859: Chapter 859 Rankings Announced!

Ignoring everyone in the arena, Ye Chen stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked at the old referee on the main stage.

"Referee, can you tally the results now?"

The referee snapped out of his daze and stepped forward to count.

Before long, he cleared his throat and announced.

"For the second round, the Ice Plains Chase, contestant Ye Chen has obtained... two hundred and seventeen tokens."

The whole arena fell silent.

Two hundred and seventeen!

This number was more than the second through twentieth places combined!!!

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai, sitting in his wheelchair, laughed heartily: "Good! As expected of my worthy brother!"

Xuanyuan Ji stood behind him, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

Yan Qingwu was even more dumbfounded.

That guy...

Not only did he pick up a bear and a penguin, but he also snatched over two hundred tokens?

And what about second place?

It wasn't even a tenth of his total...

It was simply absurd!

She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down.

Truly worthy of Ye Chen, treacherous as always...

Ye Chen walked up to the referee and grinned: "So, can I advance to the third round now?"

The old referee wiped away a cold sweat.

"Yes! Of course you can!"

"Contestant Ye Chen advances to the third and final round with an overwhelming lead!"

Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction, looked back at Bai Canghe, and provocatively raised an eyebrow.

At this,

Bai Canghe's face turned completely black.

But he couldn't do anything.

Evidence!

He couldn't produce any evidence!!!

Even though he knew it was Ye Chen who did it, he could only watch as Ye Chen smilingly took the spot for advancement, even showing off his spatial spirit beast in the process.

The sect masters of the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates also had ugly expressions, but no one jumped out to speak.

Because that pile of tokens in Ye Chen's hands was too eye-catching; anyone who jumped out to question it would essentially be slapping their own face.

He had taken over two hundred tokens, and two elders from the Bai Family had gone missing—this didn't need to be stated explicitly.

Anyone with a brain knew who had done it.

Yet...

no one dared to pierce this veil.

Those with guilty consciences knew where those tokens came from.

Those without guilty consciences simply thought Ye Chen was powerful enough to achieve such a result.

Ye Chen couldn't be bothered to care and walked straight towards Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai looked at the bear and penguin following him and chuckled: "Worthy brother, are you planning to open a zoo in the Antarctic?"

Ye Chen laughed.

"Brother, you jest. I just picked them up."

"You certainly know how to 'pick things up'."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's gaze fell on the little bear. "This little bear... is no simple creature."

Ye Chen didn't hide it, lowering his voice: "Brother has a good eye; it is indeed not simple."

"Alright, as long as you know what you're doing."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai didn't ask further, turning to say, "The third and final round is tomorrow. Worthy brother, are you prepared?"

Ye Chen stretched: "I've been ready for a long time."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai nodded: "Very well, get some good rest tonight, and tomorrow..."

He paused, his smile deepening.

"Tomorrow, give them a surprise."

Ye Chen smiled exceptionally brightly.

"Rest assured, Brother."

"This surprise will definitely be big enough."

Could it be anything less?

When the time comes,

that group will take out their keys, and he will pull out nine all at once...

Just thinking about it was exciting!

The noise in the main arena gradually subsided.

The old referee cleared his throat, held a list, stood on the high platform, and announced loudly.

"The list of sixteen contestants advancing to the third and final round of the second round, the Ice Plains Chase, is as follows..."

"First place, Ye Chen, two hundred and seventeen tokens."

"Second place, Saintess An Miaoyi, nineteen tokens."

"Third place, Mo Yuan, sixteen tokens."

"Fourth place, Lin Molong, thirteen tokens."

"Fifth place..."

The list continued, with the numbers getting smaller as it went on, until the fifteenth place only had a pitiful three tokens.

The entire arena listened to this ridiculously lopsided ranking, each with a colorful expression.

Good heavens!

They had been conservative with their estimates...

They originally thought the top twenty combined wouldn't equal Ye Chen, but it turned out the top fifty combined didn't even...

Was this even on the same level?

In reality,

it was because Saintess An Miaoyi and Mo Yuan's tokens had been "robbed" by Ye Chen.

Otherwise,

there wouldn't have been such a huge gap.

The old referee finished reading the list and closed the booklet in his hand.

"The above sixteen contestants advance to tomorrow's third and final round!"

"The rules for the final battle will be announced on-site at noon tomorrow. Please ensure all contestants arrive on time; failure to do so will be considered a forfeit!"

"Dismissed!"

Bai Family encampment.

The atmosphere was as oppressive as the sky before a storm.

Bai Canghe sat in the main seat, his face ashen.

Several elders stood below, not even daring to breathe loudly.

This time...

they hadn't just lost a little bit.

They had lost two powerful elders.

With that...

the overall strength of the Bai Family would be weakened.

