77: Chapter 77 Power Rankings: Heavenly Court Reaches the Top

The fourth day after the battle of Black Wind Gorge, Monday morning.

Every Monday in the "covering the heavens era" was a special day. On this day, the System would refresh various rankings: Level Rankings, Equipment Rankings, Power Rankings, Wealth Rankings, Reputation Rankings... These rankings represented more than just glory and status; they were tied to tangible rewards.

Heavenly Court Stronghold, Training Grounds.

The morning mist had not yet fully dissipated, but the members of the four halls had already begun their daily morning exercises. The Azure Dragon Hall's spear Formation drills shook the heavens with their battle cries; the White Tiger Hall's stealth training was silent and invisible; the Vermilion Bird Hall's Spell resonance stirred elemental fluctuations; and the Black Tortoise Hall's shield wall collisions emitted dull thuds. After three days of rest and equipment upgrades, everyone's spirit and energy had clearly improved by a level.

Lin Ye stood on a high platform by the edge of the training grounds, overlooking it all.

In his hand, he held a roll of the latest personnel roster—compiled overnight by Zhao Wuji and Qin Ruoxue. The roster recorded all current formal members of the Heavenly Court: six core members, one hundred and fifty-two formal members of the four halls, and thirty-seven support personnel for logistics, intelligence, and commerce, totaling one hundred and ninety-five people.

Compared to three days ago, fifty-two newcomers had been added.

These fifty-two people were all elites who had passed the three-tier threshold assessment. Among them were former Disciples like Lu Ming who had withdrawn from the Yaoguang Holy Land, talented siblings like Mo Yan and Mo Yu, experienced Body Cultivators like Tie Gu, and intelligence experts with mysterious backgrounds but outstanding abilities like Hua Ying.

The newcomers were distributed among the four halls, led by veteran members to quickly integrate.

“Brother Lin.” Su Qingyue walked over from the other side of the training grounds, holding a briefing in her hand. “Just received word that all the major powers in the God City are paying attention to today's ranking refresh. Especially the Power Rankings; it's said there will be major changes.”

Lin Ye took the briefing and glanced through it.

The briefing was an intelligence summary compiled by Qin Ruoxue's Heavenly Secret Pavilion, listing the recent movements of several major competing forces in the God City area:

“War God Hall: The Guild Leader ‘War God’ broke through to the Dao Palace Fourth Layer yesterday. The overall morale of the War God Hall is greatly boosted, and their power ranking is expected to rise.”

“Green Robe Tower: Recently accepted a large number of high-difficulty assassination and intelligence missions with a 100% completion rate; reputation is accumulating rapidly.”

“Ten Thousand Treasures Tower: Acquired a batch of rare Materials from the Southern Region through their channels, suspected to be preparing for large-scale equipment crafting to enhance the merchant guild's strength.”

“Ji Family: The younger generation of the Family, ‘Ji Haoyue,’ obtained a fortuitous Opportunity in the Chenxing Mountain Range, Awakening the prototype of the ‘Bright Moon Body,’ causing a sensation.”

“Olympus: Ares and Athena have returned to the western main city, ‘Holy Mountain City,’ taking with them purple thunder essence gold and a High-Grade Spirit Stone spirit array. Olympus headquarters is extremely satisfied with this result and is expected to increase investment in the Eastern Barrens.”

“Zongheng Alliance, Overlord Pavilion, Blood Fiend Alliance: Due to the deaths of their Guild Leaders/Vice Guild Leaders and heavy losses among core members, these forces are on the verge of dissolution, with many members defecting to other powers.”

Lin Ye's gaze lingered on the last entry for a moment.

The Zongheng Alliance, Overlord Pavilion, and Blood Fiend Alliance—these three forces, once considered local powerhouses in the God City, had almost collapsed overnight because of the battle at Black Wind Gorge. This was the cruelty of the "covering the heavens era" world—the winner takes all, and the losers have slim chances of ever making a comeback.

“The time is almost here.” Su Qingyue looked up at the sky.

The morning light had completely dispelled the night, and the eastern sky was turning pale. When the first ray of sunlight hit the tallest clock tower in the God City, it would be the moment of the System refresh.

Lin Ye put away the briefing and walked toward the “Announcement Board” in the center of the stronghold.

This was a newly constructed building for the Heavenly Court, located in the courtyard outside the main hall. It was a white jade stone wall three zhang wide and two zhang high. The surface of the stone wall was engraved with Formations that could display System announcements, faction missions, contribution rankings, and other information in real-time.

At this moment, over a hundred Heavenly Court members had already gathered in front of the announcement board. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the rankings to refresh.

