Chapter 24: Ranking

Everyone’s eyes fell upon Ye Rong. Under the watchful gaze of the crowd, they waited for him to reveal his personal stats panel, wanting to see what this boastful newcomer relied on.

Especially Young Master Wei, who lightly fanned his white jade folding fan, his eyes filled with nothing but disdain.

Ye Rong’s thoughts raced, and he decided to display all his information—except for anything related to the Chongxu True Scripture.

Regardless of the Chongxu True Scripture’s grade, Ye Rong had no intention of revealing its existence. He always needed at least one hidden trick up his sleeve.

In Far Shore, the personal stats panel was extremely detailed. Ye Rong simply selected the option not to display the entry for the Chongxu True Scripture.

With the Water Lord Talisman and the Black Dog Nail—two ranked Magic Treasures—his equipment was not shabby at all. Even if he couldn’t claim the top spot in this team, he was at least qualified to join.

Apart from Young Master Wei, the others nodded silently, acknowledging Ye Rong’s strength and qualifications.

“What’s the use of having two pieces of junk Magic Treasures? He might still be terrible at controlling them…”

Young Master Wei’s face turned ashen. He turned away, muttering under his breath incessantly, having long abandoned any semblance of a refined scholar’s demeanor.

Nearby, Misty Waters saw his behavior and a trace of disdain and disgust flashed in her eyes, though she quickly concealed it.

“That’s good. We can proceed with our cooperation. The next step is to decide the allocation of loot rights for dropped items.”

Blue Chariot clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention once more.

“Wait, Chariot. It seems we haven’t discussed who will be the team leader yet?”

“What, Green Robe? Do you also want to compete with me for the leader position?”

A hint of anger surfaced on Blue Chariot’s face. His large, bell-like eyes scanned everyone in the temple.

“If anyone else objects to me being the leader, speak up now.”

“Chariot, during the Closed Beta, you were a big shot at Emei, and none of us performed as well as you. But now it’s the Open Beta Test—everything starts from scratch. Look at the Magic Treasures you have now—they’re practically the worst among us, even worse than a newcomer’s.”

Young Master Wei’s poisonous tongue struck again, this time targeting Blue Chariot. His words made Blue Chariot glare wide-eyed and clench his fists tightly.

“Everyone, if you let me take the leader position, I’ll owe you a favor. I, Blue Chariot, will definitely repay you in the future.”

Ye Rong watched their heated argument with curiosity. What difference did a few hours make in completing the task? But after listening for a while, he realized something unusual. It turned out that Blue Chariot intended to rush to Emei immediately after finishing the task to complete the Initiation Task for joining the Sect. Then, he would return as a Sect disciple to help the others complete the Great Water Turtle hunting mission, which would naturally be a piece of cake.

But who knew how long the Trial Mission would take? If it took ten days or half a month, would these strong players still be waiting in the Starter Village for Blue Chariot? They would have long found other ways to kill the Great Water Turtle themselves.

Ye Rong glared fiercely at Yidao Liangduan. This guy hadn’t made things clear when he recruited him, leaving him in the dark.

“Everyone, I’ve already received a promise from the Drunken Taoist of Emei. As long as I reach Mount Emei, I can become his disciple. You only need to wait for me for half a day at most, and I’ll return immediately to help you with this task. You should trust my integrity, right?”

“The Drunken Taoist! Chariot, you’ve kept this hidden well. What a great opportunity you’ve gotten!”

Blood Colored Poppy, who had remained silent until now, looked up. Her voice was soft, and if not for her distinct Adam’s apple, one might easily mistake her for a woman.

Since Blue Chariot had already received a promise from the Drunken Taoist, a second-generation disciple of Emei, and could directly join Emei, what did it matter if his current Magic Treasures were inferior? Once he joined the Sect, he would quickly catch up to those ahead.

The others seemed swayed by this. Since Blue Chariot put it that way, it was likely true. If he could join Emei so smoothly and become a Formal Disciple, he would no longer risk becoming an ordinary bystander. Giving him face now wasn’t a bad idea.

“Alright, you can be the leader. But we need to decide the order in which the Great Water Turtle’s dropped equipment is distributed and the sequence in which you help everyone complete the task after you return.”

After much arguing, the order was determined based on each person’s strength. Ye Rong’s Black Dog Nail and Water Lord Talisman weren’t particularly high-grade, but they were extremely practical offensive Magic Treasures. He was ranked second, right after Misty Waters.

Misty Waters wielded the Third-Grade Immortal Weapon, Butterfly Shadow Sword. This Flying Sword didn’t come with any additional spells, so its offensive attributes were exceptionally high, making her the undeniable primary damage dealer. No one could compete with her for that position.

Blood Colored Poppy, despite holding the highest-ranked Magic Treasure, ended up last. The reason was simple: Musical Rhythm Type Magical Treasures were too difficult to use to their full potential. The silver bell itself had no offensive power. The value of this Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure lay entirely in the three spells it came with. However, to use them, one first had to study a Musical Rhythm Type Dao Scrolls of at least third grade.

Blood Colored Poppy’s acquisition of the silver bell was already a tremendous stroke of luck. Where would she find a third-grade Musical Rhythm Type Dao Scrolls? As a result, she could only use one of the three spells—an auxiliary spell with no usage restrictions that enhanced her own stats. Regrettably, she ended up last.

Ethereal Green Robe was ranked after Ye Rong, taking third place. His Green Robe Magic Gown could summon a green bird, which was indeed powerful. Unfortunately, the green bird could only exist for ten minutes. Since the Great Water Turtle had a water mist spell that quickly restored its health, killing it in a short time was impractical. The only feasible method was to slowly drain its True Qi and wear it down. In such a scenario, a green bird that lasted only ten minutes and had a cooldown of two hours wasn’t very useful.

Young Master Wei, who had been full of pride and arrogance, ended up ranked fourth. This infuriated him, as he cared deeply about face. He abandoned the last shred of his dignity, behaving no differently from a clown jumping up and down.

“How is this possible? How could I be ranked fourth? Let that rookie Yijian Kurong fight me one-on-one. Let’s see who lives and who dies!”

Young Master Wei was throwing a fit, oblivious to the fact that Ye Rong’s expression had darkened, his gaze toward him no different from that toward a dead man.

“Enough, Young Master Wei!”

Blue Chariot’s face hardened as he shouted. Earlier, Young Master Wei had shown him no respect. If he hadn’t revealed that he was already a disciple of the Drunken Taoist, Young Master Wei would probably still be fighting for the leader position. Thus, his tone was much harsher, lacking the previous gentleness and friendly smile.

“We’re ranking offensive output and contribution in the team’s turtle hunt, not comparing individual combat strength!”

Under Blue Chariot’s stern rebuke, Young Master Wei retreated sheepishly, reluctantly accepting the ranking. However, the occasional glances he cast toward Ye Rong were filled with deep resentment.

In addition to the task completion order, it was also decided that if any equipment dropped, all six would appraise it together. Anyone interested could bid for it and compensate the others with silver.

Once everything was settled, Blue Chariot, as the team leader, sent invitations to the five members one by one, forming the turtle-hunting squad. As for Yidao Liangduan, his strength was still lacking. Even if he joined the team, he wouldn’t contribute much and would only end up doing errands. Thus, he wasn’t invited to join.