The ancestors and powerhouses of the other three great sects all received the news at the very first opportunity.
Once they learned the full story, these powerhouses could no longer contain themselves. This was a golden opportunity — the perfect chance to bring accusations against the Purple Sun Sect.
Originally, the Purple Sun Sect had been exceedingly overbearing during this selection tournament, comports itself as though it were the undisputed leader among the four great sects, which had already rubbed the other three the wrong way.
This time, Master Shuiyue had actually gone so far as to manipulate the matches. Given what they knew of her character, such a thing was far from impossible.
And so, all of them rushed toward the Earth Spirit Area without a moment's delay.
Once someone aroused public outrage, the situation became nearly impossible to reverse.
The four Venerables personally stepped forward and conducted a series of investigations, supplemented by testimony from the other examiners as well as a great number of martial artists.
In the end, with the sole exception of Venerable Zhuiyang, the other three Venerables all reached the same conclusion: Master Shuiyue was suspected of manipulating the tournament.
"Four consecutive battles with no rest in between! Can anyone give me a single reason to believe this wasn't deliberate match manipulation?" Venerable Nine Lions of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect was the first to cry out.
Venerable Binglan of the Flowing Cloud Sect shook his head. "The signs of human interference are far too obvious. Brother Zhuiyang, your Purple Sun Sect has gone too far with this."
"Venerable Zhuiyang, give us a resolution," Patriarch Qianye said flatly.
Venerable Zhuiyang's face was a mask of frustration. He was deeply disappointed in Master Shuiyue by now. With everyone piling on, if she wasn't removed, there would be no way to appease these three old monsters.
From the way these examiners were posturing, if Master Shuiyue wasn't removed, they would very likely boycott the tournament!
Patriarch Zhuiyang let out a cold snort. Though he was a domineering man, when he had absolutely no moral ground to stand on, what could he possibly do?
"You three sects have had your eyes on this position for a long time now. So what do you propose? If my Purple Sun Sect steps aside, are you three really going to happily select someone together?"
"Why wouldn't we?" Venerable Nine Lions smiled. "My suggestion is that each of the three sects nominates one person to jointly preside over the Earth Spirit Area examinations."
"That sounds reasonable. I think it could work." Venerable Binglan nodded in agreement.
Patriarch Qianye chuckled lightly. "I have no objections either."
As long as Master Shuiyue was removed and the Purple Sun Sect gave up the position of chief coordinator, having all three sects share control was perfectly fine.
After all, their goal had always been to suppress the Purple Sun Sect.
Patriarch Zhuiyang was utterly exasperated, but all he could do was silently acquiesce with a faint snort. His gaze drifted toward Jiang Chen. "Young man, it seems that wherever trouble brews, your shadow is never far behind."
Facing Venerable Zhuiyang's imposing aura, Jiang Chen merely offered a faint smile. "The tree wishes to be still, but the wind will not cease. Patriarch, can you really blame your own sect member's misdeeds on me?"
"Ha ha ha — well said!" Patriarch Nine Lions strode over with a hearty laugh. "Young man, I've heard all about your recent exploits. This old man just wants to say — you're impressive! A true genius should be exactly like you: unyielding, unmoved by any external pressure, walking his own path."
"Old Monster Nine Lions, nobody asked you to speak — don't act like anyone thinks you're mute!" Venerable Zhuiyang said coldly.
"Heh heh — I'll say what I want, and what are you going to do about it? Better go manage your own disciples first, and stop making a fool of yourself." Patriarch Nine Lions let out an odd laugh, his face full of mockery as he glanced at Master Shuiyue.
Master Shuiyue was mortified beyond measure, her hateful gaze shooting toward Jiang Chen. In her heart, she had already come to despise this root cause of all her troubles to the absolute limit.
"That secular beast ruined two of my disciples in a row, and now he's even caused me to lose my reputation and humiliate myself in front of the Venerables!"
Master Shuiyue had never been a kind or gentle soul, and her hatred for Jiang Chen at this moment was so vast that not even the combined waters of every river and lake could wash it clean.
"Young man, my advice to you from last time still stands. A martial arts prodigy must choose his path wisely. One step in the right direction and you'll walk a golden road; one step wrong, and you could fall into a bottomless abyss."
Venerable Zhuiyang let out a cold laugh, flicked his sleeve, and said, "Let's go!"
The entire upper echelon of the Purple Sun Sect followed him out. Before leaving, Master Shuiyue fixed Jiang Chen with a gaze as venomous as a serpent's for a long while, then trailed after the others.
Jiang Chen knew that he had thoroughly offended this old woman.
"Don't mind that old fool Zhuiyang, young man. The Purple Sun Sect has always been used to throwing its weight around. They lost face this time and had to put on a brave front to scare you, that's all." Patriarch Nine Lions chuckled. "Remember this — whether you're a secular martial artist or a sect disciple, at the end of the day, we're all martial artists of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance. This selection has no room for factional bias; only the greater good of the Alliance matters."
"Old Monster Nine Lions, I rarely agree with you, but this time I have to." Patriarch Thousand Leaves laughed heartily and walked over as well. "Young man, you did nothing wrong in this matter. As long as your Dao is correct, never change it because of any threat. Once you reach our level, you'll understand just how important one's own Dao truly is."
"Keep striving. In you, we see the hope of all secular martial artists." Venerable Binglan offered her encouragement as well.
All three Venerables had come to console him at once — a clear sign of how high everyone's expectations were for Jiang Chen, the secular champion.
Though Jiang Chen's true identity had yet to be revealed, even without that revelation, his impressive string of victories was enough to stun everyone.
Given the way things were going, his entry into the Earth Spirit Realm was practically a certainty.
Although the three Patriarchs had not openly tried to recruit him, the eager looks in their eyes had more than betrayed what they were truly thinking.
"Thank you for the guidance, Patriarchs. This junior will do everything in his power to stay true to his own Dao."