Chapter 191: The Current Strength Ranking

Aurelia approached first.

Tang Ziyue came from another direction after finishing with her group’s resources.

Viktor walked nearby.

Two men followed farther behind.

One was Ethan from Aurelia’s group.

Cain recognized the other as someone who had been fighting with the Northern group.

The man was tall and heavily built.

A long halberd rested across his back.

His hair was cut short enough that it barely moved despite the wind crossing the ruined plaza.

"Dmitri."

The muscular man nodded at Cain as he introduced himself.

Cain remembered the name from the World Rankings.

Several of them had been absorbing the purified resources.

Aurelia and the other 2nd Echelons had taken the opportunity to continue strengthening their Cores.

Viktor, who had already advanced to the 3rd Echelon, simply joined them after dealing with his own condition.

Dmitri stopped near the wall.

"I heard you mentioned my name."

Ron pointed toward Cain.

"He was ranking people."

Dmitri became interested.

"Ranking them based on what?"

"Strength, of course."

Cain shook his head helplessly.

This stupid conversation was expanding.

Dmitri looked toward him.

"Then what would the ranking be right now?"

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"You mean with everyone’s current strength?"

"Yes."

That question was easier to answer for him.

Cain glanced toward Mo Xuanye.

"Heavenly Demon is first."

Nobody said anything as the Heavenly Demon had already reached the 3rd Echelon.

Cain pointed toward himself as he continued.

"I’m second."

Several expressions changed when they heard such a claim.

Dmitri frowned and a few of Viktor’s people looked over.

Then Cain continued with a faint smile.

"Northern Tyrant is third."

This time, the reaction became much stronger as Viktor looked toward Cain and knitted his eyebrows.

Aurelia’s eyes lit up.

Even Tang Ziyue appeared slightly curious.

Ron started laughing as he looked at multiple people.

"Look at their faces."

Dmitri looked between Cain and Viktor.

"You think you’re stronger than him?"

"Currently?" Cain raised an eyebrow, then nodded without hesitation as he continued, "Yes."

Viktor did not become angry as he simply studied Cain more carefully.

He had already heard enough about Heavenly Dragon to know that Cain’s Echelon did not reflect his actual combat ability.

Mo Xuanye’s interest deepened, as that answer surprised him more than Cain ranking himself above Heavenly Demon at equal Echelons.

Cain was arrogant enough to believe he possessed greater potential.

Yet he had also admitted that after he advanced to the 3rd Echelon, he was currently stronger.

That meant Cain was not simply throwing out rankings to make himself look impressive.

Dmitri crossed his arms.

"And me?"

"You?" Cain chuckled lightly.

"Yes."

"You’re not even in the top three even if we exclude Mo Xuanye, me, and Viktor."

Dmitri’s expression became serious.

"Are you sure?"

Cain remained smiling as he replied.

"If you don’t believe me, everyone is standing right here."

Cain shrugged.

"Test it yourself."

Then an idea entered his mind as he instantly looked toward Ron.

"Actually..."

Ron immediately became suspicious.

Cain pointed toward him.

"You might not even get past Ron."

Ron’s eyes lit up as he had never expected that Cain would praise him.

He immediately lifted his chin, one hand came up and rested against it as he murmured to himself.

"I knew I was strong."

He nodded to himself with a smug expression.

"But I never expected that I’d be that strong."

Cain regretted his decision instantly.

Dmitri ignored Ron’s brag as he looked at him with a frown.

"This skinny guy?"

Ron slowly turned and frowned.

"What did you just call me?"

Dmitri ignored him as he pointed toward him and continued asking.

"You’re saying I’ll lose against him?"

"Yes." Cain nodded.

Dmitri’s face darkened.

He looked at Ron from head to toe.

"Are you sure I’ll lose against this skinny guy?"

Ron walked toward him with a deep frown, then stopped directly in front of the much larger man.

"Say that again in front of my fucking face, little bear."

Dmitri’s eyes twitched.

"Little bear?"

"What?" Ron spread his arms as he continued, "You want me to call you a big bear?"

Dmitri stepped forward.

Ron did not retreat, he merely looked at the man bigger than him without an ounce of fear.

Before either could do something stupid, Viktor moved between them.

One big hand pressed against Dmitri’s chest.

The other stopped Ron.

"That’s enough."

Viktor looked between them.

"It’s not worth fighting over something as trivial as this when we still have something more important to do."

Cain laughed heartily.

"He’s right."

Cain then explained that it would be fine for them to fight and get injured since there’s Evelyne who could heal them and it wouldn’t be a problem for her to restore her mana.

But it would be different if they were to fight considering it would be such a waste of their mana and it would delay them too much if they needed to wait for them to recover to their peak before heading to the Central Base.

The others agreed with Cain’s statement.

However, things suddenly changed when Mo Xuanye spoke.

"What if the Mana problem could be solved?"

Cain turned and looked at the Heavenly Demon in interest.

He then raised an eyebrow.

"Sure. If you really can solve that problem, then I don’t care even if they beat each other to half death."

His interest grew as he asked,

"But how?"

Mo Xuanye looked toward Tang Ziyue before giving her a small nod.

Tang Ziyue immediately understood as she reached into a storage pouch at her waist.

Two long glass vials appeared in her hands.

Blue liquid filled each one.

The fluid gave off a faint glow.

Cain could sense dense Mana inside them from several meters away.

Tang Ziyue handed the vials to Mo Xuanye.

He tossed one toward Cain.

Cain caught it and information appeared before his eyes.

[Greater Mana Restoration Potion]

[A concentrated alchemical solution created from purified Mana-rich materials.]

[Rapidly replenishes depleted Mana after consumption.]

[Under normal conditions, a single vial can completely restore the Mana reserves of a 2nd Echelon being or lower.]

[The restorative effect is significantly reduced when consumed by beings at the 3rd Echelon or above.]

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GUYS, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT... LOOK AT THE AUTHOR’S NOTE