“Say, where do you think our Heavenly Court will Rank this time?”

“At least in the top hundred, right? After the battle at Black Wind Gorge, we wiped out three major forces plus a Nightfall squad!”

“Top hundred? You're being too conservative! I say at least top fifty!”

“Stop dreaming. The Power Rankings look at comprehensive strength. We have fewer than two hundred people, while those big guilds often have thousands...”

“What's the use of numbers? Leader Lin alone can take on a hundred of them!”

Amidst the discussions, time passed second by second.

When the clock hand pointed exactly to the hour of Chen, a grand System notification sound rang out over the God City.

The voice seemed to come from above the Nine Heavens, penetrating the clouds and echoing in the ears of every online player:

【System Announcement: This week's Power Rankings are about to refresh. All faction leaders, please be prepared.】

【Countdown: 10, 9, 8...】

All the members of the Heavenly Court grew tense.

Lin Ye stood before the announcement board with a calm expression, but his clenched fists betrayed the fluctuations in his heart.

How far the Heavenly Court could go—today's ranking would be an important milestone.

【3, 2, 1... Refresh!】

The text on the announcement board rippled like water; old information was wiped away, and the new rankings began to emerge.

The first to refresh was the “Yan State Regional Power Rankings.”

The list displayed upward starting from the hundredth place. Every time a name appeared, it caused a burst of gasps or sighs.

“100th place, ‘Iron Blood Alliance,’ Reputation: 8,300 points... Tsk tsk, they dropped over twenty places.”

“95th place, ‘Heavenly Wolf Gang,’ Reputation: 9,100 points...”

“80th place...”

“60th place...”

The further up the list went, the smaller the changes in ranking. Those established forces had deep Foundations; unless a major event occurred, their rankings were usually stable.

When the list reached the 30th place, the name of the Heavenly Court had still not appeared.

Some members began to get nervous.

“No way... Could it be we didn't even make the top thirty?”

“Impossible! After the battle at Black Wind Gorge, our reputation increased by over forty thousand!”

“Don't worry, it's still refreshing...”

【25th place, “Dan Cauldron Sect,” Reputation: 37,000 points.】

【24th place, “Thousand Mechanism Workshop,” Reputation: 39,000 points.】

【23rd place, “Beast Taming Manor,” Reputation: 41,000 points.】

Still nothing.

Su Qingyue couldn't help but look at Lin Ye, only to see him still looking calm, his eyes fixed intently on the list.

【20th place, “Green Robe Tower,” Reputation: 48,000 points.】

【19th place, “Ten Thousand Treasures Tower,” Reputation: 53,000 points.】

【18th place, “War God Hall,” Reputation: 57,000 points.】

The appearance of these three forces made everyone gasp.

The War God Hall, Green Robe Tower, and Ten Thousand Treasures Tower were all established first-tier forces in the God City! And they were only ranked in the teens?

Then what kind of monsters would be in the top ten?

The list continued to refresh.

【10th place, “Blood Fiend Alliance,” Reputation: 62,000 points.】

Seeing this name, everyone was stunned.

The Blood Fiend Alliance? Weren't they already wiped out by the Heavenly Court? How are they still on the list?

But someone quickly realized: “The Blood Fiend Alliance's headquarters isn't in the God City; this was just one of their branches. We only wiped out a branch; their overall strength remains.”

【9th place, “Overlord Pavilion,” Reputation: 65,000 points.】

The same logic applied.

【8th place, “Zongheng Alliance,” Reputation: 69,000 points.】

Although their branches had been destroyed, these three forces were like lean camels that were still bigger than horses; their overall reputation remained high.

Next, from seventh to fourth place were the top forces from other main cities in the Yan State, with reputations between seventy and ninety thousand.

And then—

【3rd place, “Jiang Family (Yan State Branch),” Reputation: 98,000 points.】

【2nd place, “Yao Family (Yan State Branch),” Reputation: 105,000 points.】

The two great NPC families of the Yan State! Their reputation was so high that player forces were left far behind.

Then the first place...

The hearts of all the Heavenly Court members leaped into their throats.

On the announcement board, in the position representing first place, golden text slowly began to emerge:

【1st place, “Heavenly Court,” Reputation — 113,700 points!】

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Then, a heaven-shaking cheer erupted!

“First! We're first!”

“First in the Yan State region! My god!”

“113,000 reputation! Eight thousand points higher than the second-place Yao Family!”

“Heavenly Court! Heavenly Court! Heavenly Court!”

The cheers swept through the entire stronghold like a tsunami. Members on the training grounds stopped what they were doing and swarmed toward the announcement board. Logistics personnel ran out from the buildings, intelligence personnel emerged from the shadows—everyone was too excited to contain themselves.

