“What?”

“Did someone comprehend the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk again?”

“It’s Li Jiancheng this time, isn’t it?”

“Tsk tsk, it actually isn’t 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.”

“Incredible. Two geniuses have passed the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk in a row, and they’re all from Sacred Peafowl Mountain, 

and

 they’re both dark horses. Seriously, this is just unfair!”

“Can 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? That’s a little too difficult to believe, isn’t it?” It didn’t 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 didn’t mean that Ji San’s 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 didn’t 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 wasn’t that he didn’t 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 San’s 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 wouldn’t be able to go any further than this. Who would’ve 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 couldn’t 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 couldn’t understand why their family members were good-for-nothing. In this case, Ji San’s family couldn’t 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 Pagoda’s systems had gone awry. Perhaps the rankings were displayed incorrectly? The system couldn’t have mistaken number one for number two, could it? He couldn’t 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 didn’t 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 wouldn’t disappoint him. Two, even if the Pinecrane Pill didn’t happen and he were to pass away, the clan lord believed that the clan would still thrive. Ji San’s 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 Third’s current performance in Veluriyam Pagoda had at least exceeded Emperor Peafowl’s of yesteryear.

Outside Veluriyam Pagoda, the experts under the seven great emperor’s personal command were still absorbed in Jiang Chen’s successful domination of the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk. Suddenly, someone cried out, “Look, a challenger has appeared inside the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk’s area. Is something planning to challenge the eight Veluriyam Obelisk? Is it young lord Zhen? Or is it Ji Ole Third?”

“Let’s take a closer look.”

“Eh? That looks like young lord Zhen. Didn’t he just pass the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk not long ago? It hasn’t even been six hours yet, has it? He… maybe he’s just checking out the eighth obelisk. He can’t possibly be planning to challenge it right away…” The speaker himself didn’t sound too sure.

“It doesn’t look like it though. He’s already stepped into the core area of the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk. It’s definitely looking like he’s planning to challenge it!”

“This kid is taking too much risks, isn’t he? He’s being overconfident.”

“Yes. He hasn’t systematically improved himself, and he just grasped the seventh Veluriyam Obelisk. It really is quite risky to take the next challenge right away. There’s practically no chance that he’ll succeed.”

“If he chooses to challenge the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk now, I can only say that his mentality hasn’t fully matured yet. It would be a complete disregard of discipline when challenging the Veluriyam Obelisks just for glory’s sake.”

“We shouldn’t come to conclusions so quickly. In my opinion, everything Pill King Zhen has done from the beginning has been universally shocking, but he hasn’t failed to proved himself yet. I’ve never seen him be frivolous. Have you?” 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 couldn’t help but look at Emperor Peafowl. They wished to know if everything happening according to his plans.

Emperor Peafowl smiled. “Don’t 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.”

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 Peafowl’s 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. He’s 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 he’s 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 emperor’s 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 he’d 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 Capital’s 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. “Congratulations. The fact that you’ve 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 you’ve absorbed at the seventh. The eighth Veluriyam Obelisk is also named the Vermilion Bird Obelisk. Here, you will perceive the might of the ancient divine vermilion bird, visualize its image, and use your Ancient Flame Essence to refine a vermilion bird image.”

A vermilion 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 vermilion bird fire. The vermilion bird’s bloodline was one of the rare few bloodlines that was a match for a dragon’s bloodline, and its spirit in no way inferior to that of a true dragon.

“How unfortunate that the eighth Veluriyam Obelisk only has a vermilion bird image. How good will it be if the reward is a vermilion bird’s true spirit?” 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 Obelisk’s 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 vermilion bird’s 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.

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