At the same time.
The events that had taken place at the Lesser Lantai Gathering had long since spread across the entire Eastern Barrens.
A disciple from Yan Country's Ziwei Sect had claimed first place in this session of the Lesser Lantai Gathering!
The news broke out, shaking the entire Eastern Barrens.
Both the Freak Minor Ranking and the Freak Major Ranking were recognized throughout the Eastern Barrens as the most authoritative leaderboards.
Every young person capable of entering these two rankings was a genius among geniuses, a true freak!
Therefore, all major and minor factions in the Eastern Barrens had always paid close attention to the rankings on these lists.
Furthermore, the top positions on these rankings had always been monopolized by the disciples of the Eastern Barrens' major powers.
For instance, the top three spots on the previous Freak Minor Ranking each hailed from a major faction of the Eastern Barrens.
The first-place Mo Qingxuan was even a disciple of the Cangyan Sacred Sect!
Yet this session's first place actually came from Yan Country's Ziwei Sect—a sect considered insignificant by most! This result was unbelievable!
"Didn't they say the Ziwei Sect had completely declined? How could they still cultivate such a monstrous disciple?"
"They say that disciple of Ziwei Sect is named Su Fei. He stood up for a woman from the Ji Family named Ji Yue, and drove every single Zhao Family disciple off the competition platform at the Lesser Lantai Gathering! For this session of the gathering, the Zhao Family suffered a total defeat—not a single ranking!"
"At the end of the competitions, this Su Fei defeated both Ximen Yijian and Mo Qingxuan in succession. With one punch, he grievously wounded Mo Qingxuan and seized first place! Mo Qingxuan was severely injured, falling unconscious, and secured no ranking at all!"
"Heavens! Is this kid insane? Provoking the Zhao Family, and now the Cangyan Sacred Sect? How many heads does he think he has? Just wait and see, he won't live long!"
As the detailed accounts of the Lesser Lantai Gathering gradually circulated, some marveled in awe, while others watched with malicious glee.
"What? Su Fei took first place at the Lesser Lantai Gathering? How is that possible?"
When the news reached the Ziwei Sect, all the high-ranking members were dumbstruck, speechless for a long while.
For ages, Ziwei Sect disciples had lacked the qualifications to even participate in the Lesser Lantai Gathering, let alone secure a ranking.
Now, suddenly, a Ziwei Sect disciple had taken first place. This was all too fantastical, incredibly unreal.
"Sect Leader Liu, did Su Fei truly go to participate in the Lesser Lantai Gathering? Is the Su Fei who claimed first place there really our Ziwei Sect's Su Fei?" Many high-ranking members looked towards Sect Leader Liu.
"Su Fei did indeed go to the Lesser Lantai Gathering. The Su Fei who took first place is most likely our Ziwei Sect's Su Fei. I tried to dissuade him from going, but he still went." Sect Leader Liu responded with a bitter smile.
"If so, then our Ziwei Sect disciple has secured first place on the Freak Minor Ranking!" All the elders and leaders were utterly shocked to their core.
"Senior Brother is mighty!"
"Senior Brother Su Fei is incredible! From now on, let's see who dares look down on our Ziwei Sect!"
...
At that moment, jubilant cheers and thunderous applause erupted within the Ziwei Sect headquarters. Every disciple was cheering for Senior Brother Su Fei.
"Don't celebrate too early yet. I've heard that Su Fei has offended several major powers. The situation is quite perilous." Sect Leader Liu recalled the various reports he'd heard, his brow furrowed with worry. Just the Eastern Barrens' Zhao Family alone was a foe beyond Ziwei Sect's ability to confront.
"Sect Leader Liu, you needn't worry too much. Haven't you heard? After the Lesser Lantai Gathering concluded, both the Eastern Barrens Demon Race and the Great Thunderclap Monastery stepped forward to help Su Fei. And it was two Demon Kings from the Eastern Barrens Demon Race who intervened personally." one elder pointed out.
"For now, our Ziwei Sect can only take it one step at a time. Let us hope we can safely navigate through this crisis." Sect Leader Liu sighed.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the earth of the Eastern Barrens, Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged atop the head of an Earth Dragon, surging forward.
An ancient-looking compass floated before him, emanating dazzling rays of light.
This tool was called the Measuring Earth Plate, capable of measuring every condition of the earth.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei was using this plate to search for powerful Earth Dragons.
Earth Dragons were graded into different levels.
Since Earth Dragons were formed from earth qi mimicking the aura of true dragons, their grading mirrored the legendary classification of true dragons.
From weakest to strongest, they were ranked as: Yellow Dragon, Green Dragon, Blue Dragon, Red Dragon, Brown Dragon, White Dragon, Azure Dragon, Black Dragon, Golden Dragon.
So far, the Earth Dragons Ye Yunfei had encountered and captured were mostly Yellow Dragons. Only a few had been Green Dragons. Now, Ye Yunfei sought higher-grade Earth Dragons.
The Primordial Continent was an advanced landmass with robust earth laws; it was certain to harbor more powerful Earth Dragons.
Hum…
The Measuring Earth Plate gently vibrated, continuously manifesting strings of peculiar runes that arranged and combined in various patterns. These runes could only be understood by Earth Masters!
Ye Yunfei stared at the bizarre runes floating above the Measuring Earth Plate, analyzing the surrounding terrain.
"There are Green Dragons in that direction!" Suddenly, a surge of excitement gripped Ye Yunfei. He immediately urged the Earth Dragon beneath him to charge in that direction.
A short while later,
They arrived at a location of exceptionally dense earth qi.
Within the depths of the earth, three massive, translucent Earth Dragons lay dormant, unmoving. Their dragon forms were adorned with patches of green scales—these were indeed Green Dragons!
ROAR...
The three Earth Dragons seemed to sense the aura of an Earth Master emanating from Ye Yunfei. Immediately reacting, they roared furiously towards Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei retrieved the Dragon-Subduing Whip, activated it directly, and lashed out.
A gigantic whip shadow materialized, simultaneously striking the bodies of all three Green Dragons.
BOOM…
The three Earth Dragons thrashed wildly.
After a few breaths, Ye Yunfei had successfully subdued them.
In the time that followed, guided by the perceptions of the Measuring Earth Plate, Ye Yunfei subdued an increasing number of Green Dragons.
"A Blue Dragon! I've finally found a Blue Dragon!" A day later, Ye Yunfei found a Blue Dragon, stirring with excitement. This was the first Blue Dragon he had encountered since cultivating the Xiangdi Jue!
Ye Yunfei expended some effort to subdue this Blue Dragon.
Over the next few days, he continued roaming underground, searching for Earth Dragons.
Three days later, Ye Yunfei had found a total of six Blue Dragons!
With the help of the Dragon-Subduing Whip, Ye Yunfei subdued all six of these Blue Dragons.
Only after five days did Ye Yunfei finally return to Ziwei Sect headquarters.
"There are quite a few people keeping watch over Ziwei Sect." The moment Ye Yunfei returned, he detected numerous figures lurking in the vicinity of the sect's headquarters.
"These individuals possess considerable strength; they're likely from some major powers." Ye Yunfei frowned.
He formed a hand seal with one hand and pointed.
Numerous Earth Dragons dispersed, spreading out around Ziwei Sect headquarters, monitoring the surrounding situation.
Then Ye Yunfei entered the headquarters.
"Su Fei, you've finally returned!" As soon as Sect Leader Liu learned of Ye Yunfei's return, he immediately rushed over with a large group of high-ranking members.