Yes, for a brief moment, the scene fell into an inexplicable state of stillness.
There were many martial arts experts present — every single lord was a powerful cultivator. Yet just now, that exchange had happened so fast, in the blink of an eye, that none of them felt they had actually seen what happened clearly.
On the surface, Yan Yiming had held every advantage, just one step away from crushing Jiang Chen. Yet Jiang Chen had made only two moves in the whole exchange.
One was a single step forward with his foot. The other was raising his arm and poking out one finger.
Just those two simple moves, and Yan Yiming came crashing straight down as if struck by lightning.
The scene was absurd beyond belief. If it hadn't been for the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere just moments before, they might have wondered whether Yan Yiming was deliberately putting on a show with Jiang Chen — sacrificing his own face just to make Jiang Chen look impressive.
But no, that didn't seem right either.
Yan Yiming had clearly been trying to humiliate Jiang Chen. It was just that, in the end, he had been the one humiliated instead — and no one could explain how.
For a moment, the countless guests all harbored different thoughts.
The lords on good terms with Lord Jiang Han were naturally pleased for their old friend. Just moments ago, they had genuinely worried for his son. But this outcome was something they could never have dreamed of.
As for those who were on bad terms with Lord Jiang Han — or who were allied with Lord Longteng — they were utterly baffled. Some began to suspect that Lord Jiang Han's son had been playing the fool all along, pretending to be a useless waste to catch people off guard.
But the majority were neutral, and their mood was mostly one of casual amusement. They too found the bizarre scene utterly incomprehensible, though they bore no particular pressure over the outcome. Watching the show, they had no concern about things spiraling out of control.
Of all the spectators, the most astonished was Princess Gouyu herself.
When she saw Yan Yiming's strike — a technique perfected to its absolute peak — she had been ready to call for the duel to stop.
But before the words could leave her mouth, the situation had done a complete one-eighty.
Right now, Princess Gouyu couldn't have cared less whether Yan Yiming was beaten to death, nor did she give a second thought to the fact that he had cultivated the Purple Cloud Palm to its perfected peak.
Only one image burned in her mind: that single finger Jiang Chen had thrust out — elusive as the horn of an antelope, leaving no trace, impossible to predict.
The Eastern King Finger. She was intimately familiar with the origin of this technique. It was a complementary martial skill of the Purple Qi Origin Scripture, just like the Purple Cloud Palm.
But the way Jiang Chen had executed this finger contained mysteries that even Princess Gouyu could not fully unravel. It was as though this single finger held infinite profundity, distilling the essence of every great path, every martial truth, from complexity into simplicity, condensing it all into one point.
How many meridians of true qi one possessed, what level of realm one had reached—
None of it mattered in this moment.
In Princess Gouyu's eyes, that single finger had expressed the ultimate truth of martial arts.
It left even her with a sense that she could not fully comprehend it. What kind of miraculous finger was this?
"Could this brat have just stumbled into it by accident?" For the first time, Princess Gouyu realized she truly could not read this Jiang Chen.
She didn't believe a lucky, accidental strike could carry such extraordinary power.
But if it wasn't accidental, then how could someone like Jiang Chen — a waste who couldn't even pass the basic assessment — possibly execute such a miraculous technique?
Finally, someone stepped forward to break the tense atmosphere.
Bai Zhanyun leaped out. "Jiang Chen, did you use some trick just now? Yan Yiming has a full six meridians of true qi. You have a mere three meridians — how could you possibly knock him down with a single move?"
Jiang Chen replied with an air of innocent bewilderment, "That's a pretty stupid question. You should be asking him, not me. Being defeated by the very three meridians of true qi he looked down on — I don't even know what to say to comfort him."
"Hmph, you definitely used some trick. I, Bai Zhanyun, will play with you myself."
Bai Zhanyun — heir of the White Tiger Marquis, eight meridians of true qi, a high-stage True Qi Realm cultivator.
He was a talent far beyond anything Yan Yiming could compare with.
Jiang Chen didn't even raise an eyelid. He was about to speak when Princess Gouyu stood up. "Wait. You are all heirs of lords participating in the Hidden Dragon Examination. Fighting among yourselves here — no matter who gets hurt, it would be a loss for the examination itself. Since you wish to determine who is superior, as the chief overseer of the Hidden Dragon Examination, I have a proposal. It can settle who has greater talent without anyone getting hurt."
"Oh? What brilliant idea does Her Highness have?"
"Your Highness serves as chief overseer of the Hidden Dragon Examination and is so considerate — we are all deeply impressed."
Flattery poured forth like a tide. No matter how powerful Lord Longteng was, he was still just a marquis. Princess Gouyu was a representative of the royal family. In the current climate, there were far more people eager to curry favor with the royal family than with Lord Longteng.
Princess Gouyu said calmly, "The royal family organizes the Hidden Dragon Examination to promote the culture of martial cultivation. All of you, as heirs of the great lords, have studied our Eastern Kingdom's supreme technique, the Purple Qi Origin Scripture. My proposal is this: the heirs present may each come forward and demonstrate the two complementary skills — the Purple Cloud Palm and the Eastern King Finger. As chief overseer of the examination, I shall serve as judge, determining who possesses the greatest comprehension of these techniques and the highest level of mastery."
"Haha, worthy of a royal princess indeed. An excellent proposal — no bloodshed, yet a clear winner can be determined."
"Mm, this proposal is truly excellent. I, for one, support it."