Their earlier bias toward those top-tier geniuses—to block off this mortal prodigy—had been a simple enough choice.
After all, in their eyes, a mortal prodigy could never compare to those top-tier talents. Not in any universe.
Yet, as this mortal prodigy continued to display one extraordinary gift after another, that assumption was gradually being turned on its head.
At first, they had suspected that the mortal prodigy was deliberately avoiding the martial dao area's trials because his martial cultivation was lacking.
A warrior with inadequate martial cultivation—no matter how prodigious his talent in other fields—would always be marginalized in the martial dao world. He could never become a leading player.
But this mortal prodigy's subsequent actions overturned their understanding yet again!
He had marched alone, bold as brass, straight into the Summit.
And in the span of easy conversation, fought the number-one seed, Lei Gangyang, to a draw!
He had come with composure and left with flair.
Those parting barbs had been like the sword of a heart demon, piercing straight into the deepest recesses of those geniuses' hearts.
Yes—the mighty geniuses had been mocked as trash, and they were powerless to do anything about it. That kind of psychological blow was bound to become a shadow lingering over their dao hearts.
"Sigh, this prodigy…" one of the examiners murmured with a sigh. "He's so determined to make enemies of those top-tier geniuses. Does he never consider his own future?"
"Exactly! Even with heaven-defying talent, he'll still need to get along with the other geniuses once he enters a sect. This kid is far too arrogant."
Several examiners were thoroughly exasperated.
Just as they were lamenting, a report came from outside the door: "Honorable examiners, the mortal prodigy has learned that the Mental Force area is restricted. He has moved on to the Comprehensive area."
"What?"
"Is that fellow going to grind points in the Comprehensive area now too?"
"Could it be… he has talent in every single field without exception?"
Upon receiving the report, every examiner shot to their feet, their faces masks of utter disbelief.
Grinding points in the Alchemy area and the Mental Force area—two talents of astonishing strength—had already been enough to shock them. Now this prodigy had gone running off to the Comprehensive domain. Did this kid possess equally mind-boggling talent in the sect-related disciplines as well?
Only the cold-faced examiner who had opposed blocking Jiang Chen from the very beginning gave a faint, indifferent smile. "It seems our little blockade plan is going to become a complete laughingstock."
His words left the others speechless.
Indeed—if this prodigy could also rack up absurd scores in the Comprehensive area, then their blockade plan really would be nothing but a joke.
How were they supposed to block him? They had restricted him to no more than seven challenges per area. He simply split his time up, spreading it across multiple domains, and his scoring plan was barely inconvenienced.
If that was the case, the only way to truly block him would be to directly deny his task applications—to impose an outright ban.
But everyone knew that was impossible.
They were all painfully aware that the current restrictions were already shameless enough, completely violating the principle of fair competition.
If they went so far as to ban him outright, how could anyone participate? He would simply withdraw.
And what truly pained them was the realization that a talent of his caliber didn't necessarily need to play in the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance at all.
A young genius of this magnitude—even if he left the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance for someplace far larger, he would have no shortage of takers!
The cold-faced examiner swept his mocking gaze across the faces of the other examiners, one by one.
"Gentlemen, do you intend to continue the blockade—driving this mortal genius completely out of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance? Or will you cancel it and restore his right to fair competition?"
The Purple Sun Sect's examiner spat through gritted teeth, "In for a penny, in for a pound. We've already gone this far—retreating now won't earn us any goodwill. We might as well intensify the pressure."
The moment those words left his mouth, every other examiner's expression turned deeply uncomfortable.
The cold-faced examiner laughed outright. "I think you've lost your mind. Intensify the pressure? What exactly—do you plan to step in and suppress him yourself?"
"There's no need for me to do it personally. Just open a small crack—give those top-tier geniuses an opportunity to challenge him. I'm certain they'll handle the matter quite… decisively."
The Purple Sun Sect's examiner smiled, his voice oozing with menace.
The other examiners exchanged thoughtful looks, but not one of them spoke up.
What they had already done was going too far. If they resorted to outright cheating behind the scenes, it would be far too unjust to this mortal prodigy.
Yet if they didn't, this mortal prodigy's unstoppable momentum simply could not be contained.
Given enough time, every sect's geniuses would be crushed so flat they couldn't lift their heads. For the four great sects, that would be an enormous loss.
These examiners, when all was said and done, were all people of the four great sects.
Each of them harbored private interests. None of them wished to see their own sect's geniuses completely overshadowed by the appearance of a mortal prodigy.
When a top-tier genius was suppressed by another and unable to fully unleash his own potential, the path of the martial dao would become far more treacherous.