When it came to the art of formations, Jiang Chen truly did not fear the Asura Great Emperor.
Setting everything else aside, in terms of formations alone, the number of arrays Jiang Chen had at his disposal was virtually limitless, and his comprehension and insight into the art was absolutely superior to that of the Asura Great Emperor.
After all, not only had Jiang Chen inherited the formation legacy of the ancient Danxia Sect, but even without that inheritance, what he had learned in his previous life was equally astonishing. Though he had never systematically studied formations in his previous life, the heights he had reached back then spoke for themselves.
And in this life, he had merged the Danxia Sect's formation inheritance and also obtained the Dizang Origin Pearl — the supreme treasure of the ancient Dizang Sect.
With all of this combined, his mastery in the art of formations was naturally extraordinary.
Jiang Chen hadn't planned to help Peerless Emperor cheat either. Besides, there simply wasn't enough time. The art of formations wasn't something one could master overnight.
Cramming at the last minute would do little good.
"Brother Mo, just give it your all. As long as you win one round in martial arts, we'll have this wager in the bag." Jiang Chen tried his best to ease Peerless Emperor's mental pressure.
Peerless Emperor laughed heartily. "Don't worry, I'll give it my all."
Jiang Chen didn't actually doubt Peerless Emperor's commitment — he simply wanted to offer some preemptive comfort, so that Peerless Emperor wouldn't lose face if he happened to lose this formation round.
It wasn't that Jiang Chen looked down on Peerless Emperor's accomplishments in formations. He just had a nagging feeling that the two opponents sent over were of unknown origin, yet their mastery in every field was remarkably high.
Peerless Emperor was a rogue cultivator, after all. Besides his astonishing talent in martial arts, he truly hadn't had the means to become a jack-of-all-trades in every other area.
This was the greatest weakness of rogue cultivators. They lacked the backing of a major sect and had insufficient resources. Even if they wanted to master every discipline, they simply didn't have the foundation for it.
"Sixth round — Peerless Emperor of Peacock Sacred Mountain versus King Cedian of the Asura Arena!"
The art of formations offered many different methods of wagered combat.
The method Peerless Emperor drew, however, was exceptionally cruel. Both sides would continuously set up formations against each other. One side places a formation, then the other. If both could identify the other's formation, they'd move on to a second, and a third, and so on — until one side could no longer identify the formation placed before them.
Of course, if neither side had managed to identify the other's formations within two hours, the round would be declared a draw.
This method of wagered combat was, it had to be said, extraordinarily demanding. It placed extremely high requirements on both sides' formation expertise. If one's foundational knowledge fell even slightly short, failure in such a contest was highly likely.
Peerless Emperor never in a million years expected to draw the one method he dreaded most. Because for him, this particular format was nothing short of torture.
Peerless Emperor had never systematically studied formations. Though he had dabbled in the subject, he absolutely lacked the depth of knowledge required for this kind of contest.
His original plan had been to rely on his formidable martial strength to break formations. He had never imagined he'd be forced to wager on formation knowledge in this manner.
But now that he'd gotten on the tiger's back, there was no dismounting — he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
When Jiang Chen saw the method Peerless Emperor had drawn, he knew trouble might be in store — and sure enough, his instincts proved correct.
King Cedian, it turned out, possessed considerable mastery in the art of formations. His foundational knowledge ran remarkably deep, and despite Peerless Emperor's best efforts to hold his ground, he ultimately succumbed to defeat.
"Young Lord Zhen, this old Mo has brought shame upon Sacred Peacock Mountain." Peerless Emperor looked rather abashed, for he had been the one to volunteer for this round.
Jiang Chen smiled. "Brother Mo, why so disheartened? The way of formations has never been your strong suit."
Hearing Jiang Chen's words of comfort, Peerless Emperor let out a soft sigh, then offered a few more words of caution: "Young Lord Zhen, you must be careful. Sigh, who could have thought that the rest of us would fall one after another, leaving you to hold the line alone this whole time."
Thus far, Jiang Chen had been the one to claim victory in the Dao of Alchemy, and likewise the one to win a round in the Dao of Beast Taming.
Now, in the Dao of Formations, it once again fell to Jiang Chen to seize a victory.
Just thinking about it made them blush with shame. Both Peerless Emperor and Cloud Monarch felt a measure of embarrassment.
Jiang Chen laughed. "There's no need to blame yourselves. The Asura Arena came fully prepared. These wagered duels were most likely planned by them long in advance. We've been fighting on the defensive, so naturally we're at a bit of a disadvantage."
Six rounds had been wagered so far. Sacred Peacock Mountain had won two, drawn one, and lost three. For the sacred mountain, the situation was rather precarious.
"Rest assured, I will take this round." Jiang Chen flashed a confident smile and drifted gracefully from the formation.
The Asura Emperor had suffered at Jiang Chen's hands more than once, and this time he was no longer making bold boasts. He had heard that this Young Lord Zhen of Sacred Peacock Mountain possessed astonishing attainment in the Dao of Formations as well.
Because of this, the Asura Emperor was not placing too much hope in this particular round.
Though the Asura Emperor did have some proficiency in formations, he knew perfectly well that if the Young Lord truly excelled in this art, he would have no real chance of winning this round.
All of the Asura Emperor's hopes rested upon the Dao of Talismans and the martial confrontation.
For this round, he merely needed to avoid defeat and strive for victory. Even a draw would satisfy him completely. If he could win, that would be an unexpected delight.