Let alone these people—even at this very moment, the Palace Master Dan Chi and Elder Lian Cheng of Dan Qian Palace were suddenly swept up in a flood of emotions.
Palace Master Dan Chi marveled to himself—as expected of someone Old Shun held in such high regard, Jiang Chen was truly bound to make a stunning showing this time. This only strengthened his resolve to keep Jiang Chen at the palace, and reinforced his determination to follow in Old Shun's footsteps. He thought to himself, "If Old Shun ever returns, even if I have to cast aside all my pride, I'll beg the old man to accept me as a disciple—even a nominal one would do."
Right now, Dan Chi was almost certain—Old Shun was definitely an Imperial realm powerhouse, and quite possibly even a Titled Emperor!
Elder Lian Cheng, on the other hand, was mostly consumed by envy. He simply couldn't believe it—this brat whom Elder Yun Nie had taken a fancy to and accepted as his personal disciple actually had such absurd martial talent too? What was even going on? Was his own position as Martial Arts Hall Master just decoration? This kid Mu Gaoqi had such extraordinary abilities—why hadn't he come to study under him instead of Elder Yun Nie? The more Elder Lian Cheng thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.
As for Shen Qinghong and the others, they had gone completely numb. They had already been stunned senseless by Mu Gaoqi's endless stream of tricks. In that moment, Shen Qinghong suddenly realized—even if Jiang Chen hadn't shown up, Mu Gaoqi might have replaced him as Dan Qian Palace's true number one genius.
Jun Mobai's eyes, too, showed an unprecedented look of disbelief, and he was filled with questions about this Mu Gaoqi.
Ling Bi'er's delicate frame trembled slightly, unable to contain her excitement.
On the arena, Wang Han was utterly dumbfounded. How had this happened? No matter what trump card he played, this brat had a counter ready?
"Mu Gaoqi, you cheating bastard!" Wang Han snarled through gritted teeth.
"Cheating? Isn't ganging up on someone exactly what you wanted? I'm simply giving you a taste of your own medicine—satisfying you with the very method you like so much."
Jiang Chen offered a faint smile, too lazy to bicker with Wang Han.
Wang Han let out a low roar, a hint of madness flickering in his eyes. With a snap of his fingers, three massive ice bears roared to life and charged straight at Jiang Chen.
Wang Han clearly intended to use the colossal bodies of the ice bears to crush Jiang Chen and his summoned Golden Armored Warriors. But he had clearly underestimated the fighting strength of the Golden Armored Warriors. These warriors had been conjured from Jiang Chen's Soldier-Forming Prayer Beads and were under his complete control, responding to his every whim. They were incredibly powerful, having been crafted as replicas of human martial artists—fundamentally different from the crude, instinctive attacks of those three ice bears.
Moreover, with six Golden Armored Warriors, they held a clear numerical advantage—two against one. How could they possibly let the bears get near Jiang Chen?
The Golden Armored Warriors paired off in groups of two and quickly surrounded the ice bears, beating them mercilessly. Though the ice bears were fierce, they simply couldn't match the Golden Armored Warriors' adaptability—warriors that had been modeled after powerful human fighters. The two-on-one advantage left the ice bears nothing to do but take the beating.
It didn't take long before the three bears were howling in agony. Watching this, Wang Han's face turned ashen with frustration, his eyes nearly spewing fire.
If only he still had the Mystic Ice Sacred Sword in hand—he would have slashed out hundreds of sword strikes right now and diced this infuriating opponent into mincemeat!
Jiang Chen, on the other hand, was the picture of composure—arms crossed over his chest as he watched the spectacle unfold. He knew full well that the three bears wouldn't last much longer. His Soldier-Forming Prayer Beads had only summoned the weakest six. If the need arose, he could summon Earth Saint or even Heaven Saint-level puppets.
Seeing Jiang Chen stand there with his arms crossed, Wang Han burned with even greater fury—this brat dared look down on him like this?! In that instant, his rage boiled over, and malice surged through him.
He formed a series of hand seals, and streaks of cold light erupted from his palms. With a sharp thrust toward the sky, the light coalesced into an iceberg. Wang Han flicked his seals again, and another layer materialized. His seals cascaded one after another, and the iceberg grew tier by tier until it transformed into a nine-layered ice mountain that loomed magnificently between heaven and earth, radiating bone-piercing cold and crushing pressure, as if it could prop up the very sky.
Wang Han let out a sinister laugh. "Mu Gaoqi, the fact that you forced me to use my final move means you can die content. Under the Nine-Layer Ice Mountain, every living thing will be crushed!"
The aura of the Nine-Layer Ice Mountain was truly terrifying—even the spectators in the audience felt waves of oppression. From this distance, their entire bodies trembled, and their very souls felt on the verge of shattering.
Even Wang Jianyu, when he saw Wang Han summon the Nine-Layer Ice Mountain, couldn't help but beam with satisfaction. With the Nine-Layer Ice Mountain unleashed, the battle no longer held any suspense. Although Wang Jianyu felt it was somewhat of a pity—Wang Han revealing his final trump card wasn't ideal for the championship fight ahead—there was no other choice at this stage. If he couldn't get past Mu Gaoqi, what was the point of talking about reaching the finals and competing for the championship? Besides, so what if the trump card was exposed? Even if his main rival saw it, that didn't mean the other side would know how to counter it. After all, the Nine-Layer Ice Mountain combined supreme cold and overwhelming gravitational force in tier upon tier of power—forget Mu Gaoqi, even an Earth Saint realm expert would be completely suppressed. Even a Heaven Saint level powerhouse could suffer serious consequences if caught off guard.
"Ugh, Wang Han is just too much. Trump card after trump card—it's like a bottomless pit. This is so unfair to Mu Gaoqi!"
"Yeah, even if he wins like this, it won't exactly be glamorous."
"Right, with all his trump cards exposed, he shouldn't have a chance against Xiang Qin."
"What a shame for Mu Gaoqi, the dark horse. You know, he really has given everyone so many unexpected thrills."
"Don't say that—maybe Mu Gaoqi still has something up his sleeve? Who knows what'll happen next?"
"Fair point—with all the surprises Mu Gaoqi's given us, who's to say there won't be another one?"
For a time, the crowd buzzed with discussion, a renewed sense of anticipation stirring as the ever-shifting battle continued to unfold.