Heavenly Ranking

Chapter 299 The Truth
"Exploring another world?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing became unusually nervous.

"Can you explore other worlds?"

"Ok?"

Ji Fuyou looked at him; his reaction seemed a little off.

“The mist is inherently corresponding. The moment the mist appears, our world overlaps with the mist world. In this case, if mist creatures can come to our world, we can naturally go to their world as well.”

"No! It's different!"

Gu Qing's expression carried a hint of unease: "There are rules. According to the unverifiable information I have, the appearance of the fog follows a pattern, proceeding gradually. Once we break this rule, it's equivalent to actively pushing forward a process that should have been developing smoothly. At that time... the situation will change faster and faster."

"Will it speed up?"

Ji Fuyou was taken aback.

"Yes! Speed ​​up!"

Gu Qing said, "For example, the next time the fog appears, there will only be one or two master-level alien beasts or monsters. But as the speed increases, the number of alien beasts and monsters will become three or four, five or six, or even seven or eight, and eventually they will directly become Martial Saint-level alien beasts and monsters."

Upon hearing this, Ji Fuyou keenly sensed the key point in his words.

He immediately asked, "Do you know why the Mist Beasts appeared?"

"know."

Gu Qing nodded: "Although I cannot confirm the authenticity of the information I have, the pattern of the appearance of strange beasts and monsters in the mist is related to a great trial and a great inheritance!"

The spiritual master appeared somewhat serious at this moment: "An unprecedented great power encompasses all the civilizations in the vast starry sky, regards them as inheritors, and makes them compete and be tested until the best emerges and completes the continuation of their great heritage."

"The Heavenly Ranking".

Ji Fuyou Road.

The information Gu Qing had gathered was verified against the information he had received from the old man.

The legacy of that great being, and the core of the trials he left behind...

It's the Heavenly Ranking!
Countless civilizations were drawn into it, competing with each other, and emerging victorious in each competition.

Currently, the Heavenly Ranking only shows the Lesser Heavenly Ranking; there will be Middle Heavenly Ranking, Greater Heavenly Ranking, and so on in the future…

Ji Fuyou is unaware of what form it will ultimately take, or how many rounds this civilizational trial-like competition will last.

All he knew was that the old man's civilization possessed three sacred artifacts and had experienced four rounds of civilization wars.

But they clearly failed in the fourth round, and ultimately...

It ended up with the destruction of its civilization.

"To date, human civilization has only experienced one war, namely the primary election war..."

With these thoughts in mind, Ji Fuyou looked at Gu Qing and asked, "Since you know that the patterns of the appearance of strange beasts and demons are related to a great trial, have you ever considered that this trial is the Civilization Trial of the Heavenly Ranking?"

"I thought about it."

Gu Qing truthfully said, "So, when Xiao Bing wanted to go to the Trial Grounds through the Heavenly Ranking, I did not stop her. I even prepared a Limitless Sword Intent for her as a trump card to defeat the strong with the weak."

"Then, let me tell you, according to the information I have, the Heavenly Trial will last for many rounds, maybe four or five, maybe six or seven, or even up to the maximum number—nine rounds. After these nine rounds of trials, any failure will lead to utter destruction."

Ji Fuyou said solemnly, "Human civilization will be destroyed."

He paused for a moment: "So, do you think it's more important to grow as fast as possible, gain greater power, and ensure that we stand out in the Civilization Trial, or to avoid breaking the rules and causing the fog to emerge more quickly?"

"Trial of Civilization..."

Gu Qing had actually made some related guesses.

The trial to inherit the legacy of that great one should be conducted through the Heavenly Ranking.

He just wasn't sure.

Now, hearing what Ji Fuyou said...

"I believe your deduction, but... once the rules are broken, the monsters emerging from the mist will inevitably rise to a higher level, and at that time, they will bring even greater destruction to Red Star, to all countries and civilizations."

Gu Qing said in a deep voice: "According to the method of gradual progress, in the nearly five years since the appearance of the mist, the strongest of the strange beasts and monsters that have appeared is only level 50, that is, the level of physique 50. According to this trend, in another five years, the strange beasts and monsters we need to fight will be at most at the Heaven level. But... if we accelerate, no one knows what kind of monsters we will face then."

"Heaven level?"

Ji Fuyou's heart skipped a beat: "Shouldn't the next level after Martial Saint be Demigod? Where did this Heavenly level come from?"

"Demigod level? That should refer to the pinnacle of cultivation."

Gu Qing shook his head: "Among the unverifiable information I've come across, there were only three levels of cultivation at the beginning: Human, Earth, and Heaven! Only after Heaven did Legendary and Demigod levels come. There was no such thing as Master or Martial Saint."

"Man, Earth, Heaven, Legend, Demigod?"

Ji Fuyou's pupils contracted: "You have an orthodox cultivation method?"

"No."

Gu Qing said, "I only have the cultivation method of the Spiritual Ability lineage, and this cultivation method mainly teaches people how to condense their primordial spirit, directly skipping the mental state and overlapping state..."

