The Flora Sacred Land was beyond furious. They’d made a generous enough offer to Gongxi Hu, and yet he chose the Eternal Sacred Land over them.

Moreover, Gongxi Hu had explicitly said it was Jiang Chen’s charisma that settled the deal. Was Jiang Chen really that appealing? Had he become the antithesis of their existence?

The last time they’d clashed, Flora had lost Master Shi Xuan.

This time, the young genius they considered their prime target was taken away beneath their noses.

Nothing was more depressing than being defeated in a head-on fight.

The victory put the Eternal Sacred Land in high spirits. They wisely refrained from making a pitch for the immediate subsequent geniuses.

Their reputation was still important. They mustn’t recruit every one of the geniuses, or they’d risk offending all of the other sacred lands. The others needed some new blood as well.

On the contrary, Flora was too furious to consider that.

Each genius among the top twenty was more impressive than the last. Flora was so eager for new talent, they fought for almost every one of them.

Nevertheless, the other sacred lands were not to be underestimated. They had given up on Gongxi Hu only because they didn’t feel he was worth their effort.

But now, it was different.

Flora’s forceful attitude bothered the other sacred lands. A subtle understanding was reached and they were determined to duke it out with Flora - even if they had to take turns going against that particular sacred land.

As a result, although Flora gained a good number of geniuses, it cost them a great deal more than it should have. Only a faction as wealthy as they could afford such extravagance.

Soon, it was the top ten’s turn. Every one of them had reached empyrean realm and was precious to the ten sacred lands.

It was a remarkable feat for young geniuses from the second and third tier factions to ascend to empyrean. Therefore, the ten sacred lands was prepared for fierce competition.

“Young lord Chen, who do you think we should target among the top ten?” Ziju Min transmitted.

“Truth be told, I don’t think any of them are a must pick,” responded Jiang Chen. “However, I believe the first prime would like to get a couple of them for the sake of pride. In that case, I believe number seven and number three are the better options.”

The top ten geniuses were the best in terms of their level of cultivation, but only for now. They weren’t necessarily the ten most talented participants.

Of course, regular people might not be able to tell who was more talented in such a short period of time, but Jiang Chen was able to thanks to his unique circumstances.

The seventh and third participants had decent cultivation levels while being less dependent on resources. Moreover, he admired their character more, despite not having approached them.

Ziju Min couldn’t help but pipe up, “Lan Huang, the top participant, is the one the first prime wants the most.”

Three of Bluesmoke’s geniuses had been shortlisted, and all of them were among the top ten.

However, Jiang Chen hadn’t considered them an option at all. He didn’t want the first prime to pick them either.

“This is just my personal opinion, Elder Ziju. If I were the first prime, I would never pick Lan Huang. Firstly, he’s steadfast and persevering, one who obviously doesn’t intend to pledge himself to a major faction. It’s impossible to earn his loyalty. I suspect that he’s a devoted supporter of Bluesmoke. 

“Secondly, the situation in Bluesmoke is unclear. They’re ambitious. It’s hard to tell what their secret leader is planning. Thirdly, Lan Huang isn’t as talented as the first prime believes. He has some potential, but no more than the Five.”

Jiang Chen had laid down his points. Whether the first prime would listen was beyond him.

Ziju Min was quiet for a moment. “I’ll let the first prime know. I hope she’d make the right decision!”

The competition for the ten participants continued. The first prime took Jiang Chen’s advice and bombarded number seven with praise and promises.

To no one’s surprise, they successfully won him over.

For number six to number four, the Eternal Sacred Land put in an appropriate amount of effort, but no more.

With number three, the first prime made as good an offer as she could and even mobilized Jiang Chen, who had great appeal for the youths.

Like Gongxi Hu, the genius ranked the third chose the Eternal Sacred Land because Jiang Chen.

Two of the top ten geniuses had picked Eternal. This was a good showing for the drafting process. Buoyed, the first prime had made up her mind to win Lan Huang over.

The fight for the second place genius was fierce, who ended up choosing the Flora Sacred Land.

Finally, it was Lan Huang’s turn. Curtains drew back for the finale showdown of the sacred land rivalry.

The first prime started out strong. Jiang Chen sighed inwardly. He had his own principles. Since he didn’t consider Lan Huang a good option, he wasn’t going to help even if the first prime asked for it.

He didn’t think Lan Huang was worth it. In fact, he believed it was unwise to even fight for Lan Huang. He wouldn’t touch any geniuses from Bluesmoke with a ten foot pole.

Nonetheless, there wasn’t anything he could do to convince the first prime.

Fortunately, after getting their hands on the number two genius, Flora had resolved to obtain the first as well. It would be a glorious victory for them in the drafting process.

The fight for Lan Huang was exhilarating. All the sacred lands did everything they could to win the young man over. It wasn’t just a competition between Eternal and Flora.

“Aren’t you going to say anything, Jiang Chen?” Ziju Min asked insistently.

Jiang Chen shook his head without hesitation. “There’s bad blood between me and Bluesmoke. I’m not going to speak up against their geniuses, but I’m not going to support them either. If the first prime insists on letting a potential traitor into our ranks, that’s her choice, and I can only say I’m sorry.”

The fact that Jiang Chen had called the young man a potential traitor alerted Ziju Min. He cursed under his breath. It would be unwise of them to win Lan Huang over at the risk of angering Jiang Chen.

The possibility sent a shudder down the elder’s spine.

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