Chapter 3525: Ranking
Chapter 3525: Ranking
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Alright."
Fang Heng replied readily, while secretly thinking to himself.
From the words left behind by the first-generation God King, it seemed that he might also have some understanding of Ymir’s game world.
Perhaps he was also a player?
What made Fang Heng even more curious was the dimensional world, as well as that Dimensional Emperor.
"By the way, God King," Zane suddenly thought of something. He looked toward the God King with a slightly gossipy expression and asked, "You said this isn’t your first time participating in the Martial Apex Tournament. So how was it? What place did you get last time?"
"You’re joking. The preliminary selection was extremely fierce. I’ve never even made it into the top 128 list."
"Huh? No way? You didn’t even get past the preliminaries?"
Zane was immediately shocked.
He had personally witnessed how powerful the God King was back in hell.
With the Door of Heaven combined with the power of the God-given Orb, the domain he unleashed was strong enough to hard-control even members of the God Clan for a period of time. Zane himself definitely could not defeat the God King alone.
And yet this guy did not even make it onto the main list?
Then what kind of monsters were participating in the Martial Apex Tournament?
"Under the Dimensional Emperor are eight Realm Venerables. Each Realm Venerable selects several hundred preliminary candidates, from whom sixteen are initially chosen to represent each Realm Venerable in battle. That makes up the preliminary list of 128."
The God King explained calmly, "Regardless of whether one advances past the initial selection, the Martial Apex Tournament is an extremely precious training opportunity for us."
...
After flying for several hours following the guidance of the streaking light, a vast expanse of floating islands appeared ahead.
They looked somewhat similar to the islands Fang Heng had seen in the Endless Domain.
The islands were formed by fragments of stars kneaded and gathered together, creating clusters of floating landmasses.
The island at the very center was the largest.
"We’ve arrived."
The God King slowed down, leading the group toward the central island and descending near its edge.
At the entrance of the island’s temple stood an elderly man wearing a green robe. His appearance was ugly, with most of his face hidden beneath a wide hood. Arcane pupils examined the three of them carefully.
"Welcome," the old man said, looking at Fang Heng and Zane. "Is this your first time participating in the Martial Apex Tournament? Would you like me to give you a brief explanation?"
"No need. These two are my friends. I’ll guide them myself."
"Very well. Thank you for your trouble."
The old man said with a slight nod and continued, "At present, more than two hundred people have already arrived. You may choose any vacant island to reside on. If you wish to visit the Realm Venerable, you may register with me. Each day, the Realm Venerable will meet at most three visitors."
The old man reached into his sleeve and took out three tokens, handing them one by one to Fang Heng and the others.
"These are your tokens. Please keep them safe."
Fang Heng took the wooden token from the old man and saw the number 466 engraved on the front.
"This represents your ranking within the preliminary domain under the Realm Venerable. To some extent, you can also understand it as a representation of strength ranking," the God King said.
As he spoke, he showed his own token, which displayed the number 282.
Zane fared even worse, with the number 522 on his token.
"I’ve heard that each Realm Venerable under the Dimensional Emperor has a different personality. Every day, far too many martial artists want to meet them to seek guidance," the God King continued. "For example, the Realm Venerable we’re under has a rather lazy temperament. Generally, he only meets three people per day in order from the smallest number upward. If you apply too many times, or if he doesn’t like the look of you, he might simply not bother meeting you."
Zane asked, "So you’re saying we won’t get to see the Realm Venerable?"
"At least with our current rankings, it’ll be difficult," the God King replied, then changed his tone. "However, meeting the Realm Venerable isn’t actually that hard. Realm Venerables rarely meet the same participant multiple times. Generally speaking, as long as your ranking enters the top one hundred, you’ll have a chance."
He explained further, "In addition, only the martial artists ranked in the top sixteen will ultimately enter the next round—the official list of 128 participants in the Martial Apex Tournament."
"D*mn, that’s kind of looking down on people," Zane muttered while staring at the number on his token. "God King, don’t you think this ranking is way too inaccurate?"
"This ranking is based on past data. Since this is your first time joining, it’s normal for your ranking to be low," the God King said.
Fang Heng asked, "How do we raise our ranking?"
"It’s determined by a comprehensive evaluation. The Realm Venerable left behind several different cultivation projects here. If you achieve high scores in those, your ranking will change accordingly. In addition, the trial towers on the other islands will be opened. The highest floor you reach in a trial tower also represents combat strength. Of course, if martial artists engage in combat with one another, the evaluation score will fluctuate as well."
"Wait, combat?" Fang Heng asked. "Is fighting not restricted here?"
"This area restricts private duels, but once you leave this zone, no one will interfere."
"However, during the Martial Apex Tournament, martial artists all want to seize every moment to improve their strength. No one wants to get injured, so actual fights are rare."
"Additionally, the final three days of the preliminaries are challenge matches. Those ranked in the top sixteen will accept challenges from everyone else one by one. The victor replaces the current position until no one challenges anymore. These challenges are quite harsh. Victory is judged when one side surrenders or loses combat strength. Life and death are not restricted."
"I understand."
Fang Heng turned to the old man at the side and said, "Please help me register. I would like to meet the Realm Venerable."
"Very well. I’ve completed your registration," the old man said. "Each evening, the Realm Venerable selects the three martial artists he will meet the next day. We will notify you early tomorrow morning. You may also check your token. Once its color turns red, it means the Realm Venerable has accepted your request."
Zane smacked his lips and asked, "God King, if we can’t meet the Realm Venerable, does coming here even have any use?"
"Yes," the God King replied. "Every cultivation field here is extremely useful, whether it’s improving control over spirit, enhancing various abilities, refining different disciplines, or other aspects. Even if you want real combat experience, you can enter the trial towers. Almost all needs can be met here."
With a serious expression, the God King nodded, "To be honest, the two times I previously participated in the Martial Apex Tournament were the periods when my strength improved the fastest."
Zane immediately lost much of his interest.
Cultivation?
Evil Gods were not fond of that sort of thing.
At least for him, this kind of cultivation was not as efficient as spending some time slowly consuming the remaining power of the Void Abominations within his body.
Right, right, he had to speed things up.
Once Fang Heng met the Realm Venerable, they would probably soon return to the Endless Domain to deal with the remaining Evil Gods.
If he followed behind Fang Heng, he could also pick up some leftovers.
"Let’s go. I’ll take you to the islands."
As he spoke, the God King flew away from the main island, leading Fang Heng and Zane toward another island.
He activated the token in his hand, and the surrounding small islands clustered around the main island began to emit faint light, roughly one-third of them.
"By activating the token, you can bind an unoccupied island. We can cultivate in seclusion on the island. If anyone dares to intrude, the organizers of the Martial Apex Tournament will deal with it strictly."