Chapter 205 - 203: Number One and Preparing for a Breakthrough

Chapter 205: Chapter 203: Number One and Preparing for a Breakthrough

As Monk Yuanding spoke, Fang Can glanced around, and the status panels of everyone nearby came into view.

Precepts Points: 351

Precepts Points: 905

Precepts Points: 501

Precepts Points: 105

...

’Holy shit, even monks have a performance review system...’

Fang Can couldn’t help but marvel. This temple really had its act together.

"Worthy of a Buddhist temple. None of these Precepts Points even exceed 1,000," Fang Can couldn’t help but praise.

Noticing Fang Can’s comment, the monk said with some shame, "Benefactor, the reason you only see scores below 1,000 is that any monks who surpass that limit have already been sent to the Precepts Hall for punishment. As for those who repeatedly break the rules and refuse to change, they have all been expelled from the temple."

’So that’s why.’

Fang Can felt a little awkward, but he had to admit their performance-tracking system seemed quite effective.

According to rumor, the entire Brahma Sound Temple was situated within the Fifth Turn Sacrificial Artifact, Fangcun Mountain. The mountain itself was formless and intangible, like an Illusory Bubble, capable of changing its shape according to one’s will.

The battlefield for the recent tournament between the nations, for instance, was just one part that had been separated from the main mountain.

Now that the tournament was over, that peak had naturally reintegrated with the whole.

Thus, Fang Can had been teleported directly into the Brahma Sound Temple.

After a brief conversation, Monk Yuanding led Fang Can deeper into the temple.

Along the way, Fang Can learned about some of the temple’s rules during their talk.

For instance, the basic Cultivation Techniques within the Brahma Sound Temple were available for practice by anyone with "C-level" clearance. Almost anyone who came here could browse the books on the lower three floors of the scripture repository.

As for the upper three floors, which housed the Heaven-Ascending Road Cultivation Techniques with limited comprehension attempts, one needed "B-level" or "A-level" clearance to view them.

’Pretty interesting.’ Fang Can surveyed the entire monastery with curiosity, then followed Yuan Ding’s lead until they stood before the Shadow God Painting.

It was the same enormous painting, hundreds of meters long and inscribed with over one hundred thousand portraits. At a glance, Fang Can spotted his own image near the very front.

"Benefactor, the rankings on the Shadow God Painting are based on strength and Realm. Please proceed according to your own capabilities," Yuan Ding explained before taking his leave.

After he was gone, Fang Can scanned his surroundings. He wasn’t alone; many other monks stood around, staring intently at the figures in the painting.

Every now and then, someone would collapse to the ground in shock.

From Monk Yuanding’s earlier explanation, Fang Can knew that these people were also battling the figures within the Shadow God Painting.

Just like everyone else, Fang Can stared at the Shadow God Painting, letting his consciousness sink in. Immediately, the gray panel before him transformed into a prompt box.

[Please select a battle mode]

[Solo Battle | Group Battle | Chain Battle]

After selecting "Solo Battle," Fang Can immediately chose his own image on the painting and entered.

When he came to, he found his consciousness standing by a lake. Before him stood a cold, stern-faced youth radiating a brilliant golden light.

"Another idiot serves himself up on a platter. I must’ve fought a thousand of you in the last two days, eight hundred at the very least."

Fang Can watched as his resplendently golden counterpart turned its gaze on him. Before he could react, a brilliant golden light flared, and the shadow of a fist expanded rapidly before his eyes.

DIE!!!

By the time he came to his senses, Fang Can had been instantly knocked out of the simulation by his own image.

’Okay, the gap is a little too wide.’ Fang Can felt a bit embarrassed.

The power difference between his normal state and his peak state was over two hundredfold—a gap that technique could hardly bridge. He was insta-killed on his first try.

Shifting his gaze further down the rankings, Fang Can decided to spend the entire night fighting matches here on Fangcun Mountain.

As news of Fang Can’s victory in the grand tournament spread, the entire Great Derivation empire erupted in nationwide celebration.

After all, they hadn’t claimed first place in decades. Fang Can had single-handedly eliminated the majority of the First Turn allied forces to seize the top spot, bringing immense glory to Great Derivation.

Although only the residents of the Capital City could watch the battle, news traveled fast. With the speed of a Martial Artist, it would only take a few days for the tale to spread across the entire nation.

In the wake of this event, Fang Can’s reputation in Great Derivation soared to its absolute zenith. For a time, his fame was unparalleled, with no one even coming close.

Invitations poured in endlessly every day, and his fanbase grew by the hour. The number of his officially registered followers soon surpassed one million.

But the high-ranking officials and powerful nobles were far more concerned with another matter.

In Prince Qing’s estate, the prince tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, his expression anxious as he waited.

As a dark, swirling wind swept into the room, a steward respectfully presented a stack of volumes. "Your Highness, this period’s Celestial Secret List has arrived."

"Excellent." The Prince snatched the volumes and immediately began flipping through them.

First was the Hidden Dragon List, with Fang Can still firmly in the number one spot. Below him, however, the top thousand names had been almost entirely replaced.

However, compared to previous editions, Fang Can’s entry was exceptionally peculiar.

Hidden Dragon List:

First Place: Fang Can

Evaluation: The greatest of all time!!!

There was no other description.

Age, Realm, Cultivation Technique, background, and history were all completely absent.

This was unprecedented for the Celestial Secret List. In every previous edition, the descriptions of those listed were painstakingly detailed.

The volumes would meticulously list every achievement of the ranked individuals to prove the list’s credibility.

But for Fang Can, the Celestial Secret List had dedicated an entire page only to offer the understated evaluation of him as number one.

Beyond that, the rest of the page was completely blank.

There were no further explanations or descriptions, yet almost everyone who saw the list had to acknowledge the weight of that number one ranking.

Because no matter how they wracked their brains, none of the readers could think of a single person who could compare to the young man.

Even if a Divine Monarch were resurrected or the Overlord lived again, no one would dare claim they could have single-handedly fought hundreds of First Turn experts while still in the Transcendent Body realm.

Later, inside sources revealed that with the power Fang Can had displayed, he could already rival a Second Turn expert—skipping two entire Realms. He was terrifying to the extreme.

After his gaze lingered on the Hidden Dragon List for a moment, Prince Qing continued flipping to the Ascending Dragon List.

When he saw its contents, he couldn’t help but sigh. "Just as I thought."

In his view, aside from Fang Can once again occupying the top spot, every single name from second to one hundred and second place was an unfamiliar woman’s.

’The number one human cauldron... Truly worthy of the title!’ Prince Qing mused, staring at the page’s contents.

The lowest among them was at the Profound Gate Third Layer, while the higher ones, like Ye Qingshi, had already reached the Profound Gate Seventh Layer, on the verge of breaking through to the First Turn.

It had only been two months, yet the results were this terrifying. They had basically skyrocketed up the ranks with zero effort.

Prince Qing, along with countless influential figures within Great Derivation and beyond, fell into deep thought.

This ability to mass-produce core experts... their approach to Fang Can would have to be completely re-evaluated.

And while they were all contemplating this, back at the Jiejian Mountain liaison office in the Capital City, after four months of training, Fang Can was preparing to officially step into the Heaven-Ascending Road Realm.