“This person, simply…” Hai Dayu kept shaking his head as he looked at the other two lists, feeling utterly at a loss for words.
The other two lists: the first was the individual combat power ranking.
Ye Zhongming was unsurprisingly ranked first.
Second place went to the leader of God Hall, the director who possessed the Demon Vine.
Third place was the leader of the Glory Army, Mu Hanyi.
Fourth place: Li Daqian from Thousand Beasts Villa.
Fifth place: Ji Ruiguang from the Resistance Zone.
Sixth place: Director Tong from Five Ring Money.
Seventh place: Wang Hanran from the Cannibal Chain.
Ninth place: Xia Bai from Cloud Peak.
Tenth place: Red Hair from Cloud Peak.
This list had Cloud Peak occupying three spots, and Five Ring Money counted Red Hair as an evolved.
There was no helping it—Red Hair now was indeed no different from an evolved, and no one could tell she was a puppet. Even her creator, Ye Zhongming, couldn’t determine what Red Hair should be classified as after her transformation.
Perhaps calling her an evolved was more appropriate.
The individual combat power ranking listed the top 500, with dozens from Cloud Peak making the list. Elder Long from Black Dragon City was ranked in the latter half, barely noticeable.
As for the most attention-grabbing National Comprehensive Strength Ranking, Cloud Peak was the undisputed first place. After seeing the other lists, it would be inexcusable not to rank Cloud Peak at the top.
Second and third places went to the Resistance Zone and the Glory Army.
Fourth place: Thousand Beast Villa. Fifth place: Five Rings Money. Sixth place: Cannibal Chain. Seventh place: God Hall. Eighth place: Soul Merchant. Ninth place: Black Star. Tenth place: Blood Tumi.
Compared to the previous list, the biggest change was the disappearance of Pin Palace. After Mr. Wen took Thousand Years abroad, Five Ring Money simply excluded them.
Due to the battle with Ye Zhongming, God Hall’s ranking dropped significantly to seventh place. Black Star remained in the top ten, even advancing one spot due to Pin Palace’s disappearance. Blood Tumi, a rising force, also broke into the top ten for the same reason.
Similarly, forces with good relations with Cloud Peak—such as the Freedom Army, Deacon Water’s organization, and those that had become Cloud Peak’s subsidiaries like Star Beauty Corporation—saw their strength increase dramatically, breaking into the national top 100. Within the top 100, over ten forces were connected to Cloud Peak.
It could be said that the Cloud Peak faction had become one of the most essential forces in the country.
One could imagine that once this ranking became public, many more forces would flock to the dominant Cloud Peak. By then, the Cloud Peak faction’s size would be unimaginable.
“We’re all humans, so how can the gap be this big?” Some leader blurted out this rustic “famous quote,” instantly lightening the tense atmosphere in the room.
Everyone laughed, and many snapped out of their daze, coming to terms with reality.
Before, since Black Dragon City had members and forces on the rankings, it felt like the lists were relevant to them. But now, with few Black Dragon City members remaining, these rankings were just after-dinner chatter in the remote Northern wastelands. If you cared, they were a belief. If not, they were nothing.
What mattered now was the present.
When Ye Zhongming saw the rankings, he felt somewhat uneasy. He understood the principle that “the outstanding are often envied.” With Cloud Peak at the peak of its prominence in the country, every move was watched by countless eyes, and any weaknesses would gradually be exposed.
If Cloud Peak noticed, they would fix them. But what about the flaws they missed? No one was perfect, and neither was any large force. Ye Zhongming himself couldn’t guarantee that Cloud Peak was truly impregnable without a single weakness.
Under these circumstances, all he and Cloud Peak could do was tread even more carefully and stay fully alert.
However, one thing did bring him some relief: through Deacon Water, Five Rings Money—which possessed the machine capable of detecting equipment and weapons across the country—had not exposed the Gate of Sacrifice as belonging to Cloud Peak, nor had they revealed the specifics of the purple-grade equipment. This spared Ye Zhongming considerable face.
Otherwise, he would have been completely transparent, and any future battles would have become far more difficult.
Seeing that the people in the room had moved on from the topic, Ye Zhongming was glad. He had no interest in discussing himself with others.
Ye Zhongming was sharp—one look at their expressions told him exactly what they were thinking. So, he began taking items out of his spatial equipment.
The moment he pulled out the first item, Young Master Qing’s jaw dropped. It was a gold-grade weapon. Then came the second, the third… all items these leaders had previously requested.
Ye Zhongming calmly fulfilled every request.
At this point, the eight-star leaders realized just how extravagant this man was.
Who was he? A director of Five Ring Money? A regional manager of Cannibal Chain? Or the heir of one of the top forces in the country?
After briefly stating his requirements, these people paid up.
Ye Zhongming didn’t charge exorbitant prices—slightly below market rate. These people weren’t fools; even if they didn’t have enough money, they’d borrow to make the purchase.
“Mr. Ye, you’re the real deal!” Hai Dayu gave a thumbs-up. Glancing at his son’s gold-grade weapon, he couldn’t resist asking, “The few of us here have more money than these folks. What do you say…?”
The others stared eagerly.
Ye Zhongming smiled. He wasn’t afraid of them wanting—he was afraid of them not wanting.
“I do have some items that might be useful to you all, but…”
Hearing Ye Zhongming drag out his words, even Little Yan Shuangfei, who had been lost in thoughts of joining Cloud Peak, blinked and said, “We’ll definitely offer a price that satisfies Mr. Ye.”
Ye Zhongming’s gaze swept across the faces of the leaders in the room. Each one nodded in agreement with Yan Shuangfei’s statement.
“Let’s take a look at the items first.”
As a top-tier craftsman with access to countless rare materials, it was effortless for him to have a few items that would interest an eight-star evolved.
The moment these pieces were brought out, the leaders in the room lost their composure, drooling as they examined them.
The isolation of the northern lands meant they had far fewer opportunities to acquire high-quality items compared to evolved elsewhere in the country.
“As for the price, I can offer a discount. But I need some information. If anyone can tell me what I want to know… half price.”
This statement stunned the leaders. What kind of information could be worth half the price of these items? These were things useful to eight-star evolved!
Ye Zhongming waved his hand, and Xiao Peng immediately handed a piece of paper to the leaders.
The people in the room passed it around, looking bewildered.
Was this man planning to wage a war?