The glow of the sunset was magnificent over Xiaguang City, yet the streets and markets within its walls were noticeably less bustling than the immortal cities scattered across the islands of the Eastern Sea. However, any cultivator capable of fighting on the front lines of the Blood Sea battlefield was, at minimum, at the mid-to-late Golden Core stage, a level of strength considered truly exceptional throughout the entire Eastern Sea archipelago.

The following month, the newest Monster Slaying Rankings were unveiled, drawing crowds thick as thieves inside and outside Xiaguang City. The city gates, in particular, became vibrant hubs of activity. Every month, the latest rankings were first posted at the gates of the major cultivation cities, announcing the top thousand names. Only three days later would detailed jade slips containing the full rankings be available for purchase at the major trade guilds, allowing scrutiny of all positions beyond the top thousand.

This staggered release was a deliberate tactic by the two Immortal Alliances, intended to focus cultivators' attention on the front ranks of these two lists, thereby incentivizing more Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators to strive for a place on the Monster Slaying Rankings.

For the first three days, the focus of the gathered cultivators was entirely on those top one thousand positions.

Zhou Yi, Jin Zhongshan, and others were deeply invested in these rankings and hurried to the listings early that morning. They had intended to ask Ye Qin to join them, but Ye Qin was occupied with alchemy that day and could not spare the time. Thus, the group of over ten cultivators, led by Zhou Yi and Jin Zhongshan, headed to the nearest East Gate on their own.

The entrance to the city was already packed with cultivators. Yet, all those gathered to witness the rankings were Golden Core cultivators; no Nascent Soul experts were present.

The Golden Core Monster Slaying Rankings shifted frequently. Any cultivator who survived a major beast tide through fierce fighting could see their position rise significantly. It was common for placements to jump or drop by dozens, even hundreds, of spots within a single month.

In contrast, the Nascent Soul Monster Slaying Rankings saw only marginal changes. Fiend cultivators were scarce and difficult to eliminate. If a Nascent Soul ancestor managed to slay even one fiend cultivator over the course of a year or eighteen months, it was already considered a remarkable achievement.

Furthermore, the Nascent Soul ancestors generally guarded their dignity; squeezing in with a crowd of Golden Core cultivators to view the lists at the city wall would hardly be fitting. They needn't appear in person; their juniors would naturally report the latest standings to them.

Zhou Yi’s party squeezed through the throng, sighing with varying degrees of anticipation as they scanned the massive Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking board, searching for their names.

“Alas~ Still couldn't break into the top thousand last month!”

Jin Zhongshan quickly scanned the bottom of the Golden Core rankings, feeling a twinge of disappointment when he failed to locate his name. With his current mid-stage Golden Core strength, he could only harbor a faint hope for the tail end of the top thousand. If his name wasn't there, there was certainly no chance of finding it higher up.

Jin Zhongshan held little expectation and felt no real annoyance, immediately starting his search from the very top. Soon, he spotted Ye Qin’s name, and his jaw dropped in astonishment. “Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking, thirty-second place? He actually jumped that much?”

“What, Brother Ye is ranked thirty-second?!”

Zhou Yi, standing nearby, paused upon hearing this and immediately began searching for Ye Qin’s placement. His own rank had risen considerably, settling somewhere past six hundred.

“Yes!”

“Elder Ye actually broke into the top one hundred, ranked in the thirties!”

All the surrounding cultivators were astounded when they saw Ye Qin’s placement. However, they quickly reminded themselves that they had already anticipated Ye Qin having a strong chance of making the top hundred. They had witnessed firsthand how Ye Qin piloted the Great Winged Battleship, carving a bloody path straight through the beast tide. The number of low-tier demonic beasts vaporized by the spiritual cannons of the battleship alone was uncountable. Their entire group combined hadn't felled as many beasts.

Ye Qin’s surge in rank was undeniable. Still, rocketing straight to the low thirties, a position quite high within the top one hundred, exceeded even their expectations.

Seven or eight dazzling streaks of flying sword light zipped in from the outer perimeter of the island, only retracting their swords and descending when they reached a short distance from the East Gate.

The hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Golden Core cultivators previously crammed near the city gate immediately parted, creating a corridor. With complex expressions—envy, reverence, admiration—they watched the descending group, especially focusing on the elegant young cultivator at the forefront, clad in a robe of imperial blue.

These seven or eight cultivators possessed an overwhelming aura; wherever they went, they became the focal point of every eye.

Zhou Yi was slightly startled, wondering who possessed such presence. He looked over and recognized the group: it was the young master Jiang Ran of the Western Sect’s Treasure Glow Palace, whom he had seen upon entering the city, along with several others. Judging by their demeanor, they appeared to be returning from a mission.

Zhou Yi’s expression tightened slightly.

Jiang Ran’s imposing aura and prestige stemmed not from his status as the Young Master of Treasure Glow Palace, but from his commanding position at ninth place on the Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking. He was currently the highest-ranked, strongest cultivator in the entire Xiaguang City among thousands of Golden Core experts—a peak Ninth Layer Golden Core. In the current Eastern Sea cultivation world, one might not know who the Young Master of Treasure Glow Palace was, but one could not be unaware of Jiang Ran, ninth on the Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking. It could be said that Jiang Ran’s immense current fame and authority were earned solely through his personal strength, not his palace lineage. Even the six or seven cultivators trailing behind Jiang Ran ranked highly on the slayer board; they were clearly an elite squad.

“Brother Zhou, we meet again since our parting the day before yesterday! Are you gentlemen also here to see the latest rankings? I wonder how everyone’s harvest was last month, and how many places you’ve climbed?”

