Chapter 64: Miao Yin

The sky was a deep, clear blue, as if washed clean.

The floating stone arena was spotless, immaculate.

“Total students in the major district: 42,720.”

“Your rank: 15,560.”

Jiang Jian raised an eyebrow, gazing at the holographic screen.

He clearly remembered that his last rank before logging off had been 9,765.

Just one night offline, and he’d dropped to over ten thousand.

Jiang Jian swiped the screen, viewing the detailed rules of the Sky Ladder ranking match.

“If someone defeats a higher-ranked opponent, they automatically take that opponent’s rank.”

“The loser does not drop down—they simply fall one position behind.”

“Everyone behind them also falls one position.”

“So that’s how it works.”

Jiang Jian pondered for a moment, then initiated matchmaking immediately.

Under these rules, if you stay offline for too long, your rank will inevitably plummet over time.

To enter the top 100, you must log in daily and participate in matchmaking within a set time limit.

Otherwise, the Sky Ladder system will detect your absence and expel you from the rankings, forcing you to restart from the bottom.

“Matchmaking successful!”

A notification chimed, and the holographic screen dissolved.

Across the arena, a flying blade, wrapped in violent wind, pierced through the air toward him!

Strike first, gain the advantage!

The Sky Ladder ranking match had been open for a full day and night.

Many students had noticed that the moment the screen vanished, their scenes merged with their opponent’s.

Those who wasted time talking were becoming fewer and fewer.

“Stagnate.”

Jiang Jian’s fingers twitched slightly; a stream of blood-red light spiraled out, instantly ensnaring the speeding blade.

It shattered piece by piece, dissolving into fine, flickering light.

“How did Jiang Jian from Linjiang Academy get matched against me?!”

The opponent, blade in hand, had been confident—until he recognized Jiang Jian’s face. His expression darkened; he cursed inwardly, “My winning streak is over!”

On the joint forum of the seventeen regional academies, someone had already analyzed the most difficult opponents in the ranking matches.

The list contained hundreds of names.

Jiang Jian of Linjiang Academy was one of them.

Although, due to insufficient match data, the forum had underestimated his threat level.

But it was still enough to warrant caution.

Crack!

Jiang Jian curled his fingers slightly, and the blood-red light vanished instantly.

The next second.

The air before the opponent twisted; bloodlight spread, crushing him and his blade into fragments!

“Is this a ‘normal’ threat level?!”

“Who the hell ranked him?!”

Inside the virtual pod, Guo Hao sat up, unable to hold back his curses.

“Such pure spiritual essence, such devastating killing power, such rapid spiritual condensation—it’s like he’s trained for over a decade!”

Guo Hao replayed the battle footage repeatedly, his face filled with awe.

He stood frozen for several seconds.

Then he hurriedly opened his identity device, logged onto the joint forum, and uploaded the battle video.

He even bolded and highlighted the video title.

“Students climbing the ranks, pay attention!”

“If you encounter Jiang Jian from Linjiang Academy, just surrender immediately—don’t ruin your mindset!”

“In my opinion, his threat level rivals those top-10 monsters!”

At the end of the video, the camera flickered, catching Jiang Jian’s profile.

The built-in camera had captured a cascade of drifting, fragmented bloodlight.

Comments beneath the post quickly piled up.

“Is Linjiang Academy about to rise?”

“I doubt it—maybe the poster is just trash.”

“Linjiang Academy’s new students have been called useless for so long; this Jiang Jian probably isn’t any better.”

“Stop exaggerating—what’s the value of a match pool around rank ten thousand?”

Many comments carried sarcasm and mockery.

Almost all commenters came from remote Divine Gift academies.

In these two days since the Sky Ladder opened, barely any new students from Linjiang Academy’s seventeen colleges had broken into the top 100.

As the number-one Divine Gift academy in the region, its abysmal performance this year had already drawn a storm of criticism online.

“You’ve won this ranking match!”

“Your rank: 1,219.”

Jiang Jian rarely checked forums, so he knew nothing of this.

After more than ten consecutive wins, his Sky Ladder rank had surged to 1,219!

Sensing his Shenque spiritual energy fully restored,

Jiang Jian did not pause—he tapped matchmaking again.

“Matchmaking successful!”

On the floating stone arena,

A girl suddenly appeared.

She glanced coldly at Jiang Jian but made no move.

Her uniform was the Linjiang Academy skirt.

Jiang Jian recognized her as a student from the First College.

But Jiang Jian had no time for words.

He raised Han Guang and slashed across the air, unleashing a blazing sword beam!

The girl frowned slightly, her body instantly distorting!

Boom!

The sword beam tore through her ethereal form, striking the arena floor and sending sparks flying.

The next second,

Her form solidified—still not attacking—her crimson lips parted: “Jiang Jian.”

Jiang Jian stood with sword in hand, watching her silently.

The girl’s face remained cold, but her eyes held confusion. After several seconds, she whispered: “You’re not...”

She stopped.

It seemed she struggled to speak.

“Nonsense,” Jiang Jian said. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

The girl flushed with anger and embarrassment: “Aren’t you attracted to me?”

Jiang Jian froze. “What are you talking about?”

She replied: “Shan Ye said you have feelings for me.”

Jiang Jian stared, speechless: “Who are you? I don’t even know you.”

The girl snapped back to reality, equally bewildered: “Then what’s going on?!”

She extended a finger, summoning a virtual identity device, and opened a message.

Shan Ye’s voice played: “Yinyin, how’s Jiang Jian? I think you two are perfect together.”

Below it were several more messages.

Each more explosive than the last.

Jiang Jian listened, his eyebrow twitching.

“Shan Ye looks normal, but he’s as delusional as Shi Luohua—watching too many short dramas...”

By now, both understood.

This whole thing was entirely Shan Ye’s own misguided matchmaking.

“Good thing it’s just a misunderstanding.”

The girl swiped away the screen, exhaling in relief: “I was conflicted before—now I’m not.”

Boom!

Before she finished speaking, another blazing sword beam slashed toward her!

"Jiang Jian, you actually launched a surprise attack!"

A second before the sword light reached her, her form suddenly turned insubstantial!

Jiang Jian paid her no mind whatsoever; spiritual energy surged around him as he leapt upward with Han Guang, spinning back to strike again!

Continuous sword qi swept across, nearly covering half the arena!

The insubstantial state lasted only a moment.

The girl’s form solidified instantly and fell to the ground!

Clang!

A solid spiritual barrier materialized, blocking all the countless shards of sword light!

The next instant.

The blade of Han Guang sliced through the air and plunged straight into the light barrier.

Streams of luminous energy surged, freezing Han Guang’s blade in place, preventing it from advancing even a single inch.

Jiang Jian’s gaze turned icy as his Shenque spiritual essence surged wildly—he poured a full three-tenths of his spiritual energy into the sword!

Han Guang blazed with brilliant light!

The blade glowed with scorching radiance, its aura fierce and violent, its killing intent exploding!

Crack!

The thick spiritual barrier shattered abruptly!

The scorching sword qi surged and shredded the girl’s slender form into countless fragments of luminous light.

"You have won this round of the ranking match!"

"Your ranking: 376."

On the holographic screen, Jiang Jian’s latest ranking was clearly displayed.

"Your consecutive wins have reached 29."

Jiang Jian looked at the ranking information.

"Next match."

"Highly likely to be matched against someone in the top 100."

(End of Chapter)