A Chaotic World

The Inner Sect members were still relatively calm when the Grand Mirror started to reveal the final rankings.

After all, there were thousands of members in the Nine Suns Sect, and the Inner Sect members were elites among them, taking up only a small minority.

It was only natural that with the rankings slowly being revealed from the bottom, the Inner Sect members would not be seeing their names anytime soon.

On the other hand, the Outer Sect members were paying their fullest attention to the names that were being revealed one at a time.

"Damn it, I am in the last ten!"

"What? That bastard managed to beat me again this time! What shitty luck!"

"I managed to get out of the bottom fifty rankings!"

"How can I not have improved in rank even after training so hard?"

The Outer Sect members were struck with a mixture of emotions as they saw their individual ranks. Some of them were filled with joy, while others were overwhelmed by disappointment.

But this was the harsh reality of this world.

The greatest of kings built their empires upon the blood of their soldiers, and the wealthiest of merchants drew their riches from the purses of the masses.

For someone to rise in the rankings, others would have to fall to take his place. Only by stepping upon the bodies of others would one be able to climb to the very pinnacle.

There were no two ways about it.

The format of the Nine Suns Trial had also been set in such a manner exactly because the sect wished to remind the sect members of this very fact of life.

Only then would they strive harder to grow, to reach the top and realise their greatest potentials!

At this moment, Nancheng Wei could no longer be bothered with Lu Tianzi anymore. Just like the others, he was holding his breath as he tried to look out for his name.

When the words 'Nancheng Wei' finally appeared, he could not help but bring up both of his fists in excitement.

His had improved by an entire two hundred ranks as compared to the previous year!

The torturous cultivation routine that he had endured over the past year had not been in vain!

Now that he had confirmed his rank, he could finally relax. And that was when he was reminded of Lu Tianzi.

That piece of trash who failed the Trial of the Heart, just what rank did he get in the end?

Nancheng Wei's gaze naturally returned to the bottom of the rankings before slowly moving up.

Hmm?

Why was he unable to find the words 'Nanlu Tianzi' anywhere in the bottom fifty rankings?

Could it be that so many other people screwed up this year's trial?

But that was impossible!

Most of the Outer Sect members had managed to clear the Trial of the Heart, albeit with some taking a slightly longer time than others. But no matter what, none of them took even half as long as this Nanlu Tianzi!

Bottom fifty… bottom hundred… two hundred…

Bottom one thousand… two thousand…

There were still no signs of Lu Tianzi's rank!

In fact, it was not just Nancheng Wei who was feeling confused. Many other sect members were starting to notice this abnormality as well.

After all, Lu Tianzi had made all of them wait far longer than they usually had to. There was no way that they could just forget about his existence.

"Nanlu Tianzi, did you deliberately not bring your member token with you when you entered the Nine Suns Trial?" Nancheng Wei mocked. "I guess it is better this way too. Rather than embarrassing yourself, it is better that you just not get your rank registered at all!"

Lu Tianzi directly ignored Nancheng Wei. He was still closely watching the rankings in case his name appeared anytime soon, and simply could not be bothered with entertaining him.

However, seeing how Lu Tianzi dared not answer, the others started to believe that what Nancheng Wei said made sense as well. If this Nanlu Tianzi had known beforehand that his heart was still weak, then it might really be possible that he had not brought along his member token.

If the Grand Mirror was unable to sense his member token, it naturally would not be able to include his name in the rankings.

"Keep acting as if you are deaf!" Nancheng Wei harrumphed in displeasure upon being ignored, but returned to watch the rankings as well.

Even though he already knew his rank, it was still exciting to find out where other people stood. Furthermore, his talented younger brother was gunning for the top rank this time!

Soon enough, the names of the Inner Sect members started to appear in the rankings.

This time, Nanqing Haowen started to get nervous.

Nanqing Haowen had ranked fourth in the previous trial, cementing his place as one of the top talents in the Inner Sect.

But this time, he had wasted quite a bit of time on trying to find a suitable contract beast, as well as going on a mission even though it was nearing the date of the trial.

Thus, his preparations were naturally not as great as the other top members. This could easily cause his rank to drop.

Even though they were fellow sect members, all of them were still competitors during the Nine Suns Trial!

But as his strongest competitors' names were revealed one by one, Nanqing Haowen felt his heart beating faster in excitement.

When the rankings reached the top few rankers, his name finally appeared.

Rank Number Five – Nanqing Haowen, Inner Sect.

Nanqing Haowen's heart sank.

In the end, he had still dropped in rank.

Even though it was only by a single placing, this still meant that he was being surpassed by someone else, and that was not a good feeling at all.

Rank Number Four – Nancheng Shu, Inner Sect.

Rank Number Three – Nanhuang Jiansheng, Inner Sect.

At this point, everyone widened their eyes in shock as they turned to look at the reactions of the duo.

Nanhuang Jiansheng and Nancheng Shu had always been regarded as the twin leaders of the Inner Sect, reknowned for their unmatched combat prowess as well as high martial talent.

Aged twenty eight and twenty six, Nanhuang Jiansheng and Nancheng Shu were at the Peak and Advanced Essence Condensation realms respectively.

In this year's Nine Suns Trial, though there was only a slight chance, some people had still believed that they might be able to contend with the genius Nanlan Qianxue for the top ranking position!

Just two positions were above them, one of whom definitely belonged to Nanlan Qianxue whose name had yet to appear.

In that case, who the hell was the other person?!

Nancheng Shu furrowed his eyebrows, his displeasure plain for all to see. After all, he had been directly ousted from the top three rankings!

