Chapter 147: Masked Candidate (Part-4)

The Cracking of the Collapsing Mountain was itself a terrifying flame-based technique, complete with molten magma and raging infernos. On top of that, Ryan possessed the Three Thousand Flames, an extraordinary flame that ordinary fire could never threaten.

Faced with the oncoming blaze, Ryan showed no hesitation.

He extended his hand calmly, passing straight through the roaring flames as if they were nothing more than a wisp of smoke. With a light flick of his wrist, his palm struck directly against the opponent’s hand.

The result was immediate.

Ryan’s hand emerged unscathed, his robe spotless, the flames utterly unable to leave even a trace. Under the protection of his overwhelming strength, the fire was as harmless as empty air.

But the same could not be said for his opponent.

“Ah—!”

A sharp scream rang out. The Qian Palace disciple felt a violent shock run through his arm, followed by a cracking sound. His palm had been struck so hard that it was nearly dislocated.

Staggering backward while clutching his injured hand, his expression finally changed. The arrogance vanished, replaced by heavy caution and disbelief.

Yet even then, he did not retreat.

After forcing down the pain, he took a breath and charged again.

“Bright Splitting Leg!”

Since his right hand was injured, he switched to a leg technique. This time, the power was even greater.

The martial art he unleashed was no longer an Earth-rank low-grade technique, but a Sky-rank top-grade one, its might surging fiercely as his leg swept through the air.

However, the outcome remained unchanged.

With a dull boom, Ryan casually lifted his hand and lightly patted the incoming leg aside. The force behind that simple motion sent the Qian Palace disciple flying helplessly across the ring.

Before the disciple could even land, Ryan’s figure flashed.

He followed up instantly, raised two fingers, and flicked them forward with effortless precision.

Bang!

The fingers struck the disciple squarely on the forehead, sending him flying even farther. His body skidded and tumbled across the ring before crashing heavily onto the ground.

A swollen red lump immediately rose on his forehead, standing out in a painfully obvious way.

This was only because Ryan had held back. Had he used even a fraction more strength, the disciple’s head would not have merely swollen. It would have exploded.

The red swelling was already merciful.

“Temporary Number 59416 wins!”

A mechanical voice echoed.

With a low hum, light enveloped both figures, and the ring dissolved.

Second victory.

Ryan had secured his second win in the Eight Palace Battle Hall.

Without hesitation, he chose to continue matching and returned once more to the white waiting space.

This time, however, the wait grew even longer. As his record improved, the system struggled increasingly to find opponents of “comparable” strength.

Even without accurately determining his true power, Ryan already found himself waiting more than ten minutes without a match.

If his actual strength were fully recognized, finding an opponent in the Outer House would likely become impossible.

While Ryan waited calmly, the outside world descended into chaos.

He had no idea just how much shock his second victory had caused.

On the leaderboard of the Eight Palaces, the ranking of temporary number 59416 had surged again.

This time, it did not merely rise by a few positions.

It leapt from 1153 straight to 766.

In a single bound, it broke into the top 1,000, crossing more than three hundred disciples in one go.

Even more terrifying was the score.

The rating of temporary number 59416 had soared to 12,300 points, increasing by several hundred points at once.

Everyone knew that the higher one climbed on the leaderboard, the harder each additional point became. A jump of several hundred points at this level was practically unheard of.

One win brought him to 1153.

Two wins catapulted him to 766.

A candidate, using only a temporary number, had stormed into the top 1,000 and shattered multiple records in the process.

This was something that had never happened in the long history of Western Mansion’s Outer House.

Soon, even more explosive news spread from Qian Palace.

The disciple defeated by temporary number 59416 was Wu Yongjia, ranked 768 in Qian Palace.

Wu Yongjia was no ordinary disciple.

He was a once-famous genius who had taken third place in a previous Western Mansion entrance examination, highly regarded and deeply respected within Qian Palace.

And yet, even someone like him had fallen to that mysterious candidate.

The name “Temporary Number 59416” began to echo like thunder throughout the Eight Palaces.

