Never mind the Peacock Emperor being this surprised—even Cloud Ming Emperor, who was overseeing the trial in person, was completely bewildered. In the previous two rounds, Jiang Chen had passed so smoothly that it had already left Cloud Ming Emperor stunned.
After all, these were three trials personally arranged by His Majesty, and each one was extraordinary. They had been tailor-made for geniuses at the half-step Emperor realm, calibrated precisely to that level of difficulty.
That kind of difficulty absolutely could not be muddled through by ordinary people. If your strength hadn't reached that threshold, there was simply no way you could get through.
Yet this Alchemy King Zhen had actually passed all three rounds—and done so with effortless ease.
Cloud Ming Emperor hadn't even been able to figure out how exactly Jiang Chen had passed the third round. It looked as though those water beasts had been terrified of the Alchemy King.
It was absolutely unheard of.
These water beasts had all been suppressed by the Peacock Emperor using immense divine power. They were extremely ferocious and violent, fearless in the face of death—how could they possibly fear a human Alchemy King?
So when the Peacock Emperor raised his question, Cloud Ming Emperor had no idea how to answer.
"Yunzhong, keep watching this young man. I've been in the Glazed Tile Royal City for three thousand years, and I've finally found an interesting youth. Ha ha, it hasn't been easy!"
The Peacock Emperor was in exceptionally high spirits. Earlier, he had used his divination arts and calculated that Jiang Chen was a person of tremendous fortune from the Myriad Domains.
However, his Wisdom Eye of the Heavens had only opened a hazy sliver—like looking at flowers through fog. Besides himself, almost no other powerhouse at his level was willing to believe the results.
But at this moment, the Peacock Emperor was certain that his Wisdom Eye of the Heavens truly possessed this capability.
And the results he had divined were being confirmed in Jiang Chen.
No matter how far Jiang Chen might go in the future, at the very least up to this point, every step he took, every display of ability, could only be called astonishing—far surpassing the geniuses of his generation.
Let alone comparing him to the geniuses of the Myriad Domains—even if placed in the Upper Eight Domains, placed right here in the Glazed Tile Royal City, a genius of his age who could reach where Jiang Chen stood would be as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Moreover, the resources and advantages those people had enjoyed from the start dwarfed what Jiang Chen had access to by countless times.
Looking at it this way—
Jiang Chen was the person he had been searching for.
The Peacock Emperor had lived for so many years that his perspective on problems had long surpassed ordinary people by an enormous margin. Very few things could stir his emotions anymore.
Yet at this very moment, a ripple of joy surged through his heart.
Down below, those clan heads saw the Peacock Emperor wearing a smile and assumed His Majesty was simply in an unusually good mood today. They had no idea why the Emperor was so delighted.
Still, everyone was happy—at least His Majesty had moved past the grief of losing his disciple. That alone was worth celebrating.
These great clans had followed the Peacock Emperor for so many years that they were utterly devoted to him. Deep down, none of them wanted to accept the reality of the Peacock Emperor being replaced by the Shura Emperor.
But in recent years, His Majesty had secluded himself, rarely participating in any of the Glazed Tile Royal City's mundane affairs. He had even turned a blind eye to the Shura Emperor's expansion—or perhaps even tacitly encouraged it.
This development had left the clans under the Peacock Emperor feeling quietly worried.
They feared that if things continued this way, the Shura Emperor would one day supplant him entirely. When that happened, would they—his old followers—face suppression from the Shura Emperor?
Would their standing in the Glazed Tile Royal City be guaranteed?
So deep in their hearts, these clan heads still longed to see an active Peacock Emperor—a commanding, forceful Peacock Emperor.
The death of Young Master Fan the previous time had only deepened their concerns. They all worried whether His Majesty might never recover from this blow. Whether he might lose all his ambition.
Seeing the Peacock Emperor's hearty smile now, they knew His Majesty had not lost his will, nor had he given up.
This was a positive sign.
However, these great clan heads couldn't help but wonder: "Is His Majesty's good mood because he intends to select a new direct disciple from among the clan families?"
The thought made every clan head's heart race.
If their own clan's young prodigy were chosen, it would bring with it a future of meteoric ascent. To become the Peacock Emperor's successor—that wealth and honor would be beyond measure.
Even the Panlong Clan Head felt a surge of deep anticipation.
"My lifespan is nearly at its end. If the Pine Crane Pill ultimately remains beyond my reach, the Panlong clan will descend into chaos. But if a member of the Panlong clan could be chosen by His Majesty as his direct disciple… then the Panlong clan's position would be as solid as bedrock, unshakable. I wonder—could any of my Panlong clan's young members have such fortune?"
The Panlong Clan Head mentally reviewed each of his clan's junior members and felt each had their own strengths. But all things considered, Third Young Master Ji seemed to stand slightly above the rest.
At the very least, Third Young Master Ji had formed a connection with a genius like Jiang Chen, which gave him a clear edge in fortune and opportunity over his two competitors.
"I hope the Panlong clan's young members can distinguish themselves and earn His Majesty's favor."
The Panlong Clan Head thought silently to himself.