Just as Jiang Chen was rubbing his hands and gearing up to enter, the seventeenth round threw up a dark horse.
A genius named Sun Yuxiaosheng had actually held on inside for two and a half shichen. This record shattered Chu Jianhuan's previous mark in one fell swoop.
The moment this result came out, everyone around the Glazed King Pagoda was struck with wordless astonishment.
In an instant, Sun Yuxiaosheng's name replaced Chu Jianhuan's as the hottest name on everyone's lips.
Everyone understood what two and a half shichen meant. One shichen equaled eight quarter-hours.
Chu Jianhuan had lasted two shichen and one quarter-hour — seventeen quarter-hours by the count.
Sun Yuxiaosheng, on the other hand, had endured a full twenty quarter-hours.
Anyone who had entered the formation knew that the longer you held on, the more unbearable it became. The fact that Sun Yuxiaosheng could outlast Chu Jianhuan by three quarter-hours meant his strength — his ability to withstand the formation's crushing pressure — was undeniably a tier above.
Even Third Young Master Ji was impressed: "Who is this Sun Yuxiaosheng, anyway? Don't tell me he's some hidden genius from one of the surrounding powers? Even if I went in myself, I'm not sure I could hold on for twenty quarter-hours."
Third Young Master Ji rarely praised a stranger so openly, and his genuine admiration for Sun Yuxiaosheng was plain to hear.
However, he quickly remembered that his sworn brother was about to enter the selection, and all this praise for Sun Yuxiaosheng might dampen Jiang Chen's confidence.
He gave a wry smile and offered some consolation: "Brother, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just perform to the best of your ability. Given the mental fortitude you've shown in alchemy, I'm sure you won't be swayed by outside distractions."
Jiang Chen smiled faintly but said nothing one way or the other.
He knew perfectly well that while his alchemy talent had been proclaimed the finest in Glazed King City, far fewer people knew about his martial arts talent.
Many knew that Jiang Chen had received a reward from the Peacock Great Emperor at Peacock Sacred Mountain.
But no one had actually witnessed how he performed during that trial. Plenty of people suspected that the Peacock Great Emperor had simply wanted to give Jiang Chen a little treat — that he'd opened the back door for him.
Though Third Young Master Ji didn't entirely believe these rumors, he was still less confident about Jiang Chen's martial prowess and talent than he was about his alchemy.
After all, the martial realm Jiang Chen had displayed still seemed to have a noticeable gap compared to the very top prodigies.
Although Jiang Chen had now broken through to the Heavenly Saint Realm — the seventh level of the Saint Realm — Third Young Master Ji himself had long since reached the peak of the ninth level. None of the top geniuses from the great clans were below the ninth level of the Saint Realm.
As for the direct heirs of the Great Emperors, many were half-step Emperor Realm, and some had even broken through to the Emperor Realm entirely.
In the martial world, such gaps were still very obvious.
So Third Young Master Ji's words of caution weren't born from any desire to look down on Jiang Chen.
Inside the secret chambers of the Glazed King Pagoda, the factions of the Seven Great Emperors were clearly monitoring this selection as well. Though the selection appeared simple, every faction among the Seven Great Emperors placed enormous importance on this process.
No matter how talented a genius might be, their true mettle would be honestly reflected during this selection.
Chu Jianhuan, for instance, had already caught the eye of several Great Emperors.
When Sun Yuxiaosheng appeared, even the usually composed Peacock Great Emperor was impressed, and the Asura Great Emperor was so stunned that he ordered Moon Emperor — one of his three supreme experts — to keep a close watch on Sun Yuxiaosheng. As long as this young man could break into the top two hundred on the genius rankings, the Asura Great Emperor's faction would eagerly recruit him.
The Asura Great Emperor's faction had been collecting prodigies for years. Not every genius they gathered ultimately shone, but that didn't deter them from their pursuit.
After all, the more prodigies you collected, the higher the success rate.
Moon Emperor nodded: "I'll keep a tight watch. I just hope this kid isn't as ungrateful as that Lin Yanyu from the Pill Tower contest."
During the Pill Tower contest, Lin Yanyu had earned the top ranking among independent alchemists, and the Asura Great Emperor's faction had moved to recruit him early on. Unfortunately, the end result had been a double loss — not only had they failed to recruit Lin Yanyu, but they'd also lost Pill King Bu in the process.
The most galling part was that both of them had ultimately been poached by Pill King Zhen. And Pill King Zhen was firmly in the Peacock Sacred Mountain camp.
It was rumored that the Peacock Great Emperor intended to groom Pill King Zhen as a key protégé, and some even whispered that if Pill King Zhen performed well in the Martial Tower contest, the Peacock Great Emperor might even name him as the young master heir of Peacock Sacred Mountain.
Though this hadn't been officially announced, the news had quietly spread among the Seven Great Emperors. While nothing was certain, the Great Emperors' keen instincts told them that such rumors appearing at this particular time were unlikely to be entirely baseless.
The mention of the Pill Tower contest brought a cold glint to the Asura Great Emperor's eyes — that unhappy episode had become a lasting humiliation for his faction.
"That Pill King Zhen — which batch is he in? Hasn't entered the first round of selection yet?" For some reason, the Asura Great Emperor had developed a vague wariness toward this Pill King Zhen who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Moon Emperor quickly replied: "I've already looked into it. The eighteenth batch about to enter includes his name. The strange thing is, this kid declined any privilege and chose to fight his way up from the very bottom. I can't for the life of me figure out what he's planning."