The Ascension Trial selected only the top contender. If Lu Ming also participated, they would be rivals.
Chen Lin could not help growing wary.
Lu Jiuxuan had participated in the trial before, so he was certainly familiar with the City of Yangguang. He might even be able to enter whenever he wished, which would let him see whose names were on the Celestial Monument.
Eliminating threatening competitors in advance was standard practice.
But there was another possibility.
They might recruit those ranked lower on the Celestial Monument to strengthen their own forces during the trial. Those near the bottom had no chance of taking first place anyway, and serving as supporting players might allow them to survive.
Lu Jiuxuan himself was an example. Anyone would believe him if he claimed to have a way to preserve their lives.
After pondering for a while,
Chen Lin stopped dwelling on it.
Thinking about these things now was useless. He could only take one step at a time.
The group discussed matters for a while.
Then Chen Lin brought Hongchen and Little White Snake into the Grotto-Heaven Jade Pendant and left Xinya to watch the shop. He took the Puda Siblings to the market to learn more about the situation and see whether he could gather some supplies along the way.
"Daoist Lin, might you have time for a chat?"
They had barely left the shop when a figure appeared before them.
Chen Lin stopped.
He examined the man, a middle-aged cultivator in blue robes with a weathered face. His mana fluctuations were powerful; he had already reached the Quasi-Dominator realm.
He searched his memory.
Then he smiled. "You must be Fellow Daoist Fang Jingwang of Panlong Island?"
This man was one of those who had tried to recruit him on the Tribulation