âWhat?â
âDid someone comprehend the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk again?â
âItâs Li Jiancheng this time, isnât it?â
âTsk tsk, it actually isnât Li Jiancheng. Brother Peafowl, it would seem that congratulations are due again. The Sacred Peafowl Mountain is really hogging the limelight. The dark horse this time is Pill King Zhen.â
âIncredible. Two geniuses have passed the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk in a row, and theyâre all from Sacred Peafowl Mountain, and theyâre both dark horses. Seriously, this is just unfair!â
âCan it really be that the geniuses of the Ranking of Young Lords are actually incomparable to the dark horses who fought their way up from the bottom? Thatâs a little too difficult to believe, isnât it?â It didnât matter if they believed it or not; the truth was right in front of them.
Young master Ji San had defied all expectations to be the first to conquer the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk. Not even Emperor Peafowl had managed to conquer the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk back then, although that had been due to some unexpected twists. The emperor had been talented enough back then that the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk was very much within his reach. Some people even said that he had the power to grasp the ninth Veluriyam Obelisk successfully as well.
Today, the younger generation was surpassing the older generation. Young master Ji San being first to attain this milestone was completely different from just passing the obelisk. The achievement of becoming the first to conquer the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk alone was something to be recorded into the annals of history. After all, not a single genius had managed to conquer the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk in almost five thousand years. This included all the great emperors currently in power.
Although conquering the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk didnât mean that Ji Sanâs achievements might necessarily be greater than these great emperors, it was at minimum proof that everyone had underestimated his potential, and by quite a lot. That being said, the great emperors normally didnât extend their care to a great clan descendant at all, so it was only inevitable that they would overlook him. Even the Coiling Dragon clan lord himself was a little dumbfounded after receiving one good news after another.
It wasnât that he didnât wish for Ji San to create a miracle or two, just that the clan lord had imagined that conquering the sixth Veluriyam Obelisk was Ji Sanâs absolute limit. But realistically speaking, the clan lord predicted that Ji San could only go as far as the fifth. He was sure that the boy wouldnât be able to go any further than this. Who wouldâve imagined that Ji Ole Third would amaze the world and be the darkest horse of all? In fact, he was looking like the dark horse who would overcome expectations all the way until the end.
The clan lord felt that his brain couldnât catch up to reality. How had that scoundrel Ji Ole Third even managed to pass the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk and be the first ever to do so? Were the geniuses of the Ranking of Young Lords all dead? Li Jiancheng, Shui Rutian, Zhou Yan... had they fallen asleep?
Sometimes, people couldnât understand why their family members were good-for-nothing. In this case, Ji Sanâs family couldnât quite understand how Ji San was able to bring great honor and glory. Why? Just why?
The clan lord itched for an answer. He even suspected that Veluriyam Pagodaâs systems had gone awry. Perhaps the rankings were displayed incorrectly? The system couldnât have mistaken number one for number two, could it? He couldnât make himself to calm down no matter what. Although he was slightly worried about his health and felt that his cultivation would begin to fade again in another year or two, he felt a lot calmer than before for some reason.
One, he didnât think that his life was destined to end here. Pill King Zhen had promised him the Pinecrane Pill, and he was certain that the pill king wouldnât disappoint him. Two, even if the Pinecrane Pill didnât happen and he were to pass away, the clan lord believed that the clan would still thrive. Ji Sanâs sudden burst of potential had fanned his confidence. It was why he felt that he would have no regrets even if he were to lose his cultivation and bid the world goodbye. If he could pass the clan onto Ji Ole Third, his dream of the clan climbing to greater heights a few hundred years later would absolutely be more than a dream. After all, the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk was something even Emperor Peafowl had failed to conquer in the past.
Although the content of the seventh test would certainly be different now, the difference in difficulty was miniscule. This meant that Ji Ole Thirdâs current performance in Veluriyam Pagoda had at least exceeded Emperor Peafowlâs of yesteryear.
Outside Veluriyam Pagoda, the experts under the seven great emperorâs personal command were still absorbed in Jiang Chenâs successful domination of the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk. Suddenly, someone cried out, âLook, a challenger has appeared inside the eighth Veluriyam Obeliskâs area. Is something planning to challenge the eight Veluriyam Obelisk? Is it young lord Zhen? Or is it Ji Ole Third?â
âLetâs take a closer look.â
âEh? That looks like young lord Zhen. Didnât he just pass the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk not long ago? It hasnât even been six hours yet, has it? He... maybe heâs just checking out the eighth obelisk. He canât possibly be planning to challenge it right away...â The speaker himself didnât sound too sure.
