Chapter 311: Chapter 259: The Last Day of the Dragon List: Huashan Sword Discussion

"As long as someone at Tier Five or below makes it into the top 60 of the Dragon List, they can be rated S-rank?" Zhang Hongying was a cautious person.

So, when she heard Gao Neng’s words, she thought about it carefully. However, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with his statement.

’There shouldn’t be any problem, right?’

’If a Tier Five can break into the top 60 of the Dragon List, giving them an S-rank rating... what’s wrong with that?’

But why would Gao Neng deliberately ask that?

’There’s definitely a trap.’

’But what kind of trap could a mere freshman set for me?’

Just as she was thinking, Gao Neng’s voice rang out again.

"Team Leader Zhang, I’ll take that bet! If I can’t get into the top 60 of the Dragon List, I’ll voluntarily downgrade my rating to B-rank. But if I *can* get into the top 60, you must give me an S-rank rating. All the reporters and the audience here can be my witnesses!" Gao Neng declared loudly.

"Yes, we can be witnesses!"

"Mmm... No problem."

"If Gao Neng can really break into the Dragon List’s top 60, he’d definitely be considered a super-genius. No one would call an S-rank rating unfair!"

The reporters all nodded one after another.

But Zhang Hongying’s brow furrowed slightly. She had a persistent feeling there was a catch, but she couldn’t immediately figure out what it was.

"Team Leader Zhang, you set the rule. You’re not going to back out, are you?" Gao Neng asked again.

"Nonsense, of course not!" Zhang Hongying bit out.

"In that case, I won’t keep you for lunch at our Eastern Capital Military Academy." After speaking, before Zhang Hongying could reply, Gao Neng turned and bolted.

Fang Tangtang, however, remained where she was, but she silently blended into the crowd.

Zhang Hongying’s frown deepened.

’That guy... so he won’t keep me for lunch, fine, but why run?’

’The more I think about it, the more something feels off.’

While she was hesitating, trying to think it over, a horde of reporters swarmed her, shoving their microphones toward her mouth.

"Team Leader Zhang, could you please tell us why you’re here? You still haven’t answered our questions."

"Team Leader Zhang, about Gao Neng this time... Hey, Team Leader Zhang, don’t go!"

"Team Leader Zhang! Team Leader Zhang!"

The reporters chased after her frantically.

But Zhang Hongying couldn’t stay any longer. She got directly into a car parked by the roadside and sped away from the gates of the Eastern Capital Military Academy.

"Principal, that last question Gao Neng asked... do you understand what he meant?" Gui Zian asked, watching Zhang Hongying disappear before turning to Song Tianyun.

"Of course, I do," Song Tianyun said with a mysterious smile.

"Huh? What does it mean?"

"You’ll find out in a few days."

"In a few days? But, in..." Gui Zian wanted to ask more, but Song Tianyun had already turned and walked away, leaving him speechless for a moment.

’Song Tianyun is acting a bit strange today.’

Normally, if Gao Neng and Zhang Hongying got into a dispute like this, Song Tianyun would definitely step in to stop it. But today, he hadn’t said a single word.

Not only did he not speak, but he even stopped him from speaking.

’What’s going on?’

...

「Five of the seven days quickly passed.」

During those five days, Gao Neng didn’t take a single step outside the Eastern Capital Military Academy. He was either lost in thought in his dorm room or practicing his blade techniques in an open area on campus.

Fang Tangtang also seemed just as busy these past few days. The two were practically inseparable; wherever Gao Neng went, she followed.

As for the major websites across the Alliance, they were in an uproar.

News of the wager between Gao Neng and Zhang Hongying had spread across the entire internet. Even major television stations were reporting on it, making it known to practically everyone.

Yet, during this time, Gao Neng hadn’t taken a single step outside the Eastern Capital Military Academy.

This led to even more speculation.

Some believed that Gao Neng was holed up, diligently practicing some powerful new move. Others felt that his current techniques were already powerful enough.

Felling a Tier Six with one slash.

Could there be a move even more powerful than that?

Therefore, most people thought Gao Neng must be training furiously to raise his tier. However, this possibility was also questioned.

Because Gao Neng had only recently broken through to Tier Five.

To advance again...

It was too difficult!

Besides, with only a few short days, how could he make any significant progress?

Since the first two theories didn’t hold up, a third one emerged.

Most importantly, this theory seemed quite plausible. Someone guessed that Gao Neng had likely obtained some kind of mysterious Dual Cultivation Ancient Martial Technique. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The reason was that someone at the Eastern Capital Military Academy had photographed Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang being inseparable.

Of course, this was all just speculation.

Meanwhile, during these five days, the challenges on the Dragon List were far from quiet. In fact, they were growing more and more heated, and one involved another Dragon List member from the Eastern Capital Military Academy: Lin Ying.

Perhaps because Gao Neng had been so incredibly popular recently, anything involving the Eastern Capital Military Academy was bound to attract attention.

Lin Ying had a breakthrough!

After nearly a month, Lin Ying reached Tier Six Mid Stage!

Then, Lin Ying’s first challenge was against the 150th-ranked person on the Dragon List.

The result was an easy victory.

