This method of competition was extremely cruel. If a candidate failed to complete both of their application opportunities, they would lose their Lord's Token outright.
As a result, many Lord's Tokens would inevitably become vacant.
These vacant tokens would be filled by powerful noble families. Of course, these supplementary slots could only be ranked behind the originals.
In other words, the heirs who successfully completed their tasks would have priority for the front slots. Those who lost their Lord's Tokens and only got in through supplementary slots could only compete for the positions that opened up further down.
Of course, none of these rules were something Jiang Chen needed to worry about in the slightest.
Jiang Chen's goal was crystal clear — he was aiming straight for the championship. For him, on a competitive stage of this level, even second place was a failure.
"Brother Chen, come on, say something! What level of task are you planning to apply for?" Fatty Xuan couldn't care less about his own situation, but he was intensely curious about Jiang Chen's choice.
Jiang Chen gave a faint smile, his gaze naturally drifting toward the four Great Lords' section.
Fatty followed his line of sight and slapped his thick, fleshy thigh. "That's it! I knew it — Brother Chen either doesn't make a move, or when he does, it scares people to death!"
"Hehe, Brother Chen, I hope you drag that little wench Long Juxue off her high horse." Fatty Xuan's grin turned downright sleazy. "Even better, she'd be conquered by Brother Chen, throw herself at him willingly, and then he'd dump her after having his fun. Ha ha ha, that would be absolutely perfect!"
Imagining that degenerate scene, Fatty Xuan's tiny rat-like eyes squinted into slits, perfectly embodying the saying "shamelessness knows no bounds."
Next, the 108 lord heirs stepped forward in order of their lords' rankings to submit their tasks for the Hidden Dragon Examination.
For the heirs of the First-Rank Lords, the level of task they applied for was virtually a foregone conclusion.
Every First-Rank Lord heir had their pride. They would never allow their position to be taken from them, never allow themselves to be knocked down from the First-Rank.
Still, in the Hidden Dragon Examination, shifts in strength were perfectly normal. Everything came down to who had the real power.
Marquis Jianghan was ranked fourteenth among the 108 lords, so it wasn't long before it was Jiang Chen's turn to step forward.
"Jiang Chen, what rank of task are you applying for?" Princess Gouyu asked.
"First Rank!" Jiang Chen didn't even blink.
"Ambitious. But I must warn you — everyone who came before you also applied for First-Rank tasks. The competition among you will be fierce!"
"What's the point of rankings without competition?" Jiang Chen said with a faint smile.
"Very good. According to the rules, every lord heir must complete three tasks to pass the evaluation. If even one of the three tasks is failed, the application is considered unsuccessful."
"Understood." Jiang Chen nodded slightly.
"Good. Go over there and draw your first task." Princess Gouyu inscribed a First-Rank task mark onto Jiang Chen's application token.
"Jiang Chen, applying for a First-Rank task. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Please come this way. Every scroll here represents a First-Rank task. Draw whichever one you like."
Jiang Chen nodded, swept his eyes across the selection, and casually pulled one out.
They were all First-Rank tasks, so the difficulty should be roughly the same. There was no point in being picky. Besides, all the scrolls were sealed, so the contents couldn't be examined anyway.
After drawing his task, Jiang Chen didn't rush to open it. The organizers of the Hidden Dragon Examination didn't require on-the-spot verification.
As long as the candidate completed the task and came back to submit it for verification, that was sufficient.
"Jiang Chen, what task did you draw?" A fellow lord heir asked curiously.
Jiang Chen glanced at the person, offered a faint smile, and walked straight off. Clearly, this person was no friend — most likely an operative from a rival camp trying to fish for information.
Though Jiang Chen wasn't afraid, he didn't want extra saboteurs interfering while he was carrying out his mission.
According to the rules, all three tasks had to be completed within three months.
Once the evaluation was over, those who were eliminated would be eliminated, and supplementary candidates would fill in to restore the full 108 lords. Then, ranked by their tier, a final ranking tournament would be held.
In other words, once the tiers were set, the twelve First-Rank lord heirs could only compete against other First-Rank heirs to determine the final standings.
Each tier competed internally, and those results produced the final rankings.
After drawing his first task, all the lord heirs were free to leave. Going forward, they only needed to return once for each completed task to submit it, then draw their second task.
"Chen'er, what task did you draw?" Back at the Marquis's estate, Jiang Feng asked eagerly.
Jiang Chen handed the task scroll to Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng looked it over and furrowed his brow. "This first task is rather complicated."