Talent Selection
"What? You've taken a fancy to these two?"
"One of them is called Long Bao, and the other is called Long Yan. Long Bao is that fat guy. Both of them are geniuses in our clan who can be ranked in the top ten in terms of talent."
Seeing the obvious change in Long Qian's eyes, Long Wanli asked with a smile.
Long Qian made no attempt to conceal his thoughts, nodding slightly and smiling, "With their skill level, these two are rare geniuses even in the Western Land."
"However, although these two are strong enough, they may not be able to secure a victory against the Bai Clan's genius."
"However, if I were to personally design the Insect Armor for these two, I'm sure winning both rounds would be a sure thing."
A glint of light flashed in Long Qian's eyes; he felt he had already secured victory in two rounds.
He was all too aware of the terror posed by the Earthworker; as a Insect Armor Smith himself, how could he not understand Earthworker terrifying nature?
The Western Land Long Family also possesses this type of Earthworker Gu Insect, the Western Land Long Family, and they paid a great price to acquire it through a trade.
The two tribes united because they exchanged technologies, and the Western Land Long Family emptied most of its resources to make up the difference, thus forming an alliance.
From now on, the two clans must advance and retreat together. Once the Soul Clan attacks the Far West Long Family, the Western Land Long Family will definitely help at all costs. They have already tasted the benefits of those technologies, how can they allow other forces to steal them?
This is also why Long Wanli shared his insights without reservation.
Of course, the Western Land Long Family nearly emptied their coffers to acquire those new technologies.
However, the higher-ups of the Western Land Long Family were all discerning and could see the immense value of those technologies, so they were willing to empty their coffers. It was a case of one clan willing to give and the other willing to receive.
Don't blame Long Wanli for being ruthless. That kid Long Xuan has just too many contribution points. He can empty the Lineage's Treasure Repository at the drop of a hat. No matter how big and powerful the Long Family family is, it can't withstand him doing that.
He had completely emptied the Treasure Repository, leading many clansmen to mistakenly believe that the Lineage had become poor. Long Wanli had no choice but to take this opportunity to fleece the Western Land Long Family and quickly replenish the Treasure Repository with the plundered wealth.
"What? Brother Qian is also an Insect Armor Smith?" Long Wanli looked at Long Qian beside him in surprise upon hearing this.
"Hehe! Part-time job, part-time Insect Armor. Insect Armor are in such high demand and short supply right now, selling them is incredibly profitable. I'm just taking this opportunity to earn some extra money."
"Currently, refining large-sized Gu Insect has become a trend in the Western Land. Whoever can seize the market first will make a fortune. Once the market is saturated, it will be too late for those who want to enter the industry."
"But where is the founder of this Insect Armor Smith? I really want to visit him. Many newcomers are preparing to worship their founder, but they don't know who to worship, so they can only use Earthworker statue as a substitute," Long Qian suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, the two geniuses behind him perked up their ears. Clearly, the Far West Long Family had done an excellent job of keeping secrets. Nowadays, almost no one knew who the creators of those mysterious technologies were, and they were both filled with curiosity.
"Hehe! Brother Qian, please don't ask about that person's identity. My clan will announce it, but not now. The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. When he truly grows up, my clan will personally make a statue for him and keep it there forever," Long Wanli laughed.
Long Qian looked disappointed, but nodded understandingly and looked back towards the arena.
They discovered that the two had already finished their fight, but the outcome was something no one had predicted.
Long Yan's Earthworker was the first to push Long Bao's Earthworker off the stage, and then quickly went to support his master.
When Long Bao saw the Earthworker running towards him, his expression changed drastically. In a flash, he had a brilliant idea and grabbed Long Yan's arm, rolling off the stage together.
Because the incident happened so suddenly and at such a high speed, no one could see who landed first. The referee could only restrain the two arguing individuals, declare it a draw, and then quickly arrange the next match.
Seeing this, Long Qian stroked his beard and smiled, "He's quite clever. If he had reacted any slower, he would have undoubtedly lost."
"Both of them are quite good, I'll take them. But where is the noble family's number one genius? Where did she go?"
Long Qian frantically searched around the arena for Long Ziyan's figure. He had long heard of the number one genius of the Far West Long Family.
He had made comparisons. Long Ziyan was a genius with Heavenly-Grade Aptitude, a Ninth Grade bloodline, and a rare Nine-Yin Severing Physique. It was also said that she Innate Sword Bone. With these four factors combined, her combat power could easily defeat all the geniuses of the Bai Clan in the Western Land.
Therefore, this genius was his must-have target on this trip, and he absolutely could not let him go.
He frowned slightly, secretly worried, as he couldn't see the main figure in sight. He hoped the person wasn't on some distant mission, or he would lose his guaranteed one-twelfth of the mineral vein—a huge loss indeed.
Long Wanli gave a wry smile and sighed helplessly, "You don't know this, but she can defeat anyone in half a move. Gradually, no one wanted to fight her anymore. Everyone who faced her would choose to concede without exception. So, she could just stand there and play and still be the champion."
She said standing was a waste of time, and it was better not to come than to stand all day and waste time, so she really stopped coming. She would only register for the clan competition every time.
"Let's just let the champion skip the test and take the title from her at home. Anyway, there won't be any controversy if we just give her the title directly."
