Cui Lang of Great Ming Prefecture

Across the vast plain, Su Yu pursued at high speed. The earth was desolate. Having run into an opponent right upon arriving, he felt a faint rush of excitement. Because he had made contact with that fellow earlier, the little fur ball's tracking senses were exceptionally sharp. Before long, Su Yu sensed people up ahead. He swiftly masked his aura, concealed his tracks, and transformed into water to slip into a river along the bank. Within the river, the water flowed downstream. Su Yu simply went with the flow, drifting toward the lower reaches. Yet right at that moment, a faint sense of crisis arose, and the divine character "Calamity" throbbed. Su Yu was startled and quickly checked. On the Sensing Jade, a light dot showed clearly. Lingyun! Peak Lingyun! The light dot almost overlapped with his own. Su Yu's heart skipped a beat—there was a peak Lingyun expert right beside him? And at that very moment, ahead of Su Yu in the water, inside the belly of a large fish, a tiny golden dragon as slender as a loach suddenly opened its eyes wide. It peered in every direction from within the fish, its large eyes filled with craftiness and confusion. It felt a faint sense of crisis. The little golden dragon probed briefly inside the large fish, hesitated, and decided against investigating thoroughly. To avoid being detected. Meanwhile, the large fish continued swimming downstream. Along the riverbank, several auras faintly carried over. Su Yu's heart thumped. He had already noticed the large fish. It was practically right next to him, right beside his body. At that moment, Su Yu was transformed into water, with the Xuan Turtle Breath Concealment Art in full effect. He was still shocked. *Holy crap!* *I just arrived at the Desire Sea Plain. Why do I keep running into such trouble?* *My vengeance hasn't even begun, yet it's already this dangerous.* *What on earth is this big fish next to me?* Su Yu did not dare probe it. He only knew that this fish seemed to possess peak Lingyun strength—and he had no idea what its actual combat prowess was. Peak Lingyun might just be its cultivation realm. Sure enough, danger lurked everywhere. At this moment, Su Yu did not dare make any reckless moves, forced to simply drift with the current. On the riverbank, Hong Kai and his group were still discussing matters. Right then, someone among the group barked in a low voice, "Be careful! The Yuan Qi density nearby is rising. Watch out for someone sneaking up!" He spoke in the All-Heavens Common Tongue. The speaker was also clad in armor, though his was not red, but cyan. At that moment, the cyan-armored warrior held an object resembling a ruler, whose color was shifting. Hearing this, the armored warriors nearby gathered at once. Hong Kai was among them. Looking around and probing the surroundings, he barked, "Everyone, stay on your guard! Qing Kai's Element-Fixing Ruler won't change without reason. Something must have approached! Watch out!" "Qing Kai, check again! How is the Yuan Qi density?" The cyan-armored warrior quickly enlarged the ruler and drove it into the ground. Its original color did not change much. Qing Kai frowned, pulled out the ruler, and swiftly thrust it into the void. Still, there was little change. Suddenly, he looked toward the river's surface and shouted, "A few of you, come with me, carefully!" With that, he aimed the ruler at the nearby river and thrust it into the water. At that very instant, the ruler's color shifted drastically! At the same time! Beside Su Yu, the large fish burst apart. A little golden dragon instantly tore through the fish's body, soared into the air, and slashed a claw toward the nearest person! "Kill!" On the bank, Hong Kai and the others shouted loudly, bursting with power one after another amid continuous booms! In the blink of an eye, the two sides clashed in battle. The little golden dragon's voice sounded somewhat childish as it roared, "I will definitely slaughter every last one of you!" With those words, it tore through the air, transforming into a gigantic golden dragon that surged into the sky and vanished in an instant. "Don't pursue!" Hong Kai bellowed, halting the others who were about to chase after it, and fumed, "Damn it! That young dragon actually snuck right beside us! Fortunately, Qing Kai discovered it in time, or we'd be in serious trouble!" A dragon close to the Shanhai Realm—or even capable of fighting a Shanhai—had crept right next to them. If not for Qing Kai's timely discovery, a sudden ambush would likely have cost them many lives. On the bank, more than ten people quickly gathered. Hong Kai shouted, "Move! Don't linger here! Curse it, that young dragon has set its sights on us. We'll find a chance to capture it, preferably with some outside help!" The group quickly withdrew. In the water, Su Yu's heart pounded with lingering fear. *Holy crap!