Chapter 143 – The Panicked Upper Echelon of Ghost Mountain City

“Old Ghost Xu, it’s not your place to speak here,” Shangguan Wushang snorted coldly, his icy gaze fixed on an elder.

The Elder surnamed Xu shook his head with a faint smile, unconcerned. “What’s there that can’t be said? That girl Shangguan Ying is quite famous. Being an illegitimate daughter, she wasn’t hidden away and cultivated by your Shangguan Family. Instead, she managed to Promote herself all the way to this point—truly remarkable!”

Another Upper Echelon member also chuckled. “Indeed, who would have thought that an overlooked descendant would ultimately reach such heights! Shangguan, this is a blessing for your Shangguan Family. Gaining a 4th Revolution Super-Limit Tier powerhouse without much effort—not a bad deal at all. My Qian Family hasn’t been so fortunate.”

Shangguan Wushang’s expression darkened.

Shangguan Ying was the illegitimate daughter born to his worthless son outside the family.

Since her birth, she had remained with the external branch.

This in itself was nothing unusual, but this granddaughter possessed extraordinary talent, advancing rapidly through her own efforts.

In the end, she unexpectedly became the standout among the younger generation of the Shangguan Family, which undoubtedly made them a laughingstock. None of the descendants they had invested Resources in cultivating amounted to anything, while an overlooked child from the external branch rose to prominence instead.

She had Promoted all the way to the 4th Revolution Super-Limit Tier!

The 4th Revolution Super-Limit Tier is essentially the Invincible Realm of the 3rd Revolution.

However, upon reaching the 4th Revolution, the realm divisions become more rigorous and standardized, unlike the crude classifications of the 3rd Revolution.

The name has been replaced!

“So, that means she’s a ‘Beginner Tier Super-Limit’?” Lan Tingxu asked with a smile.

Barely reaching the Super-Limit Tier—isn’t that just Beginner Tier Super-Limit?

Shangguan Wushang nodded.

“What about the other one?” Lan Tingxu continued.

Shangguan Wushang narrowed his eyes. “The other descendant of my clan is named ‘Shangguan Jianyun.’ He has reached the ‘High-Tier Super-Limit’! Just one step away from the Giant Level!”

“Pfft! So he still hasn’t Broken Through? What do you mean by ‘just one step away’?” The Elder surnamed Xu couldn’t help but laugh.

This time, Shangguan Wushang only snorted coldly, unable to refute.

Although High-Tier Super-Limit is just one step away from the Giant Level, he indeed hasn’t Broken Through that critical threshold!

The gap to the Giant Level is not small.

Hearing this, Lan Tingxu felt somewhat disappointed and asked with concern, “Could it be that he hasn’t gathered a complete set of 4th Revolution Mythic-Grade Set equipment?”

Shangguan Wushang shook his head, replying proudly, “Of course not! With my clan’s foundation, we can still assemble a full set!”

As he spoke, Shangguan Wushang couldn’t help but feel helpless.

Although Shangguan Jianyun was equipped with a complete set of 4th Revolution Mythic-Grade Set equipment, he still hadn’t touched that critical threshold of the ‘Giant Level’!

Always falling just short!

That slight gap was like an insurmountable chasm, impossible to cross.

There was no other way. Breaking into the Giant Level Domain in the 4th Revolution is far more difficult than in the 3rd Revolution.

Aside from a complete set of 4th Revolution Mythic-Grade Set equipment, one also requires exceptional innate talent to truly touch the Domain of the Giant Level.

Compared to the 3rd Revolution, the 4th Revolution Giant Tier undoubtedly holds much greater weight!

“Is it really that difficult?” Lan Tingxu felt somewhat helpless but understood—reaching the 4th Revolution Giant Tier is no easy feat!

“Elder Xu, what about your Xu Family? Do you have any Giant Tier Prodigies?” Lan Tingxu then turned to the Elder surnamed Xu, ‘Xu Chang.’

