The struggle for Supreme Area cave dwellings had stirred up a massive wave among the younger generation of Danqian Palace.
In the entire Danxia Valley, aside from those who had absolutely no hope, practically everyone was eyeing those four spots covetously.
A Supreme Area cave dwelling — once you moved in, it symbolized that you had reached the pinnacle of Danqian Palace's younger generation!
The Supreme Area, across the whole of Danxia Valley, had only eight cave dwellings. This time, with four more added, there would be a grand total of twelve.
Yet the younger generation of Danqian Palace consisted of over a thousand core disciples, over ten thousand inner disciples, and no fewer than a hundred thousand outer disciples.
With this scale of talent pool, becoming one of the twelve supreme individuals — what kind of glory was that? What kind of prestige?
Almost without exception, once you entered the Supreme Area, as long as your development went smoothly and you didn't fall along the way, within a few decades you would certainly become a towering figure in the sect.
Become a powerhouse who commanded dominion over an entire domain!
The list of competitors was even more staggering than anyone had imagined.
For the two spots in the martial competition, nearly two hundred people had signed up.
The two spots in the alchemy competition drew close to three hundred participants vying for contention.
In other words, nearly half of all core disciples in Danxia Valley had thrown themselves into this contest.
Jiang Chen was not particularly surprised by this. Compared to the martial competition, the alchemy competition carried lower risk. Although alchemy rivalry was fierce in its own right, at least participating wouldn't leave you injured.
So it was hardly strange that alchemy attracted more sign-ups than martial arts.
Before the cave dwelling competition had even begun, the entire Danqian Palace had already been engulfed in a frenzy.
Jiang Chen's heart was as still as water. He hadn't been at Danqian Palace for very long, and though his name appeared on the list for this cave dwelling struggle, he was far from being the most favored contender.
Mu Gaoqi, on the other hand, had been ranked among the top five favorites.
Jiang Chen was placed around tenth in the alchemy competition standings.
Of course, this was merely the outside world's speculation. Who the cave dwellings would ultimately belong to was anyone's guess.
On the eve of the competition, Jiang Chen appeared once again at the Danchi Villa.
"Greetings to Palace Master Danchi."
"Haha, not bad, kid! You've only been at the sect for a short time, yet even the master of the Herb Hall has spoken up on your behalf. Jiang Chen, you're quite impressive."
Sage Danchi looked at Jiang Chen with a beaming smile, then suddenly his eyes showed a flash of surprise. "You've reached the third level of the Origin Realm? How long has it been?"
"I was fortunate enough to obtain a crystal core from a Vermillion-Scaled Fire Lizard back then. After refining it, I managed a breakthrough, barely."
"Good kid, what a 'barely' that was," Sage Danchi burst out laughing. "It's only been a few months since you went from the first level to the third level of the Origin Realm, and you call that 'barely'?"
Sage Danchi's tone was filled with admiration. "Back in my day, my breakthrough speed was already considered extremely rare in the history of Danqian Palace. But looking at it now, it seems my record is about to be shattered by your insane pace."
"This is all thanks to the Palace Master's patronage."
"Haha, honestly speaking, apart from bringing you to Danqian Palace, this seat hasn't done much. Everything was accomplished by your own efforts. Jiang Chen, Elder Yunn Nie is very confident about your chances in the cave dwelling competition. So? How many chances would you give yourself?"
"If it's the alchemy competition, I'd say ninety percent. If it's the martial competition, probably sixty to seventy percent."
This was Jiang Chen's own estimate, and there was no need to hide it.
"Ninety percent?" Palace Master Danchi was slightly taken aback. "In that case, the rumor that Elder Yunn Nie, with your help, successfully refined the Six-Line Profound Dragon Pill — that's true as well?"
Jiang Chen nodded, not denying it. He believed that since Palace Master Danchi was asking this way, the man must have already obtained definitive confirmation.
Seeing Jiang Chen nod in acknowledgment, Palace Master Danchi's expression grew rich with emotion — a smile mixed with a soft sigh. "I wouldn't have guessed it, wouldn't have guessed it. I thought I'd found Danqian Palace a martial arts genius. I never expected your alchemy talent to be even more astonishing."
As for alchemy talent, there was probably no one else in the Divine Abyss Continent who could be compared to Jiang Chen.
After his moment of reflection, Palace Master Danchi's brows furrowed lightly, as if he were pondering something.
After a long pause, Palace Master Danchi sighed once more. "Jiang Chen, this time you've given this seat a lesson. Elder Yunn Nie has given this seat an even greater lesson."
Jiang Chen was startled. "Palace Master, what do you mean?"
"This story goes back to when I first took charge of Danqian Palace. Before me, Danqian Palace had always been a sect built on alchemy, and that tradition had never changed. After I assumed leadership, I elevated the Martial Hall to the top position among Danqian Palace's nine halls, while the Herb Hall was demoted to second. I don't know whether Elder Yunn Nie harbors any resentment over that. Looking at the prevailing atmosphere now, over these past decades, Danqian Palace has indeed neglected the alchemy path while placing excessive emphasis on martial arts. This represents far too great a departure from our tradition. Going too far in any direction is as bad as falling short. Now that this seat looks back, it seems I was too aggressive, and in the process, I let go of our sect's traditional strengths."
Palace Master Danchi was a martial arts genius. After taking office, he had favored martial development, raising the Martial Hall to the top — and that was simply a matter of personal style.