"So, what exactly is a Star Ranking?" Gu Nan asked while picking up the cup of coffee that the waiter brought over. He had taken Lin Yunyun along and was now sitting across from Lu Zhanyu.
Lu Zhanyu showed a rare serious expression. "Don't take the Star Ranking lightly. This is created by an enormous organization based in the Central Region; the Star Ranking is Starry Ocean Pavilion's signature…"
"Some more sugar please, thank you," Gu Nan said to the waiter.
Bam!
Lu Zhanyu slapped the table angrily, shaking the coffee cups on the table. Lin Yunyun lowered her head, her shoulders trembling. It seemed that holding back her laughter was difficult.
After taking several deep breaths, Lu Zhanyu was finally able to adjust her mood.
Although she mocked Starry Ocean Pavilion earlier, as a reincarnator, her awe of this organization was ingrained deep within her bones.
Unfortunately for her, Gu Nan was destined to never be able to experience this kind of awe.
For players, all NPC organizations are divided into only two categories: those that can be destroyed now and those that can be destroyed in the future.
But it was only after Lu Zhanyu's explanation that Gu Nan roughly understood the Star Ranking's significance.
As the backbone of Star Realm, Prodigious cultivators often had many privileges and received a lot of attention. The Star Ranking was a list made specifically for Prodigious experts and commanded high authority, so it was very popular among martial artists.
After all, the things people want in life boil down to two things: fame and fortune. The Star Ranking just happens to represent the former.
In addition to the requirement of advancing to Prodigious Realm, the ranking also considered someone's ability and battle record—it didn't entirely rely on cultivation level to decide a person's rank.
There were Prodigious masters of all stages on Star Ranking. There were even some in the Origin Stage, but most of these people had their own trump cards, so none of them were easy opponents.
Only people with particularly outstanding abilities can enter the Star Ranking.
The Star Ranking only recorded those who were still alive today and whose strength was still at Prodigious Realm. Together with the most recent addition, Gu Nan, there were only 461 names.
These 461 people represent the 400+ strongest Prodigious experts in the entire Star Realm.
It was no wonder that Lu Li and Guan Shanxue attached so much importance to Gu Nan, as it was no trivial matter to enter the Star Ranking while coming from such a remote region like the Ninth Region.
...
After parting ways with Lu Zhanyu, Gu Nan took Lin Yunyun back to his room, but they soon met an unexpected person in the hallway.
"Young Master Lu? What a rare guest." Gu Nan looked at Lu Li, who was already waiting here for some time, and showed a strange expression.
Lu Li smiled. "Just call me Lu Li. I've heard my younger brother talk about Mr. Gu. Truly, knowing someone by their reputation can't compare to personally meeting them."
"Oh?"
Without waiting for Gu Nan to think more, Lu Li took the initiative to explain, "My younger brother is called Lu Wu."
'So it's him…' Gu Nan remembered that silent youth with unusually sharp perception in Nebula Martial Hall. Although he didn't know why Lu Wu was in Ruby Fish Star, he knew that Lu Wu wasn't an ordinary character.
He just didn't expect that Lu Wu's identity seemed to carry more weight than imagined.
He also remembered that Lu Zhanyu had paid him a visit just to ask him to take care of Lu Wu…
'It seems that she deliberately brought up Lu Li because she knew I'd be suspicious. This woman really doesn't miss any opportunity to find trouble for me.'
Thoughts flowed around in Gu Nan's head, but his face didn't change in the slightest. "What does Young Master Lu want with me?"
Lu Li said expressionlessly, "Does Mr. Gu know that someone has already laid out a trap in Heavenly Enterprise Star and is just waiting for you to step into it?"
"So?" Gu Nan raised his eyebrows and asked, equally expressionless.
Gu Nan's attitude made Lu Li seem to understand something, and his face showed some coldness. "Looks like Mr. Gu is very confident in his own strength? I want to remind you—that that person invited someone from the Star Ranking to attack you…"
Gu Nan didn't say anything more. He just shook his head, then led Lin Yunyun into the room and closed the door behind them.
He never liked to explain excessively to people.
Lu Li, on the other hand, sneered while also turning around and leaving. There was already someone waiting for him at the corner. It was Guan Shanxue, the one who made an earlier appearance.
"What did he say?"
"Heh, he didn't even ask who was planning to attack him." Some disdain surfaced on Lu Li's face. "Nothing more than an arrogant maniac. Hu Wei will make him understand the price he'll pay for arrogance."
...
What happened on the starship didn't have further impact.
While Lu Huaiyun certainly held an extraordinary position in the Lu family, it still couldn't compare to someone like Lu Li. After Lu Li personally visited Gu Nan, everyone understood the Lu family's attitude towards Gu Nan.
…Although their conversation wasn't pleasant.
News of Gu Nan entering the Star Ranking spread, making him truly famous. The majority of the Ninth Region had now heard about the person who had the "fastest breakthrough in the last century".
Two days passed quickly, and Gu Nan was able to leave the starship and set foot upon the long-renowned Heavenly Enterprise Star.
If Ruby Fish Star was a typical modern city, then Heavenly Enterprise Star's cities had more of a steel jungle feel.
"There aren't many residential areas in Heavenly Enterprise Star, so the city is highly utilized," Lu Zhanyu, acting as a temporary tour guide, explained to Gu Nan and Lin Yunyun.
"So they even utilized the sky?" Gu Nan looked at the various oddly-shaped buildings in mid-air and asked softly.
