In truth, it wasn't just the others who were surprised; Yang Chan was as well.
He hadn't expected to be the last of the sixteen to see Gu An. By the time he went in, everyone else had already left, which clearly meant they all knew the results.
Therefore, his own result was likely already decided—and it was probably bad news.
Of course, that depended on who you asked.
Yang Chan remained composed, not letting any emotion show on his face. This wasn't a forced calm; it was how he truly felt.
In fact, he had already been considering how to reasonably refuse if he were ordered to go to the Merak Sacred Land. His planned excuse was to pledge to stick with Gu An, which would allow him to stay at the Cyan Yuan Sect for a few more years. Once his Cultivation was high enough, he could use the Cyan Yuan Sect's connections to ascend to the Merak Sacred Land. To him, this was an excellent path.
One to three years would be enough for him to make a qualitative leap in his Cultivation.