First on the Yan State Regional Power Rankings!

This meant that in the land of the Yan State, the Heavenly Court had become the leader among player forces! Even among the NPC families, only two ranked ahead of them!

But it wasn't over yet.

The information on the announcement board continued to refresh.

【Server-wide Power Rankings (Eastern Barrens Region) refreshing...】

The server-wide rankings!

This was a list covering the entire Eastern Barrens, and the Yan State was just a small country in the Northern Region of the Eastern Barrens. Only those who could make it onto this list were the forces truly standing at the Peak of the Eastern Barrens!

Everyone's gaze focused once more.

The server-wide rankings were displayed starting from 500th place, in increments of fifty.

The name of the Heavenly Court appeared around the 300th position.

【321st place, “Heavenly Court,” Reputation: 113,700 points.】

Then, the list continued to scroll upward.

300th, 250th, 200th...

The Heavenly Court's Rank was steadily rising!

“It's rising! It's rising again!”

“280th place!”

“250th place!”

“200th place!”

By the time the list refreshed to the 150th place, the Heavenly Court's Rank had reached 163rd.

Then, the speed began to slow down.

In the 150-range, the Heavenly Court was 157th.

In the 130-range, the Heavenly Court was 134th.

In the 120-range, the Heavenly Court was 119th.

In the 110-range, the Heavenly Court was 109th.

The top hundred...

Everyone held their breath.

Making it into the server-wide top hundred was a completely different concept! Those were true first-tier forces, qualified to participate in the struggle for the top-level resources of the Eastern Barrens!

The list paused at the 100th position.

Then, golden text emerged:

【100th place, “Wind Thunder Pavilion,” Reputation: 138,000 points.】

The Heavenly Court didn't make the top hundred.

Many members showed looks of disappointment.

But the list was still refreshing.

【99th place, “Blazing Flame Valley,” Reputation: 141,000 points.】

【98th place...】

The text paused again.

This time, the pause was even longer.

Just when everyone thought the Heavenly Court's progress had stopped—

【98th place, “Heavenly Court,” Reputation: 145,000 points!】

Silence.

A silence even deeper than before.

Then, a cheer even more fanatical than before erupted!

“Ninety-eight! Ninety-eight in the whole server!”

“We made it! We made it into the top hundred!”

“Top hundred in the Eastern Barrens! There are tens of thousands of factions in the entire Eastern Barrens, and we are ninety-eighth!”

“Heavenly Court! Heavenly Court! Heavenly Court!”

The cheers almost blew the roof off the stronghold. Members hugged each other in excitement, and some even shed tears.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

From an emerging force in God City, to number one in Yan State, then to the top one hundred on the entire Eastern Wasteland server... Heavenly Court only took less than half a year!

What a miracle this is!

Lin Ye stood in the cheering crowd, a smile finally appearing on the corner of his mouth.

He looked at the golden name on the bulletin board, looked at the number representing prestige behind it, and a surge of indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

In his previous life, he struggled for three years, yet was only an ordinary member of a medium-sized guild. In this life, it only took half a year to lead Heavenly Court to this height.

But this is not enough.

The top one hundred is just the beginning. His goal is the top ten, the first place, and... Solely Deciding the Ages.

[System Announcement: Congratulations to the force "Heavenly Court" for entering the top one hundred of the Eastern Wasteland regional force rankings for the first time, receiving the special reward "Luck Blessing".]

[System Announcement: Congratulations to the force "Heavenly Court" for reaching the number one spot on the Yan State regional force rankings, receiving the title of Yan State Overlord, unlocking new items in the force shop, and refreshing high-level force missions.]

Two System announcements, broadcast continuously three times!

They not only rang in the ears of Heavenly Court members but also in the ears of all online players in the entire Yan State and the entire Eastern Wasteland!

Everywhere in God City, countless people raised their heads and looked at the sky.

"Heavenly Court... has reached number one in Yan State?"

"Top one hundred on the whole server! My god, this is too fast!"

"The battle at Black Wind Canyon actually allowed them to rush to this height directly..."

"Is Heavenly Court recruiting now? Is it too late for me to apply?"

Envy, jealousy, shock, calculation... various emotions surged throughout God City.

Inside the Heavenly Court base, the rewards had already been distributed.

On Lin Ye's personal panel, an extra golden status icon appeared.

