EBE Chapter 147: Paradise Agony Abyss
Chapter 147: Paradise Agony Abyss
Chapter 147: Paradise Agony Abyss
Three boards above atop Paradise Earth Abyss. Each one had a title: Core Formation Realm Ranking, Nascent Soul Realm Ranking, and Unity Realm Ranking. Each board had one hundred thousand ranks on it, and each rank depicted the cultivator’s name and the number of steps they’ve reached. Only when a new record was surpassed would there be a change on the board.
The three ranking boards of Paradise Agony Abyss listed all the cultivators who attempted to reach the depths since the creation of the training ground. So anyone who attempted to Paradise Agony Abyss was not only competing against the current generation but the past as well.
Aside from fame, there was no other point in appearing on the ranking board. There were no additional rewards or benefits. Still, just appearing on the ranking board was enough for many disciples. Just by putting up three pieces of boards atop the Paradise Agony Abyss, the Buzhou Immortal Sect ignited a fire in their disciples. Without the need to dangle any rewards, the disciples would automatically compete amongst themselves and improve.
What a ludicrous bargain.
“Hey, isn’t that Senior Brother Xi?”
“You’re right. Judging by the direction, he’s heading toward Paradise Agony Abyss!”
“So Senior Brother Xi is going to challenge the previous record holder? I wonder what rank he will get?”
“Senior Brother Xi hardly comes to these sorts of training grounds, so we don’t have a clear understanding of his strength.”
“Who knows. Maybe Senior Brother Xi doesn’t come to training grounds like these to hide his inferiorities, hehe.”
“Psh, do you think Senior Brother Xi is like Lovespot, who only relies on the treasure to get to his current realm? Oh wait, last I heard, he failed his Unity Heavenly Tribulation and lost his memories as a result. Forcing him to recultivate from scratch.”
“Junior Brother is right. Senior Brother Xi is not yet forty, but he’s already at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. That isn’t something you can accomplish by using treasures alone.”
“Who knows. I heard that in the past four years after Lovespot lost his cultivation, he managed to enter the Core Formation Realm recently. Tsk, tsk, Elder Redseal sure is willing to give so many heavenly treasures for a wastrel.”
“How can you compare Senior Brother Xi to Lovespot? That’s just muddying Senior Brother Xi’s good name.”
“Alright, alright. But back to the main point, what rank do you think Senior Brother Xi will attain?”
“Hard to say. I heard that Senior Brother Xi is outstanding, even amongst the scions of elders.”
“Don’t we already know that? What are you repeating facts for? Tell us something don’t know.”
“No, no. When I’m talking about scions, I mean including the other first-rate sects.”
“Other first-rate sects? How can they compare to us, the Buzhou Immortal Sect? Our former Eldest Senior Sister Su already suppressed all their geniuses. She’s even a Unity Realm elder now.”
“But can she suppress over fifty other Nascent Soul Grandmasters at the same realm and at the same time?”
“This... Just to be sure, you’re talking grandmasters of first-rate sects, right?”
“Of course, why would I compare Lady Su to loose cultivator trash?”
“Then I don’t know. One on one, Elder Su will definitely prevail. But against so many, not even Grand Elder Xi can accomplish it at the same realm, right?”
“I heard that Senior Brother Xi can! All the other scions call Senior Brother the Vast Heaven Young Master because of it!”
“For real!?”
“I heard that he suppressed over a hundred at the same time!”
“Now you are just lying. During the Heavenly Connection Gathering, why would they all gang up on Senior Brother Xi? Are they not afraid of Grand Elder Xi finding trouble with their sect?”
“Well, the process wasn’t exactly clear cut...”
“You are all straying from the main point. What rank do you think Senior Brother Xi can attain?”
He paused for a moment before closing his eyes. After spending years in the Temporal Void Domain trying to understand spacetime, Tianyi felt that it was possible for him to use the technique without external aid. The true qi of chaos began to be emitted from his body, but moments after leaving his body, the true qi of chaos lost its corrosive and chaotic nature before changing to a silvery mist. The mist permeated the area, and under everyone’s shocked expression, the wounds on their body began to rewind.
Once the wounds were healed, many of the disciples cupped their hands and thanked Tianyi.
Tianyi waved his hands. “It’s only natural. Since I caused your injuries, I have a responsibility to heal them. It’s my fault. I didn’t expect to be impacted so much by Paradise Agony Abyss that I lost control of my true qi.”
He looked up at the Nascent Soul Realm ranking board. Each name had the number of steps they took, so it was relatively easy to find oneself. Tianyi felt that the number of steps he took should definitely be over nine thousand, so he started from there.
Tianyi’s lips twitched when he saw so many people who failed at the nine thousand nine hundred ninety-ninth step. The ten-thousandth step must have dramatically increased the difficulty. To his horror, Tianyi discovered his name at the 80,091st rank. And the number of steps he took was nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine. He was first among those who took the same number of steps, first among over ten thousand people. But that didn’t comfort him at all.