âIt doesnât look like it though. Heâs already stepped into the core area of the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk. Itâs definitely looking like heâs planning to challenge it!â
âThis kid is taking too much risks, isnât he? Heâs being overconfident.â
âYes. He hasnât systematically improved himself, and he just grasped the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk. It really is quite risky to take the next challenge right away. Thereâs practically no chance that heâll succeed.â
âIf he chooses to challenge the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk now, I can only say that his mentality hasnât fully matured yet. It would be a complete disregard of discipline when challenging the Veluriyam Obelisks just for gloryâs sake.â
âWe shouldnât come to conclusions so quickly. In my opinion, everything Pill King Zhen has done from the beginning has been universally shocking, but he hasnât failed to proved himself yet. Iâve never seen him be frivolous. Have you?â This counter caused many to shut up. They realized that it was the truth upon introspection. Pill King Zhen had run into many troubles since he arriving in Veluriyam Capital, but he always had the last laugh. The crowd couldnât help but look at Emperor Peafowl. They wished to know if everything happening according to his plans.
Emperor Peafowl smiled. âDonât look at me. Everything he did after he entered Veluriyam Pagoda is of his own will. Plus, you all should know that Veluriyam Pagoda changes every time it reopens. Therefore, my experience from a couple thousand years ago is completely useless now.â
It was true. Veluriyam Pagoda was everchanging, and no one could say for sure what was happening inside. Emperor Shura was suffering a bit from this ordeal. There were already two geniuses who had conquered the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk, but none of them were named Li Jiancheng. This made him slightly anxious. If Li Jiancheng failed to conquer the seventh Veluriyam Pagoda, it would be an enormous blow to to the Shura faction. When that happened, his ambition would have even less space to grow than before. The sheer gap between his genius and Emperor Peafowlâs geniuses was making Emperor Shura appear very pathetic.
The hate in the emperor heart even extended to Jiang Chen. This brat seeks more glory from grandiose deeds. Heâs running to the eight obelisk so soon after passing the seventh. His frivolous temper is proof that he will never be able to accomplish great things. Hopefully, Jiancheng can keep his pace in check and tune out all external influences. Anything can happen in Veluriyam Pagoda. This brat may look like heâs in the lead, but one careless move is all it takes for him to collapse before the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk and be rightfully disqualified.
Emperor Shura was yearning ardently for Jiang Chen to fail the eighth challenge and be kicked out of Veluriyam Pagoda. It was the only way Li Jiancheng could protect his reputation and dignity. Otherwise, if this brat successfully conquers the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk, the emperorâs ambition would be completely turned into dust. The world of martial dao worshipped the strong.
If Jiang Chen successfully conquered the eighth obelisk, this would mean that heâd qualified to ascend to the peak that was the ninth Veluriyam Obelisk. What did this mean? Even if Jiang Chen ultimately failed to conquer the ninth Veluriyam Obelisk, it was still an achievement tall enough to carve his name into the hearts of Veluriyam Capitalâs citizens forever. He would become their greatest idol. How on earth could Li Jiancheng going to challenge him if that actually happened?
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged and cleared his mind. Then, he activated the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk with his consciousness. He was itching to pass the eighth challenge already. An indifferent voice rang out. âCongratulations. The fact that youâve stepped before the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk proves that your talent is one that appears only once every ten thousand years. The eighth challenge is an extension of the challenge you faced in the seventh. Your task is to ascend the Prehistory Flame youâve absorbed at the seventh. The eighth Veluriyam Obelisk is also named the Vermillion Bird Obelisk. Here, you will perceive the might of the ancient divine vermillion bird, visualize its image, and use your Ancient Flame Essence to refine a vermillion bird image.â
A vermillion bird was sometimes called a phoenix. It was one of the noblest of divine beasts. It was an innate fire constitution beast and ruled over one of the most terrifying heavenly flames to exist: the vermillion bird fire. The vermillion birdâs bloodline was one of the rare few bloodlines that was a match for a dragonâs bloodline, and its spirit in no way inferior to that of a true dragon.
âHow unfortunate that the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk only has a vermillion bird image. How good will it be if the reward is a vermillion birdâs true spirit?â Admittedly, Jiang Chen saw an inch and hoped for a mile. Still, he was very certain that he would be able to meet the eighth Veluriyam Obeliskâs requirement.
Creating an image was no difficult ordeal for Jiang Chen because he cultivated the Nine Transformations of Demons and Gods. The final four transformations of the Nine Transformations of Demons and Gods was about the cultivation of the images of demons and gods. Naturally, the vermillion birdâs image was one of the most powerful images of demons and gods that existed in the world. This was similar to encountering a question to do with a field he was most proficient in during an exam. It was a pleasing sensation that was almost like cheating.