Chapter 585: On You, There Is a Different Scent

If in a competition, everyone else yields two to three hundred jin, but the champion multiplies that several times over, reaching a thousand jin per mu—what would your first reaction be?

"Cheating?" Nai Ge Nage Nage Lisi said instinctively.

"Right, everyone else is at two or three hundred jin, but you break a thousand—even if no one questions it to your face, in your heart you'd doubt the result. But if the champion breaks a thousand, the runner-up is at eight hundred, and third place at seven hundred, working down the line like that, wouldn't it seem a lot more reasonable?" Silver Coin asked.

"But, as you said, grain yields in this world are generally within two or three hundred jin, and even with intensive cultivation, rarely break past three hundred and fifty. Where would you find grain seeds yielding seven or eight hundred jin..." Midway through, Nai Ge Nage Nage Lisi thought of something himself and looked at Silver Coin in sudden realization.

Anthony led Cabrera and Radiad forward, introducing as they walked: "This is Countess Rebinia, from Delocheng. The team she has assembled is called the Chubby Squad."

"Chubby Squad? Hello, very glad to see you again, Countess Rebinia." After a pause, Cabrera said with a smile: "When you were little, I visited Delocheng. The you of now has already grown into an elegant lady."

"Ah? Really? I don't have any memory of it, I'm very sorry, Lord Eye of Truth, I am Chubby... ahem, I am Rebinia." Rebinia tapped her own breastplate and said apologetically.

Anthony continued the introductions: "This is Delof, also from Delocheng. The team he has assembled is called the Sit-in-a-Row Squad."

"Delof? A descendant of Delocheng? Sit-in-a-Row Chubby Squad—why are all these team names so strange?" Cabrera asked in confusion.

Anthony hurriedly explained: "To avoid duplicate names. The more bizarre the name, the less likely it is to be repeated."

It was a reasonable enough explanation, but was it really fine to think that far ahead at the very first Grain Seed Competition?

Before he could think it through, Anthony continued introducing: "This is the So-Full-We-Burst Squad from Steel Bone Territory. Oh, Steel Bone Territory is a human settlement inside the Dead Line. This is Selis."

Selis elegantly offered a salute, every gesture carrying a professional beauty, like a graceful dancing sprite.

Radiad gave Anthony a strange look: "A settlement from the Dead Line? You don't mind?"

In Radiad's memory, didn't the Church of Light strongly reject undead creatures? This one clearly had countless ties to undead creatures, coming from inside the Dead Line as it did—and Anthony actually allowed them to compete? Was this still the extreme Church of Light?

Anthony said with a smile: "Beneath the Light, there is no darkness."

Radiad's face took on a thoughtful expression.

Nai Ge Nage Nage Lisi, projected onto Seeing Ange, had already lost patience and was muttering curses under his breath: "That death-stick-priest is at it again, hoodwinking people."

Feti asked in confusion: "How is he hoodwinking anyone? I think Lord Anthony is pretty handsome—he had that mage completely fooled."

"Hey, once you've mastered the technique, you can fool people too. Just say things that are ambiguous, the kind that can be interpreted any which way, and naturally you'll be able to fool people."

"For example, that line 'Beneath the Light, there is no darkness'—it can be read as 'We don't care about the undead, because beneath the might of the Light, there is no undead,' or it can be read as 'The Light has already shone upon them; they are already people of the Light.' Any reading works; it just depends on how others understand it." Nai Ge Nage Nage Lisi explained.

Feti had a sudden revelation: "So that's how it is. No wonder those Shenguanzhu Sect priests, holy maidens, and the rest always talk in such incomprehensible ways. I usually can't be bothered to listen—I just skip past them and beat them to death."

"... Running into you, they're out of luck," Nai Ge Nage Nage Lisi said gloomily. Anyone who ran into Flash Feti rarely got the chance to open their mouth and speak—he never gave them the chance to fool him.

"This is the Dragon Fruit Squad, from the Molten Heart. This is Adept Aishani." Anthony continued introducing.

