A storm of questions churned in
Did Lan Huang truly feel unwavering loyalty to the
Based on his previous encounters with the Blue Smoke Island Domain, it was obvious they were an ambitious and power-hungry faction. Lan Huang was clearly an elite prodigy they had invested heavily in cultivating. With the Blue Smoke Island Domain's boundless ambition, how could they not have thoroughly indoctrinated him?
More importantly, the Blue Smoke Island Domain must have already learned about the grudges between Jiang Chen and themselves by now. If they knew all of that, why would they still proceed like this?
Could it be that the Blue Smoke Island Domain wanted to bow before the Eternal Sacred Land?
That was the most straightforward conclusion.
But Jiang Chen instinctively felt that things were not nearly so simple. If the Blue Smoke Island Domain truly wished to submit to the Eternal Sacred Land — or to defect to their side — there was absolutely no need to stage this kind of spectacle. They could have quietly tipped off the Eternal Sacred Land in advance, or at least dropped a subtle hint.
Yet the Blue Smoke Island Domain had done none of that.
Furthermore, Jiang Chen had managed to extract some important intelligence from Commander Yan. The Blue Smoke Island Domain was now under the control of divine-path powerhouses who had escaped from the Endless Prison. And, it seemed, they were secretly plotting to establish a divine kingdom.
Armed with this knowledge, Jiang Chen grew even more wary of the Blue Smoke Island Domain.
Ask yourself — what faction that harbored ambitions of founding a divine kingdom would allow one of its most promising young geniuses to defect to another sacred land?
Most crucially, Lan Huang had only declared his admiration for the Eternal Sacred Land after the final results were decided. His sincerity was unquestionable in tone.
But in Jiang Chen's eyes, this was nothing short of a deliberate slap in the face to the Hundred Sacred Lands.
Did the Blue Smoke Island Domain harbor some grudge against the Hundred Sacred Lands? Jiang Chen didn't believe that either — at least, he couldn't see any evidence of such enmity.
There was only one possible explanation.
Lan Huang was likely trying to stir up conflict between the Hundred Sacred Lands and the Eternal Sacred Land, deliberately widening the rift and manufacturing discord where none had existed before.
Once Jiang Chen cross-referenced this theory against the many small details, he was startled to discover that this deduction was by far the most plausible.
"Great Sacred Lord." Jiang Chen abandoned all pretense of tact at this point. "I can tell that you're quite taken with Lan Huang. You may think that I'm trying to block your pursuit of him out of self-interest. But I want to state this plainly — Lan Huang is absolutely harboring ulterior motives. The conflict between us and the Hundred Sacred Lands may have already become public. But this Lan Huang is clearly fanning the flames. Ultimately, this decision belongs to you, Great Sacred Lord, and I won't raise any further objections. However, I have a strong intuition that Lan Huang — and the Blue Smoke Island Domain behind him — certainly have other designs. There is one thing I don't know whether you're aware of: the Blue Smoke Island Domain is now controlled by divine-path powerhouses who escaped from the Endless Prison, and their ambition is to establish a divine kingdom. In light of that, what reason could Lan Huang possibly have for being so devoted to our Eternal Sacred Land?"
Jiang Chen had laid bare the most obvious and damning points.
If the Great Sacred Lord still couldn't see through the deception, there was nothing more he could say.
The Great Sacred Lord's enthusiasm was running high. She had seized upon Lan Huang's strengths and now saw a thousand virtues in him. Even after everything Jiang Chen had just laid out, the admiration in her heart had not diminished one whit.
"Jiang Chen, I admit that the possibility you describe does exist. But what if you're wrong, and we lose a genius of this caliber over a misjudgment? That would be a true pity. Here's what I'm thinking — we bring him into the Sacred Land first. If he truly harbors ill intentions, we'll have no shortage of ways to deal with him. And if he doesn't, doesn't the Sacred Land benefit enormously? In the future, with Lan Huang and you shining side by side like twin stars, wouldn't that become a celebrated legend across the Myriad Abyss Island? I know you're magnanimous enough that you won't be put off by Lan Huang joining us, will you?"
Jiang Chen was completely speechless.