Chapter 386: Unexpected News

Jiang Chen had been perplexed when he felt the shaking slowly subside, but he wasn’t afraid.

After a few life and death experiences, his strength of heart had been raised to the point where it wasn’t affected by outside interference.

The Rat King hopped out before long.

“Young master, there are no oddities below ground. It shouldn’t have been an earthquake. Perhaps it was ripples from the restrictions in the formation outside the mountain?”

The Rat King patently knew of the wonders of the mountain and understood that there were many ancient and powerful restrictions in the Eternal Spirit Mountain. He hadn’t dared drill about randomly.

Jiang Chen mused briefly in his yard and felt that if this had been triggered by the restrictions in the formation outside of the mountain, then there was nothing he could do about it.

“These aren’t things I should worry about. No need to pay any attention to them. I need to focus on cultivation. Even if the sky were to cave in, the four great sects will be there to shoulder it.”

Jiang Chen entered his residence and continued sitting down cross-legged to proceed his cultivation.

Ever since breaking through to the fifth level spirit realm, it was as if the doors of boundless inspiration had opened. His comprehension of martial dao was simply geysering forth.

In addition, countless suppressions he’d faced from both examiners and geniuses during this period, all of which had turned into an outside source of motivation that prompted further improvement from him.

It was now two months since he’d entered the sky quadrant and his score had reached an astonishing 3,300 points.

This score was enough to make it into the top ten. He was only three to four hundred points away from top scorer, Lei Gangyang.

At this rate, Jiang Chen had absolute confidence in surpassing Lei Gangyang in the remaining twenty, thirty days of the current cycle and reaching the top of the sky quadrant lists!

“The path of martial dao is similar to paddling upstream. Failure to advance means going backwards. With my speed, Lei Gangyang and the others will not resign themselves to their doom and wait for me to surpass them. They will certainly retaliate heavily against me after this, and the greatest of reactions will be in the challenges in the rings!”

Jiang Chen had experienced Lei Gangyang’s strength during his solo disruption of the meeting of the most high last time.

One had to admit, Lei Gangyang lived up to his reputation of seventh level spirit realm. Jiang Chen felt that there was almost no way for him to beat such a person.

However, if they met in the ring, Jiang Chen had many trump cards and thus great hope to force the fight to a draw.

“Lei Gangyang commands the other geniuses as if he were the head of a dragon. Although Long Juxue possesses an innate constitution, she has yet to surpass him. Her cultivation level is on par with him at best. Even if this is the case, I must continue to work hard.”

Although Jiang Chen valued Lei Gangyang, he didn’t see the latter as a fated rival.

Long Juxue however, was different.

With her innate constitution, all of the Purple Sun Sect’s fortune and resources were funneled in her. She was the true thorn in his side.

If he couldn’t kill her in the ring, then he wouldn’t have the opportunity to do so before he entered the origin realm.

It wasn’t that he underestimated himself, but that her sect simply valued her too highly.

Old-monster Sunchaser was a domineering person without reason. Judging from his personality, he would harshly suppress whoever made a move against Long Juxue, showing no mercy at all.

Therefore, the match in the ring was Jiang Chen’s only hope.

However, it wouldn’t be that easy to kill Long Juxue in the ring.

Her advantages over him were obvious. An innate constitution and limitless resources—these two alone were something that Jiang Chen couldn’t currently measure up to.

If it weren’t for the memories of his past life and the gains from some of his great adventures, he likely really would’ve been left behind in the dust by this person.

“Cultivate, I must furiously cultivate!”

Jiang Chen realized with great urgency that if he were to kill Long Juxue within the ring, he had to give himself a higher chance of success.

To him right now, what he had to raise the level of most urgently wasn’t his techniques, but his cultivation level.

Although he was at the fifth level spirit realm, this kind of level was at most mediocre in the sky quadrant.

There were at least four or five people like Lei Gangyang at the seventh level spirit realm in the sky quadrant, and as time went on the sixth leveled ones would naturally increase.

Although Jiang Chen felt no pressure at challenging someone above him, the fifth level was two levels below the seventh, and thus he would always be at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, the higher these top genius’ cultivation level was, the more likely it was that they would have some trump cards up their sleeves. As the highest level of existence within the sects, it was impossible that they didn’t have some aces as a last resort.

Therefore, Jiang Chen was deeply motivated to cultivate.

If it’d been someone on par with his level, he could’ve absolutely looked down on them and destroyed them effortlessly. He would’ve been unafraid even if they had quite a few trump cards.

“That woman Long Juxue is already at the peak of the earth spirit realm, the sixth level. If she breaks through the shackles of the earth spirit realm and enters the seventh level, it will only be more difficult to kill her!”