Some speculated that Lin Ying would likely issue another challenge in the final two days, possibly even aiming for the top 100. If he succeeded, the Eastern Capital Military Academy would make a name for itself.

One academy, two on the Dragon List.

And both in the top 100, at that.

This was something that not even the Western Alliance Military Academy, the strongest of the four great military academies, had ever achieved.

However, Lin Ying’s matter was ultimately just a minor episode.

The event that truly captured everyone’s attention was a challenge from Shen Ning’Er.

Although Shen Ning’Er’s match hadn’t happened yet, an insider revealed that she had also reached Tier Six Late Stage.

This was terrifying.

When Shen Ning’Er had just broken through to Tier Six, she had already secured the 53rd spot on the Dragon List and achieved an S-rank rating. Now that she was at Tier Six Late Stage, just how powerful would she be?

Some guessed that even having just reached Tier Six Late Stage, Shen Ning’Er was strong enough to break into the Dragon List’s top ten. Others speculated she might even make it into the top five.

If Shen Ning’Er’s opponent was someone from the top five...

...it would truly be a battle of geniuses.

After all, not all Tier Six Late Stage cultivators were the same.

To put it simply, there were nearly a hundred people at Tier Six Late Stage on the Dragon List, but their rankings spanned a massive range from top to bottom.

The gap between the top ten and the top fifty was a world of difference!

Because the higher you went, the closer you were to the pyramid’s peak. That was where the thrones of the truly powerful were, occupied by the most terrifying super-geniuses in the Alliance.

...

「The sixth day.」

It was the penultimate day of the Dragon List’s public notice period.

Shen Ning’Er came to the Eastern Capital Military Academy and attended half a day of classes. She also took a walk around the campus, but as for what she did specifically, no one knew.

However, that afternoon, Shen Ning’Er announced her opponent.

Cheng Cai, ranked tenth on the Dragon List.

Cheng Cai: Twenty-seven years old, Tier Six Late Stage, ranked tenth on the Dragon List, and the head disciple of the Huashan Ancient Sect!

This disappointed those who had expected Shen Ning’Er to challenge someone in the top five. However, beyond their disappointment, it also raised many questions.

Because even though this Cheng Cai was ranked tenth, he was an S-ranker.

Many people felt that if Shen Ning’Er simply wanted to enter the top ten, challenging the ninth-ranked Ding Zhuang would have been a better choice. After all, although Ding Zhuang was ranked higher than Cheng Cai, he was thirty-five years old and only A-rank. Relatively speaking, he should have been an easier opponent.

Of course, this was just public chatter.

The public couldn’t decide who Shen Ning’Er challenged.

The time for this battle was set for 11:00 AM sharp on the last day of the Dragon List’s public notice period. Why 11:00 AM exactly? No one knew the answer to that either.

But immediately after, another explosive piece of news came out.

Gao Neng had also confirmed his opponent.

He wasn’t challenging Tao Yu, ranked 60th on the Dragon List, but Qu Ran, ranked 57th. This made everyone go wild.

"Not 60th! But 57th?!"

"Why choose 57th? Isn’t he just asking for trouble?"

"It’s so strange!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

However, some observant people noticed something strange.

The time Gao Neng had set for his challenge also seemed to be 11:00 AM sharp. Most importantly, this Qu Ran also belonged to the Huashan Ancient Sect.

Qu Ran: Twenty-nine years old, Tier Six Late Stage, ranked fifty-seventh on the Dragon List, and a personal disciple of the Huashan Ancient Sect’s Sect Leader!

Was this a coincidence?

Or did Gao Neng and Shen Ning’Er have some kind of agreement?

But if they really did have an agreement, wouldn’t this be bullying? Two people challenging the Huashan Ancient Sect at the same time... were they trying to cripple the sect?

Amidst all the discussion, a muckraker dropped some explosive news.

When Gao Neng first entered the Eastern Capital Military Academy, he had declared in front of all the freshmen that Shen Ning’Er was his wife. Over a thousand people had witnessed it firsthand!

And then, more news broke.

Shen Ning’Er had once stayed in Gao Neng’s dorm room for three days and three nights. As for what exactly happened, no one knew, but it was certain she had stayed for several nights.

With that, the internet absolutely exploded.

Talk of the "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" flooded the web.

Connecting this to Shen Ning’Er and Gao Neng’s simultaneously announced challenges, everyone suddenly understood what was going on. This was a husband-and-wife team stirring up trouble together.

So then, what about the earlier rumor that Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang were practicing Dual Cultivation together?

Could it be that Gao Neng was two-timing?!

...

...

Rumors are a terrifying thing.

However, the two people involved seemed completely unconcerned.

Time quickly moved to the final day of the Dragon List’s public notice period. It was an exceptionally lively day, as no fewer than thirty challenges were scheduled across the Alliance.

Almost every genius on the Dragon List chose this day to either challenge someone or be challenged.

Lin Ying was no exception.

He was challenging Yi Qinglian, ranked 91st on the Dragon List. She was a woman from a wealthy and powerful family, exactly twenty-one years old.

Of course, on this day, not many people were paying attention to him, because nearly eighty percent of all reporters had gathered at the gates of the Huashan Ancient Sect.