Chapter 48 Questioning

My name?
Su Xin was quite taken aback.
He had made quite a few moves during the first-stage hunt and displayed extraordinary strength, so it was only natural for the Crimson Dragon Tower to record this in their intelligence report.
It was just that Su Xin hadn't expected his ranking to be this high.
"Suspected top-ten combat power?" Su Xin murmured to himself.
The top ten...
Of course he possessed top-ten combat power, but during the first-stage hunt, he had mostly refrained from displaying his ultimate strength.
The Crimson Dragon Tower used the word "suspected," which meant they lacked absolute certainty.
"Su Xin, look. This report only mentions that you eliminated Luo Xiu in a single exchange, and then single-handedly fought against three top talents—including Ba Jiu—without falling into a disadvantage. That's why they believe you should have top-ten combat power. As for anything else, there is nothing at all."
"With just a record like this, I'm afraid many people won't be convinced," Duan Yunfeng said.
Su Xin smiled.
Indeed, his recorded achievements in this intelligence report were far too thin.
It only detailed the battle on that final night, where he killed Luo Xiu and intercepted Ba Jiu's trio for Duan Yunfeng, noting only that he fought them to a standstill. In reality, Ba Jiu and the other two had been completely slaughtered and eliminated by him alone.
"During that battle, there were a total of seven people who rushed over. This piece of intelligence probably came from Fairy Luo or Xiao Mo, who were eliminated first, or from that woman who sensed things were going south and slipped away early," Su Xin guessed in his heart.
Whether it was Fairy Luo, Xiao Mo, or the timid young girl who fled early, they had only witnessed Su Xin kill Luo Xiu and fight Ba Jiu's trio to a draw; they never saw Su Xin subsequently annihilate all three of them by himself.
Even if the Crimson Dragon Tower investigated afterward, Ba Jiu and the others were all proud and arrogant geniuses; they would hardly be willing to admit that the three of them joining forces had been eliminated by someone at the Great Completion of the Sea-Forming Realm. Instead, they would likely claim that Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng had teamed up to eliminate them.
A combat record like this was certainly enough to place Su Xin among the top twenty.
As for being ranked in the top ten... it was indeed hard to convince people.
Still, Su Xin couldn't be bothered to care about such matters and continued browsing through the report's entries on other geniuses.
...
Inside the camp, following the release of the Crimson Dragon Tower's latest intelligence report on the geniuses, discussions among the competitors grew overwhelmingly chaotic.
"This Wu Chao, where did he even come from? There's not a single background detail on him, but his strength is genuinely terrifying."
"He's extremely strong. According to the report, barely anyone can take a single strike from his staff. Take the eldest daughter of the Song family, for instance—she was easily powerful enough to contend for the top fifty of the hunt, yet she was obliterated by a single blow from his staff. It's too terrifying."
"In terms of combat power, this Wu Chao definitely deserves a spot in the top ten of the hunt. But where on earth did this Su Xin pop up from? He's only at the Great Completion of the Sea-Forming Realm, so how can they rank him in the top ten as well?"
"Eliminating Luo Xiu in a single exchange and simultaneously fighting three top talents—including Ba Jiu—without losing ground is certainly impressive. Saying he can break into the top twenty is entirely fair, but placing him in the top ten? Isn't that stretching it a bit?"
"Indeed, top twenty is enough. Many geniuses who are considered worthy of the top ten have much more impressive proven records than him."
"I have no idea how the Crimson Dragon Tower compiles these rankings. Perhaps Su Xin actually possesses some special trump card."
"What kind of trump card could he possibly have? A mere Great Completion of the Sea-Forming Realm—I honestly don't believe he has top-ten combat power in this hunt."
Everywhere in the camp, discussions were swirling.
Naturally, the primary subjects of debate were Wu Chao and Su Xin.
With the first-stage hunt concluded, this latest intelligence report had indeed brought several hidden talents to light, and among those newly emerged figures, Wu Chao and Su Xin held the highest rankings.
Wu Chao possessed ferocious combat power and a record that was convincing enough to leave the other geniuses in awe and exclamation whenever his name came up.
As for Su Xin... although everyone in the camp was shocked that someone at the Great Completion of the Sea-Forming Realm could possess such strength, purely based on verifiable achievements, many felt the Crimson Dragon Tower had ranked him far too high.
Su Xin simply didn't deserve a place among the top ten, and some even felt he was still a far cry from contending for the top twenty.
"A bunch of fools."
In a quiet corner of the camp, a burly, golden-haired warrior stood listening to the chatter of the surrounding geniuses, particularly the derogatory remarks directed at Su Xin, a touch of contempt curling the corners of his lips.
"They haven't the slightest clue about Su Xin's true strength, yet they dare claim he doesn't deserve a top-ten spot? How utterly laughable," Cang Yan sneered softly. "In the upcoming hunt, these geniuses who look down on him will find out the hard way when they actually cross paths with him."
Unlike the others, he had encountered Su Xin in the hunting grounds and fought him in a genuine clash.
The end result was that he had been forced to voluntarily surrender thirty tally tokens just so Su Xin would let him leave.
He knew very well that Su Xin's strength far surpassed his own—and he was a genius qualified to contend for the top twenty. Su Xin's power was unquestionably worthy of the top ten.
Of course, knowing it was one thing; he had no intention of broadcasting it.
Tang Xuan was the same. Even if the Crimson Dragon Tower questioned him about the reason for his elimination, he would only claim that Duan Yunfeng and Su Xin had teamed up to defeat him, offering at most a few words of faint praise for Su Xin's strength, rather than ever admitting he was inferior to someone at the Great Completion of the Sea-Forming Realm.
