CHAPTER 748: CHAPTER 459 STAR ASCENSION SEQUENCE

"Star Ascension Sequence?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"You don’t know about the Star Ascension Sequence!" Cang Ya’s face showed surprise and a bit of confusion, "Hasn’t anyone told you about it?"

"No."

Ji Xinghuo shook his head, it was the first time he had heard about it. He understood why Cang Ya was so surprised, "I used to be one of the Deserted People, I rarely came into contact with the upper echelons of the Dynasty and their knowledge, so there’s a lot I don’t understand."

"That makes sense." Cang Ya accepted this explanation.

In the days she had spent with Ji Xinghuo, she had almost forgotten that the man before her had been one of the Deserted People not long ago.

"The Star Ascension Sequence is a list."

While letting the Ice Soul Dragon continue to fly, searching the sea area, Cang Ya elaborated, "This list has been around for over a hundred thousand Star Realm years, passed down through generations, judged by a few Shepherd Star Saints. It is released once every season in the Flame Emperor Dragon Capital and then spread throughout the entire Dynasty."

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

The Flame Emperor Dragon Capital was located in the Xuan Tian Dragon Domain, which was right in the middle of the True Dragon Dynasty, so the Flame Emperor Dragon Capital was essentially the capital of the True Dragon Dynasty.

He guessed, "Is this a ranking list?"

"Yes and no," Cang Ya smiled, "From the name, you should guess, it is the order for ascending to Shepherd Star Saint or Dragon King, but it’s not a strict numerical ranking."

"What do you mean?" Ji Xinghuo was curious.

Cang Ya carefully responded, "Any Mutant whose name appears on the Star Ascension Sequence is considered to have a chance to ascend to Shepherd Star Saint, just with different probabilities."

"According to the probabilities of ascension, it is divided into four tiers."

"I’ll start from the lowest to the highest."

"The last tier is ’Fourth Sequence’. I remember last year there were 8,435 people on this tier, most of them were Mutants from within the Dynasty and some from vassal kingdoms and Alien Races."

"Every Mutant in the Fourth Sequence is a top contender amongst those at the Sixth Rank."

"However, they only have a 1% chance of ascending to Shepherd Star Saint. Whether they can successfully ascend depends on opportunity and luck."

Hearing this, Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but be taken aback.

"Only 1%?"

Cang Ya shook her head and sighed, "1% is actually quite high. Many Mutants in the Fourth Sequence are even overestimated. For most Sixth Rank Mutants, the chance of ascending to Shepherd Star Saint may not even be one in a thousand."

After carefully thinking it over, Ji Xinghuo found that to be true.

Since entering the Star Realm, he had discovered that the innate potential of Earth people was actually very high, surpassing most races. Within just under two centuries since the Star Gate opened, they had produced a large batch of Heavenly Kings, including some of the strongest among them.

Like the Sun King.

Any of the top ten Heavenly Kings on the Global Battle Power List, placed in the Star Realm, were formidable Sixth Rank fighters.

However, before he emerged, the only Heavenly Kings on Earth who had a chance to challenge for Shepherd Star Saint were the Sun King, Steel Emperor, and the leader.

These three Heavenly Kings were the strongest, but they only had a chance.

The leader himself claimed to have less than a one in ten chance, needing more time to accumulate experience, with a better future possibility.

The other Heavenly Kings on Earth didn’t even have a 1% chance, some of them were tokens in name only, not truly qualifying for the Star Ascension Sequence.

Like the online celebrity Heavenly King "Thousand Illusion Swordsman" Li Xuan.

The Fourth Sequence with 8,435 people represents the entire True Dragon Territory and the corresponding 26th Star Domain, including the Orion Arm, all the top Sixth Rank contenders. There might be some missing, but the total would not exceed ten thousand.

These nearly ten thousand Mutants stood out from a population of several hundred trillion, a proportion unimaginably low.

Cang Ya continued talking, "The Third Sequence has 717 people, with about a 10% chance of ascending to Shepherd Star Saint."

A one in ten chance.

That meant, across the entire True Dragon Dynasty including the Orion Arm, there were over seven hundred Mutants with top innate talents like the leader.

"Mutants who enter the Third Sequence are considered prodigies wherever they go, rarely remaining obscure."

"They generally make a name for themselves at a very young age, renowned throughout the world, significantly stronger than their peers, and quickly reach the peak of Sixth Rank, becoming famous and powerful."

Cang Ya paused.

Her usually calm and composed face showed pride, "Like me."

"So you are a Mutant from the Third Sequence, my apologies," Ji Xinghuo smiled, appropriately playing along with her.

Cang Ya lightly pursed her lips, seemingly picking up on the teasing in Ji Xinghuo’s words and responded a bit defiantly, "I’m only temporarily in the Third Sequence, I will eventually enter the Second Sequence."

"What are the requirements for the Second Sequence?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"99% probability, unless something unexpected happens, ascending to Shepherd Star Saint is just a matter of time. Mutants listed in the Second Sequence are considered future Shepherd Star Saints or prospective Dragon Kings, so the Second Sequence is also called the Hidden Dragon Series," Cang Ya explained.

Ji Xinghuo was amazed.

Future Shepherd Star Saints, prospective Dragon Kings, Hidden Dragon... Such terms evokes a sense of looking up to the high mountains."

Just now, that Cang Beiming was a Dragon Lord listed in the Hidden Dragon Series!

"How many are in the Hidden Dragon Series?" he couldn’t help asking.

"46."

"That many?" Ji Xinghuo was somewhat surprised, he thought there would be at most about a dozen, which was three times more than he expected.

