634: Chapter 634 Promotion to Inner Court Disciple!

Upon discovering he was first place, Qin Yan couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

He had originally thought that making it into the top three would be the best he could hope for.

After all, the Holy Land was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Prodigies like Long Aotian, Lin Ruoxi, and Su Qingwan, who were all Heavenly Ladder Clearers—which one of them wasn't incredibly powerful and backed by formidable backgrounds?

Yet, unexpectedly, he had actually taken first place.

However, upon careful reflection, Qin Yan also felt it was only natural.

The gains from that battle in Qingyun City had simply been too immense for him.

Heaven's timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony—he had possessed them all in full measure.

Heaven's timing—the beast tide erupted, providing an endless stream of Vicious Beasts.

Geographical advantage—the Qingyun City battlefield was vast and open, densely packed with Vicious Beasts, allowing his crimson chains and Blood Puppets to maximize their effectiveness.

Human harmony—he had the Qi and blood support provided by nine Formation masters, enabling him to confront the Half-step Grandmaster Crimson Flame Magic Lion head-on.

These conditions were indispensable.

If even one had been missing, he could never have amassed so many contribution points.

Within his own team, the two Heavenly Ladder Clearers, Huang Jiuli and Yin Li, each had over fifteen hundred fewer contribution points than him.

Therefore, taking first place wasn't something he couldn't accept.

A faint smile touched the corner of Qin Yan's mouth as he continued looking down the list.

He wanted to see the standards of the other Prodigies from the Holy Land, to gauge the gap between himself and those top-tier Prodigies.

[Long Aotian: 5691 contribution points, Rank 2]

[Lin Ruoxi: 5687 contribution points, Rank 3]

[Su Qingwan: 5601 contribution points, Rank 4]

[Zhao Wuji: 5487 contribution points, Rank 5]

[Huang Jiuli: 5294 contribution points, Rank 6]

...

Qin Yan's eyes swept quickly over the list, and he soon had a rough grasp of the top hundred names on the personal contribution rankings.

As he had expected, the vast majority of the top hundred were Special Grade Disciples, interspersed with a small number of exceptionally powerful First Grade Disciples.

As for the Heavenly Ladder Clearers, they all occupied the top eight positions without exception.

Even Feng Wuji, ranked eighth, had just over five thousand contribution points, firmly standing above the five-thousand-point threshold.

...

Meanwhile, the other Disciples in the plaza had also taken notice of the name at the very top of the list.

"Holy shit! Qin Yan is first place? How is that possible!"

One Disciple's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the two golden characters at the very top of the list, his face a mask of disbelief.

"Damn, it really is him! How did Qin Yan manage that!"

Another Disciple exclaimed, his voice full of shock.

"Six thousand eight hundred and ninety-one contribution points! That's just insane!"

The surrounding Disciples erupted into discussion, their voices a mix of shock, confusion, curiosity, envy... Various emotions intertwined, merging into a chaotic wave of noise.

In their understanding, although Qin Yan was a Heavenly Ladder Clearer, among all the Heavenly Ladder Clearers, his Realm was the lowest, his Foundation the shallowest, and his background the weakest.

Compared to true Prodigies like Long Aotian, Lin Ruoxi, and Su Qingwan, there was still a significant gap.

Yet, it was precisely this person who had taken first place on the personal contribution rankings?

This completely overturned their understanding.

At the front of the crowd, Long Aotian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his golden robe gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight.

He had a burly physique and a resolute face. A pair of golden dragon eyes were particularly striking, emitting a faint pressure.

At this moment, he was looking up at the two names at the very top of the list, his golden dragon eyes filled with gravity.

Qin Yan actually had 6891 contribution points, a full 1200 points more than him.

This gap made Long Aotian feel a trace of unease.

"It seems I'll need to thoroughly investigate what Qin Yan has been up to during this time,"

Long Aotian thought to himself.

He wanted to see exactly what methods this Qin Yan had used to amass so many contribution points.

If it was just luck, then so be it. But if it was by strength...

Long Aotian narrowed his eyes slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his golden dragon pupils.

Then he would have to reassess this opponent.

On the other side, Lin Ruoxi, Su Qingwan, and others looked at the rankings, their expressions considerably calmer.

They had long known about Qin Yan's gains in Qingyun City, so this result was not unexpected to them.

Especially Lin Ruoxi. That day, through Zhao Qingyun, she had already learned that Qin Yan had harvested a full 4700 contribution points from that single battle.

Adding that to his previous contributions, taking first place was well within expectations.

However, regarding Qin Yan himself, she had also begun to pay him slightly more attention.

Although luck played a part in his high contribution this time, his own Foundation was also exceptionally powerful.

Within the same Realm, Lin Ruoxi estimated that even she would find it extremely difficult to defeat Qin Yan.

She had absolute confidence in her own strength—eight perfected Sword Intents, royal Dao governance techniques, plus the formidable Foundation cultivated with the full resources of the Great Xia Dynasty. In the entire Outer Court of the Taixuan Holy Land, those who could face her head-on could be counted on one hand.

But that Spirit Weapon Skill of Qin Yan's was truly disgusting.

It weakened attacks by thirty percent.

Your all-out strike, before even reaching the opponent's body, would first have thirty percent of its power shaved off.

Regarding this matter, she had specifically asked the powerful experts within the Imperial Dynasty to analyze it.

However, the conclusion they reached was—to watch and wait.

If the power of his Spirit Weapon Skill could increase along with the enhancement of the spirit weapon, then Qin Yan's spirit weapon's potential was undoubtedly immense.

hundred-patterned, thousand-patterned, ten-thousand-patterned, or even higher levels—with each step up, the power of the Spirit Weapon Skill would rise accordingly.

Such a spirit weapon could be called priceless, enough to support Qin Yan all the way to a very high Realm.

If the power of the Spirit Weapon Skill couldn't keep up with his Realm in the future, then its potential would still be significant, but not as overwhelmingly so.

Perhaps it could run rampant at the hundred-patterned stage, start to struggle at the thousand-patterned stage, and become a mere trifle by the ten-thousand-patterned stage.

Ultimately, everything depended on how far Qin Yan's spirit weapon could progress.

But regardless, for now, Qin Yan was worthy of attention.

Lin Ruoxi withdrew her gaze, ceasing further thought on the matter.

...

"This time, the top six thousand on the rankings will become Inner Court Disciples."

High in the air, Yun Nishang waved a hand, her voice clear, cold, and authoritative.

As soon as her words fell—

Below in the plaza, the tokens of numerous Disciples suddenly erupted with dazzling light!

Immediately after, the bodies of those selected Disciples were enveloped layer by layer in the radiance, like glowing cocoons.

The next moment—

The figures of exactly six thousand Disciples instantly vanished from within the plaza!

The group of Elders in the air also disappeared, transforming into streams of light that vanished into the horizon.

Only a single Elder remained, looking down upon the Disciples below who had not been selected.

Those Disciples looked utterly dejected, their faces deathly pale.

"Alright, allow this old man to congratulate you all. You have failed the Inner Court assessment and are now honorably Disciples of the Holy Land's Outer Court,"

the Elder said with a smile as he began to speak.