Some elders even used him as a negative example, warning their juniors never to associate with someone who relied on deceit.
Even Shi Hao was stunned.
Before leaving Stone Village, Zhu Chen had only been at the sixth Cave Heaven.
Liu Shen herself had said so.
That couldn't be wrong.
Yet now—
he had crossed two major realms.
It was absurd.
"A bunch of ignorant fools."
Annoyed by the noise, Zhu Chen said nothing.
He simply lifted his foot and stomped down.
The next instant—
a clearly visible rune formation appeared behind him!
Constructing an array outside the body and using rune power in battle—
this was an ability exclusive to Inscription Realm cultivators!
All doubts vanished instantly.
The entire area fell into complete silence....
so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard.
After a brief silence, the area outside the Heaven Mending Pavilion's mountain gates erupted into commotion.
"The rune array manifests from his body at will… He really has reached the Inscription Realm!"
"This child broke through to the Inscription Realm at such a young age. Could he be a young supreme being?"
"Young supreme being? Even the first-generation geniuses from the Upper Realm are no match for this!"
"Unbelievable. When did such a monstrous talent appear in our Desolate Region?"
"In my opinion, this boy must be a holy son from some ancient sect in the Upper Realm, sent down to the Lower Realm for training. There's no way he's from here!"
"Exactly. The Great Dao laws in the Lower Realm are incomplete. It's impossible for a young first-generation expert like this to appear!"
"Not necessarily. Look at Shi Yi from the Martial King's Mansion. He was born with double pupils and even possesses a supreme bone. Is he weak?"
At that moment, Zhu Chen had become the center of attention for the entire crowd. Countless eyes were locked on him.
The sudden focus placed immense pressure on the Heaven Mending Pavilion Master.
In his view, with Zhu Chen's current cultivation, the youth could stand at the pinnacle of the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm—or even dominate his generation among the ancient immortal sects of the Upper Realm.
What qualifications did their modest Heaven Mending Pavilion have to welcome such a prodigy?
Perhaps this young man had come with hidden motives.
"Young friend, what brings you to my Heaven Mending Pavilion?" the Pavilion Master asked, his eyes flickering as he studied Zhu Chen.
"Pavilion Master, please take a look at this…"
Zhu Chen extended his hand and presented a golden token.
It was the Human Emperor's Token, bestowed upon him by the Fire Emperor to ease his movements throughout the Desolate Region.
Seeing the token was equivalent to seeing the Fire Emperor himself. It carried immense prestige, though its influence was limited to the Desolate Region. Beyond its borders, the Fire Emperor's name held far less weight.
"This is… the Human Emperor's Token of the Fire Kingdom?"
The Pavilion Master recognized it instantly with his sharp eyes. It was unmistakably the genuine article.
A name suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He looked at Zhu Chen again and asked in disbelief, "Are you Zhu Chen, the first Holy Son of the Fire Kingdom who possesses the bloodline of the ancient Vermilion Bird?"
"That's me," Zhu Chen replied with a smile, admitting his identity without hesitation.
Since the Fire Emperor had already sent word through that letter, inviting him to the Heaven Mending Pavilion, everything must have been arranged in advance.
With a back door already open, there was no need for him to go through the same assessments as ordinary disciples.
Ancestor Mu Yan and Elder Xiong Fei were equally stunned upon learning Zhu Chen's true identity.
As residents of the same Desolate Region, they had naturally heard of the Fire Kingdom's Holy Son.
Yet only a few months earlier, word had spread that he had advanced from the Blood Moving Realm to the Cave Heaven Realm.
They never imagined that, in such a short time, he would already stand at the Inscription Realm!
His cultivation speed was simply astonishing.
"The Fire Emperor mentioned to me that you might come to our Heaven Mending Pavilion to cultivate, but I never expected your cultivation to have already reached the Inscription Realm…"
Now that Zhu Chen's identity was confirmed, the Pavilion Master set aside his doubts. He personally escorted the youth into the pavilion, accompanied by Ancestor Mu Yan and a group of elders.
In the end, only Elder Xiong Fei, who was overseeing admissions, remained outside the mountain gates.
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