Jiang Chen’s mind buzzed with questions. He didn’t believe Lan Huang’s professed loyalty to Eternal for a second.

From his interactions with Bluesmoke, it was a faction brimming with ambition. Lan Huang’s excellence meant that Bluesmoke must have poured a lot of effort into him. Would they not thoroughly brainwash him in the process?

Most importantly, Bluesmoke should already know about the ongoing feud between him and itself. What explanation was there for these actions?

Was Bluesmoke bending the knee?

That was the simplest explanation, but Jiang Chen didn’t feel it likely. Bluesmoke should’ve informed Eternal privately of this beforehand if that was the case.

The fact it had put on this show indicated something fishy was at play.

Moreover, Commander Yan had given him critical information about a divine expert ruling currently over Bluesmoke. Said expert was apparently secretly building up a divine nation of his own.

This made him considerably more wary of Bluesmoke than he otherwise might have been. 

Why would a faction that wanted to become a divine nation allow its young geniuses to join another sacred land?

Despite Lan Huang’s conspicuous earnestness, he had declared his intentions only after the contest between the sacred lands was over. He had done so solely to smack at Flora’s face!

Was there any hatred between Bluesmoke and Flora? Jiang Chen didn’t believe so.

There was only one credible explanation.

Perhaps Lan Huang was intentionally riling up the tensions between Flora and Eternal. He wanted to create conflict where there was none.

With this hypothesis, everything he’d seen up to now made perfect sense.

“First Prime.” There was no time left for Jiang Chen to bide. “I can see that you like this Lan Huang a great deal. You may think that I selfishly oppose his entry into the sacred land, but I can clearly tell you right now that he means ill. We may be openly at odds with the Flora Sacred Land already, but he is obviously adding fuel to the fire. The final decision is yours. I shan’t voice any further disapproval. 

“However, I think that Lan Huang and the Bluesmoke Isles behind him have ulterior motives. Did you know that Bluesmoke already has a new master, a god who escaped from the Boundless Prison? It’s bent on becoming a new divine nation. Why would Lan Huang be interested in the Eternal Sacred Land in that case?”

Jiang Chen thought his words objective enough.

If the first prime couldn’t discern the truth, no amount of further argument was going to do the trick.

Meanwhile, the first prime was ecstatic. She had been totally overwhelmed by Lan Huang’s positive points; the water that Jiang Chen had doused her with didn’t lessen her emotions a bit.

“Jiang Chen, I admit that what you say is possible. What if you’re wrong though? Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose out on a genius like him? Why don’t we take him in first, and if we find out he means us harm, we can deal with that after the fact. If not, it would be a tremendous gain for the sacred land! Wouldn’t it be good if you and Lan Huang both could be Eternal’s twin stars? I know you’re generous. Surely you wouldn’t mind if he joined?”

Jiang Chen didn’t know how to respond to this.

Even someone as experienced as the first prime was impossible to convince once she’d made up her mind. Since the venerated forefather was absent, she was the de facto leader.

If she willed it, what could he do about it?

He sighed sadly and shook his head, but said nothing more.

On the contrary, he rather admired Lan Huang’s charisma. This youth had come out of nowhere to charm practically all the executives of the ten sacred lands.

If he was a woman, his allure would be even more potent.

Lan Huang’s handsome demeanor was not to be denied. His crystal-blue eyes were easy to get lost in; they looked pristine and incorruptible.

No wonder the first prime was so enamored with him.

“Even in the world of martial dao, people judge others by their appearances,” he lamented internally.

“Don’t worry, young master Chen,” Ziju Min transmitted to him reassuringly. “Lan Huang wouldn’t threaten your position. The venerated forefather thinks extremely highly of you already! He believes that you’re a genius that comes along only once in ten thousand years, someone blessed with great fortune…”

Jiang Chen burst into laughter. Did the elder think he would be frustrated over something as trivial as this?

“Do you think I’m worried about him usurping me, Elder Ziju?”

“No, no,” Ziju Min explained. “I’m just concerned you might take it the wrong way.”

“Ha, I suppose I’m taking this quite differently from everyone else. Not exactly in the way you expect though! Never mind, it’s too late to talk about that now. Time will tell.” Jiang Chen didn’t want to waste words on a foregone conclusion.

Lan Huang was as good as part of the Eternal Sacred Land. In the first prime’s overflowing joy, she gave out an exceptionally hefty present to Lan Huang. The same was granted to the Bluesmoke Isles, where he originated from.

Ziju Min smiled wryly when he saw the prime’s generosity. She had given much more abundantly than when Jiang Chen had joined the sacred land.

He felt mildly indignant on his old ward’s behalf. Would Jiang Chen become disagreeable over this?

A glance at the young man showed that he was as cool as ever. In fact, he didn’t even look like he was paying attention to the present. The elder let out a sigh of relief.

Young master Chen has a big heart and a clear vision. Maybe he really doesn’t think anything of this. Does that mean he is truly on his guard against Bluesmoke and this Lan Huang?

The selection of lesser geniuses was finally over. Some factions were elated, while others were quite bitter. The Eternal Sacred Land was the biggest beneficiary without a doubt. Though Flora won in terms of sheer number recruited, the way it had gone about doing so had also angered the rest of the sacred lands.

Lan Huang was incredibly polite. He greeted the Five Great Gentlemen with perfect courtesy, and Jiang Chen with extraordinary enthusiasm.

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