Chapter 76: Make Them Suffer Thoroughly
“Heh heh, your Highness, a demonstration between the heirs
doesn’t affect the greater picture. The princess is of a higher status, and
wields great power. Many large and small matters are awaiting your attention,
why be bothered with these small things?” Long Yinye smiled faintly, and could
actually so speak boldly and with confidence in the presence of Princess Gouyu.
“Huh. Do you think I have no eyes or ears, nor have an idea
of what’s going on here? Ever since Jiang Chen appeared, all of you have jeered
and mocked him, backing him up against a wall, undoubtedly to make Jiang Chen
embarrass himself. The so-called dukes of the first rank of the kingdom have
this breadth of mind? Afraid of the competition posed by those beneath you, and
thus must use these methods to oppress the competition?” Princess Gouyu had
snatched at the opportunity to argue a point to death.
Her string of words made Hong Tongtian force a wry smile.
“So the princess had been listening from the shadows for
quite a while. Then you should’ve heard clearly that it was Jiang Chen who
issued the challenge, not others.” Long Yinye shrugged his shoulders.
“Yes, I also remember that it was Jiang Chen who first
proposed the idea of a match. He said it was to provide entertainment for everyone.”
Hong Tiantong spoke with a bit more authority since he had
others backing him up. “Your Highness, it’s not that I’m starting something,
but that this Jiang Chen truly is a bit outrageous. We were only joking with
him when the first words out of his mouth were to have a competition, as if his
Jiang family really is something.”
These so-called nobles were each more shameless than the
other. They were the ones who first instigated matters, but provocation had
turned into a joke in their mouths, and Jiang Chen’s counter had turned into
starting a fight!
Princess Gouyu was similarly at a loss for words and she
looked at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen rubbed his nose, smiling, “Don’t look at me
Princess. I don’t like to argue. Since Hong Tiantong says I’m outrageous, then
I really will be outrageous. Everyone is prone to outrageous behavior when
they’re young. Your Highness can treat it as a good show.”
“Excellent, such simple and direct words, I like it!” Long
Yinye was overjoyed to see that Jiang Chen was stubborn and reluctant to admit
defeat. He had been truly worried that Jiang Chen would take advantage of the
circumstances to find a way out and avoid the competition.
Seeing that Jiang Chen sought face, Long Yinye immediately
added fuel to the flame, “Your Highness, both sides are willing. Surely Your
Highness will not put a dampener on things?”
Princess Gouyu took a careful look at Jiang Chen and saw
that he continued to sport that lazy, small smile. She felt a bit irritated,
thinking I brought up the demeanor of a princess to rescue you from a siege,
but you continued to climb up someone else’s pole. Don’t you know that this is
a trap?
“A match, a match!”
Those in the surrounding crowd, here for a good show,
started a noisy clamor.
From ancient times to present, those watching a good show
were unafraid of things getting out of hand. They didn’t care that if someone
was injured on either side, they might be unable to pass the exam later.
What did these things matter to people who were here for a
good show? The bigger things got, the more of a show they could watch!
“You there, are you ready? Someone is looking down on the
personal guards of the four great families. Don’t lose my face when you’re in
the ring!”
Hong Tiantong purposefully lectured in a loud voice.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, “Do you hear that? That’s the
rhythm of wanting to make you suffer thoroughly. I shouldn’t have to say much
more about what you should do?”
After this period of time, these personal guards were well
acquainted with Jiang Chen’s personality. The calmer his smile was, the hotter
the flames of his anger were most likely burning.
This wasn’t mentioning that this Hong Tiantong had just
insulted Guo Jin. This was equivalent to insulting their band of personal
guards, and humiliating their master.
When the master is shamed, the subject dies. They were well
aware of what this battle represented!
“When we’re in the ring later, don’t lose your position. Guo
Jin, you must contain yourself no matter what they say.” The always reticent
Xue Tong actually spoke up then.
“Xue Tong, you’re the calmest. You should be the leader in
this time’s battle.” Ke Mu suggested.
“I concur.” Shen Yifan said.
“I too agree.” Wen Ziqi said in a soft voice.
The Qiao brothers didn’t care at all about matters like a
leader. They just wanted to rush in and beat someone to vent their feelings of
frustration.
In their eyes, the people in front of them were all bastards.
The young duke had bestowed upon them the grace of rebirth, and these people
dared to provoke the young duke. What were they, if not bastards?
“Brothers, let’s go! Us’ns will thrash these animals!” Qiao
Shan roared out, as his enormous axe danced, taking large strides into the
battle ring.
Qiao Chuan dragged his copper rods as he followed close
behind.
Guo Jin and Wen Ziqi followed shortly thereafter.
What looked like a disorderly and messy order of entrance
actually encompassed the mysteries of the “Eight Trigram Assimilation Matrix”.
Except, in the eyes of those who didn’t understand this formation, these eight
people appeared entirely without cooperation, and didn’t look the slightest bit
a team. It basically looked like a motley crew with no discipline.
Hong Tiantong laughed. How could Jiang Chen have dared raise
a hue and cry with this kind of team. He would make use of the opportunity
today to thoroughly subdue Jiang Chen’s spirits. The most perfect result would
be to beat these fellows until they had serious wounds all over, making them
unable to take part in the succeeding exams.
If Jiang Chen couldn’t pass the exams, that meant he’d
failed his attempt for the position of first rank.
This was the best way to suppress the Jiang family.
If he was able to suppress them in this way, then those of
Soaring Dragon were sure to look at Hong Tiantong with fresh eyes!
Hong Tongtian became more excited the more he thought, and
threw a glance at the eight personal guards. These eight guards stepped into
the ring like wolves and tigers, spreading out and encircling Jiang Chen’s
guards.
At this moment, Long Juxue seemed to be thinking of other
matters. She retracted her unexpected glance from Jiang Chen and walked next to
Hong Tiantong, speaking lowly, “Don’t underestimate your foe. This Jiang Chen
knows every sort of wicked guile, it’s necessary that you be on your guard!”
A warm feeling engulfed Hong Tiantong’s heart upon receiving
a beauty’s reminder next to his ear. How he wished to fan and burn the flames
of his ardor, and fight for Long Juxue to the end!
In these ten short days, Jiang Chen’s guards had only
comprehended twenty to thirty percent of the “Eight Trigram Assimilation
Formation”.
But, under these circumstances, twenty to thirty percent of
the formation’s mysteries was enough.
After all, grasping sixty to seventy percent would enable
them to directly battle against several true qi masters.
Grasping twenty to thirty percent and with eight acting as
one, that would enable them to barely handle a true qi master. The combined
fighting abilities of Hong Tiantong’s personal guards paled far in comparison
to a true qi master.
The lowest level of training for a true qi master was ten
meridians true qi.
Their highest level was merely eight levels true qi.
Of course, it wasn’t the thing to do to speak in
generalities for a group battle like this. The victor would still depend on
improvisational reaction.
On Jiang Chen’s side, the calm Xue Tong was coordinating the
formation with the Qiao brothers providing a fierce offensive. Although the
connections of the formation were a bit stiff, it didn’t fall into disarray.
For someone coordinating a formation for the first time, not
falling into a disorganized mess was equivalent to success.
Particularly in a large scale pitched battle like this - if
you kept order and successfully threw the other’s tempo into disarray, then
that would be a huge success.
