Jiang Chen's words rang with absolute conviction, deafening in their impact.
Many present felt as though they had been struck by the morning bell and evening drum, their minds suddenly clear.
Yes—growing stronger, ceaselessly growing stronger, was the only path to lasting peace. Everything the Ten Great Sacred Lands were doing now was merely a stopgap, running themselves ragged just to keep up.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul.
It could be said that the Ten Great Sacred Lands were doing nothing but reacting passively, mounting a futile resistance.
"Is this what you spoke of earlier, young friend—raising our overall strength?"
"Exactly. Increasing our power is the only true path. Everything else is merely a temporary expedient." Jiang Chen's tone was unwavering.
Patriarch Guangming was silent for a long while. After a great pause, he finally sighed: "Young friend, everyone says you are the reincarnation of a god. We ourselves are cultivators of the divine path, but even among us old folks, our understanding of many matters falls far short of yours. What manner of extraordinary existence were you in your past life?"
Jiang Chen scratched his head: "Senior, that is something even I don't know. I only know these things, but many of my memories have yet to awaken. If you're asking about my past life's background, I'm just as much in the dark. Perhaps this so-called divine reincarnation is merely rumor that has taken on a life of its own."
"No, no—the reincarnation of a god is beyond doubt. It's simply that you haven't fully awakened yet, and certain memories haven't surfaced. Perhaps once you enter the divine path and open the channel between your past and present lives, everything will become clear."
Patriarch Guangming's voice was filled with admiration. He smiled, then nodded: "Regardless, this old man thanks the young friend for clearing things up. Just now, Patriarch Xuri's choice was also my choice."
Patriarch Xuri had previously promised that if Jiang Chen could resolve his questions, he would unconditionally support the Eternal Sacred Lands. And Jiang Chen's explanation had clearly satisfied him.
Thus, Patriarch Xuri had effectively pledged his support to the Eternal Sacred Lands, and Patriarch Guangming held the same view—meaning these two had sided with the Eternal Sacred Lands.
This left the Hundred Sacred Lands deeply frustrated. A single lecture by a junior had won two Great Sacred Lands over to the Eternal Sacred Lands, an outcome highly unfavorable to the Hundred Sacred Lands.
By this tally, among the Ten Great Sacred Lands, the Eternal Sacred Lands had already secured at least half the support.
The Hundred Sacred Lands felt an enormous pressure bearing down on them.
On their side, they did have two relatively firm allies—the Duowen Sacred Lands and the Jimie Sacred Lands.
But the Eternal Sacred Lands likewise had two allies—the Zhenwu Sacred Lands and the Jiuyou Sacred Lands. Now that the Xuri Sacred Lands and the Guangming Sacred Lands had declared their positions, the Eternal Sacred Lands held the initiative.
The remaining factions were the Nirvana Sacred Lands and the Buxiu Sacred Lands, neither of which had yet declared a stance. If both threw their support behind the Eternal Sacred Lands, the ratio would be at least seven to three—an absolutely overwhelming advantage.
But if they could win over these two factions, the Hundred Sacred Lands could at least force a five-to-five stalemate. In other words, the absolute best the Hundred Sacred Lands could hope for at this point was a draw.
The Nirvana Sacred Lands and the Buxiu Sacred Lands, by the look of things, had no desire to declare their positions for the time being, dead set on maintaining their neutrality.
Whether the Hundred Sacred Lands could persuade these two great factions was something they had no real confidence about.
After all, while there was some interaction among the Ten Great Sacred Lands, the relationships between them were not particularly close.
Still, the Hundred Sacred Lands had come to realize that they had no road of retreat.
Lu Mingye bore an immense weight of pressure on his shoulders. He knew that his performance from here on out would determine the trajectory of the Hundred Sacred Lands' bid for the leadership.