Mulan Qingqing lowered the hands she had clasped behind her back with such old-fashioned gravity. Turning to her junior brothers, she asked without a trace of expression or emotion, "How many do we have as of today?"
Yan Jidao, who looked rather mature, answered, "After today's count, we have a total of three thousand and twenty-seven insect core crystals."
Mulan Qingqing said, "In other words, more than seven thousand people have worked for over a month, and we don't even have one per person."
Guan Yingjie, who brimmed with the heroic vigor his name suggested, said, "Senior sister, that's true, but we should still have more than anyone from the other continents."
Handsome and visibly confident, Chao Zhilin said, "Senior sister, judging by what we've learned from our contact with the other continents, none of them have gathered a force as large as ours. So far, we haven't heard of any sect whose insect core crystal count might surpass ours."
Mulan Qingqing said, "Our strength in numbers is precisely the problem. The other sects aren't helping us for free. We made them promises. Not only must the Suyuan Sect take first place, we must also help the other sects take second, third, and do our best to secure every place down to tenth.
"The sects followed us because they had hopes. If we use everyone's strength to help the Suyuan Sect take first place, then ignore the rewards owed to the others, our sect will have broken its word. In the future, a thousand fingers will point at us in condemnation, and our sect's good name will suffer.
"The foremost sect of the Victory Spirit Continent must have the bearing and responsibility befitting that position. Looking out only for ourselves is no use. If we take the crown but the