Gan Ning actually had a whole bellyful of questions. For instance, that golden mouse that had rescued him — was it a true spirit commanded by Jiang Chen?
There was also the matter of how Senior Brother Jiang Chen had handled Hu Lei with such effortless ease, looking for all the world like an adult scolding a child. The gap in their strength was enormous. And so Gan Ning couldn't help but wonder: what terrifying level had Senior Brother Jiang Chen's cultivation actually reached by now?
Back when Gan Ning had sparred with Jiang Chen in the Eternal Sacred Land, Jiang Chen hadn't even broken through to the Heavenly Seat realm yet.
After all these years, Senior Brother Jiang Chen's progress was frankly absurd.
During the genius sword meet at the Eternal Sacred Land, that supremely arrogant Xiahou Zong had been defeated by Senior Brother Jiang Chen. At the time, though Jiang Chen had won against Xiahou Zong, it had still been a grueling fight, and he hadn't exactly dominated the battlefield.
But this time, Senior Brother Jiang Chen had handled Hu Lei as if it were child's play. From start to finish, it had looked like he was simply toying with the man.
Anyone with eyes could see that the gap between Hu Lei and Senior Brother Jiang Chen was vast. Not that Hu Lei would ever admit it.
Still, Gan Ning was sensible enough to know that some things were better left unasked.
Jiang Chen brought Gan Ning to a relatively remote location.
"We won't move at night. Let's rest for the evening and regroup with Wu You tomorrow."
"Do you have news of Senior Brother Wu You?" Gan Ning asked curiously.
"Not yet, but it shouldn't be long now." Jiang Chen seemed to be talking to himself.
Hearing that tone from Jiang Chen, Gan Ning became almost certain that those golden mice had indeed been manipulated by Senior Brother Jiang Chen. Perhaps it was thanks to those golden mice that Jiang Chen had been able to find him so quickly.
Jiang Chen lay down on a thick tree branch, eyes closed, resting in perfect relaxation. Gan Ning, on the other hand, found it nearly impossible to calm down. He kept getting up, scanning the surroundings in every direction.
Eventually, he simply stood up as though he intended to keep watch.
Jiang Chen heard the commotion and opened his eyes. "Won't you get some rest? You've been pushing yourself like this for half a month — there's no need. Conserve your energy first."
Gan Ning's voice carried a note of shame. "My strength is too low to be of any real help to any of you. At least let me stand watch."
Jiang Chen waved him off. "No need. Rest easy. No one will break through here. And even if someone did, I'd know well in advance. There's no need for you to worry about it."
"Oh, by the way — did you manage to obtain any Trial Orbs?" Jiang Chen added.
Gan Ning nodded sheepishly. "I was only lucky enough to get one."
"That's not bad at all, given you've only been here a day." Jiang Chen hadn't expected Gan Ning to have already secured one.
"Senior Brother, how many have you gotten?"
Jiang Chen smiled. "I've got six Trial Orbs on me now."
"Six already?!" Gan Ning was stunned. "You took two from Hu Lei, which means you gathered four on your own in just one day?"
Jiang Chen had indeed acquired four Trial Orbs incrementally. Adding the two confiscated from Hu Lei, the total was indeed six.
However, Jiang Chen wasn't actually satisfied with that number.
He had a feeling that over the course of this half-month trial, the Trial Orbs would not end up evenly distributed. Instead, the gap between the haves and the have-nots would become staggering.
The strongest cultivators might end up hoarding a great many Trial Orbs.