A little over half a month later.
The "Hidden Dragon Ranking Selection Tournament" concluded.
As expected, the "Lucky Squad" secured first place.
Yun Tianchong, Yun Tiankong, and the monkey were simply too powerful.
Well... not even Yun Tianchong and Yun Tiankong needed to act; the monkey alone was enough to deal with most teams.
Even when facing teams from the "Five Great Sacred Lands," if the monkey couldn't handle them, Yun Tianchong, wielding the acquired spiritual treasure "Sword Tomb," and Yun Tiankong, with the acquired spiritual treasure "Unbeatable Heavenly Sword," would quickly sweep away their opponents!
Although the "Five Great Sacred Lands" were displeased, no one dared to harbor any ill intentions.
Daoist Jin Mo watched them with a steely gaze.
Daoist Jin Mo, at this moment, was a genuine "peak Nascent Soul cultivator."
Within the "Nascent Soul realm," he was an invincible existence!
The "Five Great Sacred Lands" were all wary of him.
Unless they summoned a few of their patriarchs who were in perpetual seclusion from the "Ancestor's Cave," the "Five Great Sacred Lands" truly had no one who could defeat Daoist Jin Mo.
Thus, the "Lucky Squad" smoothly became the biggest winner.
First place in the team rankings!
Yun Tianchong, Yun Tiankong, and Yun Zhaozhao – the three of them swept the top three spots.
As for their fated rivals, the "Heavenly Dragon Three Reforms," they were utterly pathetic!
The "Heavenly Dragon Three Reforms" possessed decent inherent strength, ranking among the top tier.
Unfortunately, they had been so thoroughly beaten by the "Lucky Squad" that their mental fortitude collapsed, and they could barely muster thirty percent of their strength.
In the later stages of the competition, they couldn't even contend with "Sacred Land teams" of similar caliber, let alone ordinary teams.
The "Heavenly Dragon Three Reforms" ended up with second to last place, barely securing a dozen spots for entry into the "Cave Profound Secret Realm," becoming the biggest joke of this year's "Hidden Dragon Ranking."
It must be mentioned that the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" performed exceptionally brilliantly in this year's "Hidden Dragon Ranking."
The "Lucky Squad" swept the top three spots, earning nearly three hundred spots for entry into the "Cave Profound Secret Realm."
Furthermore, eight other teams from the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" secured various other rankings.
They had won an absolute landslide!
They had truly won an unprecedented victory!
The "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" obtained over eight hundred spots for entry into the "Cave Profound Secret Realm."
The remaining cultivation forces were practically crying with envy!
After all, in previous "Hidden Dragon Rankings," the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" had always been at the tail end.
This time, their triumph was truly magnificent and enviable!
However, the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range's" remarkable achievements were solely based on their own strength, not on any deceitful practices like the "Heavenly Dragon Sacred Land"!
The young cultivators from the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" this year were truly formidable!
Their strength generally surpassed that of their peers, and each of them possessed several powerful signature moves.
When asked why they were so strong, their answers were remarkably consistent.
"Because we received guidance from a senior!"
"A senior improved our cultivation!"
"A senior guided us to enlightenment!"
"The senior is awesome, awesome, awesome!"
...
Thus, the reputation of the "Eastern Wilderness Mysterious Senior" once again spread like wildfire, becoming incredibly popular.
Some shrewd forces even began preparing to dispatch "envoys" to the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" to pay respects to this "mysterious senior."
Inside the cave.
In Hao Ren's mind, a flurry of system notification sounds erupted.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. Fang Yuan, a true disciple of the "Tian Yuan Sect," has developed a favorable impression of you. Favorability increased by +66. Current favorability: Two Stars (Quite Favorable).]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. Elder Da Lao Jiu of the "Jiu Xing Sect" has developed a favorable impression of you. Favorability increased by +88. Current favorability: Two Stars (Quite Favorable).]
...
This surge of "explosive growth" added over thirty thousand friends to his network.
Although most of these friends had only a one or two-star "favorability," it greatly expanded Hao Ren's social circle.
While he "hid" in the cave, friends descended from the heavens!
Hahaha...
Hao Ren boasted to the system.
"How about it, system? Isn't my speed of making friends super awesome?"
The system seemed pleased, but it responded with its usual haughty demeanor.
[Ding! System friendly reminder: although the host's friend acquisition rate is rapid, this method is ultimately not a sustainable long-term plan. It is hoped that the host will leave the cave as soon as possible, travel the world, and make more friends!]
Hao Ren chuckled.
"Descend the mountain?"
"Sorry, that's impossible for me in this lifetime!"
Even if some irresistible factor forced him to leave, like "ascension" or something, Hao Ren would find a way to move the entire cave with him... yes, the "Wandering Cave Plan"!
Upon further thought, flying around in the sky with the entire cave trailing behind him sounded quite exhilarating. Hahaha...
[Ding! Ding ding ding... Beep beep beep...]
The system, seemingly infuriated by Hao Ren's "bizarre" idea, emitted a series of foreign sounds.
...
The "Hidden Dragon Ranking Selection Tournament" concluded with great success.
The "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" secured over eight hundred spots for entry into the "Cave Profound Secret Realm," making them incredibly sought after.
In particular, Yun Tianchong, Yun Tiankong, and Yun Zhaozhao held nearly three hundred spots for entry into the "Cave Profound Secret Realm."
It's important to note that "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots could be traded privately.
As long as a reasonable price was offered and both parties agreed, without any coercion, it was permissible.
Many cultivation forces approached Yun Tianchong and the others, eagerly offering high prices to acquire a batch of "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots.
These parties were all very sincere.
The prices they offered were also very tempting.
Various supreme-grade "heavenly materials and earthly treasures."
However, Yun Tianchong and the others, without a second thought, directly refused.
Their reason for refusal was simple: they couldn't make decisions regarding these "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots; they had to return and...
"Ah!"
Everyone understood upon hearing this.
Yun Tianchong and the others made a valid point.
Although they had won the competition, each sect had its own rules, and each family had its own laws. The distribution of these "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots must be decided by the Yun family patriarch.
"Alright, no problem. We'll accompany you back to the 'Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range' to have the Yun family patriarch make the decision!"
Yun Tianchong said helplessly, "Everyone has misunderstood..."
That's right, the "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots did need to be handed over to someone for distribution after returning to the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range."
However, that "someone" was not the Yun family patriarch, but the senior!
Without the senior, they wouldn't have achieved victory today. It was only reasonable for the "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots to be distributed by the senior!
If Yun Zhenting, the Yun family patriarch, were present, he would absolutely have supported this wholeheartedly, perhaps even commending Yun Tianchong and the others: "Such sensible youngsters!"
The persistent cultivation forces then inquired with the other "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range teams," and they received a unanimous answer.
"Apologies, we are not authorized to make decisions regarding the 'Cave Profound Secret Realm' spots. Our sects are also not authorized. All of this must be decided by the senior!"
The "Eastern Wilderness Senior" once again became incredibly famous!
What kind of divine being commanded such deep respect from the cultivators of the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range"?
The various cultivation forces were filled with both curiosity and reverence.
They prepared generous gifts and followed Yun Tianchong and the others back to the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range."
They wished to meet the "Eastern Wilderness Senior" and, at the same time, discuss the purchase of "Cave Profound Secret Realm" spots.
The day after the "Hidden Dragon Ranking Selection Tournament" concluded, the cultivators from the "Eastern Wilderness Mountain Range" set off on their return journey. Their entourage had grown tenfold compared to when they arrived; the extra people were all there to worship the "mysterious senior"...