* *This is way too dangerous!* He had thought he was pretty impressive—look, he had even transformed into water to track them. Yet as it turned out, a dragon had been right beside him, hiding in a fish's belly, concealed just as well as he was. On top of that, that group possessed a ruler capable of detecting nearby Yuan Qi fluctuations. If that little golden dragon hadn't leapt out, wouldn't he have been discovered as well? Su Yu felt a strange pang of gloom. *Here I was thinking about slaughtering enemies left and right.* *Thinking my stealth techniques were unmatched under heaven.* *And what happens? Those guys don't have a Sensing Jade, but they have their own fine treasures. That Element-Fixing Ruler might not be exceptionally sharp, but being able to sense faint shifts in ambient Yuan Qi concentration makes it a real headache!* No matter how good your concealment was, the moment you unleashed your strength, there would always be some Yuan Qi fluctuations. "Every single one I run into is tough to deal with!" Su Yu stayed hidden, not daring to move. His slight pride from earlier vanished, and he quickly adjusted his mindset. In this place, geniuses and treasures were far too plentiful; he had better keep a low profile. That dragon who erupted earlier was at peak Lingyun, yet it was so cunning despite appearing young. *Didn't the books say dragons are haughty fools who disdain underhanded plots and tricks?* *Bullshit!* Su Yu cursed inwardly. He would never believe what the books said again. *You call that a fool?* A young dragon knew how to lie in ambush, hide, launch a surprise assault, and flee immediately the second it sensed danger, without any intention of getting bogged down in a fight. You tell me a dragon like that is a fool? Furthermore, those armored individuals earlier were no weaklings either; every single one was in the Lingyun Realm. Were Lingyun experts as common as cabbages now? Working together, the dozen or so of them didn't allow the peak Lingyun golden dragon to gain the slightest advantage. The moment its ambush failed, it fled instantly. As Su Yu pondered this, he suddenly halted his plan to reveal himself. In an instant, a little golden dragon flew back, peered all around with a hint of doubt in its eyes, and suddenly spoke, "Is there someone else here?" "I sensed your presence!" "A member of the Water Spirit race from the Five Elements race?" The golden dragon called out a few times. Hearing no response, it wasn't too surprised, continuing, "Those guys earlier were from the Xuan Armor race. That race is wicked. They specialize in capturing powerful demon spirit races to merge with. The Five Elements race also belongs to the demon spirit category. If they catch you, they'll wipe you out too!" "Want to cooperate?" The golden dragon inquired a bit further, still puzzled. It still couldn't pinpoint any trace of the other party's presence, yet it truly felt a faint prickle of danger. After a moment's thought, the little golden dragon tore through the air and took off. Better to leave first. It wasn't sure if its senses had deceived it or if the other party was too powerful for it to detect clearly. It decided running was the wisest choice. The little golden dragon departed. And Su Yu now knew the background of Hong Kai, the one who had attacked him. The Xuan Armor race! A very unique race. Their entire bodies were armor—armor was life, and life was armor. Su Yu had previously wondered what was beneath their suits, but now he knew: nothing. They were literally living armor! Or rather, lifeforms shaped like armor. Su Yu didn't know much about this race, but records existed in the Human Realm. They were one of the top hundred races, skilled in fusion arts. For instance, if they captured that little golden dragon, they could use special techniques to fuse with it, causing their strength to skyrocket. He had heard that the patriarch of the Xuan Armor race, an Invincible expert, had once captured an Invincible demon spirit. Whether that was true could not be verified, but it was known that once fused, he was practically invincible within the Xuan Armor Realm—even if a Half-Emperor of the gods or demons visited, they would gain no advantage. A formidable race! "Armor lifeforms, first-rate defense, joint battle tactics..." Su Yu wondered: did they have essence blood? He had never obtained essence blood from the Xuan Armor race. Did this race even possess essence blood? Strictly speaking, this race could be considered an ancient race, having existed for a very long time. