Jiang Chen activated the Kunpeng Meteoric Escape and disappeared after a flash. The pill shop had brazenly opened business at that location because they were backed by someone very powerful. Had he lingered, he would’ve been swarmed by even more powerful reinforcements. Since he was alone, he couldn’t afford to wait for their backup to arrive. He knew his limits and decided to call it quits after abducting one of their men.

After such a huge ruckus, the enemy’s morale would definitely be affected.

It didn’t take long before Jiang Chen arrived at the Sacred Peafowl Mountain. He didn’t need to worry about any pursuers because of the Kunpeng Meteoric Escape’s unparalleled speed. After entering the faction’s territory, he kept an extremely low profile and returned to his residence.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The atmosphere in Sacred Peafowl Mountain was also a little tense. Huang’er was elated when she learned of Jiang Chen’s return, but the he didn’t want to alert the others about his return.

“Huang’er, don’t tell anyone that I’ve returned.”

She nodded and didn’t ask why.

“Brother Chen, how was your trip to Great Scarlet? Did you rescue Miss Wei?” Huang’er had also been there when Jiang Chen had previously travelled to the region. It was how she’d gotten to know Wei Xing’er. In fact, rescuing Wei Xing’er was her idea.

Jiang Chen naturally wouldn’t hide anything from her. “Wei Xing’er’s rescue was a success. Hasn’t she arrived at the capital yet?”

The Goldbiter Rat King had been told to bring her back to the capital. It’d been some time and they should’ve arrived by now.

Huang’er shook her head. “The situation in Veluriyam Capital has been rather grim lately. The borders are tightly locked down. Chances are, Wei Xing’er is also held up at the border. Brother Chen, how did you come back? Don’t you know about the ongoing situation in the capital?”

Jiang Chen felt a bit awkward. The method in which he returned was rather unusual.

“I entered the Veluriyam Pagoda and exited from there. The current situation in Veluriyam Capital is rather complicated? What’s going on?” Jiang Chen frowned.

Huang’er seemed rather downcast. She threw a glance at Jiang Chen and sighed softly. “Right after you left, a rumor began to spread that Emperor Peafowl had been ambushed by demons and has passed away. So far, there has been no confirmation as to the authenticity of the rumor, but it quickly gained momentum. The situation in the capital has been extremely strange ever since the rumors began to spread.”

An ugly expression flashed across Jiang Chen’s face.

Emperor Peafowl was ambushed by demons and has passed away?

Impossible.

Jiang Chen found that very hard to believe. First of all, the emperor possessed various skills and arts that guaranteed his longevity. He also radiated an aura that couldn’t be easily found in other great emperors. A person with such great fortune would never die that easily. However, there could be no smoke without fire. There must be some truth behind the rumors.

Huang’er gently held onto Jiang Chen’s hands. “Brother Chen, stay calm. Emperor Peafowl isn’t the sort of character to die so easily.”

“You’re right. The emperor possesses a large arsenal of skills and arts. The demons are powerful, but the cataclysm hasn’t begun yet. The average, run-of-the-mill demons can’t possibly do him any harm.” Jiang Chen had also fought his fair share of demons. Even Demon Emperor Bloodmalva wouldn’t be able to take down Emperor Peafowl. Unless the demon emperor was at peak condition, he’d eat a great loss at the hands of Emperor Peafowl. In fact, he might not even have the opportunity to escape.

Great emperors were aplenty, but there was a great discrepancy in strength amongst them. Emperor Peafowl was without doubt the strongest great emperor in the human domain. Jiang Chen didn’t believe that the demons could easily defeat someone as powerful as him. Thus, the rumor was mostly likely a lie.

However, who exactly was spreading these false rumors? Why would they spread such a blatant lie without any solid proof? Emperor Peafowl would surely retaliate in kind when he came back.

“By the way, Emperor Void and Emperor Coiling Dragon both came to visit when you weren’t around.” Huang’er mentioned.

Emperor Void was Emperor Peafowl’s sworn ally. Amongst the seven initial great emperors, he was the only one who’d sworn allegiance to Emperor Peafowl. The latter had single handedly propelled him to where he was today. And because of that, he was always viewed as Emperor Peafowl’s right-hand man.

