Sovereign of the Three Realms

Even though nobody worshipped the true dragons in the Divine Abyss Continent, to cultivators they were still an existence akin to the gods because of the ancient legends. The dragons were the royals of old and also one of the noblest races ever, true dragons especially. They were a noble bloodline that was famous throughout the heavens. 

The true dragon image charged towards the beast head on and instantly shattered the savage-looking lion image into nothing. Just how powerful was the will behind that bloodline? A low-level image was only powerful in appearance. Without the presence of will, it would possess attack power but lack sovereignty. The image that Jiang Chen had formed encompassed the powerful will of a true dragon, and thus also contained the might of a true dragon. This was why it was able to shatter the enemy image in an instant.

For a brief moment, the entire arena was enveloped in silence. Many had yet to react, as they were too busy digesting the series of events taking place before their eyes. Their minds were filled with all sorts of questions. How could there be true dragons in the Divine Abyss Continent? Pill King Zhen had obviously refined the true dragon bloodline. Otherwise, the true dragon image that he’d conjured couldn’t possibly possess such a strong willpower.

“Your Majesty, Pill King Zhen…” Cloudsoar Monarch’s brain had also fizzled out for a brief moment. He couldn’t even manage to eke out a proper sentence.

“The will of a true dragon! This young brat actually possesses the bloodline of a true dragon! He’s a true genius!” Emperor Peafowl was overjoyed. Incidentally, the reason behind the emperor’s current cultivation base and status was due to him having stumbled across the fortuitous encounter of a lifetime when he was young. He had accidentally obtained the bloodline of the ancient peafowl during his youth. The peafowl was also one of the noble beasts from the ancient era. In fact, their clan was only slightly inferior when compared to the dragon clan.

Due to the strength of that bloodline, the young Emperor Peafowl became famous for being able to master everything he learned, eventually becoming the overlord that he was at present. Because of that, he understood just how powerful bloodlines were more than anyone else. He could tell that Jiang Chen’s true dragon bloodline was extremely pure. It was apparent that there were no impurities in it due to the authentic physique of the true dragon image.  Countless people had descended from the dragon clan ever since ancient times, but their bloodline only became increasingly thinner with every new generation. However, there was also a few who were the direct descendants of the true dragon clan.

Emperor Peafowl was extremely shocked, but also a little glad that he had a keen eye for talent. Jiang Chen is destined to become a legend in the Divine Abyss Continent one day.

Over at an uneventful corner not far away from the arena, two elderly men disguised as wandering cultivators were in disbelief at what had just happened in the arena.  They were in a bind. One was a twelfth rank inspector of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, while the other was the sect’s venerated elder. They both held very high positions in the Ninesuns Sky Sect. They’d snuck into Veluriyam Capital for Pill King Zhen, disguised as wandering cultivators. Like the Eternal Celestial Capital, they were suspicious of Pill King Zhen’s true identity.

However, they had a better reason than the Eternal Celestial Capital for their suspicions. They’d accidentally come across information that Pill King Zhen had once brandished his pill king badge at the border of Veluriyam Capital and stated that he was a second-rank pill king. In the Ninesuns Sky Sect, there was a second-rank pill king named Shi Zhen that was associated with Cao Jin. However, the name on Pill King Zhen’s pill king badge was Zhen Shi. Obviously he’d simply reversed the order of the name!

The Eternal Celestial Capital had no idea that the Ninesuns Sky Sect once had a young pill dao genius called Shi Zhen. After all, a mere second-rank pill king wasn’t likely notable. But, the Ninesuns Sky Sect knew that Shi Zhen and Cao Jin had disappeared at the same time. Moreover, all evidence pointed towards the fact that the fall of Cao Jin had something to do with Jiang Chen. If that were the case then Jiang Chen likely had something to do with Shi Zhen’s disappearance as well. Thus, it was only logical to suspect Pill King Zhen after he had brandished the badge.

They were almost certain that the badge belonged to Shi Zhen. They also suspected that Pill King Zhen was the same person as Jiang Chen. After analyzing the evidence they had, they were at least eighty percent sure that Pill King Zhen was Jiang Chen himself. They had even more grounds for their suspicions than the Eternal Celestial Capital. Thus, the Ninesuns Sky Sect was paying close attention to this match. The large brute in the arena was actually one of their great disciples. His ranking was even higher than Cao Jin. Cao Jin was ranked ninth, while this man was ranked seventh.

He was Xiao Paohui, stronger than Cao Jin in every single way. Moreover, this man was very fierce and agile in battle. All his thoughts of fear and death were thrown to the wind during battle, making him incredibly aggressive. Many who had battled with Xiao Paohui couldn’t adapt to his aggressiveness and were utterly crushed.

Xiao Paohui was actually quite close to Cao Jin. Because of that, he didn’t even hesitate before accepting this mission. However, he wasn’t just trying to avenge Cao Jin. His superiors from the clan had told him that the Ninesuns Sky Sect ardently wanted something that Jiang Chen might have obtained from a fortuitous encounter. This only gave Xiao Paohui even more motivation.

