The greatest winner of this Heaven-Mending Grand Assembly was not the Eternal Sacred Land — it was Jiang Chen.
Through the assembly, Jiang Chen had not only raised his profile but also gained the support of the Eternal Sacred Land, while spreading his name throughout the Myriad Abyss Islands.
Most importantly, he had temporarily resolved the crisis surrounding Huang'er.
This time, Yan Qingsang had extended an invitation to Huang'er — in his capacity as a disciple of the Sacred Land — to spend some time touring the Sacred Land's grounds. No one could fault such an arrangement. With this, they could throw off the Yan family's surveillance of Huang'er, and there would be no need to worry about the Xiahou clan suddenly showing up at the Yan residence to demand her return.
It could be said that this eliminated Jiang Chen's concerns entirely.
Thus, the Heaven-Mending Grand Assembly had been a triumph on multiple fronts for Jiang Chen.
After the assembly concluded, Jiang Chen promptly made his way to the Merit Hall. Its overseer, Gu Yunjin, naturally welcomed his arrival with the utmost hospitality.
"Young friend Shao Yuan, congratulations on completing the Sovereign-rank mission, 'Flames of Vengeance.' I never would have expected it, truly never." Gu Yunjin clicked his tongue in admiration. "Great heroes have always emerged from among the young — for the longest time, I understood that saying only as words on a page. Today I've come to realize it's no empty platitude."
It was plain to see that while Gu Yunjin's effusive tone carried a touch of exaggeration, the sentiment behind it was genuine enough, with little room for pretense.
Jiang Chen smiled. "There was more than a bit of luck involved."
"Luck or not, that's what genius is. Why can't anyone else get lucky, then? Besides, everyone under heaven knows what kind of power Shi Xuan possesses — who hasn't heard of him?"
"Heh, Elder Gu, if you keep praising me like this, I'll have nowhere to hide my face. I've come today to report the completion of my mission." Having finished the task, it was only proper to come to the Merit Hall and file his report.
He needed to register his contribution points.
Only after completing these formalities would the mission be considered fully concluded.
These procedures required no effort on Jiang Chen's part — Gu Yunjin handled everything swiftly and efficiently.
Seeing that Jiang Chen had no intention of lingering, Gu Yunjin couldn't help but say, "Young friend Shao Yuan, our Merit Hall still has quite a few Sovereign-rank missions, all related to alchemy. I was wondering if perhaps..."
Jiang Chen quickly cut in. "Elder Gu, please spare me for now. The Genius Sword Summit is just around the corner, and these past few days have left me with no bandwidth to even consider taking on another mission."
Gu Yunjin burst into laughter. "Right, right, right — my mistake entirely! Young friend, you must perform well at the summit. Put on a proper show for our Sacred Land. Let every major power in the Divine Kingdom know that our Sacred Land remains the unquestioned ruler of this realm!"
Jiang Chen did not make bold boasts. Instead, he replied in measured tones, "Just as with this Heaven-Mending Grand Assembly, I will give it everything I have. As for the outcome — that will be left to the will of heaven."
His words carried a note of deeper meaning.
Leaving the Merit Hall, Jiang Chen then paid a visit to the three Grand Holy Sovereigns to express his gratitude. If not for their staunch support, his performance at the Heaven-Mending Grand Assembly would not have gone so smoothly, and keeping Huang'er at the Eternal Sacred Land would have been out of the question.
In the end, it was precisely because of the Eternal Sacred Land's backing that the Yan family patriarch had not dared force Huang'er's return, and that no one else in the Yan family had dared voice any objection.
The Yan family had spent years timidity personified — afraid of wolves at the front door and tigers at the back. They feared the Xiahou clan like a tiger, and naturally they were unwilling to offend the Eternal Sacred Land either.
After all, if the Eternal Sacred Land truly grew angry, that could be even more terrifying than the Xiahou clan.
"Shao Yuan, there's no need for thanks. You are a genius of the Sacred Land. As long as you demonstrate sufficient strength and talent, you are well worth our support — at any cost."
The First Grand Holy Sovereign offered his encouragement: "The summit is approaching, and that Xiahou Zong will undoubtedly set you as his foremost rival. Be cautious. His martial dao talent is truly formidable — do not take him lightly."
All three Grand Holy Sovereigns knew that this Shao Yuan possessed the strength to challenge opponents above his level. However, Xiahou Zong's power was simply overwhelming.
Shao Yuan's cross-tier challenges had been against run-of-the-mill martial dao prodigies. Challenging a top-tier genius like Xiahou Zong — a Sovereign-tier talent — was another matter entirely. Forget about fighting across tiers; even on level ground, facing him would be immensely difficult.
Xiahou Zong's battle record was essentially that of an unbeatable force at his level. Even elders of the same realm were, for the most part, no match for him.
That was precisely why Xiahou Zong stood so far apart from every other genius in the Divine Kingdom. It was also why the younger generation always felt a sense of helplessness at the mere mention of his name.
Xiahou Zong's fearsome reputation had been earned through battle after battle.
Jiang Chen had never been in the habit of underestimating an opponent, and Xiahou Zong was indeed powerful. He harbored no intention of looking down on the man.
"Rest assured, three Grand Holy Sovereigns — I will handle this with the utmost care."
"Mm. We have already witnessed your talent in alchemy. As for your talent in the martial dao, we caught a glimpse of it during the Nine Bend Cloud Cavern trial. Still, we hope that your martial talent will continue to deepen. We look forward to the day when you can astonish the world in the martial dao just as you have at this Heaven-Mending Grand Assembly."
These were the First Grand Holy Sovereign's earnest wishes.
Jiang Chen smiled. "I will give it my all."
Taking his leave of the three Grand Holy Sovereigns, Jiang Chen finally had a moment of respite. He returned to his cave dwelling, where Yan Qingsang, Huang'er, and the others had long been waiting.
Now that they were together again, there was no longer any need for Huang'er and Jiang Chen to maintain appearances or keep their distance.
Yan Qingsang coughed lightly a few times, signaling for them to mind their composure.