Chapter 540: The Battle For First Place
Looking at the floating crystal scoreboard in the air above the square, both present experts and family disciples were flabbergasted.
Not too long ago, they had just claimed with surety that this Huang Xiaolong could reach the seventh place, or sixth at most, highest at the fifth place. Yet, before the day ended, Huang Xiaolong shot up the scoreboard using a terrifying speed all the way until the fourth place.
On the Deepwood Star, a black-robed Gudu Leng was standing in the air above a vast icefield.
“En?!” The moment his consciousness submerged into the assessment token, he was a little surprised to find the permanent figure in the fourth place, Xu Shaoqing, relegated to fifth place, whereas the current fourth place was Huang Xiaolong!
Huang Xiaolong?!
He repeated the name and a glimmer of recognition flashed in his mind. The fella that kicked Zhu Haixiang out from the top ten rankings.
At that time, he didn’t pay much attention to the matter. Later on, as he focused on killing demonic beasts, monsters, and demons, Gudu Leng did not have spare the time to check the scoreboard. Never had he imagined that in a short two days, this Huang Xiaolong actually climbed all the way up to the fourth place!
“Things are getting interesting.” Gudu Leng said softly to himself, mildly intrigued. Then again, it was merely a mild interest, worth less than the briefest second of his attention.
In another location on the Deepwood Star, clad in a blue two-piece blue tunic, Wang Biaoyuan didn’t look too happy as he watched the changes in the rankings. His fiancée, Xu Shaoqing, was actually kicked down to the fifth place by an unknown background character named Huang Xiaolong! On top of that, this Huang Xiaolong gave him a sense of crisis.
His current points were slightly over 963 million, and Huang Xiaolong had over 892 million points.
Although 70 million was seemingly a big gap, with Huang Xiaolong’s speed in picking up points, overtaking him was only a matter of time.
In another location, Jiang Shaoze too was looking at the scoreboard’s changes with a sullen face. A part of him strongly refused to believe that Huang Xiaolong actually managed to reach the fourth place. During Huang Xiaolong’s aptitude test, he was present, and ‘saw’ everything clear more than anyone.
The third day ended, blanketing many people’s indignant disbelief with darkness.
On the fourth day, Huang Xiaolong’s points continued to soar, akin to sails under the full blast wind, securing his hold on the fourth place. On the fifth day, however, his points did not move up like everyone expected. Instead, it rose steadily, maintaining an approximate gap of 70 million from Wang Biaoyun at all times.
This situation was deemed favorable to Wang Biaoyuan and Jiang Shaoze as both unknowingly breathed out in relief. Huang Xiaolong’s score maintained the steady speed of increment on the sixth day as well.
Seeing this, Wang Biaoyuan and Jiang Shaoze both finally relaxed. To them, the previous spurt was Huang Xiaolong’s limit.
At the end of the sixth day, Gudu Leng checked the scoreboard again. When he saw the result, he shook his head, “Still at number four? I thought that the competition this time wouldn't be as dull, but in the end I’m still disappointed.”
In the Hall of Heroes’ square, the Jiang and Wang Families felt as if a great burden was taken off their chests, allowing them to finally breathe with ease.
But just when everyone thought that Huang Xiaolong was at his limit and wouldn't be able to rise further up the ranks, a certain family disciple’s eyes bulged out with shock, filled to the brim with disbelief as he stared at the scoreboard: “Huang Xiaolong, he, he, he…!”
His reaction baffled everyone and drew everyone’s attention toward the fourth place on the scoreboard at the same time. What they saw was Huang Xiaolong’s points that had been rising steadily in the last two days suddenly shoot up with unprecedented speed, narrowing a large gap toward Wang Biaoyuan with every breath’s time.
“This...?!” No one knew how to react.
Even the two middle-aged men concealed in the deep void, Su Haodong and Li Zhiqun, looked tense with surprise.
On the Deepwood Star, deep ripples of shock ran through Wang Biaoyuan even as his hand swung frenzily in slaughter, yet he still failed to widen the gap between their points.
50 million!
40 million!
“10 million, it’s only 10 million now!” A spectating disciple on the Hall of Heroes square exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
From 10 million, the gap grew smaller and smaller, 9 million, 8 million... 1 million!
