Lu Mingye hadnât intended to help Jiang Chen against Sui Chen. Heâd only uttered the insult because of his petty nature and dislike of Eternal.
He didnât expect his statement to bail Jiang Chen out of trouble so cleanly. There was no more need to argue. An opponentâs impassioned words were typically the most credible.
The first primeâs expression froze. She stared at Sui Chen darkly, who wanted more than anything to dive into the ground right this instant.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He hadnât expected Lu Mingye to mock him when passing by. In fact, he hadnât expected Lu Mingye to be nearby at all.
Wei Yong was quite upset. âSenior brother Sui Chen!â He glared with some exasperation at his friend. âYou told me the two holy girls took your orbs. I took you at your word! But it looks like you just didnât want to return them to us, huh? You wanted to hog them all for yourself.â
Flustered and embarrassed, Sui Chen tried to defend himself. âLu Mingye took only the orbs I got later on!â
The implication was that his team had been robbed once already before Lu Mingye. However, his defense was paper-thin to even himself.
Ziju Min sighed softly. He was disappointed in Sui Chen as well.
Truthfully, Sui Chen was pretty talented. Unfortunately, he was greatly flawed when it came to tolerance and character. These flaws would prevent him from ever reaching the ranks of the very best.
There was a reason why Eternal had low expectations of him. Jiang Chenâs appearance and acquisition had been timely indeed.
The Five Great Gentlemen alone wouldnât have been able to compete in this competition.
Overall, the gentlemen were only middling geniuses among the sacred landsâ younger generation. Only Jiang Chen was fit to be Eternalâs crowning pearl, raising it up amid its fellows by proxy.
The first prime scrutinized Sui Chen coldly for a long while before pressing with equal frost. âSui Chen, Iâm asking you one last time: who took your orbs?â
Faced with the primeâs sharp gaze, Sui Chen was unable to blurt out any of his planned lies. He knew that if he practiced any further deception, he would probably lose any hope of peacefulness after they returned home.
However, he couldnât bear the humiliation of admitting responsibility. He kept his head down and his mouth shut instead.
His silence was answer enough.
The first prime was extremely disappointed. Sui Chen was the same as always, utterly incompetent and resistant to change. If he had confessed his wrongdoing and used it as motivation for changing himself, she would have been willing to grant him another chance.
Alas, Sui Chen didnât even have the courage left to do that. This frustrated her the most. A genius who was continually irresponsible could not be trusted, no matter his talent.
How could someone like that bear the sacred landâs future upon his shoulders?
âAlright, First Prime. Letâs lay the matter to rest. They received scores of zero, which should be punishment enough. If you prefer, shall we discuss it further after we return home?â the second prime tried to smooth things over.
âI suppose thatâs the best course for now. Think over your actions, Sui Chen, and reflect on what you should do. A genius needs more than talent: honor and grace are just as important.â The first primeâs comments were steeped in displeasure.
Sui Chen compressed his lips. He looked pretty harmless on the surface, but Jiang Chen could see that he hadnât accepted a word of the rebuke.
That was none of his business though. Sui Chen had always been like this. He had surrendered instantly when heâd encountered Xiahou Zong during Eternalâs internal tournament of geniuses.
What kind of person the genius was had been more than apparent at the time.
Thus, Jiang Chen had always been on lukewarm terms with Sui Chen over the years.
Still, he could see that the first prime was quite upset. If she had yielded to Sui Chenâs venomous whispers, Eternalâs judgment of the overall situation would be affected.
To abandon Radiance and Sunrise as potential allies when there was only a faint possibility of their hostility would really hamper Eternalâs chances.
Not wanting this oversight, Jiang Chen related the circumstances and events at the time to the first prime, who was much relieved by his transparency.
âThe two holy girls have a good impression of you? Good, very good! You did very well in this competition. If Sunrise and Radiance can take our side, then our plans are all the more likely to come to fruition.â
The first prime was very excited, as was Ziju Min on Jiang Chenâs behalf.
âYou know, young master Chen,â he noted, âHoly Girl Si Tong has quite a bit of influence among the younglings. And, though that Yao Guang argued with you quite a bit, sheâs naturally detached and forbidding. If your performance was good enough to win her over â and I think it probably was â then her opinion of you is very different from what she says.â
Jiang Chen laughed. Yao Guang was actually quite nice. Dealing with her was at least much easier than maneuvering around the likes of Shi Qinglu.
With Yao Guang, one simply had to be capable enough to win her favor. Shi Qinglu, on the other hand, had to be brought to the brink of despair. A single lapse of concentration before that would lead to incapacitation via a sneak attack.
âOh, thatâs right. How many orbs has your team gotten?â Ziju Min asked curiously.
Gan Ningâs declaration of certain victory had been interrupted earlier. The elder knew that Jiang Chen and his fellows had done quite well, but wasnât sure of the precise numbers.
Jiang Chen smiled. âJust a bit shy of three hundred. A dozen or so?â
âWhat did you say? Three hundred??â Ziju Min thought heâd misheard.
The first prime was positively astonished. Her eyes focused on Jiang Chen in an instant, unable to comprehend what the youth had reported.
âYes. Two hundred and eighty-six, to be precise.â Jiang Chen had counted this number before coming back out.