Of course, Jiang Chen wasn’t a person who took advantage of a situation for personal gain. But he looked like one to Temple of Cleansing Fire though. First, he was an unfamiliar face. A stranger naturally evoked a sense of untrustworthiness. Second, he looked like a very young man. He just didn’t look like someone who could win all the way to become an arena lord. Considering his age, he would have to be a descendant of a great emperor faction at minimum to compete for the seat of arena lord. It was almost impossible for an average young genius to become one.

If he used his influence, then he might have a shot at fighting for the seat of assistant arena lord. Therefore, to the people of Temple of Cleansing Fire, Jiang Chen hadn’t come here to compete seriously. He was here to achieve a personal goal.

Jiang Chen didn’t bother to explain himself. The truth spoke louder than words. He slapped a hundred million spirit stones worth of deposit on the table. Right now, money was more persuasive than anything he could say. Even if he wasn’t here to compete seriously, he still had the money to do whatever he wanted. Plus, he was a man who could pay a hundred million spirit stones to participate in a competition. Would someone as rich as him really care about losing ten million saint spirit stones even if he did lose? He obviously wouldn’t.

It wasn’t like there were no youngsters In Pillfire City who could produce a hundred million at all. There had to be a small group of people like this somewhere. However, these people might not have acted as brazenly as he did.

The administrator gave Jiang Chen a complicated look. Although he still didn’t trust Jiang Chen, the latter could pay the deposit. He had no reason to bar him from the competition. Left with no choice, the administrator could only process Jiang Chen’s registration per standard regulation. He over the receipt and participation token. He also gave Jiang Chen a reminder. 

“Please show up six days later to participate in the arena lord selection. Remember, you won’t be admitted if you miss the deadline. We will also claim 10% of your deposit as if you’ve lost the competition.” Although the administrator didn’t trust Jiang Chen, he didn’t allow his feelings to interfere with his job. He did his job and had given his advice. No one could say that he didn’t act professionally.

Jiang Chen himself knew that the administrator didn’t trust him. He didn’t mind it and made to leave with a smile after putting away the receipt and participation token. He didn’t take more than a few steps before a ridiculing sneer rang behind his back. 

“People sure are crazy these days, to think that a kid still wet behind his ears would partake in the Bounty Arena. Is it just me, or has the world changed recently?”

“Hehe, he’s young. Maybe he doesn’t know what he’s about to face.”

“Ai, can you two stop talking for a bit? He has the money, and he can do whatever he wants with it.” There was no doubt that young Jiang Chen’s registration made a lot of people unhappy. After all, most registrants were elderly. The rest were all middle-aged men or women. At the very least, they didn’t look young.

On the other hand, Jiang Chen looked around his twenties at most. There was no doubt that his presence in the Bounty Arena’s registration area was a glaring beacon to others. Of course, there were some powerful experts who had sent their disciples or servants to register on their behalf. That was why many thought that this young man was simply registering on behalf of his master or his family. There was no need to attack someone like this.

Of course, these reactions went in one ear and out the other for Jiang Chen. The world would never run out of sarcastic people, so there was no point in remembering their words. Otherwise, the living would die from sheer anger. Maybe I should dress older the next time I participate in an event like this? He thought wryly. Just as he was about to walk out of Temple of Cleansing Fire, he suddenly heard a commotion outside.

Someone cried out. “Oh heavens, am I seeing right? Is… is that Emperor Peerless?”

“Who’s Emperor Peerless?”

“Oh heavens, just how ignorant are you? How can you not know about Emperor Peerless?!”

“Tsk tsk. Emperor Peerless is the famous king of wandering cultivators of the northern region. He is also one of the few wandering cultivators who’s a great emperor without a faction of his own.”

“Emperor Peerless, he… he can’t be planning to participate in the Bounty Arena, is he?”

“He’s probably just passing by. Emperor Peerless is a venerable senior who made his name more than two thousand years ago. There’s no way he would find a Bounty Arena worth participating in, would he?”

“Nonsense! Great emperors do show up in the Bounty Arenas sometimes, okay?”

“But doesn’t that happen very rarely? Only a few great emperors have participated in this Bounty Arena for the past couple thousand years.”

“In any case, I feel that Emperor Peerless may be here to participate in the Bounty Arena.”

“If he really is here to participate in the Bounty Arena, then this place will become very lively. A person’s reputation precedes the person themselves. I am certain that countless people will participate in the Bounty Arena just because Emperor Peerless is present.”

For a time, all kinds of opinions were exchanged.

The discussion reached Jiang Chen the moment he stepped through the door. He couldn’t help but look at the direction everyone was looking at. He barely caught the glimpse of a white-haired, desolate-looking back before it vanished from his sight.