Wengg! Suddenly, the scoreboard beamed brightly, the whole crystal stone visibly quivered. Only when the names in the top three rankings changed would the crystal stone behave in this manner, releasing a resplendent light.
When the light gradually dimmed, becoming less glaring to the eyes, everyone saw that Wang Biaoyuan’s name had dropped from third place to the fourth.
On the third place, Huang Xiaolong!
These two words, Huang Xiaolong, were so piercing in the eyes of the Wang Family!
The 70 million gap at the beginning between Huang Xiaolong and Wang Biaoyuan, was overtaken in a short two hours’ time.
While everyone was still immersed in the astonishment of Huang Xiaolong entering top three ranks, the person himself continued to slaughter, accumulating more and more points, slowly but surely closing in on Jiang Shaoze.
Regaining their senses, the crowd in the square stared without blinking as Huang Xiaolong’s points inched closer to Jiang Shaoze, growing more nervous by the second as if their hearts were displaced, stuck in their throats.
Some time later, without any suspense, the crystal stone once again breaking out in a resplendent glow, shaking stronger than the first time. When the scoreboard returned to normal, the second-ranked Jiang Shaoze had fallen to the third place.
Second place, Huang Xiaolong!
The entire square was abnormally quiet to the point where a pin drop sounded like thunder.
Not one person was able to foresee this result.
A disciple of unknown background named Huang Xiaolong actually killed his way up to second place! Seven days ago, how many people had heard of Huang Xiaolong?
As time passed, more and more experts appeared in the square. The news about Huang Xiaolong snatching the second place had spread out, alerting the experts in every corner of the Black Warrior City.
Even after Huang Xiaolong overtook the second place, his points did not stop rising. In fact, they seemed to climb even faster, as if they were targeting Gudu Leng, slowly approaching.
“This, this Huang Xiaolong, is he planning to fight for the first place?!” Almost everyone in the square noticed this situation, and a family disciple couldn’t restrain himself, shouting out loud.
First place?!
Watching this, they felt as if something pricked their hearts.
Gudu Leng, when he took the aptitude test, his strength passed the 3000 points mark. In the last ten million years, he was the only person who achieved this result, to the point of alerting even the Black Warrior Institute’s Principal.
If Huang Xiaolong won the first place...?! Imagining this possibility, the myriad expressions in the crowd were a rich variation. Did that mean Huang Xiaolong’s talent was higher than Gudu Leng’s?
Huang Xiaolong’s sudden jump to the second place did not go unnoticed by Gudu Leng. He watched the speed of Huang Xiaolong’s rising points with anticipation.
“It’s getting more interesting now.” He leaped up, an obscure light flitted across his pupils, forming two black vortices in the depths of his obsidian black pupils. Black ripples of energy spread to the surrounding space, vibrating in a radius of several li. All the demonic beasts within the radius stopped moving. Their bodies disintegrated into fine black particles, scattering in the air.
Back in the square, the crowd watched as Gudu Leng’s points also soared with horrifying speed.
At times, Gudu Leng’s points would increase by fifty to sixty thousand, while Huang Xiaolong collected half of that, other times, Huang Xiaolong’s score would jump ten, twenty thousand whereas Gudu Leng only managed six to seven thousand.
Staring tightly at these two people’s points fighting tit-for-tat, their eyes were bedazzled by the constant glimmer of points change.
One hour, two hours, three hours. One day passed, these two people’s points continued to increase at shocking speed; you chase, I rush, fighting neck to neck. The flickering lights of points became a norm.
The crowd watched with their breaths held in as the eighth day ended.
And the sun rose on the ninth day.
Although Gudu Leng’s mad rush of points seemed scary, the crowd gradually realized that Huang Xiaolong was actually pulling closer. Initially, when Huang Xiaolong first snatched the second place, his points were a huge 300 million behind Gudu Leng. At the beginning of the ninth day, however, the difference was only 30 million.
On the Deepwood Star, Huang Xiaolong’s silhouette was shifting rapidly, his palms straight like knives, instantly slitting the neck of a mid-First Order God Realm demonic beast.
This was his five hundred and sixty-third God Realm demonic beast.