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, the top hundred races formed an independent faction. Of course, they cooperated with certain powerful races, but they didn't fully lean toward any single side. Naturally, they harbored prejudice and wariness toward the human race. After all, humans could enter other realms without facing suppression. "Xuan Armor race, dragon race..." Right after entering the Desire Sea Plain, Su Yu had witnessed experts from two mighty races. Both were among the top hundred races, and strictly speaking, the dragon race was in the top ten. Though the little golden dragon had departed, Su Yu did not dare be careless. No longer maintaining his water form, he quickly used Earth Escape to reach the shore. "To think even Yuan Qi fluctuations can be detected. Damn it!" Su Yu couldn't help but curse again! In this damned place, sneaking up on enemies was hard enough, let alone concealing one's tracks. He possessed plenty of tricks, yet his very first stealth operation had hit a wall. Casting further thoughts aside, Su Yu continued pursuing in the direction the Xuan Armor group had left. Either way, he had targeted those fellows! He was also quite intrigued by the Xuan Armor race's essence blood. Perhaps he could devour some and forge a set of armor for himself. ... While Su Yu continued his stealthy pursuit, elsewhere on the Desire Sea Plain. Upon a small hill that had been leveled flat, a group of figures gathered. The young man leading them had a faint, blood-red flame flickering on his forehead. Fiery-red hair cascaded down his shoulders, and his irises were pitch-black. At that moment, a mirror rested in his hand. In his other hand, he held a tattered, bloodstained rag. He wiped the mirror with the rag, causing the mirror to shimmer with light. In the next moment, a faint dot of light emerged on the mirror's surface. "Huang Teng!" The youth gave a faint smile. Beside him, another tall youth whose eyes burned like fire sneered upon seeing this. "Huang Teng is nearby! Wu Qi is probably with him too. That bitch dared to kill my brother—I won't let her off!" The youth with the Primordial Demon mark between his brows said impassively, "Moerba, don't mess around on your own! If those two are captured alive, they both belong to me!" Moerba was the older brother of the demon whom Wu Qi had killed. Hearing this, he frowned slightly, but quickly nodded. "Of course. If Brother Tianduo wants them alive, we'll do as you say!" The Primordial Demon Race was the ruling race of the demons. Although Moerba's strength was not inferior to Tianduo's, he was the one who had asked the other to join him for vengeance. Whether they killed or captured them, vengeance would be exacted. Tianduo ignored him, casting another glance at the mirror. Behind him followed several other demon experts. In the mirror, the dot of light flickered intermittently, on the verge of slipping out of the frame. Tianduo called out, "Move! Keep pursuing! Huang Teng is injured—watch that he doesn't slip back into human territory!" The others fell in behind him, each moving at blistering speed, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye. ... On the Desire Sea Plain, experts and geniuses from every faction were currently converging, turning the area into chaotic turmoil. This place was a hunting ground for geniuses of all races. Anyone who dared venture here had some real skill. Wu Qi, famous throughout the Great Xia Prefecture, was not particularly prominent here; at this moment, she and Huang Teng were being hunted down. Meanwhile, geniuses among the other races—like the Xuan Armor warriors and the golden dragon—were also slaughtering each other. It was not purely targeted at the human race; hunting geniuses of other races was a shared consensus among all. In the shadows, some Sunmoon experts lay in wait as well—some were Dao Protectors of various factions, while others were ill-intentioned experts from diverse races. Invincible experts would not set foot here. This was a lawless, no-man's land. If an Invincible from any faction stepped in, others would worry whether someone sought to claim the Desire Sea Plain and push forward the front line. Moreover, there were mysterious cities situated upon the Desire Sea Plain. Experts resided within those cities as well. Some of these cities even connected to realm passages of ancient races, which was another factor that kept all sides wary. ... Su Yu did not concern himself with any of this. Right now, his sights were locked onto those Xuan Armor fellows—who told them to attack him? Before long, Su Yu drew close to them again. By this time, Hong Kai and his group had found another spot to make camp. Watching from a distance, Su Yu saw them burying items around the campsite, likely components of a defensive formation. "Truly cautious!" Su Yu felt he had learned a lesson. Not a single person surviving in this place was simple; their vigilance was remarkable. It seemed that for geniuses to become powerhouse experts, they all had to possess genuine ability to survive that long. Inside the camp ahead. The armored beings were currently devouring flesh and blood, seemingly taken from