Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yan Ruyu spoke in an unquestionable tone and didn’t wait for Jiang Chen’s reply. She just took the lead and walked away. It wasn’t appropriate for Jiang Chen to start a fight in such a situation even if he had wanted to. He could only shake his head and leave with her.
Jiang Chen was aware that he would surely have a fight soon with Pang Xiong, and he knew that it might occur before the Title Battle.
“Young knifemen ranking?” Jiang Chen recalled what the crowd was talking about. When he faced the Three Middle Realms’ geniuses in the Three Realms Great Competition, he had heard them mentioning a similar matter.
The Three Middle Realms were too broad, which was why just a single ranking list might have 1,000 or 10,000 people on it. Moreover, since most of those people lived far away, it was difficult for them to compete and to decide who was the strongest among them. This was why the Three Middle Realms’ people decided to rank them according to their martial techniques, and ranked sword cultivators, knifemen, spear masters, boxing masters, and the like separately.
Their ranking was obviously not decided by their skill in martial techniques alone; it was decided by their overall power, but they were still ranked just with people using similar weapons to them.
“Is this Pang Xiong quite strong?” Jiang Chen asked.
“You aren’t his match,” was what Jiang Chen waited for as Ji Yinyi’s reply, but Yan Ruyu, who was walking in front of him, replied before her.
“What you did today may probably affect the contest, which will occur in four days. Are you aware of it?”
“It may also not affect it, isn’t that the case?” Jiang Chen said.
“If you had competed with that Heaven Alchemist, you may have revealed your skill level, and if you fought against Pang Xiong, he would beat you and leave hidden injuries in your body, which could affect you in the contest.”
It seemed like Yan Ruyu was hiding something while speaking with Jiang Chen, and uneasiness could be discerned from her tone. When Jiang Chen thought back to what Bai Xuan had once said, as well as his master and disciple relationship with Yan Ruyu, he understood everything.
“Miss Yan, are you blaming me for stealing your quota?” Jiang Chen said.
Upon hearing him, Yan Ruyu’s expression changed slightly. If Jiang Chen hadn’t been present, she would surely have been one of the ten young alchemists. Moreover, when Jiang Chen didn’t show up, the Elixir Association looked for her when they wanted to give his quota to someone else.
She assumed that Jiang Chen wouldn’t come and that she would have an opportunity of displaying her skill on the stage and fight for the Elixir Association’s honor.
But, in the end, on this day….
“The probability of success while making Heaven Elixirs for other people is above 80 percent, while your data are still unknown. Moreover, it’s the Elixir Association alone that claimed that you are a Heaven Alchemist, and you still haven’t refined elixirs before a Heaven Alchemist.” Yan Ruyu couldn’t help but state this matter.
What she stated was a true fact. However, the Elixir Association still had its own reasons for granting Jiang Chen Heaven Alchemist’s status.
First of all, Jiang Chen had mastered the Fire Dragon Technique, and he used it to make a batch of eighth-grade spirit elixirs, which had many elixirs of fine quality. Moreover, Jiang Chen was still able to discern that Yang Jingchi was a Heaven Alchemist, and this was a matter only Heaven Alchemists could achieve.
However, all the people who didn’t trust him would find suspicious points in this affair.
“Miss Yan, do you feel like you are smarter than the Elixir Association?” Jiang Chen asked.
Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu was left at a loss for words. Elder Zhuge always stated that Jiang Chen must surely participate, and both she and her master didn’t understand why he was so obstinate about this matter. Even if everything said about Jiang Chen was true, he was still too young, and it would be better for her to replace him, unless his skill was better than the other nine people. However, Jiang Chen cultivated both alchemy and martial arts, and it was almost impossible for him to achieve this with how young he was.
“Anyone can make a mistake sometimes,” Yan Ruyu spoke boldly, before ignoring him and leaving with her team.
“This woman is really too arrogant, and she looks down even on my teacher,” Ji Ruxue spoke resentfully.
“Do you feel like I can win the contest?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Teacher, this won’t be an issue for you at all,” Ji Ruxue replied without giving this matter a single thought.
