When Holy Dharma King Mu finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
Grandmaster Zhen was Jiang Chen? Was this some kind of joke? Who was Jiang Chen, anyway? He was nothing more than a genius from a fourth-rank sect.
Sure, he had some talent, but he was clearly nowhere near that level.
"Jiang Chen? That can't be right. Jiang Chen is cunning enough, but with his meager abilities, could he really have orchestrated something this grand? Even Alchemy Fire City's Grandmaster Ji Lang wasn't his match?"
"Exactly. How many resources does Dan Qian Palace even have? Could they possibly cultivate someone of that caliber? Impossible!"
Everyone voiced their doubts, expressing deep skepticism toward Holy Dharma King Mu's deduction.
Their suspicions were hardly unreasonable. Jiang Chen may have been impressive, but in everyone's eyes, he was merely a genius who was particularly adept at leveraging terrain and environmental conditions.
The destruction of Palace Wuji had been the most earth-shattering thing Jiang Chen had ever accomplished. But everyone knew that wasn't because Jiang Chen was exceptionally powerful — he had simply exploited the terrain of Infant Wailing Valley and the poison of the Mist Spirit Miasma.
As for the Mist Spirit Miasma, anyone who knew of Jiang Chen's exploits in Illusory Wave Mountain was aware that he had ways to deal with it.
That was all there was to it.
Grandmaster Zhen, on the other hand, had accomplished things of a distinctly higher caliber. A genius who had caught the eye of even the Peacock Great Emperor — how could someone like that be compared to a commoner like Jiang Chen?
So instinctively, everyone felt this theory was unreliable. Deep down, they simply could not accept it.
If Jiang Chen truly was Grandmaster Zhen, then with Grandmaster Zhen's current standing, how could the Undying Heavenly Capital possibly deal with him? His backer was the Peacock Great Emperor!
No matter what, the Undying Heavenly Capital could not accept this.
Holy Dharma King Mu ignored everyone's skepticism and said, "Think whatever you like. I will not change my assessment. This Grandmaster Zhen — I will investigate him thoroughly!"
Holy Dharma King Ke held equal standing with Holy Dharma King Mu. While others didn't dare speak up, he couldn't help but offer a word of caution. "Brother Mu, I have no objection to your investigation. But you must exercise proper judgment. Don't let things spiral out of control and provoke the people of Peacock Sacred Mountain. If that happens, neither you nor I can bear the consequences."
The Undying Heavenly Capital had no shortage of powerhouses, but so did Peacock Sacred Mountain.
In terms of overall strength, the Undying Heavenly Capital was perhaps half of the Glass Royal City at best. Offending the Glass Royal City was clearly unwise.
Moreover, the Undying Heavenly Capital had already earned the enmity of Alchemy Fire City.
In Alchemy Fire City's view, if the Undying Heavenly Capital hadn't meddled and handed over the Myriad Years Pill formula, none of what followed would have happened. Alchemy Fire City wouldn't have lost so spectacularly. Their undefeated legend would have remained intact. Even Grandmaster Ji Lang, that legendary successor, wouldn't have been defeated.
Such humiliation — while Alchemy Fire City wouldn't place all the blame on the Undying Heavenly Capital — channeling their anger toward them was inevitable.
The Undying Heavenly Capital didn't want to face enemies on two fronts.
Holy Dharma King Mu snorted coldly. "There is no need for lectures on these matters. I know what I'm doing. But have any of you considered — if this Grandmaster Zhen truly is Jiang Chen, then he likely already possesses the inheritance of the Flying Feather Great Emperor. The very thing our Undying Heavenly Capital and the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect have been tracking for a thousand years."
The moment these words left his mouth, everyone fell silent, at a loss for words.
If this involved the Flying Feather Great Emperor's inheritance, then everything was a different matter entirely.
The Flying Feather Great Emperor's personal inheritance, they might not care for. But the Flying Feather Great Emperor had obtained the legacy of a Heavenly Powerhouse. It was the Heavenly Powerhouse's inheritance he carried that had driven the Undying Heavenly Capital and the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect to spend a millennium laying plans in the Myriad Aspects Borderlands.
Yet in the end, they discovered that a thousand years of scheming might amount to nothing more than drawing water with a basket. They might even end up at a loss!
The Undying Heavenly Capital in particular had lost a Dharma King, a massive contingent of elites, and had even dragged the Chiding Central Domain — their vassal — down with them.
Many sects in the Chiding Central Domain had followed Gong Wuji in his pursuit of Jiang Chen, and every last one of them perished in Infant Wailing Valley. What was most infuriating was that Jiang Chen had severed all their heads and had someone transport them from Tai'e City back to the Chiding Central Domain, delivering them directly before the Chiding Emperor.
It was said that upon witnessing this sight, the Chiding Emperor nearly spat blood on the spot.
For the Chiding Central Domain, this was a humiliation. For the Undying Heavenly Capital, it was equally humiliating.
Holy Dharma King Ke spoke in a grave tone. "Brother Mu, has the Flying Feather Great Emperor's inheritance truly fallen into Jiang Chen's hands?"
"Not confirmed, but based on my deductions, it's certainly possible. Our mole planted in the North Darkness Sect of the Myriad Aspects Borderlands has also died. If Jiang Chen hadn't discovered traces of the Flying Feather Great Emperor, our operative would never have been exposed. This mole underwent rigorous training — there's no way he would have died without cause. Furthermore, Jiang Chen later mentioned Lin Hai's name to Gong Wuji. Clearly, he already knew Lin Hai was the Undying Heavenly Capital's spy. Why would Lin Hai's identity have been exposed without reason? It must be because he discovered the Flying Feather Great Emperor's ruins. And in the end, Lin Hai couldn't outmatch Jiang Chen... Of course, this is all my speculation. But I can't shake the feeling that this deduction is far from baseless."
It had to be said, Holy Dharma King Mu's chain of reasoning was sound and logical.
He had been idle these past days, doing nothing but mulling over this matter. Piecing together various details and clues, it wasn't surprising he had arrived at this conclusion.
Holy Dharma King Ke frowned. "If the Flying Feather Great Emperor's inheritance truly fell into Jiang Chen's hands, then this Grandmaster Zhen really could be Jiang Chen in disguise."