freshly killed experts. Hong Kai scanned the surroundings, a sharp glint flickering in his armored eye sockets as he peered all around. Soon, he looked toward Qing Kai and asked, "Any change on the Element-Fixing Ruler?" Qing Kai retrieved the Element-Fixing Ruler, tested it, and shook his head. "No change in the vicinity." The Element-Fixing Ruler's detection range was not large, but it could effectively prevent ambushes; if someone drew too close, the ruler would react. Having answered, Qing Kai asked, "Hong Kai, are we still capturing that golden dragon? Don't let its size fool you—it's extraordinarily wary, and its strength isn't weak. Even working together, we only have a shot at killing it. Capturing it alive will be exceedingly difficult!" "If we can't take it alive, we kill it!" Hong Kai said calmly, "Killing that golden dragon will certainly yield a reward from heaven and earth. The harvest will still be immense!" The others nodded and said nothing more. As they spoke, Hong Kai took out a sheet of golden talisman paper, glanced at it, and shook his head. "Over the past few days, several Yellow Ranking geniuses have fallen! That human, Huang Teng, is quite formidable—truly worthy of someone who reached first on the Earth Ranking! Huo Mu of the Earth Fire Demon race is dead, likely killed by him. Tianduo of the Primordial Demon Race is leading men in pursuit of him. Keep your distance from those demons!" The armored warriors nodded in agreement. The demon race was powerful, so it was best to avoid provoking them. As for the human race, they were formidable too, but largely due to sheer numbers. Some human geniuses were indeed strong, but claiming they surpassed the gods and demons went too far. Moreover, human geniuses refused to yield to one another and remained fractured. "The god race, demon race, dragon race... people from all of them have arrived! No one from the Immortal race has been seen yet! Those fellows from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion are lurking in the Desire Sea Plain too..." After a few remarks, Hong Kai soon added, "Once we hunt down this golden dragon, we'll return to Tianmie City and avoid this place for a while." "Agreed!" The others responded in unison. Just as they spoke, Qing Kai shouted, "It's back!" Boom! Even as the words left his mouth, a tiny dragon figure in the void swelled countless times over. A tail swept across; formations flared into view all around, only to be wiped clean in an instant. "Kill!" *Creak!* The armored warriors burst with powerful might, lunging toward the golden dragon. Hong Kai couldn't help cursing inwardly—this young dragon was ridiculously vindictive! Their previous attempt to capture it had merely failed, yet instead of fleeing, it had stalked them! It had actually initiated an assault! Shuttling through the void, these armored warriors fanned out in all directions, rapidly surrounding the golden dragon. The dragon's large eyes were filled with chilling malice. A dragon roar rattled the four directions! Rumble! The earth cracked, and the armored warriors shuddered. The golden dragon roared, "You're all dead! How dare the Xuan Armor race bully my Golden Dragon clan! Not one of you will escape!" "Kill it!" Hong Kai bellowed. A spear suddenly manifested in his hand, and the others followed suit. Their spears formed a battle array, rapidly encircling and closing in on the golden dragon. Right at that moment, beneath the suspended Qing Kai, a dark shadow surfaced. *I have to take this guy out!* That Element-Fixing Ruler had prevented Su Yu from getting close. Only now, with everyone locked in battle and oblivious to Yuan Qi fluctuations, did he dare slip in. Su Yu had to admit that this little golden dragon was remarkably vengeful—no less so than himself. Just look: in this short span, it had attacked them twice. The Xuan Armor race truly didn't know how to pick opponents, choosing people who held grudges just like this. Transforming into a shadow, he rode the rising breeze in the next instant. Qing Kai was still pouring out his full strength, coordinating with the others to besiege the little golden dragon, when his heart suddenly jolted before calming just as fast, leaving him puzzled. A sense of crisis had flashed and vanished! He glanced toward the golden dragon. At that moment, the golden dragon looked poised to flee again. Qing Kai assumed the dragon was preparing to unleash an ultimate move and grew more vigilant, thinking the danger stemmed from the beast. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Hong Kai's eyes flared with light as he shouted, "Watch out!" Even as he warned him, an enormous hammer materialized soundlessly above Qing Kai's head! Boom! A detonation that echoed solely within Qing Kai's sea of will rang out, shattering his sea of will with a single blow. From below, a hand suddenly shot out and seized Qing Kai by the leg. Dragging Qing Kai along, it vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye. "Damn it!" Qing Kai was hauled away in a flash. The little golden dragon, which had been preparing to flee, was suddenly overjoyed. From its maw, it abruptly spat out a longsword! Boundlessly sharp! *Pfft!