Translator: CinderTL
"Something major has happened."
Frigid Jade Fortress.
Lu Xiu Yuan's Divine Sense arrived before he did.
He quickly found Zuo Cheng, who was in the midst of deploying personnel to reinforce the Two Realms Mountain front. With a wave of his hand, he materialized two figures before him.
They were none other than Chang Feng, captain of the Void Warship 19953 that had been blockading Blue Star, and Su Fang.
Appearing alongside them was a projection of a mountain range formed from light and shadow.
"Captain Chang, Captain Su, what's going on? Has something changed on Blue Star?"
Zuo Cheng immediately stood up, his expression grave.
"The key isn't us," Su Fang said solemnly. "It's the Profound Yellow List."
"The Profound Yellow List?" Zuo Cheng quickly realized what they meant. "You're talking about Sword Prodigy Li Chunjun's disappearance from the Star Glory List, right? I already knew about that. I've confirmed with Yuan Xiao that Sword Prodigy Li is safe and sound. He likely broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm and naturally fell off the list."
He glanced at them with a puzzled expression. "Didn't I tell you all not to make such a fuss?"
"Chief Zuo, you should take a look at the list I projected," Lu Xiu Yuan interjected.
Though puzzled, Zuo Cheng turned his gaze.
Huh?
"How did he fall to tenth place?"
The high-ranking official of Frigid Jade Fortress frowned. "He was clearly number one on the Star Glory List. How could he suddenly drop to tenth?"
As soon as he spoke, he realized something was amiss. "Wait, the size of this mountain peak..."
He abruptly scanned the entire mountain.
In the next moment, despite having witnessed countless battlefields and countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the Primordial Spirit True Monarch couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock.
The scale of this mountain peak...
"The Star Brilliance List! It's the Star Brilliance List!"
Lu Xiu Yuan couldn't contain himself any longer, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "Sword Prodigy Li disappeared from the Star Glory List for less than half a year. After entering seclusion and cultivating to the Nascent Soul Realm, he soared once more, ascending to the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List! And he's ranked tenth right away!"
"Tenth on the Star Brilliance List!?"
Even Zuo Cheng felt his head buzzing at this revelation.
The Star Brilliance List carried far more weight than the Star Glory List.
Even the most powerful cultivator on the Star Glory List would be insignificant before a Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
Forget about these veteran True Monarchs; even newly ascended First Tribulation True Monarchs could easily crush the number one ranked cultivator on the Star Glory List.
But the Solar Radiance List was different!
Every cultivator who made it onto the Solar Radiance List possessed True Monarch-level combat prowess!
The top ten on the Solar Radiance List were so powerful they could defeat Six Tribulation True Monarchs, their combat strength rivaling that of Late-stage Primordial Spirit Seven Tribulation True Monarchs.
Among their group of True Monarchs, Chang Feng, the captain of the Void Warship, still fell short of this standard.
From Chang Feng's perspective, Li Chunjun, who hadn't even been worthy of his attention a year and a half ago, had now completely surpassed him, a Three Tribulation True Monarch, in such a short time!
"Solar Radiance List... tenth place! Solar Radiance List... tenth place!" Zuo Cheng muttered to himself.
"Even if Li Chunjun had been number one on the Star Glory List, I'd have thought that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, just making an appearance on the Solar Radiance List would be his limit. Yet he's soared all the way to tenth place?"
Unimaginable.
This influential Primordial Spirit True Monarch at Frigid Jade Fortress racked his brains, unable to fathom how Li Chunjun had achieved this feat.
"This talent is truly astonishing."
Su Fang sighed as well. "Though the Sword Bearer Legion offers the best treatment, the war missions they undertake are inherently dangerous. Sword Prodigy Li's placement as number one on the Star Glory List was fitting, but to reach the top ten of the Solar Radiance List again in just six months..."