"Much?" Cang Ya was unmoved, "Just the population of the Dynasty alone is over twenty trillion, adding the vassal kingdoms and aliens, it might double, exceeding fifty trillion people, and yet less than fifty mutants from the Hidden Dragon Series were born."

Put that way, on average, one is born from every trillion people.

Indeed, that’s not many.

Cang Ya continued, "Guxing Li’s name is on the Hidden Dragon Series; he was promoted from the Third Sequence three years ago."

"With Guxing Li’s talent and strength, if nothing unusual occurs, his future promotion to Shepherd Star Saint will not be an issue." Ji Xinghuo nodded in agreement, unsurprised.

"Guxing Li’s ranking could still climb," Cang Ya added.

"Oh?"

Cang Ya explained, "Most mutants in the Hidden Dragon Series are Sixth Rank powerhouses, while Guxing Li is only at the peak of the Fifth Rank, which shows his potential hasn’t been fully realized. Once he advances to the Sixth Rank, with stronger abilities, he might climb up the rankings."

"He’s known as the strongest legend of the Bibo Dragon Domain, not without reason," Cang Ya greatly admired Guxing Li.

Ji Xinghuo smiled indifferently, "Merely a defeated opponent."

Cang Ya’s expression stiffened.

Although the Star Ascension Series is not a ranking of strength, not strictly correlating higher strength with higher sequence but mainly focusing on talent potential, both Guxing Li and Ji Xinghuo are legends, and Guxing Li was defeated by Ji Xinghuo in a direct confrontation.

This showed Ji Xinghuo’s potential and talent were higher than Guxing Li’s, qualifying at least to place on the Hidden Dragon Series!

Somehow, Cang Ya’s feelings grew complicated.

Happy for Ji Xinghuo yet somewhat inexplicably saddened, fearing being left far behind by him.

She masked her feelings and nodded, "Next time the Star Ascension Series is updated, you should find your name in the Hidden Dragon Series."

"I’ll take your word for it."

Ji Xinghuo asked, "Aside from you and Guxing Li, which other mutants I know are listed in the Star Ascension Series?"

Cang Ya recalled for a moment and then listed them one by one.

"Titanium Cobalt Lan is also in the Hidden Dragon Series, and the other three young stars of the Titanium Cobalt Family, Titanium Cobalt Zhenhe, Titanium Cobalt Xu, and Titanium Cobalt Huixue, are all in the Third Sequence, with Titanium Cobalt Zhenhe’s ranking likely to rise a tier."

By comparison, Ji Xinghuo noted that on Earth, aside from himself, only the Sun King could be ranked in the Hidden Dragon Series.

"You only mentioned up to the Second Sequence," Ji Xinghuo reminded.

"Above that lies the First Sequence," Cang Ya seemed somewhat disheartened, "This tier is also known as the Infinite Sequence."

"What does that mean?"

"For those in the Infinite Sequence, advancing to Shepherd Star Saint is not hard for them, not even considered a bottleneck, a 100% probability, with no limit to their future," Cang Ya sighed, "Their real goal is to become an Infinite Realm Master."

Infinite Realm Master!

Ji Xinghuo felt a shock in his heart, having never encountered an Infinite Realm Master before, an immensely powerful and unattainable existence.

All five Dragon Emperors of the True Dragon Dynasty are Infinite Realm Masters.

But not limited to Dragon Emperors.

It is said that there are also a few Eighth Rank mutants in the True Dragon Dynasty, who are Infinite Realm Masters, each one a peerless powerhouse standing at the summit of their domain.

As for the might and strength of an Infinite Realm Master, they are utterly beyond comprehension.

"There are four names in the Infinite Sequence," Cang Ya said, "These four are all currently Sixth Rank mutants, who have been invincible among their peers since they became known, causing a stir in the Dynasty, even the Dragon Kings and Shepherd Star Saints tread carefully around them."

Seeing Cang Ya didn’t want to discuss it further, Ji Xinghuo did not inquire about the specific situations of those four mutants.

He could understand her feelings.

For any genius, the hardest thing might be knowing there are others more talented out there, the gap too vast to bridge.

Once they returned from the Sea Abyss, he would inquire about the Star Ascension Series to find out.

As they talked, they continued to search another sea area.

However, nothing was gained.

Over the next few days, Ji Xinghuo’s electromagnetic perception constantly scanned in all directions, never resting for a second, covering millions of square kilometers, but apart from a few fish and other Dragon Lords, no traces of Cloud Sea Dragons were found.

Neither of them were discouraged, understanding this was just the beginning. Even if someone else discovered a Cloud Sea Dragon first, taming it would be difficult.

Above the vast ocean, the Ice Soul Dragon flapped its wings, flying.

Ji Xinghuo’s gaze was focused, his electromagnetic induction scanning repeatedly; Cang Ya’s eyes slightly closed, mentally linking with her Canglong’s Shui Yun, perceiving the movements in the surrounding sea area through changes in the water currents. This form of water flow perception was not very clear, but it covered a larger range.

Suddenly, Cang Ya opened her eyes.

"Over there!"

Ji Xinghuo also turned his head simultaneously, sensing the direction Cang Ya indicated. Beyond the radius of his electromagnetic perception, a faint disturbance emanated.

The Ice Soul Dragon accelerated and flew towards it.

Quickly, they entered the range of electromagnetic induction, and Ji Xinghuo could even directly see with his own eyes, on the sea surface a hundred kilometers ahead, a fierce battle was underway. Several dragons stirred up towering waves, and their roars shook the heavens.

As they drew closer, Ji Xinghuo recognized one of the figures—it was Cang Beiming whom he had seen before.

But at this moment, Cang Beiming was being besieged.

Around ten kilometers from the battle area, numerous other Dragon Lords ominously watched, and many more people rushed towards this part of the sea.