In the outside world, Ling Cang's figure appeared on the high platform.
Countless gazes swept over, some filled with regret, others with expected calmness.
If someone had said a month ago that Ling Cang would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by an Earth-grade Seed, it would have been an absolute shocker, enough to shake the cultivation world of the entire Jiuxuan Prefecture for quite some time.
But now, anyone who had watched Han Xuanji's previous rounds of battle would not find this surprising at all. From the very beginning, Han Xuanji had never been at the level of an Earth-grade Seed.
On the spectator stands, someone sighed softly.
"What a pity."
The speaker was an Elder of the Ling Family; his voice was not loud, but it carried a hint of hard-to-conceal disappointment.
Hearing this, several people beside him nodded with heavy expressions.
They were all members of the Ling Family, so they naturally knew how long Ling Cang had prepared for this Law Conference.
Every single detail had been polished countless times.
They had originally thought that even if Ling Cang could not win the championship this time, he would at least reach the finals to compete with the other top prodigies.
He had not expected to stop at the quarter-finals.
"With Ling Cang's strength, he shouldn't have stopped here."
Another disciple of the Ling Family whispered, his tone filled with unwillingness.
"There is no'shouldn't have'."
The old man at the very front said without turning his head, his voice steady and devoid of any emotion:
"To be able to reach the quarter-finals is already a testament to his ability.
Losing simply means his strength was inferior to his opponent's. There is nothing to be unwilling about."
The few of them fell silent and stopped speaking.
On the high platform, the head of the Ling Family, Ling Zheng, sat behind a blue jade desk, his face as calm as water.
He did not fling his sleeves and leave as some had expected, nor did he show any dissatisfaction or disappointment.
He simply held his teacup, his gaze falling upon the light screen that had already dimmed, and spoke slowly.
"This Han Xuanji is not simple."
His voice was not loud, but it was enough for the surrounding people to hear clearly:
"He far surpasses those of the same Realm in every aspect. Ling Cang's defeat to him is not unjust."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding people looked over one after another.
Ling Zheng held an extremely high status in Jiuxuan City. As the head of the Ling Family with a cultivation level of the Eternal True God Perfection, he rarely praised the disciples of other families in public.
His speaking out at this moment was clearly intended to elevate Han Xuanji.
After all, with Ling Cang losing to Han Xuanji, rather than saying "what a pity for Ling Cang," it was better to say "Han Xuanji is too strong."
The shrewd people present all understood this reasoning.
Elder Meng sat in the main seat, still maintaining that indifferent look, as if nothing could disturb him. Hearing Ling Zheng's words, he suddenly spoke. His voice was neither heavy nor light, yet it made the entire high platform fall silent for a moment.
"Indeed powerful."
Just four words, but coming from Elder Meng's mouth, they carried extraordinary weight.
He was an external affairs Elder of the Great Dao Association, a powerhouse of the Eternal Saint level, and his vision was so high that no one present could match it.
The younger generation who could make him say the word "powerful" were few and far between, even looking across the entire domain.
Ling Zheng glanced at Elder Meng, his heart stirring slightly, but he did not say anything more.
Just then, a discordant voice came from the other side of the high platform.
"His strength is great, but it relies more on the power of his Physical Body, doesn't it?"
The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe, with the golden sun emblem of the Holy Court embroidered on his chest. His face was thin, and his eyes held a hint of critical judgment.
This person was named Song Ling, one of the representatives dispatched by the Holy Court to this Law Conference.
The other representative, who had previously praised Han Xuanji, sat next to him. Hearing this, he frowned, glanced at Song Ling, and did not respond.
Song Ling did not seem to notice the gazes of others, or perhaps he did but did not care.
He set down the teacup in his hand and continued with a hint of arrogance in his tone:
"This is the Law Conference, so naturally, talent should be selected based on achievements in the Way of Laws.
