Chapter 431: Seven Nations Ranking Battle Begins

Ignoring the commotion across the arena, Feng Feiyan continued, "Although this is a team battle, it can still fully showcase each individual's strength! It can also more fairly assess the overall standard of a nation's younger generation! At the same time, it greatly compresses the schedule without compromising fairness! Therefore, friends from the six nations, do you have any objections? If so, please raise them."

Feng Feiyan faced the six nations—or, more accurately, the seating areas of the five nations—his voice calm and his expression blank.

If it were merely an ordinary elder of the Phoenix God Sect, the emperors and overlords of the six nations might indeed have raised objections to such a sudden and massive schedule change. But the person speaking to them now was the Grand Elder of the Phoenix God Sect! Someone whose status surpassed even that of the Divine Phoenix Prince! His prestige, power, and reputation far exceeded that of all six emperors combined. Under Feng Feiyan's gaze, the emperors and overlords of the six nations felt as if an iron plate was pressing on their chests, making even breathing difficult. How could they dare say more? It was clear the Phoenix God Sect had unilaterally decided this matter. How would they dare disagree? They all quickly nodded in agreement.

"Very good!" Feng Feiyan nodded. "Since the friends from the six nations have no objections, then the schedule for this ranking battle is thus decided. The team battle rules are essentially the same as individual matches; it will also be a round-robin format. Each nation will compete against all other nations once, and rankings will be determined by the number of victories! If two nations have the same number of victories, they will compete again, and the winner will be ranked higher. To shorten the schedule and reduce the energy consumption of the participating Profound practitioners from various nations, my Phoenix God Sect will not participate in the round-robin matches. The nation with the most victories will ultimately compete against a Profound practitioner from my Phoenix God Sect. If victorious, they will be ranked first in this ranking battle! In this way, during the round-robin matches, each nation's Profound practitioners only need to fight five matches, for a total of sixteen matches! One day is sufficient."

Feng Feiyan's meaning was clear: the Phoenix God Sect would not participate in the round-robin matches, waiting only for the strongest contender decided by the six nations to challenge them. Feng Feiyan did not ask if the six nations had any objections to this point because there was no need. Not a single person from the six nations found it inappropriate or expressed dissatisfaction, because the stature of the Phoenix God Sect was incomparable to that of the other six nations. Given the terrifying power of the Phoenix God Sect, even if all Profound practitioners from the six nations combined, they would still be easily crushed by a Phoenix God Sect Profound practitioner.

In the eyes of other nations, these many Seven Nations Ranking Battles were actually just "Five Nations Ranking Battles." Because the Divine Phoenix was too strong, and Cangfeng was too weak, what they contended for each time was a ranking among these five nations. If they could rank second, it was equivalent to being first. And if they ranked sixth, it was equivalent to a disgraceful last place. They would never dare to dream of defeating the Divine Phoenix Empire, and at the same time, they disdained being compared with Cangfeng Nation.

"As for the other rules of the competition, I believe there's no need for me to waste time elaborating here..." Feng Feiyan scanned his surroundings, his placid gaze carrying an invisible authority. The Seven Nations Ranking Battle was the highest grand event in the Profound Realm of the Sky Profound Continent, with each session receiving extremely high attention. Yet, such a significant and unprecedented schedule change, announced without any prior notice, was instantly finalized with just a few words, and no one dared to object or show dissatisfaction.

This was the absolute overwhelming deterrence of the Phoenix God Sect.

"Oh my, I thought I'd be watching battles for many days, but now they'll be done in just one... I'm suddenly so happy, *hmph*..." Ji Qianrou narrowed his alluring peach-blossom eyes and cast a seductive glance at Ye Xinghan. "Little Han-han, are you as happy as I am?"

Ye Xinghan's face contorted. He said in a low voice, "Ji Qianrou! If you dare to speak to this young master again, I will kill you!"

"Oh..." Ji Qianrou seemed startled, shrinking his neck, his eyes turning innocent and aggrieved. "Little Han-han, why are you suddenly so mean to me? You're almost scaring me to death! If you're suddenly so mean to me again, I might get angry, you know. And if I get angry, I might play a little trick so you won't have any women to play with tonight."

