Chapter 1853: Eating Melon and Watching the Show?

"For the sake of that strange treasure, every temple has gone all out this time. After all, they are all Tenth Rank Divine Priests. Even the Hall Chief Priests don’t have an absolute advantage; one more participant means one more chance. Moreover, even if we can’t match the Hall Chief Priests, advancing to the next round and draining the energy of the other temples’ chief priests is still beneficial," Wen Gaoren explained.

"That’s true as well, so you shouldn’t participate. I’ll go alone," Han Yan said.

It’s not a matter of impulsiveness or dignity. Given the strength of Shen Yuhe and the others, they stand no chance against the experts from other temples, and it would be nothing more than a senseless sacrifice.

...

Meanwhile, Long Aoli and the twelve Chief Priests did not return to rest but gathered together in one place.

"This Han Yan, she really doesn’t know her limits. To perform a Divine Prayer on such an occasion, isn’t she blatantly trying to embarrass us? Are we, a group of old men who’ve lived so long, not even as good as a little girl?" An elder, still fuming, gritted his teeth. His name was Fan Chengli, the Chief Priest of Qingning Temple.

"Others might not know the secret of the Divine Prayer, but we certainly do. Clearly she’s just trying to show off," another elder said angrily. It was Ma Jingtian, the Chief Priest of Xiafeng Temple.

"We joined forces to host the ceremony, purifying the mind and concentrating the Divine Sense, and in the end, she ended up benefiting. Had we known, we might as well have chosen one of us to perform the Divine Prayer," Ou Dechuan, the Chief Priest of Lingyu Divine Hall, said indignantly.

This remark had a hint of sour grapes. If any of them truly had the confidence, how could it fall to Han Yan? In fact, many powerful Divine Arts carry risks; if they fail, there can be significant backlash, potentially leading to severe power degradation or even death.

So, although they all knew the secrets of the Divine Prayer, no one dared to attempt it lightly. Han Yan, being completely unaware and without overthinking it, just naturally performed the hand formation, allowing her to succeed. Had she known, she might have thought twice about taking the risk.

"Enough, discussing this now is meaningless. Don’t you find it strange? With Han Yan’s cultivation at the Eighth Rank Divine Priest, how can she perform a Divine Prayer and seem to show no signs of backlash?" Long Aoli interrupted, speaking with a serious expression.

"Could it be luck?" Ma Jingtian speculated.

"Even if it’s luck, with the cultivation of an Eighth Rank Divine Priest, she shouldn’t be able to perform a Divine Prayer, right?" Long Aoli shook his head and said.

"Dragon Chief Priest, are you suggesting she’s hiding her true strength?" Ma Jingtian frowned and said.

It’s said that knowing both oneself and the enemy results in countless victories. While they sat together in harmony now, even sharing a sense of conspiracy, they privately sought to gauge each other’s strength. Even with Han Yan as the Huayu Chief Priest, they remained vigilant. According to what they’ve learned, Han Yan was just an Eighth Rank Divine Priest, though she may have learned some secret Divine Arts from Huayu Temple, so her combat power was surprisingly strong.

But now it seems her strength may not be as minor as they believed.

"It might not be simply hiding her strength. Given the circumstances of Huayu Temple, you should know, I suspect the Huayu Temple might not have the capability to measure her depth properly, and her strength could be much greater than we understand," Long Aoli said.

Hearing his words, the expressions of the other chief priests became serious.

"Dragon Chief Priest, what prompted you to think of this?" Ou Dechuan asked.

"Huayu Temple has been declining day by day. I imagine none of us have ignored them over the years; even if there aren’t any deep grudges, the people of Huayu Temple likely hold no good feelings towards us.

According to our previous agreement, no matter who gets the strange treasure, all the other temples can share the benefits and get some perks. But if that strange treasure ends up in Huayu Temple’s hands, will we get any benefits at all?" Long Aoli said.

His words made everyone uneasy. Indeed, they had not ceased targeting Huayu Temple over the years, even to the point of humiliation. If Han Yan secured that strange treasure, there would definitely be nothing in it for them.

"She shouldn’t have such strong strength, right? We’ve cultivated for many years, how long has she been cultivating? It’s impossible for her to be stronger than us," Ou Dechuan said suspiciously.

"It’s not a question of ten thousand to one, but of chance," Long Aoli said cautiously. "Such a matter cannot tolerate the slightest mistake."

"Dragon Chief Priest, from your words, it seems you already have a plan," said another chief priest thoughtfully. It was Chu Yanghe, the Chief Priest of Tianfeng City.

When it comes to it, he was actually the first among them to know Han Yan. If it hadn’t been for Kang Qingyuan hiding the truth and instigating Tianfeng Temple’s Dual Priests against Han Yan, she should have become a member of Tianfeng Temple.

Now seeing Han Yan has become the Huayu Chief Priest and even the various temples regard her with such apprehension, Chu Yanghe’s emotions were particularly complicated, also particularly regretful. Unfortunately, the one who started it all, Kang Qinghe, has long since disappeared; now he couldn’t even find someone to blame.

"I do have a solution and gathered everyone to discuss it again," Long Aoli lowered his voice.

"Please go ahead, Dragon Chief Priest," the other chief priests instinctively leaned closer.

...

The melodious sound of bells rang once more, heralding the true highlight of this divine ceremony.

The chief priests once again returned to the high platform. The crowd in the square was mostly dispersed, leaving only a little over ten thousand, reducing the clamor in exchange for a more solemn atmosphere.

The old priest took the stage again to announce the rules of the competition.

Compared to previous divine ceremonies, this competition’s scale and scope were vast. In the past, each temple would only send one young priest; it was more of a formality, and it didn’t really matter who won or lost. The rules were relatively simple, with knockout rounds leading to a final winner who’d receive a small reward.

But this time, each temple not only sent four powerful priests but also included the chief priests themselves. Therefore, the rules were more complex.

As honorable chief priests, naturally, they couldn’t brawl with the priests below, as it would be disrespectful and unfair to the other priests. Therefore, in this competition, the chief priests wouldn’t participate at first. Instead, the other priests would compete in elimination rounds, determining twelve winners who would then compete alongside the chief priests.

After the rules were announced, the temple priests stepped up to draw lots.

Sikong Qinglan and the others from Huayu Temple had already given up. Since Han Yan, as the chief priest, didn’t need to participate in the earlier competition, she didn’t need to draw lots.

Oh, so in the meantime, she will just watch and eat melon seeds during the competition?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.