"Never mind Dugu Qingxiao of the Azure Profound Sect. Now it seems that Zhang Moyan of the Sea-Calming Tower, Xuanzhi of Cloud-Hidden Temple, Dongfang Yuejian of Chenglong Heaven, Mu Yun of Guangling Pavilion, Ji Ye, and even Duan Xiaoyu are all qualified to hold their own in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower."
"These people, these people actually... actually all willingly paved the way for Xu Taiping to ascend the tower?"
Inside the imperial palace of Southern Chu.
When she saw Xuanzhi unleash his powerful Diamond Realm cultivation, and Dongfang Yuejian use the One Stroke Opens Heaven Art to slay a ghost cultivator whose strength nearly rivaled a Heaven Gazing Realm cultivator's, Sword Immortal Qionghua spoke with a face full of astonishment, finding it very hard to believe.
"Dongfeng Yuejian, Zhang Moyan, and the others have all made tremendous advances in cultivation since we first saw them at the Golden Scale Assembly several years ago. Most... most are no weaker than the third."
The King of Chu nodded.
Though somewhat reluctant, he could not deny the facts before his eyes.
"I originally thought these people only followed Xu Taiping because their own strength was insufficient and they saw something to gain. Now it seems that wasn't the case at all."
The old Martial God Zhu Huai spoke with a complicated expression, hesitating to finish.
"The real reasons he can make these favored children of the Five Heavens willingly follow him are his courage, his boldness, and his character."
The King of Chu supplied the next sentence that the old Martial God Zhu Huai had wanted to say but had left unspoken.
For a moment, all three fell silent.
Every one of these qualities was essential to a powerful battle commander.
And the three had long known the deeper purpose of this trial