It was clear that
Clearly, the heritage of the Panlong Great Clan served as a deterrent to Gu Zhenshan as well.
Nominally, Gu Zhenshan was a true Emperor's disciple, and in terms of the grandeur of his lineage, he was likely slightly superior to the Panlong Great Clan.
However, within Emperor Zhenyue's lineage, Gu Zhenshan was, after all, only the third-ranked true disciple.
And as for Third Young Master Ji, many now said he was the first in line to receive the Panlong Great Clan's heritage — its most talented heir.
Therefore, Gu Zhenshan's pride found no room to assert itself against Third Young Master Ji.
Jiang Chen watched for a while, secretly surprised. He had always assumed Third Young Master Ji was something of a dissolute dandy, perhaps lacking the depth and composure of Young Master Liuxiang. As for martial talent, with Third Young Master Ji's carefree personality, he might not even surpass
Now it seemed Jiang Chen had underestimated Third Young Master Ji.
Third Young Master Ji's martial talent was in no way inferior to Ji Zhongtang's. Moreover, he was a few years older, and his cultivation and inherited techniques were far more seasoned.
The usually jovial Third Young Master Ji proved remarkably composed once he stepped onto the arena and faced a truly formidable opponent. His defenses were tight, his attacks bold yet measured, his offense and defense well-balanced — a manner befitting a true master. Even before an Emperor's direct disciple, he held his ground without yielding, showing considerable poise.
This greatly delighted Jiang Chen. He had never imagined that Third Young Master Ji's martial nature possessed such a heaven-defying quality — an attribute that grew stronger in the face of greater opposition.
In the world of martial cultivation, one occasionally encountered such peculiar geniuses. Normally, you could never tell how much potential they truly harbored, but when a genuinely tough battle arrived, such geniuses would unleash explosive power beyond anyone's imagination, revealing potential that left others dumbfounded.
Without a doubt, Third Young Master Ji was exactly this kind of person.
Whether you called it playing the fool to catch the tiger off guard or simply concealing his true strength, this battle had fully demonstrated that Third Young Master Ji's martial foundation was at least on par with, if not superior to, Young Master Liuxiang's.
Jiang Chen had previously fought Young Master Liuxiang and witnessed his martial talent. It could not be called low.
But in Jiang Chen's assessment, it was not held in particularly high regard.
Though both carried the heritage of the Panlong Great Clan, Young Master Liuxiang's martial path leaned toward the yin-soft side, and he relied too heavily on equipment and inherited techniques.
Most importantly, the integration between Young Master Liuxiang and his equipment and heritage was far from perfect — in other words, he had not made full use of them.
Third Young Master Ji's approach, on the other hand, was neither purely forceful nor purely soft, but a harmonious blend of hardness and flexibility.
Such a path allowed for both aggressive offense and solid defense. It might seem to lack any single outstanding feature, but in actual combat, it often unlocked inconceivable potential.
In the earlier ranking battles, when Third Young Master Ji had encountered Jiang Chen, he had chosen to concede.
Now Jiang Chen realized that if Third Young Master Ji had truly gone all-out against him, combined with the Panlong Great Clan's heritage he wielded, defeating him would not have been easy at all.
As the battle deepened, Jiang Chen grew even more certain in his heart: "It seems the Panlong Clan Lord's favor has already tilted toward Brother Ji. If the Clan Lord has given him the ultimate heritage, and he were to unleash it in full, I'm afraid even I might not necessarily emerge victorious."
Though Jiang Chen's strength was formidable, he was not so arrogant as to believe he could take on the ultimate heritage of the Panlong Great Clan.
A great clan faction — one with aspirations of producing an Emperor — would certainly possess its own ultimate heritage, the ancestral legacy kept at the very bottom of the family vault.
It could be a supreme treasure, a peerless technique, or some kind of miraculous totemic power.
Jiang Chen surmised that if Third Young Master Ji had truly obtained such inherited power, even he himself would probably need to resort to his cave dwelling's restrictive formations to suppress it.
With conventional combat methods, the best he could hope for was a draw.
"It seems the internal struggle over the Panlong Great Clan's succession has already been decided. Young Master Liuxiang must have been eliminated. As for Ji Zhongtang, his temperament was only suited for martial competition — he could never support a great power. Becoming Brother Ji's deputy, however, would suit him well."
From a broader vantage point, Jiang Chen had formed a preliminary assessment of the Panlong Great Clan's situation.
Meanwhile, the battle on the arena had reached white-hot intensity.
Gu Zhenshan at this point was clearly shaken by the combat prowess Third Young Master Ji was displaying. No matter what Divine Ability Gu Zhenshan employed, Third Young Master Ji managed to match him head-on without ceding any ground.
This was something Gu Zhenshan had never encountered in his previous battles. The rhythm of this fight made even the perpetually self-assured Gu Zhenshan feel somewhat uncertain inside.
He had long heard that the Panlong Great Clan was expected to produce the eighth Emperor of the Glazed Tile City. Gu Zhenshan was well aware of this rumor.
Therefore, even as a true Emperor's disciple, he could hardly claim any significant sense of superiority before Third Young Master Ji — after all, he was merely the third true disciple under Emperor Zhenyue.
And Third Young Master Ji, it was evident, had come to challenge him in the capacity of the Panlong Great Clan's foremost heir.
At first, Gu Zhenshan refused to believe it, but as he kept unleashing his various techniques and still could not overwhelm Third Young Master Ji — could not even gain the upper hand —