Jiang Ran’s cool gaze swept over the assembled cultivators, finally settling on Zhou Yi’s group before he offered a slight smile. The Purple Sword Palace was currently contesting the position of Northern Sect Master, and the outcome was not yet decided. Should Zhou Yi succeed, he would become the Young Master of the Northern Sect Immortal Palace, a status nearly equal to Jiang Ran’s own. He certainly owed him a measure of courtesy.

“Brother Jiang—!”

Zhou Yi smiled, about to reply.

Among the male and female cultivators behind Jiang Ran, one voice sneered with evident disdain. “I heard that the stone city built by the Purple Sword Palace was recently destroyed by a massive beast tide, that they failed to defend it and suffered heavy losses. Simply escaping to our Xiaguang City to save their lives must be considered an achievement. What harvest could they possibly have obtained? This month, if they can avoid dropping too many spots and manage to stay within the top thousand, it’ll be a win. Why expect them to climb much higher!”

The young cultivator speaking was himself quite powerful, Hua Rong, a direct disciple of a major Immortal Palace in the Western Sect line, currently ranked seventy-ninth on the list. He was also a well-known Golden Core expert in Xiaguang City. This person’s expression was clearly arrogant. However, it was generally accepted that any cultivator ranking high on the Golden Core Monster Slaying List was exceptionally strong; a degree of arrogance was normal behavior.

Zhou Yi, hearing this, felt a flare of anger but swallowed the retort forming on his lips. Though even a clay figure has three parts fire, he held back, knowing he would have walked away in a huff had it not been for Jiang Ran’s presence.

“Ha, that’s hard to say. The Purple Sword Palace may lack top masters, but surpassing your position is still a piece of cake!”

Jin Zhongshan, unburdened by Zhou Yi’s restraint, immediately shot back with biting sarcasm.

“You—! Which Golden Core cultivator from the Purple Sword Palace can surpass me? Elder Ye is only over two hundred, and Zhou Yi is only over seven hundred!”

Hua Rong glared fiercely, turning his gaze toward the Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking board.

Jiang Ran looked surprised, a thought stirring, and he too glanced at the list.

“Ye Qin, Fifth Elder of the Purple Sword Palace—thirty-second place!”

Jiang Ran’s pupils constricted, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He recalled that Ye Qin’s ranking had been over two hundred just two months prior. How could he have suddenly jumped to thirty-second? It was known that the higher one climbed on the list, the harder it became to advance further. Jiang Ran himself had poured immense effort into reaching ninth place, yet he could not manage to advance even one more spot.

This rate of ascent was far too abnormal; it could not possibly be achieved by merely hunting demonic beasts normally! Even during his own climb up the rankings, he had never experienced such a soaring rate of improvement. Yet, the Monster Slaying Rankings were formulated by the Elder Council of the two Immortal Alliances, with scrutiny that was extremely rigorous. The top ten and top hundred positions were closely monitored by members of that Council. Even the various Palace Masters and major figures had no way to interfere with these records; cheating or shortcuts were simply impossible.

“Thirty-second?!”

Hua Rong stared blankly at the Golden Core Monster Slaying Ranking board for a long moment, his face turning ashen, a mix of anger and humiliation coloring his features.

Jiang Ran, Hua Rong, and the young men and women accompanying them all looked grim; the atmosphere turned extremely awkward. Ye Qin’s placement had already surpassed most of them. Only Jiang Ran’s top-ten position maintained an absolute advantage. Even that advantage, however, might not last. If Ye Qin continued to surge upward at this pace, he would pose a genuine threat to Jiang Ran’s standing.

The Eastern Sea cultivation world was ruthlessly pragmatic. If one possessed formidable strength, being arrogant and looking down on others was commonplace, and being scorned required one to swallow the insult silently. But to be arrogant when clearly inferior invited utter disgrace. And this disgrace was now being suffered in front of a group of cultivators they usually looked down upon.

“Esteemed disciples of the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s Great Immortal Palaces, you are currently serving the Heavenly Dao Alliance; let us not engage in petty squabbles of pride. Brother Hua, perhaps you could offer Brother Zhou an apology later. Let us not sour everyone’s harmony over minor disagreements!”

Jiang Ran’s expression was unreadable, though somewhat stiff, as he stated mildly. Hua Rong, however, showed clear displeasure.

As a large crowd of cultivators continued to gather near the city gate, murmuring about the rankings, a sudden cry echoed:

“Demonic beasts approaching!”

Several rapid beams of light shot in from the distant horizon, accompanied by a piercing shriek—it was the patrol guard unit from the outer sea regions.

The sudden alarm startled the assembled Golden Core cultivators. Forgetting the rankings entirely, they summoned their artifacts and took to the air, looking toward the distant sea.

“Look, so many demonic beasts—a beast tide! A large-scale beast tide!”

“It must be no less than tens of thousands!”

“The beast tide is attacking the city!”

Jiang Ran scanned the churning waves rising around the island, the endless swarm of sea beasts surging forward like an avalanche. His face paled, and he roared, “Quickly, everyone immediately enter the city and prepare the defense!”

The Golden Core cultivators who had been outside the city snapped to attention and rushed inside. The Golden Core cultivators within the city, and even the alerted Nascent Soul ancestors, burst from their pavilions and residences, rushing to the city walls to observe. A beast tide of this magnitude was rare even for Xiaguang City.

Zhou Yi, Jin Zhongshan, and the others exchanged worried glances and quickly retreated into the city defenses.

Still, the Xiaguang City constructed by Sovereign Jiang was not as fragile as the stone city built by the Purple Sword Palace; this immortal city possessed a powerful defensive array. Destroying Xiaguang City in the face of this beast tide would not prove so easy.