Jiang Chen's appearance had caught many off guard, but most people were actually pleased to see him.
After all, everyone was still thinking about his Heaven Ranked Pill.
According to the earlier agreement, after the Genius Grand Competition concluded, Jiang Chen would auction off the Heaven Ranked Pill. However, Jiang Chen felt it would be better to wait until the matter of the alliance was settled before proceeding with the auction.
Auctioning the Heaven Ranked Pill now would inevitably offend some people during the process, which would be detrimental to the Eternal Sacred Land's bid for the position of Alliance Leader.
That Sacred Land of a Hundred's Grand Sovereign Gao had clearly anticipated this layer of reasoning long ago. He wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he said, "Young friend Jiang Chen, surviving a great calamity must surely bring great fortune. Now everyone knows that you are a remarkable genius, a grandmaster of alchemy, and furthermore the most outstanding prodigy of Myriad Abyss Island. In the future, I fear the entire Myriad Abyss Island and its Ten Great Sacred Lands will all have to submit to you. So that pre-arranged auction of the Heaven Ranked Pill — it can begin now, can't it?"
Every word the man spoke sounded like praise for Jiang Chen, but in truth, every word was designed to wound, to paint a target on Jiang Chen's back, to bring him trouble.
If Jiang Chen began auctioning the Heaven Ranked Pill now, he would inevitably offend a batch of people. Those people would very likely become the main force opposing the Eternal Sacred Land, and they would turn around to support the Sacred Land of a Hundred instead.
Grand Sovereign Gao was therefore doing everything he could to push Jiang Chen into auctioning the pill right now.
"Friend Gao, these matters are for our Eternal Sacred Land to decide. It doesn't seem like something you need to concern yourself with," the Grand Sovereign said, displeased.
At a time like this, she had to show her full support in order to win back the Sacred Ancestor's trust.
"Heh heh, everyone present brought their ears along earlier and heard what was said. You were the ones who said the auction of the Heaven Ranked Pill would happen after the Genius Grand Competition ended? Surely you're not toying with everyone, leading them on?"
One had to admit, the man was remarkably skilled at stirring up emotions, at manufacturing ill will, and at fanning the flames.
Sure enough, everyone's emotions were roused, and they all turned their gazes toward Jiang Chen.
"Young friend Jiang Chen, stop holding back the Heaven Ranked Pill. Good things are meant to be shared in the end. Why hide it away and chill everyone's hearts? The Ten Great Sacred Lands, at the end of the day, are all on the same side. There will be plenty of opportunities for us to cooperate together going forward."
"Exactly. If the Heaven Ranked Pill becomes some sort of rare treasure held hostage, that takes all the fun out of it."
"Heh heh, I suppose the Eternal Sacred Land is planning to use the Heaven Ranked Pill to make a fortune?"
Once the crowd's emotions had been stirred up, and with others fanning the winds and lighting the fires, the atmosphere in the hall quickly began to turn sour.
The Grand Sovereign's expression darkened as she cursed silently — they had been played by the Sacred Land of a Hundred once again.
But Jiang Chen remained perfectly composed. He raised both hands gently and pressed them downward, then spoke in a clear, carrying voice: "Everyone, there's no need for commotion. Would you hear me out?"
Seeing that Jiang Chen wished to speak, everyone naturally quieted down.
Jiang Chen waited until the room had stilled, steadied himself, and then began: "I can see that everyone here is a clever person. Since we're all clever people, let's not say foolish things or do foolish things. What manner of person I, Jiang Chen, am — that doesn't need to be judged from one or two sentences out of someone else's mouth. This Friend Gao just now is also a clever person. As for what his words were truly meant to accomplish — since we're all clever people, if you think about it carefully, you should be able to figure out what he was after."