Emperor Coiling Dragon was also Emperor Peafowl’s trusted subordinate. One could safely assume that they were both on the same boat as Emperor Peafowl and were on Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s side. Their visit definitely had something to do with the rumors.

Emperor Peafowl was the holder of Veluriyam Capital’s fate. They needed to get their heads around the issue no matter what. Regardless of whether he was dead or alive, they needed to come up with a plan to stifle the rumors, or something bad could actually happen.

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment. “Other than the rumors, has there been anything else significant in Veluriyam Capital lately?”

"Well, Emperor Shura has officially announced Li Jiancheng as his true heir and successor.”

“Oh? Li Jiancheng?” Jiang Chen remembered the genius from the Martial Pagoda Battles.

Li Jiancheng stood head and shoulders above the other true disciples of the seven great emperors, save for young lord Fan, who was better than him in every single way. The others simply had no right to be mentioned under the same breath as Li Jiancheng. His martial dao path was extremely domineering and tyrannical.

After young lord Fan’s passing, he was widely regarded as the strongest amongst the younger generation. However, ever since Jiang Chen had been declared heir to Sacred Peafowl Mountain, his status as number one genius was once again under siege.

During the Veluriyam Pagoda gathering, Jiang Chen had stopped at number eight in the Ranking of Young Lords due to his initial starting rank. Many outsiders believed that Jiang Chen was actually capable of challenging Li Jiancheng for the champion seat.

When Jiang Chen was declared young lord of Sacred Peafowl Mountain after the ranking battles, the outside world largely viewed it as a warning from Emperor Peafowl to Emperor Shura. Even though young lord Fan had fallen, the Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s rule over Veluriyam Capital wouldn’t cease.

It wasn’t an official declration, but anyone with a pair of eyes could see that Emperor Peafowl’s arrangement was a slap to Emperor Shura’s face. Emperor Shura’s faction could stop dreaming. The capital’s future lord would still come from the Sacred Peafowl Mountain.

This angered Emperor Shura’s faction greatly. The obstruction of the emperor’s plans left a bitter taste in their mouths. The sudden appearance of young lord Zhen also incensed Li Jiancheng.

His anger had triggered a large advancement in his martial dao and helped him break through to second level emperor realm. It’d been a sensational topic in the capital when it happened.

Emperor Shura took advantage of the situation by officially declaring Li Jiancheng the sole heir of his faction and widely propagated the news throughout Veluriyam Capital. The emperor’s influence over the capital kept growing ever since.

Due the ambiguity of Emperor Peafowl’s status, the four monarchs of Sacred Peafowl Mountain had lost much of their authority. The sacred mountain’s rule was in jeopardy. The lack of a leader had cast the Sacred Peafowl Mountain into a very tricky situation.

Emperor Peafowl was nowhere to be found and young lord Zhen hadn’t been showing his face either. Everyone couldn’t help but wonder where the two had gone to. Were the rumors regarding the emperor’s death true?

The factions in Veluriyam Capital were extremely conflicted. They hoped that Emperor Peafowl was fine, but in case something really had happened, they needed to elect a new ruler to take charge of the capital. A snake couldn’t be without its head, and likewise, the capital can’t be without a leader.

Slowly but surely, support for Emperor Shura began to grow. Over time, his influence had consolidated into something that could no longer be ignored.

Of course, there was no lack of wise people in the capital. Many suspected that the rumors of Emperor Peafowl’s death was a lie meant to destabilize the capital and cause inner conflict. These wise men believed that stifling the rumors should come first, not supporting Emperor Shura’s rise to power. Some even believed that this was all a ruse by Emperor Shura and his allies, that they’d conjured lies and spread rumors to legitimately consolidate Emperor Shura’s rule.

Many had grown used to being under Emperor Peafowl’s rule and trusted only Emperor Peafowl. They believed that he was the only one with the ability to rule the capital. Emperor Shura was a good substitute in terms of strength and might, but he lacked the charisma and presence needed to grasp the hearts of the people.

There were many who stood by this view, but Emperor Shura’s supporters grew louder and louder with every passing day. The citizens were afraid. They needed a powerful ruler to reassure them and calm their nerves. If Emperor Peafowl was really no longer alive, the next best choice would be Emperor Shura.