Chapter 141: First Place, Jiang Fan

The entire hall erupted in an uproar. Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with astonishment.

“Who’s second? Tang Tianlong?”

“Did they make a mistake with the rankings?”

“With four Foundation Establishment realm beasts and one Qi Condensation realm beast, isn’t that a guaranteed first place?”

“How could he be ranked second?”

The smile on Tang Tianlong’s face froze. The sudden ranking left him bewildered. How did he end up in second place? Could someone possibly have achieved more than him? That’s impossible, isn’t it?

Xu Yining also looked stunned: “What’s going on?”

“How can Senior Brother Tang be second?”

“Something must have gone wrong.”

Not just the disciples. Even the elders standing nearby wore expressions of disbelief. Tang Tianlong’s achievements, in their eyes, were already astonishing. They had far exceeded their expectations. Yet, such an impressive score was only enough for second place?

Tang Tianlong’s master, Grand Elder Feng Guchan, immediately questioned, “Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon! How dare you make a mistake with my disciple’s ranking?”

“My disciple has the highest cultivation level among those who undertook this mission.”

“How could anyone possibly achieve more than him?”

“Are you perhaps too old and blind to rank properly?”

The Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon was startled. How could he dare offend the Grand Elder? He quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, “Grand Elder, I have not made a mistake.”

“There is indeed a disciple whose achievements surpass Tang Tianlong’s.”

What? Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces showed shock. Someone actually surpassed Tang Tianlong’s achievements! How was that possible? Four Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts, plus one Qi Condensation realm!

Unless a team, like Tang Tianlong’s, had someone whose strength far surpassed the others. Only then could such a massive disparity occur. But upon review, none of the other teams fit that description.

Tang Tianlong could not accept this blow. As the participant with the highest cultivation, how could he be trampled underfoot and relegated to second place? For him, it was a humiliation!

He raised his voice and said, “Sect Master, who is first place? Please announce it, so I can rest easy!” He wanted to see who it was, and how much they had achieved! To actually rank ahead of him!

Liu Wenchen came back to his senses. He too had initially suspected the Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon had made a ranking error. His gaze moved across the ranking list. When it settled on the first-place name, he froze. He suspected for a second time that the Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon had made a mistake!

If anyone else was in first place, he could understand. But, how could it be Jiang Fan? His useless, good-for-nothing disciple? He looked at the number of achievements again. Eight! And all of them were Foundation Establishment realm beasts! Moreover, the Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon had specifically noted that they were all high-level Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts. How could his useless disciple have killed so many high-level Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts? Did he bite them to death one by one?

It was wrong. It had to be wrong! He stared fixedly at the first-place name, unsure whether to announce it. Announcing a ranking that was clearly false at first glance would surely cause a huge uproar.

Feng Guchan, who had long grown impatient, his face slightly darkened, said, “Sect Master, why are you still not announcing it?”

“Could it be that the first place is fraudulent?”

He now couldn't help but suspect that Liu Wenchen was manipulating the results. Seeing that Tang Tianlong was about to secure first place and bring glory to Reincarnation Peak, Liu Wenchen was deliberately suppressing him.

The other elders also cast curious glances and urged him. “Sect Master, quickly announce it!”

“Let us see which peak’s exceptional disciple it is.”

The disciples were also very curious. They racked their brains but couldn't figure out who it could be.

Liu Wenchen glared at Feng Guchan! Did he really think everyone enjoyed playing tricks like the Grand Elder? However, if he announced Jiang Fan’s name, he feared that no one would believe him even if he claimed he hadn’t cheated.

After a moment's thought, he put away the list and said, “The first place… won’t be announced.”

“I will speak with him privately afterward.”

As he spoke, he cast a glance at Jiang Fan. He gave him a stern look. Although he didn’t know why the Hall of Rewards and Punishments deacon had put Jiang Fan in first place, it definitely had something to do with Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan had almost made him bear the reputation of cheating and ruined his integrity as Sect Master. It was time to give him a good lesson!

However. If he didn't announce it, how could others agree? Feng Guchan increasingly suspected foul play and chuckled angrily, “Sect Master, I can understand your fear of my Reincarnation Peak surpassing your Sect Master Peak!”

“But isn’t such blatant suppression going too far?”

Tang Tianlong finally realized that his second-place ranking was not due to his own lack of strength. Instead, it was caused by the struggle between the two peaks! His face showed humiliation, and he said unwillingly, “Sect Master, I have always regarded you as upright, generous, and fair, and I admired you greatly.”

“But I never expected you to care so much about the hierarchy between the two peaks, even going so far as to suppress me.”

“If my performance made you feel awkward, then, I’ll accept this second place!”

The master and disciple, one playing the villain and the other the victim, painted Liu Wenchen’s image as that of a complete scoundrel. This made Liu Wenchen both exasperated and furious. He felt like he was being roasted over a fire! If he didn’t announce it, they would question his suppression of Reincarnation Peak. If he did announce it, the accusation of cheating would be ironclad!

As the disciples in the hall grew increasingly dissatisfied, Jiang Fan also showed dissatisfaction. What in the world was going on? He got first place, why shouldn’t it be announced? And a private talk afterward? Didn’t that mean his score wouldn’t count? Did all his hard work hunting demonic beasts amount to nothing?

So, he cupped his hands and said, “Master, please announce the results to silence all the gossip!” Hearing Jiang Fan also urge him, Liu Wenchen grew even more annoyed! You caused this mess, and you still have the audacity to add fuel to the fire? Once it was announced, Jiang Fan would become the target of everyone’s suspicion. At that point, even the most sophisticated cheating method would be exposed! The one who would be disgraced was Jiang Fan himself!

“Master! Announce it!” Jiang Fan repeated. Liu Wenchen lost his temper. “If you’re looking for trouble, don’t blame your master for not covering for you!”

And so, without further hesitation, he retrieved the list again and announced publicly, “First place!”

The bustling scene abruptly fell silent. Everyone pricked up their ears. All of them were eager to know what kind of person the Sect Master had arranged to suppress Tang Tianlong. They speculated about who the suitable candidate might be. Firstly, this person certainly couldn't be from Reincarnation Peak. Secondly, their strength had to be acceptable, not significantly weaker than Tang Tianlong's. Otherwise, it wouldn't silence the crowd.

Tang Tianlong listened with a cold face, arms crossed. No matter who it was, he wouldn't accept it! He would personally inspect the person's achievements and expose their cheating in public! Did they think they could steal his first place? Dream on!

Feng Guchan snorted through his nostrils, coldly surveying his surroundings. He wanted to see which peak’s disciple was so reckless as to collude with the Sect Master to suppress Reincarnation Peak! He would make sure they suffered unbearable shame and indignation later!

At the same time, Liu Wenchen took a deep breath. Finally, he read out the name of the first-place winner!

“Jiang Fan!”