The smile vanished from Xu Chang’s face as he also shook his head. “No, we also only have two Super-Limit Tier members! One is Intermediate Tier Super-Limit, and the other is High-Tier Super-Limit!

Though, compared to the Shangguan Family, we are slightly stronger!”

At this point, Xu Chang began to feel smug again.

Although the Xu Family hadn’t produced a Giant Level powerhouse, being stronger than the Shangguan Family was enough!

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Wushang’s face indeed darkened—once again, Old Ghost Xu had gained a slight upper hand.

Next.

Lan Tingxu looked toward the other upper echelon dignitaries, questioning them one by one, his expression filled with hope, wanting to hear some good news!

But unfortunately, after a period of inquiry, his expression grew increasingly grim!

Among all the great aristocratic families in Ghost Mountain City this time, not a single prodigy had emerged who could break through the critical threshold and enter the ‘Giant Level’ domain!

The highest-level prodigies from each family were only ‘High-Tier Super-Limit!’

Just like Shangguan Jianyun, they were all just a hair’s breadth away from touching the Giant Level domain.

…

In the conference room, everyone exchanged glances.

At first, they were anxious because their own families hadn’t produced a Giant Level prodigy, but upon hearing that no other family had one either, their hearts settled again, feeling much more balanced!

But the problem that followed was…

Ghost Mountain City’s performance this time was likely to be worrying!

Lan Tingxu felt a headache coming on and tapped the table in front of him, saying, “Everyone, without a Giant Level prodigy, Ghost Mountain City is likely to face major trouble in the ‘Free-for-All’ round of the second stage of the Grand Examination!”

Shangguan Wushang, Xu Chang, and the others fell silent.

Lan Tingxu was right—Ghost Mountain City was likely to face major trouble!

The Federation Grand Examination’s format consisted of several rounds.

But the second round was particularly crucial!

This second round was a ‘Free-for-All,’ the most brutal round, where a large number of examinees were eliminated.

Since it was a free-for-all, the rule was that there were no rules!

The only criterion for evaluation was ultimately surviving and not being eliminated.

Under such circumstances, in every Federation Grand Examination, when it reached the second round, people from the same city would band together to deal with the chaos of the second round.

This could greatly increase the survival rate.

But in doing so, it turned into a faction war.

People from one city clashed and fought with people from another city!

This required a leader-level figure to lead!

This leader-level figure was naturally the strongest, preferably a Giant Level prodigy, to lead their city’s people to victory in battles against other cities.

But now Ghost Mountain City found itself in an extremely awkward position—the entire city didn’t have a single Giant Level prodigy!

The highest was only ‘High-Tier Super-Limit!’

Although there were quite a few, they couldn’t replace the role of a Giant Level prodigy.

“Everyone, what should we do?”

Lan Tingxu couldn’t sit still anymore.

Without a Giant Level prodigy leading them, the result of failure would be the complete annihilation of everyone from the entire city!

Not a single one would remain!

If Ghost Mountain City were eliminated in the second round, forget about political achievements—it would likely become a laughingstock among other sister cities.

How could Lan Tingxu bear that?

Xu Chang, calm and composed, said, “City Lord, don’t worry. Giant Level prodigies aren’t something that appear in every Grand Examination. If we don’t have one, others probably don’t have many either!”

Lan Tingxu tossed out a piece of intelligence, saying, “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Old Xu. Not to mention others, just our sister cities alone have at least one Giant Level prodigy each!”

“What?” Xu Chang was startled. Even he hadn’t received such intelligence. “City Lord, when did you obtain this intelligence?”

Lan Tingxu shot him an annoyed glance. “Never mind that. I have my own methods. Right now, we should think about what to do!”

Xu Chang couldn’t help but look at him with newfound respect. This City Lord seemed not as simple as he had imagined.

“Everyone! Without a Giant Level, Ghost Mountain City will likely be completely wiped out in the second round. By then, none of the young talents from your clans will make it to the third round!”

Lan Tingxu grew anxious.

Shangguan Wushang, Xu Chang, and the others also couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic.