Coming out from the Ghost Buddha Depository, Huang Xiaolong found out that his positi0n in the ranking had fallen to the ninety-seventh place upon checking his token.
He then disappeared into the mountain range in a flicker, his Archdevil Supreme Godhead spinning at high speed. An enormous cloud of darkness appeared above Huang Xiaolong's head, spiraling and absorbing the devil qi in the Extraterritorial Devil Battlefield, as well as nefarious qi and death qi. In an instant, the dark cloud above Huang Xiaolong's head expanded, covering a hundred li radius.
As he moved forward, all the magic beasts, ghouls, and evil spirits below Third Order Ancient God Realm were sucked into the spiral of darkness, shredded into fragments, and finally, had their remaining energy devoured by Huang Xiaolong.
The points on his token soared at a crazy speed. In just a day, Huang Xiaolong had climbed up to the eighty-ninth position.
During the day, Huang Xiaolong exerted his full effort in hunting magic beasts, ghouls, and evil spirits, while at night he continued to cultivate, swallowing a hundred drops of Phoenix blood and comprehending the purple grandmist aura at the same time.
Huang Xiaolong clearly felt himself becoming a little bit stronger every day.
Half a month had passed and Huang Xiaolong's position had bounced back into the top thirty.
Barely two weeks remained until the end of the preliminary round
On the square, the Ouyang Clan group watched as Huang Xiaolong's name was on the verge of falling out of the top one hundred when, all of a sudden, his name shot up the rankings continuously until now, entering the top thirty!
Whereas Ouyang Yunfei continued to hover outside the top one hundred, unable to advance at all. Ouyang Bin and the rest looked as if they had just swallowed a fly.
"That Huang Xiaolong was about to fall out of the top one hundred, how could he rise back again so fast?!" Ouyang Bin's tone was extremely upset.
"Ancestor, do you think this Huang Xiaolong's strength, could be…?" Patriarch Ouyang Xuguang began to doubt their earlier impression of Huang Xiaolong.
Ouyang Bin's eyes glimmered with doubt, but nodded in the end, "It seems this Huang Xiaolong is not as simple as we thought. In the final round, if Yunfei comes across him, he might not be able to handle this Huang Xiaolong."
Ouyang Xuguang solemnly said, "If that is so, then we should have Elder Gong Fei arrange it so that Huang Xiaolong will battle Zhou Xu. With Zhou Xu's strength, killing Huang Xiaolong is as simple as drinking water."
Ouyang Bin nodded in agreement, "Geniuses from the top ten islands like Zhou Xu receive more attention from the Fortune Gate, Zhou Xu's battles on the stage in the final round aren't something Elder Gong Fei could change as he like."
"What should we do then?" Deep creases appeared between Ouyang Xuguang's brows, "Based on this kid's preliminary round performance, he's very likely to gain a spot in the top one hundred in the final round. At that time, things won't be good once he's accepted as a personal disciple of some Elder."
Ouyang Bin maliciously stated, "Rest assured! In this lifetime, he'll never take a single step into the Fortune Gate."
"Ancestor's meaning is...?" Ouyang Xuguang was confused.
"We can't make Gong Fei arrange this kid to battle Zhou Xu, but we can give him some benefits to arrange this kid to battle other top ten islands' geniuses." Ouyang Bin sneered, "Having other disciples from the top ten islands kill him is the same."
Ouyang Xuguang's face lit up, laughing as he praised, "Ancestor is wise!"
As everyone rubbed their hands in anticipation, the preliminary round's three months duration came to an end. In the Extraterritorial Devil Battlefield, Huang Xiaolong and the other participating disciples were transferred back to the starting point.
Huang Xiaolong's final ranking was the twenty-fourth place. Twenty-fourth, this was the result of Huang Xiaolong's deliberate control of his points. He preferred not to attract too much attention in the preliminary round.
As a mere Barbarian God Sect disciple, attracting too much attention at this point wasn't a good thing. On top of that, he had killed the Spirit Lake Cult's Chen Weiping and several others and carried the secret of the Ghost Buddha Depository.
Following this, Huang Xiaolong and the remaining disciples were transferred back to the square in Fortune City. The various sects' experts who had been waiting for results at the square revealed different emotions; some sighed heavily in disappointment, while others were cheering happily. Angry roars came from different corners, interwoven with elated mad laughter. Naturally, Lu Zhuo's group belonged to the latter.
