Though she couldn't understand why Joe Di was held in such high regard, standing at a height she could only dream of reaching, her heart still pounded wildly. Thinking of her own plight, she wondered if perhaps she could ask Joe Di for help.
At first, the thought embarrassed and shamed her. But as she considered the chance to enter the Minor Central World, her desire grew uncontrollably, like wild grass flourishing in her heart.
She finally understood why Joe Di had disappeared so suddenly in Pearl City—it wasn’t because of a concealment talisman, but because he had truly become a formidable cultivator beyond her imagination.
"Senior Illusion Mingzi, Fellow Daoist Di, let me introduce you. This is White Jiucheng, master of Desolate Cloud Valley, one of the Yalen Continent’s Eight-Star sects. Here is Ruan Shi, president of the Pill Society, and Iron Zhenghe, president of the Tool Society. Then we have Luo Yixiang, master of the Seven-Star sect Xuanxia Sect. Guang Mengxuan, master of the Seven-Star sect Ice Jade Palace. And finally, Jie Anguan, master of the Seven-Star sect Illusion Sea Gate..."
With Hai Hong’s introductions, Joe Di became acquainted with some of the top experts of the Yalen Continent. Aside from Guang Mengxuan, the beautiful mistress of Ice Jade Palace, all the other sect masters were men. The strongest among them was White Jiucheng, master of Desolate Cloud Valley, at the seventh level of the Tribulation Realm. As for True Transformation cultivators, he hadn’t seen any.
"President Hai, Senior Illusion, you’ve already introduced yourself. But you haven’t told us about this Fellow Daoist Di yet. So far, I only know his surname is Di." Guang Mengxuan covered her mouth with a laugh as she spoke.
As a woman, she naturally claimed certain privileges in conversation. So while the other sect masters refrained from asking about Joe Di’s identity, she was the first to bring it up.
Hai Hong laughed heartily. "What I want everyone to know is that Fellow Daoist Di is also from our Yalen Continent. So his return this time is a matter of pride for us, as he’s here to help select new talents for our continent."
Hai Hong only knew Joe Di’s name and that he was from the Yalen Continent. As for Joe Di’s quest for revenge, he naturally wouldn’t mention it here. Nor did he know where Joe Di planned to go after his vengeance was complete.
"So Brother Di is one of us from the Yalen Continent! That’s a great blessing—Brother Di is truly our continent’s pride." Upon hearing Hai Hong’s words, Guang Mengxuan exclaimed dramatically. Even though she knew she was several hundred years older than Joe Di, she spoke without reservation.
Joe Di himself had no idea what made him so worthy of pride.
"Haha..." Illusion Mingzi laughed. "Young friend Di is now a figure on the Dao Rankings of the Minor Central World. He can travel freely between the Minor Central World and any other realm. Since Joe Di was born in the Yalen Continent, I’ll leave the selection of five talents for this round to him..."
Illusion Mingzi knew that what these people longed for most was the chance to enter the Minor Central World, so he made it clear that Joe Di had the privilege to move freely between worlds.
As expected, upon hearing Illusion Mingzi’s words, everyone looked at Joe Di with envy. Some even regretted not befriending him earlier, like Hai Hong had. As for Hai Hong himself, he was desperate to know if his own plans had succeeded.
No one knew that even Joe Di needed vast amounts of spirit stones to travel between realms. Each trip cost millions, and even he could only afford to teleport a few times.
......
"Junior Sister Man, isn’t that the Joe Di we saw back in Pearl City...?" The gray-robed man beside Zhen Man spoke in astonishment.
After speaking, he seemed to understand and said, "I get it now. Back then, our divine sense didn’t detect him because he was too fast. That’s why we missed him. Junior Sister, did you face injustice during the selection...?"
His words abruptly stopped as he saw Zhen Man rush onto the selection platform.
The gray-robed man touched his bitter lips. Though he knew Zhen Man’s personality, he couldn’t help but love her. Now, it was clear she no longer paid him any attention.
Zhen Man was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Before she could reach the selection platform, she was stopped, forcing her to call out anxiously, "Ah Di, I am Zhen Man! They stripped me of my qualification to go to the Minor Central World..."
Upon hearing Zhen Man’s words, the faces of several officials at the edge of the selection platform changed dramatically. To them, offending a cultivator from the Minor Central World was unthinkable. Zhen Man’s outburst was like tossing a bomb into their midst. If word got out that the selection was unfair and future opportunities were revoked, they would be finished.
Even the master of Zhen Man’s sect, Shuangtao Sect, was shocked. If the powerful cultivator on the platform was angered, it would spell disaster for Shuangtao Sect. If, because of Zhen Man, the Yalen Continent lost its chance to send talents to the Minor Central World, Shuangtao Sect would be doomed.
Joe Di’s gaze fell on Zhen Man, who was being blocked. He saw the hope and longing in her eyes and sighed, "Let her come up."
With Joe Di’s command, the cultivators blocking Zhen Man dared not defy him and quickly stepped aside.
"Ah Di, the slot for this round’s selection to the Minor Central World was originally mine, but someone replaced me." Zhen Man explained anxiously as soon as she reached Joe Di.
At this moment, all sense of shame and dignity was cast aside. As long as she could cultivate in the Minor Central World, nothing else mattered to her.
