Jiang Chen hadn't expected this little Brother Fei to be such a gossip. But he quickly let it go. Brother Fei was young and green, after all—just a young man in the prime of his youth. Wasn't this exactly the age of innocent romance, the time when everyone fixated on matters of the heart?
He glanced over and saw the other watching him with earnest eyes, the desire for an answer practically written on his face.
Jiang Chen thought for a moment. Across both his past life and this one, he'd had plenty of fair companions, but if he was being honest about someone truly engraved on his heart—someone unforgettable—there really wasn't a single one.
He let out a dejected sigh. "No."
This answer dimmed Consort Dan's blazing gaze in an instant. She'd been circling around the topic, and this was the question she'd really wanted to ask all along.
She'd wanted to read Jiang Chen's attitude, to see whether he harbored any feelings for her. Even the faintest hint would have been enough.
But Jiang Chen hadn't given her the answer she was hoping for.
In that moment, Consort Dan felt a profound sense of loss. Bitterness welled up inside her. When it came down to it, perhaps her charm still wasn't enough—perhaps she simply couldn't catch his eye?
"If you have no sweetheart, then what about female friends you find agreeable? Surely there must be some?" Consort Dan pressed, unwilling to give up.
Jiang Chen smiled. "Brother Fei, you're acting a bit strange today. Why is it all questions about romance? I do have a few fair-featured friends, I suppose. As for matters of love, maybe fate just hasn't arrived yet."
Consort Dan quickly asked, "Anyone who catches Brother Panshi's eye certainly wouldn't be ordinary. Could it be that they still aren't worthy of you?"
A series of faces flashed through Jiang Chen's mind—women connected to him in this life.
Dongfang Zhiruo—she was just an innocent young girl. His relationship with her was one of mutual sympathy and care.
Dongfang Gouyu—they'd gotten off on the wrong foot before finding common ground. Jiang Chen admired her straightforward nature, but when it came to romantic feelings, he didn't think things had reached that point.
Wen Ziqi—gentle and well-mannered, like the girl next door, but she was merely his attendant. Romantic affection between them was out of the question.
Since coming to the Tiangui Kingdom, the only person he'd interacted with frequently was Consort Dan. This woman, like the incarnation of a spirit, was someone Jiang Chen admired as well. But when it came to romance, that clearly wasn't the case either.
The goddess may have had feelings, but the prince had no dreams.
Once this thought crossed his mind, Jiang Chen smiled. "It's not really a question of who's worthy of whom. Matters of love ultimately depend on fate. When fate arrives, destiny is but a single thread away. Anyway, we martial cultivators—dwelling on these things endlessly is rather dull. Brother Fei, you've got a tough fight tomorrow. Get some rest early."
Jiang Chen was finding it hard to withstand this barrage of questions and had to politely issue another dismissal.
Consort Dan's heart sank as she turned and walked out, her retreating figure looking somewhat lost and forlorn.
Jiang Chen watched her leave, feeling puzzled. This Brother Fei was acting awfully strange—was there something he couldn't bring himself to say?
But these were matters Jiang Chen had no intention of digging into.
The twenty-five consecutive battles during the day hadn't yielded much for Jiang Chen. These one-sided steamrolls were little more than a warm-up—hardly any real benefit to speak of.
That wasn't to say there was nothing at all. At the very least, he'd familiarized himself with the fighting styles of the sect disciples and gained a general sense of their capabilities.
The sect disciples in the Profound Spirit Zone were, after all, the lowest tier.
But having this foundation would let him form a preliminary assessment of the sect geniuses in the Earth Spirit Zone and the Heavenly Spirit Zone.
"Sect disciples aren't entirely useless, it seems. If I hadn't gained some fortuitous opportunities during the five initial trials, pulling off such effortless winning streaks would have been impossible."
These twenty-five wins looked easy on the surface, but they were the concentrated essence of everything he'd gained.
The harvests from the five initial trials, in particular, had dramatically bolstered his strength.
The first trial—the Trial of Mental Force—had brought his mental power to a perfect new level.
The second trial—the Talent Test—where he'd absorbed two spirit veins, laying a solid foundation for his breakthrough into the Earth Spirit Realm.
The third trial—the Trial of Perseverance—where he'd directly refined the Grand Magma Gold Mountain, reaping enormous benefits.
The fourth trial—the Combat Trial—which had given him the opportunity to shatter the bottleneck of martial cultivation in one stroke and advance to the Earth Spirit Realm.
The fifth trial—the journey through the Valley of Twilight and Dawn—the gains from which were too numerous to even mention.
Before the five initial trials, Jiang Chen had been at the third level of the Spirit Realm. In the Profound Spirit Zone, with his various techniques, he could still win, but victory would have been far from effortless. He would have been forced to bring out many of his trump cards—the Dayu Bow, the nameless blade, the Moon-Shattering Flying Knife, even the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.
If any of those were exposed, his identity would be exposed as well.
Now, with his dramatically increased cultivation, he'd returned to a state of pristine simplicity. In the Profound Spirit Zone, he could operate with complete ease. The "Azure Heaven Life and Death Seal" alone was enough to sweep everything before him.
What was the secret? It was the accumulation and transcendence the five initial trials had brought him.
Without that transcendence from the five trials, how could Jiang Chen have reached this state where great skill appeared as effortless simplicity?
After this first day of battles, Jiang Chen felt far more confident.
Though the sect disciples were indeed fundamentally different from worldly martial artists, these Profound Spirit Zone warriors didn't possess any substantial gap in ability compared to the very top geniuses of the mundane world.
If not for the luck of being born into a sect, their paths in martial cultivation might not necessarily have taken them further than their secular counterparts.
Of course, secular martial artists had their own advantage—that ferocious drive born from their humble origins.
That night, Jiang Chen continued cultivating the "Nine Transformations of Gods and Demons." This divine ability was not something that could be mastered overnight.
Fortunately, after refining the Grand Magma Core, he'd gained control over the entire Grand Magma Gold Mountain. The power of metal essence was inexhaustible, so he had no worries about running short on resources.
Another night passed, and Jiang Chen could clearly feel that his muscles, tempered by the power of metal essence, had become far more resilient and tough.