Huang Xiaolong actually entered the top one hundred in the preliminary round, moreover, it was at twenty-fourth place, Lu Zhuo suspected there was auspicious smoke coming out from their Barbarian God Sect's ancestral graves.
Yao Chi smiled sweetly, saying, "I knew your rank would be among the top one hundred."
Huang Xiaolong reassured her, "Don't worry, I will definitely get those Blue Flaming Heart Fruits."
Huang Xiaolong's had just said that when a disdainful voice came from a distance, "You really don't know where one stands, a mere peak late-Tenth Order Heavenly God Realm dreams of getting first place in the final round?"
Huang Xiaolong looked over his shoulder and saw the person who spoke was a young man clad in a gray brocade robe. On his chest was the emblem of twin cities.
The Twin Cities Sect!
Lu Zhuo's smile disappeared. He cautiously pulled Huang Xiaolong;'s arm, indicating he shouldn't provoke the other party.
The Twin Cities Sect wasn't an enemy they could afford to make.
Huang Xiaolong looked at the Twin Cities Sect with indifference.
"What, you're unconvinced?" Seeing Huang Xiaolong's expression, that disciple scoffed. "I'm the Twin Cities Sect's Yang Liming, ranked eleven in the preliminary round, cultivation at peak late-First Order Ancient God Realm. If you're lucky to meet me on the battle stage in the final round, I'll have you kneel so that you understand the Blue Flaming Heart Fruits aren't something a small sect disciple like you should have excessive expectations for."
Finished saying that, Yang Liming turned and left.
Huang Xiaolong inwardly sneered. He turned around and saw Yao Chi, Lu Zhuo, and others' worried expressions before he smiled, "It's nothing, let's go back and celebrate."
Although there was nothing worth celebrating, Huang Xiaolong wanted to thoroughly relax.
The final round's stage battle would be held ten days after the preliminary round.
Nearby, Ouyang Yunfei was standing with the Ouyang Clan members; all of them looking at Huang Xiaolong's group with hostility, especially Ouyang Yunfei. His face was slightly warped with anger and hatred, he couldn't accept the fact that an insignificant Barbarian God Sect disciple that was lower than dog shit was actually ranked twenty-fourth!
While he failed to even enter the top one hundred!
"Yunfei, don't worry about that kid, he will never become a Fortune Gate disciple." Ouyang Clan Ancestor Ouyang Bin added, "Initially, I wanted to bribe some disciples from the top ten islands to handle him, but it seems that won't be necessary now."
Ouyang Yunfei, Ouyang Bin, and others had heard the small argument between the Huang Xiaolong and the Twin Cities Sect's Yang Liming.
Ouyang Xuguang laughed, "That kid is ranked twenty-fourth in the preliminary round, causing his arrogance to soar; he's actually dreaming of winning the All-Islands Great War. Coincidentally, Yang Liming heard what he said, that's really seeking death! Come on, let's return and celebrate."
At this time, the Ouyang Clan's five disciples had successfully entered the final round, reaching the top five thousand.
…
At the center of Fortune City stood a luxurious mansion that was entirely built with Icy Snow Stones. Regardless of the changing seasons, snowflakes would drift from the air throughout the year, exuding a cold, proud, and holy aura.
This was Li Lu's Pure Snow Mansion.
In the mansion's hall, Li Lu asked her maidservant Qing Qin, "Has the All-Islands Great War preliminary round ended?"
"It has, Miss." Qing Qin answered.
"Let me see the ranking." Li Lu extended her palm.
Maidservant Qing Qin gave Li Lu the top five thousand participants' name list respectfully.
Li Lu took a deep breath and opened to the first page. Her gaze quickly fell onto the first name on the list. First place, Dragon Origin Sect, Zhou Xu.
In the second place the Heavenly Dan Island's Luo Yunjie, while the Twin Cities Sect's Tan Lin was ranked third. The fourth place was occupied by the Anyang Island's Guo Yuanhui, and at fifth place was Luoshan Island's Tao Ming.
After reading the top ten names, Li Lu was disappointed, but she continued reading. All of a sudden, her body stiffened, but her eyes kept staring at one name at the twenty-fourth place, unwilling to blink.
Written there was: Green Cloud Island, Barbarian God Sect, Huang Xiaolong.
Huang Xiaolong!