Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

"Brother Chen, why are those two masters calling you ’Master’?"

Xiao Qingyi’s brow furrowed, and she looked at Jiang Chen in confusion.

Having lived in seclusion for years, she didn’t know what being a Second Grade Alchemist and an Artifact Refiner represented.

But seeing how the two of them could make even the powerful Luo Cheng so wary, it wasn’t hard to tell that their statuses were incredibly distinguished.

And yet...

Now, these two distinguished masters were kneeling before Jiang Chen and calling him ’Master.’ It was enough to leave Xiao Qingyi completely stunned.

Cui Zheng’s eyes darted about. He quickly smiled and said, "This must be our Mistress, yes? In response to your question, Mistress, both Master Kumu and I were able to attain our current status and position only because of our Master’s guidance. The debt we owe our Master is as great as the one we owe the parents who gave us life. However, our aptitude is dull, so for now, we are merely the Master’s Named Disciples!"

As he spoke, he took out a vial of pills from his robes and offered it to Xiao Qingyi. "Mistress, these are Beauty Pills that this disciple refined. They’re good for the skin. Please accept them as this disciple’s first-meeting gift!"

A smile uglier than a grimace spread across Kumu’s face, which resembled old tree bark. He also took out a thin, soft armor for a woman and said, "Mistress, this is a Low-level Profound Tier Defense Soft Armor that this disciple refined. It can block three full-power attacks from a Middle Tier of True Martial Realm expert. Please do us the honor of accepting it!"

The two of them looked at Xiao Qingyi with eager expressions.

Xiao Qingyi looked astonished. She turned to Jiang Chen. "Brother Chen, this..."

Jiang Chen smiled. "Qingyi, since it’s a token of their sincerity, you should accept it."

"Then... alright!"

Xiao Qingyi hesitated for a moment before accepting the gifts.

As she looked at the two items in her hands, the image of the two men calling her ’Mistress’ surfaced in her mind, and a bashful blush crept onto her beautiful face.

Jiang Chen laughed heartily, then looked at Cui Zheng and Kumu. "It seems you two haven’t been wasting your time these past few days. Especially you, Cui Zheng. I didn’t expect you to break through two levels in a row to reach the rank of a Tier Two Intermediate Alchemist. Not bad, not bad!" Then he looked at Kumu. "Kumu, your progress is a bit slow. Cui Zheng has surpassed you!"

Jiang Chen wasn’t at all surprised that they had managed to break through their realms in such a short time.

After all...

For someone like him, who possessed the inherited memories of the Pill Emperor Artifact Venerable, it would be no problem to help them break through to Tier Three, or even Tier Four, let alone Tier Two.

Cui Zheng quickly said, "It’s all thanks to the Pill Dao Holy Scroll that Master bestowed upon me. Only because of it was this disciple able to break through to Tier Two Middle Level so quickly."

"Rest assured, Master. This disciple is confident he can break through to become a Tier Two Mid-Level Refiner within a month!" Kumu said, puffing out his chest.

"To achieve this, your own efforts were also indispensable," Jiang Chen said with a wave of his hand. Then he asked, "Cui Zheng, how is the search for the materials I asked you two to find for me?"

When he left Yulan Mansion, Jiang Chen had ordered the two of them to find the ingredients for refining the Second Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill.

His Divine Demon Tyrant Body had now reached the Middle Stage of the Second Stage. As long as he had enough Spirit Crystals, he could break through to the Late Stage in a short period, at which point he would need to use the Second Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill.

The matter of collecting the ingredients was now urgent.

Cui Zheng reported, "Reporting to Master, after several months of searching, my junior brother and I have found seventy-six of the materials on the list you gave us. There are only five left that we haven’t been able to obtain!"

"Oh? Seventy-six already? What are the remaining five?" Jiang Chen asked, a flicker of joy in his heart.

Kumu replied, "What’s left are Tier Three Dragon Bone, Flying Immortal Tendon Grass, September Flower, Celestial Snow Lotus, and the Beast Blood of an Armor-Breaking Beast."

"Actually, we have leads on the Tier Three Dragon Bone and the September Flower, but we just don’t have a way to get them yet!" Cui Zheng said with a wry smile. "The Money Commerce Association has both the Tier Three Dragon Bone and the September Flower, but they are both extremely precious materials. The September Flower alone is valued at 1.8 billion silver, and as for the Dragon Bone, the Money Commerce Association is asking for five billion!"

A Tier Three Dragon Bone had to be taken from a Tier Three Demon Beast that possessed the bloodline of the Dragon Race.

A Tier Three Demon Beast was already equivalent to a Heavenly Destiny Realm expert.

Let alone a Demon Beast with a Dragon Race bloodline!

Unless an expert at the Late Stage of the Heavenly Destiny Realm was deployed, it would be nearly impossible to slay such a Demon Beast. Naturally, the value of its Dragon Bone soared.

Jiang Chen also let out a long sigh.

Back when he had plundered the Qinghuo Gang’s Treasure Vault, he had felt incredibly wealthy. But now it seemed that amount of money wasn’t even enough to buy a single Dragon Bone. For the remaining ingredients of the Second Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill, it was just a drop in the bucket.

’In the end, it all comes down to a lack of money!’

Jiang Chen shook his head, thinking, ’Looks like I still need to find a way to make money.’

Jiang Chen suddenly recalled the Spirit List that Luo Cheng and the others were always talking about. Curious, he asked, "Cui Zheng, let me ask you, what exactly is the Spirit List? And what does it mean that Luo Cheng is ranked ninety-eighth on it?"

Cui Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then began to explain in detail.

Through Cui Zheng’s explanation, Jiang Chen finally understood that the so-called Spirit List was, in fact, a ranking of geniuses.

