Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Jiang Chen looked up at the massive Zhenjiang Stele, which stood thirty zhang high.

The stele was covered in countless marks from sabers, swords, and spears...

All of them had been left by generations of Yandu City’s young talents. Only a strike above ten zhang could leave a white mark, while one above twenty zhang would leave a golden one.

The highest mark on the entire Zhenjiang Stele was at the twenty-ninth zhang!

That mark had been left by Jiang Taixu years ago, when he had leaped up from Yulan Street to strike the Zhenjiang Stele!

From the moment it was made, the mark became an insurmountable record, a legend passed down through the ages. No one could surpass it; they could only gaze up at it in awe.

Even Jiang Ziyou, who considered herself exceptionally talented, could only look up at the record set by Jiang Taixu with a profound sense of powerlessness.

Gazing at the sword mark high above, the corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched into a faint smile. It was as if he could see his father’s tall, straight figure, smiling and beckoning to him. Jiang Chen took a deep breath and muttered to himself, ”Father, today I will prove to the world that your son, the son of Jiang Taixu, is second to none!”

BOOM—

With a powerful push off the ground, Jiang Chen shot into the air!

”Hmph. He’s just making a fool of himself. I doubt he’ll even make it past ten zhang!” Lin Yu sneered.

Xu Qilin added with a jeering laugh, ”Didn’t you see how confident he looked? Maybe if he uses every last bit of his strength, he can struggle his way up to the tenth zhang!”

”Ten zhang?” Jian Shisan said coolly. ”A foolish dream.”

But in the very next moment...

Their expressions changed. The mockery and smiles on their faces froze, replaced by utter astonishment.

Jiang Chen soared high into the air, shooting straight up like an arrow loosed from its bow.

In an instant, he had already surpassed the ten-zhang mark!

But Jiang Chen didn’t draw his sword; it remained in its sheath. He continued to ascend with a calm expression.

Eleven zhang!

Twelve zhang!

Thirteen zhang...

As they watched Jiang Chen surpass fifteen zhang and close in on sixteen, the faces of Chen Fan and Jian Shisan turned pale and grim.

Chen Fan clenched his fists, his expression darkening. ’Impossible! How can that piece of trash possibly be catching up to me?’

Jian Shisan could no longer maintain his cold demeanor. His hands, cradling his longsword, tightened unconsciously. His eyes twitched as he stared intently at Jiang Chen’s ascending figure.

And then Jiang Chen’s figure surpassed sixteen zhang.

Both of them squeezed their eyes shut, their faces a mask of utter dejection. ’How can this be? If... if he’s trash, then what does that make me?’

Chen Fan and Jian Shisan opened their eyes and glanced at each other, seeing the same shock and bitterness reflected in the other’s gaze.

Lin Yu frowned. ’He actually surpassed Chen Fan and Jian Shisan? It seems this Jiang Chen isn’t the piece of trash Jiang Ziyou and the others made him out to be! But his ascent is already slowing. He’ll top out at sixteen and seven- or eight-tenths zhang at most. There’s no way he’ll surpass me!’

Seeing Jiang Chen’s ascent slow, Lin Yu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Qilin, standing to the side, was not so optimistic.

He stared intently at Jiang Chen. At first, he’d also thought Jiang Chen was exhausted and would top out around sixteen and seven- or eight-tenths zhang. But when his gaze fell on Jiang Chen’s left hand, his heart leaped into his throat. ’He... he still hasn’t drawn his sword? Don’t tell me he hasn’t reached his limit? How is that possible? Could he be like Jiang Ziyou, capable of a second burst of power?’

Xu Qilin thought he must be going crazy!

A second burst of power required not only exquisite control over one’s True Qi, but also for that True Qi to be incredibly refined.

That was why when Jiang Ziyou had used a second burst of power to shoot up to twenty-one zhang in one go, everyone had guessed she had already broken through to the Seventh Stage of Martial Arts.

As for Jiang Chen...

He had only broken through to the Martial Arts First Stage Realm two months ago. How could he possibly break through six realms in just two short months to reach the Martial Arts Seventh Stage?

”He’s reached his limit!”