He spoke sincerely, "With such talent and aptitude, his chances of becoming a Void Refining Great Power in the future are extremely high. Keeping him in the Sword Bearer Legion would be a waste. I suspect a Great Power will soon step forward to claim him as a disciple."
Zuo Cheng, Lu Xiu Yuan, and the others nodded in agreement.
Don't let the fact that he's only in the top ten of the Solar Radiance List fool you!
This accomplishment far surpasses being number one on the Star Glory List.
It's like comparing a world competition winner from elementary school to a tenth-place finisher from high school—the former simply can't compare to the latter.
"You lot are lucky to have forged a bond with Sword Prodigy Li early on. As long as he doesn't meet an untimely end, you might just have a Void Refining-level connection in the future."
As Su Fang spoke, envy flickered in his eyes.
"Captain Su's move to take down the Wu Ji Sect and the Chiyang Sword Sect... isn't that essentially doing Sword Prodigy Li a favor?"
Zuo Cheng chuckled. "I reckon Sword Prodigy Li will return to the Azure Star Minor Realm soon to settle matters with the Chiyang Sword Sect and the Wu Ji Sect. That's when Captain Su can have a proper chat with him."
Su Fang's eyes lit up with a smile.
While Li Chunjun hadn't yet reached his peak, he, as an enforcer of the War Commission, could still converse with Li Chunjun on equal footing.
But in a few hundred years, or even a few decades...
Once Li Chunjun achieved Void Refining, their statuses would become as different as heaven and earth.
They would no longer be equals.
"Tenth on the Star Brilliance List..."
Su Fang gazed at the Star Brilliance List again, filled with emotion.
They knew Li Chunjun was exceptionally talented and destined to soar through the Profound Yellow List. But they never expected him to realize his potential so quickly.
After topping the Star Glory List, he had surged onto the Star Brilliance List in just six months, leaping straight to first place. Such talent was truly...
Wait!?
"First place!?"
Su Fang's gaze was riveted to the Star Brilliance List, as if drawn by an invisible force. He stared intently at the name "Li Chunjun."
The name that had, in a mere moment of distraction, soared from tenth place to first, claiming the pinnacle!
For a fleeting instant, he almost thought he was hallucinating!
Su Fang's unusual behavior caught the attention of Zuo Cheng, Lu Xiu Yuan, and Chang Feng. They too turned their gazes back to the Star Brilliance List, their expressions puzzled.
When they saw the ranking change for "Li Chunjun"...
The three Primordial Spirit True Monarchs' eyes widened in shock.
Unprecedented terror flooded their faces in an instant.
Lu Xiu Yuan, in particular, couldn't help but let out a strangled scream: "First place!?"
Had the Profound Yellow Star Brilliance List malfunctioned!?
His involuntary cry jolted Zuo Cheng and Chang Feng from their stupor.
"Li Chunjun has surged to the top of the Star Brilliance List!?"
"This... this is impossible! How could this possibly happen!?"
Zuo Cheng abruptly stood up, as if he couldn't trust the list Lu Xiu Yuan had shown him. He personally entered the False God Realm with his Divine Sense, accessing the Profound Yellow List interface and gazing at the Profound Yellow Three Rankings—a list he had checked countless times throughout his long life.
The name "Li Chunjun," ranked first on the Star Brilliance List, and the aura emanating from it were so clear and undeniable.
"Number one on the Star Brilliance List!? How did he become number one!? Climbing from tenth place on the Star Glory List to the top ten on the Star Brilliance List in just half a year was already considered incredible and mind-boggling. And yet... after only pausing at tenth place for a mere seven hours, he's already reached the summit!?"
At that moment, the Primordial Spirit True Monarch, whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Ninth Tribulation, felt as though the entire world had become unreal.
The Mind Power he was on the verge of forming was threatening to completely collapse.
He was utterly defeated.
If tenth place on the Star Brilliance List roughly equated to the combat power of a Seven Tribulation True Monarch, then number one...
Undoubtedly, Li Chunjun had reached the pinnacle of True Monarch cultivation, the Ninth Thunder Tribulation stage, just like him!
