Hun Qianxue picked up his teacup, took a sip, and suppressed his worries.
He knew that saying anything now was useless; everything depended on Han Xuanji's next move.
What he didn't know was, just as he thought.
Elder Meng was also filled with mixed emotions at this moment.
On the one hand, Han Xuanji's demonstrated potential was enough to tempt him.
If possible, he would like to personally take the other person as his apprentice, but he also feels that he might not be suitable to be the other person's teacher.
On the other hand, as Song Ling said, what worried him was that Han Xuanji had indeed won by relying on his strong physical body, but he didn't know how good his comprehension or Dao foundation was.
In his view, cultivators of the Dao of Principle at the Eternal Dao Master stage do not need to spend too much energy cultivating their physical body and refining their soul.
Comprehending the Dao Principles and refining one's foundation in the Tao are even more crucial.
This foundation refers to the strength and compatibility of the ten Dao Principles condensed during the Eternal Dao Master stage.
This is a crucial foundation, one could even say it determines the upper limit of a cultivator's potential.
If Zhou Lie's Dao Principle of Destruction, combined with several Upper-Grade Dao Foundation Dao Principles, goes smoothly, he can be considered to have entered the Eternal True Lord Realm with a superior Dao foundation. If things go smoothly with this Dao foundation, he can also enter the Sage Realm Stage.
This is already considered a genius, one in a billion.
However, even among those with Upper-Grade Dao Foundation, only one in ten thousand can reach the Sage Realm Stage.
He himself possessed Upper-Grade Dao Foundation and knew the difficulty involved, therefore he still hoped that Han Xuanji's Dao Foundation would be even better.
To be honest, while he admired Ling Cang, he didn't think much of him; Ling Cang was more suited to joining the Eternal Sword Pavilion, those sword fanatics.
The spectators in the stands didn't think as much as the important figures on the high platform.
The balance between the foundation of the Dao, enlightenment, physical body, and the principles of the Dao Principles.
These words are too far removed from them.
What they witnessed was a spectacular duel, an unexpected yet logical outcome.
"It looks to me like the final has been brought forward."
Someone in the crowd sighed:
" Ling Cang's strength would have been enough to win the championship in previous Principle Conference, but unfortunately he ran into Han Xuanji."
"It's not really a pity. Did you all see Han Xuanji's final sword strike? Who could have blocked it?"
"That's true, but it's already quite remarkable that Ling Cang was able to force Han Xuanji to use his sword."
Those previous opponents probably didn't even have the qualifications to force Han Xuanji to take a serious stance.
These people naturally assumed that Han Xuanji hadn't been serious when he used his fists before, and that he had been hiding the fact that he was proficient in Sword Dao.
Soon, exclamations of regret, sighs of admiration, and praise mingled together.
Ling Cang's elimination caused quite a stir.
After all, Ling Cang's name had been lingering in their hearts for a long time.
The number one Sword Dao in Nine Mysteries City, a once-in-a-millennium Sword Dao prodigy, and the favorite to win this tournament.
It's such a pity that someone like that was eliminated in the top eight.
When Ling Cang returned to the stands, Ling Xuan immediately went to greet him.
His face was filled with struggle; his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, finally managing to utter a single sentence after a long pause:
"Brother... are you alright?"
Ling Cang glanced at him and said calmly:
"What's the big deal about losing?"
"But..."
Ling Xuan scratched his head:
"You're the number one master of the Jiuxuan Sword Dao, how could you be so..."
"What do you mean by 'number one in Sword Dao '? You just believe whatever others say?"
Ling Cang interrupted him, his tone so calm it didn't sound like someone who had just been eliminated:
"A loss is a loss. We were simply outmatched; there's nothing more to say."
Ling Xuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he couldn't say anything.
He was deeply troubled; to be fair, he bore some responsibility for the whole affair.
Previously at the Shallow Dream Pavilion, he had belittled Han Xuanji to the point of worthlessness in front of Wang Ping, Li Tiantong, and others.
And the result?
His brother was killed by Han Xuanji with a single sword strike.
Isn't this a blatant slap in the face?
Just then, several pairs of eyes turned towards me from the other side of the stands, with a hint of mockery.
Ling Xuan followed the gaze and immediately felt a headache coming on.
It was Wang Ping, along with Li Tiantong and Hun Jiuge —the same people he had argued with at the Shallow Dream Pavilion before.
Wang Ping was looking at him with a smile, his eyes clearly saying:
That's it?
Ling Xuan wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground, but there was no crack in the ground, only his brother and a burly man watching the commotion.
Ling Cang noticed his younger brother's unusual behavior and assumed he was having trouble accepting his own failure.
A warmth filled her heart, and she reached out to pat Ling Xuan's shoulder, her tone softening slightly:
"No need for that. Victory and defeat are common in war. I may lose this time, but I'll win next time."
Ling Xuan's lips twitched.
He wasn't upset because Ling Cang lost, but because his own boast had fallen flat.
Qin Yong, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up and said out of the blue:
"He's probably not upset, but rather because he bragged about you a lot in public before, and now he feels embarrassed."
Ling Cang paused slightly, his gaze towards Ling Xuan becoming more scrutinizing:
"Oh? What did you brag about for me?"
Ling Xuan's face turned bright red. He stammered for a long time, but under Ling Cang's threatening gaze, he finally confessed to what he had done at the Shallow Dream Pavilion.
I told the whole story without any hesitation.
In recent days, with the start of the Principle Conference, he has said these things quite often. Even if he didn't say them, Ling Cang could easily find out by asking anyone who knows him.
After saying that, he lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong, waiting to be scolded.
Ling Cang remained silent for a long time after listening.
He remembered Ling Xuan excitedly running over to him and telling him about Han Xuanji.
He didn't pay attention at the time, and didn't even bother to find out anything about this person.
He thought he didn't need to care; how strong could a regional seed from a small border town be?
Looking back now, how ridiculous that arrogance was.
"Your mouth..."
Ling Cang sighed, there was no blame in his tone, only emotion.
After all, he realized that he, like Ling Xuan, had nothing to say back then.
I'll settle the score with you when we get back.
Ling Xuan lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Ling Cang didn't look at him again, but instead turned his gaze to the direction where Wang Ping and the others were.
He stood up, straightened his robes, and strode away.
Ling Xuan was startled. "Brother, what are you going to do?"
"Apologize."
Ling Cang said without turning his head:
"You bragged about me outside and offended people. As your older brother, it's only natural that I have to clean up your mess."
Ling Xuan naturally didn't dare let Ling Cang go alone, so he quickly followed after him.