Before Jiang Chen had gone to Myriad Abyss, he’d been on equal footing with the empyrean experts in the human domain. Now, especially after this meeting, he’d assumed the leading role.

The hermit experts could all tell that Jiang Chen was no longer the young genius they could dominate. To put it bluntly, all of them combined wouldn’t rival the young man.

They’d also heard about the formidable vermilion bird and true dragon accompanying Jiang Chen. There was also a white tiger whose whereabouts was unknown.

None of them were entities the recluse experts could challenge.

Moreover, they owed Jiang Chen a debt for gifting them The Way to Grand Ascension. It’d boosted their cultivation and helped them overcome long-suffering bottlenecks.

That alone was enough to stop them from turning on him, or they’d be repaying kindness with malice. Not everyone in the martial dao world walked the righteous path, but most of the time people didn’t actively stray from it.

Once the empyrean experts had left, Jiang Chen sent for Cloudsoar Monarch, who’d been defending Sacred Peafowl Mountain.

Cloudsoar Monarch had ascended to great emperor.

Before Jiang Chen left Myriad Abyss, he’d made the necessary arrangements, including leaving behind many Emperor Ascension and Emperor Supremacy Pills. 

In the martial dao world, resources were the key to success. With enough resources, making progress was a guarantee.

As a result, Veluriyam Capital had remained orderly and even grown significantly stronger after Jiang Chen’s long absence, surpassing its past self during Emperor Peafowl’s rule. No one dared stir up any trouble.

The reason was simple. Jiang Chen had ruled with both kindness and an iron grip from Sacred Peafowl Mountain. No one was capable of or willing to start anything.

“Pass down my summons, Cloudsoar,” Jiang Chen commanded. “Summon every cultivator above great emperor in the capital.”

There were now a good number of great emperors in Veluriyam’s territory, unlike its previous past of being ruled by just a few. In fact, there were even more than a scattering of empyrean cultivators in Sacred Peafowl Mountain now.

Emperors Peerless and Wellspring had both reached to empyrean realm before Jiang Chen departed for Myriad Abyss. They’d made good progress since then and ascended to second level empyrean.

The others were at half-step empyrean and needed a push to ascend, Emperor Sabledeep being an example.

He’d once been turned to the dark side by the Order of Wind and Cloud. Then Emperor Peerless and the others had persuaded him to join Sacred Peafowl Mountain, earning Jiang Chen’s forgiveness.

However, there weren’t any cultivators blessed by the heaven in the human domain. It was next to impossible for them to ascend to empyrean on their own, which was why Emperor Sabledeep was stuck at half-step empyrean.

There were many others stuck at the same stage as him, including the sect heads of the Eight Upper Regions.

Upon receiving Jiang Chen’s order, they made their way to Scared Peafowl Mountain as quickly as they could. Forefather Embittered Bamboo of the Embittered Savage Tribe came as well.

After surrendering to Jiang Chen, he’d been wallowing in a life of despair in Veluriyam Capital. Only after Jiang Chen gave him the first half of

Grand Ascension did he recover his spirits.

He’d been keeping a very low profile over the years. Although losing to the human still left a bitter taste in his mouth, the feeling slowly faded as he cultivated with the Grand Ascension.

He was surprised when he heard about Jiang Chen’s return to the human domain, even more so by the fact that the young lord had sent for him. He was rather conflicted.

He’d been brought to Veluriyam Capital as a captive and had never entered the core region of Sacred Peafowl Mountain due to Jiang Chen’s lingering distrust. But now, there was a direct summon for him!

What did that mean? Had Jiang Chen’s test for him come to an end? Had he earned the young man’s trust? Or had the young lord grown to the point that he didn’t need to be wary of the forefather? Had Jiang Chen reached such heights that he could overlook the forefather as a threat?

No matter what the truth was, it made Forefather Embittered Bamboo nervous and conflicted. Would the young lord be willing to give him the other half of the Grand Ascension?

Jiang Chen had sent for Forefather Embittered Bamboo on purpose. He’d decided to talk to the forefather before everyone else.

As the head of the Embittered Savage Tribe, the forefather possessed a strength and qualities that were rare to the human domain.

Previously, Old Crane had been the strongest in the domain, but he’d led a nomad life and didn’t care much about the happenings in the world.

On the contrary, Forefather Embittered Bamboo cared greatly about the fate of his tribe.

Jiang Chen appreciated characters like the forefather more. The latter was competent and willing to toil for his people.

The alien forefather entered the secret realm of the mountain with his heart pounding.

“There you are, Embittered Bamboo.” Jiang Chen walked out from the woods with a faint and genteel smile. There was an inherent grace and presence of superiority about him. Even the forefather was transfixed for a brief moment.

“Three days can change a scholar. During the years of your absence, you’ve become a different person, young master Jiang Chen. You’ve evolved and are destined for greatness!” The forefather’s tone was conflicted. He was both resigned to his own fate and shocked by Jiang Chen’s transformation.

He was a hair more observant and powerful than Elder He, so he could tell the changes in Jiang Chen with his first glance. The young lord could now defeat him head-on.

Forefather Embittered Bamboo was at the peak of sixth level empyrean. He’d been continuously trying and failing to push through to advanced empyrean realm.

Jiang Chen had reached fifth level, and wouldn’t stop there. He also possessed qualities the forefather didn’t. Given his ability and presence, he could absolutely beat the forefather in a duel. After all, he’d fought even gods before.

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