Chapter 823: The Thousand Peafowl Mural

Even the Cloud Monarch was completely puzzled, to say nothing of Emperor Peafowl. The former was already amazed at how Jiang Chen had breezed through the previous two stages. These three stages had, after all, been personally arranged by His Majesty. None of them were remotely ordinary since their difficulty had been raised to match geniuses at half step emperor realm. It was virtually impossible for any normal person to trick their way through such a level of difficulty without sufficient strength. But this Pill King Zhen had actually passed through all three stages with relative ease!

He hadn’t even seen how Jiang Chen had passed the third stage. It appeared as if those aquatic monsters were very wary of Jiang Chen. Such a thing was practically unprecedented. Emperor Peafowl had personally used his abilities to suppress and capture these aquatic monsters. Not only were they extremely savage and ruthless, but they were also fearless even in the face of death. How could they be afraid of a human pill king? As such, the Cloud Monarch was also at a loss. He had no idea how to reply to Emperor Peafowl’s question.

“Continue observing that child. This emperor has finally found an interesting youth after three thousand years of service to Veluriyam Capital. Haha, what a rare occasion!” Emperor Peafowl was in great mood. He had previously predicted that Jiang Chen was that lucky figure from the Myriad Domain, but he hadn’t been entirely sure. His All-Seeing Eyes were not entirely clear, akin to seeing a flower blooming in fog. Moreover, most of the experts on his level were unwilling to believe him. But now, Emperor Peafowl was confident that his All-Seeing Eyes definitely had the ability to calculate fortune. The results of his deductions were being proven by Jiang Chen’s actions. At the very least, Jiang Chen’s every performance to date had far surpassed his peers, regardless of how far he would go in the future.

Amongst the geniuses of the Upper Eight Regions or even Veluriyam Capital, those who were able to reach such a stage were as rare as dragon horns and phoenix feathers, to speak nothing of those from the Myriad Domain. And, compared to Jiang Chen, these people had most likely started out with an overwhelming advantage in resources.

It was settled, Jiang Chen was the one he’d been looking for. Having lived several millennia, Emperor Peafowl’s attitude towards solving problems was far superior to the normal person, and few things warranted his excitement. But his heart was surging with waves of delight at the moment.

Seeing a faint smile on Emperor Peafowl’s countenance, the clan lords below merely felt that the emperor was in exceptionally good cheer today, but scarcely knew why he was so delighted. Nonetheless everyone was happy to know that the emperor had at least shaken off the pain of his disciple’s loss. This, in and of itself, was a cause for celebration. These clans had followed Emperor Peafowl for many years and were completely loyal to him. Deep down, they were unwilling to accept Emperor Peafowl being replaced by Emperor Shura.

But as of late, Emperor Peafowl had been living in relative seclusion and scarcely ever appeared in day-to-day administrative activities. He cared little about Emperor Shura’s gradual usurpation, and may even have tacitly allowed it. Such an attitude had created a fair amount of worry in his subordinate clans. At this rate, Emperor Shura would replace Emperor Peafowl one day. At that time, Emperor Peafowl’s old subordinates would surely be suppressed. How should they safeguard their future status in Veluriyam Capital?

Thus, these clan heads all hoped to see a more proactive and aggressive Emperor Peafowl. They’d all been worried that the emperor would be unable to recover from the setback of young master Fan’s demise. Could it be that he’d been drained of all his grand aspirations? Everyone realized, after seeing the emperor smile so candidly, that His Majesty hadn’t lost his determination. His smile was a symbol of his proactiveness. Invariably, these clans were also thinking, “With the emperor in such a good mood, could he be planning to select a new personal disciple?”

Great waves surged within their hearts at the thought. If any one of their scions would be fortunate enough to be designated as a personal disciple, they would be destined for a meteoric rise in status. Even more riches and honor would await, should one of theirs become the successor. Even the Coiling Dragon clan lord couldn’t help but feel a great deal of expectation.

“The end of my destined life draws near. If I’m not fated to obtain the Pine Crane Pill, the Coiling Dragon Clan will surely fall into chaos after my passing. But if one of the Coiling Dragon Clan’s younger generation is selected by the emperor as his personal disciple, the clan’s position would once again become rock-solid and unshakeable… I wonder if any of our clan’s scions possess such a destiny?” The clan lord mentally sifted through the several descendants of the clan and felt that, while each of them had their own merits, Ji San was still slightly ahead of the rest. At the very least, Ji San becoming acquainted with a rare genius like Jiang Chen went to show that his fortune was somewhat superior to his peers. I do hope my Coiling Dragon Clan’s descendents can rise above the others and obtain the emperor’s good graces.