Although, Hong Tiantong’s side did indeed occupy the
advantage of being preeminent amongst his kind with the eight meridians true
qi, but apart from that, his team had no advantages at all.
Three of seven meridians true qi?
Worthless!
Jiang Chen’s personal guard were all of seven meridians true
qi.
In this way, Hong Tiantong’s personal guard became more and
more lacking in self confidence the more they fought. The eight meridians true
qi practitioner had been giving off a majestic looking air in the beginning,
attacking with force, teasing in all directions.
But he discovered, tragically, that after a while any two of
his opponents could form a small team after quick communication and dispel his
attacks.
And, their formation that seemed messy and disorderly,
actually enabled any two or three people to form a small team at any time. They
could attack if they advanced, and could defend if they retreated.
The “Eight Trigram Assimilation Formation” combined the
power of eight into one, drawing aspiration from the eight cardinal directions.
This power could be broken and could be united, going through endless
iterations of changes.
Those assembled had thought that it would be a scene of Hong
Tiantong’s band crushing their opponents; who knew that the situation would be
completely upended after a few rounds.
Particularly that eight meridians true qi practitioner, he
was complaining incessantly without ceasing at this point.
The Qiao brothers and Guo Jin, three people with extremely
high offensive power, had formed an attack team and were crazily focusing their
attention on him.
The other three seven meridians true qi practitioners were
entangled by the three sword users Wen Ziqi, Ke Mu, and Bi Yun.
Shen Yifan’s spear thrust and swept in grand movements,
partnering with Xue Tong, and easily handled the other four who were of six
meridians true qi.
And, the most ingenious part of this formation was that the
small teams weren’t isolated from each other. Their every step and every move
could take concerted action together, or rush to the rescue of each other.
In the beginning, those not in the know of the formation’s
mysteries couldn’t make sense of it. They only thought that the eight had great
cooperation. As the battle dragged on, those with expansive knowledge could
seem to read something from the situation.
Except, the mysteries of this formation were exceedingly
complex, how would they be comprehended with a mere few glances?
Suddenly, the eight meridians true qi practitioner gave a
ghastly yell as Qiao Chuan’s bronze rods landed solidly on his back. Fresh
blood spewed from his mouth as his spine was directly broken into several
pieces, and he flew back like a kite with a snapped string.
The fighting spirit of the others immediately dissipated
with the fall of the eight meridians true qi practitioner. The flames of fury
in Guo Jin’s heart had obviously not been dispelled yet. Light danced from his
blade as he removed the right arm of a person of seven meridians true qi.
Qiao Shan was unwilling to lag behind as he waved his great
axe and chopped towards waist level. A slightly chubby, relatively slower,
seven meridians practitioner was chopped in two at the waist, blood and flesh
flying everywhere.
Hong Tiantong’s band disintegrated in the span of a moment
as cries of agony filled the air.
“Stop, I concede, I concede the match!” When Hong Tiantong
reacted, pain filled howls had already sounded out a few times.
He took another look at the scene. Two had died in battle,
another two were deeply wounded, and one of them was missing an arm. The
remaining three were all injured and had pale faces drained of blood.
If Hong Tiantong had been just a bit slower to call out,
then this match would have surely ended in complete annihilation of his troops.
Qiao Shan grinned broadly and shouldered his large axe,
laughing, “Happiness, great happiness! Who else remains unconvinced? Come on in
and let’s play.”
Guo Jin’s blade pointed as he said to Hong Tiantong, “You
with the Hong surname, you insulted my father. Even if you’re one of the four
great dukes, I will have my revenge on you for this slight sooner or later.”
“You… Jiang Chen, your subordinates dared to be so cruel in
an exhibition match!” Hong Tiantong was at a loss for words. He had never
thought of this scene developing.
Jiang Chen spoke faintly, “If I recall correctly, someone
said that one would be responsible for his own consequences if something
untoward was to happen?”
Hong Tiantong’s face had been drained of all blood, and his
heart hurt so much that it was like blood dripped from it when he thought of
the fact that a great half of his personal guards had been destroyed,
indicating that he would be unable to pass this particular exam of the first
rank.
Once he thought of the disastrous consequences of this, Hong
Tiantong’s eyes grew bloodshot as he became like a mad tiger. “Jiang Chen, you
have ruined my affairs, you must pay for this!”
Long Yinye flung a slap onto his face just as he was about
to make his move. “Idiots that can’t afford a loss, move to the side!”
A large slap was directly fanned onto Hong Tiantong’s face,
flinging him out a distance of several meters.
Chapter 77: Limelight Surpassing the Four Great Dukes
Jiang Chen didn’t think that Long Yinye’s slap was to help
Jiang Chen out of a sticky situation. It was obvious that Long Yinye didn’t
wish for Hong Tiantong to rush over to his death.
In reality, if Hong Tiantong had closed to within three
meters of Jiang Chen, the latter’s personal guards would absolutely have ripped
Hong Tiantong apart.
Therefore, although it looked like Long Yinye had slapped
Hong Tiantong, he’d actually saved Hong Tiantong’s life.
Jiang Chen was as indifferent as the wind and clouds, merely
smiling faintly at Long Yinye’s action, and being noncommittal. The eight
guards retreated to behind Jiang Chen.
After this battle, the other heirs who had originally sought
a place with the Long brother and sister were all internally aghast. They were
thinking over if there was a need for them to plunge into the mix when deities
fought, and if they had the ability to join in.
Hong Tiantong was a living lesson dripping with blood, to
speak of nothing else.
And going back further, when had the Duke of Soaring Dragon
ever truly occupied the high ground when it came to contending with the Duke of
Jiang Han?
At the banquet at the Soaring Dragon manor, all sides had
purposefully created difficulties for Jiang Chen, but Jiang Chen had been the
one to soar to the skies in the end with a single amazing feat.
The Duke of Soaring Dragon had propped up the Pill King
Garden to befuddle the pill medicine market situation within the capital, but
had been defeated with a loud crash by the Hall of Healing.
He had sent men to assassinate Jiang Feng, the Duke of Jiang
Han, and rumors abounded in the outside world that the latter had been murdered.
However, Jiang Feng had suddenly appeared and actually broken through the
shackles of the martial dao, and had ascended to the ranks of the true qi
masters!
He’d afterwards sent strong men to slaughter Jiang Chen, but
Jiang Chen had emerged wholly unscathed. Instead, it had been the true qi
master from the Soaring Dragon’s side who had been crippled and sent back,
dying shortly thereafter.
And now, Hong Tiantong had been a weapon for the Soaring
Dragon contingent, but had ended up in these straits.
Although there was no clear evidence connecting Long San’s
death and the Hall of Healing crushing the Pill King Garden to Jiang Chen,
combining all the rumors together made it difficult for one to eliminate Jiang
Chen from the list of causes.
This was to say, that in the various open and underhanded
conflicts between the Duke of Soaring Dragon and the Duke of Jiang Han, the
so-called first duke of the kingdom actually hadn’t gained any bit of an
advantage, and had rather suffered heavy casualties in the form of losing his
generals and soldiers instead. Even the true qi master, Long San, ranked in the
top ten of the Soaring Dragon household, had died with no clear reason
whatsoever.
