Chapter 506: The Monthly Sovereign Area Meeting
Every single one of Jiang Chen’s followers trained in these two arts, so it wasn’t some exclusive method that he was pa.s.sing onto Mu Gaoqi. Jiang Chen was investing this much in Mu Gaoqi because he saw potential worthy of doing so in the latter. Mu Gaoqi’s personality was loyal and honest, worthy of trust.
The Regal Pill Palace was treating Jiang Chen well, and this would be how he would repay their favor, by raising a great future pill master for them. Nevertheless, he only pa.s.sed on these two and nothing else, because as a pill master, what Mu Gaoqi was weakest in currently was vision and strength of heart. If he could obtain some achievement in this regard and sh.o.r.e up the gaps in his abilities, then his growth rate would skyrocket. To be honest, Jiang Chen was rather looking forward to the day.
“Gaoqi, although I’ve been of some use in helping you achieve what you have today, the key still lies in your potential and your intelligence. If you didn’t possess a wood const.i.tution and have knowledge of the wood spirit spring, you never would be where you are today no matter how much I helped you. Of course, you and I are both Regal Pill Palace disciples now. We put forth effort on behalf of the sect. Everything I do, everything you do, is all for the sect.”
“Yes, yes.” Mu Gaoqi nodded in quick succession. He identified deeply with the sect, and had an even greater sense of belonging after gaining Elder Yun Nie as his master.
“There are still three days until the meeting; go back and make your preparations.”
“Brother Chen, I understand! Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint any of you.” Mu Gaoqi’s confidence was gradually increasing thanks to Jiang Chen’s continual help. Although it wasn’t possible to immediately wipe out all the weak spots in his personality, he was at least improving. His confidence level was noticeably higher compared to when he’d first met Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen gave no further thought to the monthly meeting over the next three days, instead immersing himself in cultivation. With so many Origin Fostering Pills on hand and after refining the Firelizard core, Jiang Chen was now gathering his momentum at the peak of the third level origin realm. He was only a step away from earth origin realm, and he was very confident that he’d be able to set foot into it after the monthly meeting.
When he’d set foot in the Regal Pill Palace, he’d set his goal on breaking through to the sky origin realm in three years. A few months later, he was only a step away from the earth origin realm. This wasn’t slow, but neither was it particularly fast.
“Time waits for no one. The Myriad Grand Ceremony in three years is the meeting of the most powerful of the younger generation in the Myriad Domain. All the geniuses of the younger generation will converge, and the resulting clash will be extraordinary. If I cannot enter the sky origin realm in three years, what right would I have to compete for the Myriad Domain Hidden Dragon Ranking? What would I be able to bring to the Grand Ceremony? What right would I have to compete for the chance to enter the Paramount Realm in the Myriad Domain?”
Back during the Regal Pill Palace and the Precious Tree Sect alliance ceremony, Palace Head Dan Chi had told Jiang Chen a bit of the story behind the Myriad Domain. Jiang Chen was now aware of what the Dragon Rankings represented, what the Grand Ceremony indicated, and what the Paramount Realm meant. If he couldn’t even come out on top at a gathering of the Myriad Domain geniuses, what right would he have to challenge the Upper Eight Realms?
When he thought about how his father had already spent so many years in the Upper Eight Realms, Jiang Chen felt his heart afire with anxiety. “Strength! I, Jiang Chen, still need to urgently increase my strength.”
He received Mu Gaoqi’s message glyph as soon as as he emerged from closed door cultivation. The two of them made their way to Shen Qinghong’s residence together.
Shen Qinghong was ranked as one of the top three in the Sovereign Area, with subtle hints of being number one. His strength was touted as between peak origin realm and half step sage realm. But of course, that kind of t.i.tle was just a compliment. He was still just peak origin realm in reality.
Just as most spirit kings at the peak of the spirit realm liked to call themselves half step origin realm, so did origin kings at the peak of origin realm like to call themselves half step sage realm. Shen Qinghong did have the right to look down on everyone else with pride though. At 28 years old, he was only six years older than Jiang Chen, but his cultivation level had already reached the peak of the origin realm.
Of course, Jiang Chen was neither admiring nor envious. There were a mult.i.tude of geniuses in this world, and those who could reach the top in the Regal Pill Palace naturally had tremendous potential. If he’d been born in the Regal Pill Palace and not the Eastern Kingdom, his cultivation would’ve broken through to the sage realm by now. In the end, it still came down to a matter of resources. The Regal Pill Palace’s resources couldn’t be compared to the paltry resources that Jiang Chen had been exposed to in the Eastern Kingdom, Skylaurel Kingdom, and Precious Tree Sect.
“Brother Chen, I feel that they’ll make trouble for the two of us about the spots for the Pill Battles.”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “Gaoqi, you’ve an innate wood const.i.tution of high order. Even if their martial dao potential is higher than yours, they have no right to point fingers at your performance in the arena of pills. You must have at least this level of confidence in yourself.”
“Yes, I’ll listen to Brother Chen.” Mu Gaoqi smiled and responded, “Brother Chen, I’ve felt my strength of heart soar after cultivating Boulder’s Heart these past couple of days. It will surely leap even higher in the future!”
