Chapter 26: Reaching the Top! The Whole Hall Trembles

As soon as Chen An entered the hall, he noticed the surroundings were eerily quiet. The unusually tense atmosphere sent a shiver down his spine.

He approached Jiang Yan cautiously and asked what had happened.

Jiang Yan smiled and said he didn’t know either, then asked Chen An how the sale of the materials had gone.

“Everything’s sold. The items in your bag are worth at least thirty million. They’ll be auctioned this afternoon, and their value is sure to increase significantly by then.”

Chen An was pleasantly surprised. He then pulled out a jade token from his pocket and said, “This is a membership card. The staff just gave it to me. Next time you shop on the third floor, you’ll enjoy a twenty percent discount.”

Jiang Yan took the jade token and casually slipped it into his pocket before turning his attention to the staff member who was still recording data.

“When will my Talent results be ready?”

“S-soon.”

The staff member gave him a polite smile and placed the recorded booklet into a large iron box.

Soon, the large screen hanging from the ceiling in the center of the hall lit up.

The screen displayed a Leaderboard-like list, showing the Talent rankings of Martial Artists who had registered here in the past.

At the top of the list was a Martial Artist named Ye Fan.

TOP1: Ye Fan S-Rank Talent: Extreme Lightning, Thousand Forces

TOP2: Zhang Sheng S-Rank Talent: Dragon’s Breath, Ten Thousand Techniques

…

TOP30: Liang Ye S-Rank Talent: Light Shield

The list only displayed the top thirty names. Every time someone tested their Talent, this Leaderboard would be revealed. Every person on it was among the most outstanding Prodigies in Linjiang City’s history, with perhaps only one appearing every few years.

S-Rank Talents were extremely rare, but given Linjiang City’s population base, an S-Rank Prodigy would emerge every few years.

As long as they didn’t fall prematurely, without exception, they all became pillars of the Human Race and a source of pride for the people of Linjiang.

Unfortunately, no S-Rank Genius had appeared this year. The most outstanding A-Rank Talent, Ai Ning, had already had his Dao Heart shattered by Jiang Yan.

It had been three years since the last S-Rank Prodigy appeared.

Many people looked at the Leaderboard with a sense of regret.

“What a shame. Our Linjiang City still hasn’t produced an S-Rank Prodigy this year.”

“Exactly. Not just our Linjiang City, but the two neighboring cities haven’t produced an S-Rank Genius either. Honestly, our region has been really unlucky in recent years~”

“Hahaha, but there’s some hope this year. Did you see that young man? Based on his performance earlier, he should meet the standards for an S-Rank rating, right?”

“Hard to say. I’ve only been working here for a year, so I don’t know what an S-Rank Prodigy looks like.”

Soon, the two large characters “Jiang Yan” appeared on the screen, and to the right of the name was his Ranking number.

The score was still being calculated, so for a moment, Jiang Yan’s Ranking remained stagnant, with garbled data displayed.

Quickly, Jiang Yan’s Ranking began to change.

The speed was astonishing. He surged forward, overcoming obstacles one after another, and in a short time, he pushed Liang Ye, the thirtieth place, off the list.

“Holy crap, he’s on the Leaderboard!” someone exclaimed.

However, Jiang Yan’s momentum didn’t stop. He continued to push down the names above him.

TOP25

TOP15

TOP5

The two characters “Jiang Yan” effortlessly broke into the top ten!

“Quick, record this moment!”

Someone shouted this, and everyone quickly snapped to attention, pulling out their phones to turn on their cameras, ready to record this historic moment.

Even the Martial Artist undergoing the test and the Staff recording the data put down their important tasks, holding up their phones while gazing mesmerized at the central electronic screen.

“Jiang Yan”’s ascent slowed but still showed no sign of stopping!

“Can he do it?”

This thought echoed in everyone’s hearts.

There was no jealousy, no malice—simply witnessing history made them feel honored.

Years later, they would proudly say:

“See the number one on the screen? I was there!”

TOP: 4

TOP: 3

Then it stopped at TOP 2.

“Darn, still can’t do it?”

“Yeah, I heard the original first place was a stunning Genius. Now he’s a high-ranking official in the Divine Capital, almost impossible for later generations to surpass.”

Someone sighed.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Suddenly, the screen flickered a few times, and the characters “Jiang Yan” began to shift again.

TOP 1: Jiang Yan 【Unnamed SS-Rank Talent】

Boom!

The entire hall erupted in exclamations. At that moment, the thunderous cheers startled the Martial Artists outside the hall.

In an instant, everyone in the entire Martial Artist Tower was drawn to the spectacle.

Curiosity is the nature of Blue Star People. When more than five people gather in one place, don’t be surprised—soon there will be over a hundred.

“What’s happening?”

A Martial Artist who had just entered asked.

“Quick, look at the screen!”

“What’s wrong with the screen… Holy crap!”

An unfamiliar name appeared on the Leaderboard, with the words 【Unnamed SS-Rank Talent】 shining brilliantly, enhanced by a special flashing effect from the scoring System, making it a grand spectacle.

“It’s actually an SS-Rank Talent! Who is it?”

“Oh no, am I going to end up on TV? Not now, I didn’t wash my hair today!”

At the same time, this shocking data quickly reached the higher-ups of the Martial Artist Tower.

“Hmm, the Leaderboard has changed. Great! Could it be that Linjiang City has finally produced an S-Rank Genius this year?”

“Pfft!”

The man spat out his tea, his eyes widening as he stared at the 【SS】 on the data.

“SS-Rank Talent! Linjiang has produced a dragon!”

“Hurry, send someone to invite him! Never mind, I’ll go myself!”

The man crashed through the luxurious floor-to-ceiling window, plummeting from the top floor of the Martial Artist Tower and landing on the first floor in an instant.

The janitor cleaning nearby:

“Damn, who the hell is throwing things from up there!”

The man paid no attention, rushing into the first floor like lightning.

“Damn, who’s so uncivilized!”

The janitor cursed a few times, then heard the overwhelming cheers from the first floor.

He threw off his cleaning coat and shouted, “Screw this, I’m done!”

Then he ran into the tower to join the excitement.

…

Honestly, Jiang Yan never imagined things would escalate to this extent.

“Didn’t I just come to test my Talent and collect Body-Tempering Liquid? What’s happening now?”

“Jiang… Brother Jiang, you seem to have gone viral…”

Chen An huddled close to Jiang Yan, his short frame surrounded by the crowd. Wearing a black robe and never showing his face, this was the first time he had attracted so much attention, and his social anxiety instantly flared up.

The testing hall was packed with people, waves of exclamations echoing one after another. The 【SS】 on the Leaderboard was enough to drive everyone into a frenzy.

The news of an SS-Rank Genius appearing in Linjiang City spread like a storm.

Suddenly, a black figure shot over the crowd like a cannonball and landed in front of Jiang Yan.

“Who has awakened an SS-Rank Talent!”