* The longsword pierced straight through an armored warrior. The golden dragon swallowed him whole in one gulp. Hong Kai's spear stabbed into its tail, drawing blood, but the dragon paid it no heed and tore through the air, carrying the corpse of the armored warrior in its jaws and chewing vigorously. Soon, it vanished without a trace. Hong Kai's expression shifted repeatedly. Ignoring the golden dragon, he landed quickly. His armored ears twitched, and he barked, "Pursue!" The golden dragon was difficult to deal with; catching the bastard from just now came first! Damn it, he had recognized who launched the surprise attack on their group. That human! He had actually been lurking nearby the entire time. While they were occupied with the golden dragon, he had ambushed Qing Kai. Qing Kai was a powerhouse in his own right, yet he had still been hammered senseless and dragged away. ... Meanwhile, having escaped underground, Su Yu threw punch after punch, pummeling the armored warrior and sending tremors through him. Fire burned, lightning struck, and the giant hammer hammered relentlessly. *Crack!* It was as if something shattered. In a daze, Qing Kai's sea of will was completely pulverized by the giant hammer, ending his life then and there. Right at that instant, above Su Yu underground, a small cloud swiftly took shape. Killing above his realm! Qing Kai was a seventh-stage Lingyun expert. Although his strength was inferior to Hong Kai's, he was still a genius. Slain by Su Yu across cultivation realms, he directly triggered a reward from heaven and earth. Su Yu glanced upward and saw the small cloud burrowing rapidly into his body. Probing further, he heard the whistling of wind from behind. Hong Kai and the others were giving chase! "Bastard!" "Damn it!" "Human, you're dead!" Hong Kai was furious. The reward from heaven and earth had manifested, meaning Qing Kai was definitely dead! Underground, Su Yu frowned as the small cloud drilled into him, completely unstoppable. Still, after sensing what it was... Su Yu couldn't help but complain: "Trash!" It was a small portion of Heaven Yuan Qi, roughly equivalent to the amount in three Heaven Yuan Fruits. If that wasn't trash, what was? Others might have been thrilled, but Su Yu felt nothing. Nor did he suffer indigestion. He absorbed far more than three portions daily, so he had little reaction to this Heaven Yuan Qi. His physical acupoints vibrated slightly, and the Heaven Yuan Qi was completely absorbed in moments. In his grasp, Qing Kai turned into a suit of armor in the blink of an eye. The man was dead, so without wasting words, Su Yu stowed it in his storage ring and swiftly fled. Earth Escape, Water Escape... In an instant, he left them far behind. Su Yu's voice drifted back eerily: "Red Armor guy, you picked a fight with me. Let's see who has the last laugh!" "Hmph!" In the distance, Hong Kai snorted coldly. After tracking for a short while longer, he gave up the pursuit, looked at the others, and shouted, "Move! Find the god race—we've been targeted!" In the blink of an eye, two had been killed. The golden dragon had its eyes on them, and so did that human. Damn it! Their original plan to hunt the golden dragon had to be abandoned. Moreover, Qing Kai's Element-Fixing Ruler was lost, leaving them vulnerable to ambushes. Their race maintained decent relations with the god race. They would seek help from the god race experts! Of the dozen or so members, only twelve remained; two had already been slain. ... Meanwhile, Su Yu stopped following them. He quietly experienced the changes for a long while before opening his eyes, divine light gleaming in them. "Killing just anyone casually rewards three portions of Heaven Yuan Qi. If I killed dozens in a single day, wouldn't I make a fortune? No wonder everyone loves hunting geniuses! This Qing Kai is definitely worth less than Hong Kai!" Even for him, extracting one portion of Heaven Yuan Qi cost nearly a thousand merit points. Killing one person yielded three thousand points' worth. And this was Heaven Yuan Qi that money couldn't buy! Other geniuses had no way to extract Heaven Yuan Qi, so no wonder they all loved killing. Furthermore, the rewards from heaven and earth were absorbed rapidly, digested by Su Yu in no time. Cultivating through killing here was vastly superior to cultivating in secluded meditation. Su Yu sensed his surroundings; there was no one nearby. Soon, he took out that suit of cyan armor. "Can essence blood be extracted from this thing?" This was his first time encountering