Jenneless' expression became frighteningly cold. These words were nothing less than a slap to her face. Considering her inability to properly control herself currently, it only made her more infuriated.
She sneered deeply, her sharp eyes landing on the one who spoke.
He was a tall mall with much of his chest bared even through his robes. Other than this, he looked quite normal and even somewhat reserved. Aside from his stoic expression, there wasn't anything else that was worthy of note.
And yet, when Jenneless saw this face, she only became more infuriated.
"Why don't you say that again, Varnon. My palms are itching."
"It can't be that you're hard of hearing, right?" Varnon asked rather than obliging. "You haven't shown anything but a scowling expression since this competition began, something that I find quite interesting. The Jenneless I know is always unfazed by anything.
"As I see it, there's only two possible explanations. The first is that your relationship with this Ryu is quite intimate and didn't end particularly well."
When Jenneless heard this her eyes widened. She couldn't believe that Varnon would dare to say such a thing out loud.
However, this state of shock only lasted for a small moment before an eruption of qi turned the mountain peak she stood upon from a lush and rocky surface into a land of ice in the blink of an eye. The surge of power sent her Junior Brothers flying, but she couldn't seem to gather enough emotions outside of rage to care.
"Varnon, I promise you that I will kill you for daring to say such words about me. That I swear."
The atmosphere grew heavy and even the temperature in the competition grounds below plummeted. Jenneless was simply too powerful, and if not for the enormous amount of ground her qi would have to cover, she might have instantly frozen all of the competitors at once.
She was absolutely furious. To insinuate that she would have such a relationship with a bumpkin of the First Heaven was already much too far, but to take it a step further and insinuate such a thing with a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert, and then taking it even a step further than that to imply that she was the one scorned by love?!
Even one of these things would be enough to blow her top even if her soul hadn't been damaged, but all of them together? It was simply unforgivable.
For Jenneless to say such words wasn't to be taken lightly. She had just sworn to kill one of the pre-eminent geniuses of a True Two Star Sect. Such a thing could lead to all out war that could even descend the entire Second Heaven into chaos.
And yet, Varnon didn't seem to react to this threat at all, because an instant after Jenneless released her aura, it faltered, an expression of pain forming on her face as she stumbled somewhat, a weak feeling overwhelming her.
"You didn't quite let me finish," Varnon said lightly, having confirmed something. "Plus, did I really insult you so much? You might be in the World Sea Realm and he might only be in the Immortal Ring Realm, but aren't you both still Heaven Class geniuses? And it doesn't take much of a genius to see that he's quite handsome, is it really such an insult to speculate like this?"
Jenneless clenched her teeth so hard that blood almost began to seep out between them.
Both Heaven Class? Did he really just compare them?
How many individuals had been higher Class in lower cultivation Realms all to fall out of these ranks as they progressed? The answer was too many, it happened every day! To try and compare a World Sea Realm Heaven Class genius like her to trash in the Immortal Ring Realm was like trying to compare Heaven and Earth, they were fundamentally different!
Even if Ryu was a Heaven Class genius of the Cosmic Seed Realm, she still wouldn't have a single care to give! The crossing of every Realm was a new watershed and it required time to once again build up one's battle prowess. There was no guarantee that one would even be able to climb back up to their original Class at all!
And on top of that, just look at how old Ryu was, and yet he was still in the Immortal Ring Realm. Obviously, he had spent a long amount of time consolidating and firming up his foundation, so how could that possibly be impressive?
Jenneless was even willing to wager that even if Ryu broke into the Path Extinction Realm right this moment, his combat prowess wouldn't even increase by much. Just like that, he would plummet from Heaven Class to barely Earth Class.
To dare say they were the same… This Varnon was clearly trying to infuriate her!
Did she even lack handsome men chasing after her?! Why would she come to the First Heaven just to have such an affair?! The more she thought about it, the redder and more furious she became, but her rage had stacked up so far that she couldn't even begin to articulate her thoughts into words.
Her damaged soul made it so that it was difficult for her to focus, so before she could even decide how to furiously reply, Varnon had already continued speaking.
"Of course, there's also the second potential possibility… And that's that your soul is injured."
Jenneless froze. It was instantly too late for her to hide her reaction.
Varnon's expression still didn't shift, but now he knew it was 100% certain. He already hadn't feared Jenneless before, but with her soul injured like this, he held her in no regard whatsoever. The current her couldn't even be considered a Heaven Class genius.
"That said, these two possibilities aren't mutually exclusive. Both might be true at once."
Jenneless gripped her fists, hard. Her breathing was erratic and uncontrolled and she only seemed to grow more angry with every passing second, but Varnon had already begun to ignore her.
"Oh, look at that. Finally some real competition for him." Varnon said lightly.