A great emperor? It wasn’t like he had never seen one of those before. In fact, he had interacted with quite a few of them. Still, this Bounty Arena would become very interesting if a great emperor really did decide to participate in the arena lord selection. That being said, the logical side of him was nagging up a storm.

This was just a competition that was held once every ten years. There shouldn’t be any reason for a great emperor to participate at all, right? Forget it, I shouldn’t be concerned about someone else’s participation. I am here to fight for my own reasons. Jiang Chen shook his head and let out an inward quiet sigh. Still, he hoped from the bottom of his heart that a great emperor would compete. It would no doubt raise the quality of this Bounty Arena by quite a bit. A great emperor was sure to attract a lot of participants. That meant that numerous high value bounty would appear as well. That would be an opportunity to make some money and build his reputation.

He couldn’t stop wondering about Emperor Peerless during his way back to his accommodation. “Yanyu, have you heard of someone called Emperor Peerless?”

Lin Yanyu was a bit startled. “I also heard of him today, master. If I’m not mistaken, he’s participating in the arena lord competition. I even heard that he was invited by Temple of Cleansing Fire as the highlight of the Bounty Arena. He was directly granted a slot in the arena lord competition, so he didn’t need to participate in the selection. Moreover, I heard that he will be an important judge during the arena lord selection.”

Jiang Chen was caught off guard. He hadn’t heard as many rumors as Yanyu did. In fact, most of the rumors he heard was small talk and conjectures when he went to register. Lin Yanyu’s information was actually more complete than his. He asked ponderingly, “So, is Emperor Peerless really participating in the Bounty Arena?”

“Mm, that’s most likely the case. Moreover, he will be participating in the exams to select the rest of the arena lords as an important judge of this competition.”

“As I thought, a great emperor enjoys many advantages. I know that an arena lord is qualified to choose assistants, but he has the right to choose even fellow arena lords. He has great power in this competition.” Jiang Chen sighed. He didn’t feel that it was unfair through. Emperor Peerless cultivating to the level of great emperor despite being a wandering cultivator was proof that he was an extraordinary person. It was only natural that a person like this had the right to skip the elimination round and be directly granted an arena lord slot.

In fact, a great emperor didn’t have to lower himself to participate in a small competition that happened once every ten years like this one. Emperor Peerless had willingly stepped down from his proverbial throne to participate in the Bounty Arena.

“Master, I’ve heard that Emperor Peerless owes the Temple of Cleansing Fire a favor. Perhaps he’s here today to repay the favor.” Lin Yanyu wasn’t quite sure of the accuracy of this, so his tone sounded just as uncertain.

“How much do you know about this Emperor Peerless, Yanyu? I heard that he hadn’t built a great emperor faction of his own?” Jiang Chen was very curious. Normally, even a wandering great emperor would seek to build their own faction. No great emperor would want to stay anonymous forever. The stronger they were, the more they hoped that their talents would be inherited and continued. Therefore, the choice of building their own faction, recruiting their own disciples and passing on their legacy wasn’t even a choice for most great emperors. Generally speaking, there were very, very few great emperors who chose not to build their own faction.

Of course, this outcome wasn’t exactly uncommon in a place as big as Divine Abyss Continent. Some were born with a passive personality, and some never got the right opportunity to do so. There were also some people who had their own children and didn’t need to build a faction and recruit disciples to pass down their martial dao legacy. It could be any one of these reasons or more.

“Master, Emperor Peerless is pretty famous in the northern region of the human domain. In fact, a lot of big sects are quite wary of him. I heard that the reason he didn’t build a faction is because he lost to another great emperor during an emotional bet. The loser of the bet swore to never build a or sect.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Chen was shocked.

The construction of a great emperor faction was a matter of great importance. There was an enormous chasm of difference between a great emperor with a faction and a great emperor without one. A faction meant a multitude of supporters. Naturally, they wielded great power as a result. Indirectly, they also possessed many resources because they had plenty of supporters and many territories. The gap between a great emperor with a faction and without was quite huge.

“Master, Emperor Peerless may not have a faction of his own, but there aren’t many people who dares provoke him. After all, he has nothing to lose. I heard that not even the great emperors of first rank sects dare provoke Emperor Peerless without good reason.” Lin Yanyu sighed. “There is no doubt that Emperor Peerless is a winner in life considering the heights he achieved despite being a wandering cultivator. However, there seems to be another version of the reason he chose not to build a faction.”

“What is it?” Jiang Chen’s interest was suddenly piqued. A great emperor who was also a wandering cultivator was a lot more attractive to him than those within his own faction. Jiang Chen subconsciously labeled someone like Emperor Peerless as target for recruitment.

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