After careful thought, many of those who wished to cling
onto Soaring Dragon all privately halted their plans, deciding to wait and see
whilst avoid offending either.
After all, from the situation at hand, the Duke of Soaring
Dragon, with his ferocious momentum, may not have the assurance of success
within his grasp.
At least, this Jiang Han dukedom wasn’t an easy target.
Bai Zhanyun, heir to White Tiger, had provoked Jiang Chen
several times, and ended up with a face full of dust for his troubles.
Yan Yiming, heir to Yanmen, had also provoked Jiang Chen
several times, and now walked in another direction whenever he saw Jiang Chen.
Everyone had seen what had befallen Hong Tiantong, heir of
Vermillion Bird.
As everyone looked at that Hong Tiantong wailing bitterly,
having a mental meltdown, they also felt a subtle pleasure in someone else’s
misfortunes. Hong Tiantong failing his exam meant that out of the contenders
for the position of first rank, one of the stronger candidates was out of the
running!
At this moment, the examiner in charge of the arena
announced, “The time for the exam is here. All contestants please enter your
respective arenas!”
“Keep a cool head, display yourselves well, and don’t feel
any pressure.” Jiang Chen didn’t give too many reminders. With the calm leader
Xue Tong in charge, and the aid of the “Eight Trigrams Assimilation
Foundation”, there shouldn’t be that many problems in the second test.
Defeating eight wooden puppets equivalent to six meridians
true qi within half an hour.
Jiang Chen believe that this test wouldn’t be too difficult,
unless something affected their mentality. The “Eight Trigrams Assimilation
Foundation” had just been put into practical action with the battle against
Hong Tiantong’s crew just now, naturally greatly increasing their chances of
victory.
After all, it was very important whether or not a formation
had had actual battle experience.
When battling Hong Tiantong’s crew, Jiang Chen’s team had
been unpracticed with the formation in the beginning, and thus hadn’t swiftly
occupied the high ground.
When Jiang Chen’s team grew accustomed to the formation,
their frightening level of prowess was displayed, and they practically trampled
over Hong Tiantong’s team.
“Everyone guess, will be it young duke Yinye’s team
finishing the test first, or Miss Juxue’s team finishing first?”
Someone still couldn’t resist the chance to stand out and
offer a few fawning words.
“Heh heh, Duke Long’s pair of heirs are dragons and
phoenixes amongst men. It is hard to discern a difference between the two. This
question truly stumps all of us.”
“Look, one third of the time has already elapsed.”
“Ai, I hope that my personal guard team can successfully
pass.”
“Yes, I still admire the four great dukes. Although Hong
Tiantong’s team has collapsed, the four great dukes have two candidate slots.
Although Hong Tiantong’s team has failed, it’s still fine if the other team
succeeds.”
This advantage was enormous for the four great dukes.
Time ticked by steadily as the hearts of those candidates
relatively weaker in strength became increasingly nervous.
They too knew that this test was quite difficult. Unless the
crew of personal guards possessed overwhelming strength, it would be difficult
to defeat eight wooden puppets at six levels of true qi within half an hour.
Apart from the heirs of the four great dukes, who were
relatively more at ease, the heirs of the other dukes were all more or less a
bit worried.
As for Jiang Chen, his heart was as settled as still water.
Half of the allotted time quickly passed. Many of the heirs’
breathing started to increase in pace. Jiang Chen’s “Ear of the Zephyr” could
even hear their hurried breathing.
At this moment, the great doors to the arena opened --
This meant that a team had completed the test and was coming
out!
“Look, the great doors are open, a team is coming out! Is it
young duke Yinye or Miss Juxue’s crew? The answer will be revealed soon!”
“What’s the point of speculating about this? If it’s not
young duke Yinye, then it’ll be Miss Juxue’s. The most outstanding amongst the
Eastern Kingdom are without a doubt, the heirs of Soaring Dragon.”
“Right, no matter whose team finishes first, they all
represent the Long family.”
The great doors opened and footsteps sounded out from
inside.
A hearty laugh was heard before a figure was seen, “Haha,
this test wasn’t that hard! I wonder what place in line our exit falls under?”
“It doesn’t matter what place we are, it’s not like rankings
are decided here.”
“Heh heh, although that’s the case, it would still be a
damned good feeling if we could firmly sit on those suckers. I, Qiao Shan, was
pissed off seeing those suckers put on airs in front of our young duke.”
A crowd of eight people walked out following their voices.
It wasn’t Long Yinye’s team, nor was it Long Juxue’s team.
Neither was it any of the teams of the four great dukes.
It was the team of Jiang Chen of the Jiang Han dukedom!
Everyone was dumbfounded, and even Long Yinye and Long Juxue
felt that it was slightly incredible. Both of them exchanged glances on the
alert with each other.
They seemed to have suddenly, truly, become conscious that
Jiang Chen, and this Jiang Han, were absolutely not a slight defect of small
importance, but a true threat!
“This Jiang Chen must be eliminated at the first
opportunity!” Long Yinye formed the motive to kill in that moment.
Brother and sister shared an understanding between their
hearts. A fierce beam of killing intent also flashed through Long Juxue’s
phoenix eyes at this moment.
The education provided at the Soaring Dragon manor since
young was that of domination, eradicating all threats that might possibly form,
and using one’s strength to bully the weak.
Even Princess Gouyu felt vaguely surprised. Jiang Chen’s
team was the first to complete the test!
As the main organizer in charge of the Hidden Dragon Trials,
she was well aware of how difficult this level was. Jiang Chen’s team had
indeed displayed a strong fighting competency when they triumphed over Hong
Tiantong’s team, but none of them had particularly displayed overwhelming power.
As for Long Yinye and Long Juxue’s teams, there were strong
practitioners of nine meridians true qi present in both of them.
A nine meridians true qi would mangle a six meridians true
qi as the former rolled over the latter.
This was a surprising development, an extremely surprising
development.
Jiang Chen ignored the complex looks from all sides and
walked towards Princess Gouyu. “Your Highness, here are the results of the
second test. Please look over and accept them.”
Princess Gouyu nodded, “Jiang Chen, well done. I have to
admit, you’re the biggest dark horse in this time’s Hidden Dragon Trials.”
A big dark horse, absolutely a big dark horse.
One had to know that even just a few months ago, jokes about
Jiang Chen still abounded in the capital. Jiang Chen had even been the butt of
all the jokes of the Hidden Dragon Trials, a unique character who couldn’t even
pass the foundational exams!
However, the affairs of the world are inconstant!
They say that changes in prosperity and decline were
capricious in their rise and fall, such as feng shui being favorable on the
east side of the river for thirty years, and being favorable on the west side
for the other thirty years.
This Jiang Chen had such a rapid change in prosperity and
decline, that feng shui had shifted to the other side of the river in three
months!
Multiple teams also completed the test after Jiang Chen’s
team had passed the tests and walked out of the arena.
Long Yinye and Long Juxue’s team were close behind Jiang
Chen’s, with the rest of the four great dukes following afterwards.
There was still quite a basis for talk of family foundations
and strength at times like these.
Compared to the other dukes of the first rank, the
advantages of the four great dukes were quite apparent.
The Duke of Soaring Dragon had even more apparent advantage
out of the four great dukes.
