Chapter 959: The Grace of a Strike
It was beyond common sense for a sword technique to have the same effect as an emperor domain. Even eminent figures like the seven great emperors had never heard of such a thing. After all, an emperor domain was commonly formed by combining an emperor’s inner energy with his own will. A non-emperor realm cultivator could never generate such incredible energy. Even a half-step emperor could only barely create an emperor realm domain. Moreover, it would merely be an imitation and not a true domain. In fact, it was already an incredible achievement if they could create a defective domain. To imitate an emperor domain with a sword technique was unthinkable even if it wasn’t a true domain.
However, the crowd also knew that Pill King Zhen was only a sky sage cultivator. He wasn’t even a half-step emperor yet, let alone a true emperor! Yet he was already able to fight above his level with his ability to imitate an emperor domain! Or at the very least least, he was now capable of putting up some resistance against the restraining powers of an emperor’s domain. Not a single sage realm cultivator in Veluriyam Capital was capable of such a feat.
A sage realm cultivator would never have the ability to fight an emperor realm cultivator on equal footing. This was common martial dao logic. Talent or cultivation level didn’t matter. Even a peak sage realm cultivator could never win without relying on equipment or other factors. The strongest and most incredible sage realm genius would never claim that they could defeat an emperor realm cultivator barehanded.
An initial emperor realm cultivator was definitely capable of taking on five to ten peak sage realm cultivators or three half-step emperors at the same time. The reason for such a discrepancy in strength was due to the emperor domain. It was truly that potent a tool in battle. It might not seem so when watching a battle between two emperors, but the advantage was much more evident when an emperor was battling a sage realm cultivator. This was the reason why Jiang Chen’s simple-looking technique had rendered the crowd speechless.
Fang Yuan was flabbergasted when Jiang Chen deflected his spear. This was one of his most potent attacks, one that encompassed his insight of heaven and earth! This was a spear attack that even Emperor Void’s foremost disciple wouldn’t dare receive head on! Pill King Zhen hadn’t only received received the attack head on; he’d deflected it with an unbelievable method as well!
Is he… really a sky sage realm cultivator? Fang Yuan’s heart had begun to waver. He couldn’t help but think that he was facing a monster. A formidable monstrous genius that nobody had ever heard of. A crack appeared in his wavering dao heart. He’d finally begun to regret his brashness. He should’ve jumped only five places and challenged Ji San instead. Judging by his own skills, there was a fifty percent chance he could win. Challenging the pill king was the worst decision he’d ever made in his life! He could no longer see himself winning after the pill king had deflected his spear.
Even the seven great emperors were shocked by what had just occurred, let alone Fang Yuan. How can a sage realm genius execute a technique on par with an emperor’s domain? Was he an emperor realm cultivator hiding his abilities all long? However, such thoughts were shot down as quickly as they arose. It didn’t seem possible that anyone could possibly suppress their emperor realm cultivation all the way down to the sage realm. Even if were possible, someone would’ve noticed by now. But how could one explain Jiang Chen’s emperor realm strength? Fang Yuan wasn’t the only one having such questions. The seven emperors themselves also were wondering how Jiang Chen had managed such a thing.
The six of them had even begun to feel a little concerned. They’d more or less viewed Jiang Chen as Emperor Peafowl’s successor and also a chess piece that the emperor had secretly placed before. They were even more certain of their theories after they saw Jiang Chen’s heaven-defying performance. Based on their understanding of Emperor Peafowl, they were certain that he would never be so quick to accept a genius that had appeared out of nowhere and make him the successor to Sacred Peafowl Mountain.
He had done such a thing because this was all part of his elaborate plan. He already knew Pill King Zhen like the back of his hand. The cautious Emperor Peafowl would never allow a foreigner that had only arrived for less than three years become the successor of Sacred Peafowl Mountain. Due to how widespread the rumors were, everyone had arrived at this tacit conclusion, even though it hadn’t been made official yet.
