Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

”This...”

Master Kumu’s expression was a whirlwind of emotions, shifting unpredictably.

He suddenly gritted his teeth and said, ”Impossible! There’s no way you could have survived that. It’s common knowledge that to break a protective Ciphertext Array, you must proceed step by step, unraveling it thread by thread like a cocoon to find its nodes before undoing them. Your method of brute-forcing it with True Flame is a surefire way to die. I don’t believe you actually opened the Treasure Vault’s door!”

”If you don’t believe me, you can go in and see for yourself!” Jiang Chen said with a shrug.

”Of course I will!”

Master Kumu and the other two exchanged a glance, then rushed into the Treasure Vault.

「A short while later...」

The three of them returned, utterly dejected.

Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou wore bitter, helpless expressions. They knew full well how wealthy the Qinghuo Gang had been.

The treasures in this vault were worth no less than the properties they had confiscated.

That was billions worth of treasure!

And because the two of them had distrusted Jiang Chen, they had ended up handing it all over to him on a silver platter.

Of course...

The two of them had already made a fortune when they confiscated the Qinghuo Gang’s other assets, and besides, Jiang Chen was largely responsible for the gang’s destruction. So while they were vexed at having lost out on billions, they harbored no ill will and congratulated Jiang Chen.

Master Kumu, on the other hand, looked as if his soul had been sucked out of him. He kept muttering, ”How is that possible? It’s simply impossible to succeed that way... What in the world happened?”

When he saw the open Treasure Vault door and the completely destroyed Ciphertext Grand Array, Master Kumu felt as if he had wasted the last several decades of his life.

”Jiang Chen, how on earth did you do it?” Master Kumu looked up at Jiang Chen, his eyes filled with nothing but utter bewilderment and confusion.

Jiang Chen said nonchalantly, ”It’s just as you said. Ciphertext traces are extremely fragile. If you use True Flame directly on them, the difference in attributes between your flame and the flame of the Artifact Refiner who created them will disrupt the balance between the traces. This causes the Ciphertext Grand Array to collapse—what you would call a ciphertext explosion...”

Master Kumu nodded repeatedly as he listened.

This was common knowledge in the Artifact Refining World, basic information that even an Artifact Refining Apprentice could recite by heart.

He had just inspected the destroyed gate. The ciphertext traces within had all been obliterated by brute force, yet there had been no explosion. This defied all logic. It shattered the conventional wisdom passed down among Artifact Refiners for tens of thousands of years. It could only be described as unbelievable!

”Then why didn’t your actions cause a ciphertext explosion?” Master Kumu asked, his face a mask of confusion.

Jiang Chen countered with a question of his own. ”What is the most fundamental condition for a ciphertext explosion?”

”It’s the destruction of the ciphertext traces, of course, which causes the Spiritual Power within to lose its balance and explode!” Master Kumu answered immediately, without even having to think.

Jiang Chen nodded and held up five fingers.

”The balance of Spiritual Power within the ciphertext is maintained by the traces themselves, which are all interconnected. It’s like these five fingers. Losing any one of them would seem abrupt, but...”

Jiang Chen suddenly clenched his fist. ”If all five fingers disappear at the same time, you just see a fist. Nothing seems out of place. It’s the same principle. As long as I can make every single ciphertext trace within the entire Ciphertext Grand Array fail at the exact same moment, then there’s no balance to be lost. The entire Ciphertext Grand Array simply vanishes!”

At these words, Master Kumu looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

His eyes flashed with profound shock and disbelief, and he shook his head furiously like a rattle. ”Impossible. That’s absolutely impossible. That defensive ciphertext had at least ten thousand traces. Even the most Low Level defensive ciphertexts have several thousand! How could you possibly nullify them all at the same time?”

Ciphertext traces are the very foundation of Inscriptions!

When an Artifact Refiner is creating a Profound Weapon, besides forging the Artifact Embryo, the most critical step is inscribing the Inscriptions within it.

A First-Grade Low-Level Refiner can control a few traces at once.

Even a veteran Artifact Refiner like Master Kumu, who was on the verge of becoming a First-Grade Advanced Refiner, could only control a dozen or so traces at once.

Even the president of the Yulan Mansion Artifact Refiner Guild, Master Yee Luo—hailed as the strongest Artifact Refiner in Yulan Mansion—had a limit of controlling just thirty traces at once.

But the defensive ciphertext on the Treasure Vault door had over ten thousand traces.

According to Jiang Chen’s explanation, he had simultaneously destroyed over ten thousand traces? What level of mastery would that require?

Second Grade?

Third Grade?

Even a Fourth-Grade Refiner?

How old was Jiang Chen?! How could he possibly be a Fourth-Grade Refiner?

”You must be lying to me...” Master Kumu said.

