The Patriarchs of the Zhu, Hong, and Cheng Families felt the same way.

This also caused the expressions of the three men to turn exceedingly grim.

"Despicable! Shameless! You had a prodigy but deliberately kept them hidden. The Seven Profound Sect has deceived us horribly!"

The Zhu Family Patriarch felt a lingering fear, but he quickly took a deep breath and said, "Hah... Don’t be too nervous. We aren’t acting alone this time. The Six Extremes Demon Sect is standing with us. So what if the Seven Profound Sect has a prodigy? He could never be a match for Li Feng."

"Besides, the Seven Profound Sect may have their Sword Cultivator, but my family’s Feiyu is no slouch either!"

Realizing that their three families weren’t the main force in this probe—merely support—brought a collective sigh of relief from the three men.

Still, the incident left them in a cold sweat, and they silently vowed never to underestimate the three Major Sects again.

...

As the others watched him with trepidation, Wei Jingcheng, the High Cultivator from the Seven Profound Sect whom the three great families now considered "deeply scheming and treacherously cunning," maintained a cold, expressionless facade. Inwardly, however, he was completely lost.

’Me, treacherously cunning? Full of schemes? This was all my master plan?’

’Since when were my schemes this brilliant?’

’And another thing, since when did Longxi Peak have such an unparalleled prodigy?’

As he stewed in his bewilderment, the words of the Eldest Disciples from Molten Fire Peak and Dharma Seal Peak only made him feel more stifled.

"Martial Uncle, so the Sect had such a plan in mind! You really kept us in the dark."

Of course, while some sounded resentful, others chimed in to agree. "Success is born of secrecy; failure, from letting things slip. This is exactly how the Sect should handle its plans."

After saying this, the Eldest Disciple of Dharma Seal Peak added, "However, we won’t be admitting defeat. As for which path the Sect takes next... we’ll let those youngsters fight for it themselves."

...

Since even people from his own sect believed these wild theories they had concocted, Wei Jingcheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and shoulder all the speculation.

However, filled with doubt, he voiced his questions to Mo Shuying.

"A prodigy of such incredible Talent has emerged from Longxi Peak. Why didn’t you tell me?"

Mo Shuying’s response was, "Huh? I didn’t know either."

...

Her words left Wei Jingcheng speechless. If this weren’t the wrong time and place, he would have demanded of Mo Shuying:

’You don’t know anything? What kind of Eldest Disciple are you?!’

...

The sudden appearance of a hidden prodigy on Longxi Peak was a complete surprise, but neither Molten Fire Peak, Dharma Seal Peak, nor the three great families were ready to admit defeat.

In fact, they remained confident in their own victory.

From Molten Fire Peak: ’So what if he’s borrowing external power? Magical Artifacts and Magical Treasures are part of a Cultivator’s strength to begin with.’

The three great families were even more confident.

"Even if Feiyu is defeated, we still have Li Feng. This time, the top prize will undoubtedly be ours."

Meanwhile, the discussions and arguments of the crowd outside had no effect on the disciples within the Heaven-Filling Array Map.

Yan Chen thought, ’Longxi Peak is in first place? And their score is more than double ours? What’s going on?’

’Did the Law Enforcement Elder help Longxi Peak cheat?’

Just like the people outside, their first reaction to the declining Longxi Peak achieving such a score and rank was to assume they had cheated.

However, even as he suspected that Longxi Peak had obtained its score and ranking through improper means, Yan Chen couldn’t help but feel a surge of urgency.

At the same time, while incinerating Demonic Fiends with endless Flames, he began rushing toward the center of the ruined town.

He wasn’t the only one. The disciples from the three great families, Dharma Seal Peak, and even Cuixiang Mountain, regardless of where they were, all began rushing toward the town center.

And because of this, they were all gradually converging on Zhong Ming and his party!