At this moment, a single question echoed in everyone’s mind.

Who exactly was this candidate?

Why was he so terrifyingly powerful?

Not only did the disciples and candidates of the Western Mansion Outer House desperately want to know, even the masters of the Eight Palaces were also restless. Every palace lord was eager to uncover this person’s identity and pull him into their own palace at any cost.

Yet…

Aside from a cold, impersonal temporary number, 59416, they knew absolutely nothing.

According to reports from the palaces, this mysterious candidate wore a mask throughout every battle. Not a single disciple who had fought him had seen his true face.

If no one could see his appearance, how was anyone supposed to find him in the vast sea of candidates?

They could hardly grab every candidate and check the number engraved on their arm. Even if that were possible, there were tens of thousands of candidates across the four regions. Searching them one by one would be laughably impractical.

Thus, beyond shock, speculation, and boundless curiosity, most people could do nothing at all.

Of course, while the majority remained clueless, a small group had already formed a guess.

These were the candidates from the North District, as well as the examiners and escorts who had returned to Western Mansion alongside them.

They all shared a vague but powerful intuition.

This masked candidate who had stormed into the top 1,000… was very likely Li Wei.

After all, who was Li Wei?

He was the existence who had defeated a Lord rank expert head-on, the monster who could slaughter Upper Exalts with ease. For someone like him, breaking into the top 1,000 of the Outer House rankings was not only reasonable, it was expected.

The candidates from the North District had already endured countless cold stares since arriving at Western Mansion. They had tasted what it meant to be looked down upon, to be targeted, to be treated as inferior by candidates from the other three regions.

Sarcasm, disdainful glances, thinly veiled contempt. These things followed them everywhere in the palace.

They felt suffocated.

But they also knew something the others didn’t.

They knew that the North District was not weak.

They knew that there was a genius among them who could crush all doubt.

They wanted to shout it out loud. They wanted to tell everyone that the terrifying candidate on the leaderboard was Ryan, that the North District had produced a peerless monster.

But they couldn’t.

They had sworn not to reveal anything about Ryan before the entrance examination. So all that pride, all that excitement, could only be buried deep in their hearts.

Still, they waited.

They waited for Ryan to continue rising.

They waited for him to carve an even more dazzling legend.

They waited for him to reclaim glory for the North District.

*

Western Mansion Inner House, Yongshen Temple;

Within the grand hall, a group of elders sat gathered together. Each of them radiated a vast and profound aura, the pressure in the air heavy and oppressive.

The Yongshen Temple was the core of Western Mansion’s power, the place where decisions that shaped the entire Western Region were made. Only the highest authorities of Western Mansion were qualified to enter this hall.

For countless disciples, stepping into Yongshen Temple was the ultimate symbol of status and achievement.

Yet at this moment, among the many formidable elders, there stood a middle-aged man whose aura was noticeably weaker, only at the level of an Upper Exalt, though his bearing was calm and dignified.

This man was none other than Wang Zongyao, the Fengyue City examiner he knew so well.

“It’s said that a candidate in the Outer House has already entered the top 1,000 of the rankings before even passing the entrance examination,” an elder spoke slowly, his gaze falling on Wang Zongyao. “Nephew Wang, you were also an examiner this time. Do you know who this candidate might be?”

Wang Zongyao immediately clasped his hands and answered without hesitation, his expression calm and composed.

“This junior does not know. I was only responsible for the qualification tests in Fengyue City of the North District. There were no candidates of such caliber there. As for candidates from other cities or regions, I am unfamiliar with them.”

Not a flicker of guilt appeared on his face.

Naturally, Wang Zongyao had no intention of revealing Ryan’s existence. He was looking forward to giving everyone a massive surprise.

In his heart, the answer was already clear.

Who else but Li Wei could do such a thing?

Breaking into the top 1,000 of the Outer House rankings meant surpassing countless Nine-Star Exalt geniuses. Some of those disciples were even stronger than Wang Zongyao himself.

If not for Li Wei, who else could accomplish this?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep