For some reason, when Jiang Chen saw Jun Mobai's expression, a faint, inexplicable ripple stirred in his heart.
"Could it be that Jun Mobai has realized I'm not the real Mu Gaoqi?"
Jiang Chen found it vaguely strange, but if even Shen Qinghong had seen through him, how could Jun Mobai—who was slightly inferior to Shen Qinghong—possibly be the one to figure it out?
That seemed rather unlikely.
Though Jiang Chen had taken notice, he betrayed no change in expression.
Back at Danxia Valley, Jun Mobai had once tried to recruit Jiang Chen. But Jiang Chen had never had much interest in the man.
Jiang Chen had always felt that someone who carried himself with such elegance and appeared to be an upright gentleman was probably not quite what he seemed on the surface.
With the conclusion of the second round, the drawing for the third round began.
After the second round, the vast majority of those who had advanced were geniuses from the Fourth-Rank Sects. Those from outside the Fourth-Rank Sects made up only about a quarter.
The third round was the critical one.
If they could win in the third round, they would effectively secure a spot on the Myriad Phenomena Hidden Dragon Rankings.
However, after two rounds of brutal elimination, the weaker competitors had already been weeded out. What remained were genuine, through-and-through geniuses.
As a result, the clashes in the third round were destined to be fierce collisions. With the sole exception that the first-tier seed contestants would not encounter one another, any other seed contestant could potentially face off against any other.
Almost every participant was silently praying that in this crucial stage, they would not draw a first-tier seed contestant.
Once matched against a first-tier seed contestant, the door to advancement would essentially be slammed shut for good.
The gap between those below the Saint Realm and those within it was simply too vast—a fight between entirely different tiers.
If there was one exception, it was Jiang Chen. His heart was as calm as still water; he paid no attention at all to who his next opponent would be.
The first-tier seed contestants did not need to draw lots—their names were listed out separately.
The first to be drawn were the opponents for these first-tier seed contestants.
Name after name was read out, and each genius whose name was called wore a look of dismay. Clearly, these unlucky souls, upon learning that their next opponent was a Saint Realm genius, were utterly dejected—they knew the path to advancement had been completely sealed off.
Once the first-tier seed contestants had been listed separately and their opponents drawn,
the remaining contestants' names were thoroughly shuffled again, then drawn in pairs to determine their matchups.
From Dan Qian Palace, the first to be drawn was Ling Bi'er. Her opponent, surprisingly, was also a second-tier seed contestant at the ninth level of the Origin Realm—from the Carefree Sect.
This was sure to be a brutal fight.
Next, Jiang Chen's name was also drawn. His next-round opponent turned out to be none other than Wang Jing, a prodigy of the Holy Sword Palace at the peak of the eighth level of the Origin Realm.
The moment the draw results were announced, the Holy Sword Palace side erupted in jubilation.
Mu Gaoqi versus Wang Jing!
"Haha, Junior Brother Wang Jing, this time it's all on you." A Holy Sword Palace cultivator at the ninth level of the Origin Realm clapped Wang Jing on the shoulder.
Wang Jing was burly and thickly muscled, his murderous aura staggering.
"Senior Brother Wang Han, kill him or cripple him — you call the shots."
Wang Han let out a sinister smile and shot a venomous glance toward Jiang Chen's side. The other Holy Sword Palace disciples all wore bizarre smirks as they looked toward Mu Gaoqi, their eyes brimming with the same predatory amusement one might show a cornered prey.
"Cripple him. Wouldn't it be a waste to let him die so easily?" Wang Han's voice was cold as a blade. "Junior Brother Wang Jing, I've heard your Whale King Sword Qi is incredibly domineering — it can penetrate the internal organs and attack the qi sea? The best approach is to use your Whale King Sword Qi to shatter every meridian in that kid's body, then destroy his qi sea and turn him into an utter waste!"
Wang Jing nodded. He knew exactly what to do.
He cast a ferocious glare at Jiang Chen, thinking: you little brat, you dared to defy Senior Brother Wang Han — the price you'll pay for that will be devastating.
Once the draw was complete, every contestant was coiled like a spring, ready to strike.
Aside from those matchups where the outcome was already a foregone conclusion based on the draw, the remaining competitors were all rolling up their sleeves, clearly determined to stand out in this third round of competition.
Whoever prevailed in this third round would earn a place on the next edition of the Myriad Phenomena Hidden Dragon Rankings!
The prodigies of the fifth-grade sects were especially eager to seize this chance. After all, for them, this was a rare opportunity to make a name for themselves.
The Myriad Phenomena Hidden Dragon Rankings had essentially been monopolized by fourth-grade sects for as long as anyone could remember.
The slots reserved for sects outside the fourth-grade tier never exceeded five in any given edition.
But this time was clearly different. With one of the six great fourth-grade sects of the Myriad Phenomena Territory — the Three Star Sect — suddenly gone, a considerable number of slots had been freed up.
And the slots left behind by the Three Star Sect would naturally give those other sects far more opportunities.
So this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The more powerful fifth-grade sects harbored no small ambitions. All of them hoped their prodigies would deliver a performance beyond expectations and showcase their sect's true strength.