Jiang Chen’s powerful words sent a shockwave through the crowd. The wake-up call hit them hard.
He was right. Only in continuously improving their strength could they protect themselves in the long term. What the ten sacred lands were doing now could only last them for so long.
They’d been moving people and resources where they were needed, pa.s.sively reacting to the coming threats and making futile resistance.
“This goes back to your earlier reference of improving our overall strength, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right,” Jiang Chen said with great conviction. “The one true solution is to become stronger. The rest are all temporary.”
Radiance’s forefather was silent for a long time. He sighed. “Everyone says you’re a G.o.d incarnate, young man. We may also be divine realm cultivators, but in many ways, our grasp of many of the problems we’re facing pales in comparison to you. How powerful must have you been in your past life?”
Jiang Chen scratched his head. “I don’t know that myself, senior. I only know this much, and that a big part of my memory has yet to awaken. I don’t know who I was in my past life. Perhaps me being a G.o.d incarnate is nothing but a rumor.”
“No, no, you must be a G.o.d incarnate. That’s for sure. You’ve simply not completely awakened yet, and much of your memory lies dormant. Once you ascend to divinity and bridge the gap between your current life and past life, the answers will come to you.”
Radiance’s forefather was full of admiration and nodded smilingly. “Still, I’d like to thank you for answering my question, young friend. Sunrise’s decision is mine, too.”
Sunrise’s forefather had promised to support Eternal unconditionally as long as Jiang Chen could answer his question, and he had indeed given the forefather a satisfying answer.
In this way, Eternal had gained both Sunrise and Radiance’s support.
Flora’s members couldn’t be more upset. The young genius’ speech had already prompted two sacred lands to choose Eternal, which meant Eternal had half of the ten’s support. Things weren’t looking good for Flora. They were under great pressure.
Flora did have two loyal allies, Polylore and Void.
However, the same was true of Eternal. Martial and Abyssal had always been on their side, and now Sunrise and Radiance had pledged their allegiance as well. Eternal had the upper hand.
The only ones that hadn’t picked a side were Nirvana and Immortal. If both picked Eternal, the sacred land would win the election by a landslide with seven votes.
If Flora could win the two sacred lands over, they could at least reach a tie, which was the most they could do.
Nirvana and Immortal didn’t seem willing to take a stand just yet. They stubbornly remained neutral. Flora didn’t know if they could convince the hold-outs.
There were exchanges between the ten sacred lands, but they didn’t really have a close relations.h.i.+p.
Nevertheless, there was no way back.
Lu Mingye had a heavy weight on his shoulders. He knew his performance would have a significant impact on the result of the election. It might not determine the winner, but his performance would be examined closely.
He’d always wanted to be the leader of the youths. However, now that s.h.i.+ Qinglu had let him take the spotlight, he couldn’t find it within himself to be happy at all. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He ranked second in the grand compet.i.tion and first in Flora Sacred Land. No matter how stressed he was, he had to take the stage.
His heart pounded so hard it was as if a beast was rampaging in his chest.
Under everyone’s scrutiny, he went on stage. As a disciple of a major faction, he did have a strong heart. Although Jiang Chen’s exceptional performance had seriously impacted his mentality, he managed to maintain his composure onstage.
Jiang Chen looked at Lu Mingye with a smile, the look in his eyes deep and meaningful.
Lu Mingye averted his gaze. No matter how he put up a front, it was clear that he felt inadequate after Jiang Chen’s performance.
The Eternal genius didn’t try to sabotage him, but instead listened to him intently.
Lu Mingye had prepared a speech, but what he said was limited to what a regular youth would say. He focused on the future, talking about how Flora would bring together all factions in Myriad Abyss and fight for the continent.
There were flashes of brilliance, but nothing out of an average youth’s capability, and nothing worthy of the divine forefathers’ attention.
What Jiang Chen’s speech apart was that his content presented a bird eye’s view of the entire continent. Even the divine forefathers of the ten sacred lands had to take his words seriously.
The audience was silent after Lu Mingye’s speech. There was some applause from Polylore and Void, but the others didn’t show much of a reaction. It was as if Lu Mingye had been talking to himself.
Truth was, they were somewhat disappointed.
Although it was unclear if what Jiang Chen had proposed would work, at least he’d painted a thrilling prospect. Lu Mingye’s turn had almost put them to sleep.
The youths might find something of value in his speech, but it was far from enough for the older cultivators.
Some couldn’t help but silently criticize Lu Mingye.
“Lu Mingye may be a remarkable genius compared to the other youths, but there’s a large gap between him and Jiang Chen. After a couple centuries, he’ll have achieved a lot less than Jiang Chen.”
“Even their own poison consort is much better than Lu Mingye.”
Of course, they wouldn’t say that out loud.
Lu Mingye knew his performance was mediocre at best despite not having made any mistakes. It frustrated him to think about how well Jiang Chen had done.
He hated losing, but had to admit that the gap between Jiang Chen and him seemed to be growing bigger and bigger.