Three days.

  The rules allotted three days for the top one hundred to claim their battle servants and make preparations for the battles to come.

  Things had changed now—the top one hundred had been robbed down to their last purple crystal. They were on pins and needles just sitting here, to say nothing of claiming battle servants. It was more a concern that these devils might change their minds and claim the top one hundred as battle servants instead, to say nothing of the original rules.

  Several of them tried to approach Lu Yun over the three days, wanting to determine what made him so special. However, Qing Di, Seven Slaughters, Azureclad, Blackclad, and others stepped into the role of personal bodyguards, delivering a thorough beating to whoever dared approach Lu Yun.

  Their current level of strength absolutely qualified them to challenge and replace any of the top one hundred, but they didn’t do so for some unknown reason.

  The estrangement between Purpleclad, Bloodclad, Azureclad, and Crimsonclad grew wider. By now, their relationship was irreparable. Despite Azureclad and Crimsonclad not fearing Zhan Lingge, Purpleclad and Bloodclad’s complete indifference to their fate had utterly broken their hearts. The once four representative personages of the Hongmeng would now go their separate ways.

  Lu Yun spared no effort for the arcane beasts during this time. Their battle style was wholly different from the cultivators’—a brand new field of knowledge. Thankfully, he could utilize formula dao and derive his own path using arcane beast combat arts as a basis.

  Nearly nine hundred arcane beasts reached the titled duke level after his instruction! That meant all twenty-nine hundred and ninety-nine latecomers were titled dukes!

  Lu Yun’s strength advanced even more after this experience. He’d peeped into the dao and combat arts of arcane beasts, thereby improving his capabilities and broadening his horizons. In fact, he’d gained far more than the arcane beasts had.

  Another large door appeared after three days—not the dragon gate from before, but the exit from this minor world.

  ……


  “Time’s up, they should be coming out!” Nearly ten thousand kings were gathered on Dragonhollow Mountain. As the seniors of the geniuses participating in the Dragonling Assembly, they wore varying expressions of joy or sorrow.

  “Who knows how many of the three thousand from the rainbow bridge survived?” wondered the Dragonsea city lord. Since events after the rainbow bridge had been obscured, they'd patiently waited here for the outcome. Half a month wasn’t that long for heavyweights of their level.

  Apart from the kings that’d come with the city lord, a few others had also been directly invited to the mountain’s seventh floor. The city lords of Azure Dragon and Coiling Dragon City were among them.

  Two faintly azure figures stood side by side, gazing upon the slowly opening door with slight melancholy.

  “You lose, brother.” The Coiling Dragon city lord appeared to be a young man dressed in long azure robes. A slight smile crossed his face. “Not only did you lose a half step ultimate treasure to me, but you also lost a true ultimate treasure to the Immortal Pagoda. Azure Dragon City’s incurred great losses during this assembly.”


  He turned his hand over and materialized a hazy purple bead that glowed with brilliant light. It was the half step Hongmeng treasure that Qing Ting had given to her father.

  The two city lords resembled each other, but the Azure Dragon city lord was stronger than his younger brother. He was a ninth step king, while the Coiling Dragon city lord was an eighth step king!

  Both of their cultivation levels were concealed by a special treasure, making them appear as ordinary seventh step kings. They also didn’t seem to be as disagreeable with each other as the stories made them out to be.

  The Azure Dragon city lord smiled ruefully and didn’t say anything in response.

  “I’ll be able to return to ninth step kinghood with these thirty-six creation pills. It’s time that I addressed the ill will from that old Dragonhollow imbecile shattering one of my dao rules,” murmured the Coiling Dragon city lord as he looked at the depths of the mountain.

  “It is indeed time to settle old scores and end this farce of a Dragonling Assembly.” The Azure Dragon city lord inclined his head.

  They weren’t the only ones with frosty smiles on their faces, so did the other invited kings bear the same expression. Many were here just to observe the proceedings—none of their juniors were participating. At the same time, anyone listed among the top one hundred of the Dragonling Ranking was taking part in the assembly, even if they were from the Immortal Region or Ten Valleys of Evil.

  Of that, Dragonhollow Mountain had been surprisingly uncompromising.

  Since the mountain was offering dragon qi of creation as a gift, the various factions of the realm hadn’t taken offense at their insistence.

  Only the true dragon of the realm—the ancestral vein of the Hongmeng—could nurture the power of creation. Not even Redbud Mountain produced any, so no one could resist its siren’s call.

  “They’re out! Who knows what battle servants our Bloodclad Duke have claimed!” laughed a man with blood-red hair dressed in long blood-red robes.

  “Azureclad, Purpleclad, Crimsonclad, and Bloodclad were once the emblematic characters of the realm’s half step kings. Unfortunately for Azureclad and Crimsonclad, they no longer have the right to be listed next to Bloodclad and Purpleclad,” chuckled an elder next to him. “I once sent Purpleclad to the Starspace King so he could weather a tribulation of emotion. Now that the king is dead and Purpleclad successfully endured his tribulation, he will soon become a titled king!”


  The two looked at each other and laughed heartily. “The apex battle of the Dragonling Ranking will be the one between Purpleclad and Bloodclad!”


  “Hmph,” snorted the Torch King. “Tigers and dragons abound in the Hongmeng, you should watch what you say.”


  “Yes yes yes,” the white-haired elder agreed merrily. “There are crouching tigers and hidden dragons within the realm, and geniuses are as many as carp in the river. Your Crimsonclad Duke has probably become someone’s battle servant.”


  The Torch King ground his teeth and would’ve rushed over to beat the old man if the other hadn’t been a seventh step king. At the same time, worry showed in his eyes. None of the top one hundred half step kings were kind souls, and it was very likely that Crimsonclad had been claimed as someone’s battle servant.

  Once she was, she’d be cannon fodder in the ranking battles to come and have to risk her life for another.

  “Don’t fret.” Dragonfeather shook his head. “Don’t forget the last scenes we saw. Nothing can be determined beforehand when the Champion Duke and Qing Ting are there.”


  The Torch King calmed down when he heard these two names.

  “Those two little rascals…” he said wearily.

  “They’re coming, they’re here!” someone shouted.

  Heads hanging, all of the top one hundred geniuses walked through the door. Though they were in perfectly fine condition, they looked like someone had robbed them of their worldly possessions.