It was clear that the upper echelons of the Holy Land were quite divided when it came to the matter of Shao Yuan's existence. When the Holy Land's crisis had erupted some time ago, this Shao Yuan had vanished without a trace. This had given those who were already jealous of him the perfect opportunity to attack his reputation.
And during this period, he had failed to show up at all, giving even more people room for gossip.
All manner of insinuating remarks continued to surface.
Some ridiculed him as a deserter — a fence-sitter who would flee at the first sign of trouble.
Others claimed he was nothing more than a pawn of the Anti-Holy Land Alliance, sent to sow chaos within the Holy Land.
Of course, none of these claims had received any response from the Three Great Holy Lords.
Ziche Min, naturally, was prepared to defend
For this, Ziche Min had been looked down upon by many and been the target of considerable criticism. Yet he had never wavered in his stance, continuing to support Jiang Chen just as he always had.
He firmly believed that a person as loyal and devoted as Shao Yuan had no reason to betray the Holy Land. Those Holy Land elders who attacked him had never truly understood this young man. They attacked him mostly out of jealousy — because this young man's emergence had eclipsed the brilliance of their own juniors.
When Ziche Min heard these rumors now, he arched an eyebrow. "All of you — you'd practically be pushing Shao Yuan straight into the Anti-Holy Land Alliance's arms, wouldn't you?"
"Tsk, tsk, Elder Ziche, Shao Yuan isn't even your son, yet you're so protective of him. Aren't you worried that you've truly been deceived? How will you face everyone when that happens?"
"Exactly, Elder Ziche. You're known as an honest and straightforward man, while that kid is cunning beyond belief. If you've been played by him, that would be quite the spectacle."
Ziche Min's face turned ashen with rage. "Nonsense! What would Shao Yuan gain by deceiving me? What could he possibly want from me?"
"If he were a pawn of the Imperial Family, deceiving you would be the perfect way to earn the Holy Land's trust, wouldn't it?"
"And so what? If he were truly a spy, would he have abandoned us at a time like this? Wouldn't it have been far better for him to stay within the Holy Land and undermine us from within?" Ziche Min countered.
"Heh, perhaps he realized the deception couldn't be sustained any longer, so he decided to cut his losses and run?"
"You're twisting words. Aren't you all just jealous that Shao Yuan has overshadowed your juniors? Must you really be so shameless about it? Shao Yuan's talent, Shao Yuan's brilliance — every member of the Holy Land's upper echelons has witnessed it with their own eyes. You'd have to be willfully blind not to see it."
"You say Shao Yuan is a pawn of the Imperial Family? Then the Imperial Family must be incredibly generous. The Taiyi Heaven-Mending Pill, the Heaven-Sustaining Pill — if those were really the Imperial Family's possessions, would they have parted with them so easily? And if he were truly a pawn, would they have allowed
In truth, even those people knew that Shao Yuan could not possibly be a pawn.
If he were a pawn, there would have been no reason to kill Xiahou Zong. Instead, he would have feigned defeat in battle and continued infiltrating the Eternal Holy Land.
Anyone capable of killing Xiahou Zong was absolutely not a pawn that the Imperial Family could command.
Their attacks were motivated purely by jealousy.
The Great Holy Lord furrowed his brow. "Enough. You've said quite enough about Shao Yuan during these past days. Mind your image as senior figures. It isn't easy for the Holy Land to produce a genius. Are you trying to destroy him?"
When the Great Holy Lord spoke, every one of them fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
"Hall Master Gu, continue."
"Mm. Shao Yuan is a genius worthy of our trust — of that there is no question," the Great Holy Lord added, setting the final tone.
"Since Shao Yuan has his own plans, I trust he knows what he's doing. For the time being, we have no better option but to wait and see. Dispatch some experts at irregular intervals to maintain contact with him at all times. Also, everything discussed here regarding Shao Yuan is to remain among those present. If anyone leaks this information, I will see to it that they are punished without mercy."
At this point, virtually everyone who remained within the Holy Land was among its most die-hard loyalists.
They might disagree with one another on various matters, but to actually sell out the Holy Land's interests — that was entirely out of the question. Still, the Great Holy Lord felt it necessary to issue a warning.
"Great Holy Lord, Shao Yuan also mentioned that cracks are already appearing among the various factions within the Anti-Holy Land Alliance. Perhaps our chance to turn the tables is truly not far off."
"The Xiahou clan and the Imperial Family both have their own selfish agendas. An alliance built like that would be surprising if it held together," the Great Holy Lord said with a cold laugh. "Without shared interests, this alliance would have already collapsed. As long as we hold out for longer, it will slowly disintegrate."
It had to be said that the Great Holy Lord possessed considerable strategic vision.
In the days that followed, Jiang Chen found himself in a relatively peaceful stretch at Sector Sixteen. However, one matter weighed on his mind — the Spirit Medicine Repository.
That place was now in the Imperial Family's hands. If they found a way to break through the seals, the moment they entered the repository, the entire Holy Land's stockpile would be carried off.
Jiang Chen found this a terrible waste. If the Imperial Family managed to break through, the Holy Land would suffer an enormous loss.