Compared to Jiang Chen's dazzling sword performance, Fang Yuan's spear technique was completely stifled — his rhythm torn apart entirely by Jiang Chen.
Fang Yuan's ability to challenge those ranked above him depended entirely on his spear skills. Once his spearwork was suppressed and his rhythm shattered, his combat power and lethal force naturally plummeted.
By the end, Fang Yuan could no longer mount any offense at all. He was reduced to desperate retreat, completely on the defensive beneath Jiang Chen's relentless sword assault.
Jiang Chen didn't have a bad impression of Fang Yuan, and he wasn't in a rush to unleash any ultimate technique. Having recently broken through to the eighth level of the Saint Realm, if he deployed his signature move "Myriad Swords Torrent," Fang Yuan would have absolutely no way of withstanding it.
However, the Five Thunder Divine Sound Sword contained numerous profound principles and a wealth of intricate sword techniques. Especially in close-quarters combat like this, there were many sword moves that Jiang Chen hadn't yet had much opportunity to hone.
So he took this chance to use Fang Yuan as a whetstone, testing his mastery of the sword art.
Fang Yuan had no idea that he'd already become a touchstone for Jiang Chen to refine his techniques.
Half an hour later, Fang Yuan was driven back by Jiang Chen's sword strikes until there was nowhere left to retreat, and he finally fell in defeat.
Once Fang Yuan's spear momentum was shattered, the outcome of this battle had been decided. From that point, there was no suspense.
Fang Yuan's defeat drew quite a few sighs. After all, his loss could be described as utterly convincing — he had no grounds for complaint whatsoever.
Yet the technical quality of the match left the crowd in awe.
Unlike many of the earlier fights, neither combatant had deployed any heaven-defying equipment or hidden trump cards. It was a pure contest of martial technique — a head-on collision of martial dao.
This kind of clash was the most exciting, the most technically impressive.
Compared to battles decided by trump cards and hidden aces, the spectators far preferred this kind of fierce, honest exchange. Because more often than not, trump cards and heaven-defying artifacts had nothing to do with the true essence of martial dao. They couldn't represent a warrior's talent and ability — they only reflected how powerful one's backing was and how impressive one's pedigree.
Pure martial technique exchange, on the other hand, was far more enlightening for the observers, offering genuine opportunities for growth. On that level, the benefits were truly invaluable.
So Fang Yuan's defeat didn't bring any ridicule. On the contrary, it earned him a round of applause.
Because as a direct-line genius of the Great Emperor, he had lost with honor and dignity — without throwing a tantrum, without desperately resorting to every trump card and dirty trick at his disposal.
And Jiang Chen, naturally, won even more applause. Because he had defeated Fang Yuan with equal honor and integrity, without a shred of opportunism.
In the martial dao world, people worshipped geniuses for their innate talent and their bearing — not for their birthright, and certainly not for the power behind them.
So this battle earned Jiang Chen both a sterling reputation and even greater popular support.
Now, throughout the entire Glazed Royal City, even the few who had still been nitpicking about Jiang Chen had to admit that Pill King Zhen truly possessed the qualifications to contend for the position of Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain.
If that was the case, the popular rumor going around recently was probably not without foundation.
Jiang Chen's victory had completely severed Fang Yuan's path forward. Fang Yuan's ranking could only be fixed at twenty-sixth on the Young Master Rankings.
The challenges continued.
Of course, Jiang Chen would not fight again today. Each martial artist could only be challenged once per day.
This rule protected the challenged party from being worn down by endless wheel warfare.
In the subsequent rounds, several challengers failed to create any miracles.
When the twenty-third challenger stepped up, he chose to challenge the twenty-first ranked Third Young Master Ji. Ji seemed to have anticipated this — he took the stage with fire in his eyes.
The fact that he had defeated the original twenty-first ranked Gu Zhenshan already showed that Third Young Master Ji's combat potential was truly extraordinary.
Moreover, Jiang Chen could tell that the Panlong Valve Lord had been giving Third Young Master Ji private tutoring recently, subjecting him to special training.
So once this battle began, the combat power Third Young Master Ji displayed left even Jiang Chen feeling a measure of surprise.
"Brother Ji's combat potential is truly extraordinary. Combined with the Panlong Valve Lord's deliberate cultivation, his odds of winning this battle are overwhelmingly good. Given Brother Ji's potential, he might even be able to rank in the upper half of the Young Master Rankings." Jiang Chen's martial dao insight was well-seasoned — after fewer than ten exchanges, he had already discerned the situation. At least in his estimation, Third Young Master Ji had over a sixty percent chance of winning.
But it made sense when you thought about it. The Panlong Valve Lord was aiming to become the eighth Great Emperor of the Glazed Royal City. To do so, he naturally needed a formidable successor.
Young Master Liuxiang had already proven himself unreliable when it counted. And Ji Zhongtang was still too young to bear that responsibility.
So Third Young Master Ji was the best choice.
Given the Panlong Valve Lord's strength and divine abilities, if he focused his efforts on cultivating Third Young Master Ji, the benefits would naturally be enormous.
So the current Third Young Master Ji was a completely different person from the Third Young Master Ji of a year or two ago.
Watching Third Young Master Ji's fighting style, Jiang Chen's assessment was highly favorable. His style was anything but rigid.
His personal approach was difficult to pin down, but it had one defining characteristic: the stronger his opponent, the stronger he became. He could fully unleash his true power — and even perform beyond his limits.