Chapter 799: The Saint

"I lost..."

Nalan Chu was very calm, without the sense of loss one might expect from being dethroned.

"You didn't lose. If this were a life-and-death battle, the outcome would be hard to predict," said Ye Yuan.

Nalan Chu shook his head. "Lost is lost. I won't make excuses for my defeat. And I know that even in a life-and-death battle, the one who would ultimately win is definitely you!"

Nalan Chu could feel the killing intent in Ye Yuan's sword will, indicating that Ye Yuan had experienced far more battles than he had.

Suddenly, Nalan Chu turned and cupped his hands toward the high platform. "Grand Elder, from today on, I withdraw from this selection competition!"

"What! Nalan Chu is withdrawing from the competition!"

"Are you kidding? Even if Nalan Chu lost, he'd at least be second place, right? And he comprehended the extremely rare Supreme True Intent of Light. The Holy Land should cultivate him heavily, yet he chooses to withdraw!"

"Could this guy be too stimulated by this loss?"

Nalan Chu's decision caused an uproar among the crowd.

Although Nalan Chu lost, his genius was beyond doubt.

But now, he had chosen to withdraw.

Was Nalan Chu too fragile?

But thinking about it, it wasn't strange. After all, a genius like Nalan Chu had never been defeated before. This loss must have hit him hard.

The Grand Elder was silent for a moment, then said, "Why?"

"Nalan Chu wishes to leave the Holy Land and roam the world. I hope the Grand Elder will grant this!" Nalan Chu said firmly.

Another silence fell. Nalan Chu was not anxious, waiting for the Grand Elder's reply.

After a long while, the Grand Elder slowly spoke. "Go, then. Remember, the Redcloud Holy Land is your home!"

Nalan Chu bowed in thanks. "Thank you, Grand Elder, for granting my wish!"

Then he turned to Ye Yuan and said, "You were right. I really hadn't seen true genius. Ye Yuan, thank you for thoroughly waking me up today. One day, I will definitely defeat you!"

Ye Yuan smiled. "Good, I'll be waiting."

That Nalan Chu could comprehend the Supreme True Intent of Light showed how extraordinary his talent was. If he stayed cooped up in Redcloud, his talent would be wasted.

Redcloud Valley was an opportunity, but not necessarily Nalan Chu's opportunity.

There are many paths to becoming a strong person, but being confined to one corner and playing king is certainly not the path of a strong person.

Thus, Ye Yuan naturally admired Nalan Chu's decision.

Moreover, Nalan Chu was different from geniuses like Wu Jiantong. He could afford to lose and could let go, so he would surely achieve something in the future.

Nalan Chu left the Redcloud Holy Land just like that, catching everyone off guard.

At the start of the competition, Nalan Chu had already been internally designated as the first-place candidate. In the end, he voluntarily gave up the competition.

However, Nalan Chu's withdrawal also intensified the battle for the top ten.

In the holy hall of the Redcloud Holy Land, an aged figure appeared somewhat desolate.

The Grand Elder stood by his side, his expression somewhat agitated.

"Holy Lord, with your current body, sending three people in is already the limit. How can you send three more?" the Grand Elder said through gritted teeth.

This aged figure was actually the Holy Lord of the Redcloud Holy Land!

But probably no one would have imagined that the Holy Lord had aged to such a state.

Hearing the Grand Elder's words, the Holy Lord turned to look at him and smiled. "I don't have much time left. While this old bones can still be of some use, let me preserve more incense for the Redcloud Holy Land. Alas, I, Tu You, am incompetent, letting the Redcloud Holy Land fail under my watch. This selection competition has indeed uncovered some good seedlings. If they can remember the Redcloud Holy Land's kindness, perhaps they can rebuild the Redcloud Holy Land one day."

Hearing this, the Grand Elder wept with tears streaming down his aged face. "Holy Lord, if you hadn't forcibly used the Primordial Unity Great Technique back then to save us and deal with that Saint, your lifespan wouldn't have been so greatly damaged. The calamity today is not the Holy Lord's fault; it's ours!"

Tu You waved his hand with a smile. "That matter is in the past. No need to dwell on it. Sending them in only costs me some lifespan; it's not like I'll pass away immediately. You don't have to be like this."

Shen Qin wept silently, but his inner self-blame was not diminished in the slightest.

"Holy Lord, what exactly is the background of that Saint? How could he be so powerful? Even though he was only at the Non-Form Realm, even you were no match for him," Shen Qin asked, changing the subject since Tu You seemed resolute.

Tu You's expression turned grave, even somewhat fearful. "Whatever his background, it's not something we can afford to provoke. Over the years, I've spent considerable effort and only uncovered a little information. In the last few decades, it's not just our Redcloud Holy Land that has had its sacred objects stolen. Just in the regions near our White Martial Domain, their figures have appeared several times. But such things happen every day in every corner of the Divine Domain, so no one pays attention."

Shen Qin was shocked. He hadn't expected that the Holy Lord had been secretly investigating the other party over the years. And he had been completely unaware!

Shen Qin knew that Tu You trusted him deeply, yet he had been kept in the dark about this matter from start to finish.

That could only mean one thing: this matter was extremely perilous.

It seemed the Holy Lord had paid a heavy price just to uncover this bit of information.

"Holy Lord... what did you find? What exactly is the background of this so-called Saint?" Shen Qin couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.

He harbored a deep hatred for this Saint. If not for that incident back then, the Holy Lord would probably have broken through to the second level of Dao Profound, and the Redcloud Holy Land would have become an eighth-grade holy land.

But now, everything was ruined!

Even whether the Redcloud Holy Land could survive was a question.

The Holy Lord sighed and said, "In the last few decades, many major powers have had their sacred artifacts stolen or seized. Among them are some eighth-grade, seventh-grade, and even sixth-grade holy lands. Of course, there are also smaller powers. And behind all these incidents are the figures of those black-robed men. They go by different titles, but all carry the character 'Saint'! There are Saints, Saint Soldiers, and even Saint Generals! And among them, even the weakest Saint is at the late stage of the Non-Form Realm!"

Shen Qin was greatly shocked. If even a Saint had such terrifying strength, how powerful must a Saint General be?

After all, the Saint who appeared at the Redcloud Holy Land was only at the late Non-Form Realm, yet he forced Tu You, who was at the first level of Dao Profound, to forcibly use a lifespan-depleting technique, destroying his foundation.

The strength of this mysterious force was simply terrifying.

Such a force was something the Redcloud Holy Land simply could not afford to provoke.

"To uncover this information, I paid an extremely heavy price and nearly implicated the Redcloud Holy Land. So later, I gave up on the idea of revenge. Such a force is beyond our reach. That's why I held this quasi-holy son selection competition—to preserve some incense for the Redcloud Holy Land." Tu You sighed softly.