Of that, Jiang Chen had no doubt. If even Boulder’s Heart was unable to raise his strength of heart, then Mu Gaoqi would really be trash. He would still be trash even with his innate const.i.tution.
If strength of heart didn’t scale with one’s cultivation level, one was destined for a dest.i.tute future.
The two laughed and chatted until they arrived at Shen Qinghong’s residence. His followers had long since been standing to welcome them. When they saw the two arrive, two followers in uniforms walked up in welcome. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, senior brother Gaoqi, our young master has been waiting for a while.”
These two followers were actually minor origin realm! That slightly startled Mu Gaoqi; he hadn’t ever encountered a figure so high that even his followers were minor origin realm. Jiang Chen however, had a relaxed expression on his face as he followed the two into the residence.
Each of the Sovereign Area residences had their own unique aspects; all superior locations. Shen Qinghong’s residence was the best that the Rosy Valley had to offer, no matter how one looked at things. Its various furnis.h.i.+ngs and design were all arranged perfectly.
Jiang Chen took a quick look around and noticed a restriction placed on the outskirts of the residence, and noted two more in place after entering the residence.
“Tsk tsk, just how wealthy is Shen Qinghong that he can afford to spend so much? These formation restrictions are absolutely the height of opulence!”
The visible eye could see nothing of the formations, and Jiang Chen wouldn’t have discovered them either had he not made an extensive study of formations. He made a mental comparison and had to sigh with amazement at how much money Shen Qinghong seemed to possess.
Jiang Chen’s initial plans for the Nine Gates Incineration Formation wouldn’t even amount to a third of Shen Qinghong’s.
“This Shen Qinghong is either the son of a wealthy family or the lineal descendent of a wealthy family in the Regal Pill Palace. Ordinary disciples wouldn’t have such a strong foundation.” Jiang Chen kept speculating as he examined his surroundings and grew curious of Shen Qinghong’s background. “Gaoqi, what’s Shen Qinghong’s background?”
Mu Gaoqi hurriedly responded when he received Jiang Chen’s message. “Shen Qinghong has quite a background. His honored master is Elder Lian Cheng, the Hallmaster of the Hall of Might, hailed as the first elder in the Regal Pill Palace. His grandfather is Elder Jin Gu of the Hall of Spring and Autumn.”
This background greatly took Jiang Chen aback. So this is the case!
No wonder he could afford to spend so much. This kind of expenditure elicited admiration from even Jiang Chen. The personal disciple of the Hall of Might would have stunning power. The grandson of the Hall of Spring and Autumn would have stunning wealth at his disposal, since that hall was in charge of all the resources in the sect. There was no way that a grandson of that hall would be short on resources.
This was a typical example of second generation power and wealth. Superior birth, respected position, and high potential made for a solid winner in life. He was one in which the fortunes of the sect were concentrated on.
Before long, Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi were led to a magnificent and resplendent palace. There was a single man in the center of the great hall. His complexion was as clear as jade, and he exuded an elegant and refined presence. Red lips, white teeth, deep eyes and vigorous eyebrows framed a perfect face. It was astonis.h.i.+ng, no matter what angle one looked at him, he was perfect.
“Young master, Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi have arrived.”
This visually perfect young man was naturally Shen Qinghong. “I have long since heard of your names. Come, take a seat. Bring forth the tea!”
Jiang Chen walked in leisurely into the great hall and cupped his fists. “Senior brother Shen’s residence is majestic and grand. No wonder it has been chosen by the top genius in the Regal Pill Palace.”
Mu Gaoqi also cupped his fists. “Gaoqi greets senior brother Shen.”
Shen Qinghong only smiled faintly. “Come, take your seats.” He didn’t actually actually voice any pleasantries in response, making Mu Gaoqi feel a bit awkward. Jiang Chen however, didn’t mind and casually selected a seat off to the side. He wasn’t interested in trying to posture and establish superiority.
Shen Qinghong looked perfect, but he still lacked that sliver of proper bearing. This greatly reduced Jiang Chen’s first impression of him.
He knew that as second generation youth born into wealth and power, it was normal for Shen Qinghong’s eyes to be firmly atop his head and lack the slightest modic.u.m of respect for anyone. While it was enough to fool girls, it was nothing to Jiang Chen.
When Mu Gaoqi saw how Jiang Chen remained composed, he didn’t say anything else and just sat down next to him.
Jiang Chen took a look around as he took a seat. As his eyes swept across the hall, he noticed several others keeping a close eye on the proceedings. However, the geniuses of the Sovereign Area seemed to be on their guard against each other, keeping their interactions brief. Everyone sat there silently with their eyes closed, as if they were storing energy and afraid that interacting too much would result in revealing their trump cards.
From their behavior, Jiang Chen realized that they were just pretending to be mysterious and mentally dismissed them. He too leaned against his chair and closed his eyes to rest. If anything decided to come, he’d just deal with it. He wouldn’t purposefully start trouble, but he wanted to see just what would develop in this monthly meeting.