Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

It's so good to be young.

Back when he was still Xuan Lei, he was just as dashing and debonair. Not to mention an imperial princess, even the fairy of the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, the palace master of the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace, and the twenty-one extremes often chased after him.

Unfortunately, his carefree days didn't last long before he met that woman.

The memory began to subtly diverge from here. Yunping immediately disconnected from this memory, took a deep breath, and focused all his attention on the competition between his disciples.

First, let's go check on Xiao Jiang and the others...

Compared to Zhang Ruoxue and Ye Yuchan, Yunping was clearly more worried about Jiang Yuetian's situation.

This kid still has a mountain he hasn't been able to overcome yet. If he wants to soar to the sky and become a true dragon no longer confined to the pond, he must cross that hurdle.

His divine sense instantly entered the secret realm where the Lan-level cultivator was located.

next moment.

Night! Full moon!

The secret realm was exactly the same as the previous one for cultivators at the next level, except that this time, there was no vast, boundless desert where nothing could be seen, nor was there frozen land where the view was buried by snow.

All that remained was a dense thicket of jungle...

Jiang Yuetian looked around. The shadowy, dark forest made him feel quite uneasy. In this environment, he had to expand his senses to the maximum.

Otherwise, no one would know where an enemy might suddenly appear from.

He subconsciously reached out and touched the five black gold tokens at his waist, which were important items used to determine the ranking of the list.

These are the rules of the Lanbang (岚榜), rules that have been maintained since the first edition of the Wanpai Zhengfeng (万派争锋) competition.

The Xuanjin Token is equivalent to each cultivator's "points". The more "points" a cultivator has, the higher their ranking. If there are cultivators with the same "points", they will be ranked according to their cultivation level - the lower the cultivation level, the higher their ranking.

Of course, there will also be cultivators with the same [points] and the same cultivation level, and these cultivators will be judged by members of the royal family.

In other words...

This ranking battle on the Lan Ranking, this battle to step onto the rankings, has referees.

Even if one were to find a place to hide and eke out a living until the end, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve a good result with only five tokens that were neither good nor bad. Such a cultivator would usually be looked down upon by the cultivators watching from the outside, and the royal family would not give him a good ranking.

In other words...

We must take the initiative and attack!

Furthermore, there is a rather important rule here—

Each cultivator has one chance to duel, but a duel can only be initiated when the number of tokens is lower than that of the opponent, and the opponent cannot refuse the duel.

The winner of the duel will receive all of the opponent's tokens.

And the losers, or rather, those whose tokens were reset to zero...

They will be eliminated.

Yes, eliminated.

No one would believe that simply surviving the brutal second round of the battle royale would guarantee entry into the rankings. In fact, far too many people fail in the ranking process.

Because those who are eliminated will not be recorded on the Ranking.

"call……"

Jiang Yuetian looked around warily, his mind replaying the words Jiang Shengxuan had left him earlier.

See you again after we've broken the rankings!

He was 100% certain that Jiang Shengxuan would definitely target him in this ranking competition, and his goal was definitely not just to prevent him from getting a good ranking...

After all, the bet that his teacher made with his mother, Jiang Huaru, was about whether he could make it onto the Lan List.

and so……

The wind howled past.

Jiang Yuetian stopped in his tracks, turned around abruptly, and stared at the dark, somewhat blurry shadow.

A cold wind blew through the forest, stirring up withered white leaves. As far as the eye could see, there was no hostile figure in sight.

"An illusion...?"

Feeling that she was being too nervous, Jiang Yuetian took another deep breath to calm her chaotic emotions.

Yes, he was certain that Jiang Shengxuan would challenge him to a duel.

Because the person being dueled cannot refuse, nor can they escape, the duel is only truly over when one of the two on the dueling field falls.

Jiang Shengxuan's goal from beginning to end has always been to take away all of his Xuanjin tokens, reset his [points] to zero, and then eliminate him from the game.

