Chapter 198: House of Rankings
A large crowd of more than 1000 people had gathered in front of the screen of light, while a huge ranking board could be seen standing tall next to it.
There were 200 names on this ranking board, each of them with a number next to them, but these names were completely different than the ones that Shun Long and Liu Mei had seen before they entered the building.
Surprisingly, although some people noticed Shun Long and Liu Mei who seemed to have a peak rank 5 magic beast as their mount, no one seemed to bother too much with them, as they soon turned their attention back to the large screen in front of them.
Shun Long turned his eyes to the screen of light as well, where he saw numerous people fighting in many different landscapes.
At the start, he saw 2 young men fighting inside a lush forest, each of their attacks destroying numerous trees around them. The scene however, soon changed, showing a young man and a young woman both dressed in purple robes, teaming up against a young woman who was dressed in red, as she flew above a waterfall, trying to escape the people behind her.
Shun Long then stopped staring at the light screen in the air, as he turned his attention to the place around him.
The space inside the 'House of Rankings' was actually much bigger than it seemed on the outside.
Aside from the large screen of light that was right in the middle once someone entered inside, there were also many other smaller screens spread around the place.
There were also 3 large gates towards the back, where people entered and left continuously.
The first gate was the Challenge Gate.
The second was the Survival Gate.
The third was the Ranking Gate.
Shun Long however noticed, that most people were entering the Survival and the Challenge Gates, while no one was going through the gate in the middle, the Ranking Gate.
Seeing the many large and small counters around him, Shun Long then headed towards the large, 'Information counter', that was close to the entrance.
2 young women in their middle 20s were sitting behind the counter as they observed their surroundings.
One of the 2 women had short blue hair that reached up to her neck, along with a pair of green eyes, while the second woman had long black hair and a pair of brown eyes.
Shun Long also noticed the words 'House of Rankings' on the 2 women's robes.
The 2 women smiled professionally at Shun Long and Liu Mei who were walking towards them, before their eyes were suddenly focused on the black panther that was following behind them.
The blue-haired woman was the first to reign in her shock, and with that professional smile on her face, she looked at Shun Long and Liu Mei, as she asked curiously
''Welcome! Is this perhaps your first time entering the 'House of Rankings'?''
Shun Long wasn't surprised at the blue-haired woman's question. After all, only people who were unfamiliar with the place, would choose to head to the 'Information counter'.
Nodding his head, Shun Long confirmed this, as he then said
''Right, it's our first time here and we don't know much about this place.''
The black-haired woman seemed to have just come to their senses, as her eyes curiously looked at the handsome young man in front of her, before she turned her attention to the veiled young woman.
Although she couldn't see Liu Mei's appearance, a tinge of envy filled her heart when she saw the young man next to her, as well as the black panther that was following behind them.
With a wide smile on her face, her eyes stared deeply at Shun Long, as she took the initiative to speak
''In that case, please allow me to explain!
As you may know, our 'House of Rankings' was created by the 'Golden Exchange firm'.
The aim of the House is to gather the strongest people who are below 1000 years old, and have them compete with each other for the glory of the strongest person in our 'Heaven's Dome city'. There have also been rumors of course, that there is something even more important than the glory of being the strongest, but these are all just rumors.
Anyway, everyone who registers themselves in the House of Rankings for the first time, will obtain a golden medallion, that is required to participate in the challenges of the House.''
As the young woman finished speaking, she took out a golden medallion from her bosom, and showed it to Shun Long with a smile on her face.
Liu Mei's eyes didn't have a single change inside them, as she stared at the woman in front of her with an expressionless look beneath her white veil.
Shun Long however, was slightly surprised, to hear that the House of Rankings was created by the 'Golden Exchange firm'.
The blue-haired woman frowned inwardly as she looked at her colleague, who continued with her explanation as she pointed towards the 3 large gates behind Shun Long and Liu Mei
''As you can see, there are 3 large gates, each gate containing a different type of challenge, as well as different rules set by our House of Rankings.
To enter a gate, one must of course pay a fee of 3000 low-grade spirit stones to our House.
Out of the 3 gates, the first is the Challenge Gate. No matter what your ranking actually is, as long as you and your opponent agree, you can both fight with each other in the Challenge Gate.
Once a person wins in the Challenge Gate, they can then choose to obtain their opponent's ranking. Thus, the Challenge Gate is mostly used for personal challenges between the rankers.
The second, is the Survival Gate. This gate is much harder than the Challenge Gate. A group of 200 rankers will enter this Gate together, all of them having to fight against each other. Once you defeat an opponent inside the Survival Gate, you will have to use your Ranking medallion to obtain their survival points.
The time limit for the Survival Gate is 3 days. 3 days later, the people who have gathered the most survival points will rise in the rankings, depending on how strong the other rankers who were participating in the challenge were.''
After taking a deep breath, the young woman looked at the third gate as she said in a very respectful tone
''As for the third one, the Ranking Gate, is a gate that can only be used from the top 300 in the rankings when they challenge each other. No one else below them is allowed to enter inside.''
Shun Long nodded his head, as he seemed to have understood the general principles behind the House of Rankings.
''According to Jin Wenling, the strongest young people of the Heaven's Dome city, compete with each other in the House of Rankings. Even if the reason for the House's existence is to simply make money for the 'Golden Exchange firm', a few thousand low-grade spirit stones isn't much in the end. After all, even though my cultivation has been rising quickly, both mine and Mei'er's combat experience could be honed even more, and this place seems very suitable for this.
The only problem is... how strong are the rest of the people in the Heaven's Dome city. After all... Jin Wenling sent me here thinking that I have already reached the peak of rank 9 in the Spirit realm.''
Shun Long then organized his thoughts, as he and Liu Mei both received a golden medallion, from the blue-haired woman in front of them.
Just as Shun Long had turned to look towards the light screen in the air however, and get a general understanding of the cultivation level, of those who were participating in the Survival challenge, the crowd started to buzz in excitement, as a large path had been opened, from the entrance of the House all the way to the Ranking Gate.
Everyone had turned their heads towards the entrance, only to see a stunning woman walking through the crowd.
Shun Long was also stunned when he saw the woman's appearance.
She had a dark-colored body, and a face that would probably not lose out to Liu Mei's by much. The woman had pointy ears however, and dark red hair, as well as a pair of supple blackish-red lips.
She was wearing a black-colored robe, that accentuated her body's figure.
''It really is miss Yi Mingzhu, the 3rd princess of the Dark elf race!''
''Sister Mingzhu really came! Could it be that she will really challenge Su Shanyuan today?''