Vol 4 Chapter 122: Changes in the Destiny Rankings

"What do you mean?"

Lin Jing stood up. The Tianyuan Grand Assembly had already been going on for several days?

Why had no one informed him.

Why had no one invited him.

Didn't all top hundred talents on the Destiny Rankings have the right to participate?

As the Holy Son of the Demon Court and ranked sixth on the Destiny Rankings, could he really be excluded?

"Senior need not worry, you're still ranked sixth on the Destiny Rankings, with no changes..." Yu Xun'er said.

Lin Jing looked up at the sky.

He saw that the Destiny Rankings had indeed undergone massive changes.

First place: Crown Prince of the Ancient Clan, Gu Xinghe.

Second place: Princess of the Ancient Clan, Gu Youran.

Third place: Holy Maiden of the Demon Court, Xu Qingyao.

Fourth place: Dao Child of the Spirit Dao Sect, Lu Qi.

Fifth place: Buddhist Child of the Sun Temple, Dao Hui.

Sixth place: Holy Son of the Demon Court, Lin Jing.

Seventh place: Successor of the Martial Emperor, Wan Renzong.

Eighth place: Senior Sister of Water Moon Immortal Isle, Shui Lingsu.

Ninth place: Divine Son of the Wu God Hall, Ta Wu.

Tenth place: Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Feng Ning.

"This Tianyuan Grand Assembly has caused such dramatic shifts in the rankings," Lin Jing murmured.

"The three Demon Emperor factions - Sea God Palace, Misty Forests, and Snow Plains - actually have no one on the list?"

"Were they all pushed off? No... their names don't appear even after the top ten."

"That's not the case," Yu Xun'er beside him said. "The Totem Holy Son of Snow Plains... reportedly perished."

"Apparently after being pushed out of the top ten by Buddhist Child Dao Hui who broke through to Nascent Soul Transformation, he recklessly practiced forbidden arts and died from qi deviation."

"I see." Lin Jing nodded. Probably pressured by the Totem Demon Emperor of Snow Plains into taking desperate measures that failed.

"What about the Crown Prince of Sea God Palace and Young Master Long Liu? Did they perish too?" Lin Jing found this hard to believe.

These two had been in the top five when he last checked the Destiny Rankings, and had even paid him "protection fees."

"Didn't Senior know?" Yu Xun'er said. "Just before the Tianyuan Grand Assembly began, several demonic beast factions including Sea God Palace, Misty Forests, and Snow Plains all announced they were joining the Demon Court."

"Among them, the Crown Prince of Sea God Palace and Young Master Long Liu, disciple of the Dragon Emperor of the Vast Forest, served as envoys to sign a contract with Holy Maiden Xu Qingyao... It's with their support that Xu Qingyao rose to third place on the Destiny Rankings this time."

"Unfortunately, Princess Gu Youran of the Ancient Clan cultivated an Immortal Physique. Even with Holy Maiden Xu and several Nascent Soul Transformation-level demonic beasts joining forces, they were still suppressed by the Immortal Physique..."

"No wonder." Lin Jing finally understood why his senior sister was so formidable. Over these years, through the Demon Emperor's efforts, they'd nearly succeeded in recruiting all the top demonic beast factions of Tianyuan Continent.

The Crown Prince of Sea God Palace and Young Master Long Liu were essentially "hostages."

But it wasn't a bad deal, since this way they could all enter the Origin Realm together and combine resources.

"Wait." Lin Jing remembered his senior sister only had one contract slot left. How could she contract two? Did she cultivate an additional contract slot like him?

"Never mind." Everyone has their own opportunities, Lin Jing stopped pondering. But was the Ancient Clan's princess really that strong?

If the princess had cultivated a Postnatal Immortal Physique, then the Ancient Imperial Prince must have done the same.

The Second Ancient Emperor's goal had apparently been achieved.

Lin Jing could imagine how much more confident the Second Ancient Emperor must feel facing the First Ancient Emperor now, more convinced than ever that concentrating resources on nurturing Ancient Clan bloodlines was the correct choice.

"Feng Ning successfully broke through to Nascent Soul Transformation too, making top ten. That Lunar Divine Physique Pill wasn't wasted." Looking at the rankings, Lin Jing figured this was likely the final list for Tianyuan's representatives to the Origin Realm.

