Su Qingcheng, from her vantage point in the arena, turned her head up to face the pavilion, but the black cloaked man standing inside it had suddenly vanished. Akin to teleporting, he had suddenly reappeared by the battle scene, which stunned Su Qingcheng and allowed Flying Sword to recover from his paralysis and fall to the ground, cringing in pain as he stared at Su Qingcheng with a nasty expression. Su Qingcheng had dealt a severe blow to his pride and ego, and now it was for sure that his place in the Man ranking board would be replaced by this fourteen year old kid who managed to see through this weakness. Deep inside he realized that he had been too complacent this whole time, relying on his techniques and smarts to gain victory, instead of working on his weaknesses properly and solving the problems at their root.

Su Qingcheng wouldn’t notice this, but Flying Sword would therefore strive to properly improve himself in a righteous manner. When Su Qingcheng had declared to him that she had just broken out of prison, how could he not realize that this was the girl who was kidnapped and had escaped? A normal person would have been unable to do what she just did, so she must have gone through some hardships to gain immeasurable power at her age. His expression involuntarily softened, which made Su Qingcheng feel a bit bad that she was so vicious earlier. The black cloaked man’s presence also weakened in terms of sheer pressure, as if he was deliberately suppressing himself. Now that she was standing so close to this mysterious fella, she realized he was probably at the peak of Tianqi Emperor class, and that he was the owner of this particular branch.

Doctor Lin Qian must be close to him or related to him somehow to be the surface world administrator for this Tang Gu City branch of the Tianqi Ranking Board, causing her to feel a sense of fear towards their family doctor. However, her thoughts were clearly tossed aside when the black cloaked man spoke. “We’ve all seen enough. This is just a battle for you to qualify. We don’t want any unnecessary bloodshed here.”

Flying Sword seemed a lot more restrained now. “I apologize for mocking you,” he said, causing the audience to be quite shocked. Jack Frost gasped while Flametongue seemed to have expected this response. He looked at Su Qingcheng with a lot of interest, but did not say anything. The black cloaked man nodded as Flying Sword weakly stood up. “It turns out it was me who was the frog in the well all along. You deserve your spot in the ranking boards. Since I have been kicked out, I shall be on my way.” With no fanfare, Flying Sword had calmly left the stage, causing everyone to be dumbfounded, especially Su Qingcheng who now felt quite guilty as she realized she might have been too harsh.

The black cloaked man looked intently at Su Qingcheng before nodding. “Everyone! Flying Sword has been defeated fairly by Dark Lily, thus surrendering his position in the Bailing Empire Tianqi Ranking board to Dark Lily! Please welcome the new Rank 100 Man member, Dark Lily.” He proclaimed, before sending a mental transmission to Su Qingcheng. Please follow me after everyone has left the arena. Do not be alarmed, I do know your mother a bit, so you can consider this me paying her back…

Su Qingcheng was startled but didn’t react outwardly to this. However, she was curious about what this fellow wanted. Flametongue on the other hand was shocked when he saw Su Qingcheng did not leave, but soon smiled after regaining his composure and tugged on his wife’s arm. “Come on, wifey, we are leaving.” Jack Frost nodded silently as the couple quietly and subtly left the premises. After the entire arena was cleared out, the man in the black cloak began to walk off. Su Qingcheng quietly followed without asking any questions.

Su Qingcheng was led to a small office-like nook which was near the counter. Rideword saw Su Qingcheng following the black cloaked man, and winked at her, giving her a thumbs up. Su Qingcheng smiled back faintly at her but Rideword was playfully chided by the black cloaked man. “Silly girl.” He laughed, seemingly very friendly compared to his domineering demeanor earlier. When it was now just the two of them in this nook, Su Qingcheng stood as the cloaked man took a seat behind a stone table.

“Dark Lily, do you know why I called you here?”

“No, I don’t know, Sir.”

“Ah. You don’t know who I am, of course. Your mother didn’t tell you,” the man laughed. “They call me Nature’s Warlock. I possess nascent soul of all the elements. I am not ranked in the Bailing Empire Ranking Board, but I am ranked 3rd in the Continental Tianqi Ranking Board, higher than your mother. I thus have the privilege of owning an entire branch. Most of my benefactors in the past came from Tang Gu City, which is why I chose the Tang Gu City branch in the Bailing Empire. You should know, that a lot of hidden dragons and phoenixes lay in this city.”

