For a moment, Jiang Chen felt a flicker of suspicion, and his gaze toward the Peacock Great Emperor took on several shades of gravity. If the Peacock Great Emperor could truly open the Myriad Heavens Divine Eye, then he was far too terrifying. A person of such caliber had no business loitering in a mere secular plane!
The Peacock Great Emperor had been observing Jiang Chen the entire time, and seeing his intense reaction, he felt a wave of astonishment himself. As a great emperor of his stature, he had never once discussed the subject of fortune with a young man.
Sometimes, even when discussing fortune-related theories with fellow great emperors he was on close terms with, most of them remained half-believing, half-doubting.
Or rather, most of them simply dismissed his theories altogether.
In the majority of people's eyes, fortune was no different from heavenly secrets — utterly impossible to divine.
Though the Peacock Great Emperor's heart was as clear as a mirror, he had never forced his views upon others. Yet, after over a millennium of personal exploration, he had indeed refined a set of methods for observing fortune.
Although he considered his abilities in this area to be merely half-baked — he understood it, but not fully — when he quietly used these methods to observe individuals with deep fortune, he had almost never been wrong.
And Jiang Chen, despite being from the Myriad Phenomena Region, had secretly been the subject of extensive data collection by the Peacock Great Emperor, who had verified that he was a man of extraordinary fortune.
On numerous occasions, the Peacock Great Emperor had wanted to visit the Myriad Phenomena Region in person, but feared he might disrupt Jiang Chen's destiny, so he had held himself back each time.
It wasn't until the Indestructible Celestial Capital issued a wanted notice, declaring that Jiang Chen was fleeing toward the Glazed Royal City, that his heart had surged with inexplicable joy — further confirming his belief that all things moved according to heavenly will. And so, he had waited.
He waited for this genius who carried the combined fortune of heaven and earth within him.
Until that day, when Jiang Chen entered the Glazed Royal City.
And that day happened to be the day of Young Master Fan's funeral procession.
It was yet another omen — out with the old, in with the new.
And the powerful fortune Jiang Chen carried with him into the city had delivered an enormous impact upon the Peacock Great Emperor, finally cementing his conviction in his own theories.
What astonished the Peacock Great Emperor most of all was that when he brought up the subject of fortune, Jiang Chen's expression was not one of disbelief — instead, he had asked whether the Emperor knew how to observe fortune.
Could it be that this Jiang Chen actually believed in the theory of fortune?
The Peacock Great Emperor sighed. "I have long cultivated ocular arts. Over a thousand years ago, my ocular arts suddenly awakened, forming a kind of observation technique in a hazy, half-formed way. At first I didn't know whether it was real or not, but after observing for a millennium, though it hasn't coalesced into a complete system, it rarely fails when used to read fortune. And after you entered the city, the powerful fortune you radiated was something I had never encountered in my entire life. This level of fortune aligns perfectly with the aura that once surged skyward from the Myriad Phenomena Region, shaking the very clouds. Therefore, I was almost certain on the spot — you are that youth from the Myriad Phenomena Region. You are Jiang Chen, the one the Indestructible Celestial Capital has been desperately hunting yet has never managed to catch."
Ocular arts?
Jiang Chen couldn't help but look into the Peacock Great Emperor's eyes.
He saw that the Emperor's eyes were like deep pools, like starry skies — profound and unfathomable. At one moment they shimmered an emerald green, at another a brilliant azure blue, creating an extraordinarily unique visual impact.
"Jiang Chen, if I'm not mistaken, you also cultivate ocular arts. And highly sophisticated ocular arts at that!"
The Peacock Great Emperor said with a smile.
Jiang Chen didn't deny it, nodding instead. "Your Majesty's discerning eye is truly extraordinary — nothing escapes your notice. How ridiculous that I thought I was hiding it so well. Fortunately, I never stirred up trouble on your territory, otherwise Your Majesty would have simply slapped me dead then and there."
"Ha ha ha." The Peacock Great Emperor laughed heartily. "As for claiming you never stirred up trouble — that's not entirely true. However, it is true that you never took the initiative to do evil. If you had committed deliberate acts of malice, with a crooked heart, then I would not have come here today."
Jiang Chen broke into a cold sweat, thinking that this Peacock Great Emperor was far too formidable. He had never once lived under the Emperor's very nose, yet the man seemed to know everything.
"Your Majesty, don't tell me you planted a divine sense strand somewhere in my circle of acquaintances?" Jiang Chen said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Ha ha, do I strike you as the sort who enjoys prying into people's private affairs?" The Peacock Great Emperor himself was equally torn between laughter and exasperation at Jiang Chen's words.
The Peacock Great Emperor left a fairly favorable impression on Jiang Chen.
At the very least, the Emperor's bearing and magnanimity were absolutely incomparable to the sort of petty warlords and petty tyrants one typically encountered.
From the Peacock Great Emperor's words, Jiang Chen could also deduce that the Emperor's extensive knowledge of him had come from macro-level observation, not from the kind of intrusive micro-surveillance that monitored every little detail.
If it truly had been detail-level surveillance, Jiang Chen wouldn't have needed to think twice — he would have left the Glazed Royal City immediately.
After all, nobody wanted a pair of eyes constantly watching their every move, every detail of their daily existence.
That would have been nothing short of a pathological form of torture.
"Your Majesty, does that mean you're aware of everything I've done in the Glazed Royal City?"
"Not necessarily. I have a grasp of the broad strokes. For instance — those pill shops on Shennong Street that got ransacked — that was your doing, wasn't it?"
Jiang Chen knew this wasn't something he could hide from a sharp eye.
He smiled. "I was pushed into it. They were going too far, bullying people beyond endurance. Besides, in a way, I was doing Your Majesty a favor."
The Wei family was part of the Panlong clan, and the Panlong clan was the Peacock Great Emperor's faction. Indirectly, it really was doing the Emperor a favor.
The Peacock Great Emperor smiled serenely, offering neither confirmation nor denial.