Chapter 536: Determining the Rankings

The Flying Boat traveled above the sea of clouds for the entire night, yet it was so steady it felt as if it were parked in place.

Cheng Feng did not sleep soundly during the night, always keeping a sliver of his focus on the movements outside his door.

Only five people lived on the second level, and at night it was so quiet that the dropping of a needle could be heard,

but occasionally, muffled arguments could be heard coming from the direction of the third level; it seemed some were not reconciled to the room assignments.

As soon as the sky brightened, a bell chimed from the top of the boat, clear and lingering, spreading throughout all four levels.

Cheng Feng pushed the door open and stepped out, just in time to see the thin man from yesterday standing with his hands behind his back at the end of the second-level corridor, with the female cultivator surnamed Zhao standing beside him.

It was unknown when the two had arrived, as if they had appeared out of thin air.

"Are you all awake?" The thin man's gaze swept over the crowd; his voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached every cabin on the boat. "Last night, your rankings were somewhat rushed,

and some of you do not know what the Cultivation Rooms on the Flying Boat signify.

Starting from today, the official Ranking Battle will begin, lasting for three days.

The ranking results will determine your treatment on the boat for the next month. Battles begin at the hour of the Dragon (7:00-9:00 AM) every day and stop at sunset.

You may use any means, as long as you do not kill anyone or destroy the cabins; for the rest, rely on your own abilities."

He spoke in an understated manner, yet it made the entire Flying Boat go quiet in an instant.

The female cultivator surnamed Zhao stepped forward, a stack of Jade Tablets appearing in her hand, numbering about a hundred, glowing with a faint, translucent white light in the morning sun.

She flicked her hand, and the Jade Tablets flew toward the crowd like scattered flowers; her control of force was extremely precise, and everyone caught exactly one.

Cheng Feng looked down; the Jade Tablet was milky white throughout, with a number engraved on the front—three.

"What you have received is your initial ranking." The female cultivator surnamed Zhao's voice was cold. "This Jade Tablet represents your current order on the boat. The higher the ranking, the more Bigu Pills you are allocated, and the longer your cultivation time.

There are formations on the beds on each deck; insert your Jade Tablet into the Array Eye, and the Auxiliary Cultivation Formation of the Spirit Gathering Formation will activate, allowing you to conduct your daily cultivation.

The top five may use the Spirit Room on the second level; those ranked sixth to twenty-fifth may use the Cultivation Rooms on the third level;

the rest are in the large communal sleeping area on the fourth level, one bed per person.

Everyone else can only meditate on the floor of the fourth level."

Cheng Feng's brows twitched slightly.

He had long expected that the Immortal Sect would not let these hundred-odd people live in peace, but he had not expected that even the Cultivation Rooms would be clearly priced.

In this way, who wouldn't want to fight for the top five?

However, Cheng Feng had felt the Cultivation Room was very useful yesterday,

so was it actually even more useful with the formation assistance activated?

This gave Cheng Feng a sense of déjà vu, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

"You may initiate a challenge against any ranking every day, but you can only move up level by level; you cannot skip levels," the female cultivator surnamed Zhao continued.

"The winner swaps Jade Tablets. The loser's ranking is pushed back accordingly.

Each person is only allowed three battles per level per day,

except for those on a winning streak, who may continue to challenge."

After speaking, she and the man turned and left, leaving the whole boat in silence.

Zhou Tieyi leaned over to Cheng Feng's side and whispered, "I am nine, what are you?" He flashed his Jade Tablet, which had nine written on it. Cheng Feng glanced at him: "Quite high up."

"Bullshit," Zhou Tieyi cursed. "You are ranked three, Zhou Yanran is ranked eleven, and Bai Wugou is fourth.

I can't even beat Zhou Yanran!

Zhou Zhong and that grey-clothed youth are first and second, no problem there.

Those are two Gang Qi Realm Martial Artists.

The rest must still have people who haven't made a move yet; the subsequent battles will definitely be brutal."

Cheng Feng nodded: "I guessed as much."

"There will be fighting tonight." Zhou Tieyi looked up toward the third-level deck. "Now that there are benefits, those at the True Qi Peak will definitely want to charge upward."

Before his words had even faded, someone had already moved.

A bare-chested, burly man walked out from the crowd on the fourth level and, without even looking, inserted his Jade Tablet directly into the Array Eye on the outermost edge of the third-level deck.

That Array Eye was only the size of a fist; after the Jade Tablet was inserted, a faint golden light appeared on the deck, and then a soft "hum" sound came from the Array Eye.

Cheng Feng thought to himself: "There was no such effect yesterday; the two envoys were likely watching from the shadows last night!!!"

"Huang Meng of the fourth level, challenging the twenty-fifth position of the third level." His voice was like a booming bell, making the ship's walls hum.

A figure immediately flew out from the crowd and landed in the center of the third-level deck; it was a youth of about eighteen or nineteen, whose aura was not weak, clearly also an expert among those in the True Qi Realm.

The two looked at each other and, without any wasted words, began to fight.

Cheng Feng sat on the railing of the second-level corridor, looking down from above.

Huang Meng's style was wide and open, every punch carrying the sound of tearing wind, forcing his opponent to retreat step by step.

The youth's footwork was agile, and he tried to circle to the side to counterattack several times, but was forced back to the center by a sweeping kick from Huang Meng.

After a dozen rounds, Huang Meng suddenly changed his fist into a claw, gripped the opponent's wrist with one palm, and threw him off the deck, where he hit the soft wood of the ship's side and slid to the ground, unable to stand up for a long time.

"Swap positions." Huang Meng raised the Jade Tablet in his hand. The man's face was ashen, but he could only swap the number on his Jade Tablet with Huang Meng's.

"Quite fast," Cheng Feng muttered to himself.