Su Qingcheng nodded, but was inwardly startled. A nascent soul of all the elements? Just how many elements were there? Su Qingcheng already knew about the five essential essences. Then there was the divergent essences of lightning, wind and ice. Yao Meiyue told Su Qingcheng in the past about Divine Essences but didn’t say what they were. For this guy to claim he has all of them, doesn’t that mean he should be equivalent to the existence of a god?

Nature’s Warlock laughed. “I know that look. I mean all the Natural Essences. Those divine essences are too mysterious. Why else do they call me Nature’s Warlock? Haha. Don’t be alarmed. Anyway, let’s skip the pleasantries. Dark Lily, I already know who you and your mother are. I am here to extend to you an invitation on behalf of the Continental Alliance Academy’s Bailing Empire branch for you to broaden your experiences.”

“Continental Alliance Academy? Senior, I know about this academy and that it has many branches across the Liandou Continent. However, is it okay for me to join? You have to be sixteen years old to be allowed entry, but I am only turning fifteen.” Su Qingcheng frowned.

“I have many connections,” Nature’s Warlock continued to speak. He seemed very mysterious especially since he didn’t lower the hood on his cloak. “You needn’t worry about the specifics. The Academy will take care of everything for you. Also, your mother already knows about this matter. All we just need is your approval.”

“Naturally, I’d like to join the academy! However, I have an agreement I must uphold beforehand…”

“Not to worry. Recruitment for the coming year begins sometime after your supposed agreement lasts. Like I said, your mother has already spoken with me about these matters. You are a young lady with boundless potential. Let alone me, your display of power in the ring already has been made known to many of the Heavenly experts. Your Lightning nascent soul is still new, you must have absorbed the core of a Lightning Wyvern Prince, no?”

Su Qingcheng was startled once again, and she inwardly cursed to herself. So many bloody experts already know my secret!

“Your silence speaks volumes,” Nature’s Warlock guffawed, but in a playful manner. “The biggest reason I personally am extending the invitation to you is because I want to help you. I won’t force you to be my disciple, as I know you already have a mysterious teacher backing you up. As a Penta-Essence user, I can tell you must have an extraordinary backer to have such an absurd tianqi method, allowing you to corrode and control offensive power…”

“You are Penta-Essence user also?” Su Qingcheng was shocked.

“That’s right. Otherwise, how could I possibly have the nascent soul of all the natural elements?”

“Mm, indeed, senior is incredibly powerful. I am too lucky and fortunate to have your favor…” Su Qingcheng bowed respectfully.

“The point is, I also want to pass down my ability to enhance natural nascent souls. However, I haven’t been able to find a worthy successor in over one hundred fifty years. This old fellow is really old already, and I want to find someone worthy of my methods before I die of old age for real.” Nature’s Warlock’s expression was very grave at this point.

“Ah… Of course, senior, if you see the potential in me, why would I be so foolish as to reject?” Su Qingcheng spoke respectfully. Yao Meiyue would have already explained to her at this point that she should definitely take this opportunity, however, she did not want to reveal her existence to Nature’s Warlock who would definitely sense her spiritual signature if she mentally spoke.

“Mm. For you to be able to form a Lightning nascent soul at your age before even reaching the level of a Tianqi Geomancer, this only proves to me your constitution is really heaven-defying. I don’t wish to pry into your personal circumstances, but I’d like to have the honor of passing my methods to you. However, this requires you to join the Academy…”

“I’ll accept! A thousand times, I shall accept.” Su Qingcheng spoke candidly and with fervor, giving Nature’s Warlock a good impression of her.

“You know when to subdue your straightforward heart… And you know when to stand up to injustice. I like this… Your experience in the Heaven Thunder Prison must have taught you a lot.”

“You know about this matter?”

“Hum… It didn’t escape the notice of the other Empires in the continent. The Heaven Thunder Prison was originally plaguing the other empires too. When we found out that someone had been kidnapped but rescued by their mother in such a domineering fashion, causing the prison to collapse, we had to figure out who was responsible for such a feat. Only I knew immediately that it would be your mother, the Netherworld Ghost Queen, who would do something so bloodthirsty for their child.” Nature’s Warlock explained.

Su Ran’s reputation was indeed rather high in the continent. Originally it was one of fear, but now it was a reputation of, “a tiger mom who would commit a hundred sins to protect her children.” Su Qingcheng nodded.

“Now that your mother has taken the initiative to get you inducted into the ranking, I had to come personally to see why she would do that. I’ve now seen your endless potential… A kid like you who could see through that sly old fox’s methods in just one punch is definitely something not simple. Your technique is also incredibly familiar to the old me. I won’t say anything but if I am correct, your current teacher isn’t currently of this world… That woman is too mysterious even for me to fathom…” Nature’s Warlock sighed wistfully. Of course he knew about Yao Meiyue.

