Bidding farewell to the holy girls, Jiang Chen walked out of the valley with his teammates and bumped into Wei Yong standing outside, his shoulders slumped.
Embarrassed, Wei Yong turned his back on them. He didn’t want them to see him like this.
Wu You was on friendly terms with Wei Yong. He approached the young man. “The competition isn’t over yet, Wei Yong. It’s dangerous for you to wander around without your teammates.”
Wei Yong shrugged and smiled wryly. “I don’t have any orbs on me. People would be blind to rob me.”
“You don’t have any orbs on you? How come?” Wu You was confused.
“I mentioned before that senior brother Sui Chen has all my orbs, right? He’s not talking to me now. He disappeared when he left the valley. Moreover, he may not have his own orbs either. He’s probably avoiding us because he thinks he’s failed us.” Wei Yong had been following Sui Chen for a long time, so the two were close.
Being abandoned by Sui Chen put him off balance.
Jiang Chen and the others exchanged a glance.
Wu You couldn’t help but speak up, “I’m not trying to drive a wedge between you, Wei Yong, but the two holy girls didn’t take senior brother Sui Chen’s orbs. Your explanation doesn’t make sense.”
Wei Yong paused. “Really? Why… why didn’t they take his orbs?”
He found that hard to believe. It didn’t make sense for the holy girls to not take something from their captive.
“That’s what we’re told. It’s up to you whether to believe me or not.” Wu You wasn’t going to push the issue. Wei Yong and Sui Chen had always been close. He’d be trying to break the brotherhood between the two if he insisted on convincing Wei Yong.
Jiang Chen smiled. “How many orbs did you get, Wei Yong?”
“Seven, if I remember right.”
“How many does your team have in total?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.
“About thirty.”
There were three members in every team. On average, a team should have thirty orbs. However, most teams would end up getting less than that.
Sui Chen’s team, at least, had failed to reach the average. But they were close enough.
Jiang Chen smiled wryly. “The two holy girls spared his orbs out of principle. It’ll be hilarious if he gets reckless and loses his orbs to others over the remaining days.”
Given Sui Chen’s intelligence and strength – or the lack thereof, it was very likely to happen. Jiang Chen would rather Sui Chen’s orbs to fall into the hands of the two holy girls than other contestants. At least the two holy girls didn’t stand a chance in overtaking his team.
The next few days, Jiang Chen and his team didn’t take any risks or make any more moves. They settled down at a relatively quiet location and leisurely waited for the competition to end.
They were the exceptions though. The rivalry between the other teams reached its peak at the end of the fifteen days. Violence broke out whenever teams encountered one another.
Jiang Chen and his companions set up camp in a formation that he set up, which perfectly concealed their presence. They were free to enjoy the scenery and stay on the sidelines as other teams clashed violently.
the orbs were further concentrated in of selected few in the last three days. Many teams acquired a great many orbs through targeting other teams.
Jiang Chen didn’t actively seek anyone out, but he didn’t let those who made a move against him go.
It wasn’t much, but he did get a few more orbs. In the end, the total number of orbs his team had amounted to close to three hundred.
“Our team will surely take the first spot, senior brother. It’s likely that we’ll rank above the second team by a terrifying margin!”
The thought greatly excited Wu You and Gan Ning. If they hadn’t been on Jiang Chen’s team, they would’ve had to work hard to not rank among the bottom, let alone get anywhere near the top.
The majority of the contestants couldn’t spend the three days in peace even if they wanted to. During the last stretch of the competition, they spent day and night avoiding powerful competitors in order to keep their orbs.
Very few could be as relaxed and idle as Jiang Chen’s team was.
Additionally, Gan Ning and Wu You had gained quite a lot from the competition.
The fifteen day competition finally came to an end. Jiang Chen and his team left the island like they were returning from a vacation.
Even the holy girls hadn’t managed to avoid getting into fights in the last three days. Both Holy Girl Si Tong and Yao Guang were tired and battered, looking like they’d gone through some tough times.
Poison Consort Shi Qinglu, on the other hand, had lost most of her enthusiasm after being defeated by Jiang Chen. She kept an unusually low profile.
The other top geniuses whose goal was to take first place seemed either dejected or confident. There were more who hid their emotions behind blank expressions.
And yet, the rules of the competition were effective enough. Many were severely injured. Some had even lost a limb or two. However, sixty contestants had entered the island and sixty had returned.
Their scores however, were a much different story.
Jiang Chen and his team returned to the Eternal Sacred Land camp. The first prime and Ziju Min were waiting for them.
“How did it go?” Ziju Min asked with a smile. Based on his understanding of Jiang Chen, he knew the young man’s score would only be good.
Jiang Chen smiled and nodded. “Things went well. Wu You suffered a little, but fortunately everything got safely resolved.”
“How many orbs do you have?” Ziju Min asked bluntly. That was the simplest way to determine if a team did well. Whether they could take the first place depended on the end result, not the journey.
“We’ll take the first place unless a miracle happens!” Gan Ning declared excitedly. He projected his voice on purpose, attracting the attention of many around him. They cast doubtful gazes at him. Who was this young man and why was he being so boastful?
Taking the first place was so much easier said than done!
Sui Chen happened to come Gan Ning’s way. Wei Yong and their other team member followed behind, their expression timid and concerned.
Sui Chen couldn’t help but mock, “You sure are confident with the way you talk. How many orbs do you have? More than a hundred?”
His mocking tone bothered Gan Ning. Sui Chen was the last person who should say that. If not for Jiang Chen, he’d still be kept captive by the holy girls!
