and rank two arcanists were rare.
Under normal circumstances, unless one was born in the City of Arcanists, rank one and rank two arcanists who were from elsewhere would not come here at all.
For ordinary arcanists, the competition in the city was fierce.
'I'll find a place to stay first, then familiarize myself with the environment here…'
Xu Ning glanced through the booklet given to him by the city guard and looked for a place to stay.
After staying in the city for half a month, Xu Ning had basically figured out the situation in the city.
The City of Arcanists was jointly ruled by many parties, and the various forces consisted of many arcanist institutions and arcanist families.
Outside the city, arcanists gathered through joining institutions. There were very few arcanist families.
But in the city, the number of arcanist families was basically the same as the number of arcanist institutions.
After Xu Ning made some preparations, he decided to join an arcanist family.
Recently in the City of Arcanist, the major arcanist institutions and arcanist families were recruiting mid to high level arcanists above the rank of six and seven.
By gathering some information, Xu Ning discovered that the Arcanist Tower was about to be open, which was why so many strong arcanists were being openly recruited by various factions to form teams to enter the tower.
Arcanist Tower was right in the heart of the City of Arcanists.
According to the legends, this Arcanist Tower was forged many years ago by three rank ten arcanists.
Rank ten arcanists were equivalent to grandmasters in the Martial Arts World, the realm where Duan Huiye and Yu Zhiyin was in.
After those three rank ten arcanists finished building the Arcanist Tower, they vanished without a trace.
From then on, there was no more appearance of a rank ten arcanist in the Arcanist World.
Some said that the secret to advancing to rank ten lay within the Arcanist Tower.
And because of that, various arcanist factions would recruit tons of strong arcanists to explore the tower whenever it opens every ten years.
Now, there was only less than two months until the next opening of the Arcanist Tower.
Xu Ning was truly fortunate to have come to the City of Arcanists at this period of time.
Since the opportunity to explore the Arcanist Tower was right in front of him, Xu Ning would not let this opportunity slip.
By joining an arcanist family, not only could he receive resources as reward for choosing them as his backing, he could even gain the chance to enter the Arcanist Tower.
The faction Xu Ning chose to join was the reputable Gao Arcanist Family in the City of Arcanists.
The overall combat strength of this arcanist family was top five in the City of Arcanists.
As for why he joined the Gao Arcanist Family and not other arcanist factions, the reason was simple. It was because the Gao arcanist family paid the most.
As long as he accepted the recruitment of the Gao family, even if he did nothing, he would receive the first batch of rewards. If these rewards were exchanged into energy units, they were worth 5 million.
After coming out of the tower, he would receive the second batch of rewards, which was also worth 5 million units.
This also meant that after coming out of the tower, Xu Ning would receive 10 million units of energy.
The energy he required to advance from rank seven to rank eight was 25 million units. By doing this, Xu Ning had gathered 40% of the energy he needed to advance.
This was almost unimaginable outside the city.
"I'm here to join the exploration team of the Arcanist Tower."
After Xu Ning came to the Gao family, he explained his intentions.
The guard led Xu Ning into the Gao family mansion and brought him to a middle-aged man.
Xu Ning sensed the powerful aura of a rank eight arcanist from this middle-aged man.
"Rank seven arcanist?"
The middle-aged man asked Xu Ning in an unsure tone.
When he sensed Xu Ning's strength, he felt a little confused.
"Yes, I am a rank seven arcanist."
Xu Ning said.
"Pretty good foundation."
The middle-aged man praised.
He could sense that Xu Ning was a peak rank seven arcanist.
The Gao family's exploration team was in shortage of experts, so Xu Ning's entry was like a godsend.
"Have you entered the tower before?"
The middle-aged man asked.
"No."
Xu Ning responded.
"There are various rich resources in the tower, but it is also full of danger. I
won't hide it from you, there is a great risk of death."
The middle-aged man was quite honest. He explained the dangers to Xu Ning first.
"I understand."
Xu Ning's expression remained blank.
This Arcanist Tower looked a little like a mystic realm in the Martial Arts World.
"Once you join the exploration team, you can't choose to quit midway."
The middle-aged man said, "Moreover, you have to follow our instructions and arrangements in the tower."
"Okay."
Xu Ning nodded.
This request was not unreasonable.
"Great, let's sign a contract."
The middle-aged man said, "Once the contract is completed, you will receive the first payment in the agreement. In the two months before the opening of the Arcanist Tower, you will have to stay in the Gao family's compound and wait for further arrangements."
"Okay."
Xu Ning was very straightforward.
Afterwards, the middle-aged man personally signed a contract with Xu Ning and completed the process.
Xu Ning was assigned to a residence, and someone delivered the first payment.
Xu Ning did not waste any time. He directly absorbed the resources worth 5 million units of energy.
'As expected of the City of Arcanists, it is much easier to obtain resources here than in the outside world.'
After absorbing the resources, Xu Ning sighed.
In order to gather the 3 million units of energy he needed to advance to rank seven, he had spent nearly two years.
But now, obtaining 5 million units of energy was so easy.
According to their previous agreement, Xu Ning was not allowed to leave the Gao family before the Arcanist Tower opened, so he just stayed in the independent courtyard.
Over the past two months, the Gao family gathered several members of the exploration team and explained the internal environment of the tower many times.
They wanted all the members of the exploration team to have a rough understanding of it.
Xu Ning also figured out the rough situation of the exploration team.
There were about 100 members in the Gao family's exploration team.
The leader was a peak rank eight arcanist, a member of the Gao family.
In addition to him, there were four other rank eight arcanists, a total of five people.
There were twenty-five rank seven arcanists in total, half of them were recruited from the public like Xu Ning.
The other seventy people were all rank six arcanists.
A rank six arcanist could only play some basic duties in the tower.
At critical moments, it still depended on the performance of the rank eight and rank seven arcanists.
Two months went by.
Finally, it was time for the Arcanist Tower to open.
On this day, the Gao family's exploration team was ready and began to head to the center of the city.
"Xu Ning, how do you feel?"
Beside Xu Ning was a bald young man.
The bald young man had a domineering aura and an excited look in his eyes.
His name was Gao Qixuan, and he was a rank seven arcanist of the Gao family. Over the past two months, he had become familiar with Xu Ning, and they had a pretty good relationship.
"I'm fine."
Xu Ning was not excited or stressed. Entering the tower was like entering a mystic realm for him.
"This is the first time I am entering the tower. I'm looking forward to it."
Gao Qixuan couldn't wait any longer..