Chapter 59 – The Gap Between the New and the Old
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As Wang Yanfeng looked around the altar, his complexion sank. He was unexpectedly the first one to be eliminated! Beside him, all other 11 people were still on the altar!
“I… how… I was the worst?”
“Don’t be discouraged.” An indifferently cold voice sounded from nearby Wang Yanfeng’s ear. Wang Yanfeng turned around and looked; the one speaking was the Earth Hall instructor, Hong Xi.
“The 11 on the altar are some of the Earth Hall’s most outstanding disciples. Your ranking is not too bad.” Hong Xi said as he referred to the Ranking Stone to his side. Wang Yanfeng’s name was now impressively arranged at rank 168. This result was far off from the top-tier talents of rank 150 and above, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Wang Yanfeng was only 15 years old. If he studied for six years in the Seven Profound Martial House, it was already a settled matter that he would enter the Heavenly Abode. Even making the top ten on the Ranking stone was not impossible in five or six years.
Although Hong Xi said his ranking wasn’t terrible, Wang Yanfeng was discontent and dissatisfied with this result. Liu Mingxiang was at rank 125. The disparity was just too big.
He was unable to restrain himself from glancing at Lin Ming. He saw that he seemed indifferent, and was otherwise very calm.
“This fellow is stronger than me, but it’s not a ridiculous strength. If I was rank 168, then he could probably rank at 150. Zhang Cang who he has a match with is rank 109, and might even be higher this time, isn’t he worried?”
At this time, several more people were shot out by the Ten Thousand Killing Array; their rankings varied from 120 to 150.
Then after a while, a few more people were ejected, Liu Mingxiang impressively among them. His final result was a remarkable rank 122, but he was not able to jump up by 5 ranks.
Liu Mingxiang reached into his clothes and brought out a pill which he took. He recovered a bit, and smiled as he looked to Wang Yanfeng. This result was more or less what he expected.
Wang Yanfeng’s face was ugly. He finally understood the gap between a new disciple and an old disciple! The Seven Profound Martial House was a gathering place for talents and geniuses. These disciples of the Earth Hall were the geniuses among geniuses. In addition to the resources provided by the Seven Profound Martial House and the lectures and tutoring by famous instructors, how could they possibly not progress amazingly quickly?
Liu Mingxiang had already been enrolled here for two years; this gap was not the least bit unusual!
Wang Yanfeng clenched his first. He knew perfectly well that in the match between him and Liu Mingxiang, he would undoubtedly be the loser. But he would still fight. Everything he lost, he would get back in the future!
“Rank 168? Heh heh, how tender.” Wang Mang taunted with a smile as he saw Wang Yanfeng’s ranking.
“This position is about 100 or 200 points. All I have to do is kill four guys at the peak of the Third Stage of Body Transformation and I’ll reach it. This father once killed six martial artists on the frontier who had the same cultivation. This time I will absolutely advance to rank 150!” Le Tie rubbed the tip of his nose with his thumb, full of fighting spirit. He was a martial artist whose cultivation was at the peak of the Third Stage of Body Cultivation. Because of his many years as a professional mercenary who constantly flirted with death, his combat prowess was far above a similar martial artist with the same cultivation.
“Us brothers must get at least rank 150 before showing our faces to Lin Ming and Wang Yanfeng again. We will surpass them, otherwise we really are garbage.”
“The second round is starting. Step up!”
The magic array began to revolve and activate again. Wang Mang and Le Tie took a spot next to each other, and after standing there, Wang Mang turned and said, “Hey, First Place, aren’t you coming up?”
“You first.” Lin Ming replied as he glanced at Zhang Tie and Wang Mang. These two had a very heavy murderous air around them; they had obviously killed many people in the past. Generally, such a person would not be weak.
The light rays of the magic array flashed, and Wang Mang and Li Tie entered the Ten Thousand Killing Array.
These two people’s weapons were the broadsword. It was a weapon that could kill a large number of enemies in a gathered crowd and had overwhelming power. But these two people soon realized that the Ten Thousand Killing Array was much more difficult than they had first assumed. Although Li Tie had killed six martial artists who were at the peak of the Viscera Stage at the frontier, that had been done one at a time. Now he needed to simultaneously guard and fend off the attacks of ten enemies who all converged on him. Let alone killing someone at the peak of Viscera Training, even someone at early stage of Viscera Training would not be easy. As for the enemies at the Second Stage of Body Transformation, Flesh Training, he managed to fend them off and kill one, but a Viscera Training level opponent instantly replaced him. Even Fourth Stage of Body Transformation, Altering Muscle opponents began to appear. The more they killed, the more dangerous their situation became!