"This is a show of force," Zhou Tieyi said. "There is a lot of pent-up anger on the fourth level; they didn't get a room last night, so they will definitely fight hard today."

Sure enough, for the next while, there was a challenge almost every half-stick of incense. Some won and their rankings rose; some lost and their positions plummeted.

In the most intense match, two True Qi Peak experts fought for over a hundred rounds, and in the end, it actually ended with one of them exhausted; both retreated, and neither managed to enter the top twenty-five.

Cheng Feng was in no hurry to enter the fray. He observed for half a day and discovered that this Ranking Battle, while seemingly chaotic, actually contained hidden rules: challengers could only initiate from low to high level by level, and the three-match daily limit per level meant that those ranked higher only needed to respond, without needing to take the initiative to strike.

Those who took the initiative to strike yesterday could be considered to have gained the upper hand.

If they could hold their ground, they could reap the rewards.

For true experts, there was no need to act every day; as long as they displayed their strength in a few key matches, they could intimidate subsequent challengers.

For the experts who did not make a move last night, after a day of consecutive victories, their status was basically stabilized.

"I'll go give it a try." Zhou Tieyi rubbed his hands together, clearly unable to hold back any longer.

"You are ranked ninth; which one do you want to fight?"

After Cheng Feng finished asking, Zhou Tieyi smiled and gestured with his chin toward the other side of the second-deck railing: "Of course, I'll test the waters first. I'm ninth; the Spirit Rooms in the top five are good, but with those in the Gang Qi Realm standing there, I won't touch them.

Your physical body is formidable, and I have already experienced it, so I won't compete with you.

The rest are not necessarily stronger than me."

He said this lightly, but in truth, there was already a fighting spirit in his eyes.

Cheng Feng did not stop him, only saying: "If you find yourself unable to win later, retreat early; don't force it."

A man's friendship is strange; they were opponents before, but now they count as comrades-in-arms.

Zhou Tieyi waved his hand and strode toward an Array Eye on the outer side of the second deck.

That Array Eye corresponded to the eighth position, glowing with a faint green light, and the Spirit Qi was several times denser than on the third level. He inserted his Jade Tablet and called out: "Number nine, challenging number eight."

As his voice fell, a person walked out from a third-level Cultivation Room; the figure was short and sturdy, with hands as thick as cattail-leaf fans—it was precisely the strong man who had defeated three people in a row with brute force during the third-level scramble yesterday.

He looked up at Zhou Tieyi and grinned: "Good courage. I am Song Kui, and I won't hold back."

"Zhou Tieyi, please enlighten me."

Zhou Tieyi did not waste words; he tapped his toes and was the first to rush out.

His fist style was fierce and rigid, following the open-and-close style of military combat, which was surprisingly similar to Song Kui's.

Once the two engaged, it was a head-on collision, fist to flesh, shaking the deck beneath their feet with constant dull thuds.

Cheng Feng watched, nodding slightly.

Last night, basically no one had rested well.

Zhou Tieyi was now using offense as defense the moment he made a move.

Because there would be no ranking at night, it was time to establish his own position.

But his opponent was clearly someone who didn't fear a beating; after taking two punches, he countered with a horizontal elbow, forcing Zhou Tieyi back several steps.

"Good!" Zhou Tieyi laughed instead of getting angry; he stepped with his left foot, his figure suddenly accelerated, and he forced his way into Song Kui's guard, his fists raining down like a storm.

Song Kui crossed his arms to guard, holding his vitals firmly, waiting for him to exhaust his strength.

But halfway through his attack, Zhou Tieyi suddenly changed his technique, slamming his right knee into Song Kui's waist and abdomen, while his left hand hooked onto his shoulder and twisted, actually using the momentum of his forward charge to throw Song Kui off balance.

Song Kui's expression changed slightly; he sank his waist, his feet rooting into the deck as if they had grown there.

But Zhou Tieyi had already seized a half-step advantage, his right fist passing through the gap in his arms from bottom to top, aiming straight for his jaw.

Both sides had their fists and feet reinforced with True Qi, and their exchange was filled with the whistling sounds of heavy, powerful force.

Song Kui tilted his head back to dodge, but was still grazed by the fist wind, his jaw burning with pain.

"Stop." Song Kui suddenly stepped back two paces, touched his chin, and grinned: "I concede this round."

Zhou Tieyi retracted his fists and stepped back, also panting heavily.

After the two exchanged Jade Tablets, he shook the "eight" in his hand at Cheng Feng, smiling somewhat reluctantly.

Cheng Feng did not speak, only nodding. This eighth position was something Zhou Tieyi had fought for with his life; it was only the beginning, and he still had two and a half days left to defend it.

If he fought like this every time, he would be ruined in a few days.

The sun rose higher, and the sea of clouds was reflected in shimmering silver.

Challenges followed one after another; the sounds of battle cries, fists and feet, and the humming of Jade Tablets being inserted into Array Eyes intertwined.

Some stopped after winning one match, while others, after losing, recovered for a moment and began challenging again, hoping to improve their position.

In less than half a day, the changes in the top twenty-five were several times more intense than yesterday.

Cheng Feng had not moved the entire time. He leaned against the railing, observing the techniques of the dozen or so people on the second level one by one.

Aside from Zhou Zhong and the gray-clothed youth, Bai Wugou had also not entered the fray today, only sitting cross-legged in the fourth Spirit Room with his eyes closed, cultivating.

Lu Zhen, She Hualong, Pei Qing, and other Different Bodies Cheng Feng had witnessed also began to engage with the six pre-admitted students.

Bai Wugou and Cheng Feng actually shared a bit of a tacit understanding.

Apart from those they had already fought, only those pre-admitted ones remained to be challenged.

Let them come and challenge!