The clarity in Elder Shun's eyes held a trace of guilt, but what flowed through them even more was an air of resolve, as though he had already made an irrevocable decision.
"Elder Shun, you've been standing here so long, frowning and pursing your lips from time to time. What's on your mind?"
At some point, the young woman in the light green dress had strolled over, cradling a small, snow-white creature in her arms. "Elder Shun, who would have thought that this Indestructible Spirit Mountain actually housed spirit beasts like the snow fox. Look at this little one — it's hurt its left foreleg. Let me bandage it."
The stern lines on Elder Shun's face instantly softened, warm as a spring breeze, melting into countless shades of tenderness.
"You silly girl, always so tender-hearted. The snow fox may look gentle, but it's cunning and deceitful. Huang'er, you must be careful it doesn't turn on you."
Huang'er flashed a bright smile, as clear and refreshing as a mountain valley after rain.
"I'll be careful."
Elder Shun nodded. He was simply giving a word of warning — he wasn't truly worried the snow fox could harm Huang'er.
"Huang'er." As she turned to leave, Elder Shun called out once more.
"Hmm?" Huang'er turned back, her slender brows arching gracefully as her light, graceful figure came to a stop.
"Huang'er, this old man is going to make a move. You won't blame me for meddling, will you?" Elder Shun sounded a bit hesitant. Fearless as he was of heaven and earth, his one worry was that acting on her behalf might upset Huang'er.
Huang'er's clear, autumn-water eyes dimmed slightly, and her delicate brows furrowed. She asked softly, "Elder Shun, it's because of Huang'er that you're burdened with all this. You're doing this for my own good. How could I possibly bear resentment? It's only that, in this Ancient Remnant Realm, you…"
"You needn't worry about that. I have my own ways. The Ancient Remnant Realm is formidable, certainly, but those people from the four great sects? They're far too mediocre. A small maneuver from me, and I guarantee they'll fall into utter chaos."
As Elder Shun spoke, a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Within that smile lay a hint of disdain for the four great sects.
Clearly, in Elder Shun's eyes, the four great sects were not worth taking seriously.
…
Naturally, what transpired in the Heavenly Spirit Area continued to filter into the ears of the four great sects' upper echelons. The four Grand Venerables, in particular, kept their eyes on the Heavenly Spirit Area virtually every single day.
All their hopes rested on the Heavenly Spirit Area.
To be blunt, the other areas were nothing more than sparring grounds. If someone promising emerged from them, that would be nice. If not, it made no difference.
As long as the geniuses in the Heavenly Spirit Area could live up to expectations and grow rapidly, the four great sects would have hope — would have a future.
Therefore, regarding affairs in the Heavenly Spirit Area, the four Grand Venerables had chosen to turn a blind eye.
Especially Old Ancestor Zhuiyang of the Purple Sun Sect. Since divining that the mundane-world freak was none other than Jiang Chen, he was all too happy to see the pressure campaign continue.
The last thing he wanted was for this mundane-world freak to become an obstacle to his Purple Sun Sect's rising geniuses.
Someone like Old Ancestor Zhuiyang — having lived to such an age and cultivated to such heights — possessed a heart as cold and unyielding as iron. Matters of life and death meant very little to him.
As long as someone couldn't be turned into an ally, then destroying them was perfectly acceptable. To raise a tiger only to have it become a threat — allowing it to stand as a barrier to one's own people — that was something he would absolutely not tolerate.
Of the other three Grand Venerables, Old Ancestor Binglan of the Flowing Cloud Sect had a temperament of calm detachment. He had always conducted himself with moderation — neither aggressive nor conservative.
The Thousand-Leaf Venerable of the Treasure Tree Sect, after making a few inquiries, learned that this mundane genius had a very complicated relationship with several of his own sect's prodigies.
Apart from Tang Hong, every one of them seemed rather wary of this mundane freak.
On the basis of these considerations, the Thousand-Leaf Venerable found himself wavering as well. It seemed that if he stayed out of it, the Purple Sun Sect would be the only one to benefit. But if he did intervene, there was no guarantee he could change anything.
As for the Nine-Lion Venerable of the Myriad Spirit Sect, he was the one who flew into a towering rage, hurling insults at the Heavenly Spirit Area examiners — calling them nothing more than heaps of dog dung for brazenly breaking the rules.
Upon learning that Jiang Chen had single-handedly charged into the Summit Assembly, the Nine-Lion Venerable's fury ignited completely.
He made no effort to conceal his admiration for this mundane-world martial artist. Moreover, he was extremely pleased with the performance of his own Myriad Spirit Sect's genius, Luo Xi.
Luo Xi had not submitted to Lei Gangyang. He had not echoed Lei Gangyang's suppression scheme. Instead, he had chosen to remain on the sidelines, refusing to get involved.
In the Nine-Lion Venerable's eyes, this was a sign of backbone — of true class.
After all, with the Purple Sun Sect being so domineering and Lei Gangyang wielding such power, the fact that Luo Xi could hold firm to himself and absolutely refuse to capitulate satisfied the Nine-Lion Venerable greatly.
"Hmm. If this mundane genius could join my Myriad Spirit Sect, he and Luo Xi together would shine like twin stars — it would become the grandest event our sect has seen in nearly a thousand years. I will do everything in my power to protect this boy."
With this thought, the Nine-Lion Venerable could no longer sit still. He began making his rounds.
He first sought out the Thousand-Leaf Venerable, whose stance had been vague all along. Deep down, the Thousand-Leaf Venerable, too, wanted to recruit this mundane genius.
After being persuaded by the Nine-Lion Venerable, he too came to see that suppressing the mundane genius would only benefit the Purple Sun Sect in the end. After a moment's reflection, the Thousand-Leaf Venerable also decided to join the camp protecting Jiang Chen.
However, facing the might of the Purple Sun Sect, these two Venerables felt they would need to bring the Flowing Cloud Sect's Venerable Binglan on board as well.
Venerable Binglan had always maintained a neutral stance. After being lobbied by the other two, and with no easy way to refuse given the pressure of the situation, he could only accompany them to persuade Old Ancestor Zhuiyang.
Old Ancestor Zhuiyang, seeing the three arrive together, appeared to have been mentally prepared for this visit all along.