Ji Qianrou's voice was soft and gentle, as if on the verge of tears. He timidly glanced at the two alluring women clinging to Ye Xinghan's sides. Instantly, both women trembled simultaneously, their pupils dilating, revealing deep terror... because the terrifying sensation from the moment his gaze touched them... was like having the cold fangs of a king cobra pressed against their throats.

"You..." Ye Xinghan knew better than anyone how terrifying this pervert was. He clamped his mouth shut, not daring to utter another word.

"I declare the 39th Seven Nations Ranking Battle of the Sky Profound Continent officially open!"

Feng Feiyan's voice echoed throughout the arena, signaling the start of this Seven Nations Ranking Battle. With a wave of his hand, a fiery glow flashed, and instantly, a massive flaming Profound Stone erected itself in the center of the arena. Looking at the stone, Yun Che, who had experienced the Cangfeng Ranking Battle, immediately understood its purpose.

Yun Che extended his arm and looked at his palm. Scenes from the Sword Discourse Arena at Heavenly Sword Villa flashed through his mind. He muttered indignantly, "It seems I'm destined to be publicly ridiculed again! Damn it, I'm just fated to be mocked by the masses over and over!"

In every Cangfeng Ranking Battle, a Profound strength test was a mandatory procedure. The Seven Nations Ranking Battle was no different. Half of the Profound strength test was to display each participant's Profound strength level—after all, Profound strength level essentially determined one's power. The other half was to test their age.

"For all previous ranking battles, participating Profound practitioners must not exceed twenty-five years of age. If anyone exceeds this, their participation will be immediately revoked." Feng Feiyan slowly descended from the air, landing beside the Profound Testing Stone, and announced loudly, "Now, I will call out the names of the seven nations in order of their previous ranking battle positions. Participants from each nation, carrying your participation badges, please come to the Phoenix Platform, state your name, and then undergo the Profound strength and age test."

"Canglan Nation!"

Feng Feiyan stated that he would proceed in order of the previous ranking battle positions, yet the first nation he called out was the one that ranked second in the last session. On the surface, this appeared to be the host's humility, placing the Phoenix God Sect last. However, the subtext was clearly that the Divine Phoenix Empire simply disdained being compared to the other six nations.

In the last ranking battle, Canglan was second overall, and first among the six nations. The moment the words "Canglan Nation" fell, a burst of cold Profound light suddenly gleamed from Canglan Nation's seating area, outlining two massive characters, "Canglan," in the sky above. Seven young men and three young women simultaneously soared into the air, their robes fluttering, and landed on the Phoenix Platform. Instantly, a wave of cold energy spread out from the Phoenix Platform like ripples.

Canglan Nation was located in the extreme north of Sky Profound Continent, where it was perpetually cold and frozen. Consequently, most Profound practitioners there cultivated ice-attribute Profound arts. The oldest of the ten youths appeared to be around twenty-five, while the youngest looked just twenty. The moment they stepped onto the platform, the audience section behind Canglan's seats erupted, roaring out waves of earth-shattering sound.

"Canglan! Canglan! Canglan!!"

"Go Canglan! Crush the five nations!!"

"Wow! That's 'Pitying Flower Prince' Han Ruyu! First place in two Canglan Ranking Battles... he's really here!"

"Waaah... it's the Pitying Flower Prince... my idol... Ah!!! So handsome! I'm going to faint..." A few infatuated girls shrieked, covering their faces.

The massive roars rumbled like thunder, shaking Yun Che's eardrums. Jasmine's voice echoed in his ear: "Seven Late Sky Profound Realm cultivators, two Half-step King Profound Realm cultivators... and one Early King Profound Realm cultivator. They are all of the younger generation, all on the same continent, yet Cangfeng Nation lags far behind in comparison!"

"There's nothing that can be done about it," Yun Che said nonchalantly. "Cangfeng Nation is the smallest and has the shortest history. Its foundations are too shallow, so naturally, there's a huge, unbridgeable gap."

"Feng Wuhui of Canglan Nation's Snow Mountain Sword Sect, here to participate!"

