"Why can't we participate?" Dugu Yan protested indignantly. In her mind, if she joined, the Talent Ranking's first place would be hers without question.
"You ranked first because you had cultivation techniques and secret manuals backing you," Li Rong replied bluntly. "Not because your comprehension is higher than everyone else's."
"Hmph! So what? First place is still first place. If that's considered unfair, then why don't we just start competing from infancy? Being born into a major power is already unfair to common Spirit Masters."
Li Rong chuckled. "That's not what I meant. I know your grandfather traded those things for you. But now, you're an employee of the shop. Outsiders would assume I opened a back door."
He continued calmly, "And if you eventually become a permanent employee, I'll give you an entry gift. Once that happens, how would the outside Spirit Masters ever compete with you again? You'd be an internal member and still occupying a slot. That truly would be unfair to people with fewer resources."
"Fine… but who knows when I'll become a full-time employee? You never give a straight answer," Dugu Yan muttered, pouting softly.
Li Rong simply ignored the complaint.
"This world is my starting point. That's why I came alone at first," he said. "But once my foundation here stabilizes, when I move on to a different world, I plan to bring a group of young people with me."
"You mean the ones on the Talent Ranking?" the Snow Princess asked.
Li Rong nodded. "Aren't they ideal helpers? Young, disciplined, highly capable, ambitious. They can inspire the next generation in that world, spread the rules of the shop quickly, and help new branches grow without delay."
He smiled faintly. "And I want to see how far their potential goes once I give them opportunities."
"So when do we leave?" Ye Leng Leng pressed.
"It's still early." Li Rong calculated inwardly. "The number of cultivators is far too small. Each cultivator provides dozens of times more faith points than an ordinary person—but the base population simply isn't enough yet."
He sighed inwardly. More fuel for the fire, then.
Shifting topics, Li Rong clapped lightly. "Let's move on. You can try matchmaking and the arena from now on."
"We'll rotate shifts. Bi Ji and Yan Yan take one shift. Snow Princess and Leng Leng take the other. We'll switch daily."
Seeing his tone change, everyone wisely stopped asking about the new world and agreed.
Dugu Yan immediately tugged on Snow Princess' and Ye Leng Leng's sleeves. "Let me rest tomorrow! I'm going to grind ranks and blind everyone with my brilliance!"
Matchmaking ranks were simple: everyone started at Rank 1. Accumulating ten points allowed a promotion test. Win or lose, the points remained, but failure prevented another attempt for thirty days.
Promotion matches pitted one against illusions of the same spirit power level—same baseline, different mastery of techniques.
From Rank 2 onward, each tier demanded exponentially more points:
30, 100, 300, 1,000, 3,000, 10,000, and 30,000.
The higher the rank, the more items could be traded—and the more tempting they became.
To drive competition, Li Rong added an incentive. Reaching Rank 2 granted one sacrificial coin. Rank 3 gave ten. The numbers climbed until the outrageous rewards of a million coins at Rank 8—and ten million at Rank 9.
Beyond Rank 9 came Li Rong's personal trials. The first step: survive ten arenas in succession.
It sounded intimidating, but experts had already begun emerging. Rank 4 powerhouses appeared across the continent—Demon Emperor, Dugu Bo, Gao Feng, and others. Thousands reached Rank 3, tens of thousands Rank 2. Still, even the Demon Emperor hovered around Rank 6. Rank 7 illusions nearly mastered Rank 4 techniques, and breaking past them was brutally difficult.
Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts alike were hooked. The training ground offered endless combat without risk, and the chance to test themselves against countless enemies. Some never logged off. One unlucky participant had already played nearly a hundred matches and, thanks to a perfect 50/50 win rate, was currently minus one point.
Pathetic—yet addicted.
After Di Tian's crushing defeat and the public release of the top hundred highest-ranked names, no one dared immediately rush the arena. They stockpiled points first—until Xiong Jun grew impatient.
He pushed himself to Rank 4, then failed his Rank 5 trial, earning Zi Ji's ridicule for losing face on behalf of the Spirit Beasts. Furious and unable to attempt promotions, he stormed into the arena instead—carefully avoiding the mysterious white-robed figure and choosing another imposing human opponent.