Of course, there was no point in contrasting any of this at
this moment because Jiang Chen had appeared. This caused the four great dukes,
even the heirs of Soaring Dragon, to be overshadowed and eclipsed.
This was unprecedented that the limelight of the heirs to
Soaring Dragon had been suppressed by someone!
One had to know that the Duke of Soaring Dragon had occupied
the position of duke of first rank for far, far too long. Almost no powers had
appeared in several hundred years to challenge their existence.
Even the existence of someone close to them didn’t exist,
not to mention someone who could challenge their position.
However, an unexpected development had appeared today.
An unexpected development that hadn’t been present for
hundreds of years had appeared!
Although this small test wasn’t a pivotal one, and just a
minor detail that had nothing to do with the greater picture, a general
observation of previous Hidden Dragon Trials would reveal that the existence of
Soaring Dragon heirs stood out like a crane standing amongst chickens. They
were far in the lead, whether in terms of the greater picture, or in the
smallest details.
And now, even though they had been surpassed by someone else
in the smallest of details, this was still a first in hundreds of years!
News travelled fast, as if it had grown legs and ran along
the wind. It had traveled through almost the entire capital in fifteen minutes.
This news was simply too shocking.
The heirs of Soaring Dragon had been surpassed by someone on
the Hidden Dragon Trials!
As for the person in question, Jiang Chen, he didn’t feel
smugly satisfied at all. His sights were set directly on the third mission
after completing the second.
Only after successfully completing the third mission would
it be the equivalent of pronouncing that the Jiang Han territory had
successfully attempted for duke of first rank.
The succeeding ranking battles would determine the internal
rankings of the dukes of first rank.
The ranking battles were the true goal of Jiang Chen’s
participation in the Hidden Dragon Trials this time.
These so-called missions were all just warm-ups and
appetizers.
His reaction was diffident, but he couldn’t stop the spread
of the story behind this time’s upset. The reactions from all sides were
greatly beyond his forecasts.
When the Soaring Dragon household received this news, all
those present burst into an uproar. Long Zhaofeng, the Duke of Soaring Dragon
himself, was silent for quite a while. He had given the order previously that
no matter what the methods, Jiang Chen had to die and could not be permitted to
grow into his power.
Within the palace, Eastern Lu was similarly speechless for
quite a while when he received immediate updates of this. He tragically
realized that in the tussle between the royal family and the Duke of Soaring
Dragon, Jiang Chen, this originally nameless kid, had become the greatest
weapon that the royal family had no choice but to rely on.
Chapter 78: The Third Mission
“Tiandu, pass on my royal decree. Send more men to lay in
wait around the Jiang Han manor during the Hidden Dragon Trials and protect the
Jiang Han Manor. Attend to this matter yourself and personally ensure Jiang
Chen’s security from the shadows. Don’t let any threats approach Jiang Chen.”
“Understood.”
Eastern Lu had never thought that this youth who had once
made him feel extremely vexed and upset would, cause him, the ruler of a
nation, to use the greatest manpower at his disposal to protect him on this
day.
“Jiang Chen… just what kind of person are you?” Eastern Lu
sank into deep contemplation for a while.
Severe reactions abounded in the capital at this moment.
The Hall of Healing was naturally beyond overjoyed. After
all, the greater the strength that Jiang Chen possessed, the more they felt
that their partnership with Jiang Chen was even more stable with an even
brighter future..
However, there was no one happier than Jiang Feng. He had
held down the fort alone in the capital during this time and had also been
subjected to a lot of pressure.
Due to interference from the royal family, although the
harassment from the Duke of Soaring Dragon had yet to become flagrantly
blatant, it had still caused Jiang Feng to feel an inordinate amount of
pressure.
Jiang Chen had been able to firmly suppress both Long Yinye
and Long Juxue once during this mission. Even if it was only suppression on a
minor detail, this still caused Jiang Feng to be quite happy.
“Chen’er, well done!” Jiang Feng had been not that
optimistic with regards to Jiang Chen’s second mission, and hadn’t particularly
known how things stood when Jiang Chen made a trip back to the Jiang Han
territory.
He was very aware that he represented a sheet of iron in the
Jiang Han territory, and that no one dared to create a disturbance when he was
around. But when Jiang Chen went back, it was an unknown as to whether or not
even the clan elders would listen to his arrangements, much less the big
chieftains.
However, the truth had proven Jiang Feng’s worries to be
extraneous.
Not only had Jiang Chen successfully controlled the
situation, he had also conveniently wiped out Jing Man, who had been a big
thorn in his side. One should either not make a move, or make a thorough and
decisive move if one takes action.
Jiang Feng had to admit, with such boldness and methods, his
son was even a bit stronger than himself when he was of a similar age.
Jiang Feng was very happy to have his son surpass him.
Jiang Feng had discovered that ever since that encounter at
the Rites of Heavenly Worship, Jiang Chen’s entire being had undergone a change
that was akin to turning the world upside down.
The Hidden Dragon Trials proceeded like a raging fire.
The time had finally arrived for the third mission. This
mission was one in which all the participating heirs took part in.
The third mission: trials in the Boundless Catacombs.
The Boundless Catacombs were an amazing underground world in
the northeast of the Eastern Kingdom.
Throughout the entire history of the Eastern Kingdom, these
endless catacombs had never been fully excavated.
Even the most distinguished of practitioners in the Eastern
Kingdom had never fully explored the Boundless Catacombs to the end.
No one knew if the Boundless Catacombs even had an end.
No one knew either where this end to the Boundless Catacombs
was.
It was an underground world, and a heaven for the existence
of underground creatures.
What was a heaven for underground creatures could very well
turn into a one-way trip to hell for practitioners.
Jiang Chen was attempting a mission of the first rank and
therefore the difficulty of this mission was the highest.
“Collect either one hundred green spirit pearls, ten silver
spirit pearls, or one gold spirit pearl!” Jiang Chen was completely confused by
the mission requirements.
It was a good that there was an introduction to the
Boundless Catacombs at the bottom of the mission scroll.
All sorts of underground creatures lived in the Boundless
Catacombs, one of which was a green winged swordbird, which had a spirit pearl
glowing with a green light in its forehead.
Since the Boundless Catacombs were an underground world,
they were dark and dank with exceedingly poor vision. The green spirit pearl in
the forehead of the greenwing swordbird would give it a great advantage in this
environment.
The silverwing swordbird was a variant of the greenwing
swordbird, with the pearl on its forehead glowing with a silver light. The
silverwing swordbird was the evolved form of the greenwing swordbird, and only
one could be found for every hundred greenwing swordbirds.
The goldwing swordbird was the once again evolved form of
the greenwing swordbird, the king of the greenwing swordbirds. Any single one
of them possessed a strength that would be on par with a true qi master.
After perusing through the information on the Boundless
Catacombs, Jiang Chen had formed a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Except, the information had also mentioned a numerous
variety of creatures within the Boundless Catacombs. The greenwing swordbirds
were merely one of the more common spirit creatures.
“All the heirs participating in the Hidden Dragon Trials
listen carefully. Convene here tomorrow morning to head towards the Boundless
Catacombs. The third mission will officially start in three days time.”
Princess Gouyu spoke loudly, “Remember the quota for your
respective missions. The time allotted is one month. The mission will be deemed
as a failure after one month. If you reach your quota early, you can leave
ahead of time. Your lives and deaths are up to the will of the heavens in this
mission. If you are afraid or cowardly, you can forfeit.”
