Sky Curtain Settlement

Dong!!!

The bell tolls.

With only half an hour left until the end of the Heaven Rank assessment.

The 96th step.

"Huff~ huff~"

Liu Han struggles to climb higher.

He repeatedly punches the wall with his fists.

Each punch sends fragments flying.

These fragments are not from the wall.

But from the bones of Liu Han's fists.

Boom!

Boom!

Liu Han continues to punch the wall with his bloodied, mangled fists.

As soon as the Heaven Rank heals his fists, he immediately smashes them against the wall again, breaking them once more.

Yet, after thousands of punches, the wall remains unbroken.

Liu Han glances at the top.

There's still a long way to go before the 97th step.

"Damn it! Is this the limit of my talent?"

Liu Han's eyes dim.

But his fists continue to pound against the wall.

At that moment, an old voice emanates from his waist.

"Silly child, think positively. You've already surpassed that boy from the Ye family. At least within Chang'an City, you are the top talent—"

The next second.

Swish!

Ye Wangchuan suddenly zooms past Liu Han.

Liu Han: "?"

The old voice: "……"

"It's fine. Since the Ye family's patriarch is so powerful, it's normal for his son to have extraordinary talent."

"At least you're still the second most talented genius in Chang'an City."

Half an hour later...

"Ye Wangchuan!"

Li Luo roars as she chases after him.

Although not as fast as Ye Wangchuan, she is much faster than Liu Han.

Liu Han: "??"

The old voice: "……"

"It's fine. With such a big city like Chang'an, it's normal to have a few freaks."

"At least you're still—"

Liu Han quickly blocks the old voice from his waist, preventing it from continuing.

He fears that if it goes on, he might not even hold onto the third spot.

……

……

Twenty-five minutes later.

"Who's been helping Li Luo untie her ropes?"

On the 97th step, Ye Wangchuan ponders.

From earlier until now, he has tied Li Luo up with wooden ox tendon ropes several times.

But each time, she manages to untie them.

"Ye Wangchuan, you really—wait! Waaah! Where did you get so many ropes!"

Just as Li Luo reaches the 97th step, she is once again bound into a bundle.

After tying her up, Ye Wangchuan dusts his hands and climbs to the 98th step, peeking down to check the situation.

Sure enough, three minutes after Li Luo is tied up.

Two drops of ink suddenly condense in the air.

The ink flashes, leaving a trail of calligraphy in the sky.

Li Luo's bindings naturally break apart.

"Ink... is it the Li family?"

"Did the Li family recognize Li Luo's extraordinary talent and decide to recruit her?"

Ye Wangchuan thinks, glancing at the sky.

With only two minutes left until the end of the Heaven Rank assessment.

Ye Wangchuan stretches, grabs the wall, and effortlessly climbs to the 99th step.

As he reaches the 99th step.

Dong!!!

The bell tolls, echoing throughout the city.

The Heaven Rank assessment concludes.

Swish!

The white-haired, long-robed elder reappears in the air.

With a flick of his robe, he creates a gust of wind.

The wind sweeps across the Heaven Rank, sending everyone back to the ground.

Then, the elder claps his hands!

Clap!

With a single clap, the entire Heaven Rank transforms into a flat surface.

This surface resembles a giant chart, with exactly ninety-nine rows.

The bottom row represents the 1st step,

and upwards are the 2nd, 3rd, and so on...

The elder waves his hand, and countless footprints appear on the surface.

These footprints are all the highest steps each person reached.

Soon, the footprints transform into the names of their owners.

The entire scene looks like this:

【99th Step: Ye Wangchuan】

【98th Step: None】

【97th Step: Li Luo】

【96th Step: Liu Han】

【……】

As the names appear, the crowd below begins to discuss excitedly.

"The ranking is out, look!"

"My 99th step!!!"

"Wow, the Ye family's young master, who was always seen strolling around, yesterday even hitting a woman, who would've thought he'd have such incredible talent!"

"The Liu family's young master is also terrifying! He surpassed the 95th step!"

Clearly, Ye Wangchuan and Liu Han are quite well-known.

"By the way, who's Li Luo? Isn't the Li family's young master Li Youde?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know."

"I don't know."

Li Luo is not well-known to many.

After all, she suddenly appeared in this world.

……

……

In a small pavilion, several old men are sitting together, drinking tea.

The appearance of the ranking naturally catches their attention.

Ye Wangchuan's father, Ye Zhentian, leans forward.

Seeing his son's name on the 99th step, his mood instantly improves.

The Marrow Cleansing Fruit wasn't wasted!

"Hahaha! Gentlemen! I seem to have cataracts! Can anyone help me see who's at the top?"

"You have cataracts? Then aren't we all blind?"

An old man grumbles, leaning forward to take a look.

The next second, he exclaims, "Wow!"

"Don't just 'wow' me. Isn't it just Ye Wangchuan taking first place? I already guessed that."

"No, it's Old Liu! Your boy is only third!"

"What!!!"

The old man surnamed Liu rushes over, carefully examining the ranking.

Upon discovering that there's another name above his son's.

Old Liu lets out a piercing scream.

"Old Li! When did your family produce such a talented child?"

Seeing that the second place is surnamed Li, the other old men quickly gather around Old Li to ask.

Old Li strokes his beard, smiling, "Hehehe, my Li family just happened to produce a genius, no need to pay attention."

Old Liu: "Let me see where your son Li Youde is... 61st step!"

Old Li: "……"

The old men soon start bickering.

Only Ye Zhentian sits smiling, leisurely sipping his tea.

……

……

"Hmm..."

Ye Wangchuan looks up, examining the ranking.

The top few are as he expected, except for the addition of Li Luo.

The top three: Ye, Li, Liu, followed by Zhang, Jiang, Wang.

Apart from Li Luo, the top six are all from wealthy families.

It seems there are no other chosen ones.

Having checked the top, it's time to look at the bottom.

After all, those with extremely poor talent might also be chosen ones.

Ye Wangchuan glances down.

【5th Step: Da Wu, Gouzi...】

【4th Step: None】

【3rd Step: Tang San】

【2nd Step: None】

【1st Step: None】

"!!!!"

Seeing the name "Tang San," Ye Wangchuan almost loses his composure.

Could it be that one?

If it is...