The other clan lords also had similar thoughts running through their minds, but not a whit was exposed on their faces. Nevertheless, Emperor Peafowl was, of course, quite aware of their minds. It was just that the scope of the emperor’s vision had far surpassed these clan lords, and although their descendents were indeed not bad, none were up to Emperor Peafowl’s selection standards. He could, perhaps, select one of them to nurture as a disciple. But they were all fell slightly short as a candidate for a legacy disciple. There were certain disciples who had sufficient talent, but were somewhat lacking in temperament, whereas some with excellent attitude just slightly lacking in terms of talent. There were also those adequate in both, but lacking in terms of fortune. Emperor Peafowl was different from the others in that he had opened the All-Seeing Eyes, albeit only slightly. As such, he attached much more importance to fortune than his peers could imagine.

…...

Jiang Chen didn’t reduce his vigilance even after passing three stages. Who knew if there would be a fourth stage or not? He wasn’t one to relax until he was at the end. This was a good habit he’d formed from the countless times he’d been hunted during this lifetime. But his path continued unhindered after three stages and after a quarter hour, he arrived at the shores of the boundless waters.

He first spotted it as indistinct reefs barely visible at the furthest end of this body of water.

“Oh? Could this be the other shore?” Jiang Chen’s mind was shaken as he sped up. Only upon closer inspection did he realize that it wasn’t a reef, but rather an enormous cliff rising above the ocean.

The tall cliff stretched dozens of kilometers high and its smooth walls were decorated with countless images of peafowls. Each of these vivid and lifelike depictions displayed upon the tall cliffs were of vastly contrasting demeanor and bearing. A single image of a peafowl would perhaps be nothing out of the ordinary, but it was indeed a magnificent sight to behold thousands at the same time. But Jiang Chen remained unmoved by this stately scene before him. He had experienced countless spectacles of greater grandiosity in his past. However, he was impressed by Emperor Peafowl’s technique after seeing these realistic images.

“As expected of a expert who’s sensed the heavenly laws. This Emperor Peafowl’s techniques are indeed different from the normal titled great emperors.” Although Jiang Chen hadn’t reached the emperor realm himself, he had a rather keen grasp of how they differed in strength.

Gazing at these life-like peafowl images, some were gorgeously decorated, some detached and noble, some splendorous and majestic, some solemn and dignified… The numerous peafowl illustrations each possessed their own characteristics and were quite the pleasing sight to the eyes.

“Perhaps Emperor Peafowl’s fortune lies within this Thousand Peafowl Mural?” Jiang Chen felt curious. He noticed no two peafowls were the same, but it was quite difficult to point out the differences between them. Even with his eye arts and Boulder’s Heart, Jiang Chen failed to see through its profundity at a glance.

“Emperor Peafowl is one of the most powerful great emperors in the Upper Eight Regions. Surely, he wouldn’t fool someone with a mediocre stroke of fortune after employing such a grand spectacle—it’s likely that the opportunity this time isn’t small. Though I’ve a great number of protective treasures on me, most of them are best kept concealed. However, it’ll be perfectly justifiable for me to use the fortune obtained from Emperor Peafowl in public. Any fortune related to the emperor is certain to act as a protective charm whether within Veluriyam Capital or without.“ At the thought of this, Jiang Chen began to inspect each peafowl diagram with all seriousness.

A few other great clan descendants also passed the third stage roughly after a quarter hour had passed.

“Heh heh, the tests should be nearing its end after passing the third stage. The border should be just ahead right? Great emperor fortunes, here I come!” Ji San rushed out, his face flushed with excitement.

The other outstanding clan descendants were more or less of the same thought. After passing the third test, none of them could bother with the miserable state of their injuries and were instead focused on rushing forward as quickly as they could, lest they get left behind. They all hoped to get the first claim after breaking out of the third stage so quickly. In the world of martial dao, every detail was worth competing over, regardless of whether they obtained the fortune or not. They were all afraid of falling second and rushed madly towards the other shore.

“Faster, I must be first to arrive!”

“Chances are greater for the ones who arrive earlier.”

“With my powerful consciousness, I’ll definitely be able to discover the emperor’s fortune if I can arrive early to observe the mural.”

“It’ll be my greatest fortune if this leads to being selected as an inheriting disciple!” All of the clan scions were seized by a sense of urgency.

Congratulations to my other novel Doomed to be Cannon Fodder for finishing! Everyone go read nao while you wait for the next chapter of SOTR to come out!! *nods* This is a novel in which transmigration by cactus is a real thing.