Chapter 541: Attacked By All Sides
“Ole brother Dan Chi, this Jiang Chen is simply too perverse, isn’t he? His level seems beyond what we should have in the Myriad Domain!” Wei Wuying was the first to step forth and start trouble. When he saw that even Wei Xing’er could only hold down third place with such an exemplary display of skill, and Wei Qing could only manage fifth place with his stable performance, he couldn’t accept the situation. Although there were two more rounds to go, who knew if Jiang Chen would still set such a ridiculous standard of performance?
Even though the Regal Pill Palace would still demonstrate a strong overall strength without Jiang Chen, the Walkabout Sect would absolutely have a chance of challenging them then. With Jiang Chen so far in the lead, it didn’t seem as if there was any doubt about the champion of the genius group. The additional fifty points he would receive then would create a further advantage for the Regal Pill Palace in the final rankings of the Pill Battles. The only way for Wei Wuying to prevent this was to step forth and question Jiang Chen.
When Wei Wuying stepped forth, so did Tristar Sect Head Zhu. His ambitions for the champion’s seat was still burning brightly as he smiled. “I also find this to be rather odd. Jiang Chen hails from the sixteen kingdoms, and even if he’s had the benefit of being trained in the Regal Pill Palace, he still shouldn’t be displaying such a stunning performance.”
The others smiled and didn’t say a word. Wang Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace had always been at odds with the Regal Pill Palace, so he chose to jump on the bandwagon as well. “The two sect heads make sense, Jiang Chen is indeed a suspicious character.”
The Sacred Sword Palace had always ranked near the bottom in the Pill Battles rankings, and were mostly just here to make up the numbers. They had no real ambitions in this regard. However, when this matter had to do with the Regal Pill Palace, their intrinsically hostile relationship left the Sacred Sword Palace with an obligation to step out to support an objection against their hated enemy.
The family heads of the Great Cathedral stayed silent, merely smiling. Only Honored Master Tian Ming of the Dark North Sect chuckled. “What is there to be suspicious about or not? The Pill Battles are a tradition left behind from the time of the Myriad Empire. Are you possibly suspecting him of cheating?”
Dan Chi smiled faintly. “If you three have such effort to spare in suspecting Jiang Chen, why don’t you spend it teaching your own disciples? Is it important why Jiang Chen’s performance is so heaven defying? Ask not where heroes come from. It’s not at all important where Jiang Chen comes from and why is he such a genius.”
Dan Chi wasn’t someone who could be easily sliced and diced. He would never allow these fellows to use this as an opportunity to create trouble. As long as Jiang Chen hadn’t cheated, it was irrelevant how insane or suspicious his performance was.
“That’s not how things often go though. There’s always something sinister at play when things appear out of the ordinary. I rather think we should investigate this.” Wang Jianyu chuckled.
Dan Chi’s face grew cold. “Wang Jianyu, don’t tell me you’re jealous?”
Wang Jianyu smiled. “My Sacred Sword Palace has never had much ambition in the Pill Battles. What jealousy is there to speak of? I’m merely speaking out of a sense of fair play.”
“Fair play? Well, that is certainly a grave matter. I welcome Palace Head Wang to come out with any evidence of Jiang Chen cheating, so I can expel such a cheating disciple from my Regal Pill Palace. But if not, it would be wiser if you shut that mouth of yours in case others make it out to be a case of jealousy. We’re all heavyweights of the Myriad Domain after all, and can’t make a fool of ourselves in front of the juniors.”
Honored Master Tian Ming also smiled. “I say, don’t be so caught up in Jiang Chen’s performance. It’s not a bad thing for the Myriad Domain to produce such a heaven defying genius! Do you want our Myriad Domain to always be a nobody, or worse, be disqualified the next time the domains are drawn?”
Wei Wuying smiled sinisterly. “Old Tian Ming, you always wear the same pants as Dan Chi. You can save those words of yours, hmm?”
Palace Head Zhu nodded. “I advocate investigating this Jiang Chen.”
Palace Head Dan Chi’s face darkened. “Investigate what? Jiang Chen’s background is clean, so what’s there to look into? I only say this, bring out whatever evidence you’ve got, or stop worrying if you have none. Have the Pill Battles devolved to the point where those who excel are suppressed? If everyone thinks my Regal Pill Palace is being superfluous, then just say so. Why bother scrounging around for such a crude excuse?”
Wei Wuying sneered. “A clean background? And who can prove that? Jiang Chen is from the sixteen kingdom alliance, that’s already half a desolate wilderness to begin with. I’m sure everyone remembers the last gathering where we discussed whether or not to exile them, and almost everyone agreed. The reason? Is it only because the sixteen kingdom alliance is weak? Who doesn’t know that that’s the fringe territory where the ancient demon tribe is sealed? Who can guarantee that those from the sixteen kingdoms don’t have the background of the demon tribe?”
The expressions of the sect heavyweights drastically changed as those words rang in the air. It was apparent that the words “ancient demon tribe” had left a deep feeling of danger in them, and it seemed that none of them were exempt from this reaction.
Sect Head Zhu immediately interjected. “Sect Head Wei’s words aren’t without reason. The ancient demon tribe may be dead, but it hasn’t collapsed yet. It would only require the slightest opening for them to rise from the ashes again. Even the slightest spark can ravage the plains with fire. I also feel that we must stay guarded against this.”
Wang Jianyu was happy to add fuel to the flame, laughing, “We must be cautious about the remnants of the demon tribe. Out of considerations of security, I recommend making a thorough investigation. We’d rather kill a thousand erroneously rather than letting one free! That Jiang Chen’s perverse potential is something that our Myriad Domain level could not have cultivated.”
