Chapter 335: The Seven Sons of Ao Family
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
Ling Han's score now ranked seventh, which looked high for now, but when everything ended, it might drop down to 40th or 50th place.
The top ten scores were all very close, differing only be a few hundred, or even a dozen points. Clearly, these were smart people; obtaining ten thousand tokens meant definitely entering top hundred, so what did it matter whether the rank was a bit lower or a bit higher?
The second round of the exam was the key, and it definitely checked one's power; they only had to give it their all on this stage.
Ling Han walked onto a large rock and sat cross-legged. As his right fist trembled lightly, he envisioned the War Elephant Fist; fist after fist circulated, and on his fists appeared indistinct luster of vein-like lines formed from martial intent.
Being idle, he might as well train—how could he waste time?
"Hmph, a mere small fry in the first layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier dares to show off here!" A sharp voice sounded near Ling Han's ear.
Ling Han turned his head to see a lanky man looking at him with arms crossed; the fourth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier was quite an impressive cultivation for his age.
After all, the Spiritual Pedestal Tier warriors under thirty years old were still unheard of in the north region.
"Who do you think you are?" Ling Han said sullenly; he was disguised anyways, and under the condition of not revealing his trump card, he didn't want to tolerate anything one bit, acting completely arrogant and domineering.
The youngster snorted and said, "This young master is Yan Jun."
"Oh!" Ling Han suddenly realized. Yan Jun was originally ranked seventh and just happened to be pushed down by him, now ranking eight; however, there was no point to contend for rank in the first round and he ran over so early, so he shouldn't bother about ranking at all.
"In the next examination, I'll beat the sh!t of you!" Yan Jun said coldly. He certainly didn't care for this round's ranking earlier, but Ling Han was just too young, making him extremely envious. Moreover, Ling Han was only in the first layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, and being pushed down by such a person made him feel even more uncomfortable inside.
"Dumbass!" Ling Han sneered, paying him no more attention.
Yan Jun's eyes shot out flames of fury, but he forcefully suppressed it. He simply snorted; once the second examination began, he would definitely let Ling Han know the immensity of the world.
The start of this feud was certainly baffling.
Ling Han shook his head and continued to practice fist techniques. He now formed three flashes of Fist Qi, and if he broke through to form a fourth, his battle prowess would have a small but fundamental change.
It was already getting dark, a little more than four hours before midnight.
More and more people returned. Yang Chang, Si Qi Meng, Zhao Huan, Qi Yong Ye—those that Ling Han were familiar with or knew the names of appeared one after another. He swept a glance and saw Zhao Huan and the others with joyful expressions—looks like they had quite a good chance of squeezing into top ten thousand.
Ling Han's rank dropped all the way down as expected, and the first place already surged into a high point of twenty thousand; it was no other than Yang Chong.
However, without a moment's time, he was pushed down, and the first place became Ao Feng Hang.
He ought to be one of the Seven Sons of Ao Family, but it was unknown which this one was. Ling Han laughed. Ao Feng had too many illegitimate children—he himself probably didn't remember them, let alone outsiders.
"Huh?" His gaze focused. He saw a fatty in the crowd, likely twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He was very unfamiliar to him, but thanks to that round physique, Ling Han could be sure that this guy was Ma Duo Bao.
His stature was quite the flaw; no matter how kickass the Disguise Pill, it still couldn't disguise him who was like a crane standing amongst chickens.
"Catch him!" As expected, if Ling Han could discover Ma Duo Bao, so could Winter Moon Sect's cultivators. Instantly, several Spiritual Pedestal Tier warriors leapt out from obscure corners, snatching at Ma Duo Bao.
"Tanned Brother, hope to see you again!" Ma Duo Bao immediately broke into a run and blinked in Ling Han's direction right before leaving.
The distance was large, but Ling Han was certain that Ma Duo Bao had discovered him.
Strange!
Ling Han was shocked, because he didn't have a special stature, and on top of the disguise, how did Ma Duo Bao recognize him? Could it be that those who thieve had a special art of distinguishing people?
In spite of Ma Duo Bao being fat, his movement techniques were extremely quick. He was swimming through the crowd like a fish, and even the Spiritual Pedestal Tier pursuers didn't know how to begin arresting him. They went further and further, and in a short moment, Ma Duo Bao had already ran into the dense forest.
Ling Han wasn't worried about that guy. His body was full of treasures, and even he couldn't see through his strength; Ma Duo Bao had enough ability to keep himself alive.
After Hu Niu and Yan Tian Zhao, there was yet another beast… Rong Huan Xuan had already become an old monster that shouldn't be counted.
The rankings continued to renew. More and more of the top ten were led by those surnamed Ao, and without mentioning, they were definitely the Seven Sons of Ao Family. This certainly explained the seven people's strengths that were quite out of the ordinary—so many of them reached top ten and none of them was thirty years old.
From this point, Ao Feng's talent should also be exceptional, or else he couldn't possibly have fathered so many prodigies—it was no wonder the Yue Family wanted to arrange a marriage with Ao Family back then.
When midnight came, the first round's exam ended; even if there were people who hadn't returned, their score wouldn't be counted.
Ling Han's ranking dropped into the forties, ranking forty-second, while first place was Ao Xing Lai who attained a shocking score of 30000.
"Top hundred, those who received the black metal token, follow me," a disciple said.
"Top ten thousand, still tallying, everyone be patient," another disciple said.
Ling Han got up and left the Falling Goose valley, following everyone to a mountaintop called Rising Sword Peak.
Yu Long Mountains were too large, so even with over twenty thousand people in the Winter Moon Sect, only seven mountaintops were occupied. In terms of surface area, it was only one thousandth.
However, these seven mountaintops were abundant with spiritual Qi, a holy ground for cultivation. Comparatively, Rising Sword Peak's spiritual Qi quality ranked last; this was where the lowest level disciples lived.
Ling Han and the others had not officially joined the Winter Moon Sect, so they could only live here temporarily.
Amongst the top hundred, Winter Moon Sect's disciples took thirty spots, so two factions were naturally formed. The first night, a fight almost broke out, but fortunately, with a Spiritual Pedestal Tier warriors keeping watch, nothing big was stirred up in the end.
Ling Han looked around; the Seven Sons of Ao Family all reached the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier—quite out of the ordinary. Besides the seven, there were a few that showed extraordinary talent, not in the least inferior to that of the Seven Sons of Ao Family.
However, who was stronger would have to be decided in tomorrow's examination. Perhaps, Winter Moon Sect's disciples were all unconvinced with each other, wanting to come out as the top three amongst themselves.
This night was extremely unquiet, silent conflict was turbulent; but the second day, the sun still rose as usual. Ling Han entered the Black Tower at midnight and refined the Yellow Dragon Fruit into Return Spirit Fruit 1 —he might as well not waste time.
A Spiritual Pedestal Tier expert appeared before long, urging everyone to wake up. Without letting them eat breakfast, he brought them to a large platform on the mountainside. White Ore paved these tiles here; hardness was one of its distinguishing features, even a Spiritual Pedestal Tier warrior's full-power attack wouldn't easily break them. It was most suitable for making a battleground.
The true ranking battle was about to begin.