In the end, Hua Ming was merely a menial worker at Golden Oriole Valley. Though he was sharp and had picked up a fair amount of hearsay in his daily life, the truly important details always eluded him.
It looked like he would need to venture to larger places within the Blue Smoke Island Domain to dig up more information. With his current strength, traveling to one of the Ten Great Divine Kingdoms shouldn't pose much of a problem. But as for rushing straight to the Yan family and bringing back Huang'er — that was still far beyond his reach.
He felt this matter would have to be approached gradually. It absolutely could not be accomplished overnight.
If the people from the Eternal Divine Kingdom also came to this Ancient Jade Grand Assembly, Jiang Chen could use the opportunity to gather intelligence. And if luck was on his side and Huang'er had come along as well, that would be even more perfect.
He wasn't expecting to bring Huang'er away right now, but even if he could catch a glimpse of her and learn how she was doing, it would be some comfort.
"But would Huang'er even be interested in attending an event like this Ancient Jade Grand Assembly? Would her family allow her to show her face in public?"
Jiang Chen wasn't sure.
"No use overthinking it. One step at a time. The most urgent matter is helping the Vermilion Bird ancestor complete the Life Nirvana. If the Vermilion Bird ancestor can recover to the peak of his ancient-era power, that will be the greatest assistance I could hope for."
Ever since he had set out on his path, Jiang Chen had never relied on fighting alone. He was very skilled at leveraging external forces, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
After all, he was still young. It had only been twenty years since his rebirth, and having grown to this level in such a short time was already remarkable.
Expecting to reach the summit in a single leap was simply unrealistic.
In terms of growth speed, he was already astonishingly fast. Even compared to the geniuses of Myriad Abyss Island, he likely wouldn't fall far behind.
So although Jiang Chen was anxious, he kept reminding himself: haste makes waste.
Before his own strength had fully matured, borrowing external power was a necessity.
"Hua Ming, come here. Let me assess your martial foundations." Jiang Chen steadied his thoughts, glanced at Hua Ming standing nearby, and called him over.
"All right!" Hua Ming's eyes lit up.
A martial foundation test — he had never experienced one before. With the way he usually looked, all filthy and unkempt, anyone who saw him would walk away pinching their nose. Who would ever bother giving him a martial foundation test?
This was a first in his entire life.
Jiang Chen's method required no instruments or apparatus. He simply seized Hua Ming's wrist and pressed his fingers to the pulse.
"Stay calm. Don't let your mind wander, and don't circulate your meridians."
Hua Ming obeyed without hesitation.
Jiang Chen's spiritual sense slowly extended into Hua Ming's body, probing carefully.
A moment later, a sharp gleam shot from Jiang Chen's eyes. He stared at Hua Ming in astonishment. But Hua Ming kept his eyes tightly shut, saying nothing, completely unaware of Jiang Chen's reaction.
Jiang Chen was stunned, looking at this young man with disbelief.
He had never imagined that Hua Ming would possess an Innate Fire Spirit Body — and a superior-grade one at that!
What did that mean?
It was comparable to Mu Gaoqi's superior-grade Innate Wood Spirit Body from before.
Though Fire Spirit Bodies were more common, Hua Ming's was different. Hidden within his Fire Spirit Constitution was an extremely fearsome bloodline power.
Jiang Chen couldn't immediately identify what bloodline it was. But one thing was certain — it wasn't the Vermilion Bird bloodline.
"What a pity. If it were the Vermilion Bird bloodline, the Vermilion Bird ancestor would probably have taken a special liking to him."
Still, even without being able to determine exactly what bloodline power it was, this discovery was already insane. Jiang Chen had never expected to stumble upon such a treasure just like that.
In that moment, he felt a thrill of excitement.
To randomly run into someone on the street who turned out to have a superior-grade Innate Fire Spirit Body — this was absolutely crazy.
Myriad Abyss Island really was extravagantly blessed.
A superior-grade Innate Fire Spirit Body, with an additional bloodline power on top of it, and yet it had been wasted in a backwater like Golden Oriole Valley?
"It seems that even though the Blue Smoke Island Domain is run fairly well, their talent identification system still has serious flaws. Perhaps that's part of the gap between them and the Ten Great Divine Kingdoms?"
No matter what, this was undoubtedly a stroke of tremendous good fortune for Jiang Chen.
He released Hua Ming's wrist. "All done. Hua Ming, open your eyes."
Hua Ming obediently opened them, gazing at Jiang Chen with eager anticipation. At the same time, a flicker of nervous worry crossed the corners of his eyes.
This was the moment that would decide the course of his life — how could he not be tense?
"Hua Ming, your martial foundations are excellent, and your martial talent is very good. Your body has been cultivating on its own, and you've already come close to the Saint Realm. Didn't you ever realize that?"
Hua Ming shook his head blankly. "I had no idea. All I know is that every day at noon, my whole body burns unbearably, like it's about to explode. And every night past midnight is when I feel the most comfortable."
Jiang Chen chuckled despite himself. At noon, yang energy was at its peak, so the fire energy within Hua Ming's body would naturally be at its most intense, causing that searing heat.