Jiang Chen completed his ninth consecutive victory, standing atop the arena, when he suddenly sensed a sharp gaze piercing through the void toward him. Startled, he looked up — only to find that the piercing gaze had already withdrawn.
By the time he tried to investigate, there were no traces to be found.
"Looks like my nine consecutive victories have caught the attention of some real geniuses. Maybe the fights ahead will be a little more interesting."
Three straight days of nine consecutive victories hadn't really posed any substantial test for Jiang Chen.
After all, the top thousand geniuses on the formation rankings had all been assigned to different arena zones. As a result, the caliber of opponents he encountered was naturally somewhat lower.
Of his first nine victories, the strongest had been a genius at the sixth stage of the Saint Realm.
Not only was Jiang Chen now at the seventh stage of the Saint Realm, but even at the early Saint Realm, he would have had every chance of defeating a sixth-stage opponent.
And now, at the seventh stage, facing opponents who weren't even close to his level, why would he need to resort to any trump cards? Naturally, he crushed them at will.
...
In the shadows of the Glazed Royal City, at another secret base of the Immortal Sky Capital.
Dharma King Bei, Holy Dharma King Ke, and Holy Dharma King Mu — three great Dharma Kings had gathered here.
"Dharma King Bei, is everything arranged?" Holy Dharma King Mu asked.
Dharma King Bei's expression was grave. "The arrangements are in place, but the people we sent weren't assigned to the first arena zone."
"Hmph — unless that brat fails to make the top two hundred on the Genius Ranking," Holy Dharma King Mu snorted coldly.
Holy Dharma King Ke nodded. "As long as he makes the Genius Ranking, there's a strong chance he'll run into our Immortal Sky Capital's geniuses."
Dharma King Bei, however, remained worried. "My lords, the Holy Dharma Kings — the lesson from last time weighs heavily upon me. I truly don't know whether your arrangement this time is cause for celebration or concern."
When he spoke of "last time," he meant when they had prepared to hunt down Alchemist Zhen, only to have the Peacock Great Emperor himself block their path and seal off every exit.
Last time, the Peacock Great Emperor had held back out of regard for his own stature, refraining from striking killing blows.
Now, they were trying to pull the same kind of scheme again. In Dharma King Bei's eyes, this was absolutely playing with fire. He had never been in favor of this course of action.
But Holy Dharma King Mu was dead set on getting his hands on Jiang Chen. He was convinced that Alchemist Zhen might very well be Jiang Chen, and that no matter the cost, they had to probe the matter.
"Dharma King Bei, don't be such a worrier. This time, we haven't done anything underhanded. The Glazed Tower Tournament has no rule barring people from other sects from participating."
Generally, major sects wouldn't send people to a Glazed Tower Tournament. Their geniuses were far too precious, and any mishap would result in devastating losses.
Still, occasionally a genius would take it upon himself to enter anonymously as an independent cultivator.
This time, however, the Immortal Sky Capital had deliberately dispatched three geniuses — three truly extraordinary individuals.
One of them was ranked fifth among all the young geniuses of the Immortal Sky Capital.
The other two, while unable to crack the top ten, were unquestionably top-twenty contenders. With this kind of lineup, sniping Alchemist Zhen was entirely within reach.
Holy Dharma King Ke added, "This time, we never made direct contact with them. Even if the Peacock Great Emperor is powerful, there's no way he could know they have any connection to us."
The Immortal Sky Capital had learned its lesson. They'd sent word back to the sect, which dispatched three geniuses to participate in the Martial Tower Battle disguised as independent cultivators.
All three were clever enough not to show their hand. During the preliminary selection, they performed unremarkably — but just well enough to advance.
As for the Rising Star Ranking competition, with their true strength, any of them could have advanced with ease. But they had been deliberately suppressing their power.
Because they had only one target: Jiang Chen.
Until they encountered Jiang Chen, none of them could reveal their true identities.
Since they had departed from the Immortal Sky Capital and never once come into contact with the Dharma Kings stationed here, their secrecy had been maintained flawlessly.
This was precisely the source of Holy Dharma King Mu and Holy Dharma King Ke's confidence. They refused to believe that even the Peacock Great Emperor could see through something like this.
Still, Dharma King Bei had been stationed in the Glazed Royal City for so long that he harbored an instinctive fear of the Peacock Great Emperor. He couldn't shake the feeling that even this arrangement might not escape the emperor's notice.
But since the two Holy Dharma Kings had made their decision, and his own status was lower, Dharma King Bei had no choice but to obey his superiors.
"Brother Mu, you've been watching Alchemist Zhen closely these past days. In your estimation, what are the odds that he and Jiang Chen are one and the same?" Holy Dharma King Ke asked.
"If we go by my intuition — at least nine chances in ten. But weighing the various clues objectively, I'd put it at four or five chances in ten," Holy Dharma King Mu said thoughtfully.
"Whether he is or isn't, this time we must kill him," Holy Dharma King Ke said coldly. "On the arena, life and death are not held against anyone."
This was their perfect scheme.
In any other setting, killing Alchemist Zhen — no matter how covertly they operated — would always carry a risk of being discovered.
But on the arena, even killing Alchemist Zhen in plain sight would raise no eyebrows.
Arena duels — life and death were left to fate.
Holy Dharma King Mu's eyes flashed with a vicious gleam, but he said, "The plan may be flawless, but we still can't afford to underestimate him. This Alchemist Zhen has won nine straight, and so far, not a single trump card has been exposed. You can't even tell where his martial arts come from. A young genius like that is truly terrifying."