Strongest Replication

As the disciples below cheered and yelled, not only the eunuch, even the four patriarchs were surprised. Since they were all busy with annual profits distribution before, they had no idea what had happened.    

Did they consider that the disciples below were happy to see the eunuch? Nope. Not for a second.    

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere below was too intense and full of noise, but the chief eunuch coughed a few times, indicating the people below to quiet down.    

After the crown below quietened down, the eunuch in charge raised the imperial edict in his hand and announced the contest's rankings.    

"The annual Hunting Contest of the Qi Country, after fifteen days of intense competition, has now come to a perfect end. This year, the performance of the disciples from various families has been very interesting. Next, I will announce the rankings of disciples in the top ten."    

After speaking up to this point, he stopped speaking, seemingly trying to stir the emotions of everyone present. The eunuch in charge paused for a moment, and when everyone's anticipation reached the highest point, he opened his mouth and announced,    

"Tenth place, Lin Clan's Lin Xuanping!"    

"Ninth place, Liu Family's Liu Jiwei!"    

"Eighth place, the ninth prince of the royal family, Qi Yiqiang!"    

"Seventh place, Wu Family's Wu Jianwei!"    

"Sixth place, Tian Family's Tian Jing!"    

As the chief eunuch announced the rankings from sixth to tenth place, the crowd below the platform revealed a puzzled expression. The disciples had no idea how the patriarchs decided on the last five rankings.    

Chu Zhongtian had a faint idea as to how they decided that. The last five rankings were most likely given through internal corruption, compromising and benefiting together.    

The tenth place was the Lin family's subsidiary family. The seventh place, Wu Family, and the sixth place, Tian Family, were both related to the Wang Family. Even though their subsidiaries got the ranking, their master family's would most likely be the ones getting the annual profit.    

There was only one thing that dissatisfied Chu Zhongtian a bit. Not a single disciple from any of the Chu Family's subsidiaries was in the last five.    

Then again, the Chu Family had three disciples in the top five. Had Chu Tianyun tried to get Chu Family disciples or a subsidiary family's disciples in the last five, every other family would've rioted.    

Such an arrangement was reasonable, and it could also satisfy everyone. So, why not?    

Despite the seemingly reasonable arrangement, the Wang Family's patriarch was very dejected.    

After all, all the elites from his family's younger generation were wiped out, and his family would only get about 20% of the next year's profits. This was bound to have a huge impact on his family. He was afraid that they would not be able to recover from this in just a few years.    

Chu Zhongtian was not the only smart person here. Many other contestants had also seen through the secret behind the rankings. However, this was a joint decision made by the four great patriarchs and a dozen second-rate patriarchs. Therefore, these contestants could only accept it even if they weren't satisfied.    

After everyone had digested the knowledge about the last five rankings, the chief eunuch announced the top five rankings.    

"Fifth place, the fifth prince of the royal family, Qi Yiloong!"    

"Fourth place, Chu Family's Chu Zhongba!"    

"Third place, Liu Family's Liu Yongjun!"    

"Second place, Chu Family's Chu Yuping!"    

After announcing the second to fifth ranks, the eunuch in charge stopped and put away the things in his hands before retreating to the edge of the platform.    

Then, Qi Heng, the ruler of the Qi Country, walked to the center of the platform. He took out an identical imperial decree from his sleeve, opened it, and announced it loudly.    

"First place in the Qi Country's Hunting Contest, Chu Zhongtian of the Chu Family!"    

After Qi Heng announced Chu Zhongtian as the Hunting Contest's champion, the audience immediately cheered. Evidently, Chu Zhongtian's popularity had far exceeded Liu Yongjun's.    

It had exceeded to the point that even the four big shots on the platform were surprised. They had never expected Chu Zhongtian to gain so much influence in such a short period.    

Liu Xiaozong, Wang Hai, and Qi Heng looked calm, but there was a slight ripple in their hearts.    

Among them, Liu Xiaozong was the one who had the biggest ripple in his heart. Before, the most influential figure of the younger generation was Liu Yongjun of his Liu Family; now, it was Chu Zhongtian. Was the Chu Family going to rise again?    

There were three reasons behind Chu Zhongtian's seemingly unreal popularity.    

The first reason was the obvious one—Chu Zhongtian was the Hunting Contest's champion.    

The Qi Country had held the Hunting Contest for hundreds of years, and countless geniuses had sat on that champion's spot. However, Chu Zhongtian was the first one to win the contest with a Level-4 Qi Refining realm cultivation base.    

It would be a century or so before someone would even think about breaking that record.    

A genius who could create miracles was obviously going to be idolized by everyone. Chu Zhongtian was perfect for this condition.    

The second reason was related to Liu Yongjun.    

For years, Liu Yongjun had been the strongest among the young generation of the Qi Country. He was also the idol who was worshiped the most. And when he defeated Qi Yiloong, a Level-8 Qi Refiner, while being a Level-7 Qi Refiner, his reputation and popularity peaked.    

However, minutes after his popularity peaked, Liu Yongjun did something that made his reputation drop sharply.    

Chu Zhongtian, on the other hand, was awe-inspiring when he fought. He seemed elegant and refined when he talked to others. He was generous and forthright, so it was easier for others to have a good impression of him.    

The third reason was related to how readily Chu Zhongtian agreed to Liu Yongjun's challenge.    

Liu Yongjun and Chu Zhongtian were both experts who could fight above their levels. Liu Yongjun could defeat a Level-8 Qi Refiner while being a Level-7 Qi Refiner.    

On the other hand, Chu Zhongtian killed Tu Shen, a Level-7 Qi Refiner, while being a Level-4 Qi Refiner.    

A battle between two peerless young cultivators was bound to attract the attention of any crowd.    

When everyone stopped cheering, Qi Heng continued, "I will personally have someone send the rewards associated with each rank."    

Then, Qi Yiloong retreated to the edge of the high platform. Chu Tianyun walked to the middle of the platform with an excited expression. He clenched his left fist tightly and announced loudly, "The annual Hunting Contest has officially ended. Dismissed!"    

It was actually a great honor to announce the end of the Hunting Contest. This was the glory that every patriarch hoped to obtain.    

Every year, this honor belonged to the winner family's patriarch.    

For the past couple of years, Liu Family's Liu Xiaozong announced the end of the competition. It had been like this for more than ten years. Now that Liu Xiaozong no longer had that honor, he felt a bit awkward.    

As Chu Tianyun stood in the middle of the platform, getting carried away by his complacency, Liu Xiaozong threw a hateful glance at Liu Yongjun. Liu Yongjun was the sole reason he lost this glory.