This spirit! The dull Zhen Ce quietly shook his head. His own father, the Emperor, was also incredibly wise and enlightened, but in this specific regard, he truly couldn't compare to the Great Demon King Lucifer. If I ever ascend the Imperial Throne, this is one thing I must learn from this Great Demon King before me.

"I hear you are also participating in this Imperial Tournament?"

"Yes."

"Very well. You Flowing Water clan arrived last, so you may begin." Lucifer rose, walking toward the viewing dais with measured steps. Several demons attending the Great Demon King quickly followed behind him.

The other demon representatives also followed the Great Demon King onto the high platform.

"Be careful of the Seventh Prince's escort," Boxley whispered quickly as he passed by Gan Jin. "Lucifer Flowing Water has just recruited Qian Sha Wanyan Lifeng, ranked 175th on the Saint Ascension List yesterday."

Saint Ascension List? Thousand Slayers? Wanyan Lifeng? Gan Jin felt a thin pamphlet pressed into his hand by Boxley. Wanyan? That surname sounded strangely familiar...

"Flying Mirror, this way!"

Lucifer Flowing Water called out to Gan Jin with a hint of excitement in his voice. Since he could understand things, this was the first time he had participated in the Imperial Tournament. If not for the incident in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, he would have brought that Bat Bloodline Martial Demon with him; he probably would have lost miserably then.

Gan Jin sat back down beside Lucifer Flowing Water, opening his palm to look at the brand-new, slim booklet. The front cover read: The Saint Ascension List.

Gan Jin flipped open the first page and immediately understood the meaning of the Saint Ascension List. This was a ranking compiled by the demons who had condensed their Battle Souls, or even those who hadn't yet, but possessed endless innate talent—a list of those who were likely to ascend to Sainthood in the future.

The higher their rank on the list, the more powerful and infinitely potential-filled they were, the beings upon whom the demons pinned countless hopes.

In a sense, this list was also a strength ranking for Martial Demons who had not yet achieved Sainthood. The Martial Demon ranked first on this list could, in a way, be considered the strongest beneath the Battle Soul realm. Therefore, the Martial Demon ranked 175th theoretically equated to the 175th strongest among that tier below the Battle Soul realm!

175? That rank didn't sound like much. But Gan Jin knew clearly just how vast the demon race was, and Martial Demons were as numerous as the sands in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea.

Among such a multitude of Martial Demons, how difficult it was to break into the top 175. Even making it into the top thousand was cause for immense pride for many Bloodline Martial Demon families.

"I wonder if the Zhen Ce Dynasty has such a ranking?" Gan Jin murmured to himself, casting an occasional glance at the dull-witted Zhen Ce beside him.

"Of course they do..." Lucifer Flowing Water chimed in. "Whether it's the Zhen Ce Dynasty, our Lucifer Dynasty, or the Barbarian tribes, they all have similar rankings. While they might not be the most authoritative lists, their value truly cannot be ignored."

Uncertain... Gan Jin rested his chin in his hand, wondering if he could make the rankings on the Zhen Ce Dynasty's Saint Ascension List. Where would Qian Wushuang rank? And Tianlian Lingguan?

Wanyan Lifeng, age sixty-five...

Gan Jin’s eyebrow twitched sharply. Such an advanced age? He hadn't expected it! However, this age also held an advantage: experience!

A demon aged sixty-five must have fought on the Human-Demon Battlefield. Surviving on that battlefield, rumored to be incomparably brutal, might not guarantee the highest probability of ascending to Sainthood, but his experience in the face of life and death must be exceptionally rich, enabling him to make the most correct judgments.

Opponents like that were the most troublesome! Gan Jin carefully scrutinized Wanyan Lifeng's profile: Wanyan Lifeng! Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline...

Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline? Gan Jin's body jolted. His vision zeroed in on those characters he hadn't seen in ages. Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline? The Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline, once one of the ten great bloodlines of the Zhen Ce Dynasty? The bloodline that always charged to the very front of every battle formation, forging an incomparably glorious monument with demon blood and their own lives?

Wanyan Lifeng, an Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline warrior, achieved the strength of a Battle Soul after multiple awakenings, rising to nearly the peak Battle Soul level, yet persistently failed to awaken his bloodline power further to reach Sainthood.

Bloodline warrior Martial Demons with truly immense potential, once they push their strength to the extreme, often easily trigger the dormant bloodline power within, achieving promotion.

Iron Arm Mantis Bloodline... Gan Jin looked at the description on the Saint Ascension List, feeling an indescribable sorrow. After accepting the glory of that bloodline, having always been proud of the Zhen Ce Dynasty having possessed such invincible warriors, to see this name again on the demon race's Saint Ascension List... his heart felt heavy with grief.

If Wanyan Lifeng was 175th, who was ranked first? A Fallen Angel Bloodline Martial Demon! Lucifer Starlight! The eighth son of His Majesty the Great Demon King! An unparalleled genius! The unparalleled genius with the highest chance of ultimate awakening! Four awakenings of bloodline power in a single year!

Four times? Gan Jin sucked in a sharp breath. Four bloodline power awakenings in just one year! Duan Feng Bu'er, despite his recent constant fortuitous encounters, had only achieved four awakenings in total. Yet this eighth son achieved the same in one year!

Second on the Saint Ascension List: Beelzebub Gule.

Oh? Gan Jin looked at the second-ranked demon name in surprise. What an unexpected placement. He had assumed the top three would be occupied by the three Ultimate Bloodlines, but the second spot belonged to a demon of the Beelzebub clan.

"Surprised?" Lucifer Flowing Water leaned close to Gan Jin's shoulder like a delicate bird, whispering softly. "I heard that Thunder Lion King Tianlian Lingguan is also ranked in the top ten on the Saint Ascension List, and the Slumbering Lion King is ranked second."

What? The hand holding the Saint Ascension List trembled slightly in Gan Jin's grasp. The number one on the Hundred Battles List of the Conquest Academy, surpassed by the senior who was currently lazing around in the borderlands, often chatting and fooling around with the Bandit King Bahuang Wusheng, actually held such a high rank.

"What did you expect?" Lucifer Flowing Water shot Gan Jin a sidelong glance. "That is the most talented powerhouse of the Tianlian family of this generation! Some say he has long since achieved Sainthood but is too lazy to show it off in public. Others say the only reason he isn't the foremost among the young generation of the Gryphon King bloodline is that he’s too lazy to compete. He craves novelty and excitement; without sufficient stimulus, he can only exert five-tenths of his combat power even in a fight."

Gan Jin slowly nodded, beginning to understand why Lucifer Flowing Water had been so quiet when she met the Slumbering Lion King. It wasn't quietness; it was dread!

"This warlike maniac, Beelzebub Gule, is the complete opposite of the Slumbering Lion King. He extremely loves fighting. Regardless of whether his opponent is strong or weak, as long as he has a chance to participate in combat, he will absolutely never pass up the opportunity to fight."

Lucifer Flowing Water paused. "I heard that when he was twelve, he secretly ventured onto the Human-Demon Battlefield. After his bloodline power awakened, his thirst for battle became boundless. Our demon race also has many forbidden and deadly lands. One of them is called the Ancient Forest. The trees on the outermost layer require ten demons holding hands to encircle one. It is incredibly perilous, rumored to even house never-before-seen Dragons! Powerhouses at the Heaven-Grade Awakening level have entered, but none have ever returned."

Dragons? Gan Jin frowned. Did such impossibly powerful creatures truly exist?

"Beelzebub Gule, shortly after awakening his power, snuck into the Ancient Forest without his family knowing. It’s rumored that when he emerged, he had a hole in his shoulder," she said, her voice wavering slightly as she noticed Lucifer Flowing Water's expression change. "Legend says he obtained a Sacred Artifact in the Ancient Forest, and since then, his strength has continued to surge, also achieving four awakenings per year. However, his bloodline is one of the Ten Great Bloodlines, not one of the Three Ultimate Bloodlines, so most demons still favor my eighth brother..."

Even those at Heaven-Grade Awakening died inside? Gan Jin mulled over the danger contained within the Ancient Forest. Its level of peril probably did not yield to the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea. And it contained a Sacred Artifact?

Bahuang Sword Hero! On the third position of the Demon Saint Ascension List, Gan Jin spotted a relatively familiar surname: the Bahuang surname belonging to the Undying Monarch Bloodline!

Flipping through the pages, Gan Jin gradually learned some things. The three young elites of the Ma demon race were ranked somewhere in the sixties on the Saint Ascension List—three such demons couldn't even defeat Qian Wushuang...

"Then who is ranked first on the Zhen Ce Dynasty's Saint Ascension List?"

"Empty," Lucifer Flowing Water shrugged. "The most talented generation of the three Ultimate Bloodline families, including Qian Wushuang, have not inscribed their names on the Saint Ascension List, so the first spot is vacant."

Empty? Gan Jin frowned. He had hoped to better understand the younger generation of the Qian family through the list, but unexpectedly...

"However, many people say that the most outstanding of this generation should be the female War God of the War God Bloodline family..."

A woman? Gan Jin began to understand why the spot was empty. If the top rank truly belonged to a woman, the younger generations of the other two Ultimate Bloodline families would surely lose face, right? That's why it was left empty?

Gan Jin casually scanned the rankings on the Saint Ascension List. On the very last page, at the 500th spot, he saw a very familiar name again: Jiliu Feijing!

Five hundred? Gan Jin was somewhat surprised to see his own name. Without realizing it, he had entered the Saint Ascension List, even if only in the last position, which was primarily due to the limitations imposed by his Soul Weapon.

Jiliu Feijing, Rank 500. Ordinary Martial Demon, bloodline power unawakened, restricted by Soul Weapon. Rank would likely improve if he possessed a Soul Weapon.

Chek Fulete snatched the Saint Ascension List and flipped through it dismissively, letting out a cold sneer. The fact that his name was missing from the entire roster greatly annoyed him.

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