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Some of the examinees had even begun openly grumbling behind his back, arguing that this secular monster's antics had completely shattered the balance of the Heavenly Spirit Region.
"One trick pony conquers the world? I'll admit his alchemy talent is impressive. But we're martial arts geniuses, and in the end, it's raw combat power that determines who stands out here. He's taking an unconventional path, frantically farming points like this — it's totally wrecking the ecosystem of the Heavenly Spirit Region."
"Exactly. It's not fair. Letting him farm points like this means that in a few months, every other genius will be nothing but dust in his wake. Who could possibly compete with him?"
"Right. This is basically cheating. If he's so talented, let him try his hand in other areas. Only knowing how to pad his score in alchemy — what kind of skill is that?"
"I think we should file a joint protest. These rules are unreasonable and need to be revised. There should be a restriction on farming points in a single area. Otherwise, his advantage is just too overwhelming. Even the top geniuses will be eating his dust in a few months."
"Well said! We should submit a joint petition and demand that the organizers revise the rules. Otherwise, we'll boycott the whole thing. We absolutely cannot allow some common martial artist to lord over us using such underhanded methods."
"Agreed! How can we, the geniuses of our sects, be overshadowed by some nobody? What an ill omen that would be!"
Every single one of these loudmouths was an extreme fanatic. And their arguments were downright shameless. Cheating, farming points, rule changes — they spouted it all with righteous indignation, conveniently forgetting that what Jiang Chen did was perfectly allowed by the rules, and that they simply lacked the ability to do the same.
Of course, not everyone bought into this rhetoric.
After all, every person in the Heavenly Spirit Region was a competitor. Hearts are hidden behind bellies — there was no way everyone would rally behind a single voice.
These shameless provocateurs naturally had their detractors.
"There's nothing wrong with a one-trick pony conquering the world. If anyone else had that ability, they'd do the same. Since the rules allow it, he hasn't done a thing wrong. In the Heavenly Spirit Region, which martial artist doesn't pick the tasks they're best at? Would anyone deliberately play to their weaknesses just to challenge someone else's strengths?"
"The organizers set the rules this way to uncover geniuses. This secular monster is undeniably an alchemy genius. He has a crushing advantage — not using it would be the real sign of brain damage. These people are just sour grapes. Truly petty-minded."
"He earns his points fairly and squarely, and they call it cheating? These guys are truly shameless. What 'ecosystem balance'? Does it only count as balanced when the top geniuses are sitting at the top? A secular-born genius can't be there too?"
These were the two dominant viewpoints.
There were also those who remained neutral — neither supporting nor opposing, content to watch the drama unfold from the sidelines.
But on the whole, those who wanted to suppress the meteoric rise of Jiang Chen, that secular monster, held the upper hand.
Even the top-tier geniuses, though none had stepped forward publicly, were quietly exerting pressure behind the scenes, dropping plenty of hints to the organizers.
Clearly, Jiang Chen's pace of advancement was putting enormous pressure on them. It gave them an overwhelming sense of urgency, forcing them to take risks they might otherwise have avoided.
If they didn't push themselves to attempt Level Four tasks — or even Level Five — it was only a matter of time before Jiang Chen left them far behind.
Which of these top geniuses didn't aim for the very peak? How could they stomach watching some secular martial artist climb above their heads and leave them eating dust?
They refused to accept it.
…
In the examiners' area, the officials in charge of the Heavenly Spirit Region had gathered together. Recent events had left them both shocked and headaches galore.
What shocked them was the sheer momentum of this alchemy genius's rise — it had left every last one of them stunned. Behind the scenes, they were all running calculations, trying to figure out how to recruit such an alchemy genius into their own sects.
An alchemy genius of this caliber, in many respects, was not inferior to a top-tier martial arts genius.
A martial arts genius could perhaps be replaced. But a supreme alchemy genius sometimes could not.
In the martial arts world, martial arts masters were a dime a dozen. But alchemy masters were exceedingly rare.
An alchemy master held tremendous importance in the martial arts world — and for a sect, they carried enormous strategic significance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, share your thoughts. If this continues, the entire Heavenly Spirit Region will be in turmoil." The examiner seated in the center said with a bitter smile.
"What's there to discuss? This can't go on. I suggest we revise the rules, or impose restrictions on him personally. We can't allow him to keep doing this. What a joke! He's taking an unconventional shortcut — this is not the conduct of a gentleman!" This examiner spoke with righteous indignation, his face a mask of solemn conviction.