The thing he figured out after he almost died by the elven youth was the secret behind this challenge and the Shadow Bringer's future wielder.
He found it unimaginable that a sword of this caliber would automatically be allocated to the Winged Elve without any effort whatsoever.
After all, it's unfair to match this guy with any other cultivator, as he was in the emperor realm and held power two major ranks above them. Abaddon believed that only someone of the same realm or higher should be matched against him.
It is worth noting that the world where the spirit spring originated is but a miniature world that lacked any knowledge of advanced realms. The only realms mentioned in books were the initial cultivation realms, with the highest being the godly cultivation realm.