"Senior Brother, I've avenged you!" Wang Mu stepped down from the platform and patted Su Yu's shoulder.

"Junior Brother… you really are…" Su Yu looked at him, his expression complex.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just too wasteful. So many arrows must have cost quite a few spirit stones, right?" Su Yu said.

"..."

Senior Brother, isn't your focus a bit off?

"Junior Brother, now that you've beaten that Demoness Chi Yan from the Fengyue Sect, they will definitely take notice…" Su Yu said helplessly. "Later on, they will surely send someone even more formidable…"

"I don't think so. The highest limit for this Potential Duel is the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, and that demoness is only mid-stage. I doubt the late-stage cultivators are that much stronger. They're not good at offensive tactics and specialize in Charming Technique; we just need to prevent them from casting it."

"It's not that simple. Chi Yan only cultivates Water Magic, but there are many in the Fengyue Sect who are adept at offense…"

"Hmm? Senior Brother, how come you know so much about this?"

"No… no… I just inquired about it a bit…" Su Yu said, seeming slightly flustered.

Watching Senior Brother Su Yu's somewhat panicked demeanor, it's over. Senior Brother is done for, Wang Mu thought. He doesn't even call her a demoness anymore, just by her name.

Wang Mu sighed. It seems that before long, Heavenly Sword Peak will probably just have me, a lone seedling, left.

Following this victorious battle, Wang Mu quickly and casually challenged three more matches. Most were against cultivators of the Qi Refining Realm, with one being an early-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator from another sect in the Huangtian Continent.

All were easily won.

And so the first day passed.

This feels pretty easy, Wang Mu thought. These cultivators all seem so weak. I wonder if it's because I've achieved small success with the Mountain and Sea Body Refining Technique... They couldn't even mount an attack on him. For those Qi Refining Realm cultivators, a few arrows from him were all it took; they couldn't withstand it at all...

Wang Mu had pushed the power of the Mountain-shattering Bow almost to its limit, yet he felt he still had a great deal of strength in reserve. This was the Mountain-shattering Bow that had been strengthened four or five times with Divine Ore.

It feels like they're not even as good as Eldest Senior Brother was back then, Wang Mu thought, a wave of nostalgia for his Eldest Senior Brother washing over him. Eldest Senior Brother was truly formidable.

「The next day」

The freshly updated Potential List was announced. The ethereal and elusive list was published on the Rebirth Platform in ancient script.

First: Ye Ge from the Qianzhou Tai Xuan Dao Sect, Early-stage Foundation Establishment, ten battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-nine.

Second: Yan Wuxin from Qianzhou Fentian Temple, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, ten battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-eight.

Third: Dantai Shaoyu from Qianzhou Qianyuan Sword Sect, Early-stage Foundation Establishment, nine battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-seven.

Fourth: Zhou Kaizhi from the Shangxiao Sword Sect of Huangtian Continent, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, eight battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-six.

Fifth: Evil Ghost from the Ten Thousand Ghost Sect of Tianlin Continent, Late-stage Foundation Establishment, eight battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-five.

Sixth: Qin Yuyan from the Shuiyun Sect of Huangtian Continent, Early-stage Foundation Establishment, seven battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-four.

Seventh: Jing Hai from the Dazang Buddha Sect of the Great Wilderness, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, seven battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-three.

Eighth: Ku Chan from the Shenle Temple of Sky Sea Continent, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, six battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-two.

Ninth: Hu Yu'er from Qingqiu Mountain of Ling Province, Early-stage Foundation Establishment, six battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty-one.

Tenth: Ming You from Bishui Cave Heaven of Li State, Early-stage Foundation Establishment, five battles, zero losses, Potential Value: twenty.

...

A concise list of rankings was neatly displayed.

The Potential Value used by the Creation Gate was based on the Great Taoist. The Great Taoist is forty-nine, with one eluding grasp. This meant that forty-nine was the limit of potential. It also meant the list only had a total of forty-nine spots. Those with lower Potential Values, starting from one upwards, were not on the main list but were still recorded.

