Master Shuiyue was filled with contradictions. She suspected that the Rock Monster was Jiang Chen, yet she refused to accept it.
Because she felt that an ant like Jiang Chen simply didn't deserve such formidable talent.
The Eastern Kingdom had already produced Long Juxue — how could it possibly produce another monster-level genius?
That would be an insult to her, Master Shuiyue's, ability to recognize true pearls.
If this Rock Monster really was Jiang Chen, then why had she only selected Long Juxue and completely failed to notice Jiang Chen, who was right there in the Eastern Kingdom?
For her, that was nothing short of a blemish.
And so, Master Shuiyue found herself in a state of deep conflict. She could hardly accept the fact that Jiang Chen was the Rock Monster, possessing such extraordinary talent.
Yet she desperately needed a reason to crush this Rock Monster who had offended her.
"According to the intelligence Chu Xinghan brought back, that Jiang Chen's battle at the Erdu Pass relied entirely on beast taming — commanding a massive army of sword birds to crush the Long family. Beast taming is nothing but a heretical path. What does it say about a person who's obsessed with heretical arts? It means his martial talent can't possibly be that strong. Moreover, based on all the intelligence from the Tiangui Kingdom, this Jiang Chen has never demonstrated any truly impressive combat ability. Every time, he either relied on Ye Chonglou's protection or hid behind his army of sword birds for a group attack. Other than that, what else does he have?"
It was actually quite strange. A cultivator of Master Shuiyue's caliber had no business paying this much attention to a young martial artist.
But ever since that day outside the ancient ruins, when she had witnessed the other three great sects' leaders scrambling to recruit Jiang Chen — from that moment on, she had felt as though she'd swallowed a fly.
She believed that a mere secular brat, even if he had some talent, hardly warranted such an open bidding war.
Besides, it was well known that the boy was Long Juxue's mortal enemy. The fact that those three sects had publicly fought over him was clearly a deliberate snub to her, Master Shuiyue.
Now, when she suspected that Jiang Chen might actually be the Rock Monster, beyond her fury and embarrassment, there lurked a trace of worry.
If the Rock Monster truly was Jiang Chen, then this secular boy's rise was becoming genuinely terrifying.
Those monstrous results in the five preliminary trials were absolutely heaven-defying.
The talent and progress implied by those results alone — even if they didn't quite match Long Juxue's, they wouldn't be far behind.
And yet, Long Juxue had spent these past years basking in every privilege imaginable, consuming all the sect's resources at will.
While Jiang Chen had been scrapping it out in the secular world all along, with virtually no resources to speak of.
Under such a comparison — two people who had started at roughly the same level — if Jiang Chen could still maintain a pace of growth comparable to Long Juxue's, then this boy truly deserved to be taken seriously. One could even say he posed a genuine latent threat to Long Juxue!
The four chief disciples were summoned by Master Shuiyue once again.
"Master, your disciples pay their respects." The four chief disciples from the Earth Spirit District stepped forward and bowed.
Master Shuiyue said coolly, "Earlier today, that secular monster fought Ouyang Jian. Did any of you watch?"
Of the four disciples, two had not had matches at the time and had witnessed the fight firsthand. The other two had been competing on other stages and hadn't seen it.
"Watch it again." Master Shuiyue produced a recording gemstone.
The four disciples watched with focused attention. After the first viewing, Master Shuiyue had them watch it again. They went through it three times in succession.
"Haitian, you are currently my strongest disciple in the Earth Spirit District. What is your assessment of this boy? Before, I told you all to keep a careful eye on him. You nodded along obediently enough on the surface, but in your hearts, you didn't take it seriously. I have only one question for you now — if you encountered this boy, how would you fight him?"
The four disciples were secretly alarmed and none could offer a response.
Haitian pondered for a moment, then sighed: "This secular monster undoubtedly had some extraordinary encounter related to fire-attributed arts. Perhaps he possesses a defensive treasure, or perhaps he has other means. On the Scorching Fire Stage, I could perhaps use the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal that Master bestowed upon me to suppress the flames and diminish his combat power. As for the outcome… it would be roughly fifty-fifty."
Haitian was the strongest among the four chief disciples. If even he said the odds were only even, the other three were naturally in even worse shape.
"Master, his fight against Ouyang Jian involved many unusual circumstances. Later, when he was challenged on the Gravity Stage, his performance was rather ordinary. As long as the four of us don't face him on the Scorching Fire Stage, our odds of victory shouldn't be below fifty percent. But if he faces us on the Frost Ice Stage — he's dead for certain, with absolutely no chance of winning!" said one of the younger disciples, who had exceptionally long earlobes, with evident confidence.
Haitian nodded as well: "Master, if we encounter him on the Frost Ice Stage, I believe that I and my three junior brothers would all have very high odds of victory."
Master Shuiyue murmured for a moment, then shook her head gently: "Do not underestimate this boy. During the preliminary trials, he displayed dual aptitudes in both fire and water. Just because he performed so impressively on the Scorching Fire Stage, can you guarantee he has no trump cards on the Frost Ice Stage?"
"Master, from what I saw in his fight with Ouyang Jian, he seemed to be using some kind of fire-attributed treasure to cheat, rather than relying on his own powerful cultivation. He may have a powerful fire-attributed treasure, but surely he can't also have an equally powerful water-attributed one? If he did, that would be beyond ridiculous."
"Junior Brother Yan is right," Haitian said with a smile. "Master, if he truly had access to that kind of fortune, he'd be better off than any of us sect disciples. I don't think that's very likely."