The impact of the chief pavilion master selection exceeded Zhou Yuan’s expectations. The results spread not only throughout Tianyuan Utopia but also to the entire Tianyuan Region the moment the outcome was decided.

At this rate, everyone in the Tianyuan Region would soon know about the new chief pavilion master.

It wasn’t limited to the Tianyuan Region—the more informed factions of other regions in Hunyuan Heaven also quickly caught wind of the news. After the news spread, Zhou Yuan was no longer an unknown individual in the Tianyuan Region, and he might even be known in Hunyuan Heaven.

At the very least, he would replace Lu Xiao and become the leader of the younger generation of Divine Dwelling stage experts in the Tianyuan Region.

...

As for the other regions in Hunyuan Heaven, the first to receive the news was the Xuanji Region, which claimed to know everything under the heavens.

Of course, the Xuanji Region naturally did not know everything, but they were widely known for being well-informed. The famous Divine Dwelling List, the Heavenly Sun List and the other lists were the products of the Xuanji Region, and their quality was assured.

The Xuanji Region had eyes and ears all over Hunyuan Heaven. Hence, they would be one of the first to know the moment anything happened.

Zhou Yuan’s past battle accomplishments were not worthy enough to be noted by the Xuanji Region, but when the chief pavilion master selection ended, they immediately took note of the outcome. After all, it would not only affect the rankings of the Divine Dwelling List, but it would also result in a new elder for the Tianyuan Region.

Since Lu Xiao, ranked nine, was defeated, the rankings on the Divine Dwelling List had to be changed...

The Xuanji Region.

The core of the Xuanji Region was called Star Palace.

It was likewise located in an independently established domain. There was no sun here, only a sky full of stars and eternal darkness.

Countless majestic peaks stood under the starry light. Numerous palaces and structures were built onto these peaks, and though they seemed haphazardly placed at a glance, they were constructed in accordance with the movements of the stars, creating a mysterious and mystical array.

In a certain mountain within the boundary was a stargazing pavilion.

On the top floor of the stargazing pavilion.

Numerous jade scrolls covered a blue jade desk. These scrolls contained the most important happenings from various locations in Hunyuan Heaven.

Two girls were seated behind the desk, both dressed in white dresses adorned with star patterns that made their figures appear long and slender. The girl on the right had tied up her hair, making her look even prettier. She was currently holding a jade scroll and reading its contents.

“Eh?” she suddenly cried out in a soft voice.

The girl beside her looked over and asked, “What's the matter, senior sister Jiu Gong?”

The girl called Jiu Gong said in surprise, “It's the news from the Tianyuan Region. Lu Xiao lost in the chief pavilion master selection.”

“Oh? Lu Xiao lost? But there should be no one who can challenge him among the Divine Dwelling stage experts of the Tianyuan Region, right? Is it Han Yuan or Mu Liu?” The other girl was also rather surprised. From the way she said those names, it was clear that she was very familiar with the Tianyuan Region. “If so, I won’t be surprised.”

Jiu Gong shook her head. “It’s someone called Zhou Yuan. I’ve never heard of this name before.”

The other girl pondered for a moment before she said, “I haven’t either, but Hunyuan Heaven is way too vast, and there is no lack of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Zhou Yuan may be one of those individuals who usually keep low-profile and then suddenly shock the world.”

Jiu Gong nodded in agreement. Soon after, she revealed a slight smile and said, “Since Lu Xiao lost, we’ll have to adjust his ranking.”

She retrieved a scroll on the desk and slowly unfurled it. The names at the top were Zhao Mushen, Wu Yao and Su Youwei. It was obviously the Divine Dwelling List.

“Senior sister Jiu Gong, why don’t you adjust your ranking too?” The girl glanced at the seventh name on the list as she sneakily smiled behind her sleeve. It belonged to the girl before her eyes, her senior sister Jiu Gong of the Xuanji Region.

Jiu Gong rolled her eyes. “Our Xuanji Region is very particular about fairness. My strength can only attain this ranking, so there is no need to make a fool of myself.”

The girl was somewhat unconvinced. “That’s only because our Xuanji Region is not adept in direct combat. If we were to talk about capability, senior sister Jiu Gong may not lose to Wu Yao or Su Youwei!”

