The purge within the Southern Bright Sacred Land continued, but it had not thrown everyone into a panic.
Still, many people noticed something strange: familiar faces around them kept vanishing without a trace.
Everyone knew those people had something to hide.
The selection of the ten great sacred lands had caused an uproar across Mingli Land, and the Southern Bright Sacred Land's meteoric rise had become everyone's favorite topic of conversation.
Once the new ten great sacred lands were settled, hardly anyone discussed the rankings. Everyone talked about the Southern Bright Sacred Land.
And... the three clans that had suddenly appeared.
"How strange. So much time has passed, yet the three clans haven't made a move."
"Could they be afraid Chen Changan is too strong to take on?"
Hearing the Qin Holy Lord's words, Lü Mingqi frowned. Many years had indeed passed since the ranking tournament.
By any ordinary reckoning, their opponents would never have stayed silent for so long.
After all, the longer they waited, the more likely Chen Changan and his companions were to grow stronger. That did them no good.
The sensible move would have been to cut through the tangled mess with a swift blade.
Yet the three clans' behavior was impossible to read.
Two clans had clearly targeted Chen Changan, while the third had remained silent.
They had expected the clan that had yet to reveal itself to strike next. Instead, all was calm, and nothing happened.
"Holy Lord, do you think they might be brewing a larger plot?"
"That they aren't refusing to act, but planning something?" Lü Mingqi asked with a frown.
"It's possible. But..."
"What sort of plot could they still be planning?"
"If they were absolutely confident, wouldn't it be better to attack outright?"
"In fact, they should have attacked from