He explained, "But this cultivation method mentions cultivation techniques. In these techniques, the primordial spirit is equivalent to a demigod. When the primordial spirit is fully developed, one can merge with the stars and become a demigod."

"Stars unite!?"

Ji Fuyou's heart skipped a beat: "A star similar to the Crimson Star!?"

Gu Qing knew the source of his surprise and nodded, "Yes, stars like Crimson Star."

The stars unite!

Ji Fuyou immediately thought of the star-devouring monster that appeared at the end of his dream!

Could it be... that star-devouring monster is a demigod-level being!?

In other words, he has finally reached the realm of dreams and the end of the Heavenly Ranking!?

Then, as if remembering something, he quickly pressed on, "You obtained the Primordial Spirit Technique!? Then you..."

"No."

Gu Qing knew what he wanted to ask and said directly, "It's like our civilization getting the space gate architecture technology, or like people in ancient times getting nuclear weapons technology. The technological gap and the gap in industrial base are too big, so they simply can't build or train them."

Upon hearing this, Ji Fuyou also calmed down.

Yes!

The difference is too great.

Just like when I first obtained the innate armor-piercing sword energy.

He already had the inheritance crystal, and the cultivation method and circulation technique were directly engraved in his mind, but...

They assume you've mastered the Gang Jin technique, so in the end they can only stare helplessly, unable to use it.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "What level have you reached in your spiritual realm?"

"To ensure that I do not break the rules and cause the fog to emerge more quickly, I am still only a saint."

Gu Qing answered honestly.

A saint...

That's it...

Well, this was not unexpected for Ji Fuyou.

After a long pause, he took a deep breath: "I know you're unwilling to break the rules because you're worried that the monsters pouring in from the mist will become stronger and stronger, accelerating the deterioration of the situation on Crimson Star. But... have you considered what will happen to the Civilization Trial if we don't improve our strength as soon as possible?"

"Trial of Civilization?"

Gu Qing didn't know much about the Civilization Trial.

He studied more about the patterns of fog emergence.

"We have concluded that the trials are conducted through the Celestial Ranking, and the ultimate goal is to be chosen as a successor by that great being. The number of competitors must be extremely large; otherwise, there wouldn't be such a thing as a civilization trial. But..."

Ji Fuyou looked at Gu Qing: "You don't actually think that all the civilizations that compete with us are starting from the same point as us, do you?"

Gu Qing was taken aback.

this problem……

He hadn't considered it.

Shouldn't trials and competitions for the sake of inheritance be fair and just?
Who's going to start first?!
But upon closer reflection...

Why can't we?!
In the race of life, there is no such thing as fairness or impartiality. Why should the trials of civilization be fair?

“I have come into contact with some civilizations, those civilizations… have already gone through four trial wars.”

Ji Fuyou said, "I don't know if four times is the limit for these civilizations, but... we can't rule out the possibility that some civilizations have already gone through five, six, or even seven or eight times, and are already close to the peak of the Heavenly Ranking. If we have them among our opponents, and we are still following the rules and conducting trials according to the emergence pattern of the mist... do you think we have a chance to reach the top of the Heavenly Ranking?"

"This……"

Gu Qing was at a loss for words.

Ji Fuyou did not urge him.

Based on his dream, he already knew that the emergence of the fog would inevitably accelerate in the later stages.

Otherwise, four years later...

No, there are only 38 months left!
Less than three and a half years!
Thirty-eight months later, the Star-Devouring Monster appeared—and it was a real, tangible event.

According to Gu Qing's prediction, if the mist is allowed to emerge gradually without breaking any rules, only celestial-level beasts and monsters will appear after 5 years.

He didn't know what level of celestial-level beasts and demons were.

But it naturally became associated with the Three Sacred Artifacts.

That level is far inferior to the demigod-level star-devouring monster.
In other words, the future has already shown them the choices humanity has to make.

Even if he didn't do it, there would always be other humans who would do the same thing, intentionally or unintentionally, out of curiosity, or out of their own selfishness, greed, or interests, to accelerate the emergence of the fog.

This was bound to happen.

Gu Qing must understand this as well.

Sure enough, after a long wait, Gu Qing slowly exhaled: "I can't verify whether what you said is true or false, but undeniably, your words are very convincing."

"So, what's your choice?"

"In theory, I agree with your approach, but..."

Gu Qing said, "At least, we should let the people of the world be prepared."

"Even if the pattern of the fog's emergence is broken, the strength of the monsters inside won't increase all at once, so we still have time."

Ji Fuyou said, "During this time, I think it's necessary for us to make contact with the civilization of another world together in order to obtain more information to support our efforts."

"How can you ensure that those otherworldly civilizations won't become our competitors?"

"Why..."

Ji Fuyou pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps... it's related to their near-extinction."

Gu Qing glanced at him and finally made a decision: "Since you're so confident... let's go together."

(End of this chapter)