Jiang Chen further called upon the magnetic golden mountain once the Lord of the Golden Seal had fully gained the upper hand. The Lord’s aura continued to strengthen as the mountain grew bigger.

“Destroy it!” Jiang Chen waved his arms, focusing all his strength into a single strike. The Lord did as commanded and viciously pounced towards the wavering demon image with everything it had. It grabbed the image with its great pincer-like hands and tore it apart as though it was nothing but rotten rags. It then raised his colossal arms up high like a triumphant champion. Its victorious roar could be heard throughout the capital. The audience was rendered speechless by its dominance.

Gao Zhan’s heart spasmed when the demon god image was destroyed. The Lord laughed as it transformed into a flash of light and rapidly descended down towards the arena. It wanted to crush Gao Zhan’s demonic body with its palms. The enormous golden palm made the situation much more dire for the young lord as his demonic body was already being besieged by the true dragon image. The sky was crashing down as a great force of destruction from above. He could feel an immediate danger to his life. He was very sensitive to danger due to the path he cultivated.

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time with the true dragon image. He rolled on the ground, attempting to escape the palm strike. He was very quick, but the Lord was even faster. Gao Zhan was fortunate that he didn’t try to bear the full brunt of this attack as he was focused on escaping. However, he was still struck by the palm. 

Bam! 

The heavy strike caused him to vomit blood as he was already at the end of his string. He was slapped mercilessly like a housefly and flew off the arena. He landed squarely in the dirt off the stage. The impact of his devastating fall kicked up a plume of dust.

The arena was briefly filled with silence. It was as if the world had frozen and all sound was muted. Everyone was thoroughly surprised by what they saw. The audience only broke into uproarious applause after a few breaths. Their faces turned beet red from the exertions of their excitement. It had been an incredibly thrilling match. Veluriyam Capital’s idol hadn’t failed to live up to expectations! His victory was a testament to his immeasurable strength! Even the top ten young lord geniuses were no match for the pill king! He was still capable of dominating the battles!

Every cultivator in the martial dao world dreamed about becoming a hero. Since it was unlikely for them to realize their dreams, they often placed their hopes and dreams on their idols and prayed for their success. The pill king had become a hero of Veluriyam Capital after an overwhelming series of victories. He had gone from a pill dao hero to a martial dao hero, solidifying his legacy within the capital. The entire capital was taken by a celebratory mood. Young lord Fan had been tossed into the back of their minds. Who was young lord Fan? He was truly lacking when compared to the pill king. Sure, he was stronger and more adept at martial dao, but he had less earth shattering achievements than the pill king. The former young lord was also older. The pill king would surely reach greater heights once he’d reach the young lord’s age! His achievement of defeating the Pillfire City was something the young lord could never hope to mimic, and so was fighting countless uphill battles as the ultimate dark horse. Everyone was certain that given time, the pill king would eventually surpass young lord Fan in martial dao.

“Long live Pill King Zhen!”

“Pill King Zhen!! Pill King Zhen!!”

“Make Pill King Zhen heir! We support Pill King Zhen!”

“Veluriyam Capital needs Pill King Zhen!”

“The pill king will only lead us a greater future!” The audience yelled with everything they had. They were shouting their lungs out in hopes that the seven great emperors would hear their heartfelt wishes. They wanted the leaders to know the people’s choice! 

News of the pill king’s victory immediately spread throughout the capital. Many citizens left their houses to celebrate in the streets. Not all of them were familiar with Pill King Zhen. In fact, many couldn’t even recognize him. However, there wasn’t a single person that hasn’t heard his legendary stories.  The fact that he’d single handedly defeated Pillfire City had already made him a worthy hero to the Capital. Greatly revered heroes were essential in the martial dao world. Rumors ran rampant amongst the commoners, naming the pill king as the Capital’s hero. His duel with Pill King Ji Lang was even said to be a duel of national pride and status.

