Chapter 23: Rankings
Night had already deepened by the time Fang Lin and the others left the Bamboo Lotus Palace.
The pathways of the outer sect glowed softly beneath rows of Illumination Pearls, while disciples gradually returned toward their residences after a long day of cultivation and training.
Murong Yue walked ahead casually with her hands behind her back.
"That meal was expensive…"
She looked sideways toward Fang Lin with a grin.
"But worth it."
Luo Chen immediately laughed loudly.
"You only say that because you didn't pay."
Murong Yue snorted.
"Details."
Even Bai Qing shook her head helplessly.
The group continued walking calmly through the quiet sect pathways.
Compared to earlier, Fang Lin had become noticeably more relaxed around them.
At the very least—
He no longer felt surrounded entirely by enemies.
After some time, Han Zhi suddenly spoke.
"You asked about the competition earlier."
Fang Lin looked toward him.
Han Zhi's gaze remained calm.
"If you plan to participate seriously…"
"You should know the current rankings properly."
Li Shan nodded slightly.
"That's true."
Murong Yue immediately looked interested.
"Oh? Are we finally exposing everyone?"
Luo Chen laughed.
"Nothing secret about it."
Fang Lin silently listened.
Li Shan crossed his arms casually.
"The current outer disciple rankings change often below the top twenty."
"But the higher ranks…"
"They rarely move."
Fang Lin nodded slightly.
That made sense.
The stronger the disciple, the harder it became to replace them.
Li Shan continued calmly.
"You already know Zhou Yan."
"Rank 18."
Fang Lin nodded.
Han Zhi spoke next.
"Rank 17 is Han Wei."
"A spear cultivator."
"Very aggressive fighting style."
Bai Qing added softly,
"Rank 16 is Guo Ming."
"Uses dual blades."
"Fast. Ruthless."
Murong Yue grinned.
"And Rank 15…"
She pointed directly toward Li Shan.
"…is this lazy guy."
Li Shan rolled his eyes lightly.
"You make me sound useless."
"You are useless," Murong Yue replied instantly.
The group laughed lightly.
Fang Lin quietly memorized the information.
"Rank 14 is Lin Tao," Han Zhi continued.
"He belongs to Chen Hao's faction."
"Specializes in defensive techniques."
Li Shan added casually,
"He's annoying to deal with."
Han Zhi continued calmly,
"Rank 13 is Xu Ren."
"The loud one you met earlier."
Murong Yue frowned slightly.
"That guy talks too much."
"But he's genuinely strong," Bai Qing added softly.
"Rank 12 is Zhao Feng."
Zhao Feng smiled faintly.
"I barely managed to hold onto it last month."
Li Shan chuckled.
"You say that every time."
Han Zhi continued,
"Rank 11 is Sun Jie."
"The swordsman from Chen Hao's faction."
Fang Lin immediately remembered the sharp-eyed disciple standing silently behind Chen Hao earlier.
"His sword techniques are fast," Bai Qing added softly. "Very difficult to defend against."
Murong Yue crossed her arms lightly.
"And he has a terrible personality."
Han Zhi continued calmly,
"Rank 10 is Bai Qing."
Murong Yue puffed her cheeks immediately.
"She acts gentle but fights like a monster."
Bai Qing ignored the comment calmly as usual.
"Rank 9 is Shen Ku."
Li Shan's expression became slightly more serious.
"He rarely speaks, but his killing intent is heavy."
"Most people don't like fighting him."
Fang Lin silently remembered the name.
Han Zhi continued,
"Rank 8 is Luo Chen."
Luo Chen immediately grinned proudly.
"As expected."
Murong Yue rolled her eyes.
"You only won because your opponent slipped."
"That was strategy," Luo Chen argued immediately.
The group laughed lightly.
Murong Yue then pointed directly toward Han Zhi.
"And Rank 7 is him."
Han Zhi simply nodded calmly.
No arrogance.
Just acknowledgment.
Li Shan added casually,
"Rank 6 is Yue Fang."
"The woman beside Chen Hao."
Murong Yue's expression became slightly less playful.
"She's dangerous."
"Very dangerous," Bai Qing added quietly.
Fang Lin's eyes flickered faintly.
That woman had indeed felt unsettling.
Li Shan's expression gradually became more serious.
"Rank 5 is Qiao Lei."
"A body cultivator."
"He's probably the physically strongest outer disciple."
Han Zhi added,
"And Rank 4 is Mo Yun."
"Uses illusion techniques."
"Very troublesome to fight."
Fang Lin silently processed the information.
Then—
He noticed something.
"Chen Hao?"
The atmosphere subtly changed.
Li Shan looked toward Fang Lin quietly for several moments before speaking.
"Rank 3."
Fang Lin's gaze deepened slightly.
Third.
No wonder Chen Hao carried himself with such confidence.
Murong Yue suddenly spoke much more softly than before.
"The top three are different."
Luo Chen nodded.
"Completely different."
Even Bai Qing's expression became slightly serious.
Fang Lin noticed immediately.
"You're not mentioning Rank 1 and Rank 2."
Li Shan smiled faintly.
"You'll understand later."
Han Zhi calmly added,
"Those two rarely appear publicly."
"And they're…"
He paused briefly.
"…monsters."
The night breeze passed quietly through the pathway.
Fang Lin slowly absorbed all the information.
The outer sect rankings were far more dangerous than he initially imagined.
And now—
He finally understood the scale of the competition approaching.
Chen Hao's faction alone occupied nearly half the top fifteen rankings.
That wasn't coincidence.
It was dominance.
Faction dominance.
Murong Yue suddenly looked toward Fang Lin again.
"So…"
"What rank do you think you can reach?"
The others also looked toward him curiously.
Fang Lin remained silent briefly.
Then replied calmly,
"I haven't fought enough people yet."
Li Shan laughed lightly.
"That answer sounds exactly like you."
But inwardly—
Several of them exchanged glances subtly.
Because after witnessing Fang Lin's growth speed…
None of them could confidently predict his limit anymore.
And somewhere deep within the outer sect—
Others had already begun paying attention to that same possibility.