Chapter 867 - Tenth on the Mortal Ranking

Ning Hai froze in place. Liu Wuxie's punch locked onto him, making it impossible for him to move.

The surrounding onlookers had no idea what was happening and why Ning Hai stood still. They wondered if Ning Hai would let Liu Wuxie's punch kill him.

However, only Ning Hai knew it wasn't because he didn't want to move. He couldn't move.

An overwhelming force erupted from Liu Wuxie's punch, gathering into a single point. This was the effect of space, using the suppression of space to leave Ning Hai immobilized.

Looking at the force of Liu Wuxie's punch made him feel helpless. He could only watch as the punch landed on his head, and that was the last thing he saw as his head burst apart, with red and white brain matter splattering around.

The nearby White Dragon Peak's disciples were drenched with Ning Hai's blood as they stood too close. But the most horrifying part was his eyeballs that flew into the mouths of two White Dragon Peak disciples like two comets.

The two disciples instinctively gulped, swallowing the eyeball whole before they could even process what had happened. Moments later, a violent gagging and retching echoed throughout Astral Moon Valley, their stomachs rebelling against the grotesque ordeal.

Just moments ago, they had mocked Liu Wuxie, certain of his downfall. Now, they stood frozen, drenched in Ning Hai's blood, their stomachs churning with nausea. Worse yet, they had unknowingly swallowed his eyeballs, tainted with lingering resentment. If they failed to purge it, their cultivation would be severely affected, leaving a lasting mark on their path forward.

"Liu Wuxie, you did it on purpose!" one of them spat, their faces pale with a mix of fury and nausea. They had tried desperately to expel the eyeballs, but the moment they reached their stomachs, they had burst apart, melting into blood and fusing into their meridians.

Several White Dragon Peak disciples stepped forward, their faces twisted with anger. To them, this was no accident. The timing was too precise, the outcome too cruel—it was impossible to believe Liu Wuxie hadn't orchestrated it.

"You're right. I did it on purpose," Liu Wuxie replied with disdain. He couldn't even bother to explain. So what if he was doing it on purpose? What were they going to do about it?

He had just killed Ning Hai, and not a single one of them had dared to intervene. Now, they wanted to step forward?! Their cultivation barely reached the sixth or seventh level of the True Profound Realm. Against Liu Wuxie, who stood unwavering and exuding absolute dominance, their bravado seemed laughable at best.

His words only fueled the disciples' rage, but they could do nothing except seethe in silence. Instead, his defiance drew laughter from the surrounding crowd. Many found Liu Wuxie's actions amusing—after all, this was the cultivation world, where the strong dictated the rules and the weak could only endure.

They could challenge Liu Wuxie, which was no different from courting death.

No one stepped forward despite the hatred blazing in their eyes. They looked like they could devour Liu Wuxie whole.

"Liu Wuxie, you won't be arrogant for long! Senior Brother Qi Yang already knows what you did, and he'll come for you soon!" yelled a few White Dragon Peak disciples.

Since they couldn't confront him directly, they resorted to venomous words, hoping to provoke him.

"Go back and tell Qi Yang that I took the spiritual rice. He's free to come if he's not afraid to die. If he values his life, he should stay away. No one can touch the Heavenly Gate Peak's spiritual field from now on!" Liu Wuxie said, his cold gaze sweeping through the White Dragon Peak's disciples, clearly delivering his message.

He openly admitted to taking the spiritual rice. Although he hadn't previously acknowledged it because of his low cultivation, nothing was stopping him now.

Now that his cultivation had drastically increased, he was confident in dealing with Qing Yang, who was only at the second level of the Spirit Profound Realm. At best, he would have reached the third level in the past six months.

"Is he insane? Qi Yang is at the Spirit Profound Realm, and he dares to speak so arrogantly!?"

Even though Liu Wuxie had just slain Ning Hai, that didn't mean he could disregard everything. Did he think he was invincible in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy just because he was unrivaled among the True Profound Realm disciples?

No one was optimistic about Liu Wuxie, at least for now. His arrogance could have been justified if he had been at the Spirit Profound Realm, but he could only keep a low profile for now.

"If Qi Yang discovers this, he'll go after him. I heard that this year's harvest was great... and that brat took it all." Disciples from the other peaks discussed among themselves.

The spiritual field had struggled to flourish in the past few years, yielding mediocre harvests. However, this was the fourth year, and the conditions had finally matured. Not only was the spiritual rice abundant, but its quality had also reached an exceptional level. And now, Liu Wuxie had taken every last grain.

Upon his return, Qi Yang immediately investigated the matter, only to find that the disciples he had sent to retrieve the rice were all dead. At first, he suspected the other peaks, but none of them had touched the spiritual field. That left only one possibility: someone from Heavenly Gate Peak had taken the harvest.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Liu Wuxie ignored the surrounding discussion and left the Astral Moon Valley with Liu Feng and Liu Xin'er.

When they returned to the Half-Moon Peak, Liu Feng needed time to recover. Liu Wuxie gave Liu Xin'er a large number of spirit stones to take care of Liu Feng.

The two didn't have a high status in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy and could not complete high-level missions, resulting in severely limited resources.

Liu Wuxie left enough pills and spirit stones for them to use for a long time, at least more than enough to reach the True Profound Realm's pinnacle.

"Wuxie, we can't accept this. You worked hard for these resources," Liu Feng refused, and Liu Xin'er also felt the same. They had already received too much from the latter.

If not for Liu Wuxie, Liu Xin'er wouldn't have been able to enter the sect.

"We're family, and there's no need to be so formal. Just focus on recovering, and we'll drink once you're better," Liu Wuxie said, patting Liu Feng's shoulder.

They were brothers, and they did not need to observe such formalities between them. When Liu Wuxie left Liu Feng's quarters, Liu Xin'er followed behind him. Unlike her usual bold personality, she appeared cautious and reserved around him, not daring to raise her voice.

"Take care of Big Brother Liu Feng, but don't neglect your cultivation. I'll think of something about resources, and you two focus on reaching the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm," Liu Wuxie said, his words carrying the weight of an elder.

Liu Xin'er pouted at Liu Wuxie's speech. Although he was younger than her, he spoke in the tone of an elder. However, she dared not argue and accepted Liu Wuxie's arrangements.

After Liu Wuxie left the Half-Moon Peak, he departed for the Mission Hall. He had just completed an impossible mission, which meant he could claim a large number of points.

He planned to exchange his points for two first-grade spiritual pills to help Liu Feng and Liu Xin'er increase their cultivation. He also planned to exchange the remaining points for a portion of spirit stones and a spirit-grade movement technique.

After killing Ning Hai, Liu Wuxie obtained his reserves of spirit stones and the cultivation method for Phantom Shift. However, this movement technique wasn't suitable for him.

It allowed short bursts of speed but consumed excessive true essence, making the Phantom Shift suitable for ambushes rather than direct combat.

......

At this moment, many people gathered on White Dragon Peak. Qi Yang had returned more than a month ago and was still investigating the whereabouts of the spiritual rice.

"Are you certain of this?" Qi Yang asked, looking at the three youths before him.

"Absolutely! Many disciples were present then, and that brat openly admitted it. He even said that you can look for him if you're not afraid of death," said the three youths, deliberately exaggerating Liu Wuxie's words.

Their words left the few disciples behind Qi Yang fuming with anger.

"Outrageous! He's too arrogant to say such words!" Someone finally couldn't contain their fury and volunteered to deal with Liu Wuxie. After all, they also had a share in the spiritual rice. Now that the spiritual rice was gone, their income had plummeted, and how could they not be furious?

"Where's that brat now?" Qi Yang didn't appear anxious.

As long as Liu Wuxie was still in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, he had ways to track him down and make him suffer. After all, every disciple who had challenged him in recent years had met the same fate—death.

"He seems to have gone to the Mission Hall!" The three youths had sent someone to tail Liu Wuxie.

"Good! Draft a challenge letter immediately, and I will challenge him to a deathmatch three days from now," Qi Yang ordered. He had no intention of making a scene at the Mission Hall as it would embarrass him to fight over a bit of spiritual rice.

Instead, he wanted an open duel with Liu Wuxie to make an example out of him by killing him in front of witnesses.

His lackeys swiftly drafted a challenge letter and wrote Qi Yang's name before rushing down the mountain.

......

Liu Wuxie stepped into the Mission Hall, his gaze sweeping across the glowing mission screens where disciples busily accepted tasks. He made his way to the only available counter, noting the absence of the golden carp—proof that only standard missions were being issued at the moment.

Approaching the counter, he retrieved a jade slip along with a Memory Talisman and placed them before the white-bearded elder behind the desk. "I've completed the mission and am here to report."

"Good, you have completed your mission!"

A white-bearded elderly man stood behind the counter. When he took the jade slip over, he didn't even bother verifying the Memory Talisman and declared the mission's completion without hesitation.

"Elder, shouldn't you at least verify it?" Liu Wuxie asked. This was an impossible mission, and there was no room for carelessness.

"There's no need for verification," the elder replied, stowing away the jade slip and Memory Talisman before instructing Liu Wuxie to present his medal for point allocation.

Unbeknownst to Liu Wuxie, the Mortal Ranking had drastically changed after he had killed Ning Hai. His ranking had gone from forty-thousandth to tenth, shocking everyone in the hall.

"Who is this, Liu Wuxie? Why haven't I heard of him before?" Many veteran disciples were unfamiliar with Liu Wuxie.

"He's probably a new disciple!" The veteran disciples, who were closely monitoring the Mortal Ranking, exchanged skeptical glances.

"A new disciple? He has only been here for six months; how could he break into the top ten?" Many people shook their heads in disbelief, convinced that it was impossible.

Discussions erupted in the hall, and they began investigating Liu Wuxie. It didn't take long before they found out that Liu Wuxie was a new disciple who had recently killed someone at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm, securing the tenth ranking.

The crowd erupted into an uproar. Liu Wuxie was the first to reach the tenth place in less than half a year.

Liu Wuxie took out his medal, ready to receive his points. From the start, he knew that completing this mission would grant him five thousand points.

Ordinary missions typically rewarded no more than one hundred points, and it was unprecedented that Liu Wuxie could obtain five thousand.

Many people had attempted this mission for years, but they had failed without exception.

Given the current circumstances, the highest mission reward had only ever reached one thousand points, and that was years ago.