Chapter 77: Top of the Rankings!

The burning mountain of corpses and sea of blood finally condensed into a spinning, glistening pill.

The pill exuded an overwhelming aroma, its entire body blood-red—just looking at it, one could tell it was a supreme tonic.

Lu Ye, now dominated by slaughter, didn’t bother looting corpses. What did that have to do with him?

Hadn’t he obtained divine flame just for the sake of pill refinement and forging? Now this blood-flesh great pill was perfectly suited to his taste.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp.

Mmm—delicious!

Honestly, refining pills wasn’t all that different from roasting meat.

After all, it was all flesh.

The blood-flesh great pill swiftly melted into scorching energy, flowing into every limb and part of Lu Ye’s body.

His physical strength was rising.

Though only slightly—a minor benefit, hardly worth mentioning.

Time to challenge the rankings, time to challenge the rankings!

In his past life, he had only ranked thirty-third. Let’s see if in this life, he could make it to number one.

Though Lu Ye figured that’d be a stretch. The top ten were all Saints—even the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking didn’t dare reveal their names, lest great karmic consequences follow.

Lu Ye was powerful, sure—but in his last life, he ultimately hadn’t become a Saint.

...Alright, maybe he was being modest.

With how monstrous he was now, never mind taking first place—he even suspected he could punch right through the entire Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking.

A reborn Heavenly Lord, fully committed to the Dao, and with a system on top of that.

Lu Ye’s figure turned into a stream of light, darting toward the Ninth Layer battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Blood Sea.

The stone stele stood tall and imposing above the sea of blood.

It was grand, magnificent—every name etched on its surface was legendary across the Nine Heavens.

Lu Ye hovered in midair, standing before the stele.

Looking at those names, his gaze carried a faint hint of remembrance.

Among them—at least half—were people Lu Ye actually knew. They were scattered across the Nine Heavens, each having become a leader in their respective domains.

Some had already attained the Dao and become Emperors.

Others had become Lords, had gained dominion.

Lu Ye held his breath, his aura settling like a still lake.

His Dao.

His technique.

His power.

His past and present lives.

His unwavering pursuit of the Way.

His fist—rose.

Behind Lu Ye, the clouds surged and winds howled. The light of heaven flickered between brilliance and darkness.

The entire Ninth Layer battlefield was swept up in a fierce wind.

Lu Ye’s black hair whipped wildly in the gusts. His whole body radiated boundless divine light.

On this Heaven’s Chosen Ranking—

There were some who were reincarnations of Emperors, some reborn from Heavenly Lords.

Some were born with innate Dao embryos, others with Chaos God Bodies.

But none of that mattered anymore.

This punch—was for the sake of a clear heart and an enduring Dao!

His eyes snapped open!

“Heavenly Sovereign Fist!”

A single punch!

Winds howled. The Dao trembled.

The divine light swirling around his body all converged upon that one punch.

With the force of heaven’s collapse—it slammed fiercely into the stele.

“Boom!”

A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the entire Ancient Battlefield of Heaven’s Chosen.

No—not just that—the entire First Heaven, whether the Demon Realm, the Buddhist Realm, the Demon Beast Realm, or any of ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the countless great and small worlds—all heard this deafening boom.

The sound was like a morning bell, an evening drum.

In that instant, all minds became clear and tranquil.

After unleashing the punch, Lu Ye’s body was pushed backward.

It was visible now—his fist had not struck the physical stele directly, but rather a layer of energy covering its surface.

At this moment, that energy surged violently—strands of streaming light gathered at the bottom of the stele.

The flowing light converged at the very base of the stone stele—

Forming a mass of radiance.

In the next second, the light began rapidly flickering across the names etched on the stele.

Rumble rumble rumble...

Dust and sand crumbled from the stone stele as the light raced across its surface. Tiny cracks began spreading rapidly over the monument.

It cracked!

Lu Ye was still lightly shaking out his arm—yes, the punch was powerful, but the rebound force had nearly shattered his arm.

Watching the darting beam of light, Lu Ye was filled with anticipation.

With barely a pause, the flickering light had already surged into the top hundred.