"That's right, those are all residences." Lu Zhanyu shrugged. "So you should understand that the ground level where you guys will be staying… is very expensive."
In this world of martial artists, living at a high altitude was quite dangerous. Because you don't know when two flying people will appear one day and crash through the walls of your house.
Gu Nan was a VIP of the Lu family, so he could live in an extremely precious ground floor residence.
Of course, Gu Nan wasn't too concerned about this. With his current physique, even if he was thrown down from a thousand meters in the sky, he could still get up and walk away like nothing had happened.
"Is there any news on the information I asked you guys to check?" Gu Nan asked. He was referring to the information he gave Lu Zhanyu about the word Maes.
"We're still investigating. No valuable clues have emerged yet," Lu Zhanyu answered.
Gu Nan nodded. After all, he had only arrived at Heavenly Enterprise Star not long ago, and the Lu family wouldn't be able to move so quickly.
Letting the Lu family help look for Maes was an idea he had long ago. He was different from those players who'd already obtained clues but still insisted on conducting their own search. A top player wouldn't do this kind of mechanical task that requires little skill.
He also wasn't afraid that someone would dare to take his stuff… If there's such a person, just kill them, and they'll drop the item upon death.
"By the way." Lu Zhanyu looked at Gu Nan oddly and said, "Gu Nian and Yan Xiaoxiao started fighting in Immortal Demon World…"
Long before the two left Ruby Fish Star, Gu Nan had Lu Zhanyu arrange for someone to be reincarnated into Immortal Demon World to act as their eyes.
Gu Nan certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to truly hand Immortal Demon World over to the Gu family.
Gu Nan wasn't surprised at all when he heard this. Instead, he started laughing. "Good, have your people start spreading rumors claiming that those outsiders from the Gu family are trying to destroy Immortal Demon World."
"I want those two to have a love-hate relationship… Ah no, I meant, I want those two to mix like fire and water!"
Devotee's Game System Inspired Note
» This section of the chapter is a Fan based created system to mock-up or simulate the 'Status Information' of our MC - Gu Nan. This implies that you are free to skip reading this and continue your journey onto the next chapter.
» All catalog data below is a summary of various information achieved by Gu Nan that corresponds till the end of the related chapter and is compiled into a singular 'Status Screen.' Additionally, the invented system below would continue to evolve as we progress and learn more about the novel itself.
MC's Status Information
Name: Gu Nan
Current Location: Heavenly Enterprise Star, Ninth region of the Star Realm
Current Soul Location: N/A
Status: ⟪ Evil God ⟫
Advancement Direction: Agility Type
Current Evil God Rank: Tier 3
Equivalent/Current Martial Art: Prodigious Realm
◈ Comprehension of Innate ability: Domain Stage
Chosen Core Skill: The Law of Shadow
Current Evil God Temple Quest:
→ Main Mission Objective/s:
-— Evil Event: Seize the Eye of Maes. - Evil God Temple Issued
◈ Status: On Going
→ Side Quest Objective/s:
-— None. - N/A
◈ Status: N/A
Current Evil Points: 100
Overall Evil Points: 3875, Overall Evil Value: 120
Core Skill Acquired
— Shadow. ｢Also known precisely as 'The law of Shadow' - its one of the highest-ranked laws in the game. Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1｣
Normal Skills Acquired:
— Resistance. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Your body will resist damage, and any damage taken will be reduced by 50%｣
— Locked ｢N/A｣
— Locked ｢N/A｣
Exclusive Skills Acquired:
— Deceitful Steps. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Movement Speed increased by 30%. Attack Speed increased by 50%｣
— Power of Shadows. [ LVL 3 ] ｢Allows the players to activate the skill "Hidden Shadows" at LVL 1 and unlocks the skill "Shadow Form" at LVL 2. If the 'Power of Shadows' reached LVL 3, the player will be able to use the 'Law of Shadow' to a much finer degree.｣
▸Hidden Shadows. ｢The power to manipulate shadows to a fine degree.｣
▸Shadow Form. ｢An incomparable handy skill that allows the player to manipulate shadows to create things, like weapons and armor. At the highest level of mastery, it could even create a humanoid clone.｣
Equipment being worn
→ Armor
-— Dawn Sage's Robe. ｢Basic level defense. If you are not attacked within 3 seconds, you will receive the "Praise of Dawn" effect.｣
→ Weapon
-— Blade of the Sanguine King. ｢High attack. Ignores external defense. Enhanced sharpness. Triggers the effect "Curse of Blood" on hit.｣
◈ Curse of Blood. ｢This is a cursed divine weapon. Whenever your attack hits your opponent, you will take equal damage.｣
→ Accessories - Facial Accessories, Necklace, Earrings
-— Observer Eyepiece. ｢An eyepiece that have a fixed Tier 2 magic 'Insight' inscribe in it.｣
-— Dragon Heart Pendant. ｢Allows players to activate the skill "Dragon Power". This skill cannot be upgraded｣
-— Shadow Earrings. ｢Skill 'Power of Shadows' LVL +1｣
Equipment Skills Acquired:
-— Insight. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Ability to obtain high-precision data analysis when looking at people or objects.｣
-— Dragon Power. ｢Greatly enhances the player's strength and physique. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes｣
-— Praise of Dawn. [ Passive Ability ] ｢Increases self-healing ability by 300%｣
Item/s owned:
→ Four Element Crossbow. ｢Was used in Chapter 9-104.｣