Chapter 146: Masked Candidate (Part-3)

The shock did not stop at Li Palace. News spread rapidly to the other seven palaces, and all of them were thrown into confusion. A mere candidate, identified only by a temporary number, charging straight into the top 1500 was unheard of.

Many questioned whether the ranking system had malfunctioned. After all, no one from the other palaces had personally witnessed the battle, and such a result defied common sense.

As rumors spread, more and more disciples flocked to the Viewing Hall to verify the leaderboard with their own eyes. When they confirmed that temporary number 59416 truly sat firmly at rank 1153, the doubters only grew louder.

Soon, the matter reached the ears of the palace lords of the Outer House. Even they were shaken. After repeated investigations and confirmations, a conclusion was finally reached, one that stunned the entire Outer House.

There was nothing wrong with the leaderboard.

The system was functioning perfectly.

Which meant only one thing.

The candidate bearing temporary number 59416 genuinely possessed the strength of a top-1500 Outer House disciple.

The news exploded like a thunderclap across all eight palaces. Disciples were shaken, elders were alarmed, and even the palace lords could not remain calm.

Countless disciples rushed toward the Eight Palace Battle Hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of this mysterious candidate. High-ranking figures from every palace quietly sent people to Di Palace to investigate, eager to uncover his identity.

Yet despite all efforts, all they could find was a single cold number on the leaderboard.

Temporary number: 59416.

Nothing more.

Li Palace, Yongli Hall.

Yongli Hall was the core hall of Li Palace and also its most magnificent place. It was where the palace lord and elders cultivated and handled important affairs. Under normal circumstances, ordinary disciples were strictly forbidden from entering. Yet at this moment, a disciple was kneeling respectfully in the hall, reporting urgent news.

“Is this truly so?” An imposing old man seated upon a grand Taishi chair raised his brows slightly, surprise flickering across his dignified face. “A candidate has entered the top fifteen hundred of the Outer House rankings, and he was wearing a mask? And that still wasn’t his full strength?”

“It is absolutely true,” the kneeling disciple replied without hesitation. “This disciple heard it with his own ears.”

The one kneeling was none other than Lu Xingzheng. After hearing Bai Jinchen’s account, he had rushed here without delay to report everything in detail.

The old man on the Taishi chair was Lei Moze, the Palace Lord of Li Palace.

“If that is the case,” Lei Moze said slowly after a moment of thought, “then this year’s candidates have produced a truly rare monster.” He nodded faintly before looking down at Lu Xingzheng again. “You have done well. Record one merit for this matter and go receive your reward.”

“Thank you for the Palace Lord’s grace!” Lu Xingzheng’s face lit up with joy. He kowtowed deeply, then withdrew respectfully.

After Lu Xingzheng left, Lei Moze spoke again, his voice calm but commanding. “Geng Yi.”

A middle-aged man appeared at once and bowed. “This subordinate is here.”

“Send people to investigate immediately,” Lei Moze said decisively. “No matter what it takes, find this candidate. Once you do, bring him to me. A talent of this level must enter our Li Palace.”

“Yes! This subordinate will not fail!” Geng Yi answered firmly before departing.

…

Di Palace, Yongsheng Hall.

“A candidate this year has reached the top fifteen hundred before even entering the palace?” The Palace Lord of Di Palace frowned, disbelief evident in his voice.

“Yes,” Fang Qingyang replied respectfully. “This subordinate personally went to the Viewing Hall. The ranking is real. I only believed it after seeing it with my own eyes.”

Fang Qingyang was none other than Elder Fang, whom Ryan had met earlier in the Palace of Fighting. While guiding candidates that day, he had heard the commotion and gone to investigate, only to discover the shocking truth.

The Di Palace Lord sighed softly. “No matter how talented he is, Elder Fang, you know our situation. Such a genius is unlikely to choose our palace.”

“How can we know if we don’t try?” Fang Qingyang said earnestly. “Di Palace has been silent for too long. Perhaps… this is the beginning of our rise.”

As he spoke, Ryan’s figure surfaced in his mind.

“The palace will get better and better, I promise.”

