As such, even the major powers of the Eternal Divine Kingdom found themselves unable to make sense of this battle.
The Xiahou clan was no exception.
Xiahou Ying had been watching the whole affair with the air of someone enjoying a spectacle. In her eyes, this Shao Yuan was nothing but a pretentious fraud — and now he'd gone and picked a death wish by challenging Grand Master
Did this Shao Yuan, this
Curling her lips, Xiahou Ying murmured under her breath, "Brother, this kid has clearly lost his mind."
Xiahou Zong was convinced that this Shao Yuan had gone completely mad.
Anyone in their right mind knew that a wagered duel like this offered absolutely no chance of victory.
"Ridiculous. The entire Eternal Sacred Land has gone crazy along with this kid." Xiahou Ying shook her head. "I don't know what's gotten into Ziche Min either — hoodwinked senseless by this brat."
"All right, Ying'er, say no more. The boy is bringing humiliation upon himself — we need only sit back and enjoy the show. Though he must have some remarkable ability to manipulate people, or how else would the three Holy Sovereigns and Ziche Min all be going along with this charade?" Xiahou Zong, for all his contempt, had still identified the crux of the matter.
"Hmph, they've all been bewitched." Xiahou Ying didn't give this fellow called Shao Yuan even the slightest chance of winning.
Her gaze drifted lazily, and she suddenly caught sight of
Xiahou Ying's delicate brows arched upward. She tugged lightly at the corner of Xiahou Zong's sleeve, her tone carrying a deliberately provocative lilt. "Oh, brother — it looks like that little miss from the Yan family really does have something going on with that boy. Just look at her expression, will you? Those tender, yearning eyes — would you call that longing or what?"
Xiahou Zong's gaze turned ice-cold as he looked over toward Yan Qinghuang.
At that moment, Yan Qinghuang was completely absorbed, her eyes full of concern as she watched the two participants on the dueling stage. The worry etched into the depths of her brow was impossible to conceal.
That look, that expression — even a fool could read what lay behind it.
Something exploded in Xiahou Zong's mind, and a surge of fury ignited instantly. An inexplicable sense of humiliation washed over him, along with the feeling of betrayal.
He harbored no genuine feelings for Yan Qinghuang, yet he had always considered her his exclusive possession. It had been natural in his mind that her heart and soul should belong to him alone.
And now, here she was — her thoughts clearly not on Xiahou Zong in the slightest, but instead gazing at another man with such unmistakable tenderness.
For Xiahou Zong, this was an unforgivable humiliation.
"Unforgivable. Utterly unforgivable. That little wretch — she went to the Human Domain and came back with her heart running wild. The Yan family really is a lineage of sluts, every last one of them." The fury in Xiahou Zong's heart roiled and surged.
Had they not been in such a public setting, he might have marched straight to the Yan family's section, seized Yan Qinghuang on the spot, and taken her back for a thorough lesson in obedience.
Xiahou Ying fanned the flames. "Brother, you really should act quickly. I'd hate to see your prized possession gobbled up by someone else."
Xiahou Zong let out a frigid snort. "Shut your mouth."
Xiahou Ying giggled. "You only ever know how to be fierce toward me. If you've got the guts, go be fierce toward that little miss — go be fierce toward that boy. The way they make eyes at each other, it's not like I put them up to it."
Xiahou Zong said flatly, "Have you said enough?"
Sensing the tone in his voice, Xiahou Ying realized her brother was truly furious. She didn't dare say another word, merely flicked her tongue and fell silent.
On the wagered duel platform,
Three questions — for Jiang Chen, this was hardly a challenge. Truthfully, Shi Xuan might well be a top-tier alchemy master within the Myriad Abyss Island. But measured against the standards of the wider heavens, he was likely nothing more than an alchemist of middling talent. In his previous life, any single disciple Jiang Chen had taken in the field of alchemy was immeasurably superior to Shi Xuan.
If measured purely by alchemical knowledge, Jiang Chen had spent a million years in his previous life studying the alchemy arts across the myriad heavens, traversing every plane and every school of thought. There was virtually nothing in the discipline he did not know.
And so, in these alchemy wagered duels, though his opponents grew steadily more skilled with each round, for Jiang Chen it remained akin to an adult schooling a child.
His mind swept through countless possibilities in an instant, and innumerable questions presented themselves.
After careful selection, however, he settled on three. These three, he was virtually certain, the opponent would be utterly incapable of solving.
Having made his choices, Jiang Chen gave no outward sign and simply waited in composed silence.
He knew that Shi Xuan was almost certainly brimming with confidence at this moment. But that confidence — Jiang Chen was about to destroy it with his own hands, in very short order.
Before long, Shi Xuan had also finished selecting his three questions.
These, too, had been chosen with the utmost care — questions he felt certain would leave his opponent completely lost, unable to so much as find his bearings.
A strange, smug smile tugged at the corner of Shi Xuan's mouth. He was brimming with self-assurance. With these three questions, the brat would be lucky to grasp even the first thread of a clue, let alone arrive at the answers.
"I've finished, lad. No need to rush — take your time with your selection. Wouldn't want anyone saying I, Shi, bully a junior."
Seeing no movement from Jiang Chen's side, Shi Xuan called out in a show of courtesy. In truth, it was a calculated attempt to rattle Jiang Chen's composure.