Chapter 90: Too Many Experts, Difficulties for the Support

The disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley ranked low as well, but their situation was much like that of the Beast Taming Sect. They had no experts in the Spirit Transformation Realm; their top-ranked disciple, Jin Lan, had just entered the Nascent Soul Realm. Yet no one dared provoke them lightly—for one simple reason: each member possessed a set of mid-tier mystic-grade spiritual weapons.

To have even a single mystic-grade spiritual weapon was enough to make other cultivators secretly rejoice, but they had entire sets for every disciple. How could anyone not be intimidated? Sometimes, the power of money was truly formidable...

The Wanshan Prison had only four disciples who entered the relic battlefield. The mysterious Qu Buping, a peak second-level Spirit Transformation expert, was ranked tenth. Zou Ping, at the second level of the Nascent Soul Realm, was thirty-first. Wan Liu, a seventh-level Golden Core disciple, ranked thirty-second, and Zhang Chen, at the third level of the Golden Core, was thirty-fourth. Judging from their rankings, Wanshan Prison was clearly far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

Pure Yang Temple had the largest number of participants in the relic battlefield among all sects—three hundred and twenty-six, not even counting Wang Li and Jiang Yue. In terms of sheer numbers, they remained the dominant force in the relic battlefield, contrary to Hong Luan Peak’s worries.

Yun Jingzi, using unknown means, fought over seventy matches in less than a day, climbing to the top of the Celestial Selection list with an undefeated record.

The Lin brothers, once the strongest contenders in the first phase, found it difficult to stand out in the relic battlefield, hovering between the seventieth and eightieth ranks.

An obscure figure, Zhang Zai, suddenly rose to prominence. He challenged several Nascent Soul experts while still at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, amassing 158,000 points and securing fifth place. He then broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, surpassing even Hai Kuan of the East Sea Sect. How he accomplished this was a mystery.

Wang Li recalled the scene when Zhang Zai, along with Jiang Yu and Jin Lan, came to request the “Thunder Justice Scroll” from him. At the time, Wang Li hadn’t noticed anything remarkable about Zhang Zai, but now, seeing his displayed potential, Wang Li could only question his own judgment.

“Master Sheng, what’s the story with this Zhang Zai—is he a backup contender?”

Whenever Wang Li was uncertain, he always consulted Master Sheng—a habit he had developed.

Master Sheng found it strange as well. “Oh? Let me take a look.”

After a long pause, Master Sheng replied, “Just keep your distance from Zhang Zai in the future. He’s a sly old fox.”

Wang Li wisely did not press further; it was clear Master Sheng did not wish to elaborate.

Though Pure Yang Temple boasted many disciples—nearly a quarter of those who entered the relic battlefield—their apparent strength masked a shortage of top-tier experts. Without Yun Jingzi holding the fort, they would likely become targets for the other sects.

Speaking of targets, there was indeed one such figure in the relic battlefield, whose name Wang Li had heard long ago.

Gou Lichuan, a genius of the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, was once the most discussed candidate on the Celestial Selection list.

Wang Li was unsure how much animosity Gou Lichuan had attracted during the Small City Trial, but he found the man distinctly unlikable.

On the first day of the individual arena battles, Gou Lichuan received challenges from more than thirty experts and had fought nonstop ever since. Not only righteous sect disciples challenged him, but even those from the demonic sects sent battle invitations.

Yet Gou Lichuan proved formidable, winning over twenty matches without defeat and, thanks to his third-level Nascent Soul cultivation, firmly holding fourth place—a testament to his strength.

Apart from Gou Lichuan, the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss had another demon cultivator, Feng Qi, in the top hundred. However, this Nascent Soul demon clearly had a poor relationship with Gou Lichuan; they fought each other at the start, ending in a draw.

The experts of the Pleasure Gate were also unpopular. Liu Shifei was beaten by Wang Meng on the first day and then lost a refusal chance to Wu Liu Zhengying. He received challenge letters from more than ten cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths and would likely soon be eliminated. However, another Pleasure Gate cultivator, Liu Chengfei, a Golden Core disciple, stood firm in the relic battlefield with ten consecutive victories, ranking thirty-eighth on the Celestial Selection list.

The Ultimate Path and the Free Path each had only a single representative in the relic battlefield, but both were exceptionally strong.

Zhao Leiling of the Ultimate Path began by consecutively battling seven Spirit Transformation experts and twelve Nascent Soul experts. Of nineteen matches, he only lost to Yun Jingzi, winning the other eighteen, and was recognized as the second strongest in the relic battlefield.

Hua Ying of the Free Path, though not yet in the Spirit Transformation Realm, remained undefeated against two Spirit Transformation experts, placing him among the top contenders.

The Limitless Gate sent twenty-one disciples—more than any other demonic sect—but lacked any standout figures. Their only distinguishing feature was that all twenty-one disciples were uniformly at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Realm. Their cultivation methods remained a mystery.

The Corpse Control Sect and the Eerie God Sect had more complex situations. Their cultivation methods were rather challenging to the common sensibility: one commanded corpses in battle, the other had no physical body, only a spiritual core. Both sects required an initiation ritual involving self-slaughter, which meant that anyone with a healthy worldview would likely avoid them. Thus, their disciples were few, but due to their long lifespans and accumulated experience, their sects housed many top experts. Both also had ambiguous ties to the Path of Reincarnation; though considered demonic sects, few dared provoke them, for no one wished to suffer unrest after death.

As a result, only five disciples from the Corpse Control Sect and Eerie God Sect entered the relic battlefield, none of whom were particularly notable, yet no one wanted to challenge them.

The Eight Great Mountains of the righteous path were strongest in the relic battlefield, while the Seven Demonic Sects also held their own. However, the combined strength of these fifteen sects paled in comparison to the disciples from the various middle and small sects—if only those experts could unite.

The Celestial World was vast; the Eight Great Mountains and Seven Demonic Sects, though powerful, could not cover all the realms. There were always places beyond their reach.

For instance, those hidden sects and cultivation families concealed within secret realms.

These small sects and cultivation clans might lack the resources of the larger ones, but they could still devote everything to nurturing one or two geniuses. Moreover, cultivation talent was entirely random; the major sects could not monopolize all the prodigies. Thus, it was not uncommon for extraordinary experts to emerge from the small sects.

The Celestial Selection gathered nearly all the top talents of the Celestial World. In such trials, the disciples of the major sects did not necessarily have an advantage.

“There are actually four Spirit Transformation experts among these small sects. With the competition from the major sects’ Spirit Transformation experts, it’s going to be tough to play a supporting role this round!”

After thoroughly investigating the relic battlefield, Wang Li sighed.