Jiang Chen’s words had a significant impact on his audience. It was on the same level as when they’d first known of the Pinecrane Pill, the pill extended the lives of emperors and great emperors. It was an immensely attractive prospect, since everyone had a limitation on their lifespan.
Without understanding the principles of heaven and earth and ascending to empyrean rank, one would still become dust at the end of one’s life. Any past heroism and skill would be rendered useless. Therefore, there’d been a great deal of attention on the Pinecrane Pill.
The Emperor Supremacy Pill tugged at the crowd’s heartstrings the same way. Great emperors found it exceedingly difficult to take any cultivation steps forward. Wasn’t a pill that gave away a free level in light of that too absurd?
“I have another question, young lord Zhen.” Emperor Wellspring intoned in a low voice. “The Emperor Supremacy Pill can help an initial great emperor ascend to mid great emperor very quickly, yes?”
“Yes.” Jiang Chen nodded with certainty. He’d already guessed what they wanted to ask.
“Then, does it have an effect on people like us? If we’re on the boundary of supreme and peak great emperor?” The emperor asked.
“Sure, though the degree of the effect is reduced somewhat. If a supreme great emperor were to take a thousand years to reach peak great emperor realm, perhaps they would need only three or six hundred instead. It depends on one’s foundations, and there’s a bit of luck involved as well, so there’s some variation in the reduction of time needed. However, it’d be halving the time on average.” Jiang Chen’s explanation was rather objective, but his words sounded sweeter than an empyrean lyre.
“Inconceivable, simply inconceivable! Can there be a pill like that beneath the heavens? We are all well-dwelling frogs after all. How much heritage did the ancients leave us? And now, less than a hundredth remains. It’s a shame for all human cultivators everywhere!” Emperor Wellspring was a bit overexcited.
Han Qianzhan and Su Huanzhen couldn’t speak. They looked at Jiang Chen with deep uncertainty. They had no words to describe the extent of his bizarre abilities.
Master Dong Ye struggled to form a coherent sentence. Jiang Chen’s revelation stunned him; he wanted to refute the youth’s claim, but didn’t have the sufficient pill dao knowledge to do so. A genius that had the Pinecrane Pill in his possession wasn’t someone he had the right to question, anyway.
“Young lord Zhen. If the Heavencloud Ganoderma really can refine a pill like that, it can definitely be considered a third place supreme rank treasure. But actually, isn’t it worthy of first place?” The mistress of the Celestial Cicada Court suddenly piped up.
“Not so.” Jiang Chen shook his head. “First, the Ganoderma isn’t quite mature enough. Given its present age and spirit energy within, we can make two Emperor Supremacy Pills from it at most, and the pills would be mediocre quality to boot. More importantly, there’s a very real risk for failure in the attempt to do so.”
He’d carefully compared the three supreme rank treasures. If the Heavencloud Ganoderma exceeded three thousand years, it was definitely possible to make three to six Emperor Supremacy Pills of very high quality out of it. Furthermore, his chance of being able to do so was almost certain. The Ganoderma would then be worthy of second place, past the talisman.
As for the jade token, the young man felt that to be first place regardless. It contained a cultivation technique and could therefore be pa.s.sed on perpetually.
“Alright, I concede the point.” Emperor Wellspring smiled. “What about the second-place talisman, young lord Zhen? What are its origins, and what can it do?”
“This is a talisman from ancient times. If I’m correct, it’s a defensive talisman of sorts. It can s.h.i.+eld its holder from attacks of various attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning. Take a look! There are seven runes upon the talisman, which means it can be used to defend against seven attacks. It’s a treasure almost perfect at accomplis.h.i.+ng its primary purpose. The defense it erects is immensely powerful. It would be hard for even you, our honored guests, to break.”
“What?” Everyone was stupefied once more.
“That’s right.” Jiang Chen nodded confidently. “Many large sects refined such talismans in ancient times for their best geniuses. Battles back then were significantly more dangerous than nowadays. There were no barriers between the races either. Anyone from any race could freely enter and exit the other races’ domains. There was no such thing as a Boundary Stele. The war between the races was brutal, direct, and cruel. These talismans were extremely valuable to the geniuses for whom they were made.”
“Oh, only the strongest factions could afford talismans like this, of course,” the young man added. “The smaller ones couldn’t really sustain the cost.”
“Ah, young lord Zhen is as good as an encyclopedia. Are you a master of ancient matters too? What was the talisman called back then, if I may ask?”
“The Seven Star Convergence Talisman.” Jiang Chen’s answer was clean and crisp.