It wasn’t that she was materialistic, but this was simply the reality of the world. Ever since leaving Pearl City, she had received endless reverence and worship. It made her crave even more, to stand above others and become truly exceptional.
Joe Di sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifting to distant memories—he remembered being young, full of promise...
"Senior Di, I am Hui Baiyu, master of Shuangtao Sect. The reason Shuangtao Sect chose Yu Yongzhen instead of Zhen Man was not without cause..." A middle-aged man with long hair tied in a cultivator’s knot bowed anxiously at the foot of the selection platform and spoke loudly.
He was deeply anxious—who could have guessed Zhen Man knew an envoy from the Minor Central World? If he’d known, he would have let the slightly less talented Zhen Man take the stage rather than Yu Yongzhen.
His Shuangtao Sect was only a Five-Star sect. The reason they had a slot this time was because last time, Shuangtao Sect gave up a guaranteed Minor Central World slot to Desolate Cloud Valley, the Eight-Star sect. Back then, Shuangtao Sect had produced a top genius—a pure variant spirit root. But after losing the slot, that genius left the sect and vanished.
It was precisely because of this that Desolate Cloud Valley agreed to give Shuangtao Sect a chance to participate in this round’s selection. This slot was only for entering the shortlist of twenty candidates, not the final five.
Joe Di raised his hand to stop him. "These things don’t matter. Zhen Man, join the lineup as well."
There were already twenty chosen talents standing on the platform. Only five of them would be selected by Joe Di and sent to the Minor Central World.
Seeing that Zhen Man knew Joe Di and that Joe Di let her join the lineup, Yu Yongzhen, who was originally in the lineup, grew nervous. His talent was only slightly better than Zhen Man’s. With her standing here, he knew he’d be the one to leave next, but he was truly unwilling.
"Mm..." Zhen Man was so excited that she clenched her fists tightly, responding with a soft sound as she stepped into the lineup.
Once she joined the lineup, something felt off. Joe Di had helped her, but hadn’t removed Yu Yongzhen. And... she sensed something was wrong. It seemed that if anyone called out for justice, Joe Di would let them join. His words about things not mattering showed he didn’t care whether she was wronged.
Actually, Zhen Man’s guess wasn’t entirely correct. If someone else called out for justice, Joe Di would indeed ask about the situation. But he knew Zhen Man well enough.
Though he’d once been young and sentimental, Joe Di knew Zhen Man’s choices were her own. It was clear what kind of person she was. People strive upward, water flows downward—there was no fault in that, so Joe Di didn’t intend to blame her. Still, it was obvious they were not on the same path. With his heart at peace, the past had faded like mist. Letting Zhen Man join the lineup was simply because she was also from Pearl City and they’d once been acquainted—nothing more.
"Young friend Di, begin your selection. All twenty-one talents are here—choose five. I need to leave soon." Illusion Mingzi urged, eager to depart after greeting Joe Di and the other sect masters.
He truly didn’t want to linger here. Though he had several centuries of life left, to a cultivator, centuries pass in the blink of an eye.
But Joe Di didn’t start selecting. He looked at Illusion Mingzi and smiled, "Senior Illusion Mingzi, among the Five Continents, aside from Minor Central Star, do the other star continents also send talents to Minor Central Star?"
Illusion Mingzi nodded. "Aside from Sheye Continent, the other star continents do. Changtian Continent’s cultivation level is nearly equal to the Minor Central World, so each time they only select forty to fifty talents. But Danyue Continent always fills its quota of one hundred slots."
"So Yalen Continent has a hundred slots too?" That was exactly what Joe Di wanted to ask.
Illusion Mingzi understood Joe Di’s meaning and, after a brief pause, replied, "That won’t work this time, obviously. I understand your intent. Since you made it onto the Sea Rankings, Yalen Continent now has a place. I’ll take all twenty-one candidates this time, and at the next Five Continents Dao Gathering, you can fight for more slots yourself."
"Thank you, Senior." Joe Di thought to himself that if he hadn’t brought it up, Illusion Mingzi wouldn’t have mentioned it.
"All twenty-one can go to the Minor Central World?" Not only Hai Hong, but all the other sect masters and presidents were astonished.
Everyone realized that with just a word from Joe Di, the number of slots had more than quadrupled. That was the difference between having influence and not.
They didn’t realize that if Illusion Mingzi hadn’t come this time, Joe Di wouldn’t have had any say. Even if he could increase the number of Yalen Continent’s candidates, it would have to wait until next time.
"Fellow Daoist Di, on behalf of all cultivators of Yalen Continent, I thank you. I used to doubt President Hai’s words, but now I truly understand." White Jiucheng, master of Desolate Cloud Valley, bowed in gratitude, and the others followed suit.
Yalen Continent had long lacked status because no one could speak for it in the Minor Central World. Now, with more talents heading there, sooner or later a few strong cultivators would emerge to support the continent.
"President Hai, you should go to the Minor Central World with Senior Illusion Mingzi as well." Joe Di patted Hai Hong, who was also expressing his gratitude.
Hai Hong’s eyes widened, then he excitedly grabbed Joe Di. "Do I really get to go? Thank you, thank you Brother Di!"