Jiang Chen was genuinely shaken by the influence of Pill Fire City.
Most people in the Glazed Glass Royal City harbored a sense of superiority, believing it to be the central city of the Upper Eight Regions—the very heartland of the Upper Eight Regions.
Compared to Pill Fire City, though, Jiang Chen felt that some people in the Glazed Glass Royal City had truly underestimated it. Not to call them frogs at the bottom of a well, but they were indeed rather self-important.
"Ancient Cicada Academy…" Jiang Chen silently committed the name to memory. He had already made up his mind—when the opportunity arose, he would definitely visit the Ancient Cicada Academy.
This formation had piqued his interest in the Ancient Cicada Academy. If the Academy truly had connections to the Ancient Danxiao Sect, that would be a very promising sign.
This task—Jiang Chen had decided to accept it!
The remaining task was related to forging. It had not been posted by a first-rate sect, but rather by a force in the Upper Eight Regions that was slightly below first-rate—one that specialized in forging divine weapons and sharp arms.
In the Upper Eight Regions, many sects had their own forging masters, but most could not be considered top-tier. The truly exceptional forging masters were all within this particular forging organization.
Every time Jiang Chen looked at who had posted a task, he was shocked anew by the reach of Pill Fire City's influence.
On the surface, Pill Fire City appeared to be a force established solely through alchemy. In reality, its influence had already spread across every domain of martial cultivation.
It had to be said, this was Pill Fire City's greatest achievement—subtly spreading its influence into every field and among every major power.
This task, however, Jiang Chen did not intend to take on. Though he knew a thing or two about forging divine weapons, he had no desire to accept this one.
First, although the bounty for this task was high, it was obviously extremely difficult. If even this professional forging organization couldn't handle it, and he managed to pull it off, it would be far too sensational.
Second, he didn't want to reveal too many of his skills or attract unwanted attention.
Most crucially, this divine weapon forging organization had close ties to Pill Fire City. Any force closely affiliated with Pill Fire City naturally drew Jiang Chen's distaste.
And so, he decided to give up this task. If others wanted to take it, let them. He had already made up his mind to relinquish it.
With this thought, Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
He picked up the divine weapon forging task and walked straight over to Vice Palace Master Gao.
Vice Palace Master Gao smiled and asked, "Arena Master Shao, you've made your decision already?"
"I'll take the other three tasks. This one is beyond my capabilities—I'll leave it for my colleagues," Jiang Chen said directly.
Vice Palace Master Gao was slightly taken aback. He recalled that Jiang Chen had drawn four Supreme-rank tasks. Why was he only returning one?
Could it be that he intended to keep the other three?
Vice Palace Master Gao's expression shifted subtly, and his gaze sharpened. "Arena Master Shao, you mean to say you're certain about accepting the other three Supreme-rank tasks?"
Jiang Chen neither confirmed nor denied it, instead counter-questioning, "Are all the bounty posters here at the Pure Flame Palace?"
Vice Palace Master Gao laughed. "Of course they are. If they weren't, we wouldn't have posted the tasks. We only put up tasks where the bounty can be honored at any time."
"Good." Jiang Chen nodded. As long as they could settle things on the spot, that was fine. Otherwise, he didn't want to risk complications dragging on.
Vice Palace Master Gao was once again stunned by this young man.
He understood better than anyone what these Supreme-rank tasks signified.
Most of the Supreme-level bounties posted in the past had been ones no one could handle.
In a single Bounty Arena event, if ten Supreme-rank tasks were posted, having two or three resolved would already be a remarkably high completion rate.
And this young man had drawn four Supreme-rank tasks and was keeping three? Could his completion rate truly reach a staggering seventy-five percent?
That proportion was almost terrifying.
But Vice Palace Master Gao was, after all, the master of a palace, and he could keep his composure. Though shocked inwardly, he managed to suppress his surprise and said, "Arena Master Shao, if you're certain you want to take on those three tasks, I can immediately have the bounty posters come speak with you face to face. That would be the most convenient way to communicate."
Jiang Chen considered for a moment. "Have them come tomorrow. I need a day to think things over properly."
"Arena Master Shao, a friendly reminder. The deadline for relinquishing tasks is three double-hours. If you wait until tomorrow to make your decision and something goes wrong, it could be too late…" Vice Palace Master Gao offered the reminder with good intentions.
Jiang Chen smiled. "It's fine. If things do go wrong, the Sacred Spirit Stones I've earned these past few days will be more than enough to cover the penalty."
With things said to this extent, Vice Palace Master Gao naturally had nothing more to add. He smiled and said, "Then this Palace Master will congratulate Arena Master Shao in advance. Oh, I'll need to record the task numbers for those three of yours. It'll help with coordination."
"No problem." This was something Jiang Chen had no objection to.
Returning to his own arena, Jiang Chen felt quite relaxed.
The Ancient Form and Spirit Pill was only missing two ingredients—he had already deduced that much.
As for the incomplete formation diagram from the Ancient Cicada Academy, since Jiang Chen had already seen it, he naturally had a clear plan. It posed no difficulty for him at all.
These bounties, while not exactly handed to him on a silver platter, were practically the same thing.
As for the task assigned to Lin Yanyu, however, Jiang Chen did not intend to intervene. At most, he would offer a few pointers when necessary.