And it was still climbing—aggressively.

Top fifty!

Lu Ye didn’t blink. Last time, he’d made it to thirty-third place and had already received incredibly generous rewards—his cultivation realm had leapt by four small levels in one go. What’s more, under the resonance of the Dao itself, the incomplete version of the Nine-Life Undying Sutra had been forcibly pushed closer to a full edition.

The incomplete version, at most, allowed cultivation of three extra lives.

But with that Dao resonance, it had evolved to the point where it could now cultivate four.

Which is why Dao resonance truly was an extraordinary opportunity.

The light kept rising.

One by one, those familiar names—renowned throughout the Nine Heavens—were overtaken by the glowing brilliance.

Thirty-second place!

At that moment, Lu Ye had already surpassed his former self, reaching rank thirty-two.

But it didn’t stop there.

Top thirty!

Top twenty!

The moment that beam of light entered the top twenty, a majestic illusory stone stele materialized in the sky above the First Heaven.

Heaven and earth responded as one—celestial music played, divine radiance burst forth.

It was as if the world itself rejoiced, celebrating the emergence of a new Heaven’s Chosen.

Everyone in the First Heaven could see the stele appear.

"What is that stele?"

In an instant, powerful figures across the realms were startled out of their cultivation. With a single step, they appeared high in the sky, gazing at the towering illusion with shock.

"The Heaven’s Chosen Stele—that’s the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking! The stele has manifested... someone has entered the top twenty of the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen!"

Even mighty cultivators felt their hearts quake.

Top twenty!

That was a realm where, as long as one didn’t fall prematurely, they were virtually guaranteed to become an Emperor or Supreme Lord.

A single Emperor could allow one sect to dominate the myriad worlds. If someone became a Heavenly Lord, they would stand unrivaled across all heavens and earth, their name immortalized, their words becoming law!

Of course, most of these experts were just here to watch the show.

The ones truly stirred were the many factions camped in Nine Dragon Valley.

They all knew—the Heaven’s Chosen Ancient Battlefield now housed a slaughter demon, and every cultivator within had already been annihilated.

And according to Bai Qiulan’s account, this demon hadn’t started with human cultivators—he began by butchering the demon, monster, and alien races.

Which meant this demon killed indiscriminately.

No other cultivators remained in the battlefield.

Which meant—that being who had just surged into the top twenty of the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking...

Was that very slaughter demon!

He had charged into the top twenty!

Top twenty!

To be so bloodthirsty at such a young age...

If he were allowed to mature, the Nine Heavens themselves would wail beneath his sword.

"Fellow Daoists, this killing fiend has already become a menace," bellowed a Grand Elder of the Yin-Yang Law Sect. "In the past, the Great Saints of the Nine Heavens eradicated evil cultivators to uphold the righteous path. Today, another devil cultivator has emerged. We must exterminate him—for the lives of all beings, for the countless masses, to preserve a bright and just world!"

"All sects, send word back immediately. Call for your strongest!"

"If necessary—summon the Tribulation-Crossing Ancestors!"

"Yes! Every sect must gather their peak powers. We must join forces to slay this devil!"

"This is no longer a personal feud. If we let him grow any further, the First Heaven will be destroyed. His bloodlust is beyond comprehension—we don't need to say more!"

A group of sect elders, all of whom had lost disciples to Lu Ye, were particularly agitated.

Many others felt their words held truth.

That man in the Heaven’s Chosen Battlefield—he had killed everyone inside, without distinction. He was truly a devil cultivator.

Yue Hongling and Bai Qiulan exchanged glances in that moment.

Yue Hongling was, at first, overwhelmed with joy.

Senior brother... had become even stronger!

In his past life, he only made it to thirty-third. But now, he had charged into the top twenty.

But the more joy she felt, the more her heart went numb.

Senior brother was cultivating so desperately... it felt like he was trying to get as far away from them as possible...

On the illusory stele in the sky, the light had already entered the top twenty—but it didn’t stop there.

"It’s still rising!"

Many top cultivators across the First Heaven couldn’t help but feel a cold chill flood their hearts.

What kind of monster was this?!