My Radiant Celestial City — though the various factions had already decided to pledge themselves to Jiang Chen and submit to the city, Jiang Chen did not let it go to his head.
With these factions joining, My Radiant Celestial City's hard power had undoubtedly increased.
But the arrival of so many groups also brought new problems.
Jiang Chen handed every one of these problems over to the Emperor in the Well to handle. With the Emperor in the Well's talent and prestige, only he could manage the coordination work.
He should play the bad cop when necessary and the good cop when needed.
Jiang Chen's attention, however, was focused on the Barbarian race.
With the Gold-Munching Mouse clan at his disposal, Jiang Chen truly held a superior advantage when it came to intelligence.
Before long, he received news from the front lines.
"The Barbarian race has seized the Moon God Sect's mountain gate?" Upon hearing this report, Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised. The Barbarian race — they could actually show such restraint?
Upon learning that the Moon God Sect had retreated, they hadn't pushed recklessly for glory. Instead, they'd consolidated their position steadily, holding the Moon God Sect's mountain gate as their stronghold.
This truly caught Jiang Chen off guard.
In his view, the Barbarian race should have been descendants of the ancient barbarian tribes — fierce in style, only knowing how to charge and fight, with no real strategy to speak of.
Now it seemed he had underestimated them.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but recall the battle in the Northwestern Wastes. He remembered it clearly — he had used the Sacred Dragon Bow multiple times, trying to ambush the Barbarian prince. Unfortunately, the prince's personal guards never left his side, not for a single step, leaving Jiang Chen unable to find any opening.
From this detail alone, one could tell that this particular Barbarian tribe was absolutely not the kind of brutes who only knew how to charge blindly.
Jiang Chen actually would have preferred those reckless brutes.
If the Barbarian race played it safe and steady, that was something he found far less agreeable.
"Old Gold, tell your children and grandchildren to stay safe. Keep monitoring. Report any movement across the human territories — no matter how slight the disturbance, I want to know about it as soon as possible."
With the Gold-Munching Mouse clan's reproductive capabilities, he could now place informants throughout the entirety of the human territories.
This was Jiang Chen's greatest advantage at this stage.
With the Gold-Munching Mice serving as his eyes and ears, he could learn about any disturbance anywhere and make preparations ahead of time.
In truth, when Jiang Chen had suggested the Moon God Sect abandon their mountain gate, it wasn't because he truly intended to leave them to fend for themselves. There had been an element of showing weakness to the enemy as well.
Unfortunately, the Gu Nuo tribe had not taken the bait.
Had the Gu Nuo tribe's vanguard seen the Moon God Sect's apparent weakness and grown arrogant, advancing blindly, Jiang Chen would have chosen a strategic position to ambush them.
But the Gu Nuo tribe had instead consolidated their position and settled into the Moon God Sect's mountain gate. From the looks of it, they were fully prepared for a prolonged campaign.
This kind of Barbarian race was actually harder for Jiang Chen to deal with.
"So be it. The Barbarian race has taken the Moon God Sect's gate, but they won't be able to reach My Radiant Celestial City anytime soon. My cultivation has already reached the late stages of the Emperor Realm. I've now qualified to challenge the Third Inheritance Palace. Back when I was at the Second Palace, Venerable Chongxiao warned me not to act rashly until I reached the late Emperor Realm. Now, I am at the seventh level of the Emperor Realm — there are no issues with my qualifications."
Jiang Chen had actually been weighing this for some time. He felt that with the current situation, he needed to enter the Third Inheritance Palace as soon as possible to gain more resources.
The Six Inheritance Palaces — each one more extraordinary than the last.
These six palaces constituted the ultimate inheritance of the Radiant Celestial Pagoda. Venerable Chongxiao had once told him that every two palaces represented a single tier.
The gap between the first two palaces was minimal — practically negligible.
But between the Second and Third Palaces, the differences would be significant. The Third Palace might present opportunities he had never anticipated.
The Fourth Palace might not differ greatly from the Third.
But between the Fifth and the Fourth, there would once again be a substantial leap.
Jiang Chen made his decision — he would attempt the Third Palace. He would seize this opportunity and challenge it!
After making up his mind, Jiang Chen summoned the eight Stone Giant brothers, the Divine Vermilion Bird, and several of his trusted Great Emperors.
"Everyone, I've encountered an opportunity in my martial cultivation and will need to enter seclusion for a while. At the shortest, ten days to half a month; at the longest, three to five months. During this time, no matter what happens outside, My Radiant Celestial City need not involve itself — just hold our gates firmly."
"If the Barbarian race comes attacking, work together and stall them. There's no rush to force a decisive battle."
"Everything else — we'll discuss it when I come out of seclusion."
Jiang Chen's rate of growth now determined the fate of My Radiant Celestial City and the fate of the entire human territories. Upon hearing that Jiang Chen had gained new insights into his martial cultivation, everyone was naturally thrilled.
Everyone had witnessed firsthand how rapidly Jiang Chen advanced along the martial path.
At this stage, though the situation was tense, everyone cared deeply about the pace of Jiang Chen's growth.
"Young Master, even if the sky falls, your martial growth cannot be delayed. Rest assured — the Barbarian race doesn't have three heads and six arms. Even if they arrive at our gates, we can handle them."