Jiu Gong frowned but did not comment. Her eyes swept across Wu Yao’s and Su Youwei’s names. Although she seemed as if she did not mind on the outside, a sliver of competitiveness flitted across the depths of her eyes. As a fellow famous and outstanding female practitioner in Hunyuan Heaven, Jiu Gong naturally had her pride. She did not believe she was in any way inferior to either of them.

Of course, this pure comparison of power was not overly meaningful, and she would not change her ranking because she felt unconvinced.

Upon seeing that Jiu Gong did not reply, the girl changed the topic. “Since Zhou Yuan defeated Lu Xiao, do we need to promote him to ninth place?”

Jiu Gong fell silent for a while before she shook her head and said, “The ninth place on the Divine Dwelling List originally did not belong to the Tianyuan Region. It’s not like you do not know why we ranked Lu Xiao as ninth in the first place.

“What was Lu Xiao’s ranking when we initially did the evaluation?”

The girl was taken aback but quickly responded, “Fourteenth.”

Jiu Gong sighed. “The Tianyuan Region is really declining every year...let’s place Zhou Yuan in fourteenth place this time.”

The girl hurriedly said, “Senior sister, if we do that, won’t the Tianyuan Region make use of their connections to trouble us again. The last time, they even specially paid a visit to our old ancestor…

“The Tianyuan Region is one of the nine regions after all. Ranking their strongest heaven pride as fourteenth will be quite shameful for them.”

Jiu Gong’s expression remained composed as she said, “Teacher uncle Liu was responsible for the previous rankings, but I’m the one in charge this time.

“After supreme sovereign Cang Yuan went missing, the Tianyuan Region has been growing weaker. If not for the fear of the supreme sovereign Cang Yuan, the Tianyuan Region would likely be at risk of dropping from the ranks of the nine regions. This is something everyone already understands, so why should our Xuanji Region help them cover it up?

“I only care about fairness. He shall have the ranking he deserves!

“If the five grand elders of the Tianyuan Region have any objections, they can go ahead and find me. I’m interested to see whether those five lords and ladies will be willing to lower themselves so far.”

Upon seeing Jiu Gong’s insistence, the girl could only nod.

As such, Jiu Gong grabbed a brush and unhurriedly struck off Lu Xiao’s name from the scroll. She then wrote Zhou Yuan’s name and his battle accomplishments on the fourteenth position.

She stared at the name she had written. She did not feel that this ranking was inappropriate because Lu Xiao from the Tianyuan Region couldn’t even enter her eyes. In her opinion, the rankings on the list should be won through one’s own strength and not through one’s connections.

Lu Xiao should have been fourteenth. The Xuanji Region had only placed him at ninth place to give some face to the Tianyuan Region.

Such a concession could only be given once. Furthermore, she was the presiding auditor this year.

With regards to Zhou Yuan, she merely felt that he was a dark horse. As the auditor for this year’s Divine Dwelling List, Jiu Gong had seen far too many emerging heaven prides. They were individuals no less accomplished than Zhou Yuan, and several of them had achieved even greater feats than him.

She had never met Zhou Yuan before and did not know how strong he was, but if he was only on the same level as Lu Xiao, even maintaining the fourteenth position was going to be a challenge. As the auditor of the Divine Dwelling List, no one understood more than her that the list was merely a guideline and did not account for every single heaven pride in the entire Hunyuan Heaven. In fact, she knew that the other regions were intentionally concealing a handful of top-tier heaven prides who were at the very minimum capable enough to contend for top ten.

The Tianyuan Region was really hanging by the ledge.

She sighed inside before sealing the scroll. “Send the audited list to the elders. If there are no problems, we will begin distribution.”

The girl beside her received the scroll and swiftly left.

Jiu Gong tiredly stretched her arms, causing her clothes to tighten around her lovely body. She gazed at the copy of the Divine Dwelling List on the desk, her eyes pausing on the first position.

There were innumerable heaven prides in Hunyuan Heaven, but she, being extremely prideful, only acknowledged a handful.

Zhao Mushen.

There was still a huge gap between Zhao Mushen and the Tianyuan Region’s new chief pavilion master.