Although Han Xuanji's strength is decent, I see that he mostly wins with his powerful Physical Body. When it comes to his dao foundation, it might not be as satisfactory."
What he said was not without reason.
Everyone's energy is limited; it is impossible to be perfect in everything.
For Han Xuanji to display such immense strength in both his Physical Body and spiritual energy, he must have spent a vast amount of time and resources on them.
Therefore, in terms of comprehending the Laws, he might very well fall short compared to those Heaven-grade Seeds.
Otherwise, wouldn't he have become famous long ago?
This was also common sense for most people.
However, Song Ling's words were not very objective either. After all, he did not know Han Xuanji's specific situation, so saying this was somewhat biased.
Song Ling paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on one of the names on the light screen above the square, a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Take Song Tiancheng, for example. His cultivation is also at the Eternal Dao Lord Perfection, and the stability of his dao foundation is by no means comparable to brute force."
"Song Tiancheng, a Heaven-grade Seed, is also a rising star that our Song Family has focused on nurturing."
When Song Ling mentioned this name, his underlying meaning was very obvious.
Han Xuanji's strength was merely superficial; when it came to the true Way of Laws, one still had to look at people like Song Tiancheng.
The high platform fell silent for a moment.
For Song Tiancheng to be rated as a Heaven-grade Seed, he was naturally no nobody.
On the contrary, this person had been extremely famous several years ago, only to quickly vanish from public view, his reputation fading. Even so, the Great Dao Association had still rated him as a Heaven-grade Seed, which showed how immense his fame had been back then.
What he was most famous for was his Epiphany in a Saint's ruins thousands of years ago, where he comprehended a lost supreme Saint-level technique, which was a favorite topic of conversation.
Even without any noteworthy combat performance to show, he was still recognized as a Heaven-grade Seed, famous for his extremely high Comprehension Ability.
His dao foundation was also universally acknowledged as the best in this Law Conference. The reason he was not a major favorite to win the championship was due to rumors that he lacked combat experience, had no noteworthy battle records, and thus lacked sufficient persuasiveness.
Speaking of this, everyone also looked at Song Tiancheng on the light screen.
He was fighting with another Heaven-grade Seed, trading blows back and forth. He did not seem to display an overwhelmingly powerful stance, but upon closer observation, one could see that his performance was similar to Han Xuanji's—both were doing so with ease, keeping everything under control.
"Speaking of which, Song Tiancheng is indeed quite good..."
A representative of a major faction on the high platform murmured.
"This term of the Law Conference is truly full of talents. Any of these individuals would have been championship-level contenders in past province-level Law Conferences, and even in domain-level Law Conferences, they would still be Heaven-grade Seeds..."
Someone lamented.
Hun Qianxue sat in his seat, his face betraying no emotion, but his heart was already in turmoil.
Song Ling's words seemed to be evaluating Han Xuanji, but in truth, they were building momentum for Song Tiancheng while simultaneously putting down Han Xuanji, this dark horse who had suddenly emerged.
He claimed that Han Xuanji "mostly wins with his powerful Physical Body and spiritual energy" and that "his dao foundation is unsatisfactory." If these words spread to the outside world, it would likely have a significant impact on the public's evaluation of Han Xuanji.
Hun Qianxue subconsciously glanced at Elder Meng, wanting to see some reaction on the face of this Great Dao Association Saint.
But Elder Meng still maintained that indifferent look, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Hun Qianxue glanced at Wang Chong again. Wang Chong's expression had not changed either, as if he thought the same.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart. The fact that these two did not speak up was not a big issue, and no one else chimed in either.
But that lingering sense of unease still would not go away.
Although Song Ling's words carried an obvious bias, they did indeed strike a chord with the doubts of some people.
Throughout his journey, Han Xuanji had displayed more of an overwhelming, crushing power rather than any exquisite application of the Laws.
Was he truly a Genius of the Way of Laws?
This question was probably not just on Song Ling's mind alone.