Jiang Chen's aggressive push into eleventh place on the Young Lord Rankings had instantly amplified the suspense tenfold.
With the appearance of this wildcard in the form of Jiang Chen, the previously clear-cut top ten of the Young Lord Rankings had suddenly gained an enormous element of uncertainty.
This Pill King Zhen was like a butcher's blade suspended above the top ten, ready to come crashing down at any moment. But who would it fall on?
Would Pill King Zhen continue his challenges? How many more upheavals would the top ten undergo?
All these questions suddenly became exceedingly interesting.
After so many rounds of combat, most people were convinced that Pill King Zhen would absolutely not give up his final chance to challenge.
The only remaining question was—who would he challenge?
According to the rules, his second challenge allowed him to leapfrog six ranks. His third challenge, doubling that number, would let him jump twelve ranks.
He was currently ranked eleventh, which meant he already had the qualifications to challenge even the very top of the Young Lord Rankings.
But would he actually challenge for first place?
This was a question Jiang Chen himself was also pondering. Having displaced Zhuang Min to claim the eleventh spot on the Young Lord Rankings, Jiang Chen had gained a deep understanding of the strength that lay ahead.
If Zhuang Min's water-attribute power hadn't been secretly countered by Long Xiaoxuan, defeating him would have been enormously difficult for Jiang Chen.
And further up, every opponent was even stronger than Zhuang Min.
So Jiang Chen estimated that, without deploying his hidden cards, the top three were completely out of reach—hell, even the top five wasn't worth thinking about.
Those freaks were all top-tier geniuses at the third stage of the Imperial Realm.
After all, even the once-supreme Gong Wuji had only reached the third stage of the Imperial Realm. Back then, Jiang Chen had been nothing but prey in Gong Wuji's hands—fleeing was all he could do.
His eventual destruction of Gong Wuji had relied entirely on the miasma of Ying Qi Valley. That was a matter of the right time and the right terrain.
If Jiang Chen could deploy all his hidden cards, he would have some confidence in challenging the top five. He would certainly stand a chance.
But bound by the various restrictions in place, the top five wasn't something Jiang Chen was entertaining.
His current target was the top nine.
In the Martial Tower competition, the top thirty-six qualified for the Young Lord Rankings. Only then could they enter the main tower of the Glazed King Tower to cultivate.
Inside the main tower of the Glazed King Tower, there were countless legacies left by Glazed King City's predecessors, all manner of fortuitous encounters, and most importantly—one day of cultivation inside the main tower was worth ten days in the outside world.
Of course, the thirty-six Young Lord geniuses did not all receive the same treatment.
Only the top nine could enjoy the highest-tier treatment—entry into the most elite zones, where one day of cultivation equaled ten days.
Below them, every group of nine saw a drop in tier. Four tiers in total.
Jiang Chen had fought his way onto the Young Lord Rankings, and even if the top five was beyond his reach for now, the top nine—the first tier—was absolutely a goal worth pursuing.
So the decision had already formed in his mind: he would continue challenging. But not leaping twelve ranks, and not six—just three, to challenge the eighth-ranked genius.
Challenging eighth place was a deeply calculated move on Jiang Chen's part. The eighth-ranked genius hailed from the lineage of the Asura Great Emperor. His original name was Gao Zhan, but he preferred to be called Gao Zhan—a homophone written with the character for "slay."
This young man was a disciple of the Asura Great Emperor, the second-ranked genius under the Asura Great Emperor's banner. Cold and ruthless, he devoted himself to the Asura Path of Slaughter—a genius martial artist who lived for killing.
When people saw Jiang Chen challenge Gao Zhan, everyone was mildly stunned.
No one had expected Pill King Zhen to choose Gao Zhan of all opponents. Gao Zhan was a notorious slaughter maniac.
His aura of the Asura Path of Slaughter was like a demon god striding out of hell—with that overwhelming murderous presence, any martial artist of slightly weaker resolve would collapse before the fight even began.
Facing Gao Zhan was virtually no different from challenging the top five.
Even if Pill King Zhen wanted to break into the first tier's top nine, he could have simply challenged ninth place. The ninth-ranked genius was similarly formidable, but there was still a notable gap between him and Gao Zhan.
Most importantly, the Asura Path of Slaughter that Gao Zhan cultivated meant that even the geniuses ranked above him had little desire to face him head-on.
Even Gao Zhan himself seemed somewhat incredulous.
"Challenging me?" Gao Zhan licked his thin lips, a cruel smile flickering at the corner of his mouth. Killing intent blazed in his eyes, and his bloodthirsty nature was on full display.
The Asura Great Emperor spoke flatly: "Gao Zhan, do not underestimate him. Every person this young man has challenged believed he was overestimating himself—in the end, each one discovered it was they who had overestimated their own abilities."