Yet he still wanted to know why no one had notified him to participate.

He took out the tiger fang that could contact the Demon Emperor. Moments later, the Demon Emperor's voice came through:

"You're out of seclusion."

"Your Majesty, the Tianyuan Grand Assembly started... why wasn't I notified?"

"I did call you. You didn't respond."

"Huh? Did you?" Lin Jing fell into thought. When was this?

"Figured you were in seclusion, so I didn't keep calling. Your spot was guaranteed anyway, almost impossible for others to take. Participating or not didn't matter much," the Demon Emperor said dismissively.

"Alright..." Lin Jing scratched his head. So during his cultivation inside the Hourglass of Time, he'd missed the Demon Emperor's calls. But for something this important, shouldn't they have sent someone to Spirit Dao Sect to notify him? Just casually calling with a remote treasure... who answers every single call?

And Spirit Dao Sect wasn't being considerate either. Knowing he was cultivating there, with their own Dao Child attending, they just left him behind?

Lin Jing glanced at Yu Xun'er. This girl had probably been monitoring news from the Grand Assembly at Spirit Dao Sect the whole time, yet never interrupted his seclusion to inform him?

"Your Majesty, are you at the Grand Assembly now? Should I still go?" Lin Jing asked.

"Since today's the last day and the ten spots are basically decided, maybe I shouldn't bother."

"But has the date for activating the Origin Realm teleportation array been set?"

"Come! Why wouldn't you come? Get over here now!" the Demon Emperor cursed irritably.

"That Second Ancient Emperor is too arrogant. Gu Xinghe and Gu Youran have both cultivated Postnatal Immortal Physiques. Even with Xu Qingyao and several others teaming up, they're no match at all."

"Do you know the Demon Court's current situation?"

"Now... the Demon Court stands as a major power comparable to the Ancient Nation - one representing humanity, the other demonic beasts."

"Xu Qingyao representing the Demon Court, allied with the Crown Prince of Sea God Palace and the Dragon Emperor's successor, plus Xu Qingyao's various pets, couldn't even defeat Gu Youran alone. Infuriating!"

"Immortal Physiques think they're so special? Boy, come here and beat up these two Immortal Physique cultivators for me."

Lin Jing smiled wryly. "There's no real meaning to it. Once we enter the Origin Realm, the Destiny Rankings become irrelevant. Taking first or second place now wouldn't matter much."

"How is it meaningless? Establishing the Demon Court's prestige over the Ancient Nation is meaning enough. Hurry up."

"Fine." Lin Jing shrugged and looked at Yu Xun'er. "I'm going to catch the tail end of the Grand Assembly. Want to come?"

"Wouldn't my bloodline be discovered?" Yu Xun'er hesitated.

"Probably would."

"Then I won't go." Yu Xun'er said. "It's not time to interact with the Ancient Clan yet. You go ahead, Senior."

"Alright." Lin Jing looked toward the Ancient Domain. During this period, the First Ancient Emperor had uncovered Yu Xun'er's true identity - she was the seventh prince's daughter. This seventh prince was indeed just a philandering royal known for his romantic escapades.

His talent among the many princes was mediocre, and the Second Ancient Emperor held no high hopes for him.

The ambitious Yu Xun'er naturally had no desire to acknowledge such a useless father, feeling no urge to reunite with him. She only wished to one day eliminate such parasites who brought no value to the Ancient Nation.

She couldn't understand why the Second Ancient Emperor would cultivate geniuses like Gu Xinghe and Gu Youran - that made sense - but waste resources on trash like the seventh prince rather than distribute them to other talented individuals outside the royal bloodline. Too fixated on lineage.

"Blood ties are indeed powerful connections," Lin Jing sighed. From the perspective of the Ancient Clan's patriarch, the Second Ancient Emperor's actions were understandable. But he had another identity - ruler of the Ancient Nation, emperor of humanity.

Compared to his role as clan patriarch, the First Ancient Emperor clearly prioritized his position as nation's ruler more.

"Then wait here. I'll be back soon. Let me see how powerful your aunt and uncle have become under the Second Ancient Emperor's tutelage."