There were three such rankings in total, called the Three Lists of Heaven, Earth, and Spirit.

The Spirit List was just one of them.

"Master, the Spirit List corresponds to the strongest True Martial Realm geniuses under the age of thirty within the dynasty. There are two hundred spots in total. The Luo Family’s Luo Cheng, Luo Meng, Luo Rui, and Luo Qing are all experts on the Spirit List. Among them, Luo Qing is the highest, ranked third. Next is Luo Rui at thirty-second, and Luo Cheng at ninety-eighth. As for that Luo Meng, he was once ranked one hundred and thirty-first, but it seems he perished not long ago," Cui Zheng said with a sigh.

Jiang Chen’s expression turned a little strange.

’Luo Meng was only ranked one hundred and thirty-first on the Spirit List? Then how strong must Luo Qing be, who’s ranked third?’

’And Lan Haichen, what’s his cultivation level? Which of the Three Lists of Heaven, Earth, and Spirit is he on?’

Jiang Chen looked at Cui Zheng and asked, "Tell me in detail, besides Luo Qing, who else is in the top three of the Spirit List? Also, tell me about the situation with the Earth List and the Celestial List."

"Yes!"

Cui Zheng nodded and continued, "Above Luo Qing, the first on the Spirit List is the genius from the Li Family, one of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families, Li Yunlong. As for the genius ranked second, that would be the Thirteenth Prince of our Saint Martial Dynasty, Yuwen Xunyi. Anyone who can enter the top ten of the Spirit List is a peerless genius, and they have all awakened Earth-tier Martial Souls. In particular, Yuwen Xunyi’s Martial Soul has reached Earth Tier Fifth Grade!"

"As for the Earth List, it ranks Heavenly Destiny Realm experts under the age of fifty, and there are only one hundred spots. As far as I know, the current number one on the Earth List seems to be the new Saint Child of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, Lan Haichen. This person is truly incredible. It’s said that he’s not even thirty years old and is hailed as the strongest prodigy in the history of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. The current Holy Emperor once predicted that Lan Haichen would step into the Union Palace Realm within three years!"

An expression of reverence and awe appeared on Cui Zheng’s face. He was filled with admiration and worship for a peerless monster like Lan Haichen.

Jiang Chen’s heart sank.

’First on the Earth List!’

’Expected to break through to the Union Palace Realm within three years!’

’An opponent like that is absolutely terrifying!’

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, his fists clenched so tightly they made a cracking sound. A torrent of battle intent surged within him. "Lan Haichen, just you wait. I will definitely catch up to you. I told you, I will crush you under my foot!"

Afterward, Cui Zheng shared some information about the Celestial List, which recorded Union Palace Realm experts under the age of one hundred.

First on the Celestial List was the Sect Master of the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

Second on the Celestial List was the current Holy Emperor of the Saint Martial Dynasty...

Jiang Chen didn’t pay much attention to the Celestial List, however. Knowing Lan Haichen’s strength was enough. He took a deep breath and said, "Cui Zheng, I need a large amount of Spirit Crystals right now. Do you have any channels to acquire them?"

"Spirit Crystals? Master, how many do you need?" Cui Zheng asked.

Jiang Chen said, "The more, the better!"

Cui Zheng said with some difficulty, "Master, you may not be aware, but a single Lower-Grade Spirit Crystal is equivalent to one million taels of gold, or one hundred million silver. If you only need ten or so, this disciple can handle it for you. But if the required amount is quite large, it might be difficult."

Even though he already knew Spirit Crystals were expensive, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.

’A single Lower-Grade Spirit Crystal is equivalent to one hundred million silver?’

Damn it!

’My entire fortune can only buy a few dozen Spirit Crystals. What the hell good is that?’

Kumu, who had been watching Jiang Chen from the side, had a change in expression and said, "Master, there is actually another way!"

"Oh?"

Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Kumu questioningly.

Kumu said, "In the Imperial Capital, there is a Martial Arts Arena. With your strength, Master, you could easily go there to participate in Combat Duels. You can bet with gold and silver, or you can bet with Spirit Crystals. This disciple once saw someone win several hundred Spirit Crystals from the Martial Arts Arena!"

"There’s a place like that?" Jiang Chen said, pleasantly surprised.

Cui Zheng quickly added, "Master, although you can earn Spirit Crystals at the Martial Arts Arena, every Combat Duel is fraught with danger. This disciple thinks you should consider it carefully!"

Jiang Chen waved his hand and smiled. "It’s fine. We’ll rest for a day. Help me exchange all the treasures in this Storage Ring for Spirit Crystals. Tomorrow, we will go to the Martial Arts Arena to check it out!"

"Then this disciple will go make the arrangements!" Cui Zheng said.

Jiang Chen nodded, then instructed Kumu, "Kumu, go gather some materials. Your master is going to repair the Qingfeng Sword!"

"This disciple understands!"

Master Kumu immediately took his leave. He returned in a hurry half a double-hour later, bringing the materials with him.

With Jiang Chen’s skills, repairing the Qingfeng Sword was a simple matter. Holding the repaired sword, he placed it into his Storage Ring. His profound gaze turned to the dark night sky. ’A Martial Arts Arena where experts gather, is it? I’m actually looking forward to it!’

PS: Third Chapter of the day is here. Little Tian is continuing to write the fourth! Also, some friends have mentioned the use of "minutes" for time. For the most part, I use traditional markers like the "double-hour." If you see any places where I’ve used "minutes," please let me know which Chapter so Little Tian can revise it. Finally, a plug for the QQ group: 605481292. Little Tian is often in there shooting the breeze! Everyone is welcome to join!