...
Inside the imperial capital, within a beautiful estate, lay a serene lake.
A man in gray robes, wearing a bamboo hat, sat quietly holding a fishing rod as he fished in the stillness.
The surface of the lake was smooth as a mirror, without the slightest ripple, and the entire estate was so quiet that not a sound could be heard.
The gray-robed man's gaze was crystal clear as he fished motionlessly, maintaining the exact same posture for more than a hour.
The scene seemed frozen in time.
Until, in the empty space not far away, a figure flashed through the air and descended behind the gray-robed man.
Whoosh!
The wind stirred, causing the surrounding leaves and branches to flutter, and the lake's surface gently rippled under the gust.
The gray-robed man shifted his gaze slightly, breaking free from that state of absolute stillness.
"My lord."
The frail, elderly man who had suddenly arrived bowed respectfully to the gray-robed man.
The frail elder had a weathered face, revealing immense age, and his cultivation base was exceedingly high, having already reached the peak of the Void-Piercing Realm.
Yet, even an expert of such stature appeared utterly humble and reverent before the gray-robed man.
"Something the matter?" The gray-robed man turned his head slightly.
"My lord, this is the news just transmitted from the hunting grounds." The frail elder respectfully held out a slip of paper.
"The hunt?" The gray-robed man frowned slightly.
The imperial capital hunt was merely a competition and rivalry among a bunch of little brats; when had it ever warranted disturbing him?
The gray-robed man made a slight beckoning gesture, and the paper floated smoothly into his palm. A quick, casual glance brought a smile to his lips.
"The little fellow I praised previously actually qualifies to contend for the top ten in this hunt?"
"However, why is it marked as 'suspected'?" The gray-robed man looked up.
"Replying to my lord, the achievements verified by the Crimson Dragon Tower alone still fall slightly short of a top-ten contention. However, during our investigation, we discovered that Ba Jiu and the other geniuses who fought him exhibited rather peculiar expressions."
"They admitted that even by joining forces, the three of them only managed to fight Su Xin to a standstill, but they were unwilling to elaborate on the final elimination process. It gave the distinct impression that Su Xin had eliminated all three of them single-handedly."
"Later, we obtained further information from Tang Xuan's side as well. That is why we concluded Su Xin possesses top-ten combat power. The only reason we used the word 'suspected' is the lack of a fully public and undeniable record," the frail elder explained.
"Is that so?" The gray-robed man nodded.
The Crimson Dragon Tower had always operated with extreme rigor.
The facts they had verified were actually sufficient to prove Su Xin's top-ten combat power; they only used the word 'suspected' to avoid triggering massive skepticism due to the lack of an indisputable public record.
"Remarkable. Has it only been a little over two months?"
The gray-robed man remembered that the reason he learned of Su Xin in the first place was because this little fellow had gone to conquer the Dragon-Seeking Pagoda a little over two months ago.
He was the guardian of that very Dragon-Seeking Pagoda.
At the time, he had been quite astonished by the strength Su Xin displayed—a mere Sea-Forming Realm Initial Stage practitioner clearing the first floor of the Dragon-Seeking Pagoda with such effortless ease.
Because of this, he had even personally made a trip to the Tianyan Palace, intending to recommend the youngster and secure him an advanced special recruitment quota for the Tianyan Palace.
Yet now, a mere two months or so had passed, and this youngster had come to participate in the imperial capital hunt, actually earning the right to contend for the top ten?
To advance so drastically in just over two months?
"That old fogey Qingyang tried every possible trick to stop this youngster from entering the Tianyan Palace back then. Now, seeing his performance in the hunt, he must be feeling utterly foolish."
"Humph!"
The gray-robed man let out a cold snort. "Stubborn old fool. He's been in the Tianyan Palace for countless years, yet he's still pining for his former master. If he keeps this up, I reckon his days as Palace Master are coming to an end."
The gray-robed man remained deeply displeased that Su Xin had failed to secure the Tianyan Palace's special recruitment quota.
After all, given his status—a dignified Nirvana Realm expert and one of the highest figures in the Crimson Dragon Tower—his personal recommendation had been met with a rebuff. Naturally, he was unhappy.
He also knew that the majority of Tianyan Palace's high-ranking experts back then had greatly admired Su Xin's talent and agreed to the special recruitment, with the sole exception of that old man named Qingyang.
Qingyang was one of the three Palace Masters of Tianyan Palace and held immense authority. His vehement opposition—even bringing up the fact that Su Xin had been personally disciplined by the Tianyan Emperor three years prior—was what ultimately led to the shelving of Su Xin's recruitment quota.
Yet the gray-robed man knew very well the real motive behind Qingyang's desperate obstruction: it was nothing more than executing an order from his former master.
"Since the Tianyan Palace wouldn't grant a special recruitment quota, he enters the imperial capital hunt himself and seizes a disciple spot through sheer, absolute strength... This youngster has backbone. I like it."
The gray-robed man smiled, then stood up, hoisting the fishing rod onto his shoulder.
"When does the next phase of the hunt begin?" the gray-robed man asked.
"The second-stage hunt begins in three days, held within the imperial capital, followed by the final stage three days after that," the frail elder replied.
"Very well. Keep an eye on things. If that youngster manages to reach the final stage of the hunt, come and let me know. I'll go take a look myself by then," the gray-robed man smiled.
These words startled the frail elder.
Given the lord's status, for him to personally go and watch...
It meant the lord's regard for Su Xin went far beyond ordinary appreciation.
"Understood."
The frail elder bowed respectfully and then turned to leave.
The estate, including the serene lake before it, returned once more to absolute tranquility.