Chapter 69 – Entering the Hidden Dragon Rankings

Although all had passed the fourth level, Mu Lin received an “Excellent” rating—the only one.

Consequently, if rankings were to be determined now, within Anping Dao Palace, Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo’s team would have surged from behind to seize the top position.

Such an outcome was difficult for many to accept.

The most severely impacted and embarrassed, however, was Yan Yunyu’s team.

Zhou Liang, who had snorted in displeasure earlier, now resembled a duck with its neck wrung, unable to utter a single word.

As for Yan Yunyu, her composure was utterly shattered.

To vie for first place, she had schemed extensively.

She had courted the prodigy Zhou Liang, spent heavily to attract talent, and deliberately used Mu Lin—whom she considered deadweight—to hinder her prodigy cousin, Chu Lingluo.

It could be said that in her quest for the top spot, she had plotted in every conceivable way.

Yet in the end, fate played a cruel joke on her.

The person she deemed a burden had actually helped Chu Lingluo secure first place.

“How is this possible…”

Just as Yan Yunyu struggled to accept reality, something even more dizzying occurred.

Achieving an “Excellent” rating upon clearing the level seemed to trigger some mechanism, causing Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo’s names to glow with a cyan radiance.

Then, their brightly shining names abruptly ascended to a list on the Tower of Illusory Heavens—a list named the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

“?!”

“The Hidden Dragon Rankings?”

“How is that possible?”

Mu Lin’s appearance on the list elicited waves of exclamations from those around.

This time, it wasn’t just the students; even the teachers who had been calmly seated, such as Ma Daoren, could no longer remain composed.

“He… he actually made the list.”

“Why? He has a Third-Class Spirit Root. How could he possibly enter the Hidden Dragon Rankings?”

The flurry of discussion made the scene as lively as a marketplace.

Their astonishment was understandable, for the Hidden Dragon Rankings were no ordinary list.

As was widely known, the Tower of Illusory Heavens was a Dao Treasure forged jointly by Dao Lords and Celestial Masters, possessing boundless power.

At the same time, all ordinary Dao Palaces’ Towers of Illusory Heavens were Clones of this Dao Treasure.

Due to a mysterious connection, information could be exchanged between the Clone Towers and the main tower.

Through the main tower’s coordination, the high-ranking figures in the Imperial Capital could at any time check the performance of Dao Palace Disciples training within the Towers of Illusory Heavens and rank them accordingly.

Thus, the Hidden Dragon Rankings were not a local list but a ranking of the prodigies from dozens of provinces across the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty for this generation.

Entering the Hidden Dragon Rankings indicated that Mu Lin’s talent was notable even within the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty.

Although, it must be said, Mu Lin’s current ranking was still quite low.

“Only 93rd, that’s a bit low… Wait, not just 93rd.”

Upon closer inspection, Mu Lin realized with some chagrin that the Tower of Illusory Heavens’ rankings were not based on individuals but on teams.

Many of the teams ranked ahead had a full complement of five members.

Consequently, Mu Lin’s actual individual ranking was beyond three or four hundred.

“So low. And are there really that many prodigies in the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty?”

Given the large number of participants, Mu Lin felt somewhat dissatisfied with his ranking.

Others, however, did not share his view.

This was a national ranking.

Making the list, even with a low rank, was sufficient proof of Mu Lin’s talent.

Moreover, it would bring him countless benefits.

Power, authority, wealth, beauty… these things were subtly interconnected.

In his previous life, in Western capitalist societies, major capitalists would spend vast sums of money each year, under the guise of political donations, to support various politicians. In return, those politicians would reciprocate by granting capitalists numerous conveniences.

In this world, although Mu Lin was not a scholar, as someone who wielded power, he could also serve as an official—even though Mu Lin often referred to himself and his fellow Dao Palace students as “cannon fodder,” destined to join the brutal battlefield upon graduation.

However, because Qi Refiners were extremely scarce, irreplaceable in importance, and possessed formidable power, those who joined the Demon Subduing Division did not start as low-ranking soldiers. Instead, they held official positions, and the authority of a Demon-Subduing Adept was not insignificant.

This alone was enough to attract many merchants to seek their patronage.

Moreover, Mu Lin and his peers could determine the life and death of many merchants.

Whenever evil spirits caused chaos in a region, it was the Demon-Subduing Adepts who resolved the issue.

By simply delaying slightly or arriving a bit later, they could ensure the “reasonable” demise of certain merchants.

Conversely, if merchants befriended Qi Refiners, they would receive immediate rescue in times of danger.

Given that their very lives were at stake, many merchants would offer money, beautiful women, and spare no effort to curry favor with Qi Refiners—particularly the powerful ones.

Only powerful Qi Refiners were qualified to protect them. Weak ones could barely protect themselves, let alone shield merchants.

Unfortunately, ordinary merchants had no access to powerful Qi Refiners. As a result, some small and medium-sized merchants set their sights on the disciples within the Dao Palace.

They would invest early in these disciples while they were still weak, hoping to benefit once the disciples grew stronger.

However, such investments were not made indiscriminately. These merchants were not foolish; they knew full well that some Qi Refiners had low talent and weak strength, and investing in them would yield little return.

There was even the risk of losses—if the Qi Refiner they invested in was too weak and was killed by demonic monsters or evil spirits, their investment would come to nothing.

To avoid losses, merchants preferred to invest in disciples with high talent, and those who displayed exceptional traits were also highly favored.

Undoubtedly, those who made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings were considered Prodigies.

Thus, many disciples in the Dao Palace could foresee that, in the days to come, countless merchants and influential figures would flock to Mu Lin, waving gold, silver, and jewels, bringing spirit stones and beautiful women to win his favor.

Even some aristocratic families would be willing to marry their daughters to Mu Lin—nobles possessed fiefdoms and numerous enterprises, but in this perilous era, these assets also required strong martial power to maintain.

Using the marriage of a family daughter to win over a Prodigy was undoubtedly a worthwhile transaction.

It could be said that after entering the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Mu Lin had leaped over the dragon gate, and his circumstances were now entirely different from before.

This was also the origin of the term “Hidden Dragon” in the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

Thinking of the many benefits that were expected to come, Mu Lin’s classmates were green with envy.

…

Unaware of the envy of others, Mu Lin was currently marveling at the abundance of Prodigies in the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty.

As for Chu Lingluo beside him, compared to the Hidden Dragon Rankings, she was more concerned about Mu Lin’s condition.

“Brother Mu, are you alright? Should we continue to challenge the trials?”

Hearing this, Mu Lin hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

“Forget it, the Tower of Illusory Heavens gets harder with each level. The fourth floor is already our limit. As for the fifth floor, let’s wait until we’re stronger before attempting it.”

“Let’s go, we’ll continue cultivating.”

With Chu Lingluo in tow, Mu Lin left the area.

However, though he departed, the crowd’s gazes lingered on the two of them for a long time, unable to look away.

Among these gazes were those of the Second-Class Spirit Root holders, Yan Yunyu’s, and… Ji Xue’s.

Even someone as proud and aloof as her could not remain indifferent in the face of Mu Lin and his companion, who had surpassed her.

Meanwhile, what Mu Lin did not know was that the impact of securing first place this time would prove far more profound than he could have imagined.

(End of Chapter)