I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 979: Chapter 635: Captain Wang Wang, Capture the Flag Battle

Five days later, outside the Ice Extreme Pass on the ice plains, snow filled the sky, and the cold wind was like a blade, stirring up layers of snow mist, leaving the world gray and pure white.

Four neat battle formations stood at the corners of the ice plains, exuding a majestic aura.

At the center of the battle formations, a vast and boundless dueling ground was specially reserved, where three Tier Eight elders of the Dongfang Clan stood solemnly, with steady breaths like mountains, Dongfang City prominently among them.

The leaders of the Zhuang Family, Jia Family, and Greym Family stood side by side with the elders, their gazes falling uniformly on the young general with black military attire at the edge of the field.

"General Qin, I’ve heard your name for a long time."

Zhuang Xian, the leader of the Zhuang Family, was the first to step forward, proactively reaching out his hand to Qin Tian, his eyes filled with curiosity about this legendary genius, mingled with a trace of unavoidable complexity.

Neither he nor the Zhuang Family actually had the intention to become enemies with Qin Tian.

They knew very well how extraordinarily talented the young man before them was.

At a young age, he had already stepped into Tier Seven, not only slaying direct lineage Holy Blood of the same tier but also single-handedly transforming Mingwang Planet, once the icy purgatory, into the most sought-after planet within the Empire, its economic benefits and political influence beyond imagination.

Unsurprisingly, within twenty years, Qin Tian was bound to become a pivotal figure within the Empire, possibly even entering the upper echelons of power.

By logic, they should not offend such a rising star in the military and political world, but rather strive to make friends.

Yet the Nine Stars Martial Tournament was too important to the Zhuang Family, important enough to risk offending Qin Tian for more quotas.

Because it was related to the survival of the family.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Zhuang Family was a profoundly rooted Golden Family with numerous experts, infinitely glorified.

But only Zhuang Xian, these core elders, knew that the Zhuang Family had long been plunged into a generational gap crisis.

There hadn’t been a true leading figure emerging in the family for a while. Even though every generation had promising young successors, compared with geniuses from other Golden Families, they had significant gaps in talent, temperament, and skill.

Talent is the foundation for a family’s long-term continuation.

One generation of mediocrity, the next weak, the third declines, each generation lacking a top-notch genius to uphold, and the overall power plummeting precipitously, causing deep panic within the Zhuang Family.

Actually, many Golden Families face similar dilemmas.

Top families provide their descendants with lavish resources yet leave them lacking external pressure. Combined with insufficient internal competitive mechanisms, descendants become increasingly complacent, losing their wildness and drive.

Over time, a generational gap eventually appears, leading to a fall in class.

The fall in class inevitably accompanies painful costs — countless lurking enemies and wolves will seize the chance to tear the Zhuang Family apart.

To ensure the family’s continuation and maintain their current status, they must resolve this predicament.

And Celestial Stele Light is the best remedy.

Bathed in Celestial Stele Light, Spiritualists’ comprehension significantly improves, talent and physique reach qualitative leaps, which is a rare opportunity for the Zhuang Family facing a talent crisis that they must seize.

However, they also know the dangers of the Nine Stars Martial Tournament. Within the Celestial Stele Secret Realm, not only are there bloodthirsty Stele Demons, beastmen watching secretly, but also overt and covert attacks from other Bloodline Families.

To improve their descendants’ survival rates and allow more of them to reach the end and bathe in Celestial Stele Light, they must strive for more quotas, enhancing overall battle strength and increasing tolerance rates with numerical advantage.

Nonetheless, the quotas for the Nine Stars Martial Tournament had been preliminarily fixed by the Dongfang Clan. If one wanted more quotas, there was only one way — compete.

In the Dongfang Clan’s camp, either were old Golden Families or top forces, each with formidable strength, but Qin Tian and his Ice Extreme Pass was the best breakthrough point.

Though Qin Tian was indeed a gifted prodigy, he was ultimately just a Tier Seven Spiritualist. Even if he could defeat same-tiered Holy Blood, compared with Tier Eight Golden Bloodline experts, there was bound to be a gap.

Moreover, Ice Extreme Pass ascended too quickly, its talent foundation weak, the Legion lacking cohesion, which was a noticeable weakness.

After weighing considerations, they raised objections to the Dongfang Clan, aiming to take away quotas from Qin Tian through challenges.

Offending Qin Tian was risky, but compared to the family’s continuity, this risk was trivial.

At worst, after achieving their goal, they could offer generous restitution and request the Dongfang Clan to mediate, ensuring it wouldn’t escalate to the point of breaking faces and fighting endlessly.

As he knew, the Jia Family and Greym Family faced dilemmas similar to the Zhuang Family, which was why they jointly came to challenge.

"Hello, Elder Zhuang."

Qin Tian extended his hand to hold Zhuang Xian’s hand, his tone gentle, without the hostility Zhuang Xian anticipated.

Yet Zhuang Xian knew very well that, as the master of Ice Extreme Pass, with tens of thousands of troops under his command and millions under his rule, Qin Tian had long developed the calmness of not showing his emotions, making it hard to see his true thoughts from his expression.

Zhuang Xian gazed at Qin Tian with sincere tone, mingled with a bit of apology: "General Qin, the Zhuang Family does not intentionally wish to be at odds with you, really due to unavoidable difficulties within the family. Should there be any offense in the ensuing duel, we hope General would forgive."

Seeing an elder of a Golden Family, a Tier Eight expert, lower his status like this, Qin Tian’s impression of the Zhuang Family slightly changed.

He nodded lightly, a slight smile lifting at the corners of his mouth: "Elder Zhuang is too serious, this is fair competition, if my strength is lacking, losing would not be worth blaming others."