The other six emperors had taken the rumor with a grain of salt when it had just begun spreading. It was common knowledge that the pill king was talented in martial dao, but he wasn’t a towering talent, nor did he have an overwhelming advantage over the other geniuses at that time. They were certain that the geniuses in the Ranking of Young Lords were stronger than the pill king in every single aspect. Sacred Peafowl Mountain might’ve lost young lord Fan, but would the other true disciples show allegiance to Pill King Zhen who had appeared out of nowhere? Everything was still up in the air. The other six emperors really didn’t think too highly about the pill king, nor did they truly believe the rumors. They theorized that it was just sleight of hand that Emperor Peafowl, his subordinates, or maybe even Taiyuan Tower had purposely created. However, everyone now suddenly began to believe in the authenticity of the rumors after what had just happened.
Pill King Zhen was simply too monstrous! His peerless sword technique alone was enough for the world to clearly see his talent and potential. Maybe he still wasn’t strong enough to garner notice from the seven emperors or dominate multiple formidable foes with just his strength alone, but the talent and potential within that sole sword technique had overthrown the beliefs of everyone present.
Jiang Chen had caused a great commotion when he was crowned champion in both the New Star and Genius Rankings. However, his fighting style and abilities hadn’t been truly acknowledged by many cultivators. This was also partially due to Jiang Chen purposefully suppressing his powers to hide his true talents. He was an incredible fighter with a keen eye for details, but his strength was still limited by his sky sage realm cultivation. It was inevitable that some would suspect that he’d won those battles due to cheap tricks. Some even believed that he hadn’t perfected his battle skills yet. That wasn’t too far from the truth. After all, Jiang Chen hadn’t been able to cultivate in this previous life. He was finally able to in this new life, but he wasn’t able to achieve perfection in every step.
Moreover, he hadn’t displayed his true capabilities due to a multitude of reasons. The seven emperors viewed him as a flawed jewel because of this. However, he had inadvertently showed his true talent when he executed his last move. That sword technique was testament to Pill King Zhen’s peerless talent in martial dao as well. People realized that he was equally talented in both paths. He also possessed an incredible sense for battle. He’d already grasped Fang Yuan’s fighting style after only a few exchanges.
Fang Yuan excelled at using the spear, with it being his most powerful trump card. The special characteristic of a spear was its ability to dominate and overwhelm the enemy. Unfortunately, Jiang Chen specialized in controlling the flow of battle. It didn’t matter how dominating the spear was. It could never work up a storm when the battle was under Jiang Chen’s control.
Fang Yuan couldn’t bring out the spear’s full potential due to the constant disruption. The sense of defeat within him was growing by the minute. He held many powerful methods, yet he hadn’t been able to fully utilize any of them. It would be a gargantuan task to win against an opponent of the same level without his spear techniques.
“Ole Third. Your brother’s talent in martial dao is simply inconceivable.” The Coiling Dragon clan lord sighed. He was now thoroughly convinced of Jiang Chen’s talent in martial dao.
“If I was the one receiving Fang Yuan’s spear techniques, I’m not sure that I would have the necessary strength and skills to deflect his spear, even if I knew how to. Yet the pill king seemed to have already made countermeasures before Fang Yuan even moved. I can’t help but be impressed by his judgement,” Ji Zhongtang murmured quietly. Ji Zhongtang was a man of few words. However, it seemed like he had to speak those words this time. He’d already begun to admire Jiang Chen greatly after his own battle with him, and now his reverence had reached greater heights after witnessing this fight.
Ji San smiled wryly. “I’d thought that it was just a careless swing of the sword in the beginning. Never did I imagine that it was actually all part of his plan. It’s as though he saw through Fang Yuan’s spear before the fight had even begun. Fang Yuan isn’t able to bring out the full potential of his spear at all. The flow of his attacks have been thoroughly destroyed by my brother.”
“What he did was actually a testament to his eyesight and foresight, as well as his decision-making skills, all of which are at a level that should only be attainable at the great emperor realm,” the clan lord commented with a solemn expression. Jiang Chen’s sword technique was now the hottest topic amongst all factions in Veluriyam Capital, including the wandering cultivators.