The Hidden Dragon Trials had to do with the dukedom, it was
impossible for anyone to forfeit.
The matter of life or death was never able to be avoided in
the world of martial dao. Only through experiencing the trials of life and
death was one able to grow.
“Alright, I’ve said all that needs to be said. Return to
your manors tonight and convene here in the morning. Remember the time to
gather, we will not wait if you are late!”
Jiang Chen shut himself in the secret training room upon
returning to the manor.
This time’s mission was relatively more complex, and he had
to make several preparations.
Jiang Chen was currently at the peak of eight meridians true
qi. He would be able to break through to nine meridians true qi in three days
at the least, and half a month at the most.
The second form of “Vast Ocean Current Splitter”, Wave
Breaker, was becoming more and more familiar. Full of a pleasing quality, its
battle capabilities were astounding when deployed.
The practice of “Divine Aeons Fist”, when compared to “Vast
Ocean Current Splitter”, was progressing at a slightly faster pace. He had
already trained to four cycles of blooming and wilting, the mysteries of four
cycles of reincarnation.
Jiang Chen had also quite adeptly grasped the foundational
movements of “Moonshatter Flying Daggers”.
Jiang Chen’s training in these four accompanying abilities
had already progressed a bit, but he was still a far ways off from employing
the mysteries of the “Moonshatter Flying Daggers” in an attack.
This so-called using the mysteries to attack was the true
great move of this method.
“God’s Eye” was the most prominent ability that Jiang Chen
had trained the fastest. As of now, he had already trained it to the fifth
level .
“Ear of the Zephyr” was on the same level as “God’s Eye”.
Jiang Chen had also trained it to the fifth level.
In the month that he’d trained in the Jian Han territory,
“Boulder’s Heart” had finally broken through to the second level and
successfully entered the third level.
There was no way that Jiang Chen could even attempt “Psychic’s
Head” before entering the realm of spirit dao.
Jiang Chen took stock of his various methods and techniques,
confident that even if he met a true qi master, he would be able to directly
confront him.
Did a true qi master truly exist amongst all the heirs?
Jiang Chen didn’t dare think too optimistically, but neither
was he overly pessimistic. Even if Long Yinye and Long Juxue entered the ranks
of the true qi masters, Jiang Chen would still be able to exchange a round or
two with them by himself.
“The ranking of the dukes will commence after the third
mission is complete. No matter if it’s Long Yinye or Long Juxue, they are sure
to have many trump cards, as they are heirs to the Duke of Soaring Dragon. How
will I fight them in the ranking battles if I don’t improve my training to the
best of my abilities?”
Jiang Chen discovered that even though the speed of
advancements in his training since reincarnation could be described as
miraculous, he still had to expend great effort in catching up to the gaps that
had formed previously.
“There’s still one more month and anything is possible. The
Boundless Catacombs are the first true trials of my life. Perhaps my potential
will only be stimulated to the next level in the midst of a real battle?”
Jiang Chen was in high and vigorous spirits as he fully made
his preparations.
Apart from the advantages in martial dao methods, Jiang Chen
also took inventory of his equipment.
The Layered Feather Throwing Daggers that Princess Gouyu had
gifted him, as well as the Skysilk Armor were necessary items to take along, as
well as the nameless saber raided from Du Ruhai’s house. It was Jiang Chen’s
personal weapon now, and naturally never left his side.
In addition, Jiang Chen would not give up the dao of poison.
Until his martial dao had reached perfection, this was one of his advantages.
Some of his specially mixed poisons would have life-saving
effects in critical moments.
After finishing his inventory count, Jiang Chen sat down
cross-legged and once again started circulating his qi, forging his meridians,
and training his true qi.
Peak of eight meridians true qi. Jiang Chen tried
continuously to assail and find that moment of inspiration for a breakthrough.
When training in martial dao, a breakthrough wasn’t as easy
as eating or sleeping. Even those with extraordinary potential needed a bout of
comprehension and a catalyst to set a foot through that threshold.
Breakthroughs would never come knocking randomly.
He spent the first half of the night tempering his true qi
and the second half of the night meditating with closed eyes. A night quickly
passed by.
Jiang Chen walked out of the secret room early next morning,
taking his leave from his father and arranging all his personal guards within
the manor.
The third mission did not allow for the presence of personal
guards.
He arrived at the convening point and, escorted by the royal
army, the entire entourage set out for the northeast part of the kingdom, the
location of the Boundless Catacombs!
Within the Soaring Dragon manor.
“Your Lordship, your subordinate has already come to a
covert agreement with Hidden Hand. They will send four true qi masters and
we’ll pay double the rate.”
“Four true qi masters? Good!” Long Zhaofeng nodded and
smiled. “Hidden Hand isn’t an assassin organization from Eastern Kingdom. Even
if Eastern Lu wishes to pursue the matter afterwards, he won’t be able to trace
it to us.”
“Heh heh, the duke is wise and brilliant.”
“Long Yi, my apologies to you in this matter. Long San was
your brother and you should’ve been the one to take revenge for this matter.
Don’t take it badly that you’ll be unable to personally take your revenge.”
“The duke’s great plans take precedence over everything.”
Long Yi was a thin man with a gaze like that of knives, but exceedingly humble
before Long Zhaofeng.
“I promise you that when my matters succeed in the future,
the Jiang family will be handed over to you for you brothers to dispose of.
They will be one Jiang Chen short, but the rest of the Jiang family clan will
be unable to escape.”
“Jiang family!” A cold killing intent shot out from Long
Yi's eyes.
“Oh right, Long Yi, have you finished selecting the
candidates yet? This matter must be kept airtight, with people having no
evidence, even if they speculate it is us.”
“I’ve selected them, four unremarkable heirs. Hidden Hand
always conducts their affairs in a clean and crisp manner, without revealing
any traces. The results of the matter will be that the four heirs failed in
their trials and were eaten by fierce beasts.”
Long Yi’s voice was remote, as if other people’s lives were
less than those of ants in his eyes.
Long Zhaofeng laughed heartily. “Jiang Chen, let’s see how
you’ll be able to avoid the all extensive nets above and snares below! Eastern
Lu, you’re pointing at the Jiang family to be your foot soldiers, looks like
you’re out of cards in your hands?”
Chapter 79: Trials in the Boundless Catacombs
Although he was under the escort of the elite troops of the
royal family, Jiang Chen still didn’t relax his guard along the road. He
understood very clearly that the feud he had formed with the Duke of Soaring
Dragon had reached the level of life and death.
The Duke of Soaring Dragon was overweeningly ambitious, and
would never allow any obstacles to be present on his path towards seizing
power, whereas it was patently obvious that Jiang Chen had already become the
Duke of Soaring Dragon’s obstacle.
Except, what was vaguely surprisingly to Jiang Chen was that
this entire trip proceeded smoothly without obstructions. Jiang Chen paid
attention, but there wasn’t even covert observation, much less attacks or
bizarre ambushes.
“Can it be that the Duke of Soaring Dragon has had a change
of heart, and doesn’t intend on making a move? Or does he have other motives
instead?” Jiang Chen felt a bit surprised, and couldn’t quite get a grasp on
things.