The citizens of Veluriyam Capital had always been more united than those of other places. They needed another great hero to rise from the youths to fill the gaps in their hearts after the loss of young Lord Fan. Jiang Chen seemed to have done just that. Emperor Peafowl had also played a small part behind the scenes, but Jiang Chen had been able to conquer the hearts of the citizens through his own abilities and talent. The crowds’ cheers have made Jiang Chen feel like he had fully assimilated into their society. He was being seen as one of them. A man was of flesh and blood, how would he not respond to this outpour of affection?

A warm feeling coursed through Jiang Chen’s veins when he saw all these unfamiliar faces celebrate in his stead. They were applauding, cheering, shouting, and sharing all of his ups and downs. 

So this is what it feels like to be loved and revered by others. It’s every bit as great as I’ve imagined. 

He was revered in his previous life because he was the son of the Celestial Emperor. This time however, he had earned it through his own efforts, strength, and charisma. The sense of fulfilment was vastly different.

“It’s unfortunate that everyone was only given three challenges in these rankings. Otherwise, the pill king might still have a chance to move up to an even higher rank."

“Yeah. The pill king must’ve chosen Gao Zhan because he was unfamiliar with the geniuses within the top ten. He would’ve had a good winning chance in the top five.”

“No worries. Eighth place puts him in the first group to enter the Pagoda. He is still young. He will definitely surpass the other geniuses on the ranking in a decade or two. They might even have to make way for him voluntarily by then!”

“Mm! I’m looking forward to it. Maybe one day, the pill king will represent the capital to conquer all of the Upper Eight Regions! We will be unbeatable!”

“Heh. The Upper Eight Regions has all kinds of geniuses. But only Pill King Zhen from Veluriyam Capital is exemplary in both martial and pill dao!” Everyone in Veluriyam Capital was proud of the pill king’s achievements. There was no doubt that he’d become a person of utmost eminence here .

The top seven were all stunned by Jiang Chen’s battle. There were a few that was even secretly glad that he was limited to only three challenges. Since he had used up all three of his chances, their position within the rankings was no longer threatened. They were also glad that the pill king had chosen to challenge Gao Zhan instead.  They were almost certain that things would’ve ended the same if they were in his shoes. They reckoned that the pill king was actually capable of fighting his way into the top three!

“Ah… it’s a shame that he chose a little too conservatively. I feel that there was at least a fifty percent chance that he could beat the fifth rank young lord!” Ji San exclaimed in pity and la long sigh. 

“Ole Third, the significance of eighth place is a lot bigger than you think. He started from the very bottom and won every single match to get to where he is now. Not even the top five can ignore him anymore.” The clan lord was seeing the bigger picture.

Ji San grinned. “That much is true, but it would look nicer if he was ranked fifth instead!”

The clan lord sighed gently. “Some people are meant to be geniuses from the moment of birth. Even without fame or prestige, they will shine as long as there is a stage for them to showcase their skills. Ole Third, becoming his sworn brother is truly your greatest fortune.”

Everyone was certain that Emperor Peafowl was going to declare the pill king as heir by now. Ji San puffed his chest up. “Don’t worry, clan lord. I will work hard to make sure that the world acknowledges me as a worthy sworn brother to Pill King Zhen!”

He had become increasingly confident ever since he’d obtained the true dragon’s blood. Without it, he would never have had the assurance to say such a thing. The clan lord had no idea where this confidence had come from, but he was very satisfied with his reply. 

“There probably isn’t much left to see in the Ranking of Young Lords. I reckon there won’t be any more dark horses like the pill king.”

It was very unlikely that anyone else would have an impressive climb like the pill king.

Emperor Shura had nearly failed to contain his rage when he saw Gao Zhan slapped off the stage. He’d lost yet again! Nothing seemed to have gone right ever since the pill king appeared in the capital. Even the disciple he was most proud of had lost to that brat. His thousand year long plan would soon go up in flames if this were to continue.

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