Before Tianyi could sink deeper into his thought, a commotion could be heard from the gathered disciples. He soon discovered why. Because on the Nascent Soul Realm ranking board, the former fourth place was now the new fifth place. And the new fourth place was a person known named Sheng Ni who had taken over thirty thousand steps.
Tianyi felt the corner of his eyes twitch as he tried not to react. Perhaps soon, there would be a rumor that Sheng Ni had more talent them him. Tianyi felt like he had become a stepping stone for someone else.
He shook his head and looked at the Core Formation ranking board. Perhaps, there would be someone he recognized. He remembered that there was a disciple brother that he met years ago who was skilled in both spiritual and martial ways. Tianyi recognized someone alright, just not the one he expected.
Rank 97: Jiang Daoyi, 1002 steps
Tianyi felt as if someone took and hammer and smashed his heart. In the five years, Daoyi had reached the mid Core Formation Realm, but Tianyi still felt a sting to his pride. He was a peak Nascent Soul Grandmaster, but he still lost to his core formation master junior sister. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t envious.
He chuckled ruefully. Rather than being jealous, he should congratulate his junior sister. He shouldn’t be so petty over something as small as a ranking. He waved his hand, and instantly several nascent soul ranked materials appeared.
“This is just a little compensation from me for injuring you due to my loss of control earlier,” Tianyi said. He immediately left afterward before the disciples could reject him.
“Senior Brother Xi seems kind of down, doesn’t he?”
“I saw his ranking. He was ranked 80,091 at nine thousand nine hundred steps.”
“Even Senior Brother Xi failed to overcome the hurdle of the ten-thousandth step. Sigh,”
“I think it is already very impressive that Senior Brother Xi reached nine thousand nine hundred ninety-ninth step on his first try!”
“Yes, but compared to the darkhorse, Sheng Ni, Senior Brother Xi’s rank seems too low.”
“When Senior Brother Xi left earlier, he seemed a little down.”
“I know, I felt it too! But I think even if Senior Brother Xi only reached nine thousand nine hundred ninety-ninth steps, he is still scarier than that Sheng Ni. Didn’t you see how terrifying he was earlier? Just the qi he released was enough to threaten our lives!”
“You’re right. All those who come here are great talents in soul cultivating. I never heard of Senior Brother Xi cultivating a soul method. Even without a soul method, he could reach this; it; it is truly amazing!”
“Hmpf, I know that Sheng Ni is only an early nascent soul grandmaster. I think he has more potential than Senior Brother Xi, who is already a peak Nascent Soul Grandmaster.”
“Don’t exaggerate. Why do you sound as if you’re the one that beat Senior Brother Xi? If you have the ability, then you rank higher than Senior Brother Xi. Hmpf, only knowing how to compare others, never comparing yourself.”
“Heh, what do you know? That Sheng Ni had a quadruple spiritual vein, and it was by luck that he entered the Buzhou Immortal Sect. I heard that it took him over a hundred years to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. But once he entered the Core Formation Realm at one hundred and fifty, he only needed ten years to reach the Nascent Soul Realm. He’s a born soul cultivator. If he had a better spiritual vein, Senior Brother Xi wouldn’t even be in the same stratus as him without Grand Elder Xi!”
“What do you know? Foundation Establishment at ten, Core Formation at fifteen, and Nascent Soul under twenty, do you think anyone can do that? That Sheng Ni, even if has a heavenly spiritual vein, wouldn’t reach the same height as Senior Brother Xi.”
“Heh, at least I wasn’t bribed by him. You seem to be holding that Thousand Flower Steel quite tightly.”
“This is Senior Brother Xi’s kindness. Unlike those other scions who would only disdain us for being too weak. Senior Brother Xi apologized, healed us, and even gave up compensation. Can you apologize if you accidentally hurt someone? Oh, I’m sorry. You probably can only hurt someone if that someone was taking a piss while half asleep.”
“You!”
Tianyi didn’t fly back to Jade Peak; he walked. He didn’t enter the Temporal Void Domain. Instead, he climbed onto the tallest point of Jade Peak Palace and sat there looking at the night sky. He was down by only getting a low rank on the board, being outshone by Sheng Ni, and shocked by how high Daoyi’s rank was. But compared to seeing his mom’s heartbeat monitor flatline, Tianyi felt that everything else was minor.
Tianyi wasn’t worried about other people knowing his trial. Each trial was personal to the challenger, formed based on their weaknesses. Actually, now that he thought about it, he was kinda worried, could the elders see what his trial was? Tianyi sighed once more as he looked at the shining stars.
For seven days and six nights, Tianyi stared listlessly at the sky, his eyes reflecting the starlights, and on the seventh night, he fell asleep for the first time in years.