Even the family heads from the Great Cathedral didn’t remain neutral this time and nodded as well. It was apparent that they didn’t dare relax their guard when it came to the ancient demon race, even if they didn’t necessarily feel that Jiang Chen had anything to do with them. They would investigate things thoroughly now rather than let anything slip by.
When Dan Chi saw that four out of the six great sects were advocating for investigating Jiang Chen, he was completely incensed and knew that they were meaning to band together to suppress Jiang Chen. However, Dan Chi wasn’t just any easy pickings. He was well versed in these battles, snorting coldly in response, “If you wish to look into even someone with a clean background, then I’d like to ask, is the background of every disciple you recruit clean and pure? Sect Head Zhu, why don’t you tell me where your Ding Tong is from? Has anyone heard of him before?”
Sect Heads Zhu’s face stiffened as a strange look flashed through his eyes. “Ding Tong is one of our Tristar Sect disciples.”
“Is that so? Then will Sect Head Zhu tell us more about this disciple’s background? I’m all ears.”
Sect Head Zhu snorted coldly. “Is there a need to do so?”
Dan Chi laughed heartily. “Since you want to investigate Jiang Chen, I can reel off his background at any time. Why can’t you do the same for Ding Tong so everyone can verify his background? Or is it because the Regal Pill Palace is the champion that you want to suppress us?”
These words stumped Sect Head Zhu into speechlessness.
Wu Weiying was delighted to blow up this matter even more. Jiang Chen and Ding Tong were both ranked higher than Wei Xing’er anyways. If both of them could be kicked off, then she would be the current champion. He grinned, “Dan Chi makes sense as well. If we investigate Jiang Chen, we naturally need to look into Ding Tong as well. To be honest, I’ve heard of Jiang Chen before today, but I’ve never heard of Ding Tong. Have any of you heard of him?”
Everyone was familiar with Jiang Chen’s name from when the Regal Pill Palace allied with the Precious Tree Sect, but Ding Tong was a true dark horse in that no one had ever heard of him before the Pill Battles.
Wang Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace was on good terms with Tristar Sect Head Zhu. He smiled, “Don’t be distracted by Dan Chi, everyone. He’s merely purposefully stirring up the waters and making the situation murky to distract from the real problem here.”
Dan Chi shot a cold glare at Wang Jianyu. When all was said and done, the latter was still a sect head! Yet here he was, being so openly shameless as to publicly tout a set of double standards. Dan Chi shook his head with a light sigh. “No wonder the Sacred Sword Palace has never sought to better themselves. With a sect head such as you, even those below you know nothing better because of the unworthy example you set at the peak.”
Wang Jianyu was enraged. “Dan Chi, do your words indicate that you think your Regal Pill Palace already reigns over my Sacred Sword Palace?! Since we’re all here today, why don’t our two sects finally decide who truly owns that spirit vein, huh!?
When the Sacred Sword Palace and Regal Pill Palace fought over the spirit vein years ago, Wang Jianyu had continued to bear a grudge ever since the former Regal Pill Palace Head had suppressed him in that fight. He’d always wanted an excuse to strike back and gain face, so relations between the two could truly only be described as acrimonious in the extreme.
Dan Chi smiled coolly. “There are naturally many opportunities for your Sacred Sword Palace to strive for glory in the Myriad Grand Ceremony. Have you already made up your mind to disturb the proceedings of the Pill Battles today?”
The family head of the Sacred Elephant family of the Great Cathedral rose to his feet at this moment to try to smooth things over. “Everyone, let’s not bicker and argue here. Investigating whether someone is of the ancient demon race is easy enough. Although it had many branches, the lineage of the ancient demons are still quite different from us humans. Since Jiang Chen and Ding Tong’s backgrounds are suspect, in my view, they should both be tested. Otherwise, it would be unfair to both the Regal Pill Palace and Tristar Sect. Ole brother Dan Chi and Sect Head Zhu, what do you say?”
Dan Chi nodded, “I agree wholeheartedly with the Family Head’s words.”
Sect Head Zhu hesitated momentarily and also nodded. “Then let us test both of them.”
There were naturally many ways to test bloodlines in the Myriad Domain. Jiang Chen and Ding Tong were summoned and notified of the controversy between the great sects. When Jiang Chen saw that Palace Head Dan Chi had already agreed, he didn’t say anything else. He had nothing to do with the ancient demon race anyways, but it was a good thing he hadn’t assimilated the dragon blood. It would be difficult to explain the presence of a dragon bloodline when it was detected. Even if he wasn’t of the ancient demon race, it would still be very astonishing to possess the bloodline of the dragon race. Up until now, Jiang Chen had only assimilated the blood of the Golden Cicada. Although that could also be detected, it was noticeably different from the ancient demon race, and was a very pure bloodline to boot. Plus, those of the Myriad Domain might not necessarily recognize this particular bloodline.
As for the Firelizard and Raven King cores, although he’d refined them, they hadn’t contained their respective bloodlines. As such, it wouldn’t be reflected in Jiang Chen’s blood, so he wasn’t opposed to the testing.
It was rather Ding Tong who was further irritated when he heard that he had to undergo testing. His second place ranking already irked him, but since all the six great sects’ heavyweights were present, his belly full of ire had to go unappeased. Resigned, he could only agree to undergo testing.
Blood samples were quickly taken, and all of the heavyweights participated in testing Jiang Chen’s blood. Their final conclusion was that it was completely void of even traces of the demon race’s bloodlines. Since there was no demon lineage in his blood, Wei Wuying could no longer find any more excuses.