The entourage reached the outskirts of the Boundless
Catacombs two days later.
The Boundless Catacombs were located on the outskirts of a
patch of mountain valleys in the northeast of the kingdom. The army made their
camp for the night.
Princess Gouyu stood high atop a temporarily erected tent.
“We will camp here tonight. You will enter the mountain range early tomorrow
morning, and the entrance to the Boundless Catacombs are located within these
mountain valleys. There are numerous entrances, but they’re all within this
patch of mountain valleys. You must search for the entrance and exit yourselves
within this terrain.”
“Remember, no matter whether you’re lost within the mountain
valleys or within the Boundless Catacombs, the kingdom will not send people to
rescue you. You hold your life and death in your own hands once you enter the
Boundless Catacombs, so be more than a hundred percent on full alert.”
Jiang Chen chose to sit cross legged next to a large tree as
they made camp.
Of course, although he was aware that the center of Princess
Gouyu’s defences would revolve around him, he wasn’t accustomed to entrusting
the great matter of personal security to someone else.
That night, Jiang Chen didn’t relax his “Ear of the Zephyr” even
once. Not even the slightest rustle in the grass from the wind could escape his
hearing.
However, this night was still baffingly calm.
Jiang Chen even had a feeling of a misconception - had the
Duke of Soaring Dragon truly decided not to make a move? Or should he say that
in the eyes of the Duke of Soaring Dragon, he, Jiang Chen, still came up short?
After thinking about it back and forth, Jiang Chen
decisively decided he was too lazy to continue contemplating the matter.
The next morning, the rays of the morning sun shone down on
the outskirts of the mountain valleys. All the heirs were in high spirits as
they looked into the mountain valleys, their gazes suffused with concentrated
expectation.
“Brother Chen, I want to tell you some good news. I broke
through again last night.” Fatty Xuan closed in and said excitedly.
Fatty Xuan had only been of five meridians true qi two or
three months ago, and belonged to the lower tier of existences amongst the
heirs.
When Jiang Chen had passed onto him the “True Acupoint
Resonance” method, it had aided fatty in breaking through to six meridians true
qi. However, fatty had broken through again and gained seven meridian true qi,
successfully entering the ranks of the advanced realm of true qi!
Fatty Xuan had chosen to keep his position, that of a duke
of the fourth rank. Thus, he was executing the mission of the fourth rank.
Seven meridians true qi was enough for the missions of the
fourth rank.
After Hubing Yue had broken through to eight meridians true
qi last time, he had chosen not to break through again. However, he had already
located the ninth acupoint and was not too far away from nine meridians true
qi.
“Brother Chen, many thanks to you this time.” A concentrated
sense of gratitude emitted from Hubing Yue’s eyes. He was vying for the
position of second rank this time.
He had successfully completed the first two second rank
missions earlier.
If he successfully completed the third mission, then his
Hubing clan would rise through the ranks to a second rank dukedom!
“Do well, and be careful!” Jiang Chen counseled them.
The various heirs were clustered together in groups of two
or three. It was apparent that many were still a bit nervous with the impending
commencement of the final mission.
Standing together was a form of psychological reassurance.
Princess Gouyu seemed to have purposefully dressed for
today. She hadn’t worn the sexy leather armor, but rather put on a demure court
outfit, adding a few traces of royal nobility to her presence.
“I’ve said all that needs to be said. I hereby announce that
the third mission is about to commence. You will enter the mountain valleys one
by one, according to your current dukedom ranking, starting from the lowest.
One person will enter every fifteen minutes.”
This arrangement was obviously to avoid malicious
competition between the heirs, and to prevent schemes against each other whilst
still in the mountain valley.
Those who were ranked lower had relatively weaker strength,
and thus they entered first.
It was an exceedingly reasonable thing to go from the bottom
upwards.
Fatty Xuan and Hubing Yue all entered one after another. The
Jiang Han dukedom was ranked number fourteen, so it was quite some time
afterwards that Jiang Chen entered.
“Jiang Chen, the Boundless Catacombs are endless and ever
reaching. You must be careful. You will be able to move freely within the first
and second level, but will have to be exceedingly alert and wary on the third
level, because it’s very like that king level violent beasts will appear. Their
battle strength is on par with human true qi masters at the very least. You
mustn’t set foot into and beyond the fourth level at any costs. That is a
forbidden zone. Countless numbers of geniuses have once brashly ventured in,
and no one has ever emerged. The odds would be stacked against even a spirit
dao practitioner. So remember this well, remember this very well!”
Princess Gouyu admired Jiang Chen, and was thoroughly
unabashed as she gave Jiang Chen a few pointers in front of everyone.
The relationship between Jiang Chen and the royal family was
no longer a secret now. Even so, those who saw Princess Gouyu pay special
attention to Jiang Chen still felt vaguely envious.
Jiang Chen nodded as his body sprang up and shot off into
the mountain valleys.
The second he entered the mountain valleys, Jiang Chen
immediately deployed “God’s Eye” and “Ear of the Zephyr”.
One should not have the intention to harm others, but cannot
lack the intention to defend oneself against others.
Although none of the heirs that had entered previously could
harm him, Jiang Chen was someone who had reincarnated and had the experience of
two lifetimes. He knew when he should be prudent.
Random shrubs and patches of grass abounded within the
mountain valleys. The sunlight was blocked by all sorts of big trees that
couldn’t even be spanned with both arms, making the environment appear deep and
serene.
Jiang Chen was neither in a rush, nor too lazy, as he began
to search for the entrance to the Boundless Catacombs.
After a while, he found an exceedingly small entrance about
1.5 to 2 kilometers away. The entrance was twisting and winding, with many
forks in the path.
Jiang Chen twisted and turned, following one path to who
knew how far in. He only felt that the light was becoming duller and duller,
and that the temperature kept dropping.
He finally lost all of the light as the soil beneath his
feet became more and more wet. Jiang Chen realized that he had unwittingly
already entered the Boundless Catacombs.
“There were endless forks in the road along the way, as if a
maze. Add to that the numerous entrances... it would be difficult for the
hundred or so heirs to purposefully lie in wait to ambush someone.”
Jiang Chen was in no hurry to make time once he’d arrived
underground. He took the time to observe his surroundings, only relaxing when
he was certain that he’d arrived beneath the ground.
“This should be the so-called first level?”
If an ordinary person stood here, he would surely be like a
blind person, and be unable to see his fingers when he stretched out his hand.
The vision of a practitioner was naturally many times
stronger than an ordinary person.
And since Jiang Chen practiced “God’s Eye”, his eyesight was
many times stronger than a practitioner of the same level. Add to that “Ear of
the Zephyr” and “Boulder’s Heart”, and he held quite a bit of advantage in the
Boundless Catacombs.
“One hundred green spirit pearls.” Jiang Chen continuously
reminded himself of his mission.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Jiang Chen seemed to hear an agonized wail deep in
the depths of the catacombs. The sound was hurried and ghastly. He was unable
to discern the distance of this wail, due to various sounds echoing throughout
the catacombs.
“Has someone already fallen victim in the first level?”
Jiang Chen was shocked.
At this moment, Jiang Chen felt a breeze at the back of his
head.
This is bad, an ambush!
