Most people believed what Jiang Chen said. While they felt he might not have been entirely honest about everything, they didn't have much reason to doubt him.
The Glazed King Tower, in everyone's eyes, held only one ultimate fortune—obtaining the Heavenly Mandate Decree and the Heavenly Mandate Sarira of the ancient Glazed King.
In the eyes of the crowd, that was the Glazed King Tower's final legacy.
Without obtaining those two treasures, any other encounters were trivial by comparison.
For generations, those who challenged the Glazed King Tower did so with the sole aim of claiming its ultimate legacy—the Heavenly Mandate Decree and the Heavenly Mandate Sarira of the ancient Glazed King.
So when they heard Jiang Chen say he was qualified to challenge for the Heavenly Mandate Decree, no one doubted it. They felt it was only natural.
And since the Heavenly Mandate Decree and Heavenly Mandate Sarira were still there, and the Glazed King Tower's magnificent radiance remained undiminished, that meant Young Master Zhen had not obtained the ultimate legacy after all.
With that settled, there was nothing left to envy.
His conquest of the Nine Glazed Steles didn't seem so enviable anymore.
After all, what people had cared about most—and worried about most—was the possibility that the Glazed King Tower's ultimate legacy had been seized by this Young Master Zhen.
Now that the ultimate legacy was still intact, everyone felt a sense of balance restored.
As for the Nine Glazed Steles, conquering them was certainly a tremendous feat that would bring great fame, but it was fame and nothing more. The real gains were nothing more than the training and accumulation obtained during the process of conquering those nine steles.
Such benefits were intangible—not concrete things—so no one was overly jealous.
Jiang Chen's emergence from the Glazed King Tower signaled the definitive conclusion of this generation's Glazed King Tower Grand Assembly.
As the Seven Great Emperor factions withdrew from the Glazed King Tower, the grand event was finally declared over.
Each of the Seven Great Emperor's various factions departed with their own thoughts, returning to their respective territories.
Having entered the Glazed King Tower and spent several years inside, returning to Peacock Sacred Mountain now felt as though only a single day had passed. The sights that greeted his eyes made it seem as though he had left only yesterday.
Upon returning to Peacock Sacred Mountain, Jiang Chen's first order of business was not to go back to his own cave dwelling, but to accompany the Peacock Great Emperor to his palace.
He knew the Peacock Great Emperor certainly had questions to ask him in private.
"Young Zhen, in the Glazed King Tower—did you truly obtain no legacy at all?" The Peacock Great Emperor still harbored some curiosity.
It wasn't that he coveted anything from the Glazed King Tower himself. He simply couldn't accept that Jiang Chen had gone in and come out empty-handed.
He believed that with Jiang Chen's fortune and destiny, it shouldn't have been possible to gain nothing whatsoever.
Bound by his Heart Demon Oath, Jiang Chen naturally couldn't speak of the Six Palaces of Inheritance. He offered a faint smile. "Your Majesty, the most important thing about this journey was the training itself, and I certainly gained some benefits. But the Heavenly Mandate Decree and the Heavenly Mandate Sarira—I truly never even considered going after them."
He deliberately steered the conversation toward those two items.
The Peacock Great Emperor let out a soft sigh. "The Heavenly Mandate Decree and the Heavenly Mandate Sarira. Everyone believes these two are the Glazed King Tower's ultimate legacy. However, I have always meditated upon the Glazed King Tower frequently over the years, and I have a persistent feeling that those two may not necessarily be the tower's true ultimate legacy after all."
Jiang Chen's heart stirred upon hearing this.
The Peacock Great Emperor possessed such profound powers of insight? If Jiang Chen hadn't learned the truth from Celestial Master Tian Kun, he himself would have assumed those two items were the Glazed King Tower's ultimate legacy as well.
The Peacock Great Emperor knew nothing of the truth—his insight came purely from the power of meditation. That was truly astonishing.
However, this was not something Jiang Chen could easily agree with.
He simply said, "The Glazed King Tower is vast. This humble one only stayed within the Legacy Secret Realm during the visit. The Battle Secret Realm and the Adventure Secret Realm—I didn't have time to explore either of them."
"It's just as well. By remaining in the Legacy Secret Realm and dedicating yourself fully to conquering the Nine Glazed Steles, your gains were maximized. Even without a tangible legacy, I firmly believe that your martial comprehension and martial vision have surpassed those of every other participant."
The Peacock Great Emperor had a way of looking at things that was always so penetrating, so perceptive.
"Unfortunately, I failed to meet Your Majesty's expectations." Jiang Chen could still read a trace of disappointment in the Peacock Great Emperor's gaze.
The Peacock Great Emperor sighed softly. He was indeed somewhat disappointed—but not with Jiang Chen. He felt regret on Jiang Chen's behalf.
He believed that with Jiang Chen's fortune and destiny, the young man should have gained so much more. Alas, the Glazed King Tower was perhaps simply too powerful, and even a genius like Jiang Chen had been unable to fully conquer it.
"Never mind. Conquering the Nine Glazed Steles is already an extraordinary accomplishment. Perhaps there will be other opportunities in the future—one can never say. The martial path is full of endless surprises. That is precisely what makes it so captivating. By conquering the Nine Glazed Steles, you have already done your absolute best. It is a feat that no one has accomplished in tens of thousands of years."