something like this, and he hadn't felt the presence of blood. After some deliberation, flames manifested in his hand, instantly scorching the armor. The armor quickly burned beneath the flames. Gradually, it began to soften. Before long, a drop of cyan liquid emerged. Su Yu's gaze flickered. Was this the blood of the Xuan Armor race? The blood of many races was not red. Some races might not even have blood at all. For example, with the little fur ball, Su Yu had really wanted to get a drop of its blood, but had found no way to do so. "Is it poisonous?" Su Yu wasn't sure if this cyan liquid could be consumed. After thinking for a moment, he immediately grabbed the little fur ball, pointed at the cyan liquid, and said, "Here, take a sip. Good stuff!" "Don't want to!" The little fur ball refused. It didn't want to eat it; it stank! "Take a sip. It won't kill you, and it'll make you stronger. Hurry up!" Su Yu threatened, "If you don't eat it, don't think about eating anything else from now on!" The little fur ball's big eyes filled with gloom. Reluctantly, it took a bite of the cyan blood. After a moment, it retched slightly and mumbled unhappily, "Tastes bad!" With that, it vanished from the spot, returning to Su Yu's sea of will. Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't fatal, that was fine. Without further hesitation, he continued refining for a bit until another drop of cyan blood emerged. Su Yu wasted no words and swallowed it directly. Inside his sea of will, the little fur ball suddenly glanced toward the darkness behind it. It seemed to spot a gleam of gold, though not very clearly. It wanted to go over, having caught a whiff of fragrance, but feared getting beaten again. After a bout of hesitation, the gold vanished. ... "Xuan Armor Race (Seventh-Stage Lingyun): Racial Skill: Armorification (Activated via essence blood) Basic Yuan Art: Refined Armor Art (Activated via essence blood) Basic Body-Casting Art: Xuan Armor Twenty-Seven Transformations (Activated via essence blood) Nine Yuan Qi Transformations Art: Earth Armor Xuan Yuan Transformation (Activated via essence blood)" Su Yu sensed the golden album. In the next moment, he swallowed another drop of cyan blood, instantly activating the Armorification innate skill. In the blink of an eye, a suit of cyan armor materialized over his body. Su Yu threw a punch at himself. *Boom!* A dull clang rang out from the armor. "A Yuan Qi armor!" Examining it, Su Yu frowned slightly. This wasn't real armor, just armor formed from Yuan Qi. Still, its defensive power was rather good. Unleashing it at a critical moment could save one's life. "The defense is decent, comparable to a Profound-rank armor, but... it's a bit redundant!" Su Yu shook his head. He already had armor, and at peak Profound rank at that—the set given to him by Zhao Li. This Armorification innate skill was quite useful for ordinary people, but for him, it was merely decent. Of course, stacked atop his actual armor, its effectiveness and defensive capability would be even greater. "A fairly decent skill!" As for the other skills, Su Yu had no desire to test them. Whether the Yuan Art, the body-casting art, or the Nine Yuan Qi Transformations art, they were all useless to him right now; he already possessed arts of his own that were far stronger. Sensing it carefully, Su Yu grew somewhat intrigued: did this armor have any defensive flaws? If so, perhaps he could use them against the remaining armored beings. The golden album provided him with cultivation arts of all races. The arts themselves might only be secondary; the real key was understanding their specifics. Finding weaknesses in an opponent's art through a lifetime of study could never compare to experiencing it firsthand. After probing it thoroughly, Su Yu pondered for a moment and soon took out the ruler. This ruler was the Element-Fixing Ruler. Examining it, Su Yu found it to be a specialized armament. Extremely sensitive to Yuan Qi! At present, the Element-Fixing Ruler was white, but once Su Yu poured some Yuan Qi into it, its color quickly altered, the white shifting toward black. "Feels decent, but since I have the Sensing Jade, it's also somewhat redundant!" This thing's sensing range was very small. Finally, from Qing Kai's storage ring, Su Yu retrieved a golden booklet. Opening it to take a look, his brows knitted slightly. The Heaven Hunting Ranking! He had seen this before, but not in this format. That had merely been a casual transcription by the head of the Great Ming Embassy. But this booklet from Qing Kai didn't look like an ordinary ranking list, nor was it a handwritten copy. Su Yu sensed it; it seemed more like a forged armament. He quickly probed it, and in the next moment, his frown deepened. "Yellow Ranking 347th: Qing Kai, Xuan Armor race, seventh-stage Lingyun. Battle Record: Slew an eighth-stage Lingyun