"When rescuing at the Cang Lang Sect, I promised rewards to the top ten among you who slew the most demonic beasts. Now, please present your demon beast inner cores," said the Heavenly Dao Elder, hovering above the tiger-hawk on their return journey.
As soon as he spoke, the disciples became extremely excited. They rarely had such an opportunity, and the Heavenly Dao Elder's collection was something extraordinary. One by one, they took out the storage rings that the Heavenly Dao Elder had specially prepared for them. The purpose of these rings was to prevent cheating. Of course, under the Heavenly Dao Elder's watch, no one dared to cheat, but he still guarded against some bold individuals, such as Zhang Ergou, who always acted unpredictably.
After the Heavenly Dao Elder's announcement, elders began to organize the disciples to check the spoils from slaying demonic beasts.
"Liu Bin, three hundred Golden Core early-stage demon beast inner cores, one Golden Core early-stage demon beast inner core."
The tiger-hawk flew smoothly through the sky, and the inspection was more than halfway done. At this point, an inner disciple named Qi Yang, who had slain demonic beasts yielding twelve hundred inner cores, temporarily ranked first. Among those twelve hundred inner cores were two hundred Golden Core mid-stage demon beast inner cores. Qi Yang's smile grew wider. As a master who had consistently held the tenth position on the Fengyun Ranking for three years, he was very satisfied with his results. Just as Qi Yang thought, most disciples' slain demonic beast numbers couldn't compare to his. Only those on the Fengyun Ranking could contend with him.
However, not long after, Qi Yang could no longer be happy. Someone had surpassed his achievement.
"Cheng Nan, eleven hundred Golden Core early-stage demon beast inner cores, two hundred and thirty Golden Core mid-stage demon beast inner cores."
The inspecting elder's voice had been calm, but upon seeing the ten neatly arranged inner cores at the end, his composed face finally showed surprise. "And... and ten... Golden Core... late-stage inner cores..."
"Wow..." The crowd erupted. A single Golden Core late-stage demon beast inner core was enough to prove one's strength. Yet, Cheng Nan had obtained ten. The disciples understood how difficult it was to slay Golden Core late-stage demonic beasts; even working together, a few of them couldn't defeat one. But Cheng Nan had managed to acquire ten Golden Core late-stage demon beast inner cores. Ten of them!
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, the results from the other Fengyun Ranking masters left them speechless. When they heard that Liao Yiyi, the first on the Fengyun Ranking, had slain thirty-five Golden Core late-stage demon beast inner cores, three hundred Golden Core mid-stage demon beast inner cores, and two thousand five hundred Golden Core early-stage demon beast inner cores, they were numb.
After her own results were announced, Liao Yiyi's expression remained calm, unperturbed. However, as she put away her gains, she intentionally or unintentionally glanced in Zhang Ergou's direction. She had been the closest to him then and knew his spoils couldn't be less than hers.
"Ergou, how was your haul?" Seeing Zhang Ergou's composed demeanor, Xiao Qingyu and the others gathered around curiously.
"Heh heh," Zhang Ergou chuckled. "Over thirty Golden Core late-stage inner cores, more than two hundred Golden Core mid-stage demon beast inner cores, and over two thousand Golden Core early-stage demon beast inner cores."
"You beast!" Xiao Qingyu cried out. At most, he had obtained just over five hundred demon beast inner cores in total. Zhang Ergou's various types of demon beast inner cores combined reached over two thousand two hundred. Comparing oneself to others was enough to drive one mad. Keep in mind that Zhang Ergou had entered the inner sect at the same time as them.
Lin Yichen, Wang Teng, Lin Yueru, Lu Xiaoyu, and the others had slain a number of demonic beasts not much different from Xiao Qingyu, and were far from making it into the top ten. However, when Zhang Ergou revealed his haul, they were completely speechless. Although Zhang Ergou's performance had always exceeded their expectations, the gap between him and them this time made them feel a sense of defeat once again. Chen Gong and Li Yao were also somewhat speechless. Being around Zhang Ergou brought them not stimulation, but打击 (dǎjī - blow/setback). If they knew Zhang Ergou had concealed his actual results, who knows how they would feel. Zhang Ergou had intentionally reported half of his spoils to avoid drawing attention, yet the reactions were still so intense.
"Are you Zhang Ergou?" As Zhang Ergou's results were announced, a figure stood beside him.
"Yes, I am. Senior sister, is there something?" Zhang Ergou remembered this was the senior sister who had the highest number of demon beast inner cores slain earlier, Liao Yiyi.
"You concealed your results?" Liao Yiyi stared intently into Zhang Ergou's eyes. Zhang Ergou's pupils contracted slightly, and then he smiled nonchalantly, "Senior sister, what makes you say that? Killing so many demonic beasts has already exhausted me. Where would I have the energy to hide anything?"
"You can fool others, but you can't fool me," Liao Yiyi continued to stare at Zhang Ergou, as if trying to discern something from his eyes.
"Boring," Zhang Ergou's expression turned colder. "If senior sister has nothing else, please don't block my way." With that, Zhang Ergou moved past her and walked towards Lin Yichen and the others.
"Interesting," Liao Yiyi's lips curved into a beautiful arc.
"Ergou, what did Senior Sister Liao want with you? Don't tell me she's taken a liking to you?" Chen Gong and Li Yao turned into gossipy old women, looking at Liao Yiyi and then winking at Zhang Ergou. Lin Yichen, Xiao Qingyu, and the others also looked curious and gossipy. Only Lin Yueru looked displeased, though no one noticed her.
"Get lost, I don't know why she approached me, she said some cryptic words." Zhang Ergou glanced back at Liao Yiyi, and their eyes met. The number one on the Fengyun Ranking gave him a very dangerous feeling, as if, just as she said, nothing could escape her eyes.
In the end, Zhang Ergou secured second place. He was the only inner disciple among the top ten who was not a Fengyun Ranking master. He was also the only one who had entered the inner sect less than two years prior. This caused a huge stir. However, only three people knew that Zhang Ergou was actually the one who had attained first place.
As he handed a fourth-grade pill to Zhang Ergou, the Heavenly Dao Elder gave him a profound look. "Good boy, you know how to hide your strength. Not bad, but not enough yet."
"Isn't it because your rewards were too attractive, old man?" Zhang Ergou chuckled, playing with the fourth-grade pill in his hand. In the vast Misty Sect, there was only one person who could refine fourth-grade pills, which showed their preciousness.