Jiang Chen’s ears moved as he flung his sleeve. A Layered
Feather Throwing Dagger drew a cold arc through the air - as if there were eyes
on the back of his head - forming a beautiful rainbow in the darkness of the
catacombs.
Whoosh!
A tragic hiss sounded as something fell when the throwing
dagger connected with its target.
A greenwing swordbird!
The wings and mouth of this greenwing swordbird were all as
sharp as knives, much sharper than the swords of ordinary practitioners.
“The wings and mouth of the greenwing swordbird are indeed
much sharper than a sword’s edge.”
Jiang Chen collected his throwing dagger and took the green
spirit pearl protruding from the bird’s forehead, storing it into his sack.
“Heh, victory from the first battle has arrived quite
swiftly.” After Jiang Chen’s first contact with the greenwing swordbird, he had
a good understanding of the swordbird’s capabilities.
“The battle capabilities of the greenwing swordbird are akin
to a human practitioner of four meridians true qi. However, its speed is fast,
and it possesses the advantages of favorable climate and topography within the
darkness of its territory. If a practitioner’s level doesn’t exceed it, then it
would indeed be difficult to handle the swordbird.”
Jiang Chen’s heart was much more at ease with the experience
of his first battle.
He didn’t increase his speed but rather continued on the
same pace, deploying “God’s Eye” and “Ear of the Zephyr” to the utmost.
Leveraging his advantages, Jiang Chen collected twelve green
spirit pearls after a day.
“Collecting twelve spirit pearls in a day. This speed is
neither fast nor slow. If I can continue at this level everyday, I’ll be able
to leave in eight or nine days.”
Jiang Chen’s confidence was greatly boosted after rich
rewards within a day.
However, Jiang Chen discovered the second day that the
frequency of greenwing swordbird appearances within the five or so kilometers
he was moving around in had decreased overnight.
“The greenwing swordbird is a spirit animal, and thus
possesses intelligence. Looks like they’ve gone into hiding because they know
that a large numbers of human hunters have come down.”
More than a hundred heirs had suddenly appeared. Even with
everyone killing just a few, this number would still be staggering.
Therefore, Jiang Chen didn’t find it odd that the numbers of
greenwing swordbirds had greatly decreased.
“What the hell; do these greenwings swordbirds have greater
intelligence than humans? I killed two the first day, but I haven’t even seen a
feather the second, much less than kill one of them!”
“Damnit, have all the swordbirds been killed by the stronger
dukedom heirs? I don’t want to risk my neck in the second level.”
Jiang Chen heard an earful of complaints along his way.
It was as if all the greenwing swordbirds had been
slaughtered cleanly in the span of a single night.
Even Jiang Chen, with his numerous advantages, only killed
three greenwing swordbirds during his entire second day.
If Jiang Chen was thus, then it would be easy to imagine how
the others fared.
“Looks like I can no longer linger in the first level. I
must be the first to enter the second level, or maybe even the third!”
Jiang Chen speculated that this greenwing swordbird
possessed extraordinary intelligence. He who strikes first gains the advantage,
and those who strike second gain nothing at all.
When his thoughts traveled here, Jiang Chen increased his
footsteps and rushed towards the depths of the Boundless Catacombs.
It was pitch black within the Boundless Catacombs, with
marshland and bog underfoot. It was rather risky to proceed at a fast pace.
Chapter 80: A Successive String of Bizarre Occurrences
Except, Jiang Chen possessed superb skills and was quite
daring. He put his apprehensions to the side.
Indeed, after proceeding roughly fifty to one hundred
kilometers, the depth of the Boundless Catacombs became noticeably deeper. The
various underground creatures within the catacombs also became more lively.
Jiang Chen’s hauls became rich again on the following third
and fourth days.
Eleven green spirit pearls on the third day...
Eight spirit pearls on the fourth day...
The sum total at the end of the four days was 34 pearls in
total.
“Four days and 34 pearls. At this rate, I can still complete
the mission ahead of time.” Jiang Chen calculated that there was still a
difference of 66 pearls between his current gains and the requirements of the
mission.
However, a bizarre thing happened again on the fifth day.
The number of Greenwing Swordbirds in the surrounding fifty
to one hundred kilometers had once again decreased.
“Do the Greenwing Swordbirds really possess this level of
intelligence?” Jiang Chen was a bit confused. There was no such detail included
in the introduction from the official information in the Hidden Dragon Trials.
In addition, according to the experience of those who’d gone
before him, there should be enough numbers of Greenwing Swordbirds in the first
and second levels for everyone.
Only a mission of the first rank would need occasional
venturing into the third level.
Yet, according to Jiang Chen’s calculations, he should’ve
already entered the second level, and it was quite apparent that the Greenwing
Swordbirds had all been slaughtered.
“Damn it, someone’s screwing with me! When did the Greenwing
Swordbirds become so hard to find? The information was all lies! It said that
the most common creature underground was this Greenwing Swordbird, but I
haven’t even seen a freaking feather these days.”
“Seriously. I’m only attempting a mission of the seventh
rank, and only need ten green spirit pearls. Are the heavens preventing me from
completing even such a simple mission?”
Jiang Chen once again heard similar complaints.
He too felt that it was odd. Logically speaking, if the
Greenwing Swordbirds were this hard to find, then the quota set by the mission
wouldn’t be this high.
Could it be that someone had driven away the Greenwing
Swordbirds through man made measures?
Jiang Chen’s brow creased faintly at the thought of this
possibility. This wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. With Long Yinye and
Long Juxue’s domineering traits, they could absolutely commit this sort of
action.
“If they had some sort of special methods to drive away all
the Greenwing Swordbirds, or to release a signal that the Swordbirds were
afraid of, they could absolutely drive all the Greenwing Swordbirds into the
depths of the catacombs.”
Jiang Chen cursed inwardly when his thoughts traveled down
this path. He felt that his speculations were right on target.
“If it truly is as I’ve speculated, then the Long brother
and sister are simply being too ruthless. They’re cutting off the path of survival
for the heirs of the low ranked dukedoms!”
The strength of the heirs of the low ranked dukedoms were
mediocre. They didn’t have the ability to wander into the third level of the
catacombs, and could only flit around in guerilla warfare in the first and
second levels.
If all the Greenwing Swordbirds were driven away from the
first and second levels, then it’d a disaster of annihilation for these people!
“But what benefits would this bring to them?” Jiang Chen
thought carefully.
To make it more convenient for them to hunt? Although that
reason was possible, it couldn’t be the main reason. With the strength of the
Long brother and sister, they wouldn’t spend so much effort to kill Greenwing
Swordbirds.
To suppress other dukes? This possibility was also likely.
After all, the Duke of Soaring Dragon had overweening ambitions. Suppressing
the dukes that weren’t on his side, and helping those under his banner to
achieve their aims, thus causing the various dukedoms to come under his
jurisdiction… this was highly likely!
“Mm! If the Long brother and sister killed enough Greenwing
Swordbirds, those under their banner could receive green spirit pearls from
their hands, while the heirs that were an eyesore in their eyes would receive
faces full of dust and nothing at all, even losing their dukedom!”
Such vicious malice! Indeed, a malicious scheme for the
purposes of extinction!
“There is indeed nothing that the Long family won’t do.
However, how would I, Jiang Chen, be led by the nose by you?” Jiang Chen was
also thoroughly infuriated by the Long family plots.