These two martial artists at the peak of the Third Stage could even favorably compare to a martial artist at the early Altering Muscle stage. But now they had to face them while being besieged by enemies on all sides; and after the time it took to burn a stick of incense, they had been defeated.
Final Result. Wang Mang, rank 156. Li Tie, rank 158.
They had not been able to enter the top 150 ranks!
When this pair was shot out by the Ten Thousand Killing Array, they looked at the results on the Ranking Stone and could not help but feel an agonizing sense of frustration. Their prized superior combat strength was not enough to let them reach the top 150!
Moreover, they were already 18 years old and had little room for improvement. Perhaps even when they graduated from the Seven Profound Martial House, they would not be able to reach the top 100.
Lin Ming watched as this disheartened pair departed. In his heart he already knew that to enter the top 150 in the first assessment was to be a top-tier talent. But sometimes even a top-tier talent might not always have a good result. Wang Yanfeng was considered a top-tier talent, but unfortunately it could be said that it was a pity he was too young.
He looked at Zhang Cang. Zhang smiled as he looked back.
“This Zhang Cang is a half-step into the Altering Muscle stage. But if it is just a normal peak Altering Muscle martial artist, they might not be his match. Although I have the ‘True Primal Chaos Formula’s’ Large Success stage, to beat him now is not possible.”
“That Liang Tieshan is going on stage. He is the third place among the new disciples.” Some people in the crowd recognized Liang Tieshan. This fellow’s robust and large physique left a very strong impression.
“Liang Tieshan and Lin Ming both have inborn divine strength. The third place in the entrance exam this time also obtained a Golden Snake Scarlet Pill, looking at this Liang Tieshan’s performance, we can just jump up 20 or 30 ranks to guess Lin Ming’s performance.
Liang Tieshan was often compared with Lin Ming because the two were similar in age and also had inborn divine strength.
After Liang Tieshan came on stage, he gave a gruff smile and then made long strides towards the Ten Thousand Killing Array. He had already taken the Golden Snake Scarlet Pill long ago, and now he was a half-step into the Viscera Training stage. The breakthrough to the next stage was only a matter of time. His cultivation was not too different from Wang Yanfeng’s, and his inborn divine strength definitely covered a large portion of that gap.
Although Liang Tieshan’s cultivation was the same with Wang Yanfeng, he still lacked the actual combat experience that Wang Yanfeng had. He also lacked Wang Yanfeng’s martial skill, the ‘Nine Paths of Truth’ and the movement skill, the ‘Seven Despairing Steps’. Finally, Liang Tieshan was also shot out a bit earlier than Wang Yanfeng from the Ten Thousand Killing Array. His final ranking was 176, and he had entered the top 180 which was quite rare, but could not be regarded as a top-tier talent.
“Liang Tieshan, rank 176. Wang Yanfeng, rank 168. I wonder what rank this Lin Ming will be able to achieve?”
As the audience talked about, Lin Ming leapt on stage.
“Hey! The number one new disciple has come on stage!”
“I don’t know anything about this guy, but I heard he has inborn divine strength and had eaten some rare and precious materials. He might be able to advance into the top 150.”
“Do you think it is that easy to enter the top 150 rankings? Except Ling Sen, Ta Ku, and Zhang Guanyu, there haven’t been any other 15 year olds who slaughtered their way into the top 150 rankings. He took first place in the entrance exam because he is young and had an advantage rushing up the Exquisite Pagoda. But the Ten Thousand Killing Array is impartial to age.” Said a disciple with a hint of jealousy. This disciple was already 19 years old.
“Haha, you envy others age for being young. The Exquisite Pagoda is the fairest stage; no matter your age, it only tests the degree of talent. But with this Ten Thousand Killing Array, the young martial artists truly suffer a great loss. This Lin Ming is only 15 years old, he might be able to enter the top 160 rankings. Even 170 is a top-tier talent! Achieving around 140 or 150 symbolizes a monstrous genius! Ling Sen, Ta Ku, and Zhang Guanyu had all achieved around those rankings when they had their first ranking war. That time was a true convergence of talents, how could the assessment this time even compare?
At the mention of Ling Sen, Ta Ku, and Zhang Guanyu, several present people’s expression changed. These three had a great amount of prestige and power which they had acquired over the years, even more so than some core disciples and the elusive Qin Xingxuan. They were almost selected to be core disciples themselves, but still enjoyed a massive amount of resources and did not need to participate in the Ten Thousand Killing Array ranking assessment. Even the lectures they attended, their practice, and their skill manuals were all beyond what an ordinary disciple could possess.
Because of these reasons, to an ordinary disciple, the concept of an existence of a core disciple like Qin Xingxuan was too distant and incomprehensible. She was not like a Martial House disciple at all. Therefore her accumulated prestige and fame was less than that of Ling Sen, Ta Ku, and Zhang Guanyu.