Although Shun Old Man had an impressive background and strength far beyond anything the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance could compare to, he had still not surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Dao, nor had he attained the supreme Heavenly Dao.
When it came to matters of the divine, Shun Old Man could only make educated guesses.
He knew, of course, that his demands on Jiang Chen were somewhat harsh. Advancing to the Origin Realm within three to five years — in the entire history of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, this had never happened.
After all, within the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, including the hidden sects, there were only a scant handful of Origin Realm cultivators.
Even Grand Tutor Ye Chonglou, who enjoyed supreme status in the Tiangui Kingdom, was merely at the peak of the Spirit Realm — a titled Spirit King.
A titled Spirit King was still one step away from the Origin Realm.
You could generously call it "half a step to Origin," but in reality, he had not crossed into the Origin Realm at all.
Even a top powerhouse like Ye Chonglou was one short step from the Origin Realm, and yet he was demanding that Jiang Chen reach the Origin Realm within three to five years. This was truly pushing someone beyond their limits, though the person in question, Jiang Chen, was completely in the dark about the whole thing — he had no idea that this old man and young woman were secretly watching his every move.
Still, Shun Old Man had his own reasoning.
If Jiang Chen was the genius he was looking for, the lead he needed to follow, then it was only natural that he should be the kind of talent who burst onto the scene without warning.
Historical records existed precisely to be broken.
Regional limitations existed precisely to be overcome.
A truly top-tier genius had to crush every contemporary talent under the same conditions and rise above them all.
In the martial world, every legendary martial master had crushed generation after generation of geniuses, eventually transcending their era to achieve an eternal legend.
From Shun Old Man's height, his perspective was naturally different from the martial artists of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance.
Even Grand Tutor Ye, in Shun Old Man's eyes, was merely a passable figure within this alliance of sixteen kingdoms.
In the wider real world, someone at Ye Chonglou's level of cultivation could be easily crushed even by some young geniuses.
The martial world was simply that cruel.
If your origins were low, your starting point was low, and you were in a desolate, remote place, then most people were destined for low achievements.
Those who managed to escape that fate of low birth were essentially geniuses among geniuses — the kind who could transcend their era and their region.
Up to this point, Shun Old Man was quite satisfied with Jiang Chen's performance.
At the very least, he had not seen in Jiang Chen the flaws typical of those from small regions.
In Jiang Chen, there was a broad-mindedness, a presence, a bearing.
There was even something mysterious that even Shun Old Man couldn't fully read.
It was precisely these mysteries that made Shun Old Man find Jiang Chen all the more interesting — feeling that this young man might truly hold some pleasant surprises.
At the very least, the endless array of pill formulas Jiang Chen produced, along with his methods and composure in battle, convinced Shun Old Man that this was nothing like someone a secular kingdom could produce.
...
Meanwhile, back at the Jiang residence, Jiang Chen had no idea that not far away, a mysterious grandfather and granddaughter were secretly watching him, discussing him, and even pinning a thread of hope on him.
Jiang Chen continued his routine as usual — when not cultivating, he was refining pills.
He had now collected a batch of spiritual medicine, at least enough to feed these Golden-Winged Sword Birds.
Given time, once this entire flock of Golden-Winged Sword Birds broke through to the next level, they would become a brand-new ace in the hole!
With that, the forces at his disposal would grow significantly, and he would be more than equipped to handle any sudden problems that arose.
The incident with the Shadow Kill Gate last time had made Jiang Chen deeply aware of his manpower shortage.
Seven days had passed, and Jiang Chen was growing restless.
So many days had gone by. Logically, with the Dragon Tooth Guard escorting the group the whole way, there shouldn't have been any problems along the route. Allowing for travel time there and back, it should have been enough.
Normally, if nothing went wrong along the way, a round trip would take five days at most.
Now seven days had passed, and Gouyu and the others still hadn't returned. That was odd.
With Jiang Chen's characteristically sharp intuition, something felt off. Gouyu had an impulsive nature — perhaps she'd encountered some trouble on the road — but Tian Shao was steady and cautious, and would never go looking for trouble.
Moreover, within the Tiangui Kingdom, given the current political climate, who would dare to pick a fight with the Dragon Tooth Guard?
The Qianlan Northern Palace?
Jiang Chen thought it over carefully and concluded that the Qianlan Northern Palace probably wouldn't have the nerve. After all, ambushing a Dragon Tooth Guard escort was a grave taboo.
Even with the Treasure Tree Sect backing them, if things blew up, the Qianlan Northern Palace would have absolutely no moral ground to stand on. Even if it went all the way to the Treasure Tree Sect, the Qianlan Northern Palace would suffer enormous losses.
"I can't just wait anymore. I need to go check." Jiang Chen couldn't sit still.