in combat." At this moment, Qing Kai's name had turned black. That signified death! Su Yu frowned intensely. He had only just killed Qing Kai, so how could word have spread so fast that even the ranking list in Qing Kai's own hands had updated? What did this mean? It meant this ranking was part of a parent-child set. This was likely a sub-ranking. When the master ranking was altered, these sub-rankings would update rapidly. As for Qing Kai being killed, had Hong Kai and the others spread the word, or had the master ranking sensed it autonomously? "A Heaven-rank armament!" Su Yu's heart stirred. The master ranking was likely a Heaven-rank armament. As for how it sensed Qing Kai's death, perhaps it was linked to the sub-ranking in Qing Kai's possession. Just as Su Yu prepared to throw the item away, a line of text emerged on the sub-ranking: "Welcome to the Heaven Hunting Pavilion!" "This ranking is merely an object akin to a voice transmission talisman, bearing no tracking function whatsoever. All experts on the four rankings possess one!" "The Heaven Hunting Ranking was born between heaven and earth, naturally generated on the All-Heavens Battlefield. The aura of every living being that enters the All-Heavens Battlefield is captured: alive, they remain; dead, they vanish..." Su Yu frowned. A voice transmission talisman? *Bullshit!* *I don't believe a word of it!* He had studied voice transmission talismans himself, and certain talismans possessed tracking capabilities. This thing might very well have a positioning function. Carrying it around was definitely not a good idea. With a surge of flame, Su Yu set the item ablaze! In the next moment, the ranking booklet was burned to cinders. "Heaven Hunting Pavilion? Heaven Hunting Ranking!" Su Yu shook his head. Those fellows were endless. Who knew who was truly in control of them now? At the very least, the person transmitting voice through the ranking was likely one of the masterminds behind the scenes, someone who might control the master ranking. Carrying this thing might offer some benefits, but safety came first. Perhaps some ranked experts carried it, but those who did might operate out in the open and not mind being tracked. Su Yu, however, wanted no part of that. Having burned the item, Su Yu swiftly vanished from the area. Before long, others holding the ranking noticed changes. ... "Yellow Ranking 3rd: Cui Lang, armamentsmith, first-stage Lingyun, human race, Great Ming Prefecture genius. Battle Record: Slew a seventh-stage Lingyun." The information was rapidly updated! ... At that moment, quite a few people were astonished. Cui Lang? An armamentsmith? A human from Great Ming Prefecture? When had Great Ming Prefecture produced an armamentsmith powerhouse who slew a seventh-stage Lingyun expert? Was that even possible? Could it have been accomplished through pure coincidence? As for how the ranking could update information so swiftly and know who killed whom, many had wondered about this in the past. Later, some Invincibles concluded that the Heaven Hunting Ranking was likely a peak Heaven-rank or even God-grade armament. It might have existed on the All-Heavens Battlefield all along, only to be discovered and utilized by the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Having captured the aura of entrants, members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion extracted matching auras and input the information, enabling the Heaven Hunting Ranking to automatically update and correct its records. Earlier, when Su Yu was tracking that fellow, a Sunmoon had arrived afterward; that person had likely extracted some aura belonging to Su Yu and input it into the Heaven Hunting Ranking. Just like the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao: before entering, one's name was entered, and subsequent records would naturally update, tracking whichever floor one cleared. ... Su Yu paid none of this any mind and remained completely unaware. Having discarded the ranking, he naturally knew nothing of these developments. Caution never hurt; who knew what tricks that ranking might harbor? ... At the same time. In the Vanguard Army. General Cao also held a copy of the ranking in his hands. He glanced at it, his eyes turning peculiar. "Cui Lang?" How long had that fellow been gone? Had it even been a single day? He had already killed a seventh-stage Lingyun? Since when were Great Ming Prefecture's armamentsmiths so adept at combat? "Cui Lang, third on the Yellow Ranking... If not for his age being a bit higher, he would have made the Mystic or Earth Ranking!" General Cao was taken aback, yet somewhat helpless. For an armamentsmith from Great Ming Prefecture to be so conspicuous upon entering—he had better beware of being surrounded and killed. Who goes all out killing someone the moment they arrive? Who knew if he was currently gravely wounded?