[Luck Blessing (Special Status)]

Source: Reward for entering the top one hundred of the Eastern Wasteland regional force rankings for the first time

Effect: Luck +10, lasting 7 days

Specific bonuses:

1. Item drop rate increased by 30%

2. Critical hit rate increased by 5%

3. Skill comprehension probability increased by 20%

4. Probability of encountering hidden missions/opportunities increased by 15%

5. Success rate of life skills like Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Formations increased by 25%

Description: Luck is one of the most mysterious and precious attributes in "covering the heavens era", directly affecting a Cultivator's Opportunity and growth. This status is a System reward and cannot be obtained through other means.

Luck +10!

A sharp light flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. In "covering the heavens era", Luck is a hidden attribute, extremely difficult to increase. Ordinary players' Luck usually ranges between 1-5 points; reaching 10 points is already considered having great fortune. A temporary increase of +10 means that for these seven days, he is practically a Son of Luck!

More importantly, this status is shared by all core members! Su Qingyue, Chen Hao, Shi Potian, Qin Ruoxue, and Zhao Wuji all had the same icon appear on their panels!

"Luck Blessing..." Su Qingyue felt the subtle changes brought by the status. "I can feel that the surrounding Spiritual Qi has become more affable."

"Me too!" Chen Hao said excitedly. "I just swung my hammer casually and actually triggered the hidden effect of the Overlord Heavy Armor, 'Tyrant Body Shock'. I tried it hundreds of times before and it never succeeded!"

Shi Potian silently tested his stealth effect and found that his concealment in the shadows had increased by at least twenty percent—this was the implicit bonus of Luck on skill effects.

Qin Ruoxue closed her eyes to sense for a moment. When she opened them, a starlight flashed in her eyes: "My Heavenly Secret Star Ring... just automatically parsed an encrypted message that I couldn't crack before. It's the coordinates of a base of the Night Veil organization."

Zhao Wuji was the most direct; he drew a Talisman on the spot. The "Vajra Talisman," which usually only had a sixty percent success rate, succeeded in one go, and the quality reached the "Excellent" level!

"This status... is too strong!" Zhao Wuji said excitedly. "Seven days! We must make full use of these seven days!"

Lin Ye nodded: "That's right. The Luck Blessing only lasts for seven days; we must maximize our gains within these seven days."

He quickly made arrangements:

"Zhao Wuji, you are responsible for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. Take out all the precious Materials in stock and use the increased success rate to refine as many high-level Medicinal Pills and equipment as possible. Especially rare pills like 'Marrow Cleansing Pill' and 'Breakthrough Pill'; their success rates are usually too low, now is the best time."

"Pavilion Master Qin, you are responsible for intelligence analysis and mission acceptance. Taking advantage of the increased probability of opportunities, have the sisters of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion fully collect clues for hidden missions. Additionally, send people to scout the coordinates of that Night Veil base, but do not alert the enemy."

"Su Qingyue, Chen Hao, Shi Potian, you three lead the elites of the four halls to hunt high-level Yao Beasts in the Chenxing Mountain Range. Taking advantage of the increased drop rate, collect rare Materials. Priority targets: the 'Thunder Horn Rhino' of Thunder Marsh, the 'Cold Ice Python' of Ice Valley, and... if possible, search for clues to the entrance of the 'Five Elements Secret Realm'."

"As for myself..." Lin Ye paused, "I want to take advantage of the increased skill comprehension probability to go into seclusion and contemplate the mysteries of the 'Big Dipper True Scripture' and the 'Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body'. Also, those three fragments of the bronze ghost mask need to be studied."

Everyone took their orders and acted quickly.

The time of the Luck Blessing is precious; not a single second can be wasted.

In the following days, Heavenly Court entered a period of rapid development.

In the Alchemy room, Zhao Wuji led five Alchemists working day and night. Under the Luck Blessing, the fourth-grade "Marrow Cleansing Pill," which originally had only a thirty percent success rate, actually produced seven cauldrons, with five being successful! Each cauldron yielded three to five pills, totaling twenty-one Marrow Cleansing Pills! If this were at normal times, it would take at least a month to achieve this output.

In the Artifact Refining workshop, three Artifact Refiners, under the guidance of Master Appraiser's apprentice, successfully integrated the dragon-patterned black gold fragments into Su Qingyue's Cold Moon Sword. The Fusion process originally had a 50% risk of failure, but under the Luck Blessing, it succeeded in one go! The quality of the Cold Moon Sword was raised from Rare to Rare Peak, just one step away from Epic.

The intelligence network of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion operated at full capacity. Under Qin Ruoxue's command, they discovered seven hidden mission clues within three days, three of which were chain missions with generous rewards. Even more surprisingly, while scouting the Night Veil base, they accidentally discovered a secret passage leading underground, where something seemed to be sealed.

