Chapter 438: He’s Not First on the Human List Anymore—He’s First on the Earth List

Wang Xing’an, Wu Zhanyun, Li Heitan, and the others suddenly discovered—

The top rank on the Earth List had become a name they were all familiar with!

“Holy crap, he really is Earth List number one! My god!”

“I can’t believe I’m a comrade of the Earth List’s number one. I’m so lucky!”

The Demon Suppression Guards all cried out in astonishment.

Their gazes toward Shen Mo were filled with admiration and awe.

Wang Xing’an’s grin nearly reached the back of his ears.

“Good! Damn good!”

“You lads, get serious with your cultivation! I’m off to cultivate too!”

Wang Xing’an laughed heartily and vanished like a puff of smoke, not bothering to look at the Human List again.

Of course, he wasn’t actually going off to cultivate.

He found a quiet place to indulge in Fiery Nectar and Golden Branch Jade Liquid.

The reason he bolted so fast—

Was simply to avoid others trying to mooch his wine.

Before long, the Armory was filled with an intoxicating fragrance of wine.

Like a young maiden’s gentle hand, it stirred the heart and made one itch.

Seeing this, Wu Zhanyun and Li Heitan returned to their own quarters to refine the treasures they had exchanged from the Heavenly Dao Treasury.

Shen Mo smiled and also returned to his residence.

As usual, he activated multiple arrays to ensure no one could barge in uninvited, and only then did he begin refining the spiritual treasures.

The Azure Lightning Lotus, Earth Mother Crimson Pulp, and Void Saint-Nurturing Pill were all laid out in order.

Shen Mo began operating the Grand Furnace of Heaven and Earth technique.

All kinds of spiritual herbs and treasures rapidly transformed into spiritual energy and life essence, merging into his body and raising his cultivation.

Within his Divine Palace, the Nine Nether Ice Flame continued to refine the demon heart of the Peak True Demon Lord.

A strand of pure energy continuously merged into his body every moment.

With the infusion of so many energies, Shen Mo’s aura was changing by the second.

…

At Azure Dragon Fortress—

Tang Shenting, after exchanging the spiritual treasures he needed, exited the Heavenly Dao Treasury and continued cultivating his technique.

The cultivation method he practiced was a mid-tier Heaven-grade technique, simply named Tang Family Technique.

Yes, that plain.

His grandfather, Tang Jinglong, was the lord of Azure Dragon Fortress.

Tang Jinglong had originally exchanged the technique Wind-Seeking Thunder-Stepping Art from the Heavenly Dao Treasury.

After exchanging it, the technique and martial arts were directly imprinted into the user’s mind for comprehension.

There was no such thing as a physical manual.

The Heavenly Dao Will forbade any exchanger from transcribing or verbally transmitting the Wind-Seeking Thunder-Stepping Art.

Violators would have their battle merits deducted.

But every rule has its loophole.

After mastering the Wind-Seeking Thunder-Stepping Art, Tang Jinglong compiled his insights into what became known as the Tang Family Technique, which he passed on to his son, Tang Zhanmo.

Tang Zhanmo, in turn, passed it down to his son, Tang Shenting.

Because the Tang Family Technique was not the original Wind-Seeking Thunder-Stepping Art, it didn’t violate the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions.

This was one of the key reasons Tang Shenting, at such a young age, had already become a Profound-rank Demon Suppression Guard.

His starting point was exceptionally high—

So high that he began cultivating a Heaven-grade technique not long after being born!

Of course, no matter how insightful Tang Jinglong was, the Tang Family Technique, being just a derived compilation, was still inferior to the original Wind-Seeking Thunder-Stepping Art.

At best, it could be considered a low-tier Heaven-grade technique.

“The Golden Ranking has descended again? Is that Shen Mo still second on the Human List? If he is, then Shi Mie’s strength is just pathetic.”

Tang Shenting swung his fists, wreathed in wind and thunder, and said casually.

A nearby Demon Suppression Guard looked up from the Human List and froze. “Boss, I don’t see Shen Mo’s name.”

Tang Shenting smiled faintly. “He probably spent a lot of his battle merits and gave up his rank.”

“Very few can resist that kind of temptation.”

He was different from others.

He held the top position on the Human List solely for the sake of the Visualization Diagram.

For that, he could save up battle merits indefinitely without using them.