Li Chunjun had already caught up to him!
It was clear that he would soon surpass them all.
"Is this... the difference between us and a true genius?" Lu Xiu Yuan murmured to himself. "But... I'm also a genius..."
Back then, his sect had even groomed him to become a Core Formation Sword Prodigy.
The Primordial Spirit True Monarch was plunged into doubt about his life.
The Primordial Spirit True Monarchs stationed at Frigid Jade Fortress weren't the only ones who felt their world had been turned upside down upon seeing Li Chunjun top the Star Brilliance List.
True Monarch Xuan You, Elder Liang Meng, and Hall Master Zhuo Guang, who had already returned to the Taixu Sword Sect and had been desperately trying to mend their relationship with Li Chunjun, were also drawn to the Star Brilliance List by the earlier commotion surrounding his entry into the top ten.
Their focus on Li Chunjun's progress on the list led them to witness his ascent to the very top.
At that moment, True Monarch Xuan You, Elder Liang Meng, and Hall Master Zhuo Guang were completely stunned.
When Li Chunjun had first surged to the top of the Star Glory List, they had already faced unimaginable pressure. The Hall Master in charge of the Branch Sect had personally intervened, issuing a stern order to Zhuo Guang: no matter what, Li Chunjun had to be brought back to the Taixu Sword Sect.
Failure to do so would cost Zhuo Guang his position as Vice Hall Master.
Yet before they could even devise a plan to win Li Chunjun back, he had pulled off an even greater feat.
He had broken into the top ten of the Star Brilliance List!
Upon receiving this news, True Monarch Xuan You felt as though the sky was about to collapse.
Zhuo Guang immediately summoned her and berated her for hours before they finally began brainstorming solutions together.
But before they could come up with a plan, they realized that Li Chunjun's entry into the top ten wasn't even the worst of their problems.
Li Chunjun...
He had reached the summit!
Number one on the Star Brilliance List!
False God Realm.
On a simulated island, True Monarchs Zhuo Guang, Liang Meng, and Xuan You stared blankly at the name at the very top of the Star Brilliance List's mountain peak. Their minds were completely blank.
True Monarch Xuan You, who had recently threatened Li Chunjun due to his disrespectful attitude, felt utterly defeated. The Primordial Spirit, renowned for its Divine Sense and computational prowess, had completely lost the ability to think.
"Solar Radiance... First..."
Hall Master Zhuo Guang stammered out the words. Each syllable felt like a towering mountain, crushing him under its weight. An unprecedented bitterness filled his mouth, spreading through his heart.
"Hall... Hall Master, what do we do now?" Liang Meng asked, his voice tinged with grievance. Compared to Xuan You and Zhuo Guang, he was, in a sense, an innocent victim.
Zhuo Guang opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His entire body felt drained of all strength.
At that moment, a Divine Sense filled with immense authority, even tinged with a hint of fury, descended like a thunderbolt, exploding deep within their minds.
"Zhuo Guang! Where is Sword Prodigy Li of my Taixu Sword Sect? Where is he!?"
The shockwave from this Divine Sense caused Zhuo Guang to tremble.
His first instinct was to bow deeply. "Burning Ash Hall Master..."
"I don't want to hear any excuses!"
The Divine Sense, radiating boundless majesty, issued its command in an unyielding tone.
"Take the most prestigious agreement you can find and go immediately to the Creation Merchant Guild of Canghai Mountain. Use every means necessary to secure Sword Prodigy Li's entry into my Taixu Sword Sect! Otherwise, you, Xuan You, will report directly to the Sea Sacrifice Battlefield!"
The Sea Sacrifice Battlefield!
Those four words drained the color from Zhuo Guang and Xuan You's faces.
Fear welled up in their eyes involuntarily.
Yet, facing the command of a Void Refining Great Power, they dared not disobey in the slightest.
Their voices trembling, they bowed in unison. "Yes."
(End of the Chapter)
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