Jiang Chen just shrugged and smiled nonchalantly. He raised his right hand, and a golden light began to dance in his palm. Like a host of tiny sprites, the light swirled and condensed into clusters of golden flame, which then leaped and danced upon his fingertips.

One wisp, two wisps, three wisps...

The flames continued to divide, multiplying until, in the blink of an eye, thousands of tiny golden wisps of True Flame were gently pulsing in the air.

”Transform!”

Jiang Chen spoke softly. With a turn of his hand, the flame sprites coalesced into a tiny golden dragon that coiled in his palm.

”Again...”

The golden dragon dissipated, reforming into a golden tiger that pounced as if through a mountain forest.

One transformation followed another...

What powerful and exquisite control!

Master Kumu was so terrified he collapsed onto the ground, his eyes glued to the dancing flames in Jiang Chen’s hand. Kumu’s heart reeled in shock. ’Terrifying... Such an exquisite method of fire control. No wonder he could break the defensive ciphertext so easily! With a technique like this, if he’d only teach me a fraction of its essence, I’m sure I could advance to First-Grade Advanced Refiner. I might even have a shot at becoming a Second-Grade Refiner!’

Once he came to this realization, Master Kumu’s eyes lit up with excitement. He abruptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed heavily toward Jiang Chen, his voice trembling with emotion. ”Master, on high! Please accept this disciple Kumu’s nine prostrations!”

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The great Master Kumu, a dignified First-Grade Middle Level Refiner, was prostrating himself with a look of utmost piety and reverence, his forehead repeatedly striking the ground.

Wang Yizhou swallowed hard, completely dumbfounded. ”Wh-what’s going on?”

Yulan Shouqing glanced at Jiang Chen, a bitter look on his face. ”It seems... we all underestimated Jiang Chen.”

The two of them looked at each other, their faces a picture of shock.

”Kumu, with your aptitude, you are not yet qualified to become my disciple.”

Jiang Chen remained unfazed. A First-Grade Middle Level Refiner might seem untouchable to others, but in his eyes, Master Kumu’s talent was merely average. ”However,” he said lightly, ”seeing as you are so sincere, I can accept you as a Named Disciple. If you perform to my satisfaction, you may have the chance to become my Official Disciple in the future. How does that sound?”

”This...”

Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou glanced at each other, so shocked they were rendered speechless.

This was the vice president of the Yulan Mansion Artifact Refiner Guild, a high and mighty First-Grade Middle Level Refiner, an idol worshiped by countless Artifact Refiners!

And yet...

He was kneeling before a mere youth, performing such a grand rite, begging to be taken as a disciple. And Jiang Chen had refused him? Refused him because Master Kumu’s talent wasn’t good enough?

It was simply unbelievable, beyond imagination!

However, Master Kumu’s reaction was even more unimaginable to them...

Master Kumu’s face was full of joyous surprise. ”Master, on high!” he said repeatedly. ”This Kumu knows he is slow-witted. To become Master’s Named Disciple is already the highest honor.” With that, Master Kumu took out a Storage Ring and presented it to Jiang Chen with both hands. ”Master, these are the assets and some refining materials this disciple has gathered over the years. Please, Master, accept this humble offering!”

The once-arrogant Master Kumu was now bowing and scraping, his face a mask of fawning sycophancy.

Jiang Chen glanced at the Storage Ring and accepted it. ”This is your discipleship offering, so I’ll take it,” he said lightly. ”However, as your master, I won’t take advantage of you. I bestow upon you this volume of the ’Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining’. With its help, I trust you’ll be able to reach the level of a First-Grade Advanced Refiner within half a month.”

”Disciple Kumu, thank you, Master, for bestowing this peerless Secret Technique upon me! This disciple will not disappoint you!” Master Kumu’s face was alight with joy. He clutched the scroll as if it were a priceless treasure, so grateful to Jiang Chen he could have wept.

He had thought he would never reach the rank of First-Grade Advanced Refiner in this lifetime. Yet now, Jiang Chen was telling him that with the ”Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining,” he could do it in half a month. How could he not be ecstatic?

”You’re this excited over merely reaching First-Grade Advanced? Just follow me and perform well. I have plenty more good things to offer.”

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively.

”This disciple will be at your beck and call, Master! I will never disappoint you!” Kumu said hastily.

Jiang Chen nodded. ”I have matters to attend to right now. Go back and study the ’Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining’ on your own. If you haven’t reached First-Grade Advanced in half a month, don’t you ever claim to be my disciple.”

”Rest assured, Master! This disciple will go into seclusion at once. I will not disappoint you!” Kumu declared, patting his chest.

”Go, then.”

Jiang Chen waved a hand to dismiss Kumu, exchanged a few words with Yulan Shouqing and the others, then turned and left...