It wasn't just the people taking the test—even the onlookers were starting to think this was too much.
Wasn't this blatant favoritism?
Chen Changan was clearly the weakest in cultivation, yet he'd become the first to pass the second gate's test—and he'd even been exempted from it outright.
"Elder Zhou, don't you think you owe us an explanation?"
"Why do we have to take the test in teams while he doesn't?"
"Exactly. You have to give us an answer. We're all here to take the test, so why does he get special treatment? Is there really some kind of favoritism? Was he handpicked by the Zhou Family?"
"This is unfair to us!"
Hearing them, the Zhou Family elder smiled. "Favoritism? Handpicked?"
"If that were really the case, would he need to take this test at all?"
"What? If the Zhou Family wanted someone to become a guest elder, all it would take is a word from us."
"Why go through this whole charade and invite criticism?"
"If he'd been handpicked, he'd already be a guest elder of the Zhou Family. Why would he be here taking the test alongside you?"
"He couldn't take the test because of you, couldn't he?"
"You chose not to include him and isolated him on his own, so he had no way to participate."
"That was a failure on our part. As compensation, he may skip the second gate's test."
"If one of you had been left by themselves, they would have received the same treatment."
"Now, do any of you still have questions?"
After the Zhou Family elder finished, no one knew how to argue back. They had deliberately isolated Chen Changan, hoping he wouldn't be able to take the test and would be eliminated.
Who could've guessed that he'd end up advancing straight