Upon hearing this, both Long Qian and the two geniuses behind him twitched at the corners of their mouths. They were truly impressed that a genius could achieve this level of talent.
"Where is that genius with the Ten Extremity Physique Physics? Where is he? I haven't seen him anywhere."
Long Qian began frantically searching through the crowd for the figure of that genius with the Ten Extremity Physique Physics.
The Ten Extremity Physique are known as invincible among those of the same rank, and the Genius Arena Tournament against the Bai Clan was a battle of equals, so he was guaranteed to win that match and secure one-twelfth of the mine.
I heard that in his arena match against the Feng Clan, he didn't even use Gu Insect and knocked his opponent off the stage in just a few moves. His combat power was simply terrifying.
Therefore, this genius with the Ten Extremity Physique Physics is also a target he must obtain, and he must take him with him.
Long Wanli and the elders on both sides smiled bitterly. Long Wanli said helplessly, "You don't know, his contribution points are just too many. He no longer cares about the contribution point reward from the clan competition."
"So he never comes to the clan competition, claiming that he wants to leave the opportunity to the younger generation and that he wants to demonstrate humility, so he simply doesn't come to any of the clan competitions."
Upon hearing this, Long Qian and the two geniuses behind him twitched uncontrollably again, completely losing their composure. Are all the geniuses of the Far West Long Family this peculiar?
They were genuinely shocked that they wouldn't come to such a major event as the clan competition.
"What about Long Chao? His personality isn't that special, is it?" Long Qian couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly asked another genius he admired.
Long Chao's Evil Dragon Emperor Eye has awakened Soul Seed ability. The Soul Seed ability is truly terrifying. It is one of the top Illusion Technique in the world. As long as this Illusion Technique is used properly, it can basically be invincible among its peers. They will then be able to secure one-twelfth of the ownership of the mine.
Therefore, he must take this person with him. Long Chao is his third target, followed by Long Qilin.
However, upon hearing this person's name, Long Wanli and the other elders all turned pale and their smiles vanished.
Long Wanli's smile faded as he said, "Let's not mention this person. He certainly had a peculiar personality, but family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. I won't go into his affairs, but he is indeed dead now, and you can't take him with you."
Noticing the obvious change in their expressions, Long Qian realized he had probably asked a taboo question, so he didn't continue.
However, he felt a great sense of regret at this moment, as he had lost the one-twelfth of the mine he had secured, and he felt a pang of heartache.
"Don't ask anymore, Long Qilin. He just happened to be absent. He always comes, except this time when he was out looking for building materials for the Thatch Gu. It's really just a coincidence." Long Wanli shook his head helplessly.
That silly son is really addicted to building houses for the Thatch Gu; he's not even as diligent as he is in building houses for himself.
"Is he also a fan of watching the Thatch Gu build houses? This is an illness, and it's spreading like wildfire in the Western Land Long Family, with no cure." Long Qian shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"But it's good that he has this hobby. As long as he wins a tournament for my clan, I'll give him a large amount of Geng Metal as building material. Geng Metal is a top-quality building material for houses." Long Qian laughed.
The subsequent arena matches were unremarkable, and until the end of the clan competition, he did not encounter any more geniuses who impressed him.
There are indeed some geniuses, such as Long Panpan, whose transformation from Earthworker was very effective, but even geniuses of this caliber cannot guarantee victory.
The Bai Clan is one of the ten great clans of the Western Land, teeming with geniuses. How easy is it to find a prodigy who can consistently surpass the Bai Clan clan's geniuses? Perhaps his standards are too high.
Ultimately, he decided that Long Ziyan, Long Xuan, Long Qilin, Long Bao, and Long Yan were the five must-haves, while the other geniuses were to be determined. He needed more detailed information before making a decision, as this matter concerned a large Geng Metal Ore Vein, which could affect the Clan Fortune, and he could not be careless.
Long Biao, who was behind him, was extremely upset. He had originally planned to find an opportunity to go onto the stage, show off his skills, and let them know the difference between geniuses from big places and geniuses from small places.
Who would have thought that the strongest geniuses of the Long Family would all be so individualistic, even refusing to participate in the clan competition if they said they wouldn't.
But he also had his own pride and didn't want to go into the ring to beat up novices, otherwise even if he won, no one would think he was strong.
So he stood still until the clan competition ended, without making any move to jump off the platform and participate in the duel.
Now that the clan competition was finally over, he couldn't wait to speak, "Junior Long Biao has come to your noble family today to have a duel between geniuses with your Long Xuan. I hope you will grant my request."
"Nonsense! We are guests, how dare you cause trouble here? Get out of here at once!"
Long Qian was furious and immediately stood up, shouting angrily.
Of course, this was something he had expected, and it was part of his plan. He intended to give Long Biao a crushing defeat so that he would curb his arrogance, so his current performance was obviously an act.
Long Wanli, however, remained calm. In his view, Long Biao's chances of winning were slim. A friendly spar between the geniuses of the two clans would be beneficial. Although they couldn't match the number of strong individuals from the Western Land Long Family, surely they could match the number of geniuses?
He had great confidence in the genius of this generation of his Lineage; this generation of genius was enough to make him proud and allow him to stand tall in front of his own family.