Young people were naturally daring and unconventional. Wu You and Gan Ning took it much better than Ziju Min. They weren’t particularly interested in what history had to say, choosing instead to trust their own gut.
“Elder Ziju, historical records are meant to be broken. Hasn’t senior brother Jiang Chen done that countless times? He’s accomplished the impossible every single time.” Wu You mentioned Jiang Chen’s name with immense confidence.
“Exactly. Records are meant to be broken. No matter how scary the tenth island is, it’s just a trial in the end. The senior brother has pa.s.sed the eighth and ninth without problems, so the tenth should be a piece of cake too. I have a feeling that he’ll come out of the trial completely successful!”
The two youths’ a.s.surance was infectious. Ziju Min couldn’t help but begin to agree. Yes, if young people could trust each other so implicitly, why couldn’t he? Wasn’t he a venerated elder?
“First Prime, Wu You and Gan Ning make good points. Doing the impossible has become Jiang Chen’s signature. He has infinite potential to do whatever he sets his mind to!”
The look in the first prime’s eyes became conflicted. Her tone was filled with regret and self-blame. “It might be different this time. I was careless…”
The other sacred lands’ executives saw Eternal’s first prime grimace. They realized that the topic was likely a painful one for her.
Some fell silent, but others added insult to injury. “I hear that the tenth island is as good as h.e.l.l on earth. There’s only death to be found there. I wonder if that’s true? After all, no one’s even been to that island in the last ten thousand years. Perhaps this genius will serve as the touchstone to this rumor?”
“If the rumors are true, it would be a great shame. No matter which faction the genius is from, Myriad Abyss Island aches at their loss.”
“Indeed. To lose a genius capable of pa.s.sing through the ninth trial is a real tragedy.”
The first prime felt her anxiety intensify. She wouldn’t be able to answer to the venerated forefather if Jiang Chen died here. She didn’t know how angry he’d be once he arrived.
Two more geniuses were eliminated from the trials at this time. They had failed at the eighth island.
The hours wasted away as more and more made their respective exits. Only four remained now.
Two were from the Flora Sacred Land. Lu Mingye, and s.h.i.+ Qinglu. One was Sunrise’s Holy Girl Si Tong. Of course, the last was Eternal’s Jiang Chen.
These were generally considered the strongest of their generation. Jiang Chen was easily the most popular. The prevailing opinion began to turn to him being the one who’d entered the tenth island.
The air became increasingly tense. The sacred lands whose geniuses were eliminated were a little upset, but also thankful. At least their geniuses had come back alive!
Two hours later, one more was ejected. It was Lu Mingye this time!
Tired, harried, and with frustration plain on his face, Lu Mingye’s first action was to ask the judges whether he was the last to exit.
When he heard that three more yet remained, he felt a heavy blow upon his chest. He was furious that he had been forced out due to a lapse in focus.
The truth was much worse than he’d hoped. Three geniuses had proven to be superior to him!
Their names only brought further shadows to his face. As he expected, it was the opponents he was most wary of. However, s.h.i.+ Qinglu and Si Tong had done far worse in the first round than him.
If these two were eliminated by the eighth trial as well, their final scores for this segment wouldn’t be too far apart. Their rewards might be different, but he would be in the overall lead still.
But that Jiang Chen…
Lu Mingye gnashed his teeth at the thought of the Eternal genius. How could that kid still be inside? What gave him the right to walk all over Lu Mingye??
He absolutely couldn’t stand it. Jealousy consumed his soul like a viper.
However, he quickly heard that one of the geniuses had entered the tenth restricted island. At first, his head spun in a daze, but the circulating rumor that no other genius in history had come out alive relieved him.
Lu Mingye almost wanted to throw his head back and crow. Heaven was smiling upon him!
He knew better than anyone that the only genius capable of reaching the tenth island had to be Jiang Chen.
It couldn’t be Si Tong or s.h.i.+ Qinglu, because their strengths were comparable to his.
The difference between Jiang Chen and himself was large enough to despair over. He was immensely grateful that such a dreadful truth existed in the first place.
Schadenfreude filled his heart. “Good, good! I hope he never comes back out. He deserves to die for being so far above everyone else. He doesn’t know when to keep a low profile. Heaven itself is against him! I’d like to see him struggle now!”
Lu Mingye hadn’t actually lost at Jiang Chen’s hands, but deep down, he hated the Eternal genius far more than s.h.i.+ Qinglu did.
s.h.i.+ Qinglu respected Jiang Chen to a certain degree after her loss.
Though Lu Mingye hadn’t fought with Jiang Chen, he had been scared into hiding from the other. This was a perpetual black mark upon his record.
The only way he could ignore it would be if Jiang Chen died here.
After six hours pa.s.sed, Si Tong and s.h.i.+ Qinglu re-emerged as well. They were unable to pa.s.s through the Scouring Astral Wind, and thus eliminated.
Now, everything was clear. Jiang Chen was the only one who remained within.
It was just as everyone had guessed earlier. He really was the genius at the forefront! His incredible genius was the envy of all. Perhaps heaven envied him as well?
The first prime was ghastly pale. She was a little panicked now.
“Since no one has come out from the tenth island in history, this round is over, right?” someone spoke up.
“Yes, it’s over. Let’s tally the results. Sigh!”
The first prime immediately found an outlet for her anger. “Who said it’s over? Nothing is over before the time limit is up!”