Sovereign of the Three Realms

Jiang Chen couldn’t avoid Emperor Peafowl’s enthusiastic gaze, so he smiled and answered honestly, “I could try. Though I would not be able to guarantee the success rate. Plus, this pill is so precious that it would take ages to gather its ingredients again in the case of failure.”

Jiang Chen left himself some leeway to fall back on.

Emperor Peafowl sighed, “Genius. What genius! To think that a place overflowing with fortune as my Veluriyam Capital would lack a genius of your ability all these years, but a forgotten place like the Myriad Domain would produce one! No matter how powerful your master was, he couldn’t have molded a genius like you if you didn’t possess outstanding talents yourself. It is the combined effort of your master’s godly methods and your own outstanding talents that made you into the shining genius you are now!”

There were countless youngsters in Veluriyam Capital, but there had never been a person who received such high praise from Emperor Peafowl until now. This was no longer just simple praise, but one that came from the bottom of his heart. Suddenly, the emperor’s eyes became determined as if he had just made up his mind about something. “Jiang Chen, I must admit that I haven’t told you everything earlier. Now, I believe that I don’t have to hesitate any longer. I would like to give you the legacy of the Sacred Peafowl Mountain once ten years is over.”

“What?” Jiang Chen was shocked, “You’re giving it to me after ten years?”

“Yes,” Emperor Peafowl nodded. “You and I need not share a master disciple relationship. All you need to do is to receive the inheritance of Sacred Peafowl Mountain.”

Jiang Chen was dumbfounded. “But why?”

Emperor Peafowl’s expression was serious. “A great chaos is coming, and Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s fortunes will decide Veluriyam Capital’s fortunes. In turn, Veluriyam Capital’s destiny also decides the destiny of the entire human domain. I have made acquaintances with countless people in my life in attempt to find a person of great destiny to inherit my Sacred Peafowl Mountain, and you are the brightest pearl I have found. I have a feeling that Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s legacy will be passed down for eternity if it is in your hands. No one else can fulfill my expectations.”

Looking at Emperor Peafowl’s sincere eyes, Jiang Chen knew that this great emperor was not joking with him. In reality, Jiang Chen was very much impressed by Emperor Peafowl. After all, the emperor had been born with the All-Seeing Eyes that enabled to see another person’s destiny. Even the people around him hadn’t made the connection when he achieved his breakthrough beneath the Precious Tree of the Rosy Dawn back then. Emperor Peafowl was the only one who was very certain that he was connected to that extraordinary phenomenon. Moreover, his suspicions were well founded and not empty guesses in any way.

Jiang Chen himself knew about his own fortunes. How could a person who survived the cataclysm and even able to reincarnate with full memories have no good fortune at all? It was impossible that a person who didn’t possess a great fortune could achieve reincarnation.

“Don’t turn me down so quickly, young friend. Sacred Peafowl Mountain needs your fortune, but you need Sacred Peafowl Mountain to pave your path to the future too. You understand the reason why your journey has been so rocky, don’t you?” His words hit the nail on the head and silenced Jiang Chen completely.

Of course Jiang Chen knew the reason why.

“There are plenty of reasons, but they can all be summarized under one major one. Your background and starting point is too low, and your patron and power is too weak as well. The fourth rank sect Regal Pill Palace may be a top rank power in Myriad Domain, but resistance is futile even for them when the great calamity arrives.” Emperor Peafowl’s words were very direct. He continued, “The law of survival in the world of martial dao can be cruel or kind depending on your viewpoint, but before a standpoint can even be made, it must have at the bottom a foundation of strength. My Sacred Peafowl Mountain may not be the strongest power in the human territories, but no one can deny that it is one of the strongest.”

Jiang Chen couldn’t refute this point either. “That is why Sacred Peafowl Mountain needs you, and you too need Sacred Peafowl Mountain.” Emperor Peafowl looked at Jiang Chen enthusiastically. “If I name you the young master of Sacred Peafowl Mountain, then no matter how much the Eternal Celestial Capital or the Ninesuns Sky Sect hate you, none of them would dare show their faces in Veluriyam Capital and threaten your wellbeing. The only thing they could do is to swallow all their hatred and live with it.”

Emperor Peafowl was not an expert who embellished the benefits of strength single mindedly, and that was also why his words moved Jiang Chen even more. It was the truth. It had been a while since he started cultivating, and although Jiang Chen was full of mettle and capable and caused big waves wherever he went, he was undeniably weak in the face of true strength.

“Your Majesty, I can only express my gratitude at the great love you show me. However, the burden of inheritance is so heavy. What if I fail to uphold this responsibility? Would it not be a betrayal of your trust? You know of the head of Regal Pill Palace, Dan Chi, who saw the potential in me just like you did. In the end, I wasn’t able to save my sect from being destroyed, and Palace Head Dan Chi himself is still missing. Although I wasn’t the cause of the Regal Pill Palace’s destruction, but it doesn’t change the fact that I, a Regal Pill Palace disciple, wasn’t able to turn the tides around and save my sect from destruction.”