In comparison, Nanhuang Jiansheng maintained a poker face, and nobody knew what he was thinking at the moment. He had always carried himself in such a manner, and it served to add an air of mystery around him which, coupled with his handsome features, had managed to entrance quite a number of female fellow sect members!

Everyone felt like they were being afflicted with his calmness as they returned their sights to the Grand Mirror, but the next name that appeared sent everyone into a complete uproar!

Rank Number Two – Nanlan Qianxue, Inner Sect.

"What? Senior apprentice sister Nanlan Qianxue did not manage to get the top rank?"

"What is going on? Did we miss out someone?"

"How is this possible? The names of all the Inner Sect members are already out!"

Even Nanlan Qianxue was surprised to see that she failed to obtain first place.

From the start, she had never thought of competing with others. Her goal this time was only to go further than where she had been stopped during the previous trial.

In her eyes, even though the twin leaders of the Inner Sect were strong, it was only because they were older than her.

In terms of talent, she believed herself to be unparalleled in the Nine Suns Sect, and it was only a matter of time before she surpassed both Nanhuang Jiansheng and Nancheng Shu in terms of strength.

This was also why she felt lonely on her martial path, and was overjoyed to have discovered Nanlu Tianzi.

She had thought that she had found a worthy rival in Nanlu Tianzi, but who knew that his results in the Nine Suns Trial would be this disappointing…

Wait, Nanlu Tianzi's results were disappointing…?

Why had she believed in the words of others when the Grand Mirror had yet to reveal his name?

Nanlan Qianxue immediately spun around, her gaze locking onto Lu Tianzi's figure who was standing right at the back.

Seeing the expectant look in Lu Tianzi's eyes as he stared at the Grand Mirror, Nanlan Qianxue felt a strange tingling sensation suddenly run through her entire body, as though she had just been struck by a bolt of lightning.

Her disappointment from before was instantly expelled without a single trace remaining, leaving her with an overwhelming sense of relief as she realised that her intuition must have been right all along.

"It is you after all," Nanlan Qianxue whispered to herself with a smile on her face.

At this moment, everyone's attention was fixed onto Nanlan Qianxue, but they still found it impossible to understand her actions.

They had all seen the obvious fluster in her eyes when she had turned around to look at Lu Tianzi, yet it quickly turned into a smile?

She had just been denied her top rank in the Nine Suns Trial, so why was she smiling at that Nanlu Tianzi all of a sudden?

But as though timed perfectly with her words, the surface of the Grand Mirror cleared up entirely, revealing the full ranking table of every single sect member who had undergone the Nine Suns Trial.

Rank Number One – Nanlu Tianzi, Outer Sect.

It was as though time had suddenly stopped for the entire Grand Mirror Courtyard.

Everyone, from the Elders to the Inner Sect members, to the Outer Sect members around Lu Tianzi, all of them completely froze as their minds blanked out for a moment.

At that instant, no one knew what to say or how to even react.

Thanks to Nancheng Wei's logical deductions, they had all been led to believe that this Nanlu Tianzi had been eliminated from the race before it even began. Even when his name did not appear, they had thought that this recently joined sect member had been too embarrassed to bring along his member token.

But even if that had not been the case, never in their wildest imaginations would they ever think that a newly joined member who took so long to clear the trial would ever rank above the trio of Nanhuang Jiansheng, Nancheng Wei, and even Nanlan Qianxue!

Yet the result was plain for all to see.

This person whom they called a snail had actually gotten the top rank in the Nine Suns Trial!

As though that was not enough, the words 'Outer Sect' followed right behind his name, as though a smack to the Elders' faces for not having discovered his full talent earlier.

The many Inner Sect members similarly felt embarrassed at being surpassed by someone who was receiving fewer resources than them.

Everyone who had regarded him with contempt earlier was now feeling a hot blush on their faces.

If there was any saving grace, it would be that they were not Nancheng Wei who had directly put him down with words!

As for Nancheng Wei himself, he was currently in a state of shock, his mind still unable to fully register what just happened. All he could do was to stand there blankly with his mouth slightly agape.

At this moment, only City Lord Nanlan was able to let out a satisfied grin as he recalled his daughter's actions right before the top ranker was revealed.

Not just that, but he had also heard that Nanlan Qianxue was the one who had recommended this Nanlu Tianzi to the sect. At the same time, City Lord Nanlan had naturally noticed them smiling to each other right as the young man was about to enter the Grand Mirror for his trial.

Believing in someone when they were still in the growing phase was vastly different from praising someone who had already obtained power.

The former would allow one to easily gain the other party's appreciation, while the latter might be seen as purely sucking up to the other party, possibly even provoking the other party's ire.

This Nanlu Tianzi had already been famous for a while, but that was mainly for his talent in the art of inscriptions. Now that he had even managed to rank first in the Nine Suns Trial, the various influences in the city could no longer afford to take a back seat.

It could be said that from this moment on, the rise of this youngster within Bluenight City had already been set in stone.

No one person, no one influence, not even him as the City Lord, would be able to prevent such an occurrence from happening anymore.

But if his daughter had already managed to establish close ties with this Nanlu Tianzi, then things would be far easier for him from now on!

And from the looks of it, Nanlan Qianxue might actually be the only one who had realised just how special this Nanlu Tianzi was!

Well done!

City Lord Nanlan praised in his heart, but he naturally could not voice out his thoughts right now. That would be equivalent to putting down everyone else in the Nine Suns Sect, something that he could not afford to do.

Now, all that was left for him to do was to try and completely bring over this Nanlu Tianzi to his side!