The first young Profound practitioner stepped forward, displayed his participant badge, and announced his name and sect with a resounding, proud tone. He then took another step, stood before Feng Feiyan, and placed a palm on the Profound Testing Stone.

The Profound Testing Stone flashed, and then his bone age and Profound strength clearly appeared:Twenty-three years old, Sky Profound Realm, Level Eight.

The Canglan Nation audience immediately erupted in thunderous cheers. To achieve such a level of Profound cultivation at that age was considered above average, even among the peak cultivators of the six nations.

The Profound practitioners from Canglan Nation stepped forward one by one. Their Profound strength levels were exactly as Jasmine had stated: seven Late Sky Profound Realm cultivators and two Half-step King Profound Realm cultivators. At this moment, the last Profound practitioner from Canglan Nation finally stepped forward.

The other nine Profound practitioners wore proud expressions, but this one alone remained calm, with a faint smile. He looked exceptionally young, his face like white jade, his lips like cinnabar—an absolute handsome man. Between his brows, there was a hint of wickedness capable of easily captivating women. He walked slowly, with unhurried steps. The moment he took his first step, the Canglan Nation audience seats completely exploded with various exaggerated shouts... especially the women's screams, which almost tore through the Phoenix Platform.

"The Pitying Flower Prince? What the hell?" Hearing that title amidst the women's screams, Yun Che stroked his chin... The name was simply too vulgar to bear.

"This person is called Han Ruyu," Feng Zhanyun said, curling his lips in disdain. "He's supposedly the top young talent in Canglan Nation right now. He participated in the Canglan Ranking Battle twice, at ages seventeen and twenty, and ranked first both times. His reputation in Canglan Nation is soaring, and the Canglan Nation Lord treats him as a most honored guest... Heh, even I've heard his name. Although he's impressive enough in Canglan Nation, if he came to my Phoenix God Sect, he'd be nothing special, probably not even considered average."

Han Ruyu smiled and placed his jade-like palm on the testing stone...Twenty-three years old, King Profound Realm, Level Two!

*CRASH!!!*

The Canglan Nation audience went completely wild. Their cheers instantly transformed from a roaring tide into thunder from the nine heavens, while the Profound practitioners from the other five nations subtly changed their expressions.

"What... Canglan Nation actually has a King Profound Master this time!?"

"I thought our King Profound Master would surely shock the entire arena this time, but I didn't expect Canglan Nation to have one too! It seems that if we face Canglan Nation this time, it will be another tough battle. However, we have no reason to lose!" the Black Fiend Nation Emperor said in a deep voice.

"Indeed!" Feng Hengkong, who had been silent, nodded at this moment. "It seems Canglan Nation has made some progress this time."

"Holy crap! It's actually a King Profound Master... and a King Profound Realm Level Two!" Feng Zhanyun exclaimed, his face full of surprise. "For a small nation among the six to produce a King Profound Master under twenty-five, tsk tsk, how remarkable, truly rare. This young man, Han Ruyu, will now make a name for himself not just in Canglan, but across all six nations. The second place in this ranking battle might just be Canglan Nation's again."

"Black Fiend Nation!"

The Canglan Nation Profound practitioners had finished but did not return to their seats. Instead, they proceeded directly to the Phoenix Platform's exclusive preparation zone. Feng Feiyan's roar sounded again, and ten young Profound practitioners, all dressed in black, leaped onto the Phoenix Platform. This time, Black Fiend Nation's audience section instantly erupted, their roars no weaker than those from Canglan Nation.

"Wu Huixiong of Black Fiend Nation's Dark Nether Sect, here to participate!""Lu Haoyan of Black Fiend Nation's Purple Fiend Island, here to participate!"

Canglan Nation, Black Fiend Nation, Jialuo Nation, Kui Water Nation, Heavenly Fragrance Nation... The participating Profound practitioners from the five Sky Profound Nations successively ascended the Phoenix Platform in the order of their previous Seven Nations Ranking Battle positions. Within a quarter of an hour, all five nations' Profound practitioners had completed their tests and entered the preparation zone, leaving only the two extremes of the pyramid: the Divine Phoenix Empire and Cangfeng Nation.