Most importantly, Young Master Jiang Chen's name was known to everyone up and down Myriad Abyss Island — who hadn't heard of him? The chance to serve as a follower under Young Master Jiang Chen might very well be more promising than being an ordinary disciple in some Sacred Land.
After all, the tales surrounding Young Master Jiang Chen in recent times have been nothing short of legendary. Those stories had added an almost mythical aura to his name.
Moreover, Gong Hu hadn't been chosen by any Sacred Land, which had left him feeling deeply embarrassed and disheartened. When Jiang Chen extended an olive branch at such a moment, he was genuinely moved and grateful.
"Good. From now on, you'll follow me." Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "You're from Giant Elephant Island. According to the rules, I should offer two greeting gifts — one for you, and one for Giant Elephant Island."
"You're still one step away from the peak of the Emperor realm. I'll give you an Emperor Ascension Pill so you can break through to the peak of the Emperor realm sooner. How does that sound?"
Jiang Chen produced two Emperor Ascension Pills — one for Gong Hu, and one for Giant Elephant Island.
The Emperor Ascension Pill had once been an extremely precious commodity to Jiang Chen. But after obtaining a batch of Heaven and Earth Cloud Lingzhi from the Blue Smoke Island Domain, he had refined a large quantity of them. Two pills were well within his means.
Gong Hu had only hoped to follow Jiang Chen — he hadn't actually cared much about the greeting gift. When he saw that Jiang Chen had offered exactly what he needed, a warm current rose in his heart.
Giant Elephant Island had always been a third-rate power and, in a setting like this, normally had zero voice in any matter. Seeing that Gong Hu had been taken in as a follower by Young Master Jiang Chen, they felt genuinely proud from the bottom of their hearts. They knew that for Gong Hu, this could well be the start of a meteoric rise.
What's more, Jiang Chen had also gifted Giant Elephant Island an Emperor Ascension Pill. While the pill wasn't of tremendous value to Giant Elephant Island, at a time like this, its symbolic significance far outweighed its practical worth.
From now on, Giant Elephant Island could proudly proclaim that they were a power protected by Young Master Jiang Chen, and their standing in the martial world would rise accordingly.
The others, seeing that Jiang Chen hadn't even overlooked the very last name on the rankings, reacted in various ways — some were surprised, some found it boring, and some thought Jiang Chen was being desperate and indiscriminate.
After all, a genius who hadn't even reached the Celestial level was a dime a dozen on Myriad Abyss Island. Was it really necessary to be so indiscriminate?
Next, from rank 149 to around rank 140, only one of them received the attention of the Nirvana Sacred Land and obtained an invitation.
The other eight received no invitations from any Sacred Land.
However, this time Jiang Chen did not extend an olive branch. After looking into these eight, he found that their potential for growth was actually less than Gong Hu's.
Jiang Chen had taken a liking to Gong Hu not just for his talent, but for his character. Gong Hu was clearly not the type to play petty tricks.
Such people were easier to handle. Once their loyalty was won, they belonged to the category of followers who would never betray — absolutely devoted, unwavering in their dedication.
To put it bluntly, they were the type who were relatively easy to win over.
As for these eight, their character wasn't necessarily bad, but they each had a touch of slyness or petty cleverness.
That kind of petty cleverness was precisely what Jiang Chen did not appreciate. True intelligence required great wisdom — the martial world had more than enough people with petty tricks.
At first, everyone had assumed Jiang Chen would be desperate and indiscriminate, scooping up people left and right. They hadn't expected that, aside from Gong Hu, he wouldn't reach out again.
This left the geniuses who hadn't been selected by any Sacred Land feeling somewhat disappointed.
However, starting from rank 139, the Sacred Lands began to act with greater frequency.
Out of every ten, two or three would receive a Sacred Land's selection.