Chapter 777: Bright Splendid Robe

After a brief interlude, the merit point tally proceeded smoothly.

Soon after, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master held two scrolls. One was thin, the other thick. He unrolled the thin scroll and announced:

“First, I will announce the team merit point rankings.”

The crowd’s spirits lifted. The rankings had always been divided into two parts: one for individual merit points and one for team merit points. Teams ranked higher received special privileges.

Firstly, they could select items from the team treasury. While not as good as the individual treasury, it was still an additional reward. Secondly, they had priority in choosing tasks. High-merit or high-reward tasks could be selected first by top-ranked teams. This allowed powerful teams to grow even stronger. The Wuji Team had benefited greatly from this.

This time, the Wuji Team was expected to secure first place.

Li Shangqiu stood with his hands behind his back, a hint of anticipation on his face. “Our seven members each made significant discoveries. Our total merit points finally exceeded two thousand. Enough to exchange for a Bright Brocade Robe from the team treasury.”

The six team members behind him were all visibly excited.

“The Bright Brocade Robe was historically the standard attire for the top-ranked team. Not only was the robe itself a quasi-spiritual artifact, capable of withstanding attacks from cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, but it was also a symbol of royalty. Only the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s top team was qualified to wear it. Unfortunately, since fifty years ago, no team had been able to wear this robe. The requirement of two thousand team merit points had effectively blocked everyone else! This time, under Senior Brother Li’s leadership, our Wuji Team had finally brought this royal battle robe, gathering dust for fifty years, back into the world.”

Li Shangqiu maintained a calm exterior, but his heart pounded with barely suppressed excitement. He didn't care about the robe's monetary value; he cared about the immense glory the robe symbolized—a glory of conquering history and ascending to the peak!

At this moment, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master began to read the list.

“There are a total of twenty teams this time.”

The senior disciples were slightly surprised. “These new recruits are really strong. The conditions for creating a team had been raised, requiring the team leader to reach the eighth level of Core Formation. Many older teams haven't even met this condition yet. Yet, two groups of new recruits passed. Could it be that this condition hasn't been enforced yet?”

A trace of surprise appeared on Li Shangqiu's face, but he didn't dwell on it. Mere new teams couldn't affect him. Only two teams could possibly challenge him. One was Ren Guhong's team. The other was Wang Chongling's team, led by one of the Four Mythical Prodigies. However, Wang Chongling's team had taken on a mysterious mission in the South Sea and hadn't entered the underground world this time. The only one to worry about was Ren Guhong. Although Ren Guhong's team wasn't as strong as his, Ren Guhong himself had many tricks up his sleeve. He often made unique discoveries in the underground world that others missed.

“I will only announce the top three,” the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master said, interrupting Li Shangqiu's thoughts. “For subsequent rankings, you can check the posted list later.”

The hall grew quiet as everyone silently speculated on the order of the rankings. First place, without a doubt, would be Li Shangqiu's Wuji. Second place would likely be Ren Guhong. As for third place, since Wang Chongling wasn't present, it was hard to say. In any case, the top three had always been these three teams. It was rare for any other team to break into that top tier.

“Third place: Wuji, with two thousand one hundred fifty merit points.” The Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master recited this without a ripple of emotion.

However, among the disciples present, a wave of astonished exclamations erupted.

“What?”

“Wuji is third?”

“Wait, their team merit points exceeded two thousand? If I recall correctly, no team has reached such a high merit point total in recent decades, right? But this is *still* only third place?”

Not only were the disciples stunned, but even the stewards who hadn't participated in the merit point tally were dumbfounded. They all looked towards the four Deputy Pavilion Masters. Their gazes clearly asked if there had been a mistake somewhere. Two thousand merit points—this was a haul that broke a fifty-year historical record. And yet it was only third?

The smile on Li Shangqiu's face froze. The anticipation in his chest felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over it, extinguishing it on the spot. Third? Wuji, a team that rarely slipped from first place, had dropped to third, even with a record-breaking performance? He felt something was seriously wrong. This simply couldn't be!

His team members behind him spoke up, one after another.

“Impossible!”

“The list must be wrong!”

“How could our incredibly high merit points only rank us third?”

Li Shangqiu raised a hand, biting his lip slightly, and said, “Silence! Let's see who's ahead of us first!” He found it utterly inconceivable. He could understand if Ren Guhong had surpassed him. But why was there *another* team, above Wuji?

The Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master continued to announce:

“Second place: Yuanzheng, with four thousand merit points.”

The senior disciples were utterly bewildered. This was a team they had never heard of. Li Shangqiu narrowed his eyes. “A new team? A new team, entering the underground world for the first time, only staying for a day, and they surpassed us? And their merit points are double ours?”

The senior disciples became agitated. Whispers spread throughout the hall. Even the stewards found it unbelievable. This was simply too outrageous. A new team, in just one day, on their very first entry, broke a fifty-year record? To say there was nothing wrong with them would be truly absurd.

“What's going on?” Mu Ying, the leader of Yuanzheng, widened his eyes. “We're only second?”

His six team members were equally astonished. Yu Tiandu gasped, “How is that possible? We had to... to achieve such an astonishing haul. How could anyone possibly have a higher yield than us?” He was so surprised he almost blurted out their secret. Thankfully, he bit his tongue just in time.

Mu Ying shook his head, clearly disapproving of the list, and stated in a low voice: “Could it be that the Heavenly Secret Pavilion is wary of us, outsiders from another domain? Are they intentionally tampering with the merit points to suppress us? I don't believe anyone could get over four thousand merit points when the underground world is so depleted.”

There was a treasure in the team treasury that they were extremely keen on acquiring. If they obtained it, their future endeavors would be endlessly successful. Their primary goal for this expedition was to secure it. That's why they had gone to great lengths and paid a considerable price to accumulate four thousand merit points. Yet, they only managed a mere second place? If the top team also happened to be interested in that item, then their efforts would be for nothing.

“Who is first place?” Mu Ying muttered, clenching his fists in frustration.

Li Shangqiu glanced at Ren Guhong from afar. He had assumed it would be him. But to his surprise, Ren Guhong also wore a look of utter astonishment, utterly lacking the composure of someone who had secured first place.

First place wasn't Ren Guhong? Li Shangqiu was truly dumbfounded. If not him, then who could it be? It couldn't possibly be another new team, could it? If so, then this joke was far too grand.