Outside, Ling Cang's figure appeared on the high platform.
Countless gazes fell upon him, some filled with regret, others with an expected calm.
If this had happened a month ago, and someone had said that Ling Cang would be eliminated by a low-level seed in the quarterfinals, it would have been an absolute upset, enough to shake the entire cultivation world of the Nine Mysteries Prefecture for quite some time.
But now, anyone who has seen Han Xuanji's previous battles wouldn't find this surprising.
Han Xuanji was never at the level of a low-level seed from the very beginning.
In the stands, someone let out a soft sigh.
"What a pity."
The speaker was an elder of the Ling Household. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of undisguised disappointment.
Upon hearing this, the people beside him all nodded with grave expressions.
They were all members of the Ling Household, so they naturally knew how long Ling Cang had been preparing for this Principle Conference.
Every detail has been refined countless times.
They had thought that even if Ling Cang couldn't win the championship this time, he could at least make it to the finals and compete with other top talents.
Unexpectedly, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
" Ling Cang's strength shouldn't stop here."
Another member of the Ling Household said in a low voice, his tone full of resentment.
"There's nothing wrong with it."
The old man at the front spoke without turning his head, his voice steady and devoid of any emotion:
"Making it to the quarterfinals is already a testament to his ability."
If you lose, it just means you're not as good as your opponent; there's nothing to be upset about.
The group fell silent and stopped speaking.
On the high platform, Ling Zheng, the head of the Ling Household, sat behind the jade table, his face calm and composed.
He did not storm off as some had predicted, nor did he show any dissatisfaction or disappointment.
He simply held his teacup, his gaze fixed on the now-dimmed light screen, and slowly spoke.
"This Han Xuanji is no simple character."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the people around him to hear clearly:
"He surpasses others of the same cultivation level in every aspect; it's no wonder Ling Cang lost to him."
Upon hearing this, several people around him turned to look.
Ling Zheng an extremely high position in Nine Mysteries City. As the head of the Ling Household and a cultivator at the Eternal True God Perfection, he rarely praises other families' disciples in public.
His words at this moment were clearly intended to elevate Han Xuanji.
After all, Ling Cang lost to Han Xuanji. Rather than saying "it's a pity about Ling Cang," it's more accurate to say " Han Xuanji was too strong."
Everyone present, being astute, understood this principle.
Elder Meng sat upright in the main seat, still with that calm demeanor, as if nothing could disturb him.
Upon hearing Ling Zheng's words, he suddenly spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet it silenced the entire platform for a moment.
"That's really impressive."
It was only four words, but coming from Elder Meng, it carried extraordinary weight.
He was the External Affairs Elder of the Great Dao Society, a powerful figure at the level of Eternal Sage, whose vision was unmatched by anyone present.
Among the younger generation, those who can elicit the word "amazing" from him are few and far between, even in this region.
Ling Zheng glanced at Elder Meng, a slight thought stirring in his heart, but said nothing more.
Just then, a discordant voice came from the other side of the platform.
"He's powerful, but he relies mostly on his physical strength."
The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe with the golden sun symbol of the Sacred Court embroidered on his chest. He had a thin face and a somewhat critical look in his eyes.
This person is named Song Ling, and he is one of the representatives sent by the Sacred Court to this Principle Conference.
The other representative was someone who had previously praised Han Xuanji. Sitting next to him, he frowned upon hearing this, glanced at Song Ling, and remained silent.
Song Ling seemed oblivious to the stares of those around him, or perhaps he noticed but didn't care.
He put down his teacup, his tone tinged with arrogance, and continued:
"This is Principle Conference, so naturally, talents will be selected based on their achievements in the Dao of Principle."
Although Han Xuanji is quite strong, I think he wins mostly through his powerful physical body; his foundation in Dao is perhaps not as impressive as I'd like.
What he said makes sense.
Everyone has limited energy; it's impossible to be perfect.
Han Xuanji's display of such formidable strength in both physical and spiritual power must have required a significant investment of time and resources.
Therefore, in terms of his understanding of the Dao Principles, he is likely not as good as those Heavenly-level seeds.
Otherwise, wouldn't they have been famous long ago?
This is common sense for most people.
However, Song Ling's statement wasn't entirely objective.
After all, he didn't know Han Xuanji's specific situation, so his words were biased.
Song Ling paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally settling on one of the names on the light screen above the square, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Take Song Chengtian for example. His cultivation level is also at the Eternal Dao Master Perfection. The stability of his Dao foundation is far beyond what brute force can match."
Song Chengtian, a top-tier prospect, is also a rising star that the Song Household is focusing on cultivating.
When Song Ling mentioned this name, the implication was clear.
Han Xuanji's strength is merely superficial; for Dao of Principle, one must look to someone like Song Chengtian.
There was a moment of silence on the platform.
Song Chengtian was rated as a top-tier seed, so he was certainly no nobody.
On the contrary, this person was extremely famous several years ago, but quickly disappeared from the public eye and his reputation faded. Even so, the Great Dao Society still rated him as a Heavenly Seed, which shows how famous he was back then.
The other party is most famous for having an epiphany thousands of years ago in a Sage's ruins, where he comprehended a lost supreme holy method, which is still talked about with great interest.
Even without any outstanding combat performance, he was recognized as a Heavenly-level seed, renowned for his extremely high comprehension.
The opponent's Dao Foundation is also recognized as the best in this Principle Conference. He is either a strong favorite to win the championship or there are rumors that he lacks practical experience, has no impressive achievements, and is not convincing enough.
At this point, everyone looked at Song Tiancheng on the light screen.
The opponent was exchanging blows with a Heavenly Seed, and the fight was evenly matched. They didn't seem to be showing any particular strength, but if you observed carefully, you could see that their performance was similar to Han Xuanji's —they were both completely at ease and had everything under control.
"In that case, Song Tiancheng is indeed quite good..."
A representative of a powerful force on the high platform murmured.
"This year's Principle Conference is truly brimming with talent. These individuals would have been champions in previous state-level Principle Conference, and even in domain-level Principle Conference, they would be top-tier seeds..."
Someone remarked with emotion.
Hun Qianxue sat in his seat, his face expressionless, but his heart was already churning.
Song Ling's words, seemingly an evaluation of Han Xuanji, were actually an attempt to promote Song Tiancheng and, incidentally, suppress Han Xuanji, this suddenly emerging dark horse.
He said that Han Xuanji "mostly won by virtue of his powerful physical body and spiritual power," and that "his foundation in Dao was not satisfactory." If this were to spread outside, it would likely have a significant impact on the evaluation of Han Xuanji.
Hun Qianxue subconsciously glanced at Elder Meng, trying to discern something from the face of this Great Dao Society Sage.
But Elder Meng remained calm, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Hun Qianxue glanced at Wang Chong again, but Wang Chong's expression remained unchanged, as if he thought the same thing.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief; the fact that the two hadn't spoken up wasn't a big problem, and no one else chimed in either.
But that uneasy premonition still lingered.
Although Song Ling's words were clearly biased, they did indeed strike at the heart of some people's concerns.
Throughout his journey, Han Xuanji has displayed more overwhelming power than exquisite application of Principle.
Is he truly a genius of the Dao of Principle?
This is a question that Song Ling is probably not the only one thinking about.