366: Chapter 366 The Heavenly Ranking, It's Been Calculated

The Heaven Ranking competition officially began early the next morning.

The Cloud Platform shimmered with a cold white luster in the morning light, and the clouds at its edges were dyed pale gold by the rising sun, resembling a slowly flowing river.

Chu Sheng stood in the waiting area, the moon token clutched in his palm, its touch still warm.

He looked up toward the arena, where the first round match list had already been posted.

His opponent was a young Cultivator from the Wanxiang Sect, at the Middle Stage of Dao Completion, named Lu Hao.

The man had a slender figure, a cold expression, and wore a dark purple robe.

When he stepped onto the arena, many people in the stands were whispering, clearly having already gained some reputation before the competition.

A Cultivator commented, "Lu Hao? Is that the Wanxiang Sect Disciple who once single-handedly repelled three Yao Beasts at the border?"

"That's not all. I heard he even defeated a Senior Brother of the Yun Shen Realm during the Sect's internal competition."

When Lu Hao landed on the arena, his gaze paused on Chu Sheng for a moment. Without any unnecessary movements, he simply raised his hand and revealed his Magical Artifact—a short blade.

The blade was pitch black, without any decoration, and its tip shimmered with a faint, cold light.

Chu Sheng looked at the short blade and quickly estimated its grade in his mind: Heaven Rank Low Grade.

Recalling Jiuer's words from last night, "Stay safe," he replied in his heart before stepping onto the arena.

Lu Hao's attack speed was slightly faster than he had anticipated, but it did not exceed his ability to respond.

He dodged the first strike by turning to the side; the wind from the palm brushed past his ear, bringing a faint chill.

Immediately after, he countered with a backhand grip, precisely pressing down on Lu Hao's wrist joint. The force was not great, but it perfectly blocked the path of his next move.

Lu Hao's movement was clearly interrupted by that grip; he tried to adjust his center of gravity, but he had already been steered off course by Chu Sheng's next move.

He stepped back three or four paces before regaining his footing. The short blade in his hand traced a short arc in the air and landed on the edge of the arena with a crisp clatter.

Lu Hao looked down at his empty palm, as if he hadn't fully processed what happened. Then, he looked up at Chu Sheng, remained silent for a moment, and then cupped his hands to admit defeat.

A brief commotion broke out in the stands. Some people whispered, others shook their heads, as if the result had come too quickly—too fast to even contemplate.

Chu Sheng did not linger on the stage; he withdrew his stance, turned around, and walked off the arena.

The second match was scheduled for that afternoon.

Chu Sheng's opponent this time was a Loose Cultivator from the Eastern Region named Helian Tie.

He was tall, more than half a head taller than Chu Sheng, wearing a vest made of Yao Beast hide over his shoulders. He gripped a wide-bladed heavy sword, its body glowing with a heavy, dark light in the sunlight.

When he stepped onto the arena, his footsteps were heavy, each one leaving a faint trace of vibration on the Cloud Platform.

Someone in the stands whispered, "Helian Tie? Is that the one who killed seven Demonic Cultivators at the Southern Region border and has had a bounty on his head for three years without being caught?"

"I heard he once single-handedly tore through a squad of Demonic Cultivators, carrying the injuries to bring their heads back to hang on the city wall."

"Why is he here participating in the Heaven Ranking?"

"Who knows... maybe he's short on money."

After Helian Tie stood still, he held his heavy sword horizontally in front of him and glanced at Chu Sheng.

As if confirming that he wasn't an opponent who required special vigilance, he said, "My attacks are heavy; watch yourself."

Chu Sheng nodded, acknowledging the warning.

Helian Tie didn't say anything more and attacked directly.

The heavy sword pressed toward Chu Sheng with a whistling sound, its force immense, as if it intended to slice a layer off the entire Cloud Platform.

Chu Sheng did not meet it head-on; he turned and stepped aside. The sword cleaved down past his side, carving a clear mark on the surface of the Cloud Platform.

Helian Tie didn't pull back; he followed through with a horizontal slash. The sword wind was fierce, yet it always missed Chu Sheng by a hair's breadth.

In the process of retreating, Chu Sheng had already roughly figured out his attacking habits.

The heavy sword had a wide range, but its speed of changing moves was limited.

Finding a gap, he pressed forward, placing a palm against Helian Tie's elbow. The force was controlled perfectly—neither sending him flying nor causing him to lose balance, just slightly deflecting the trajectory of his heavy sword.

It was too late when Helian Tie realized something was wrong. After his center of gravity shifted, his next sword strike was half a beat slow, and Chu Sheng had already exited his attack range.

Helian Tie stopped, looked down at his sword-wielding hand, then nodded, put away his heavy sword, cupped his hands to Chu Sheng, and turned to walk off the arena.

The second match ended slightly slower than the first, but it still didn't exceed three moves.

As the sky began to turn toward the west, Chu Sheng saw the name on the next round's match list—Qu Linzhou.

The moment this name appeared on the announcement board, the stands fell noticeably silent for a moment.

"Qu Linzhou? The one from the Eastern Region's Qu Family?"

"That's him. I heard he practices the Falling Flower Sword Technique; there are very few in the younger generation of the Eastern Region who can take his first three strikes."

"Why would he come to participate in the Heaven Ranking?"

"Who knows... maybe it's for that first-place prize."

Chu Sheng glanced at the name, didn't say anything more, just put away the moon token, and walked toward the arena.

Qu Linzhou was already standing on the arena.

He was still wearing that white robe, the green jade pendant hanging at his waist, his features sharply defined in the setting sun.

His aura was even more restrained than before, as if he had tucked away all excess parts into some imperceptible layer.

When Chu Sheng stepped onto the arena, Qu Linzhou nodded slightly in greeting, acknowledging him.

Then, he drew his sword.

The blade was slender and thin, carrying a lightness that made it seem less like a combat weapon and more like a performance prop.

He held the sword, his stride was not large, and his posture was not deliberately lowered, as if he were simply conducting a normal competition.

But Chu Sheng heard a wave of hushed gasps from the stands.

A moment later, Qu Linzhou struck his first sword move.

Chu Sheng dodged to the side.

The second strike followed immediately, still without any unnecessary, flashy movements.

Chu Sheng stepped back half a pace, and the sword swept past his side, bringing with it a faint whistling of wind.

For the third strike, Qu Linzhou's pace was slightly faster than before, and the sword tip bent at an extremely sharp angle halfway, like a petal blown off course by the wind.

Chu Sheng sensed the change in this strike and did not fully dodge again.

Qu Linzhou withdrew his sword, stepped back, and opened the distance again.

"You are faster than I imagined," he said.

From the main seat of the Guanxing Tower high above the stands, Su Muyu's gaze remained fixed on that grey figure.

A blank Jade Slip was spread out before her, and her fingertips brushed lightly over it.

"The four swords of zhuxian... Heavenly Demon Body... and a talent that seems capable of accelerating the refinement of Magic Treasures..."

Her fingertips paused.

"Any one of these abilities could serve as a Cultivator's trump card, yet he possesses several at once."

She looked up, her gaze falling on Chu Sheng across half the stands, as if calculating something, or perhaps just glancing at him.

"Just how many layers does he have left to reveal?"

Her fingers settled back on the edge of the Jade Slip, not continuing to write on a new page.

She simply pressed lightly at the end of the sentence she had just written.

And on the arena, Qu Linzhou had raised his sword once again.

His next strike would clearly not be used for probing like the first three.

From here on, he could no longer keep everything completely hidden.