The destruction of the Regal Pill Palace indeed wasn’t Jiang Chen’s fault. The Ninesuns Sky Sect and the Eternal Celestial Capital had long since set set up their plans in order to find Emperor Featherflight. From the moment Emperor Featherflight had escaped into Myriad Domain, he had almost certainly doomed Myriad Domain to a fate of tragedy. But he still couldn’t absolve himself from the guilt that was the destruction of the Regal Pill Palace. He couldn’t help but blame himself for failing to save the sect even though Palace Head Dan Chi put so much trust in him.

Jiang Chen also knew this. After all, he had barely entered the Regal Pill Palace before disaster struck them. There had been so little time that he grow powerful at all. It was obviously unrealistic to hope that an origin realm expert could grow powerful enough to rival a first rank sect in just a couple of years. It was this guilt and regret that had propelled Jiang Chen to do many things for the Regal Pill Palace. He’d willingly braved many dangers and travelled all the way from the Great Scarlet Mid Region to Veluriyam Capital in search for his sect mates. He even went against the ninth rank aristocratic house, the Sikou Family of Veluriyam Capital in order to save his sect mates.

Logically speaking, Jiang Chen should have felt overwhelmed with joy by the favor Emperor Peafowl was showering him with his offer of inheritance. But all he felt was a heavy weight that threatened to crush his back. It wasn’t that he was afraid to shoulder this burden. He simply didn’t want to disappoint those who trusted him again. His experience in the Regal Pill Palace had cast a bit of shadow in his heart.

Emperor Peafowl let out a soft sigh, “Young friend, it is only a matter of time before the Divine Abyss Continent falls into chaos. Forget the Regal Pill Palace, even Veluriyam Capital’s chances of survival is currently unknown. I am not pushing you to achieve something by entrusting you this inheritance. I simply thought that it is the best choice out of all the candidates I can possibly entrust this to. When chaos arrives, the world will shatter, and no one shall be spared from the great calamity. Even I cannot tell the future of Divine Abyss Continent, and if it will welcome a new age of recovery when chaos passes.”

Experts, even those at the great emperor level, were ultimately not omnipotent. No one could predict the future accurately as fate wasn’t something so easy to predict. Although there exists great arts that could predict some traces of the future, it was simply impossible to come up with the whole picture. Emperor Peafowl couldn’t do it, and even those who were ten times stronger than Emperor Peafowl couldn’t do it as well. Not even Jiang Chen’s father from his past life, the Celestial Emperor who ruled over the great heavenly world, could predict everything. The saying that heaven’s dao is unpredictable was absolutely not empty words. Jiang Chen could see sincerity and great hope in Emperor Peafowl’s eyes. He felt like he would be committing a sin if he were to turn the emperor down.

Jiang Chen hesitated for a while. “Your Majesty, this matter is too important. Please allow me some time to think before making my decision.”

Emperor Peafowl shook his head. “Jiang Chen, you are good in almost everything, but there is one tiny thing that you lack as a youngster.”

“What?” Jiang Chen looked startled.

“Courage and vigor,” Emperor Peafowl said indifferently. “I don’t know if you teacher has told you this before. I can see a thousand talents in you, but you lack the determined courage and the vigorous drive of a youngster when it comes to such important matters. If a youngster is as astute and circumspect like us older people, it would be mature if put nicely, but lacking vigor if not bluntly.”

This was the first time Emperor Peafowl had criticized Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen was silent. He couldn’t deny that everything he did was the result of much careful planning ever since he was reincarnated as the son of a duke in the Eastern Kingdom. Although he would do impulsive things sometimes, they were never the result of any less than absolute certainty that he would come out ahead. It wasn’t that Jiang Chen was truly lacking in courage. It was simply that the nightmare that was the destruction of the divine plane during his past life had instilled in him an unconscious mindset of cautiousness. After all, the things he bore were so heavy that any misstep might result in the loss of everything he had built for himself. He couldn’t afford to lose even once.

Although Jiang Chen had no idea why the divine planes had shattered during his past life, he was certain that it hadn’t happened without reason. His reincarnation in this place was not without reason either. Perhaps his father’s enemies were the ones who’d brought about the calamity this time. Therefore, as his father’s son, he couldn’t afford to be careless even though he was reincarnated into a new body. If the cultivators of the divine plane were to find him again, they could easily destroy him a thousand times over.

Jiang Chen had never paid serious attention to his current mindset, but it had become a subconscious of his. When this was pointed out by Emperor Peafowl directly, Jiang Chen abruptly realized that he was a little too cautious, and a little too lacking in the arrogance and recklessness that only a youth would possess. He had maintained a low key profile all this time and was unwilling to get himself involved in conflict. He had wanted to keep to himself and quietly cultivate to the point where he had the strength to investigate the cause and effect of that incident of his past life. But the more he tried to run away, the more he tried to cast off the ties, the more he ran head first into those things.

“Jiang Chen, I may not know what you’re trying to escape from, but I can tell you clearly that no one can spare themselves from danger when chaos arrives. The world changes like the tidewaters, and none can resist its mighty flow. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good or bad, righteous or evil. Everyone will be drawn in all the same. So if you can’t escape it, why not meet it head on? Don’t you think that you are letting down those wonderful talents of yours by keeping to only yourself?” His words rang so loudly beside Jiang Chen’s ears that even the deaf could probably hear them. Jiang Chen was left speechless in the end.