They just hadn't expected that Ye Chen would dare to do those things...

"Ye Chen!!!"

The more Bai Canghe thought about it, the more stifled he felt.

"He killed Elders Hongyuan and Honglie, and then piled up the tokens to show off in front of everyone!"

"Too bullying! Simply too bullying!!!"

He had been in charge of the Bai Family for so many years, and this was the first time he had felt so stifled.

And all of this...

was caused by one young man!

An elder below mustered the courage to speak.

"Patriarch, that Ye Chen killed two of our Bai Family elders. If we don't demand an explanation, the Bai Family's prestige in the Kunlun Ruins will be gone!"

"Exactly!"

Another elder chimed in, "He relies on Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai backing him to be so lawless! If we don't teach him a lesson, how will the Bai Family stand among the Five Clans?"

"Patriarch! Tomorrow's third round is the best opportunity!"

"In the final battle, one is responsible for their own life and death; no matter how much face Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai has, he cannot interfere on the arena!"

"As long as we kill him on the arena, Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai will have nothing to say!"

"Yes! Kill him! Avenge the two elders!"

Bai Canghe listened to the elders' echoing voices, the anger in his chest burning brighter.

He stood up, paced back and forth in the room, then suddenly stood still.

"Enough!"

The room instantly quieted down.

Bai Canghe turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with a sinister look.

"Do you think I don't know what you are saying?"

"Ye Chen killed my Bai Family elders; this hatred is irreconcilable!"

"But..."

He paused, his tone suddenly dropping.

"Tomorrow is the third round of the final battle. Since that kid could sweep the second round single-handedly, his strength is definitely not to be taken lightly."

"Furthermore, he has that spatial spirit beast and that strange penguin by his side. A rash attack might not succeed."

An elder asked anxiously, "Patriarch, are we just going to let it go?"

Bai Canghe glanced at him coldly.

"Let it go?"

"When has Bai Canghe ever suffered such a loss?"

"In tomorrow's final battle, the rules are not yet set."

"But as long as the rules allow it, I have a way to make that little brat die on the arena."

"Don't forget, the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates are jointly hosting this martial arts competition. Who is the real organizer?"

"It is us!"

"And the Ruins of Return will help us!"

The elders below looked at each other, all revealing expressions of sudden realization.

Bai Canghe slowly sat back in the main seat, crossing his fingers on his knees.

"Don't be impatient."

"Let that kid jump around for one more day."

"Tomorrow will be his death day."

The room was quiet for a few seconds, followed by a chorus of agreement.

"Patriarch is wise!"

"Tomorrow we will definitely make that Ye Chen bleed on the arena!"

"The prestige of the Bai Family cannot be challenged!"

Bai Canghe didn't respond, just nodded slightly, his gaze passing through the window towards the direction of the Xuanyuan Family's encampment.

Ye Chen...

enjoy this last night.

Meanwhile.

Ye Chen was sitting cross-legged in an ice house at the Xuanyuan Family's encampment, a pot of hot tea in front of him, and the bear and penguin lying beside him.

He sneezed.

Yan Qingwu sat opposite him: "Someone is thinking of you again."

"Probably Bai Canghe." Ye Chen took a sip of tea, unconcerned. "He's probably cursing me in his room."

"Aren't you worried?" Yan Qingwu couldn't help but ask.

"Worried about what?" Ye Chen grinned. "Him cursing me won't make me lose any meat."

Yan Qingwu looked at his indifferent appearance and sighed.

"You, I really don't know whether to call you thick-skinned or heartless."

Ye Chen put down the teacup and stretched.

"Thick-skinned or heartless, it doesn't matter; I'm definitely going to fight tomorrow anyway."

He looked down at Little White and Prince lying at his feet and added with a smile.

"Besides, I have two great protectors."

"If they want to be my opponents, they have to pass this hurdle first."

"After all..."

"What if I can summon pets?"

Thinking about beating up the Nascent Soul Stage peak old monster today, Little White barked excitedly; Prince even puffed out its chest and quacked twice.

Their look! Their stance! It was clearly saying...

Leave it to me!

Yan Qingwu smiled helplessly.

It really seemed like there was nothing to worry about for tomorrow's final battle.

However,

she still offered a reminder: "They are the organizers; it's inevitable they will come up with some tricks to target you, so you still have to be careful."

"Are you worried about me?" Ye Chen asked, blinking.

Yan Qingwu's face flushed red, and she glared at Ye Chen: "Who's worried about you? Don't be conceited!"

As she spoke,

she got up to leave.

As a result...

Ye Chen reached out a large hand and pulled Yan Qingwu into his arms.

"Ah!"

Yan Qingwu cried out in surprise, falling into Ye Chen's arms, pink spreading across her neck. "What do you want to do?"