Chapter 668: Opening of the Myriad Domain Paramount Realm
Xiang Wentian might’ve looked like he was publicly censuring the Sacred Sword Palace, but in reality, he was protecting them. The Sacred Sword Palace wouldn’t dare stir up trouble after this display of dominance, and he wouldn’t have a reason to suppress the Sacred Sword Palace either.
Jiang Chen looked at Xiang Wentian meaningfully, but didn’t reveal the latter’s intentions. It looked like Xiang Wentian had guessed that Jiang Chen really had enough strength to off the entire sect. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought to do something like this. Hidden in his words were also a hint to the Sacred Sword Palace ot back down. Of course, Jiang Chen was also guessing that Xiang Wentian’s actions weren’t targeting him, but rather took into consideration the greater picture of the Myriad Domain. The Tristar Sect had already betrayed them and chipped away at their battle power. If the Sacred Sword Palace was also destroyed, then the Myriad Domain would really be hurting then.
Beams of light exploded out of w.a.n.g Jianyu’s eyes, but died down. After a long tense moment, he snorted coldly. “Good, good! Since ole brother Xiang has said as much, then I must show you this face today.”
In reality, apart from w.a.n.g Jianyu, none of the others from the Sacred Sword Palace wanted to battle the Regal Pill Palace either. They were firmly underfoot at the moment, and had no a.s.surance of victory if they went toe-to-toe against anyone else. Jiang Chen was also quite the odd kid. They couldn’t help be a bit wary of him. It seemed like he’d even killed Elder Chen. Who was to say that he didn’t have a method to kill them too?
w.a.n.g Jianyu was very strong, but things would be uncertain if Jiang Chen had an even stronger backup plan up his sleeve. Even if the elders could save themselves, Jiang Chen could very well take out half of their geniuses. That would be an unmitigated disaster for the Sacred Sword Palace. Therefore, no matter what benefit was dangled in front of them, they weren’t willing to take this fight.
There was no honor in winning as a sect over one young man, and great shame in losing. Not only would they suffer great shame, but they might also incur enormous injuries, possibly even ones that were impossible to recover from. No matter what angle they looked at things from, there was no need for this match. Therefore, they were rather relieved to see w.a.n.g Jianyu give up, even the arrogant w.a.n.g Han. He’d already been thoroughly cowed by Jiang Chen. He just wished for this harbinger of bad luck to not appear in front of him anymore. He could hide from Jiang Chen, even if he couldn’t win in a fight! Although he hated Jiang Chen with a pa.s.sion, w.a.n.g Han had tragically discovered that he would likely never surpa.s.s Jiang Chen in this lifetime.
The Walkabout Sect was actually feeling slightly dejected that the Sacred Sword Palace had backed down. They wanted to watch a good show and see how this situation of one person against an entire sect would play out. But w.a.n.g Jianyu had actually shrunk back at the critical moment!
Xiang Wentian however, breathed a sigh of relief. From his perspective, he didn’t wish for the Myriad Domain to clash and take any more losses in civil war.
“Ole brother Dan Chi, show me some face and settle your grudges later, alright?” Xiang Wentian looked towards Dan Chi.
Dan Chi responded remotely, “We naturally have to show ole brother Xiang some face, however, there won’t be a next time. I’m sure you have all seen that w.a.n.g Jianyu always steps out to make trouble whenever a matter involves my Regal Pill Palace.”
This was true, something that everyone had borne witness too. Indeed, if anything whatsoever came up with the Regal Pill Palace, the Sacred Sword Palace would always be the one to create the most trouble. No one could deny that.
Xiang Wentian looked at w.a.n.g Jianyu, “Ole brother w.a.n.g, you should more or less think of the greater picture when we are faced with a great enemy, shouldn’t you? If disaster truly befalls the Myriad Domain, what meaning do you think there will be in the grudges between the two sects?”
How would w.a.n.g Jianyu not know of this? However, when faced with his mortal enemy, he’d rather be bullied by an outside enemy than see his rival grow stronger. “Old brother Xiang, I’ll show you face and not make more trouble at this time’s ceremony. However, the grudge between the Sacred Sword Palace and Regal Pill Palace does not end here. The mountains are high and the rivers long, this matter will not end just like this.” w.a.n.g Jianyu huffed and waved his hand, “We go.”
“Go?” An elder of the Sacred Sword Palace was taken aback.
“What else can we do other than leave? There’s no spot for the Sacred Sword Palace in the Myriad Domain, so do you want to stay and watch them strut around?” w.a.n.g Jianyu retorted angrily.
The Sacred Sword Palace made their way away from the ceremony, but an elder spoke quietly when they’d put a few miles between them and the rest of the Myriad Domain sects, “Palace Head, are we really leaving?”
w.a.n.g Jianyu leered, “Leave? How could it be that easy? We’ll hide in wait first and wait for them to emerge from the Paramount Realm. Then we’ll ambush the Regal Pill Palace when they separate. If we don’t kill that little cretin Jiang Chen now, we won’t have the chance to in the future.”