By now, even Master Dong Ye’s remaining hint of disapproval was entirely gone. The young lord had won him over. Regardless of whether the young man said was fact or not, he was clearly drawing his words from a source. He certainly didn’t seem to be making things up on the spot. “This monk yields to your wisdom, young lord Zhen.”
“We yield.” The audience nodded in concurrence with the Buddhist master.
“Hahaha, we’ve only been paying attention to the three supreme rank treasures. We need to identify the first grade treasures too, yes? The crowd won’t be convinced otherwise.” Han Qianzhan laughed.
The audience nodded a second time. They’d been fixated only on the supreme rank treasures too. The first and second grade treasures still needed description and justification. Since this was a treasure identification segment, all the better treasures needed at least a pa.s.sing diagnosis. At minimum it had to be enough to sate their owners’ curiosities.
There was no contest about the qualities of the first and second grade treasures whatsoever. The five judges completed their identification duties effortlessly through smooth cooperation, finis.h.i.+ng after about four hours from event start. The wandering cultivators were all s.h.i.+fting restlessly after the prolonged process.
The dignitaries in the guest area were also eagerly antic.i.p.ating the results since the judges were taking a long time to reemerge. There were guesses all over that there had been one or multiple amazing discoveries.
Amidst the speculation, Jiang Chen and company finally came out of the identification area. Millions of eyes focused simultaneously upon them in the next instant. The audience’s faces were rapt with antic.i.p.ation and inquiry.
A serene smile hung perpetually upon Jiang Chen’s face. The other four were excited, shocked, and overjoyed to varying degrees. Their expressions were all generally a bit exaggerated.
“Can it be? Has some incredible treasure really been discovered?” The heavyweights seated in the guest area were enticed by the possibility – a very real one, judging from the faces of the judges.
Many had come for the Dragon and Tiger Meet in order to get a more thorough understanding of Veluriyam Capital’s strength. They wanted to see whether young lord Zhen was as monstrous as the rumors made him out to be. The treasure identification segment alone was enough to t.i.tillate them. Their attentions had been unknowingly drawn back to the Meet itself.
Facing his audience’s expectant looks head on, Jiang Chen laughed. “Thank you for your pa.s.sionate support. The four seniors and I took a long time perusing and cla.s.sifying all your treasures, but we’ve finally come to consensus on everything given to us. Unfortunately, the fourth and fifth grade treasures will be returned directly to their owners. We gave a rather basic result for the third grade treasures, going into a bit more detail for the second grade ones. The first grade treasures we received are very seriously expounded upon.
“However, what really surprised us was that there were three treasures surpa.s.sing the first grade cla.s.sification. We couldn’t let an injustice stand, so we temporarily came up with an additional supreme rank rating. The three treasures in this grade thoroughly surpa.s.s each and every first grade treasure. I must congratulate the three lucky owners ahead of time. Anyone with just one of these treasures sits on a king’s ransom!”
Like a match to kindling, Jiang Chen’s speech set the crowd aflame. There were supreme rank treasures above first grade ones? This surpa.s.sed everyone’s expectations. The million plus wandering cultivators boiled over with shock and conversation.
The wandering cultivator world leaned on the poorer side. Most wandering cultivators were poor as a rule. What little they did have amounted to nothing before the wealth of a sect.
It was rare for a wandering cultivator to have anything good at all. Thus, everyone had thought that finding a few first grade treasures would be the most that would happen. Supreme rank treasures? What were those?
“Calm yourselves, everyone.” Jiang Chen pressed both hands downward. “I understand your excitement. Your rush to know what the three supreme rank treasures are is understandable. Alas, we must withhold their announcement temporarily. The fifth, fourth, and third grade treasures will be listed first to offer some preliminary information. Nothing listed among these three grades is particularly valuable. Third grade treasures are acceptable, but we must apologize in advance for owners of lower grade treasures. After that, we will come to the second and first grade treasures.”
The wandering cultivators gradually quieted down. After hearing the astonis.h.i.+ng news, they became even more apprehensive about what was to come. What kind of treasure was worthy of the supreme rank moniker?
“Before I proceed to the results, I must emphasize the following once more. Protecting your privacy is our utmost concern. No news of the owners’ ident.i.ties will leak out. If anyone is concerned still, valuable treasures may be submitted to us for auction or transaction immediately afterward.”
This was a necessary a.s.sertion. Treasure identification was only the Meet’s first segment. There were many more to come, all designed to reap a bounty of reputation and goodwill on Veluriyam Capital’s behalf.