“Tenth place—Man-Bear King.”
Another Northern Wastelands native. Solitary and formidable, its rages were legendary. But it had one quirk: a sweet tooth.
Black Dragon City stockpiled sugars and syrups solely for this beast. Every two months, it would visit, and the evolved would offer barrels of sweets. Once satiated, it left peacefully.
Likely, Black Dragon City’s residents had seen nine-star lifeforms more than anyone else in the region.
The Mutated Lifeforms rankings had shifted dramatically. The top ten were now all nine-star, with some rising, others falling, and a few vanishing—whether displaced or dead.
Like the Talking Lady.
Ye Zhongming’s mood darkened. The Talking Lady’s absence from the list—where was she now?
He was eager to rescue her, but the apocalyptic world was perilous. He couldn’t guarantee absolute safety. A nine-star encounter could end everything, and venturing into unfamiliar foreign lands multiplied the risks.
He would save the Talking Lady—but not recklessly. Hence, this stop in Black Dragon City—to prepare.
Ye Zhongming noticed the group had gone quiet after discussing the Mutated Lifeforms list. Only Yan Shuangfei still grinned at the sheet.
Hai Dayu offered a grimace worse than a frown.
“Mr. Ye, it’s not that we don’t want to—it’s just… there’s nothing to say. The other lists can be summed up in four words.”
Curious, Ye Zhongming asked, “Which four?”
“Cloud Peak. Ye Zhongming.”
Old Long of Holy Snow Mountain—one of Black Dragon City’s few ranked figures—answered.
Xiao Peng, Xia Bai, and Red Hair exchanged glances, then borrowed a ranking sheet from Black Brother for Ye Zhongming.
“Look at the battle beast and Equipment rankings. Is this a national list? Or Cloud Peak’s private playground?”
White Skin gnawed on a mutant tendon, took a swig of liquor, and sighed.
Ye Zhongming scanned the lists. Indeed, Cloud Peak dominated.
Thousand Beast Manor’s Chisel Tooth still held the top spot on the national battle beast rankings. The second place remained the God Hall Director’s Demon Vine.
However, starting from third place, Cloud Peak began to reveal its dominance.
Yangos ranked third! Yellow Ball ranked fourth! Both have surpassed Li Daqian’s Giant Bear! Even the Five Ring Money organization recognized the Undead Fish Dragon as Cloud Peak’s battle beast, placing it fifth!
The once third-ranked Giant Bear was now forced down to sixth!
Seventh place was still Cloud Peak’s—the giant earthworm, Jiubao! Formerly belonging to Jiulong, it now belongs to Xia Bai.
Eighth place was the Resistance Zone’s Zhang Hetai’s mutated tiger, Blue Eyes. Ninth was the Cannibal Chain’s boss’s battle beast, Yang Feng. Tenth place again went to Cloud Peak, though even Ye Zhongming was surprised by this entry—it’s actually the mutated zombie, Brain Child!
After some thought, Ye Zhongming agreed that Brain Child did meet the criteria for a battle beast—an extremely intelligent one with independent thinking at that.
Cloud Peak had five entries on the country battle beast rankings, dominating half the list.
If we only look at the top ten, it’s impressive but not jaw-dropping. However, this year’s rankings extended to the top thirty.
Looking at spots 11 to 30 was where the real shock sets in. The Three-nose Elephant, Ice Bird, Rat King, and others followed closely outside the top ten, while Cloud Peak’s long-cultivated battle beasts now dominate the list—these belong to various core members and the Battle Beast Camp.
From 11th to 30th place, Cloud Peak occupied twelve spots, leaving only eight for other factions. Combined with the five in the top ten, Cloud Peak helds seventeen of the thirty strongest war beasts—more than half!
If the war beast rankings were already staggering, the national equipment rankings were outright a solo show by Cloud Peak and Ye Zhongming.
1st Place: “Gate of Sacrifice” (seven colored-grade equipment). Owning faction: Unknown.
2nd Place: “Wind and Thunder” (Saint Light Hall Artifact). Ye Zhongming, Cloud Peak.
3rd Place: “Undead Sand Moon Blade” (Purple). Ye Zhongming, Cloud Peak.
4th Place: “Harvester Mimicry Shooter” (Purple). Ye Zhongming, Cloud Peak.
5th Place: “Misty Fear Gauntlets” (Purple). Ye Zhongming, Cloud Peak.
The top five were all Ye Zhongming’s—except for first place, though insiders knew even that belonged to him. It was the only seven-colored-grade equipment in the nation.
This is like seeing a single player dominate an in-game equipment leaderboard. The reaction wasn’t envy—it’s despair.
In a game, you could quit and let the top player enjoy their solo show. But in the apocalypse, you can’t quit.
One can only imagine the despair felt by the big shots of Black Dragon City. They know they’ll never catch up, no matter how hard they try.
But the terror didn’t stop there. While other factions appear further down the list, Cloud Peak still held the majority.
6th Place: “Holy Army Coat” (Gold set). Ji Ruiguang, Resistance Zone.
7th Place: “Greed Bracelet” (Purple). Ye Zhongming, Cloud Peak.
8th Place: “Lunar Armor” (Gold set). Liang Chuyin, Cloud Peak.
9th Place: “Legacy Shield” (Purple set). Sheng Yuan, Cloud Peak.
10th Place: “Howling Sky War Banner” (Purple). Glory Army.
To outsiders, Cloud Peak held seven of the top ten spots—absolute dominance. But Five Ring Money knew it was actually eight!
The national equipment rankings didn’t include alien tech, but Cloud Peak was terrifying even limited to wheel-forged gear.
The rankings extended to the top 500, and skimming through revealed page after page of Cloud Peak entries: Merit Badge, Companion set, Lucy’s Tear, Goddess’s Gaze, Three Sharp Spear, and more, all near the top.
And that wasn’t all—even equipment from others, like the Amplification Jade Pendant, Relic Mage Robe, and Wave Resonance Mace (all Purple-grade), while not owned by Cloud Peak, were clearly labeled as “crafted by Ye Zhongming.”
Before even seeing the country power rankings or individual combat rankings, Ye Zhongming had already made the entire nation bow before these two words: Cloud Peak.