The Astonishing Sea of Clouds Formation.
In the outer perimeter, dozens of cultivators stared dumbfoundedly at the appearance of the duo.
Most of them had yet to recover their senses even when the duo had left.
“Was that…”
Old Li stuttered as he struggled to find the correct words to speak.
“It was definitely him!”
The middle-aged cultivator said with certainty as he stared into the duo’s direction. There was an inexplicable hint of excitement written all over his face.
“It’s really him! But didn’t the rumors say that he’s been sealed by Heavenly Punishment? If so, why is he leaving the formation?”
Old Li was equally puzzled as he was surprised.
“Why not?”
“He’s Chu Kuangren! Is there anything that he can’t do?!” the middle-aged cultivator said in excitement.
Old Li stared strangely at the middle-aged cultivator.
He would never have thought that his friend was a die-hard fan of Chu Kuangren.
Firmament Star, Divine Predictor Pavillion. Three years ago, the Four Seas Firm had built this residence in dedication to the best divine predictor in this world.
Three years ago, the divine predictor had inferred the fate of the heavens and published the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard. After that, his reputation soared.
In front of the Divine Predictor Pavillion was a golden leaderboard.
It was the widely-known Soaring Dragon Leaderboard.
Any onlookers on the streets could read it just by looking up. The leaderboard would change anytime once the divine predictor sensed the shift in the heaven’s message.
Many sky-prides were proud to be enlisted on the leaderboard. After all, those who were ranked closer to the top would find themselves recognized worldwide.
In a restaurant nearby the Divine Predictor Pavillion.
Many patrons had gathered in a huge room. Some of them were drinking away, while others were discussing current issues. Amongst these issues was the discussion of sky-prides who originated from all forms of orthodoxies.
“Two days ago, the fourth-ranking Nine Heavens’ sky-pride, Wang Tianteng, fought Xiao Lintian of the Heavenly Golden Imperial Palace. I heard Xiao Lintian didn’t even survive ten techniques before he was defeated. What shocking news.”
“Tsk, it’s surprising considering that Xiao Lintian is the host of the Heavenly Golden Imperial Physique and ranks eleventh in the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard. It seems like there’s a huge leap in abilities between the top ten sky-prides of the leaderboard and the remaining sky-prides.”
“Indeed. This must be an embarrassing loss for the Heavenly Golden Imperial Palace. Apparently, Xiao Jingchen has since announced that he will fight Wang Tianteng the next time he sees him. If the battle does happen, I wonder who will come out on top.”
“It’ll surely be an interesting battle.”
“Sigh. The world does belong to these sky-prides now. The older Sages can do nothing but to watch their glories fade away.”
The patrons were conversing with one another.
One of the patrons looked out the street to the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard and marveled at the names in envy.
Suddenly, something caught him off guard. As he rubbed his eyes and took another closer look, the patron exclaimed, “Look! The Soaring Dragon Leaderboard is changing!”
The other patrons did not think it was a huge deal at first.
After all, sky-prides fought with each other, so it was common that some of them would emerge as victors and others as losers. Some would even end up dead.
The Soaring Dragon Leaderboard was never meant to be fixed, and it could change at any time.
Even the top ten names had been shuffled many times before.
“Let’s see whose rankings have changed.”
The cultivator began to read the list from the bottom and noticed that there were no drastic changes at all.
“Nothing’s changed at all. Why are you…”
It was then his eyes fell onto the first row of the leaderboard, which he rarely paid attention to in the past.
After all, that place had been empty for the past three years.
However, the first row of the leaderboard was now glowing with traces of golden lights!
The rays of lights intersected as Daoist Rhymes flowed seamlessly around the leaderboard.
It was almost as if a person’s name was about to appear on the list.
The patrons immediately gasped in shock. At that point, everyone was staring deadly at the leaderboard. No one even dared to blink.
“Gosh, finally! After three years of silence, there’s finally news about the first rank of the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard. I wonder who will bear the honors?”
“Didn’t the divine predictor say that he was waiting for someone? Why the sudden change? Has that person finally appeared?”
“Who exactly is capable of defeating all these strong cultivators and emerging at the top?”
Their eyes were glued to the leaderboard.
The change in the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard had caught much attention in Firmament Star, and countless cultivators were curiously awaiting its reveal.
Soon, the name of the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard’s first rank was finally revealed in two golden, glamorous letters!
It was a familiar name that belonged to the distant past.
Chu Kuangren!
After Chu Kuangren’s name appeared on the leaderboard, the world fell silent. No one knew what to say.
It was a name familiar to every cultivator of this world!
Albeit its familiarity, no one had ever thought they would see this name appearing at the top of the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard.
After all, the person was under the Heavenly Punishment Seal!
With the Heavenly Punishment Seal, his cultivation was rendered inaccessible, so how exactly was he going to climb the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard?!
“How’s it possible? How’s it him?!”
“Impossible! Has the divine predictor made a mistake?”
“This is nonsense. No matter how much the divine predictor admires Chu Kuangren, he can’t just place him at the top of the leaderboard.”
A commotion soon started among the cultivators on the street.
“Divine predictor, what’s this all about?!”
A voice came from the edge of the world.
It was one of the Firmament Star’s great ones.
“I need an explanation too.”
Another great one demanded an explanation.
“Divine predictor, Chu Kuangren is under the Heavenly Punishment Seal. How can he lead the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard? Don’t you think you need to explain?”
“That’s right! Anyone can be the first, but not Chu Kuangren!”
“Divine predictor, you’re making a grave mistake!”
The great ones, who were usually nowhere to be found, began to question the divine predictor. All this for just a single name.
A name that the world could never forget nor contain its existence!
Everyone had heard the voices of the great ones.
For reasons left unknown, the crowd could sense the odd emotions in the great ones’ tones. It was almost as if they were… panicking?!
Were the great ones… panicking?!
What an incredulous observation.
“It’s just a name. Do they need to overreact?”
Someone muttered.
Another person replied, “Of course they do. It’s Chu Kuangren, a person who defined an entire era!”
In the Divine Predictor Pavillion.
The divine predictor was faced with countless questions from the great ones, to which he merely replied, “This is merely my inference of the heavens’ fate. If you are unhappy with the results, perhaps you should pose your questions to the heavens!”
The great ones were speechless.
Ask the heavens?
How?
They did not know how to communicate with the Heavenly Dao.
Just when the great ones were about to question the divine predictor’s abilities, they received another news… Chu Kuangren had left the Black Heaven Sect!
This made the great ones even more flustered.
“He’s out!”
“How does he have the courage to come out?!”
“There are too many people who want him dead. With the Heavenly Punishment Seal constraining him, only death awaits him! This Soaring Dragon Leaderboard is a ruse!”
“Hmph, indeed!”
The great ones soon vanished.
It was unknown what kind of plans they had for Chu Kuangren. However, one thing was for sure — the great ones would not just sit idly by as Chu Kuangren roamed around.
It was funny how everyone seemed to be convinced that it was over for Chu Kuangren.
Yet, as Chu Kuangren reappeared after disappearing under the radar for three years, he was still the center of focus as he once was. Just his name itself was enough to strike fear into the hearts of many and cause a huge uproar!
On this day, Chu Kuangren exited the Astonishing Cloud of Seas Formation and instantly rose to the top of the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard!