Words of praise poured from everyone's mouths without end, rising and falling one after another, nearly lifting Jiang Tian to the heavens.
Jiang Tian, however, kept smiling throughout. The curve of his lips remained faint, and he said nothing, merely listening in silence.
He knew that no matter how fiercely these people praised him, they could not change one fact: in a normal battle, he would have been utterly incapable of defeating Xue Huaijin.
In that battle just now, he had used the first character of the Three-Character Sword Sutra, "Zhu." In terms of pure destructive power, it was actually far greater than the second character, "Silence."
But the first character required him to gather power.
It required time.
In a true battle between Purple Mansion cultivators, just a few breaths could determine life or death, victory or defeat. Who would give him the chance to gather power?
Yet just now, he had charged that "Zhu" to its utmost limit, then stacked on ninefold terrifying Amplification, only barely forcing Xue Huaijin into that trace of disarray.
Had he used "Silence" instead, even with the same ninefold Amplification, it probably would not have been able to threaten so much as the hem of Xue Huaijin's clothes.
This battle had made him see reality clearly at last. Between him and those top-tier perfected cultivators truly standing at the peak of the Purple Mansion, there was still a gap visible to the naked eye.
Jiang Tian, however, was not discouraged.
Recognizing the gap was itself part of cultivation.
After everyone dispersed, Li Tian and Jiang Tian flew back to the camp together. Li Tian pointed toward a pavilion in the distance. "Junior Brother Jiang, this is your residence."
"Good." Jiang Tian gave a slight nod and was just about to step in that