Jiang Wang had never underestimated Chen Zhitao, but only when they truly fought shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield could he understand why this man enjoyed such towering prestige in the Near-Sea Archipelago.
In terms of individual combat strength, Chen Zhitao had once lagged behind Chen Zeqing, Tian Anping, Rao Bingzhang, and Ji Zhaonan. Later, Chongxuan Zun and Jiang Wang himself surpassed him as well. Even within Sea Fishing Tower, there had been calls for Zhu Biqiong to take the lead once she attained Divine Presence.
Before that, Ji Shaoqing and Xu Yuan had also, for a time, threatened his standing.
He was always silent.
Back when an old swindler had flaunted borrowed authority under a tiger's hide, he had merely brushed it off lightly, without a word.
Yet when Jiang Wang brutally killed Ji Shaoqing and his sword suppressed all those of Sea Fishing Tower at the same level, it was Chen Zhitao who stepped forward to save the fighting spirit of Sea Fishing Tower's disciples.
When Jiang Wang became Great Qi's Marquis of Wu'an, bearing down upon the horizon like a majestic mountain crushing the sky, it was again Chen Zhitao who stepped out to admit that he was inferior, yielding his place and using his own reputation to preserve Sea Fishing Tower's stature.
And when Jiang Wang suddenly fell into peril, caught between advancing and retreating, it was Chen Zhitao who unfurled the Dragon-Hunting Banner.
He had never been the sort of peerless genius whose edge shone bare for all to see, but he was hardworking, steadfast, and dependable.
You might not see him when you looked upward, but whenever you looked back, he would always be there.
With the Dragon-Hunting Banner unfurled, one hundred and eight powerful sea beasts joined the battle. Shattering the World-Conquest Army