Jiang Chen simply decided not to proceed any further. Four
or five days worth of hunting had given him a great deal of training. The
portents of an imminent breakthrough had repeatedly appeared at the boundaries
of his eight meridians true qi.
Jiang Chen found an isolated corner, and simply decided to
start training.
If Jiang Chen had the intentions to conceal himself, he
actually wouldn’t be worried that anyone would come disturb him in the
Boundless Catacombs. However, just because no one could find him, didn’t mean
that it was absolutely safe.
The most frightening things in these catacombs were the
underground creatures.
Jiang Chen prepared a few simple setups, and cleverly
arranged all sorts of poison, forming a self preservation trap.
Whether it was man or underground creature, as long as they
ventured into this ring, they would be poisoned.
Two days passed.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes. He firmly suppressed each
current of raging true qi within his body. Nine meridians true qi were as if
nine overflowing rivers, with extensive momentum, as they ran rampant
throughout his body.
“Further progress has been made, another step has been taken
forward.” A satisfied smile was shown on Jiang Chen’s face. “Nine meridians
true qi is the peak of the advanced realm of true qi. Another step forward will
allow me to become a true qi master. Except, with my current training, what
need would I have to fear of a true qi master of ten meridians true qi?”
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen was over confident, but that he
truly had the capital to be arrogant.
After entering nine meridians true qi, one’s battle strength
was bound to increase in spades when accompanied by strong martial techniques.
Particularly “God’s Eye”. After surviving in the catacombs
for six or seven days, Jiang Chen could clearly feel that the realm of “God’s
Eye” had risen again, and had entered the sixth level.
“It looks like my ‘God’s Eye’ is the most remarkable out of
the four great abilities. It’s pitch black within the catacombs, but it’s
actually benefited the training of ‘God’s Eye’ the most.”
The sixth level of “God’s Eye” was indeed on a much more
advanced level when compared to before. There was no difference between a dark
and gloomy day during the daytime and these dark catacombs to Jiang Chen’s
eyes.
Although his vision wasn’t as wide as it would be on a sunny
day, it was already a potent advantage when compared to the other
practitioners.
A breakthrough and an increase in strength. This made Jiang
Chen feel even more assured.
“Long brother and sister, I wonder what kind of mess the two
of you have created now! Huh, no matter what kind of disturbance they create,
all will still have to come to a head in the third level. The fourth level is a
forbidden zone. Princess Zouyu has emphasized and repeated her warnings that we
can’t enter it. Therefore, as much as they create havoc, the third level is
their absolute limit!”
Jiang Chen was different from the lower ranked dukedom
heirs. Those people were unwilling to venture into the third level, but he,
Jiang Chen, had the capability to do so.
When Jiang Chen walked out of this isolated corner, he
discovered that he had underestimated the intelligence of others. He discovered
from the random comments and remarks of the outside world that the heirs had
already discovered that someone was up to mischief. The heirs had all now
formed into groups of two or three, and were heading into the third level.
The power of one was limited, but a team would work, right?
As for who was up to mischief, most speculations pointed to
the Long brother and sister.
However, there was another frightening sort of rumor that
splashed this pail of dirty water onto him, Jiang Chen!
“Looks like the Long brother and sister have spent some
effort, and thought about targeting me?” Jiang Chen smiled coolly. He was weary
of the game of the cat catching the mice.
Since there were so many boring speculations in the outside
world, Jiang Chen decisively decided not to conceal himself anymore, and not
avoid crowds as he had done before.
One day later, Jiang Chen felt that the temperature in the
catacombs had decreased even more. The marsh and bog beneath his feet also felt
ripe with danger.
“Looks like I’ve entered the third level.” Jiang Chen became
prudent and cautious with where he set his feet.
Monsters would occasionally bubble up from the depths of
this marsh. There were tentacled monsters, evil plants, and all sorts of armor
eating demonic bugs…
Even Jiang Chen’s progress forward noticeably slowed down.
However, the amount of Greenwing Swordbirds noticeably
increased after entering the third level.
Except, Jiang Chen had to spend quite a bit of time handling
the numerous threats beneath his feet. It was bound to affect his hunt of
Greenwing Swordbirds.
Jiang Chen killed another twenty three Greenwing Swordbirds
after three days.
In this way, he’d collected 57 green spirit pearls.
Precisely ten days had passed.
“57 pearls in ten days. This is a bit slower than I’d
thought. Except, oddly enough, why hasn’t there been a single Silverwing
Swordbird along the way?”
Jiang Chen was a bit tired of killing Greenwing Swordbirds.
One had to know that one Silverwing Swordbird would result in one silver pearl.
One silver pearl was the equivalent of ten green spirit
pearls.
Jiang Chen only had 43 green spirit pearls left to collect,
but if converted into silver spirit pearls, that was only five silver spirit
pearls.
“Look, that’s Jiang Chen!”
“Yeah, this Jiang Chen has finally appeared. But why is he
still collecting green spirit pearls?”
“This means that he shouldn’t be the one causing trouble. If
it was him, he would’ve long since collected enough!”
Jiang Chen had purposefully revealed himself to prove this
point to the outside world, and to force the Long brother and sister duo out
from the corners.
“Brother Jiang Chen.” Bai Zhanyun walked out from a dark
corner.
“Brother Bai.” The two of them had formed a friendship after
an exchange of blows. Jiang Chen didn’t harbor any ill intent towards Bai
Zhanyun, and at least the latter was aware of his error, and was being
responsible for it.
“You must also know that someone is causing trouble within
the Boundless Catacombs, and has driven all of the Greenwing Swordbirds to the
third level. This has caused everyone to have a very difficult time in hunting.
Ten days have passed, but most are quite far off from reaching their quota! How
has brother Jiang Chen fared?”
“I’m still half off.” Jiang Chen didn’t bother concealing
anything.
“Then this means that brother Jiang Chen isn’t the one
causing trouble?”
“Do you think I’m that bored?” Jiang Chen’s tone was remote.
“Some people are obsessed with ambition, and seek to dictate the competition
through control of the Greenwing Swordbirds, thus controlling the jurisdiction
of the dukedoms. This is an act of ‘Those who adhere to me will ascend, and
those who defy me will die’.”
“This… can the Long family really be behind this?” Bai
Zhanyun’s face grew slightly cold.
Others immediately detected the abnormalities in this when
everything was laid out. They called out, “Right, look everyone! Who are
amongst those unable to hunt down Greenwing Swordbirds? Have you seen any of
the heirs that are close to Soaring Dragon?”
“That’s right, we haven’t seen any of them! This Long family
is indeed manipulating the competition!”
“Damn it, too despicable and utterly shameless! This is
still the dominion of the Eastern Kingdom! Aren’t they afraid of arousing
public anger with their actions?”
The pent up range and anger of these heirs were unleashed in
the span of a moment.
This matter was quite clear now. Those who weren’t close
with the Duke of Soaring Dragon, or hadn’t come under his banner were basically
empty handed, with no gains whatsoever.
Those heirs close to the Duke of Soaring Dragon were
conspicuously absent from the premises.
Even idiots could see that the Long brother and sister were
behind this!
However, they also tragically discovered that the rules of
the Hidden Dragon Trials didn’t seem to prohibit such things from happening.
