The final day felt agonizingly long, whether for
Jiang Chen was running on fumes. In his spiritual consciousness, it felt as though mountains were pressing down upon him, impossibly heavy.
Three consecutive days of relentless trials had pushed his endurance to its absolute limit.
If the ordeal had dragged on for another three days, Jiang Chen would surely have crumbled. This time, he had truly reached the breaking point.
Fortunately, no matter how long the day, it always ends.
When the final second of the last day ticked by, the ninth Glazed Stele let out a bright, cheerful cry. Then the Fish-Dragon Stele erupted with light that stretched ten thousand zhang in every direction.
The entire body of the stele turned a brilliant jade-green, like an enormous emerald gemstone, dazzling beyond measure.
"Congratulations, young man. You have conquered the ninth Glazed Stele — you are the third genius in a hundred thousand years to earn this honor!"
"Do not be surprised, and do not think yourself unworthy of the word 'genius.' Conquering the ninth Glazed Stele proves that you are a true genius."
"The Glazed King Tower welcomes true geniuses."
"Guard your mind. You will now be brought into the domain of the Six Palaces of Legacy!"
Jiang Chen's heart jolted. He quickly steadied his spiritual consciousness, bracing himself for what was to come.
Before long, the green radiance of the ninth Glazed Stele flooded across heaven and earth, engulfing the void, and swept Jiang Chen up in a single motion.
It was as though the Fish-Dragon Stele contained a temporal gateway.
In the next instant, Jiang Chen had vanished completely from before the stele. The ninth Glazed Stele returned to its former calm — all its brilliance, all its radiance, disappearing as suddenly and completely as if it had never been there at all.
"He broke through?"
"He… he actually survived the ninth Glazed Stele?"
"A genius… an absolute genius! Never in my lifetime did I think I'd see someone conquer the ninth Glazed Stele!"
"Young Master Zhen is going to soar to new heights for certain!"
"The Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain has conquered the ninth Glazed Stele! The fortune of Peacock Sacred Mountain truly cannot be shaken by anyone."
"Isn't that obvious? I never believed the other six Great Emperors had any right to challenge Peacock Sacred Mountain's fortune, let alone replace it."
Whispers of astonishment and envy rippled through the crowd — tinged with more than a touch of sour jealousy.
The Peacock Great Emperor's mood lifted in an instant, his furrowed brow smoothing out, as though a shackle in his heart had suddenly snapped free, leaving him light and at ease.
"Good… that kid really hasn't disappointed me." The Peacock Great Emperor's joy was genuine and deep. He had recognized Jiang Chen's potential early on, seeing the diamond in the rough. Now, all his efforts were finally bearing fruit.
With the ninth Glazed Stele conquered, Jiang Chen would surely enter the innermost tier of the Glazed King Tower.
And when that happened, the age-old mysteries of the Glazed King Tower might finally begin to reveal a glimpse of their veiled secrets.
The moment Jiang Chen broke through the ninth Glazed Stele, word spread like wildfire through every corner of Glazed King City.
The entire city erupted in an instant.
People poured out of their homes and into the streets, celebrating and cheering.
It was, without question, a thrilling moment.
Unlike Jiang Chen's resounding breakthrough, the other young prodigies — having returned from their respective secret realms to the Legacy Secret Realm — each tried to challenge the seventh Glazed Stele in the little time they had left.
They might have been among the top five on the current Young Master Rankings, but their innate limits were still just that — limits.
Though their talents were exceptional, they had never surpassed the Peacock Great Emperor in his youth.
It was therefore no surprise that none of them conquered the seventh Glazed Stele.
After these challengers finished their attempts at the seventh Glazed Stele, Young Master Ji finally made his move with the flair of a "king returning to claim his throne," preparing to challenge the eighth Glazed Stele.
And now, within the main tower of the Glazed King Tower, only Jiang Chen and Young Master Ji remained.
Every other genius on the Young Master Rankings had been eliminated.
Young Master Ji had awakened his Dragon Clan bloodline and fused it with True Dragon Blood. His progress by the day was staggering, his momentum ferocious.
During this period, he had been training in the Battle Secret Realm, gaining extensive combat experience while continuously honing his mental state, which had undergone tremendous growth.
Young Master Ji was truly a talent worth forging. Once his True Dragon Blood began to shine, his improvement had been nothing short of meteoric.
This had given him sufficient confidence that he was ready to challenge the eighth Glazed Stele.
And indeed, just as Young Master Ji had predicted, although many on the outside doubted his chances when he attempted to conquer the eighth Glazed Stele, he was about to prove them wrong.