Chapter 1071: The Most Acknowledged—Jin Miaolin
Chapter 1071: The Most Acknowledged—Jin Miaolin
As a powerhouse of the Scorching Sunflower clan, Jiang Chenchou still faced obstacles on her path to becoming an Emperor. After all, the Sunborne Nymph Emperor was already considered the strongest being on the Daemon Continent. Coupled with the close ties to the Nethermoon Flower clan, if the Scorching Sunflower clan were to produce another Emperor, it would likely upset the balance among the clans of the Solstice Empire. From that standpoint, it seemed even more reasonable for Ning Chen'en to become an Emperor instead.
So, even within the Solstice Empire, opinions remained divided on whether Jiang Chenchou was the right candidate for ascension.
Still, if Jiang Chenchou managed to secure one of the final three Emperor Seats, it would ultimately be a good thing. After all, another of the three contenders still had a rather unstable claim to the position.
That contender was none other than Tang San, the clan leader of the Blue Gold Tree clan.
Since the Battle for the Throne had begun, he had not lost a single match. Yet before each one, no one had believed he could win. He had been, without a doubt, the greatest anomaly of the competition—an oddity among oddities.
When they first heard the term "Amethystine Warrior," the Emperors had simply taken it as a joke. But as the matches went on, Tang San repeatedly defeated formidable opponents with what could only be described as miraculous performances.
The World-Sundering Sword, the direct legacy of the Sword Saint Demon Emperor and originally considered one of the tournament's most powerful strikes, had been blocked head-on by the Black Tortoise Shield, and Tang San had advanced. Judging by his performance in the first round of the finals, he likely had already mastered the shield by then. With Qiu Zixuan's combat style, he had stood no chance.
Next came the Scourge Dragon. Powered by Jin Miaolin's life energy in a creation-destruction combination that even made Emperors feel danger, he had overpowered Jin Anguo, a result that planted the seed for Jin Anguo's eventual elimination.
Each opponent he had faced had been formidable. And now, in the first round of the finals, he had even defeated Lan Moqian.
Yet despite all this, no one had dared to say for certain that Tang San would finish in the top three. His next opponent was Xu An'yu, the tournament's strongest favorite. Could he produce yet another miracle?
If he lost to Xu An'yu, he would likely face Jiang Chenchou in the losers' bracket. Jiang had the Undying Golden Body and formidable cultivation. Could Tang San win again? And if he lost that match too, he would fall out of the top three altogether.
So even now, despite Tang San holding a dominant position, no one could say with certainty that he would secure a spot in the final trio.
But on the other hand, opposition to Tang San becoming an Emperor had been the weakest from both the Solstice and Empyrean Dominions. And in all seriousness, who would object to that?
Blue Gold Trees had never been a warrior clan, and Jin Miaolin's incredible vision and use of his resources had won him the hearts of the public. At the same time, his decision to refrain from using the Scourge Dragon in the tournament had won him the approval of the Ancestral Court, and it meant that the Blue Gold Tree clan was allowed to take a neutral stance in the future, serving all big cities by gathering life energy. In doing so, the clan would effectively become a shared blessing for all races. Who wouldn't want them nearby?
Had Jin Miaolin displayed overwhelming strength in battle? Not particularly. But the miraculous power of his life energy had not escaped the eyes of any of the Emperors.
Why had he been able to wield the Black Turtle Shield, which no one else had managed to use? It had to be due to the infusion of life energy. Why had the Scourge Dragon recovered its sanity and formed a contract with him? Again, life energy. The fact that he'd neutralized the force of destruction within the dragon and empowered it to an unprecedented degree had drawn the beast to his side. And the Radiant Dragon Spear? Under the infusion of his pure life energy, it had transformed into the Holy Dragon Spear, gaining the exceedingly rare holy energy.
All of this showed just how powerful the Ancestral Tree's life energy truly was. And this life energy could be absorbed and utilized by all races and all bloodlines. If this individual became an Emperor, the life energy he could bring to the Ancestral Court and to every major city would surely reach an entirely new level. He could even benefit the entire Daemon Continent.
That was a shared interest for both the Empyrean Dominion and the Solstice Empire.
As the ruler of the continent, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor saw Tang San as a way to elevate the continent's overall life force, thus helping to gather more destiny energy—a direct benefit to himself. After all, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor was fast approaching the end of his lifespan, and such high-level life energy was the only real key to extending his life.
As for the Sunborne Nymph Emperor, there was no need for further persuasion. Jin Miaolin had already pledged loyalty to him and even promised that the first Blue Gold Fruit produced by the next Emperor of the clan would go to him. What more could be said? Jin Miaolin was already considered to be on the Sunborne team.
For the Emperors, Jin Miaolin ascending seemed like something that would benefit everyone. Now, they were only worried whether he could survive the remaining matches.
Even among the Solstice Emperors, aside from the Sunborne Nymph Emperor, who had refrained from making any public statement, most others had agreed that Jin Miaolin would be a better choice for Emperor than Jiang Chenchou. Even the Earthshade Nymph Emperor had conveyed this opinion to the Sunborne Nymph Emperor.
Of course, the Emperor seats could not simply be handed out; they still had to be earned through competition. But as the second-ranked contestant overall, Tang San still had a strong chance.
Although Tang San had clearly stated he would not meet guests before the end of the tournament, the flow of visitors and gifts had remained steady. Most of them were representatives from the major cities. The dragon clans, in particular, had been the most enthusiastic.
Soon, the second round of the finals would begin, and it would be an absolutely critical stage. For the winners' bracket, this round would grant one of them a throne. For the losers' bracket, a second loss meant elimination.
There were only two matches: Tang San versus Xu An'yu, and the "husband and wife showdown."
On the morning of the next day, when Tang San arrived at the competition grounds, he was surprised to find that Mei Gongzi wasn't in the audience.
She had no match that day; her next match would take place the following day against the winner of Tang San and Xu An'yu's duel. Whoever won that match had every chance of winning the overall championship.
He didn't know how much she had expended yesterday during her bloodline ignition. But after consuming a Blue Gold Fruit, she had fully recovered, and closing herself off for a short retreat would undoubtedly benefit her.
Aside from Mei Gongzi, all the other contestants had arrived. Even Jiang Chenchou, who didn't have a match that day, had shown up at the competition grounds.
Ning Chen'en and Lan Moqian both appeared solemn. It was hard to read their expressions.
Tang San had heard from the Grand Elder that morning that Lan Moqian was said to be under more pressure—especially since the Sky-Splitting Demon Emperor was still alive. Meanwhile, Ning Chen'en was under relatively less strain.
According to the rules, the losers' bracket would compete first, followed by the winners.
"Ning Chen'en, Lan Moqian, take to the skies." The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor's voice echoed from the mountainside, officially announcing the start of the second round of the finals.
The atmosphere instantly turned tense as all eyes focused on the married couple. This kind of match was especially cruel. Who wouldn't want to become an Emperor? Ascension meant at least a thousand years of extended life, a position at the top of the world, and the ability to bring prosperity to one's clan.
But they were also husband and wife. Could they really go all out in such a match for the sake of their own races? What could be crueler than two spouses forced to battle each other?
At the start of the finals, they had been the biggest winners, or so they had thought. Now, they were the ones suffering the most.
Ning Chen'en stood up first. He had actually gone to see Lan Moqian the previous day but hadn't succeeded; she had locked herself away in the Sky-Splitting Palace.
Ning Chen'en's desperate effort to defeat Jin Anguo had indeed affected the relationship between the Behemoth and Golden Mammoth clans. Whether Lan Moqian couldn't face him or simply wanted to avoid distractions before this critical match, no one knew.