In this way, he would be unable to make a name for himself on the Lan List, and Jiang Huaru would win the bet between Jiang Huaru and Yun Ping.

How to do?

Jiang Yuetian swallowed hard and looked up at the constantly fluctuating numbers in the dark night sky.

This time, the numbers no longer represent the remaining number of people.

It's the remaining time.

Just survive like this, and run to the place with the fewest people?

It should be noted that the one and only chance to duel is the turning point for most people. In previous years' competitions for the Lan-level ranking, many people have used this one and only chance to turn the tide in the end. There are people who have endured from the bottom to the last moment and killed all the geniuses at the critical moment.

If my tokens remain at the basic five... then Jiang Shengxuan, who also has five tokens, should be unable to initiate a duel against me.

"This is the only road we can take..."

As Jiang Yuetian walked slowly and carefully through the dense forest, wary of any disturbances around her, she secretly finalized her plan.

His goal has always been to maintain his position on the Lan Ranking. As long as he maintains it, it will be the Jiang family's defeat!

Continue to find a place to hide, and wait until the last moment to come out and use the opportunity of the duel to increase the number of your tokens!

Before that happens, avoid it if you can!

He slowly concealed his presence, moving through the dense forest like a stealthy night stalker.

Yun Ping noticed this action without missing a beat, and he shook his head with a heavy expression.

"Too naive..."

"What?" Fang Yan turned his head, looking at Yun Ping who had suddenly spoken with some confusion. "Senior, what are you saying that's too naive?"

"Little Jiang is too naive..."

He seemed to have foreseen this, and sighed with emotion.

"Does he really think... he can avoid being dueled as long as his token count doesn't increase?"

……

In the secret realm.

A fierce wind swept in!

Jiang Yuetian was absolutely certain that this was not his imagination. He quickly dodged the dazzling purple light that bloomed from behind him. Like lightning piercing through the clouds, the sharp spear mercilessly pierced through the jungle, narrowly missing Jiang Yuetian.

We've been discovered?!

In his astonishment, he caught a glimpse of a burly, imposing figure in the distance.

Wearing a purple and white Taoist robe, with neat short hair, his arrogant face, which exuded an air of authority, flashed with a cold light. He slightly raised his broad palm, and the sharp spear, at his command, drew several gorgeous arcs in the air before returning to his palm.

"Got you."

Jiang Shengxuan.

He smiled faintly, the corners of his mocking mouth turned up as if he were looking forward to it, staring intently at his former second brother.

Two pairs of almost identical purple eyes stared at each other, and Jiang Yuetian subconsciously held her breath.

Now... it's too early, it's not the time to confront him yet!

This is a completely unexpected situation that deviates from the plan!

Just as he was pondering a way to escape—

"duel."

what? !

As Jiang Shengxuan's cold words fell, the muddy ground beneath Jiang Yuetian and Jiang Shengxuan's feet suddenly collapsed, and in its place rose a snow-white fighting arena.

It was a wide arena, nearly a hundred meters wide and long, built specifically for duels, an excellent battleground.

The edge of the arena is surrounded by a sword formation that can block any attack below the Nascent Soul stage, and it is also a sword formation that makes it impossible for duelists and those being dueled to escape!

duel……

why?

Jiang Yuetian didn't understand.

Your own tokens consist of the five most basic pieces.

According to the rules, unless he steals someone else's token, Jiang Shengxuan, who also has five tokens, should not be able to...

The instant this thought crossed his mind, he saw...

He saw his former older brother, his waist...

There is only one token.

Was it looted?

No, it's impossible.

It was impossible for Jiang Shengxuan's token to be taken away... Jiang Yuetian knew all too well how powerful he was.

That leaves only one possibility—

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Jiang Shengxuan greeted them casually, and suddenly a blazing flame ignited on the purple spear in his hand.

An air of arrogance appeared between his brows, but his words carried a teasing tone as he casually uttered a single sentence.

"I paid a considerable price to initiate this duel."