As for the spiritual treasures he needed, his father naturally exchanged them for him.

“Huh? I’ve already scrolled down to the bottom of the Human List, and I still don’t see Shen Mo’s name,” the Demon Suppression Guard said, puzzled.

“Wait a second… I see him—he’s… he’s Earth List number one!” he suddenly exclaimed in shock.

Tang Shenting’s expression froze. “What? You’re joking!”

The Demon Suppression Guard gulped. “Boss, see for yourself. I’m not joking—Earth List number one really is… Shen Mo, Yellow-Rank Demon Suppression Guard of the Black Tortoise Fortress!”

Tang Shenting couldn’t even finish exhaling before looking at the Earth List, his breath still unsteady.

Sure enough, the name at the top was exactly that one!

A Yellow-Rank Demon Suppression Guard from the Black Tortoise Fortress, standing above all the Heaven-Rank guards!

Tang Shenting’s eyes widened.

His sharp and handsome features twisted in disbelief.

The Human List number one came with a Visualization Diagram each year. Naturally, Earth List number one did too.

And not only that—it was far superior to the one granted to Human List number one!

The only issue was that claiming the top of the Earth List required an immense amount of battle merit.

His father, Tang Zhanmo, was a regular among the Earth List’s top ten.

According to his father, to steadily maintain the first rank on the Earth List, one needed an A-grade battle merit.

But earning an A-grade battle merit purely through one’s own efforts was unimaginably difficult.

Tang Shenting didn’t believe he had that kind of capability.

So instead, he simply secured Human List number one and hoped to obtain a high-quality Visualization Diagram to condense his Dharma Aspect.

Whether cultivating spiritual energy techniques or blood energy techniques, whether in the Divine Palace Realm or the Venerable Realm, the next step was always the Dharma Aspect Realm—where one had to condense a Dharma Aspect.

The only difference lay in how it was done: Divine Palace cultivators used spiritual energy; Venerables used blood energy.

The quality of the Dharma Aspect—high or low—directly determined the strength of one in the Dharma Aspect Realm.

“Damn it, just what is with this Shen Mo?!”

Tang Shenting was stunned—and even a little shaken.

He had always believed that among the young generation of the Ten Demon Suppression Fortresses, he was the most dazzling talent.

But Shen Mo’s sudden rise completely shook his confidence.

He began to question whether he was still the strongest genius of the Demon Suppression Sea’s younger generation.

“Go… go investigate.”

“Find out exactly what Shen Mo did to become Earth List number one!”

Tang Shenting took a deep breath and growled.

The Demon Suppression Guard nodded repeatedly.

…

Blood God Fortress.

At the highest point of the fortress, within the Martial Arena—

There were two massive golden lions and a colossal black bear.

The black bear had exited the Heavenly Dao Treasury early and was waiting nearby.

The two golden lions were Heaven-Rank Demon Suppression Guard Shi Wu and his son, Profound-Rank Demon Suppression Guard Shi Mie.

The black bear was Xiong Da.

Within Blood God Fortress, the bear clan had always been a strong ally to the lion clan.

At that moment, one of the golden lions gradually regained full consciousness.

Xiong Da chuckled, “Commander Shi Wu, I bet you redeemed quite a haul this time!”

Shi Wu shook his head. “I got everything else, but the Earth Mother Crimson Pulp I needed most—there wasn’t a drop left.”

“When I tried to exchange for it, I was already too late.”

Xiong Da blinked. “Really? Someone got to it before you?”

Shi Wu sighed. “Their hands were too fast. A pity.”

Just then, Shi Mie also exited the Heavenly Dao Treasury, his face lit up with joy. “Father, I’ve exchanged enough treasures! Give me a few years, and I should be able to break through to the Golden Summit Venerable Realm!”

Shi Wu nodded with a smile. “Good. I look forward to that day.”

At that moment, Xiong Da saw the Golden Rankings and exclaimed with joy, “All three rankings have appeared! Brother Shi Mie is back at Human List number two! I told you, us beast clans are the strongest!”

Shi Mie glanced at the Human List and, seeing himself at second place, smiled proudly.

But Shi Wu noticed the changes on the Earth List and his gaze froze.

“Earth List number one… Yellow-Rank Demon Suppression Guard from Black Tortoise Fortress, Shen Mo?!”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel