The battles within the secret realm remained unknown to outsiders. Although the news would inevitably leak eventually, for now, allies like Deacon Water, Commander Mu, and Li Daqian strictly ordered their subordinates to maintain secrecy.
However, their arrival in Ying City had been witnessed by too many people. Observant individuals would inevitably deduce that something significant had happened. Moreover, Cloud Peak possessed a secret realm, which was already common knowledge. Since the three forces had gone up the mountain without accomplishing anything visible before leaving, there was only one explanation—this operation had taken place within the secret realm.
Cloud Peak had a history of initiating large-scale battles. Among the many speculations, this was undoubtedly one of the possibilities.
Gradually, some vague information began to spread. Many factions had pieced together clues and deduced that Cloud Peak had once again completed a large-scale hunting operation.
The only uncertainty was the scale.
While Cloud Peak quietly carried out batch evolutions while Ye Zhongming remained immersed in crafting equipment, and the two major laboratories worked silently to produce results—
An event suddenly occurred that thrust Cloud Peak into the spotlight.
The new national rankings were released. Though only one list was published—the National Comprehensive Power Rankings—Cloud Peak had astonishingly claimed the top spot!
It had to be noted that since the inception of the national rank. At the same time, while other lists had seen significant fluctuations, the number one position in the National Comprehensive Power Rankings had never changed!
They had always been first!
The Glory Army was the only faction qualified to challenge them, yet they had been firmly suppressed beneath them.
As for the others—the Soul Merchants, Five Ring Money, Cannibal Chain, Pin Palace, Cloud Peak, and the like—none had ever stood a chance.
Yes, the Resistance was divided into four regions, now largely operating independently. Zones C and T maintained the Resistance’s original structure, while Zhang Hetai of Zone G had established his own system. Zone S—where Mu Xinfei and her father were based—had become enemies with Zone G. Moreover, since Zones C and T had ignored their pleas for help when Zone G encroached on their territory (even taking advantage of the situation themselves), their relationship had deteriorated to estrangement.
But in the rankings, they were still counted as a single entity, making their collective strength overwhelming.
For the first time, the Resistance Zone had lost its position as the nation’s number one faction.
The one above them? Cloud Peak.
In the previous rankings, Cloud Peak had only been fifth. How had they suddenly leaped to first place?
Given Five Ring Money’s increasing authority in these rankings, while ordinary evolved might question it, the factions on the list believed it. If Five Ring Money ranked them this way, there must be a reason.
But what was the reason? Had Ye Zhongming evolved to nine stars?
Impossible! Everyone knew how powerful level-nine beings were. Aside from the Thousand Beast Villa’s single kill, no other faction had been confirmed to have achieved such a feat. And killing one level-nine lifeform meant little—they’d need to kill at least ten, plus have incredible luck, to obtain a nine-star potion.
If not nine-star evolution, then had they acquired a level-nine battle beast?
This was more plausible. But who? The fire dragon? Or Yellow Ball?
Many naturally thought of Cloud Peak’s recent mysterious operation. Gradually, a consensus formed—Cloud Peak must have achieved something monumental in the secret realm, reaping unimaginable rewards.
The National Power Rankings now stood as follows:
Cloud Peak
Resistance Zone
Glory Army
Thousand Beast Villa
Pin Palace
God Hall
Soul Merchant
Cannibal Chain
Five Ring Money
Black Star
The top nine were all regulars on the list, having remained since the first edition. Black Star was a newcomer, rising after the fall of No Man’s Land.
The sudden shift was shocking because this ranking had historically seen the least changes.
No matter how tightly information was controlled, news of Cloud Peak’s secret realm battle leaked after the second ranking was released.
The second ranking published was the Country Mutated Lifeform Rankings. The creature in first place… was no longer the Armor King. It had disappeared entirely from the list.
Rumors spread that Ye Zhongming had taken the Armor King into the secret realm and killed it, along with another native level-nine lifeform, securing immense benefits—hence Cloud Peak’s rise to the top.
This naturally sparked a new wave of speculation.
Only then did Five Ring Money release their usual commentary on the rankings. Regarding Cloud Peak, they summarized:
*”The secret realm battle allowed Cloud Peak, in alliance with three major factions, to reap unimaginable profits. After this battle, Ye Zhongming himself and other Cloud Peak members will leap forward in their evolutionary paths.
Additionally, congratulations to the female guards for becoming an all-seven-star combat unit! However, we have decided not to include individual rankings for female guard members in the solo power list.”*
The explanation was brief, but it answered many questions. Now, everyone knew—Cloud Peak and the three factions had indeed entered the secret realm. They had slain level-nine lifeforms—two of them indeed!
This news was explosive. The revelation that the female guards were now an all-seve-star unit was even more shocking. At the very least, it confirmed that Ye Zhongming had obtained a massive quantity of seven-star evolution potions.
In an era where the average evolved was only at four stars, the emergence of an entire brigade of seven-star evolved was nothing short of earth-shattering.
Cloud Peak, of course, also received these two rankings. In fact, before their release, Five Ring Money had even reached out through Deacon Water to explain that due to unavoidable leaks, they had chosen to publish first to maintain credibility—hoping Ye Zhongming would understand.
Deacon Water privately explained her situation as well. Her establishment of an independent faction had been exposed due to this operation, reducing her influence within Five Ring Money. Without her special relationship with Director Tong, she might have already been pushed out of the inner circle.
Ye Zhongming wasn’t overly concerned. Cloud Peak had long passed the stage where fame made them a target. Being ranked first was fine. Let the world know their strength—it didn’t matter.