Meanwhile, on the outer-rim of Sandplain Island, time was counting down. It was down to the final thirty minutes. Still, there was no sign of Jiang Chen’s return.

Like a stone thrown into the ocean, he seemed to be irrevocably lost.

Among the senior executives of the ten sacred lands, some gleefully celebrated the tragedy, some sighed inwardly, and some felt genuinely sorry for the Eternal Sacred Land.

If Jiang Chen died on the tenth forbidden island, it’d be a senseless waste. No one had ever expected that to happen. The organizers would shoulder the blame.

The first prime’s expression was dark, her face tight.

Suddenly, beings of great power emerged from thin air. They came at great speed and landed on the island in an instant. The divine forefathers of the ten sacred lands arrived.

They’d been supervising the offworld battlefield and had made time to come talk about the alliance. It was clear that the grand competition should’ve ended, according to their estimations.

All of the senior executives came forward to make their bows. 

Members of the Eternal Sacred Land lowered their heads dejectedly when faced with their forefather. He frowned. “What’s the matter? Has the competition ended?”

The first prime fell silent, shamefaced.

The forefather’s gaze swept over them. Everyone was there except for Jiang Chen. His heart sinking, he demanded, “Where is Jiang Chen?”

Blood drained from the first prime’s face as she averted her eyes. This was all because of her carelessness.

“What’s going on?!” snapped the forefather angrily. Jiang Chen was Eternal’s most precious member now. Anyone could die, but not Jiang Chen!

Ziju Min was depressed as well, but seeing that the first prime was too intimidated to talk, he spoke up instead. “Jiang Chen entered the tenth island and hasn’t returned since.”

“The tenth island?” The forefather digested the new information. His eyebrows jumped up. “What?? Did none of you warn him??”

The forefather knew what that meant. His heart seized up as he couldn’t quickly recover from the bad news.

On his way here, he’d been pondering how he should fight for the leadership role of the alliance, only to be bludgeoned by this terrible news as soon as he arrived!

Jiang Chen had indeed performed the best in the grand competition, which was exactly why he’d entered the tenth island.

Was this… fate?

The forefather glared coldly at the first prime, infuriated. He wanted nothing more than to kill her right then and there. He managed to restrain himself only because they were in public. 

“If Jiang Chen doesn’t return,” he said in a low voice, “You have no need to return to the sacred land either.”

Some forefathers came to console him. Others came to enjoy the show.

“Fellow daoist, the grand competition has come to an end,” someone spoke up. “Why don’t we calculate the scores and determine the ranking?”

“Has time run out yet?” the forefather retorted coolly.

“Haha, there’s only roughly thirty minutes left. There’s no reason for us to stay and wait it out. Why waste our time when it’s clear what has happened?”

That was the forefather of the Flora Sacred Land. Flora was absolutely delighted by the turn of events.

Jiang Chen, the thorn in their side, had fallen, and members of Eternal were fighting among themselves for the loss. Heavens had paved the path for Flora’s ambitions!

“The competition doesn’t end until time runs out,” insisted the forefather. “How can you not know about the rules as a forefather? What the hell have you been doing with your mangy excuse for a life?”

“Haha, you’re in denial,” retorted Flora’s forefather. “Everyone knows how it’s going to end. Do you honestly think there will be a miracle?”

“A miracle?” The forefather felt a sliver of hope. Wasn’t that what Jiang Chen specialized in?

If there were any miracles to be found, Jiang Chen would be the miracle maker.

“The competition doesn’t end when there’s still time,” Eternal’s forefather said frigidly. “You can’t change the rules no matter what you say.”

“Alright, I’ll wait. We’ll see what you’re gonna say once the time runs out,” scoffed Flora’s forefather. He was obviously enjoying this and didn’t even try to hide his delight.

The onlookers shook their heads. What had happened to Eternal was tragic, and Flora’s reaction crossed a line. This was when Eternal was suffering the most. They should keep their shauenfraude to themselves. It was unbecoming of them to add insult to injury.

In general, they much preferred Eternal. Jiang Chen was a decent young man. More importantly, they wanted his pills.

If he’d died, those amazing pills of his would be lost to history. That would be a great shame!

Silence stretched as time trickled away. Everyone was waiting for the end to come. Some had been hopeful at the beginning, but as time went by, their hopes died down.

Even those who expected most from Jiang Chen began to waver. Would he really return? 

Prime Puresmoke frowned, while Holy Girl Yu Ling looked visibly upset.

Holy Girl Si Tong was bewildered. Jiang Chen seemed to be blessed with good fortune. Why would he meet with an untimely demise in the competition?

Holy Girl Yao Guang gazed into the distance deeply, her expression unreadable. However, it was clear from their eyes that they were unhappy, and they felt sorry for Jiang Chen’s circumstances.

By contrast, a majority of Flora’s members were celebrating like it was the new year. Lu Mingye, especially, seemed like he’d won the grand competition already.

If Jiang Chen didn’t return, he stood a good chance of winning first place with his total score. He could barely contain his excitement.

Once the time was up, he would be the champion of the competition.

The fact that he couldn’t defeat Jiang Chen himself made his performance seem less impressive, but Jiang Chen was lost. The slight smudge on his record didn’t matter.

Shi Qinglu’s expression was impassive. She didn’t seem happy, neither did she seem sad. Seeing Lu Mingye’s premature excitement, however, she showed obvious contempt.

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