Chapter 272 - 170: Trial Rankings
"He killed Liou Tao and even seized the stone bead, yet he dares to openly flaunt it. If the Liou Family finds out, they’d probably be furious."
"However, he does have quite a few stone beads, probably not much less than Yingsi’s beads."
...
The commotion at the registration table of the Fifth Peak did not escape the attention of Zhao Zhuoran, who was responsible for this Outer Sect trial.
As Liou Yuan poured out the stone beads, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the elderly man was walking towards them.
"Mr. Zhao!" Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng respectfully greeted the elderly man with a bow.
"Count the stone beads." The old man nodded slightly, signaling Wei Miaomeng to continue her task, while his gaze fixed on Liou Yuan, his old eyes filled with a smile.
The two were somewhat old acquaintances, and they exchanged a silent smile without speaking.
"This Mr. Zhao knows how to play it safe," Liou Yuan secretly murmured in his heart.
Earlier on the Spirit Ascension Platform, when so many Foundation Establishment cultivators had come, only Zhao Zhuoran didn’t intervene and chose to stand aside.
He didn’t blame Zhao Zhuoran; after all, the man had no reason to protect him.
Thinking of this, Liou Yuan, along with Zhao Zhuoran, attentively watched the stone beads on the table.
Under Wei Miaomeng’s meticulous counting, Liou Yuan’s Stone Skill was soon calculated: "Liou Yuan, five hundred seventy-two Stone Skill."
Wei Miaomeng announced in a charming voice, making Liou Yuan’s smile broaden.
Zhao Zhuoran nodded beside her, saying, "The count of the stone beads is accurate."
"Congratulations, Mr. Liou, you have a good chance of being in the top three this time."
Even Zhao Zhuoran said there was a chance for the top three, making it essentially a certainty.
Liou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced for saving that Purifying Nether Stone Bead.
Of course, it was mainly because his strongest competitor, Wang Ze Wen, was injured by Tuoba Xin; otherwise, these stone beads wouldn’t have been enough.
"For this, I should thank Tuoba Xin."
Saying this, Liou Yuan glanced over the Holy Spirit Platform.
It was strange indeed; since leaving Erosion Land, Liou Yuan hadn’t seen Tuoba Xin.
At the time of the fiercest battles among the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the Spirit Ascension Platform, he didn’t show up, and now, when everyone was registering stone beads, he was still absent.
"Perhaps the sect’s higher-ups intentionally concealed him."
Liou Yuan pondered internally.
After Yingsi and Wang Ze Wen, Liou Yuan’s number of stone beads naturally sparked a wave of discussion on the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Yingsi and Wang Ze Wen were acknowledged as the strong ones in this Outer Sect trial, both at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.
Liou Yuan was the only one at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Realm who achieved over five hundred Stone Skill points.
Even Zhao Feiyue, Bi Wan, and Bao Yufeng, who were his fellow disciples of the Five-Star Star Acupoint, were slightly behind him.
However, thinking of Liou Yuan’s performance in Erosion Land, those Outer Sect disciples found it unsurprising.
"This guy is ruthless enough to have killed Liou Tao. Even Zhan Huaping was defeated, leaving none behind."
"I think in this batch of Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples, he’s already claimed the top spot."
Liou Yuan had only been a disciple for a few years, less than two years. Given another two years, he undoubtedly would become another Liou Zhen of the Snow Shattering Sword.
Everyone understood why Liou Le Yao was willing to spare no expense to kill the two brothers.
Having one genius like this in a family is already a blessing.
Having two simultaneous ones would keep even the Liou Family of Xiang Mountain awake at night.
After Liou Yuan came Qiu Ming.
Qiu Ming also had a substantial number of stone beads, especially since he and Liou Yuan spent the last stretch of the Outer Sect trial seizing many disciples’ beads together.
He had over three hundred Stone Skill points.
Liou Yuan estimated that he would have no problem making it into the top ten.
As the last disciple completed the registration on the Holy Spirit Platform, the sky had already grown dark.
The moon hung high above the Spirit Ascension Platform, casting a watery, clear light over it, enveloping the platform in a soft glow, turning the originally hard outlines into something hazy and poetic.
Around the Spirit Ascension Platform, tall stone pillars burned with blazing flames, orange flames flickering and dancing in the night wind, making crackling sounds, adding a bit of life to the silent night.
The disqualified disciples had already left.
The remaining disciples on the Spirit Ascension Platform were those who passed this Outer Sect trial, with two-thirds remaining.
Zhao Zhuoran, responsible for the post-trial work of the Outer Sect, stood at the front of the Spirit Ascension Platform, holding a booklet with summarized names, ready to announce the rankings for this Outer Sect trial.
Liou Yuan and Qiu Ming stood less than twenty zhang below Zhao Zhuoran.
Liou Yuan kept a smile on his face because he had been keeping track of the Stone Skill registration the whole time and, aside from Yingsi, no one had a higher tally than him.
"There’s no suspense for the top three."
As Zhao Zhuoran spoke, the actual rankings were made public.
"First place: Yan Yingsi. Six hundred twenty-three Stone Skill."
"Second place: Liou Yuan. Five hundred seventy-two Stone Skill."
"Third place: Wang Ze Wen. Five hundred nine Stone Skill."
"Fourth place: Zhao Feiyue. Four hundred fifty Stone Skill."
"Fifth place: Yin Huai’an. Three hundred seventy Stone Skill."
"Sixth place: Qiu Ming. Three hundred forty-one Stone Skill."
...