His spiritual sense locked onto the eighth Glazed Stele as he meditated on the Vermilion Bird manifestation depicted upon it. Inspiration surged through him like a tide.
The Vermilion Bird manifestation on the Glazed Stele shifted through countless transformations.
At one moment it was like a phantom silhouette, suspended in primordial chaos. At the next it became a sea of flames, incinerating all things.
When its wings spread wide, they seemed capable of channeling the essence of heaven and earth.
When its fiery eyes moved, they rivaled the sun, moon, and stars.
Jiang Chen immersed himself in the changes of each manifestation and drew upon the Gu Yan Essence within his body, beginning to refine it slowly.
To simulate the Vermilion Bird manifestation, one first had to refine the Gu Yan Essence to the point of absolute control. Only then could one harness that ancient fire essence to construct the form of the Vermilion Bird.
The Vermilion Bird was a divine beast born from fire, innately bound to the flame. The core of this manifestation lay absolutely in the mastery of fire elemental power.
"A pity, though — I have not merged with the Vermilion Bird's bloodline. Even if I use this Gu Yan Essence to simulate the Vermilion Bird manifestation, it cannot compare to the true Vermilion Bird manifestation produced after fully integrating the bloodline."
Jiang Chen was keenly aware that without the Vermilion Bird bloodline, even with the Gu Yan Essence as a foundation, this manifestation would still fall short.
In plain terms, he could approximate the form but not capture the spirit.
More precisely, he was borrowing the essence of the ancient Gu Yan to simulate the Vermilion Bird manifestation.
Still, once this manifestation was successfully cultivated, even if it could not match the true bloodline-fused Vermilion Bird manifestation in power, it should not be underestimated.
Jiang Chen sat quietly beneath the eighth Glazed Stele, as though he had already merged with it into a single entity.
He thoroughly enjoyed this sensation.
Time trickled away, second by second.
Beneath the seventh Glazed Stele, Li Jiancheng exhausted every ounce of his mental energy. In the end, he fell short by a single step, failing to comprehend the seventh Glazed Stele.
With deep regret, he was eliminated.
Li Jiancheng's elimination sent shockwaves through both the interior and exterior of the Glazed Royal Tower.
As the number one on the Young Master Ranking, failing to comprehend the seventh Glazed Stele would not have been a big deal in the past.
Over the last three to five thousand years, the Peacock Great Emperor had achieved the best result, and even he had ultimately fallen before the seventh Glazed Stele.
The others had not even qualified to challenge the seventh.
By all rights, Li Jiancheng's elimination should not have been shameful — after all, he had made it to the seventh Glazed Stele, tying the Peacock Great Emperor's record from years past.
If not for Young Master Ji and Young Master Zhen setting the bar beforehand, everyone would have considered Li Jiancheng matching the Peacock Great Emperor's achievement something truly praiseworthy.
But with Young Master Ji ahead of him and Young Master Zhen behind, Li Jiancheng's failure at the seventh Glazed Stele suddenly looked glaring.
He was, after all, the top-ranked genius on this generation's Young Master Ranking. Young Master Ji had been ranked twenty-first.
And even Dan King Zhen, despite his exceptional talent and being appointed by the Peacock Great Emperor as the new Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain, held only the eighth spot on the ranking.
Everything depended on comparison.
Once you drew that comparison, Li Jiancheng's failure at the final hurdle before the seventh Glazed Stele became rather difficult to justify.
The Shura Great Emperor, outside the Glazed Royal Tower, could no longer sit still.
It was not as though this possibility had never crossed his mind. But after learning that both Young Master Ji and Young Master Zhen had comprehended the seventh Glazed Stele, he had naturally assumed that the difficulty of the Glazed Steles might be somewhat lower this time, or that the geniuses attempting the tower possessed stronger fortune than those of previous generations.
He had simply taken it for granted that Li Jiancheng, as the number one ranked, would have little trouble comprehending the seventh Glazed Stele.
The expectation had been beautiful. Reality, however, was cruel.
Li Jiancheng's last-moment collapse shattered the Shura Great Emperor's fantasy in an instant.
Yes — Li Jiancheng had failed.
Whatever the reason for his failure, he could not change the fact that he had been eliminated.
"Even Li Jiancheng is out. It seems the fortune of Peacock Sacred Mountain truly runs deeper."
"Indeed. Comparisons can be cruel. Li Jiancheng was already outstanding, but in the critical moment, whose fortune proved stronger and whose talent and potential ran deeper — that was laid bare for all to see."
"I've always felt that Li Jiancheng was missing something. It was this quality — or perhaps even fortune itself."
These quiet discussions did not attempt to avoid the Shura Great Emperor's ears.
Everyone present was of the direct lineage of the seven Great Emperors. Aside from the Peacock Great Emperor, who held absolute authority, none of the other factions feared one another.
The Shura Great Emperor heard every last word, but Li Jiancheng's elimination was an undeniable fact. Even if he wished to argue, there was nothing he could say.