Though Jiang Chen didn't think highly of Young Master Suichen's character, he didn't have much of an impression of Young Master Weiyong either. But the man was still from the Eternal Sacred Land, after all.
All things considered, they were fellow disciples.
"Weiyong — weren't you teamed up with Young Master Suichen? How did you end up on your own?" Jiang Chen didn't put on airs, asking in a measured tone.
A look of embarrassment crossed Weiyong's face, and he answered with a bitter smile: "Young Master Suichen is in serious trouble. When I heard that Senior Brother Jiang Chen was nearby, I risked everything to break free and come to you for help."
"It's only a trial," Jiang Chen said with a chuckle, the picture of composure. "Even if there's some trouble, your lives aren't at risk. How bad can it really be?"
Weiyong spoke quickly: "Senior Brother, you don't understand. The three of us were teamed together, but we were cut off by others who demanded we hand over our Trial Orbs."
"And did you?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.
"We didn't! We worked hard for those Trial Orbs — why should we hand them over? Besides…" Weiyong trailed off at that point.
"Go on," Jiang Chen waved a hand.
"Ah, Senior Brother Jiang Chen, the truth is, this matter affects you as well. Many of the Sacred Lands have quietly developed a kind of tacit understanding — it seems they're deliberately targeting our Eternal Sacred Land as a whole. They want to prop up other contenders to compete against us. So the more Trial Orbs end up in their hands, the more trouble it spells for your path to the championship."
Jiang Chen heard this and simply laughed with a carefree wave of his hand.
Affect my championship?
He knew perfectly well that the number of Trial Orbs he currently possessed was more than enough to secure the victory. The only scenario in which he might not win was if every other Trial Orb in the entire trial were concentrated in a single team's hands.
But was that realistic? Obviously not.
Ten great Sacred Lands, sixty geniuses, twenty small teams. None of them were cowards, and none had been born just to play supporting roles.
Everyone wanted to shine in the Genius Grand Tournament. If your strength was lacking and you couldn't hold onto your Trial Orbs, that was one thing — but between top-tier geniuses, there was absolutely no way anyone would willingly hand over their Trial Orbs to another.
That was human nature, and Jiang Chen was certain of it.
Human nature always had its weaknesses.
So it was clear that Young Master Weiyong's words carried a hint of goading — he simply wanted Jiang Chen to step in and help them out of their predicament.
Wu You saw through Weiyong's game as well.
He frowned and said: "Weiyong, there are no fools here. You can put away your little tricks. Stop us from winning the championship? Keep dreaming."
Gan Ning also chuckled: "Though I will say I'm a little curious — Young Master Suichen's strength is nothing to scoff at. In the ten great Sacred Lands, there are only a handful of people who could give him trouble."
He counted on his fingers — truly, only a very small number.
Having been called out, Weiyong knew his act had fallen flat. Shamefaced, he admitted: "I was being presumptuous. The ones causing trouble for us are Holy Maiden Yaoguang of the Radiance Sacred Land and Holy Maiden Sitong of the Rising Sun Sacred Land."
"I'll bet it's because Young Master Suichen fancied himself quite the charmer and made advances toward them?" Gan Ning's tone dripped with irony.