”Sixteen and seven- or eight-tenths zhang. Although that’s not as good as Lin Yu, Xu Qilin, or Jiang Ziyou, you have to remember that Jiang Chen only broke into the Martial Arts Realm two months ago. To achieve this is already heaven-defying!”

On the high platform, Lin Shengfeng and the others wore looks of shock as they commented with deep emotion.

Jiang Tai couldn’t hide his embarrassment, which quickly turned to rage. He snorted coldly, ”It’s only sixteen and seven- or eight-tenths zhang. The difference between him and Ziyou is like the heavens and the earth!”

The others around him nodded in agreement.

Only Sima Tao’s sharp eyes suddenly widened, flashing with an intimidating glint as he blurted out, ”No! He hasn’t reached his limit yet!”

”What?”

Everyone was startled and whipped their heads toward Jiang Chen.

His ascent had all but stopped, and he was about to begin his descent. But at that critical moment, a tremendous surge of True Qi that had been brewing for some time suddenly erupted from within his body.

BOOM—

Jiang Chen shot upward for a second time!

His body, which had already begun to fall, suddenly rocketed upward, blasting past the seventeenth zhang, then the eighteenth, the nineteenth...

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen shot past Jiang Ziyou’s mark of twenty-one zhang!

As Jiang Chen surpassed the twenty-one-zhang mark, Jiang Ziyou couldn’t help but close her eyes. Her slender, jade-like hands clenched into fists, a wisp of faint purple True Qi flickering around them.

When she opened her eyes again, a cold glint flashed through her pupils, which were as bright as the moon. Watching his ever-rising figure, she muttered in a voice only she could hear, ”Jiang Chen, it seems we all underestimated you. But it doesn’t matter. I, Jiang Ziyou, swear that before the Yulan Festival is over, I will personally crush every last one of your hopes!”

「Meanwhile...」

Jiang Chen had already passed twenty-five zhang, reaching a height of twenty-six zhang.

Only three carved marks remained above him!

The owners of these three marks were three of the most famous chosen ones in the history of Yandu City. They were legends!

”He can’t possibly be challenging those three legends, can he?”

”Is Jiang Chen about to make history and break into the top three of all time in Yandu City?”

”Look! He’s reached twenty-eight zhang! He just surpassed the record left by Senior Yan Nantian, who was in third place!”

”Twenty-eight and a half zhang! He’s surpassed the legendary record of Senior Yee Xiaofeng...”

”Holy shit! All that’s left is the invincible, legendary record of twenty-nine zhang set by Jiang Taixu himself! Can he do it?”

”If he succeeds, he’ll be number one in all of history!”

Millions of people stared with wide eyes, desperately pushing forward, wanting to witness the birth of this legendary moment with their own eyes.

Even Sima Tao, Lin Shengfeng, Chen Tianrun, Xu Ying, and Jiang Tai sat bolt upright, their gazes fixed on the Zhenjiang Stele with burning intensity!

High in the air, Jiang Chen looked at the highest sword mark, a brilliant light erupting in his eyes. ”Father, today I will show the world that your son, the son of Jiang Taixu, is no piece of trash!”

ROAR!

Jiang Chen tilted his head back and roared. With a sharp SWISH, the longsword in his hand left its sheath.

He executed a brilliant flourish, and the crisp sound of SHINK, SHINK, SHINK echoed without end as the bright edge of his sword repeatedly struck the hard surface of the Zhenjiang Stele, sending stone fragments showering down.

A cloud of dust billowed out!

Jiang Chen abruptly sheathed his sword. His body plummeted, and he landed back on the ground.

When the billowing dust high above finally settled, two words, carved with the flourish of flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, were revealed at the thirtieth and highest zhang. They read—”Jiang Chen”!

At that moment, in the plaza on the Yulan Riverfront, the crowd of millions fell utterly silent. Their burning gazes were fixed on the two words hanging high above. Not a single person made a sound. It was so quiet you could hear a heartbeat. Everyone knew exactly what those two words signified.

It meant that a new legend of the Yandu City Yulan Festival, a new legend upon the Zhenjiang Stele, had just been born.

His name was Jiang Chen!

He...

Was number one in all of history!