"Mo Qingxuan is here!"
At that moment, waves of astonished exclamations rose, and everyone in the vast square looked up towards the distant sky.
Boom...
A luxurious flying ship cut through the air, enveloped in swirling mist—a mist formed from spiritual qi condensed to an extreme density.
"As expected of the Cangyan Sacred Sect. Even a flying ship is outfitted with such a high-level spirit-gathering formation," many in the crowd couldn't help but marvel.
The ship reached the square in the blink of an eye. A young man in a blue robe stepped out, his hands clasped behind his back. His long hair was loose, casually gathered by a gold crown. His eyes were deep and profound, authoritative without anger. His imposing aura was like an emperor descending as he stepped down from the air.
Mo Qingxuan!
The top-ranked figure on the Freak Minor Ranking!
Several elders and dozens of young disciples from the Cangyan Sacred Sect followed behind Mo Qingxuan like an honor guard.
"It is indeed Mo Qingxuan!" Ji Yan's beautiful eyes fixed on the newcomer, holding a trace of admiration.
And Ji Yan wasn't alone. The vast majority of young martial artists in the square gazed at the descending Mo Qingxuan with similar reverence.
As Mo Qingxuan and his Cangyan Sacred Sect contingent landed within the square, many young talents from Donghuang hurried forward to engage him in conversation. Even quite a few older generation powerhouses took the initiative to greet him.
Everyone understood that Mo Qingxuan was destined to become a top-tier powerhouse in Donghuang in the future. Making connections early could only bring benefits, never harm.
"Why hasn't the Freak Minor Ranking arena appeared yet?"
"It should be soon. Even Mo Qingxuan has arrived."
...
By now, many within the square were growing impatient. They kept glancing towards the vast, elevated platform at the center of the square.
A moment later, just as more and more people grew restless, the space above that vast platform suddenly shuddered violently. A thick aura of time and space swept out from it.
"The Freak Minor Ranking arena is about to appear!"
Immediately, all eyes focused on that patch of space.
Boom...
A deep, rumbling sound echoed, and then an ancient arena slowly descended from that spatial rift, finally settling in the center of the square.
This arena looked somewhat weathered and ancient, brimming with a historic, spatiotemporal aura. At one corner of the arena stood a tall stone stele. From top to bottom, it was engraved with shining golden names—three hundred in total!
The Freak Minor Ranking stele! It recorded three hundred names.
"Will the young talents who ranked on the list last season please come onto the arena," a mechanical voice suddenly rang out from the platform.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
One young talent after another soared into the air and dashed toward the arena.
"I'm going up. Remember, with your strength, you should only challenge rankings past the 250th mark at most. Do not attempt higher positions," Ji Yan instructed Ji Yue, then rose into the air and charged toward the platform.
Instantly, around the edges of the platform, meditation cushions appeared in a circle. Each cushion bore a number, ranging from one to three hundred!
In an instant, most cushions were occupied by a young talent sitting cross-legged.
Ye Yunfei glanced and saw Ji Yan sitting on the 48th cushion, meaning her rank last season was 48th.
However, some cushions remained empty, with no one sitting on them. This meant that some of the young talents who had earned a spot in the Freak Minor Ranking top three hundred last season had either not come or had already perished!
This was a very normal phenomenon. Even geniuses could face death!
"This season's Lesser Lantai Gathering is about to begin. All young beings from Donghuang may come onto the arena to challenge a ranking they feel confident they can achieve."
The mechanical voice on the arena rang out again.
"The rules of the Freak Minor Ranking are very simple: it operates on a challenge system. The victor ascends; the loser descends."
"Interesting. This arena has actually birthed an Artifact Spirit," Ye Yunfei thought to himself as he examined the arena. "The entire arena is a magical artifact. It seems it was specially forged by a certain powerful being and placed here for competitions. So, who is truly behind this, or which ancient force is presiding over the rankings of this Freak Ranking?"
With Ye Yunfei's discerning eye, he naturally recognized at a glance that this arena was essentially a magical artifact—one that had developed an Artifact Spirit.
"Alright, this season's Lesser Lantai Gathering now officially begins!"
The voice on the arena rang out once more.
Then, the entire square fell into a deathly silence.
This season's Lesser Lantai Gathering had finally officially begun!
Everyone observed the young talents seated cross-legged on the meditation cushions of the arena. Many young warriors who had come prepared were eager for action, eyeing the cushions corresponding to the rankings they wished to seize. They weighed the young prodigy seated on it, calculating their own odds of a successful challenge.
"The 298th position is empty! It belongs to me!"
Suddenly, a figure swiftly charged towards the arena. It was a burly young man with cultivation at the late Destiny Realm. Surging spiritual pressure poured out from within him. Even more awe-inspiring were his explosively developed muscles, bulging prominently, clearly indicating that his physical power was immensely formidable.
"It's Senior Brother Yuan Kong from the Tongbi Sect! He's strong in both spiritual power and physical body, a newly risen talent in Donghuang in recent years!" Someone immediately identified the burly young man.
"The 297th is also empty! I'll take it!"
A man in white robes stepped out from the crowd, rushing toward one of the empty cushions on the platform.
"The 260th is vacant! This spot belongs to me! Who dares compete, dies!"
A man of short stature moved with lightning speed, appearing on the platform and heading for another empty cushion.
More and more young talents then rushed onto the arena in succession.
This first wave of young talents all aimed for the vacant cushions. There were over twenty empty cushions in total. This meant over twenty of the young prodigies who had secured a ranking last season weren't present this time; most likely, those absent had perished.
These vacant cushions, unattended, were the easiest to seize. Basically, whoever reached them first could simply sit down.
"Su Fei, I'm going to try for the 270th rank. You stay put here; don't wander around. And... stop provoking people. If the Zhao Family comes to deal with you, call for help from the disciples of our Ji Family. I've already instructed them," Ji Yue whispered her instructions to Ye Yunfei.
Then, she soared into the air, heading for an empty cushion on the platform.
In an instant, Ji Yue reached the space before that cushion and was about to sit cross-legged.
Suddenly.
"The 270th rank! I've had my eye on that since last year! I don't care who you are, get lost!"
A loud shout rang out. A short, stout man, round like a winter melon, came rolling forth and actually crashed directly toward Ji Yue.
"Seeking death!" Ji Yue was furious. A long sword appeared in her hand, thrusting towards the man.
"Heh heh, a little girl dares to compete with me for a ranking?" the man sneered, taking out a pair of purple-gold warhammers. They swelled with the wind, resembling two small hills, rumbling toward Ji Yue.