A beam of light shot in through his window as he contemplated. It was a message glyph.

“All candidates, convene at the sky quadrant public square!”

This was an order of the highest level. All candidates had to hurry to the square immediately without a trace of delaying.

Jiang Chen thought momentarily. Did something happen due to the earth shaking just now?

His body had already exited his residence with this thought, and he shot towards the public square.

All of the candidates had gathered as soon as possible.

The examiners all had grave expressions on their faces, seeming to have met something great.

The heavyweights of the four sects also filtered in. Even the four forefathers arrived soon afterwards. Everyone’s facial expressions seemed to be concealing their thoughts.

“Everyone, the four venerated ones have an essential matter to announce. Be quiet.”

An examiner stood in front and pressed down with his hands, indicating for everyone to be quiet down.

The four venerated ones had something to say? And an essential matter at that? All the candidates quieted when they saw that the forefathers too were wearing grave expressions.

Sunchaser was the first to speak. “Everyone, enormous ripples occurred in the Eternal Spirit Mountain earlier. I trust that you have felt them as well.”

All of the candidates nodded. Something big must have happened? Why would the forefathers have been alarmed otherwise?

“We don’t wish to conceal this matter either. According to our observations, the formation beneath the Eternal Spirit Mountain has been attacked by someone. The spirit stones and spirit power we have supplied should have kept the mountain open for three years, but that the formation has been attacked, the time allotted to keeping the mountain has been halved, or even more. According to our speculations, the mountain entrance can only be maintained for another half a year.”

“What?” The candidates were stunned as a hubbub of discussions broke out.

“The formation was attacked? Then don’t we have to cut our cultivation short and leave early?”

“No way? The environment here is so good, I really don’t want to leave.”

“Yeah, I’d wanted to train for a full three years and try to assail the sky spirit realm! Could it be that my plan is about to be toast?”

Mournful wails permeated the air. It was obvious that they’d been impacted by this news.

Even the faces of the top geniuses such as Lei Gangyang and Long Juxue changed slightly upon hearing this. They were incredibly astonished by the sudden news.

Even Jiang Chen was hiddenly surprised. “The formation was attacked? Is there a more powerful being in the Eternal Spirit Mountain? If this is the case, who can guarantee our safety after today’s attack?”

However, these questions only flashed through his mind, remaining unvoiced. He knew that his word didn’t carry much weight, and that he didn’t have much of a right to speak in the first place, so he decided that he couldn’t be bothered with it.

Whether it was three years or one and a half, the four great sects would be there to shoulder the skies should they cave in.

Sunchaser spoke loudly. “After discussion with the forefathers, we announce to everyone that the plan of a three year selection must be modified. The original timeframe will be shrunk to one year.”

“What?! One year?!”

“Three years turning to one, this is too much of a change! Didn’t you say you could hold out for a year and a half?”

“Indeed, a year is too short. It’s already been eight months or so, that means we would only have three or four months left here?”

The candidates all started yelping and complaining.

“Silence!” Forefather Sunchaser suddenly roared, his aura domineering as he exerted himself, bringing it crashing down like the tides and drowning the hubbub beneath.

All the candidates quailed and shut up nicely.

“There is naturally logic in our decision to shrink things to one year. There is only half of the effects of the formation, perhaps even less, left. Therefore, we can allow you only one year before we must select 64 candidates and then compete for the final 16.”

The finals for the final 16 required time as well. This was the big act, and the four great sects naturally wouldn’t hastily gloss over this.

Therefore, the rest of the time would be left for the final selection.

After all, the point of the selection was for the finals to select the best origin realm candidates.

“From now on, you only have three to four months left. There will be another cycle left after this one. We will select the strongest 64 after that to conduct the final selection.”

Forefather Sunchaser’s tone was domineering. “This is the how things are now. You can go back and make use of every second and minute to train if you can accept it, or get the hell out if you can’t.”

No one dared say anything when an origin realm cultivator was raging. Even though many were unhappy, this was the greater picture. If even the four forefathers could do nothing, what could they do?

Jiang Chen thought deeply after hearing this. “Accidents just keep happening. I’d thought that I lacked sufficient time before, but time is even more of the essence now. Everyone will be cultivating furiously in the next three to four months. I need to step up my plan.” Jiang Chen too felt pressure descend on him when he heard that three years had shrunk to one.

He had been confident that he could make it to seventh level spirit realm or even higher in three years.

But now that he’d received news of the reduced timeframe, and with the finals taking place right afterwards, he felt pressure stare at him in the face.