The sky lit up. The crowd expected another humiliating loss.
Instead, Xiong Jun slashed relentlessly, claws tearing through illusion after illusion, and won in mere dozens of moves.
A new ranking manifested in the air. His name shone proudly beside the words: Jar Reward: Unopened.
The square erupted into speculation.
"He's Titled Douluo level. With that luck, he'll definitely pull Rank 4 or Rank 5!"
"Wake up. Compared to Sacrificial Dao Lord, who dares brag about luck? Rank 1 at best."
"It might be random. What if he pulls something useless—low-grade and barely worth exchanging? Wouldn't that be tragic?"
"Want to bet?"
"Only a fool would bet on high-tier odds!"
Xiong Jun puffed his chest, basking in attention. A pottery jar appeared where the illusion had vanished. He poked it curiously, realized it was virtual, then opened his interface.
The new menu read:
Store Jar — Current Jars: 1
Open Jar — Single Draw / Ten Draw / Hundred Draw
He pressed Single Draw.
Light flared. The jar dissolved—and a lump of black metal plummeted into view.
The text shifted:
Jar Reward: Iron Ore · Rank 1 Ore.
White. Utterly common.
The square exploded.
Laughter rolled like thunder. Some Spirit Masters literally rolled across the ground, tears streaming down their faces.
Humiliated, Xiong Jun clenched his fists—only to be ejected from the arena and dumped into the square beside the worthless ore. Mockery swarmed around him like flies. He roared, tossed the ore aside, and slammed the arena option again.
Old Xiong refuses to believe his luck is that bad!
He challenged three more arenas, won all three—then marked each board with equally ridiculous rewards. When he finally failed his fifth challenge and resurrected in his private room with his "prizes," the square lost all composure.
Li Rong watched the live feed, laughing so hard he nearly fell over. Bi Ji kicked him lightly, cheeks puffing. "You really are the worst. You set this up on purpose, didn't you?"
"This time, it genuinely wasn't me," Li Rong replied. "It's random. His luck is simply tragic."
Bi Ji covered her face as the boards revealed the next lines:
Hemostasis Grass · Rank 1 Spirit Herb
Yellow Jade Fish · Rank 1 Ingredient
Fiery Copper · Rank 1 Metal
Three more Rank 1s—one of them a kitchen ingredient.
Would Xiong Jun go berserk and storm the Sacrificial Shop?
Soon, others joined the frenzy. Titled Douluo and powerful Spirit Beasts challenged the arena one after another. Most walked away with Rank 1 trash, filling the square with endless laughter—yet occasionally, destiny struck.
Jar Reward: Blood Tempering and Marrow Cleansing Technique · Rank 4 Auxiliary Secret Manual.
When Tang Xiao drew it, he thought he was hallucinating—until curses from across the square confirmed his win. Bursting into laughter, he tapped the manual. It dissolved into radiant information and flowed into his mind.
Standing atop the arena, Tang Xiao lifted the Clear Sky Hammer high. His sect members roared beneath him:
"Roaring Sky Douluo! Roaring Sky Douluo!"
Even those unfamiliar with the situation joined the chant.
The Clear Sky Sect—lagging on the Talent Ranking—restored its momentum in a single stroke, lifted not by strength, but by outrageous luck.
_____________________
https://[email protected]/mrSOMEONE01234? [replace @ with a]
>>>>>I'm a student, and I'll try my best to keep uploading chapters regularly <<<<<
thanks for your support
[[READER TIER 1: translates stories {15$} ]] { RECOMENDED }
[[READER TIER 2: translated & original stories {20$} ]]
[[[[Please at least visit my patreon so I can have some traffic]]]]]
Also try
[[[Restaurant in Douluo Dalu (530+ch)]]] {6$}
[[[Jujutsu kaisen : Eight Gates For Heavenly Restriction(196+)(COMPLETED) ]]]{6$} [[[JOJO: My Stand Is Black Sperm(100+ch)]]]{6$}