Jing Yi felt relieved, but Xiahao Ying's feelings were far more complicated.
A woman's thoughts could be strange like that sometimes. When a man piqued her curiosity, the more he ignored her, the more he dismissed her, the more it would sometimes fuel that curiosity.
To put it nicely, it was a curious mindset. To put it bluntly, it was a bit shameless.
That said, while Xiahao Ying was gritting her teeth at the young man on the arena at this moment, deep down she couldn't help but feel a surge of intense curiosity.
At the same time, she felt extremely unwilling and utterly baffled.
"Why is this brat Shao Yuan so hostile toward me, Xiahao Ying? Is he playing hard to get just to get my attention?" Xiahao Ying's mind at this moment actually harbored certain fantasies.
Though she seethed with hatred, the more she did, the more curious she became about this young man. She really wanted to know what was going on with this guy.
Why had he first entered the Yan family, then joined the
Why would this guy absolutely refuse to heed her summons, showing her no courtesy whatsoever?
She had to admit the man was indeed a genius. With an Emperor Realm cultivation, he could actually fight Gan Ning — who was at the third stage of the Heavenly Position — to a standstill.
"Was Gan Ning just too incompetent? Or was this brat Shao Yuan genuinely a peerless genius?"
Xiahao Ying was deeply conflicted. On one hand, she naturally wanted Gan Ning to win and teach this brat Shao Yuan a harsh lesson.
But on the other hand, she thought — if this kid was already this powerful at the Emperor Realm, wouldn't he become terrifying given time? Could he one day threaten her brother Xiahao Zong's reputation as the number one genius?
At the same time, she felt deeply frustrated — why couldn't such a genius serve the Xiahao family? Why was he utterly unmoved by her beauty?
No one knew about Xiahao Ying's mutterings at this moment.
But around the arena, more and more people were slowly gathering.
Obviously, this thunderous battle had also stirred the Sacred Land geniuses in the surrounding areas. At first, it was one or two stragglers.
Later, word spread, and they came in droves.
However, none of the Five Great Young Lords had shown up. Aside from Gan Ning on the arena, the other four were nowhere to be seen.
Still, at this moment, no one cared about that. Everyone's attention was fixed on the arena.
A battle of this level was truly spectacular, instantly capturing everyone's attention and leaving them thoroughly enthralled.
"Is that guy fighting Senior Brother Gan Ning the newcomer Shao Yuan?"
"Yeah, that newcomer who doesn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. Not only did he not know to keep a low profile in the Nine-Turn Cloud Grotto, he actually went and offended Senior Brother Gan Ning."
"He's new — how did he manage to offend Senior Brother Gan Ning?"
"I heard he provoked Senior Brother Gan Ning and spoke to him disrespectfully!"
"No way, is this kid that arrogant? Did he come here to slap the faces of us Sacred Land geniuses? Go Senior Brother Gan Ning — beat the hell out of this kid!"
"Come to think of it, I find it a little hard to believe. That Shao Yuan doesn't seem like the type to stir up trouble. Would he really provoke Senior Brother Gan Ning without reason?"
"Who knows? Let's just watch the show."
Below the arena, chatter was rampant. On one hand, everyone found the fight thrilling; on the other, they were deeply curious about the cause of the dispute.
However, from what others were saying, it was hard for anyone to judge the true cause. After all, most of the people explaining it were Gan Ning's close associates.
What came out of their mouths was bound to be biased.
Moreover, this area clearly wasn't Shao Yuan's residential zone — it was actually close to Gan Ning's quarters. Could Shao Yuan have deliberately come to Gan Ning's cave dwelling just to pick a fight?
No matter how you looked at it, that seemed rather unlikely.
But Gan Ning was one of the Five Great Young Lords, holding an extremely high status, and no ordinary person wanted to cross him. So everyone played dumb.
One was a Sacred Land newcomer. The other was one of the Five Great Young Lords.
Most people figured it was best not to offend Gan Ning. Of course, it was even better to offend neither. Just watch the show and stay out of it.
These were all Sacred Land geniuses, so they knew how to read the situation.
"This Shao Yuan cleared the Nine-Turn Cloud Grotto in succession. I heard even the Saint Ancestor greatly admired him and classified him as the sect's highest-level genius for cultivation. You can tell — this kid really does have some tricks up his sleeve."
"He's definitely skilled — otherwise how could he have cleared the Nine-Turn Cloud Grotto? That's an achievement that has never occurred in history."
"You can see it — as an Emperor Realm cultivator, he can fight Senior Brother Gan Ning to a draw. That alone is enough to earn respect."
"Not necessarily. Maybe Senior Brother Gan Ning hasn't gone all out?"
"And you can't guarantee that Shao Yuan has used his full strength either. All he's shown so far is just his speed."