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 Chenâs 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, itâd be a senseless waste. No one had ever expected that to happen. The organizers would shoulder the blame.
The first primeâs 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.
Theyâd been supervising the offworld battlefield and had made time to come talk about the alliance. It was clear that the grand competition shouldâve 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. âWhatâs the matter? Has the competition ended?â
The first prime fell silent, shamefaced.
The forefatherâs gaze swept over them. Everyone was there except for Jiang Chen. His heart sinking, he demanded, âWhere is Jiang Chen?â
Blood drained from the first primeâs face as she averted her eyes. This was all because of her carelessness.
âWhatâs going on?!â snapped the forefather angrily. Jiang Chen was Eternalâs 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. âJiang Chen entered the tenth island and hasnât returned since.â
âThe tenth island?â The forefather digested the new information. His eyebrows jumped up. âWhat?? Did none of you warn him??ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The forefather knew what that meant. His heart seized up as he couldnât quickly recover from the bad news.
On his way here, heâd 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 heâd 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.
âIf Jiang Chen doesnât return,â he said in a low voice, âYou have no need to return to the sacred land either.â
Some forefathers came to console him. Others came to enjoy the show.
âFellow daoist, the grand competition has come to an end,â someone spoke up. âWhy donât we calculate the scores and determine the ranking?â
âHas time run out yet?â the forefather retorted coolly.
âHaha, thereâs only roughly thirty minutes left. Thereâs no reason for us to stay and wait it out. Why waste our time when itâs clear what has happened?â
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 Floraâs ambitions!
âThe competition doesnât end until time runs out,â insisted the forefather. âHow can you not know about the rules as a forefather? What the hell have you been doing with your mangy excuse for a life?â
âHaha, youâre in denial,â retorted Floraâs forefather. âEveryone knows how itâs going to end. Do you honestly think there will be a miracle?â
âA miracle?â The forefather felt a sliver of hope. Wasnât that what Jiang Chen specialized in?
If there were any miracles to be found, Jiang Chen would be the miracle maker.
âThe competition doesnât end when thereâs still time,â Eternalâs forefather said frigidly. âYou canât change the rules no matter what you say.â
âAlright, Iâll wait. Weâll see what youâre gonna say once the time runs out,â scoffed Floraâs forefather. He was obviously enjoying this and didnât even try to hide his delight.
The onlookers shook their heads. What had happened to Eternal was tragic, and Floraâs 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 heâd 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 Chenâs circumstances.
By contrast, a majority of Floraâs members were celebrating like it was the new year. Lu Mingye, especially, seemed like heâd won the grand competition already.
If Jiang Chen didnât 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 couldnât defeat Jiang Chen himself made his performance seem less impressive, but Jiang Chen was lost. The slight smudge on his record didnât matter.
Shi Qingluâs expression was impassive. She didnât seem happy, neither did she seem sad. Seeing Lu Mingyeâs premature excitement, however, she showed obvious contempt.