The Sacred Ancestor saw that Jiang Chen was in low spirits and felt a wry smile rising in his own heart.
He actually understood that Jiang Chen must be somewhat displeased. All this time, it had been Jiang Chen putting in the effort for the Eternal Sacred Land, while what the Sacred Land had truly given him in return was quite meager.
Never mind the meager resources in the treasury; even if the Sacred Ancestor had let Jiang Chen pick freely, the best items certainly wouldn't be there. Whatever Jiang Chen could walk away with was obviously not the Sacred Land's finest.
Moreover, the last time he had sent Jiang Chen to reinforce the True Martial Sacred Land, he had promised Jiang Chen certain rewards. And those rewards... had never materialized.
Since Jiang Chen's return, he had never even had a moment to meet with him.
"Jiang Chen," the Sacred Ancestor chuckled, "silent and uncomplaining – that's not like you."
Jiang Chen shrugged, a hint of gloom in his tone. "Sacred Ancestor, back before I went to the True Martial Sacred Land, you made me quite a few promises. To this day, not a single one has been fulfilled."
The Sacred Ancestor felt a twinge of guilt and gave an awkward laugh. "My fault, entirely my fault. The Sacred Land is indeed stretched thin right now. Sigh... however, the Sacred Land will never be stingy with those who have served it well. Just say it – what do you want? I, the Sacred Ancestor, will make it happen."
Jiang Chen said lightly, "I don't want to make things difficult for the Sacred Land. I only want Ling Shi."
Other things, the Sacred Land might have excuses for – saying their situation was poor, they couldn't spare them. But Ling Shi, the Sacred Land certainly could produce.
"Ling Shi?" The Sacred Ancestor smiled. "How much do you need? I know you need to restart that formation, but the Ling Shi it consumes is an astronomical figure. Even the Sacred Land cannot possibly produce that much. Jiang Chen, you must understand, the Sacred Land's situation right now is also one of 'making do without a next meal'..."
Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. He hadn't even made his demand yet, and the Sacred Ancestor was already crying poor.
"I don't need much. The Sacred Land just covers ten percent of the cost. How about that?" Jiang Chen said with a smile.
The Sacred Ancestor pondered for a moment, stroking his chin. After a short while, he slapped his thigh. "As long as you agree to participate in the Genius Tournament, the Sacred Land will find a way to cover that ten percent of Ling Shi."
"Just 'find a way'?" Jiang Chen was somewhat displeased.
"The Sacred Land... will definitely secure this batch of Ling Shi for you." The Sacred Ancestor gritted his teeth and made a straightforward promise this time.
In truth, the Sacred Land was indeed a bit poor right now. If they hadn't confiscated many assets after quelling the rebellion, they would be even poorer.
The off-realm war was a bottomless pit; no matter how much you had, it could all be consumed.
Most importantly, the front lines had been extremely active recently, and the Sacred Land was fighting with extreme difficulty. Therefore, the Sacred Ancestor had almost no time to stay at the Sacred Land.
Seeing Jiang Chen still looked somewhat unenthusiastic, the Sacred Ancestor couldn't help but ask, "Jiang Chen, exactly how much Ling Shi are you still short of?"
"A lot. The more, the better." Towards the Sacred Ancestor, Jiang Chen now realized, he still had to keep something back. He couldn't say he was only short two-tenths of the needed Ling Shi. If he said he only needed two-tenths more, the Sacred Ancestor would care even less and cry poorer in the future.
The Sacred Ancestor gave a cunning chuckle and tempted him, "This Genius Tournament is different from previous ones. The Ten Great Sacred Lands are jointly organizing it, planning to recruit talents within the Myriad Abyss Island domain without regard to origin or rank. As long as someone is a genius, the Ten Great Sacred Lands will select them based on merit. So, this tournament will be very lively. And the Ten Great Sacred Lands will also be offering many rewards to stimulate the talented participants. For you, this is also an opportunity to make a fortune. Oh, right – aren't you able to refine the Taiyi Heaven-Mending Pill? Aren't you able to refine the Heaven-Pillar Pill? In that kind of setting, those pills could also be exchanged for quite a bit of Ling Shi."