The good news from inside the Glazed King Tower quickly spread throughout all of Glazed King City.
Someone had broken through the eighth Glazed Stele, shattering a record that His Majesty the Peacock Great Emperor had maintained for the past five thousand years. The news spread like wildfire to every corner of Glazed King City.
And the Peacock Great Emperor himself seemed to deliberately amplify it, making the story travel even faster. The name "Young Master Zhen" was mentioned again and again by the citizens of Glazed King City.
Gradually, a consensus quietly formed among everyone — Glazed King City had welcomed an imperial star among the younger generation!
This Young Master Zhen was undoubtedly the best choice to succeed the Peacock Great Emperor. Everything he had done, and the fortune he possessed, all proved this point.
For the past three thousand years, the Peacock Great Emperor had been the absolute authority of Glazed King City — the totem and guardian deity in the hearts of most of its citizens.
And since Young Master Zhen had managed to break the record set by the Peacock Great Emperor in his youth, what did that mean? It meant that Young Master Zhen, at his age, was even more outstanding than the Peacock Great Emperor had been at the same age.
And this kind of excellence had even earned the recognition of the Peacock Great Emperor himself.
The student had surpassed the master, and the new waves pushed the old ones aside.
This was exactly what the martial world loved to see. Because the stronger the genius, the greater the guarantee for the people of this land.
No one wanted their territory to be handed over to a coward or a mediocre talent in the future.
And Young Master Zhen undeniably satisfied everyone's wildest imaginations and highest expectations.
Such a successor had made the citizens of Glazed King City completely forget about Young Master Fan. They truly believed from the bottom of their hearts that the current Young Master Zhen had already surpassed the former Young Master Fan!
The forces under the Peacock Great Emperor's banner were also greatly exhilarated by this news.
In particular, the Panlong Clan and the Wei Family were overjoyed — so excited that they wished they could announce to the entire world that Young Master Zhen had risen to the pinnacle step by step from their very own ranks.
In particular, Wei Family patriarch Wei Tianxiao now stood tall with his back straight, his status within the Wei Family higher than ever before. In the entire Wei Family, his word was absolute law.
The clan elders had been thoroughly won over and would never dare harbor even the slightest dissent.
And the reason for all of this was none other than Young Master Zhen.
Putting everything else aside, the mere fact that the Wei Family had introduced a genius like Young Master Zhen to the Sacred Peacock Mountain was a contribution sufficient to guarantee several generations of wealth and prosperity for the Wei father and son.
Under these circumstances, let alone the clan elders — even the Wei Family's rivals were sitting on pins and needles. Especially those who had trampled on the Wei Family during its darkest days were utterly restless.
Because as Young Master Zhen's reputation continued to rise, the Wei Family's status would inevitably rise with it. If the Wei Family continued on this trajectory, it was entirely possible that those who had offended them in the past would face retaliation.
In an instant, many of the factions that had crossed the Wei Family began quietly considering whether they should take this opportunity to mend relations.
As for the Panlong Clan, they were equally in an uproar.
Of course, their excitement was not because of Jiang Chen, but because of Third Young Master Ji.
Third Young Master Ji had comprehended the seventh Glazed Stele, also breaking the record set by the Peacock Great Emperor back in the day. For the Panlong Clan, this was an unprecedented glory.
Never before had any patriarch — not even the most outstanding among all the Panlong Clan's past leaders — achieved such a distinguished accomplishment.
The only one in the entire Panlong Clan who was perhaps not happy was Young Master Liuxiang. As a rival, he had to sorrowfully admit that he had already been left far behind by Third Young Master Ji, to the point where he could barely even see the other's silhouette anymore.
Ji Zhongtang, on the other hand, was in excellent spirits. Third Young Master Ji's heaven-defying performance had stimulated his own passion for the martial dao, giving him even more motivation to push forward.
Taiyuan Pavilion had become even more bustling in recent days. Those who had previously been unfamiliar with Taiyuan Pavilion were now flocking there en masse.
Everyone wanted to see for themselves just how remarkable Taiyuan Pavilion — the place that had nurtured a genius like Young Master Zhen — truly was.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen's core followers no longer resided at Taiyuan Pavilion; otherwise, they would have been overwhelmed by the flood of enthusiasm and unable to step outside.
The people still staying at Taiyuan Pavilion were each experiencing a bittersweet mix of pain and joy.
On one hand, the attention Taiyuan Pavilion was receiving was a tremendous blessing.
On the other hand, the excessive enthusiasm was indeed pushing Taiyuan Pavilion beyond its limits.
But they all knew that as Young Master Zhen continued to perform better day by day, the bustling commotion at Taiyuan Pavilion would likely persist indefinitely.
"Your Majesty, do you think Young Master Zhen will continue on to challenge the ninth Glazed Stele?" Emperor Yunzhong asked softly.
The other three Great Emperors turned to look at the Peacock Great Emperor upon hearing this, clearly just as eager for the answer.
The Peacock Great Emperor smiled leisurely. "Based on what I know of him, he will certainly challenge the ninth Glazed Stele. As for the timing, I suspect he will take his time. After all, he has far more time in the Glazed King Tower than he needs."
After successfully challenging the eighth Glazed Stele, Jiang Chen had gained an additional two years of extended time.