Xiao Paohui had placed great hopes on Cao Jin from the start. Thus, it was evident that Cao Jin’s death had influenced him greatly. He wasn’t sure if Pill King Zhen was the same person as Jiang Chen, but if he was, then his cultivation base must not be half bad if he could manage to eliminate Cao Jin and his three-man group.

Maybe there was an unexpected reason for Cao Jin’s defeat, but he had no doubt that this was an opponent that he couldn’t take lightly, even if the opponent only appeared to be at seventh level sage realm. Xiao Paohui walked onto the arena with this in mind and didn’t take his opponent lightly at all. He’d wanted to crush his opponent with the Thunderous Lion Roar, but it had proved ineffective. After that, he’d switched to his specialty of close combat, hoping to overwhelm his enemy with his strength and aggressiveness, but that had also proved ineffective. These continuous failures had made him take his opponent very seriously, which was why he decided to use his ultimate trump card of all, the power of totems. 

He strongly believed that after using this trump card, he would be able to kill his opponent as easily as flipping a hand. After all, the power of his totem would double his combat strength. Moreover, the totem image was capable of destroying all in its path. The power of an image was not to be compared with that of common martial methods. An image didn’t just deal physical damage; it also dealt divine damage. 

Moreover, common defense methods were unable to deflect the power of an image. Xiao Paohui could never have imagined that his opponent would use an even more powerful image to instantly destroy his ultimate killing technique. Even a man as confident as Xiao Paohui would feel a great sense of loss after that. The proudest achievement in his cultivation had been easily destroyed by another person with the same method. He stared at Jiang Chen with a look of defeat. “You… you understand image attacks too?”

Jiang Chen revealed a bland smile. “The power of totems. You mustn’t have come from a simple background, am I right? Who sent you? Why do you show your tail but hide your head?”

Xiao Paohui’s glare danced to and fro as he roared savagely, “I’m not convinced that your image is stronger than mine!”

The savage roar was as loud as the collapse of mountains and the cracking of earth. Xiao Paohui’s body began to emit a silver brilliance. It seemed like he was going to accumulate all of the strength in his body into one strike. 

“Brat! If you don’t fall with this strike, then it shall be my demise!” Xiao Paohui was no longer treating his opponent as he would any other. He understood that he would have to go all out in order to defeat this enemy. Silver runes began to materialize, as if they were carp splashing around in the blue ocean waves. They became increasingly brilliant. Xiao Paohui put his hands together and formed a rune that was a foot wide and three feet long. It appeared within the void and seemed to bear the strong will of a mighty expert.

He opened his arms, causing the rune to turn into a ball of silver light and enter his body. Moments later, it almost seemed as if he’d been possessed by an emperor realm expert. The silver brilliance emitting from his body suddenly swelled by ten feet and shot into the clouds.  

“The might of a great emperor!” Someone below the arena exclaimed.

“This is the will of a great emperor! Did an emperor possess his body?”

“Not good! Pill King Zhen is in danger!”

Jiang Chen immediately realized what was happening when he felt the frightening amount of power. It was indeed as powerful as the aura of a great emperor, but it wasn’t emitted by a genuine emperor. It was the rune that had encapsulated the might of a great emperor and temporarily manifested itself in Xiao Paohui’s body. He suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

Jiang Chen made a decision in a split second. He grabbed the Imperial Advent Defense Talisman and activated it. The defensive power of a great emperor instantly entered his body as well. The Imperial Advent Defense Talisman had come from Ji San, indirectly given to him by the Coiling Dragon clan lord.

Jiang Chen had also used it once in the desolate wildlands. An Imperial Advent Defense Talisman could be activated twice. Since he had already used it once, it could only be used once more. Jiang Chen hadn’t planned on using it easily. However, he understood that if he didn’t use it now, there was a chance he would no longer get to use it again. Since the opponent had manifested the might of a great emperor, he now temporarily possessed the might and power of a great emperor. Jiang Chen now had the same. This way, the powers might cancel each other out, helping him endure the attack.

Ji San was relieved as he observed the battle play out. “It’s fortunate that I gave him the Imperial Advent Defense Talisman. Otherwise, he would have eaten a big loss this time.”

The Coiling Dragon Clan Lord nodded in agreement, “Ji San, you must maintain a good relationship with Pill King Zhen. He’s an incredible genius that has an incredible future ahead of him. After thirty or fifty years, the entire continent will probably become Pill King Zhen’s era and legacy!”  

The clan lord didn’t feel that it was inappropriate to describe Jiang Chen in such a way. The clan lord’s words made Liuxiang, who was sitting right beside them, incredibly upset. The smug look on Ji San’s face only served to make him even more jealous. Isn’t it just due to luck that you were able to become friends with Pill King Zhen? Ji San! I, Liuxiang, will forever be better than you!

Unexpectedly, Ji Zhongtang seemed to be watching Pill King Zhen with a profound look in his eyes. His face was filled with nothing but admiration.