Jiang Manor. Jiang Chen gazed at the mountain of spiritual medicines piled up before him, letting out an admiring whistle. "They all say sects are rolling in wealth, and it seems the rumors aren't lying. This Tie family, as one of the two great families of the Treasure Tree Sect, is truly astonishingly rich. These things... are probably just a single leg hair plucked casually from the Tie family? In that case, I was still too soft-hearted. My price wasn't vicious enough."
Jiang Chen now finally understood why Ye Chonglou had advised him not to kill Tie Dazhi.
Defeated opponents like Tie Dazhi—killing him could wait for any time.
But this quantity of spiritual medicines? Even for Grand Tutor Ye, it would likely be difficult to gather so many at once.
"They all say the Duobao Dojo is wealthy, with shocking riches. But compared to the sect, they don't even rank. The Duobao Dojo is, after all, just an outer dojo of the Treasure Tree Sect. Their wealth might seem great, but when compared to the real giants within the sect, it's clearly not even worth mentioning."
Jiang Chen knew he had struck it rich this time.
This much stuff, even his Storage Ring couldn't hold it all.
Of course, Jiang Chen couldn't keep everything. Even if it was just for show, he had to go through the motions. He picked out two Saint Grade spiritual medicines, intending to send them to the old man.
Jiang Chen knew that although Grand Tutor Ye hadn't lifted a finger to capture Tie Dazhi and Zhou Yi, if the old man hadn't backed him, the Tie family would never have negotiated with him, let alone obediently delivered the goods.
In the end, Jiang Chen had leveraged the old man's influence for this extortion.
Therefore, giving the old man a share of the benefits was only natural.
However, when Jiang Chen brought these things before the old man, Grand Tutor Ye just chuckled and waved his hand. "Jiang Chen, my boy, I won't haggle with you over spiritual medicines. You captured the people yourself; I merely offered a suggestion. I can't claim credit."
"Grand Tutor, this is a token of my respect. If you don't accept it, I'll feel terrible."
Ye Chonglou smiled. "Let me put it this way: these medicines are indeed excellent, but in your hands, they will clearly be far more effective than sitting with me. Besides, I have some Saint Grade spiritual medicines of my own. You should keep them for your own use."
The old man firmly refused, and Jiang Chen didn't insist, putting the items away.
"Jiang Chen, even I didn't expect the Tie family to be so deranged, seizing the opportunity when I went to the Treasure Tree Sect to attack Jiang Manor. Fortunately, you were resourceful, which ended up making me worry for nothing on my way back."
"It makes this junior feel truly ashamed to have caused you worry."
"Oh, enough of that. You don't need to act so modest with me—since when did you look ashamed?" Ye Chonglou chuckled, then his expression suddenly turned serious. "Jiang Chen, my trip to the Treasure Tree Sect was at the invitation of the sect's ancestor, the Thousand Leaves Venerable, to discuss the Great Selection."
"Oh?"
"This Great Selection is of unprecedented high standards in history. The reasons, I've mentioned before. This selection is divided into two stages. The first stage is to select geniuses from the secular world. After this group is chosen, they will participate together with the sect's disciples in the second selection. It's the second selection that's crucial. Ultimately, the second stage will determine the sixteen strongest. The four great sects will each take four. Those chosen by each sect's ancestor will be personally guided by them and accepted as true disciples. Moreover, they will receive the sect's absolute core, premium resources."
"The absolute core, premium resources?" Jiang Chen blinked. What he lacked most right now were resources.
In the martial world, the absolute core and most powerful resources were basically controlled by the sects. A small portion existed in the secular kingdoms, fought over by countless martial artists, forever in short supply.
The sects held the core resources, and those who truly benefited within a sect were always the few geniuses standing at its very peak.
Ye Chonglou nodded. "Simply put, the so-called absolute core, premium resources means you can have whatever you want. As long as the sect has it, they will give it!"
Such treatment was absolutely top-tier.
After all, within the four great sects, those who truly held the ultimate say were the Yuan Realm ancestors. Even the Sect Master and the First Elder didn't qualify to touch some core resources without the Yuan Realm ancestor's nod.
And the geniuses selected this time could enjoy the privilege of "having their wishes granted," a treatment not even the Sect Master and First Elder could receive.
"Grand Tutor, from the looks of it, the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance is in a perilous situation right now. Otherwise, why would the four great sects lower their proud stance and offer such sweet incentives?"
Ye Chonglou let out a long sigh. "Feeling the crisis now is actually a somewhat slow reaction. When I returned from my travels around the world back then, I dropped some hints to the sect, warning them against self-isolation. Sadly, no one listened. They simply didn't realize how negligible the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance's presence was in the Wanxiang Domain. Now that they've come to their senses, I hope there's still a chance to remedy things."
The old man's tone grew somewhat desolate for a moment. He looked at Jiang Chen, and a sudden gleam of light, a hint of expectation, shone in his eyes.
"Jiang Chen, I've heard that turbulent times produce heroes. Perhaps, with the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance in such chaos, it might actually be an opportunity for a genius like you who comes from a humble background."
Geniuses from poor backgrounds were limited by their conditions. Many couldn't receive sufficient nurturing and eventually faded into mediocrity.
This Great Selection was undoubtedly an opportunity for those from humble origins.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, offering no rebuttal to the old man's words.
He had to admit, this old man was a kind-hearted elder. What Jiang Chen felt from him was genuine care.
Every suggestion the old man offered, every word he spoke, was from Jiang Chen's perspective, considering Jiang Chen's future.
Such an elder deserved Jiang Chen's respect.