The first being to attain the Other Shore before the Azure Emperor and the Great Powers returned.
It could be said that the Azure Emperor's attainment of the Other Shore had drawn considerable covert attention, with wave after wave of hidden forces pushing from behind him, leaving him saddled with debts he could never repay.
Before the return of the Other Shores, he had been a figure maintaining the balance. But after the Golden Emperor returned, he began acting like a clay Buddha crossing a river, barely able to protect himself.
Now, the providence focused upon the Azure Emperor was perhaps second only to Meng Qi's.
So it was indeed somewhat abnormal for the Azure Emperor to pass by him.
Xu Yue had also placed his bets on the Azure Emperor. He did not expect the other party to help him; it was enough as long as he did not sabotage him.
After all, in the later stages of such games, alliances and maneuvering were immensely important. Given the peculiar nature of the Other Shore, the intervention of one additional Other Shore could lead to an entirely different outcome.
Thus, after the Azure Emperor passed by and the situation within Golden Ao Island had been fully investigated for the time being, Xu Yue decided to slow down first.
After all, three of the four Heavenly Immortal envoys sent out by Golden Ao Island had already been dealt with. The remaining Heavenly Immortal envoy and Daji would have some trouble holding the Golden Ao Banquet immediately.
Yuan Hong did not yet want the outside world to know that he had fully awakened, so replacements for the Heavenly Immortal envoys would certainly not arrive so quickly.
In truth, Yuan Hong's measures were entirely sound. They could even be called the most correct