All of a sudden, they noticed that they were engulfed by a giant shadow as if a large amount of black clouds were above them. Moreover, they could hear the sound of something flying through the air.
Jiang Chen assumed that Pang Xiong had come back, but he shortly discovered that it wasn’t the case. It was a flying ship streaking across the sky quickly, which flew just above their heads.
“What kind of person would dare to drive his flying ship in Heaven Divine City?” Jiang Chen asked in surprise.
When he came to Heaven Divine City, he entered it on foot, and he was even warned to never fly in it or he would bear grave consequences. When Jiang Chen asked them why, he was informed that all people must adhere to it, even if they were Great Venerables. Jiang Chen didn’t say anything else. He would surely adhere to the rules since all the other people followed them.
“The Elixir Emperor!” The Ji family’s sisters were both dumbstruck when they witnessed this ship.
“Is it really the case?” Jiang Chen became apprehensive. Would he shortly get to see someone from 500 years ago?
“The Elixir Emperor wouldn’t have come here personally; it should be just his disciple,” Ji Yinyi said.
The person who would uphold the Elixir Association and the Elixir Fire Union’s contest was the Elixir Emperor’s disciple. The Elixir Emperor was from the Three Middle Realms, but he didn’t belong to the Elixir Association. He went long ago to the Three Upper Realms to sharpen his skills. The Elixir Emperor was just a legend to the Three Middle Realms’ people, and he was also a person who no one dared to offend. It was the case for even the Eight Great Spirit Clans and Spirit Dynasty.
This was also the reason why the news of the Elixir Emperor’s flying ship appearance in Heaven Divine City spread quickly to all Three Middle Realms.
In the evening, they got to see a large number of flying spiritual artifacts coming to Heaven Divine City, and they all parked outside of the city. Those flying ships belonged to many talented youths from great factions, and they all came here to pay a visit. The news that it wasn’t the Elixir Emperor who came here, but his disciple, had already spread. In this way, Jiang Chen got to know that the Elixir Emperor had not died but was still alive. Jiang Chen got quite excited upon hearing it, as the Elixir Emperor would surely be aware of many matters related to the Sacred Zone.
“However, how, and when can I meet him? He is now an Elixir Emperor, which all people must look up to?” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but have such a thought.
Yang Jingchi came to his room and said, “The Elixir Emperor’s disciple has invited to dinner the ten competitors from both the Elixir Fire Union and the Elixir Association.” Jiang Chen was one of them, and, since he wanted to get more information about the Elixir Emperor, he would obviously not refuse such an invitation.
“Jiang Chen, will you go alone?” Yang Jingchi asked when he witnessed Jiang Chen about to leave.
“Didn’t you just say that he invited just ten people?” Jiang Chen asked in confusion.
Yang Jingchi explained, “Although that’s really the case, he’s still the Elixir Emperor’s disciple, and he didn’t forbid you from bringing your friends with you.”
“So?”
“Many youngsters with great status want to get close to the Elixir Emperor’s disciple, and members of the Spirit Clans are also among them,” Yang Jingchi said.
“What about it?” Jiang Chen still didn’t understand what he was implying.
“This dinner party will turn into a competition to decide which person has the greatest potential and power, as they all want to leave the Elixir Emperor’s disciple with a strong impression,” Yang Jingchi said.
Jiang Chen finally understood what he was implying, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “I will go alone. I will leave him a deeper impression if I just go alone,” Jiang Chen said.
“But the Elixir Association and the other people won’t have the same thought. They will all assume that no one wanted to befriend you because you don’t have potential,” Yang Jingchi spoke anxiously.
“Even if that was the case, so what? Everything will become clear in four days.”
Jiang Chen would surely not use the banquet invitation to befriend some influential people. He was even disgusted by such a matter. However, he would not state his feelings because people would assume then that he was trying to put on a noble and virtuous act on purpose.
Each person would make his own choice, and no one would blame anyone for it, and he would just make a good choice.