Simply put, it was a potential ranking.

From the rankings, it was clear that Qianzhou, a continent teeming with talent, had produced numerous Heavenly Prides among the younger generation, occupying three of the top ten spots. Disciples from powerful sects of the other major continents also made the list.

Oh ho, Brother Qin actually came too! Wang Mu stared at the list. His rank is quite high. That's Brother Qin for you!

However, this was only the first day; there were still several more to go. Just yesterday, Wang Mu had only fought three or four duels. Although he witnessed some spells, he hadn't encountered anyone particularly strong.

Most of the people on this list are in the Foundation Establishment Realm… It seems my displayed potential isn't very high, but making it onto the list is good enough. This should grant me some reputation, right?

Wang Mu continued to scroll down. Finally, at a certain position, he saw his own name.

Nineteenth: Wang Mu of the Shangxiao Sword Sect from Huangtian Continent, Ninth Layer Qi Refining, four battles, zero losses, Potential Value: eleven.

Not bad, only nineteenth…

Wang Mu glanced at it and noticed something peculiar. How come it seems I'm the only one at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining…?

Among the top thirty, he was the only one at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, making him stand out… rather awkwardly. There were a few others at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, but they were all ranked below fortieth.

In the following days, Wang Mu challenged a few duels every day, specifically choosing those ranked below him. The ones ahead look pretty tough, better not, he thought.

This continued until the sixth day. With only one day left before the rankings were finalized, the list started to look a bit strange. There hadn't been much change in Wang Mu's own ranking; he had climbed only one or two spots, reaching seventeenth. However, the ranking in the top ten had hardly changed at all. Moreover, their Potential Values and win counts had become fixed, and it appeared that these, for almost all of them, were stuck at the numerical value of thirty-seven.

This could only mean one thing: their strengths were very similar, making it difficult to determine a winner or loser. Furthermore, as time went on, most cultivators had become mere onlookers. Most had chosen not to compete for rankings anymore, as they were now clear about their own strength.

Thus, on the entire list, Wang Mu became the only one at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. This suddenly made him exceptionally conspicuous.

As the saying goes, people pick the softest persimmons to pinch…

With the top ten fixed, their strengths closely matched. A duel between them would take a long time, and the outcome would be hard to predict. Naturally, they all wanted to avoid each other and pick some easier targets for duels. A glance at the list showed only Wang Mu, at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, standing out alone. It was impossible for him not to attract attention. So, they had no choice but to pick on him.

Thus, on the sixth day, while Wang Mu was thinking of just blending in and aiming for fifteenth or sixteenth place, he unexpectedly found himself being relentlessly challenged in succession by several of the top ten...

"Get your benches ready; today, we watch this kid take a beating."

Qin Yuyan sat in a certain spot, watching a somewhat dazed Wang Mu. A foxy, cunning smile played on his lips as he calculated in his mind, When the time comes, I'll step in and teach these people a lesson one by one, hmph, hmph… Then I'll go to the Rebirth Mirror with him…

At this thought, his face turned slightly red…

However…

"Little lady, did your Venerable Lord agree for you to be here?"

Suddenly, an ethereal voice sounded from nearby.

Qin Yuyan whirled around and saw an extremely ugly woman in the distance, looking at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"Who are you?" Qin Yuyan's heart skipped a beat as he replied calmly, "Are you talking to me?"

This person… is strange, he thought.

"Who I am is not important; what's important is..." the woman narrowed her eyes. "I advise you not to meddle carelessly, lest you attract disaster."

"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Qin Yuyan said, turning away and shaking his head.

"Sigh…"

The ethereal voice came again, "Mu Hongyuan, oh Mu Hongyuan, these disciples of yours are truly hopeless… really…"

It seemed that only Qin Yuyan could hear this voice. When he turned to look again, he couldn't find any trace of that person.

Who was that…?

He frowned slightly. Who is Mu Hongyuan?

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