Lan Haichen was utterly incandescent with rage.

His long, white hair writhed without a breeze, like the Dance of the Demons. The very air around him turned frigid, and a layer of Hanshuang condensed upon the Venerable List!

WMMMM—

The Venerable List pulsed with light.

Amid the golden radiance, Jiang Chen’s name climbed relentlessly, surpassing the Night Emperor, surpassing Xuue Yinhao, and finally, overtaking Lan Haichen.

The light was as resplendent as a Blazing Sun, magnificent and so dazzling it was impossible to look at.

It was as if it were heralding the birth of an Invincible Venerable!

First on the Venerable List—Jiang Chen, Saint Martial Dynasty!

Those glaring words, that long string of points—they were like invisible hands that formed into giant palms and slapped Lan Haichen brutally across the face!

It stung.

A burning, stinging pain!

「Just a moment ago...」

Lan Haichen had been certain of his victory. Everyone had believed that the number one spot on the Venerable List was his and his alone!

He had already begun to bask in the reverence and adoration of the masses, in the endless paeans to his glory.

However, just as he was about to ascend the pantheon, Jiang Chen had come out of nowhere and viciously kicked him right off his pedestal.

How could he not be furious?

Lan Haichen’s features were twisted beyond recognition. His gaze, ice-cold yet filled with a towering inferno of rage, was locked on Jiang Chen as if he wanted to devour him whole.

"J-Jiang Chen actually surpassed Lan Haichen?"

"Five point eight billion points! That’s a full two billion more than Lan Haichen. How in the world did he do it?" Xuue Yinhao and the Night Emperor exchanged a look, each seeing the utter shock in the other’s eyes.

They, too, were prodigies among their generation.

They had exhausted every scheme they could think of to rack up points, but in the end, they had only managed to get about two billion each.

Yet Jiang Chen’s score alone surpassed their combined total.

How could they not be stunned?

The Night Emperor gave a wry smile, the black light at his back pulsing as his solemn gaze fell upon Jiang Chen. "However he did it, I only know one thing: the fight for the opportunity to come is going to be far more intense and spectacular!"

"Mm."

Xuue Yinhao nodded.

At that moment, Jiang Chen began to walk through the air.

He strode step by step until he was in front of the Coiling Dragon Jade Pillar where Lan Haichen stood. A playful smile touched his lips as he said, "Lan Haichen, time to move."

This was the foremost of the Coiling Dragon Jade Pillars, symbolizing the number one position on the Venerable List!

In Lan Haichen’s mind, this pillar was his private domain, not to be touched by anyone.

Even when Xuue Yinhao and the Night Emperor had surpassed his point total earlier, neither of them had dared to make a move to drive him from the number one pillar.

After all, his combat prowess was widely acknowledged as the greatest among the Ten Great Dynasties!

Even if he fell behind on points from collecting Cyan Radiance Stones, the other experts were unwilling to make a mortal enemy of him!

But now, Jiang Chen was showing him no respect whatsoever.

"You..."

Lan Haichen’s expression turned utterly grim. He glared at Jiang Chen like a furious tiger and bit out each word, "Jiang Chen, do you understand the consequences of your actions?"

"The winner is king, the loser is scum. You lost to me, so get lost. What’s with all the pointless chatter?" Jiang Chen said dismissively.

"I lost to you?"

Lan Haichen froze, then began to tremble all over. His teeth ground together with a GRK GRK sound, and an irrepressible fire blazed in his eyes. Like an enraged lion, he snarled sinisterly, "Fine, fine, fine. Jiang Chen, you’ve done well. I hope you remember everything you’ve done today. The Celestial Fate Daoist can protect you once, but he can’t protect you forever. As soon as we leave this place, I will make you understand which of us is the king, and which is the scum!"

BOOM—

Lan Haichen’s body transformed into a streak of blue light.

He shot out and landed on the Coiling Dragon Jade Pillar that Jiang Chen had previously occupied. His face was so grim he didn’t utter another word.

He didn’t try to claim the second pillar.

To him, if he couldn’t have first place, nothing else mattered!

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, a wave of satisfaction washing over him.

’So, Lan Haichen, you thought you were hot stuff, didn’t you?’

’Didn’t you say I’d never catch up to you in a million years?’

’Didn’t you have a powerful faction behind you? Weren’t you bold enough to issue a Killing Order for me?’

’Today...’

’I’ve crushed you under my foot!’

’So what are you going to do about it?’

With a calm smile, Jiang Chen stepped onto the Coiling Dragon Jade Pillar symbolizing the number one young Venerable, all under the awestruck gazes of the crowd.

"This Jiang Chen is way too aggressive, isn’t he?"