In the Chenxing Mountain Range, the hunting team led by Su Qingyue had amazing gains. Thunder Horn Rhino horns, Cold Ice Python gallbladders, Golden Winged Eagle feathers... more than a dozen Storage Pouches were filled with various rare Materials. Even more excitingly, during the hunting process, they accidentally triggered a hidden event and obtained a fragment of the "Five Elements Token"—collect all five, and you can enter the Five Elements Secret Realm in advance!

As for Lin Ye himself, on the third day of his seclusion, he had a major Breakthrough.

In the quiet room, Lin Ye sat cross-legged.

In front of him, three fragments of the bronze ghost mask hovered in mid-air, arranged in a triangle. At the cracks on the edges of the fragments, faint green light flowed, producing a subtle resonance between them.

Lin Ye also took out the complete bronze ghost mask he had previously obtained from the Bronze Ancient Palace.

The moment the complete mask appeared, the three fragments trembled simultaneously! The green light surged, and the fragments began to slowly move toward the complete mask, as if trying to reassemble.

But just at the moment of contact, a powerful repulsive force erupted!

"Buzz—!"

The green light exploded, the fragments were blown away, and the complete mask also trembled violently, with dense cracks appearing on its surface.

Lin Ye hurriedly withdrew his Chaos Divine Power to stabilize the situation.

"Still not working..." He frowned.

These three fragments came from Night Veil assassins; their material and patterns were exactly the same as the complete mask, obviously parts of the same item after it shattered. But for some reason, they could not be fused back together.

Lin Ye tried various methods: dripping blood to claim ownership, communicating with Divine Sense, nourishing with Chaos Divine Power, even using the Luck Blessing status... all were ineffective.

But it was not without gains.

During the resonance just now, Lin Ye's Divine Sense captured an extremely blurry image fragment:

It was a huge Bronze Ancient Palace with nine towering pillars in the hall, each carved with different ghost mask patterns. Deep in the palace, there was a throne, and on the throne sat a figure. The figure's face was blurry, but it held a complete bronze ghost mask in its hand...

The image cut off here.

"Nine pillars... ghost mask... throne..." Lin Ye muttered to himself.

He remembered his previous experience in the Bronze Ancient Palace. Although that ancient palace also had bronze pillars, there were only three, and the scale was far less magnificent than in the image.

Could it be that the Bronze Ancient Palace was only a part of a larger ruin?

And the bronze ghost mask is the key to opening that ruin?

Lin Ye carefully put away the mask and fragments. This secret, I'm afraid, will need more clues to unravel.

He turned to contemplate the "Big Dipper True Scripture".

Under the Luck Blessing, the originally obscure and difficult scriptures now became much clearer. The three big dipper star seals in his Dantian spun faster and faster, and Star Power poured into his limbs and bones like a trickling stream.

The prototype of the fourth star Seal began to condense in the Heart Divine Treasure!

This is a sign of breaking through to the Dao Palace Third Layer!

Lin Ye did not rush for success but took it steady, using Chaos Divine Power to slowly nourish this new star Seal. In the cultivation of the Dao Palace Realm, every layer requires a solid Foundation, otherwise, it will affect subsequent Breakthroughs.

Three days later, the new star Seal took initial shape. Although it was still very illusory, it could already resonate with the other three.

Lin Ye's cultivation steadily stepped into the Peak of the Dao Palace Second Layer, only one step away from the Third Layer.

And just as he was preparing to make a push for the Third Layer—

"Leader Lin!" Qin Ruoxue's voice came through the communication Talisman, with a hint of urgency, "There is a situation!"

Lin Ye opened his eyes: "Speak."

"Two things. First, the underground secret passage we found in the Night Veil base has been initially explored. Inside... a corpse is sealed, and in the corpse's hand is a black stone slab, almost exactly the same as the one you obtained!"

Lin Ye's pupils shrank.

A second stone slab?

"The second thing." Qin Ruoxue's voice was even more solemn, "The sisters of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion intercepted an encrypted communication from... the Night Veil headquarters. The 'Hunting Squad' they sent to the Eastern Wasteland has already set off, with a clear target: Heavenly Court, and... the Chaos Body."

Lin Ye was silent for a moment.

"When will the Hunting Squad arrive?"

"At the latest... in three days." Qin Ruoxue said, "And this time, those coming are not peripheral members. The one leading the team is the 'Shadow Envoy' among the Seven Envoys of Night Veil, with a Rank... at least Dao Palace Fifth Layer."

Dao Palace Fifth Layer!

And it's a core figure like the Seven Envoys of Night Veil!

Lin Ye stood up slowly.

The Luck Blessing still has four days left.

A strong enemy will arrive in three days.

It seems these last four days will not be peaceful.