After all, Jiang Chen’s strength was rising too quickly. He’d just stepped forth to challenge their entire sect by himself. Not only did this deeply offend w.a.n.g Jianyu, it also made wariness grow in his heart for the first time. Even if the kid was boasting, he must’ve had some confidence in his ability to defy the Sacred Sword Palace. He wouldn’t have been so arrogant otherwise. Therefore, the best way to handle Jiang Chen now wasn’t through a match in the ring, but a sudden ambush that would catch him off guard. Everything would be much easier if they could injure him in an ambush. The Sacred Sword Palace wasn’t ranked second in strength among the sects for nothing. Naturally, it had some of its own trump cards.
…...
Now that the Grand Ceremony was over, the rankings were posted for all to see, and Jiang Chen’s name was on prominent display at the top. He had the honor of being the champion of this year’s Grand Ceremony. The Regal Pill Palace was delighted and congratulated Jiang Chen enthusiastically. Even the previously rebellious Nie Chong acknowledged Jiang Chen’s prowess. He had no ability to do so otherwise, because the strength that Jiang Chen displayed gave him no reason not to submit. To be honest, he didn’t even have the strength to be jealous of Jiang Chen. Much less him, Shen Qinghong didn’t have the right to either. Only a genius on the level of Xiang Qin would have the right to envy Jiang Chen.
There were three major areas in the Paramount Realm, with nine levels in total. Three were in the transcendent region, three levels in the inner region, and three levels on the outskirts. According to previous ceremony rules, the top sixteen of the martial compet.i.tion had the right to enter the transcendent region. The top thirty two could enter the inner region, with those ranking thirty third and beyond with only the right to stay in the outskirts.
The Paramount Realm would be open for nine days, allotting one day per level. There were many geniuses who’d entered the Paramount Realm after the previous Grand Ceremonies, but very few had found any fortune in the transcendent region. Barely any of them had made it to that area to begin with, and those who did came back out empty handed. Those who returned all said that there was nothing in the transcendent region at all.
“Disciples, you all are top sixteen and have the right to enter the transcendent region. However, I’ll be frank and say that when I had the chance to explore the transcendent region, I didn’t get anything for my time there. There simply doesn’t seem to be anything there. The heritage I obtained was from the inner region. Your fate is in your hands this time, and it’s up to you if you would rather head to the transcendent region or stay within the inner region to seek your heritage.” Dan Chi gave his disciples some sincere advice as someone who’d gone through the process before.
It was possible to have great gains in the transcendent region, but even more likely that one would receive nothing at all. Compet.i.tion would be high in the inner region, but there were many legacies left in the inner region and a high possibility of obtaining treasures. Dan Chi was leaving the ultimate choice up to the youngsters. He might be the sect head, but he couldn’t make the decision for them.
“How are you choosing, Jiang Chen?” Shen Qinghong asked curiously.
“Let’s go in first, nine days really isn’t much time. It’s an unknown if we’ll even make it to the transcendent region.” Jiang Chen smiled.
Jun Mobai nodded with a slight smile, seeming to agree very much with Jiang Chen. Ling Bi"er looked at Jiang Chen. It was obvious that she would choose whatever Jiang Chen chose. When Shen Qinghong and Jun Mobai saw her thus, a wry feeling crept into their hearts. They understood that Ling Bi’er’s heart had made its choice already. In the end, this icy beauty had opened her heart to Jiang Chen. As for Nie Chong, he hadn’t made it into the top sixteen, so he wasn’t faced with this dilemma. It was already quite a feat that he could enter the inner region. If things had gone as expected, he was supposed to have been eliminated in the first round, but had made it into the top sixty four thanks to the additional spots that had opened up. He’d then been lucky in the draw to make it into the top thirty two and received the chance to enter the inner region. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have that to look forward to.
“Alright, there’s not much time left. Everyone, go make your preparations. The Paramount Realm will be opening soon.”
The Paramount Realm was sealed shut, a seal that even the Great Scarlet Mid Region hadn’t been able to break through when they’d invaded. After all, this place was a culmination of all the emperor realm cultivators in the Myriad Domain’s history, and even had the life essences of the t.i.tled Great Emperors from ancient times. Unless the invader reached that level of strength, they would have almost no hope of breaking through the seal by force. Therefore, the invaders had unsuccessfully made several attempts before leaving without anything gained.
Fortunately, every region had a place like the Paramount Region. It wasn’t a phenomenon unique to the Myriad Domain. When all was said and done, it was a cemetery of experts. The Great Scarlet Mid Region had a similar place, containing even stronger inheritances. Therefore, although the Great Scarlet Mid Region wanted to gain access, they didn’t want it too badly. They might not even found anything worth the trouble if they’d gone to the effort of breaking through the seal.
“Remember, you only have nine days. You must crush the jade transportation token in your hands after nine days or you’ll be trapped inside. The Paramount Realm is a place of rebirth, and the energy of life is very weak there. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to survive the thirty years within until the next ceremony.” Xiang Wentian swept his eyes across everyone’s face in solemn warning.