Yao Meiyue was the powerful Sect Leader of the Night Lily Sect, half a step into the realm of becoming a god! Actually, she was once ranked #1 on this very Continental Heaven Ranking board; however she was disqualified after leaving the Emperor stratum and being half a step into godhood. From this it had to be emphasized that in her life, Yao Meiyue was invincible in the continent. Only a freak like the Infernal God Netherworld Shura could threaten her. To have her as a teacher could only be the utmost dreams of most people. Yet Su Qingcheng fatefully became her disciple due to her being Su Ran’s daughter and heiress to her martial treasures.

Su Qingcheng’s mouth twitched. “Senior Daoist Nature’s Warlock, I graciously accept your invitations… Please guide me well. I am sure my teacher would be honored to allow someone of your standing to pass his methods to me as their dying wish…” she spoke with utmost reverence, and she definitely wasn’t acting. This mysterious old guy had poured out a LOT for her even though they had just met. Also, he clearly knew about Yao Meiyue and also had connections with her mother. So why should she not trust him?

“You definitely will not regret this. Anyhow, I’ll personally induct you now.” Nature’s Warlock took out a jade medallion and gently pushed it against one of Su Qingcheng’s hands, causing the medallion to quietly sink into her skin. It gave her a strange feeling which disappeared immediately. Her aura changed slightly and became as imposing as a Tianqi Geomancer, despite being only a User.

“The Ranking Medallion has been imprinted into your being. Your name of Dark Lily will now be on the Man ranking board. To progress, you must challenge and win against higher ranked fellows. Your position will automatically be in limbo if you progress your cultivation level beyond your current ranking board. In this state, you would be forced to promote by taking a test. Once you complete the test, you will automatically promote to the next ranking board. This is why there are an absurd amount of Earth rankers compared to Man or Heaven. We forcefully limit the amount of Man rankers to 100, while there aren’t enough Heaven rankers to fill the numbers.”

Su Qingcheng nodded patiently as Nature’s Warlock began to give her exposition on the Tianqi Ranking Board’s mechanics.

“For the meantime, don’t worry about the Continental Ranking Board as to be quite honest you don’t have any qualifications for that… Anyway, I’m sure your mother said there are some perks for joining. This is indeed correct. Other rankers on the surface will be able to recognize you from your Ranking Medallion Aura, we have an unwritten rule that those who recognize each other should not battle each other on the surface. All conflicts are to be settled here. If a dangerous guy happens to know you’re a ranker, they know not to mess with you.”

Su Qingcheng sighed in relief. The pressure on her would be significantly reduced in that case!

“Anyone who recognizes this aura is required by the actual written rules of the Tianqi Ranking Board owners, myself included, not to talk about it on the surface. We are an underground association and we are an alliance of powerful experts which seek to guard the continent from external threats. This is the purpose of the Tianqi Ranking Board. You should be honored to be inducted into it at the age of fourteen. This hasn’t happened in over 50 years. The last one who did this is ranked 80th in the Continental Ranking Board, an absolute freak we call Faceless. She is a freak who only wears an iron mask with no eye slits, so we can’t see her face, if she even has one.” Nature’s Warlock sighed.

“Now you are also eligible to purchase herbs and other things from our underground market. But this doesn’t need a lot of explaining. Anyway, I’d like to congratulate you. Please come to visit us often. Doctor of Demonsbane knows you quite well I hear, so it should be easy to come on your own now.”

Su Qingcheng nodded, clasping her fists and bowing before leaving the office.

Once Su Qingcheng left, Nature’s Warlock sighed and sat back down on his chair. “Miss Queen, come out. I know you were hiding.”

Su Ran laughed as she stepped out from an unknown part of the room which was shrouded in darkness. She had a big smile on her face. “I told you she would break his arm,” Su Ran grinned. “Now pay up. You lost the bet…”

Nature’s Warlock didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she threw a bag of gold coins at Su Ran. “Your daughter is just as abnormal as you are,” he said after lowering his hood and showing his face to Su Ran. Nature’s Warlock would have a handsome face, if he didn’t have a long scar running down his left eye, causing him to be blind in his left eye. He had stubble and looked rough on the edges, but also had a sense of reliability around him. “Why are you so willing to send your daughter off to the academy?”

“The Bailing Empire isn’t enough for her,” Su Ran smiled. “She needs to be tempered by the real world. Plus, my other children… Don’t seem to have the same drive as her.”

“I respect that… That Dark Lily… I think she has a bright future ahead of her.”

Su Ran could only smile.