Cabrera frowned as he looked at Aishani, sizing her up with a glance, and asked: "Aishani of the Molten Heart? That age doesn't add up, does it? Isn't she already over a hundred years old?"

Aishani smiled unhurriedly: "That was my grandmother. I inherited her title. I am Aishani II of the Molten Heart."

Cabrera said hesitantly: "Even if you're her granddaughter, the age still doesn't match, does it?"

Aishani laughed: "For that, I have to thank your Alliance's skincare products, for letting me maintain myself so well."

Cabrera laughed awkwardly and walked off. The skincare products sold by the Mage Alliance had already become the Alliance's flagship product, with sales and profits terrifyingly high.

But Cabrera himself knew what the truth was—they weren't their products at all, but rather products of the Church of Light, resold through Mo Nika's hands. The Mage Alliance couldn't even count as a distributor in the arrangement; it could only be considered a brand partner providing a credibility endorsement.

You ask why, knowing full well they were the Church of Light's goods, they didn't seize them? Because they made money. Even just providing credibility guarantees, the Mage Alliance had made a killing.

Moreover, the female mages of the Mage Alliance had become devoted users of these products, including Cabrera's own daughter. If he dared to confiscate these goods, those women would tear his house down the very first moment.

After going around once, Anthony finished introducing the final team, the Salty Fish Squad, before saying: "Alright, these teams are now in your care. They're weary from the journey—make sure you host them well, don't wear everyone out."

Cabrera sized Anthony up from head to toe, genuinely unable to figure it out, and could only ask honestly: "Are you really handing over the hosting rights of the competition this easily?"

Anthony said dismissively: "What's the big deal? You handle things, we're at ease. Afraid you'll botch the competition?"

Cabrera was full of doubts, but his Eye of Truth couldn't detect the slightest flaw. With no choice, he accepted the task of hosting the participating teams, gaining a measure of control.

After Anthony left, Radiad leaned over and asked hesitantly: "Why do I feel a bit uneasy? It's gone a bit too smoothly."

Cabrera said with a bitter smile: "Me too. But my Eye of Truth can't see any falsehood in it. Although we agreed everyone handles different matters, in a competition like this, the most important thing is the contestants. He's handed all the contestants over to us to host—what tricks could he possibly pull?"

Radiad guessed: "Tampering with the contestants?"

"That shouldn't be the case. I have impressions of many of the participating teams—like those two from Delocheng, I know them. And there's Aishani of the Molten Heart; she looks almost exactly like her grandmother. I've seen magical portraits before." Cabrera said.

Aishani of the Molten Heart was an Archmage. For a mage of that caliber, the Mage Alliance would definitely have a file on her—Cabrera had an impression.

"Then it's very likely they already have a sure path to victory, so they're not worried about handing the contestants over to us." Radiad said.

"Point Guard Here"

"What sure path to victory? High-yield grain seeds? How high would the yield need to be for them to feel certain of victory?" Cabrera thought along the same lines.

Radiad said: "Right now, grain yields on the surface are basically around two to three hundred jin per mu. If they doubled that, they might feel they had a sure path to victory."

"Heh, if that's the case, then they've miscalculated. The highest-yielding grain is with us. The Void has too little space, so we've been working hard to raise per-unit planting yields. If we bring our grain seeds up to the surface to plant, we can easily reach eight or nine hundred jin per mu. Don't end up scaring them." Cabrera laughed.

"Mm, they may be stuck in conventional thinking, thinking that high yields on the surface will win. Let's show them our Void grain seeds. Though our grain seeds have adapted to the Void environment, they may need to be improved before they can grow on the surface. I'll go back and improve them." Radiad said.

Radiad returned to the Starburst Array, didn't stop, but used a teleportation array to teleport to a strange space. This space had nothing in it, very desolate, with only a clump of withered plants at the center.

It was a clump of plants like sisal, very tall, with leaves sticking out and curling toward the center, dry and withered, like a clump of dead plants. Yet a divine light shone out from between the leaves.

The moment Radiad stepped out of the teleportation array, that clump of withered plants suddenly bloomed, revealing a ball of divine light within. At the same time, a voice echoed through the space: "On you, there is a different scent."