Eastern Sea, Hot Spring Blessed Land.
After subduing the Great Alliance of Alien Races, Fang Yuan had been secluded in cultivation at the Xia family's main base.
His dragon-man clone, Wu Shuai, represented him and handled the alliance's daily affairs.
"I see all your contributions. You may leave." Wu Shuai's voice echoed faintly through the great hall.
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
The next moment, the hall doors swung open and two small-human Gu Immortals flew out—Xiao Hejian and Great Saint Qingsen.
Once they were far from the hall, the respectful expressions on their faces gradually faded, replaced by looks of pained regret and helplessness.
The reason the two immortals had been summoned was that Fang Yuan had taken an interest in the Wood Path Immortal Gu they possessed.
Under Wu Shuai's persuasion, the two had no choice but to hand over their Wood Path Immortal Gu one by one.
Great Saint Qingsen secretly transmitted his voice, complaining: "Lord Xiao, what am I supposed to do now? My Forest Gu is the core component of many killer moves. Without it, I can barely fight at all."
Xiao Hejian's expression was equally grim: "Hmph, you only lost a Seventh Transformation Forest Gu. What I handed over was an Eighth Transformation one."
Neither immortal was willing to make such contributions, but the situation left them no choice. What could they do?
In truth, over the past stretch of time, scenes like this had played out frequently. The alliance members seethed with hidden anger, but none dared defy the upper echelon.
"The rankings are up! The rankings are up!" An excited voice suddenly reached the ears of the two small-human Gu Immortals.
The two shifted course and arrived before a mortal-level Information Path Gu House.
On its surface, a single sheet had been posted. At the very top, three large characters read: Contribution Rankings!
Looking further down, Xiao Hejian's name topped the list, with contributions reaching a four-digit figure. As for Great Saint Qingsen, though he hadn't made the top three, he was still within the top ten.
Great Saint Qingsen felt a sudden lift in spirits: "Lord Xiao, look—you're number one! The Alliance Leader didn't lie to us. He really has recorded our contributions to the Great Alliance."
His earlier depression gave way to a markedly improved mood.
Xiao Hejian let out a cold snort, dismissive at heart: "This is nothing more than a tool for those at the top to exploit us! I never imagined that Fang Yuan, this great demon, would possess such political cunning."
"Alas, I hate that I lack his overwhelming combat power, or that my own base still has Qi Energy Fruits lying around. In the current situation, what else can I do besides follow in Fang Yuan's footsteps?"
Xiao Hejian's strength was extraordinary—he could hold his own even against the powerhouses of Heavenly Court. Yet all that strength still forced him to bow his head before Fang Yuan.
He was unwilling, but what could he do?
The situation was simply beyond his control!
"The Contribution Rankings?" Before long, Ice Crystal Immortal King and the others also learned of this major development.
"Lately, alliance members have been summoned one after another, and their Immortal Gu have been seized by force. Even Xiao Hejian couldn't escape it. What am I supposed to do?" A look of worry surfaced on Ice Crystal Immortal King's face.
"My name still hasn't appeared on the Contribution Rankings. As Vice Alliance Leader, that's not a good thing at all." A faint sense of unease crept into his heart.
But asking him to hand over his Ice Snow Immortal Gu—that was something he still couldn't bring himself to do.
"I'll gather a batch of immortal materials and offer them up instead. One way or another, I need to land a spot near the top of that list!" Ice Crystal Immortal King quickly made up his mind.
Of course, Fang Yuan could have simply forced all his subordinates to hand over their personal Immortal Gu. But doing so would look far too crude. The fragile loyalty he had managed to gather would scatter in an instant. If that happened, the game he had been orchestrating would have been largely in vain.
Though Fang Yuan was a giant of the Demonic Path, he understood the Righteous Path's methods all too well.
Establishing a Contribution Rankings could ease many conflicts and motivate others to take initiative.
Of course, the essence remained the same—the strong preying upon the weak!
On the very same day Fang Yuan set up the Contribution Rankings, a major event also unfolded within the Qi Sea.
Gu Immortals from every Righteous Path faction in the Eastern Sea gathered together, and collectively elevated Qi Sea Ancestor to the position of Alliance Leader of the Eastern Sea's Righteous Qi Alliance!
Fang Yuan, now leading the Great Alliance of Alien Races, had already become a massive threat to the superforces of the Eastern Sea. The crushing defeat from not long ago only deepened the major families' wariness and anxiety regarding Fang Yuan's power.
When faced with the oppression of the strong, the weak naturally banded together for warmth.
Under Fang Yuan's pressure, the resolve of these various superforces to unite had never been stronger!
As for the position of Alliance Leader, there was absolutely no room for dispute. The major families unanimously supported Qi Sea Ancestor—only he, with his Half-Immortal Venerable combat power, could stand against Fang Yuan head-on.
The Qi Sea clone did not modestly decline. In the current situation, all of this had long been within his calculations.
"Now that I am Alliance Leader of the Righteous Qi Alliance, I will act with the greater good in mind. I hope that none of you will obey in public while defying in private." Qi Sea Ancestor spoke with a solemn expression.
"Of course not, of course not." The assembled Righteous Path immortals of the Eastern Sea answered in quick succession.
"There are three major matters at hand." Qi Sea Ancestor elaborated in detail. "The first is the establishment of an alliance treasury. Each family must contribute a set portion of resources—not only immortal materials, but also Immortal Gu recipes, Immortal Path killer moves, and so forth."
"The second is the creation of alliance Contribution Rankings and Mission Rankings. These must be fair and just. Going forward, everyone who makes a contribution to the Righteous Qi Alliance will be made widely known. The alliance's affairs should also be shouldered by those who are capable."
"Third, members of the Righteous Qi Alliance must stand watch and aid one another. Should anyone betray the alliance, the other members must unite to eradicate the traitor, and not permit the slightest leniency or indulgence."
"Reasonable, reasonable." Every immortal in attendance offered their assent.