Those words echoed clearly, stirring something deep within him.

The Palace Lord shook his head with a faint smile. “Then go and try. If you find him, speak with him and see what he wants. Regardless of the result, it’s worth the effort.”

Fang Qingyang nodded firmly. “I will do my best.”

With that, he turned and strode toward the Palace of Fighting, his steps brisk and resolute.

*

Li Palace and Di Palace were not alone.

Elders and elite disciples from the other palaces were also dispatched to investigate.

In truth, even without Ryan’s appearance, every palace would already be making moves. This pre-entrance competition was an unspoken tradition. Before candidates officially entered, the palaces would fight openly and covertly to secure the most promising talents.

After all, once the entrance examination ended, it would be the candidates choosing the palaces.

Resources, secret arts, rare pills, even personal promises from palace lords. Anything could be offered. No palace wanted to fall behind.

What none of them expected, however, was a candidate so outrageous that the competition ignited ahead of schedule.

And at the center of it all, the masked candidate himself remained completely unaware of the storm he had caused.

Inside the Eight Palace Battle Hall, Ryan stood calmly within the gas mask, studying the glowing panel before him with interest.

“This place really is impressive,” he murmured. “It can evaluate combat strength and record battle data. Not perfectly accurate, but still remarkable.”

The light curtain displayed:

Name: Temporary Number 59416

Level: Unknown

Wins: 1

Losses: 0

Rating: 11680 (provisional)

Positioning Matches: 1 / 5

Not yet fully positioned. Current rating is provisional.

Because Ryan had only fought one match and deliberately restrained his power, the system had not fully assessed him. Still, with just a single battle, his provisional score had already surpassed ten thousand.

“Even like this, I should already be within the top three thousand,” Ryan said with a faint smile.

Outside the gas mask, Wang Bi’er nodded. “When you enter the Inner House, you’ll see even more amazing things.”

“Oh?” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “What kind of amazing things?”

Wang Bi’er only smiled mysteriously. “You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Seeing that she refused to elaborate, Ryan chuckled helplessly. “Fine. Then I’ll finish the remaining matches first.”

With that, his gaze sharpened.

The next opponent awaited.

After greeting Wang Bi’er and the others, Ryan chose to enter matching mode once more.

With a soft whoosh, his figure vanished from the gas mask again, and the familiar white world unfolded before him.

According to what Wang Bi’er had explained earlier, this white space was similar to a waiting area.

Once inside, one only needed to wait quietly for the Eight Palace Battle Hall to complete the matching process. When a suitable opponent was found, the cultivator would be directly transported to the ring to begin the exchange.

If the waiting time became too long, or if one suddenly lost the desire to continue, it was enough to think of returning.

In the next instant, one would be sent back to the original gas mask location. The mechanism was extremely convenient.

This time, however, Ryan waited noticeably longer.

Unlike the previous match, where he was transferred almost immediately, this round took close to ten minutes before the surroundings finally shifted.

Light surged, space distorted, and Ryan reappeared on a new ring.

The moment he stabilized his footing, his gaze fell on his opponent. This person stood proudly in place, his posture straight and imposing, with an air of flamboyant confidence radiating from his body. On the chest of his robe was embroidered a complex emblem formed by five interwoven symbols: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Ryan immediately understood.

Li Palace specialized in swordsmanship, and its disciples usually bore sword-shaped insignias. The previous opponent he faced had clearly belonged to the Li Palace. This five-element emblem, however, was unmistakable.

This opponent was from the Qian Palace, which focused on cultivating the power of the Five Elements.

At nearly the same moment Ryan assessed him, the Qian Palace disciple also noticed Ryan. He paused briefly in surprise upon seeing the masked candidate, but without wasting words, he launched forward.

There was no greeting, no probing.

The attack came instantly.

“Hateless Flame Palm!”

A fierce shout rang out as the disciple thrust his palm forward. A violent gust erupted, and blazing flames surged out from his palm, instantly scorching the air and turning the surrounding space unbearably hot.

Ryan glanced at the flames and chuckled softly.

“Interesting.”

If it came to playing with fire, there were few who could compare to him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep