Chapter 531: Chapter 176: Puzzles Pile Up

“Additionally, while I hate to say it, I must mention: I was originally more optimistic about Ji Wu. However, Ji Wu is currently at a disadvantage. If his final performance is impressive, he could perhaps turn the tide.

As for Zhou Yan, whom everyone is interested in, although he does possess some talent, he acts rashly, is frivolous, and lacks understanding of the bigger picture. Despite his current smooth progress, he will ultimately provoke numerous powerful enemies.

Such a person, if he does not perform spectacularly, it would be difficult to betroth the Holy Daughter to him. After all, being with him would put the Holy Daughter at far greater risk and expose her to the schemes of many saints who despise him.”

The Yaochi Saint, knowing that he could no longer resort to other means, decided instead to lay everything out in the open and analyze the situation publicly, showing his concern for the Holy Daughter. This immediately won over many geniuses.

In fact, it seemed to really be the case.

What did Zhou Yan have?

What did Ji Wu have?

“If that’s the case, then is the so-called genius selection by the Yaochi Saint merely treating all the other geniuses as puppets?”

Zhou Yan sneered and said, “If that were the case, I naturally wouldn’t speak my true thoughts. I speak now only to express the hope that you, Zhuge Chunqiu, Jia Yongheng, and other talented individuals, would bring out your full capabilities to compete and showcase your talents.

Moreover, by presenting this situation, everyone has the ability to compare and respond to each other, facilitating growth. This way, the geniuses of the Southern Mansion can broaden their perspectives and progress further.

Similarly, if among the geniuses, some deliver extraordinary performances, they can indeed defeat Ji Wu with their absolute talent and marry the Holy Daughter incontestably. Wouldn’t that be desirable?”

“The reason I am concerned and unwilling to let the Holy Daughter be with you is not personal. It’s just that your current capabilities and strengths have yet to reach a level that leaves the saints beyond critique,” the Yaochi Saint calmly continued.

He openly suppressed Zhou Yan using this strategy.

Even encouraging the other geniuses to truly give their best could result in their being noticed.

This meant that the upcoming competition was a critical phase in assessing not just talent but potential!

Even so, the Yaochi Saint could personally judge who had greater ability—as long as he could provide corresponding reasons.

And for a saint to find reasons for a genius’s incredible talents was far too simple.

This was blatant, open obstruction, but its approach was perfectly legitimate. After all, the phrase “for the sake of the Holy Daughter and everyone’s improvement” sufficed to give his words solid grounding.

Zhou Yan understood this yet did not lose his temper.

Previously, he may not have hidden his own personality, but this, too, was a method of borrowing a knife to kill. Now that the other party had begun to act openly, he would simply crush them openly and leave them speechless.

“If that’s the case, we’ll talk after the competition. By now, everyone here should be very familiar with me. I’ve done nothing wrong by any of you, and you all know that the relationship between the Holy Daughter and me is that of childhood sweethearts, innovents without a hint of guile. Thus, I hope we all can be good friends and live in harmony.”

Zhou Yan said casually.

Aside from the Holy Daughter and a few others, he really didn’t care about anyone else.

At this moment, his threat was stark—daring anyone to rival him for his woman. “Who dares to compete with Zhou Yan for his woman? Whoever tries will be on my mind all the time! If Zhou Yan dares to attack even a saint, and disable Ji Wu, would he care about a Void Realm genius?”

This show of dominance immediately shattered the strategy of the Yaochi Saint.

But, after all, the Yaochi Saint was still a saint. He simply smiled faintly and said, “Geniuses ought to have sharp edges and weren’t raised in fright. If they flee at the first sign of difficulty, they will only attain achievements in the Void Realm and naturally will fail to transcend tribulations.

Only those who face difficulties fearlessly and tackle challenges head-on are true geniuses! Only then can a genius further advance. If a genius loses courage and determination, intimidated by a few talented ones, that genius doesn’t deserve the title.

Furthermore, the Holy Blood possesses soul fragments and essence inheritance; those who bathe in the Holy Blood are experiencing a colossal fortune. If fortunate, they could even grasp the supreme Dao of a saint from it, immediately reaching the Xuan Restriction level.

So, everyone can rest assured and comprehend, and then, start competing earnestly tomorrow.”

The Yaochi Saint spoke very amicably.

The previous arrogance of the saints, after the death of two saints, was finally suppressed.

It must be said, such a saint was truly the most terrifying.

“Alright, everyone can now take a rest and comprehend. As for any threats mentioned, you can also ignore them. Even if the saints do not intervene, there are still Ancestor Realm powerhouses below them. Which family doesn’t have a few Ancestor-level powerhouses? Even if there are no Ancestor-level powerhouses or if they are restrained, there are still many at the Sword Tribulation Realm.”

The Yaochi Saint didn’t even give Zhou Yan a chance to speak, clearly worried that any words from Zhou Yan could disrupt the atmosphere he was painstakingly crafting.

Furthermore, he malevolently reminded other geniuses: if they couldn’t beat Zhou Yan alone, those within the Sword Tribulation Realm surely could.

His intentions were venomously clear.

…

“What’s the reason, what is the saint doing?”

Seeing the Yaochi Saint’s repeated actions, the Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning was full of doubt.

Not just her, but also Zhuge Chunqiu and Zhuge Jiayue were greatly puzzled.

“Alright, everyone disperse now, and remember the time of the competition tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

Yao, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

The Yaochi Saint gave a slight smile and then, with a flick of his sleeve, left directly.

The Wuxu Saint also pulled on the sleeve of Kong Ji Saint, taking him away, but leaving Wu Ji behind.

Yao looked at the puzzled Fairy Die pensively, and then conveyed a mysterious piece of information.

Fairy Die’s body shuddered, and her eyes revealed ‘panic’ and ‘shock’. She abruptly turned around, glanced at Zhou Yan inexplicably several times, and then without another word, disappeared with Yao immediately.

Zhou Yan touched his nose, feeling somewhat baffled, but seemed to vaguely grasp something, yet couldn’t quite hold onto it.

“Zhou Yanxuan, I do have a good grasp on artifact refining and alchemy, and look forward to a true battle with you.”

Wu Ji appeared unconcerned about everything, but at this moment, he suddenly looked up at Zhou Yan and spoke.

“Hmm? Since you say so, your skill in Artifact Dao and Alchemy Dao must indeed be outstanding. Good, I look forward to a real test of strength with you.”

Zhou Yan was slightly surprised and then responded earnestly.

“Alright, see you at the battle platform tomorrow.”

After a cupped fist salute, a ripple appeared in the void, and like a gust of wind, Wu Ji was suddenly taken away by it.

He didn’t show off deliberately, but this composure and calmness were much stronger than that of Ji Wu.

“This is truly a formidable person, but why would Ji Wu frame him? Or perhaps, did he deliberately let Ji Wu frame him to be expelled from the family? Because he knew he had no future in the Xiao Family under Kong Ji and Wuxu?”

Zhou Yan thought of the hostile look Wuxu Saint gave Wu Ji and began to analyze in his mind.

“Ji Wu and Wu Ji’s resemblance is 90%, not very close to Kong Ji and Wuxu’s, but each holds fifty percent. Yet in this world, appearances are the least reliable. A cultivator’s evolution makes it easy to alter appearances…

Suppose Wu Ji uncovered a secret, thus knowing he couldn’t stay in the Xiao Family, then with his intelligence, he would certainly… plan everything to benefit the most.

Thus, using Ji Wu to strip him of his talents and expel him from home, would undoubtedly be a real escape route… Even without Ji Wu’s final gift of talent, Wu Ji would certainly become an outstanding figure, but with Ji Wu’s gift, Wu Ji’s growth would be even faster.

But Wu Ji couldn’t have known that Ji Wu would lose to me, Zhou Yan, or even forsake his own escape route. What other factors are there? What secret of the Xiao Family did Wu Ji discover to make him willingly give up his talents and be expelled from the family?”

Zhou Yan deduced a lot of information but according to probability theory, this analysis was the most reliable.

However, within this analysis, he still harbored many doubts.

Nevertheless, he only pondered these thoughts for a moment before ceasing to care, as after all, every genius has their own secrets.

Although Wu Ji was a challenging opponent, Zhou Yan wasn’t too worried about it.

As the geniuses slowly dispersed, the Holy Daughter and others remained.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to leave, Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning, Zhuge Chunqiu, Jia Yongheng, and Hou Ling came over.

“Zhou Yan, I don’t know why the Yaochi Saint acted this way, he is almost like a foster father to me… I’m sorry.”

The Holy Daughter said guiltily.

“Do we need to say these things between us? It’s fine.”

Zhou Yan replied gently.

“Zhou Yanxuan, this time I, along with Chunqiu and Ling’er, actually have something to say…”

Jia Yongheng hesitated slightly before speaking.

“Eternal Xuanzhe, feel free to speak openly, I, Zhou Yan, will do my best to help if I can.”

Zhou Yan smiled.

He had actually seen that these people had something to discuss with him.

“The matter is about the Emperor Sword Wuji lineage. There’s been turmoil with the Emperor Sword, the Emperor Blood got refined, and two factions have started disputing. Yesterday, there were rumors that an ancient Emperor Qi Sword Body awakened, the Sword Body Ancestor left some words and inheritances and then disappeared without trace.

But he left behind some tasks. Now both the Sect Master of the Wuji Lineage and the Sect Master of the Qiankun Lineage hope to meet you to discuss the details, as well as matters concerning Hou Chen.”

Jia Yongheng thought and then said.

“Who are these people? They should all be familiar faces, right?”

Zhou Yan pondered, knowing that some matters had to be faced eventually, since Lee Jidao and Ni Chang Fairy had gained their freedom, he asked.

“Yes. From the Wuji Lineage, there are Sect Master Hou Yan, Elder Hou Wanxiao, and Fairy Cai Xuan; from the Qiankun Lineage, there are Sect Master Hou Ting, Elder Hou Xianxian, and Caiqing Immortal.”

Jia Yongheng explained.

Zhou Yan nodded and said, “I haven’t seen these folks in a long time, let them come to my Secondary Main Peak to meet me, I also have some questions for them.”