"So badass! Who else in the Ten Great Dynasties would dare to treat Lan Haichen like that?"

"Haha, look at Lan Haichen’s face! He looks like he just ate a turd. This is priceless!"

Di Tian also wore a playful smile, giving Jiang Chen a deep look.

Several others also looked toward Jiang Chen, nodding slightly in a gesture of goodwill.

Only Lan Haichen remained with a grim face, his gaze, filled with chilling killing intent, never once leaving Jiang Chen!

「On the Hundred Kings List.」

Beast Nine’s expression was incredibly foul, a menacing glint in his eyes. "Hmph... So what if he has a lot of points? The points ranking isn’t a combat power ranking. Once we get to the Celestial Pride War Hall, I’ll make you kneel before me and show you that... in front of a true celestial pride, you’re nothing but an ant!"

The Celestial Fate Daoist, with his crane-white hair and youthful face, wore a peaceful smile.

It seemed that learning of Jiang Chen’s five-point-eight-billion-point score had only shocked him for a moment before he returned to his usual calm.

With that same peaceful smile, he said, "Now... I assume no one else wishes to exchange points?"

Everyone was silent.

Even if someone had secretly held back some Cyan Radiance Stones, there was no point in turning them in now.

Five point eight billion!

This was the highest, most powerful record ever set since the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm first opened.

The Celestial Fate Daoist scanned the crowd, then smiled. "In that case, I shall now forge the Celestial Pride Saint Statues for you all!"

Standing on his Flying Carpet,

the Celestial Fate Daoist spread his arms wide, his body forming the shape of a cross.

WMMMM—

A brilliant radiance erupted from his body, turning him into a Blazing Sun.

The entire Celestial Fate Island began to tremble violently.

Countless Cyan Radiance Stones flew out from beneath Celestial Fate Island, so many that they blotted out the sky and sun. A dense, dark mass, they looked like all the stars in the firmament had been summoned by his call.

With a majestic expression, the Celestial Fate Daoist let out a low roar, "Celestial Pride Saint Statues—Form!"

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!...

The Cyan Radiance Stones collided and fused.

The entire world seemed to shake.

Everyone could see with their own eyes that as the Celestial Pride Saint Statues took shape, torrents of earthy-yellow energy streamed toward them at high speed.

"That’s the fortune of the heavens and the earth!"

"Legend has it that forging a Celestial Pride Saint Statue in the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm grants you a blessing of worldly fortune. I can’t believe it’s actually true!"

"The Celestial Fate Daoist’s power is terrifying! To think he can manipulate the fortune of the world..."

"Unbelievable!"

Cries of astonishment rose from the crowd.

Even Jiang Chen couldn’t help but tense up, his expression turning grave. ’The fortune of the world? The Celestial Fate Daoist can actually control such a profound and esoteric power of fate? Who is he? What secrets does this Celestial Fate Ancient Realm hide? Is it really as simple as just being an Ancient Void Realm?’

Amid Jiang Chen’s shock, the Celestial Pride Saint Statues finally finished forming.

RUMBLE!

A total of one thousand, one hundred and ten Celestial Pride Saint Statues stood suspended in the air.

As the statues finished forming, Jiang Chen and the others all felt a pleasant warmth wash over their bodies, as if an invisible power was blessing them.

Above his head, an earthy-yellow Dragon of Fortune fifty-eight zhang long took shape!

This was Fortune Power!

Fortune is a profound and mysterious thing. It is an imperceptible power of fate, yet it is very real.

For example, if two Martial Artists were to walk out the door, the one favored by worldly fortune might kick over a random rock and discover peerless refining materials. The one not favored by fortune might walk right past a world-class Treasure Medicine and never even notice!

Jiang Chen glanced out of the corner of his eye.

He noticed that the Dragons of Fortune above the others varied in size.

The Dragon of Fortune above Lan Haichen’s head was a full thirty-six zhang long, second only to his own. Following them, the dragons above Xuue Yinhao and the Night Emperor were both over twenty zhang long, while others were ten-odd zhang, or even less than one.

The amount of fortune was directly related to the number of points they had obtained!

At that moment, the Celestial Fate Daoist’s resonant voice rang out once more, stirring the heart like the beat of a celestial war drum. "The Celestial Pride Saint Statues are complete! By my command—Celestial Pride War Hall—Open!"

The Celestial Fate Daoist shot up into the sky.

All one thousand, one hundred and ten Celestial Pride Saint Statues, surrounded by a brilliant glow, followed him, soaring high into the sky and straight toward the apex of the clouds!

Deep within the clouds, a vast and magnificent palace seemed to be parting the veil of mist, slowly revealing itself...