On the fourth day, Jiang Chen and the others finally received news of Wu You.
The news was brought back by the Gold-Munching Mouse clan. It was not good news — Wu You had already fallen into the hands of others.
The Gold-Munching Mouse clan had no clear idea who the people that captured Wu You were.
However, the Gold-Munching Mouse mentioned that the other side had a group, which apparently included Qin You and his associates — people Jiang Chen had dealt with before.
"Qin You?" Jiang Chen frowned. After subduing those six previously, he hadn't detained them. He had simply knocked them unconscious and left them to their own devices.
Who would have thought that after just two days, those fellows had resurfaced to stir up trouble?
"Gan Ning, there's news of Wu You's whereabouts." Jiang Chen glanced at Gan Ning.
Gan Ning was unaware of Jiang Chen's communication with the Gold-Munching Mouse and was momentarily taken aback. "Senior Brother Jiang Chen, have you found something?"
"He's fallen into someone else's hands," Jiang Chen said calmly.
"What? Who did it?" Gan Ning was shocked.
"I don't know yet. My guess is it's most likely connected to the Hundred Sacred Land." Jiang Chen's brow twitched slightly. "That Qin You from before may also be involved."
"That bastard after all." Gan Ning gnashed his teeth. If he had known this would happen, "he should have crippled them one by one."
Among the Ten Great Sacred Lands, there was no deep-seated, irreconcilable hatred to begin with. When fighting against extraterritorial invaders, they were even allies.
Therefore, the Ten Great Sacred Lands had always been very careful about maintaining their relationships. They would not kill lightly, and no one was willing to be the one to shatter those ties.
If they started killing at every turn, those relationships would inevitably deteriorate. So, the rules absolutely prohibited killing.
However, the rules did not prohibit crippling someone.
Thus, if Jiang Chen had been willing to cripple those fellows' cultivation one by one, it wouldn't actually have violated the rules. The reason he hadn't done so was, firstly, for the reputation of the Eternal Sacred Land, and secondly, because he didn't want to damage the relationships between the Ten Great Sacred Lands.
In the martial world, crippling someone's cultivation was practically no different from taking their life.
Precisely because of this, Jiang Chen had adhered to the principle of showing mercy when possible, and hadn't laid a heavy hand on Qin You and his group.
Yet, Wu You had ended up in their hands after all.
If he hadn't known Wu You's whereabouts, it might have been fine. But now that he knew, not going to rescue him was something Jiang Chen simply could not accept.
"Let's go. We're going to demand his release." After a moment's thought, Jiang Chen said.
Gan Ning nodded and followed behind Jiang Chen, walking briskly. However, he quickly remembered something and spoke up. "Senior Brother, if it's the Hundred Sacred Land, then Qin You alone would be one thing. But if it's Shi Qinglu, we should be more cautious."
"Shi Qinglu?" Jiang Chen frowned. "Is she related to Shi Xuan?"
"She is." Gan Ning nodded. "The Shi clan is one of the most famous families in the Hundred Sacred Land — one of its pillar families. And Shi Qinglu has always been hailed as the most promising genius among the Hundred Sacred Land's younger generation in five thousand years. In recent years, she had almost entirely withdrawn from the various competitions and rivalries among the younger generation. Who would have thought she'd actually come to participate in the Genius Grand Tournament this time? It's clear that the Hundred Sacred Land is dead set on winning."
"Mm. If this woman has earned such acclaim, she's certainly no ordinary person." Jiang Chen did not underestimate his enemy.
"That's right. Shi Qinglu has been very mysterious and low-key in recent years, but back in the day, she was already known as the 'Poison Consort.' Even at a young age, she had already carved out a fearsome reputation in the art of poison." Gan Ning's tone grew grave as he spoke of the Poison Consort's title.