Chapter 1260: Shocking Changes of Mercenary City
The Saint Kings from Mercenary City immediately became emotional while excitement appeared on their faces, because the person who had become a Saint Emperor this time was their great elder, Jian Chen!
“Fantastic, fantastic. Great elder Tian Jian has finally made a breakthrough in his final moments of his life and has become a Saint Emperor. He now possesses ten thousand years of life. Our Mercenary City finally has a Saint Emperor from now on.”
The Saint Kings from Mercenary City were completely overjoyed when they saw Tian Jian, who radiated with the presence of a Saint Emperor. From how they reacted, it was as if the person who had broken through was not Tian Jian but themselves.
However, the people of the protector clans became anguished. Other than the Saint Kings from the Pure Heart Pavilion and the Tyrant’s Blade School as well as Changyang Zu Yunxiao, Changyang Zu Yeyun, and Changyang Zu Xiao, who had hurried over from Gesun Kingdom, the Saint Kings of the seven other protector clans all revealed very ugly expressions.
It was definitely a major matter for Mercenary City now that Tian Jian had become a Saint Emperor, but this was not something most people from the protector clans wished to see. They wanted the Saint Emperor to belong to any of the protector clans other than Mercenary City.
This was because Mercenary City was in possession of a supreme divine hall. This divine hall had been left behind by Mo Tianyun in ancient times, and its toughness completely exceeded any divine hall on the Tian Yuan Continent, having reached an unimaginable level. Even Saint Emperors could not leave a single mark on the divine hall when they used their full strength, and probably only sovereign-like figures that had surpassed Saint Emperor and stepped into the Origin realm could smash through it.
Not only did the toughness of the divine hall make all Saint Emperors despair, it possessed something else that no other divine hall on the Tian Yuan Continent had, which was offensive capabilities. Not only could it repel any attacks from Saint Emperors, it could automatically attack as well.
Many years ago, a great battle had once erupted between Mercenary City and the ten protector clans. In that battle, all the protector clans worked together to beat Mercenary City into a retreat. In the final stage, a Saint Emperor from Mercenary City used the supreme divine hall and managed to slay over ten Saint Emperors from the protector clans all by himself. This matter shook the entire continent and consolidated Mercenary City’s unmovable status on the continent.
In the eyes of the protector clans, the divine hall of Mercenary City was even more terrifying than the barrier spirit. This was because the barrier spirit only guarded Mercenary City. It was a defensive force and would never launch an offensive without reason. However, the divine hall was different. Once Mercenary City possessed a Saint Emperor, they would have the power to move the divine hall to anywhere. Even using it to attack the protector clans was completely possible.
Even during the age when all ten protector clans were glorious and possessed Saint Emperors, Mercenary City was invincible through the divine hall. Yet, the protector clans were just a shell of their former selves now, lacking a single Saint Emperor. Even if they used all the heritage they had gathered over the years, they would not be able to rival the divine hall of Mercenary City with their puny strength.
Although they knew that it was impossible for Mercenary City to act against the protector clans, their balance had been broken now. They needed to take precautions.
At this moment, Tian Jian slowly withdrew his vast presence. Even the energy that rippled in him was erased. He controlled the energy that had suddenly erupted from reaching Saint Emperor earlier. Soon afterward, he slowly opened his eyes. They were extremely nonchalant-looking but also dark and profound, like ink.
“Congratulations on becoming a Saint Emperor, great elder Tian Jian!”
As soon as Tian Jian stood up, all the Saint Kings who watched from afar came up to congratulate him. Their voices were filled with deep admiration. The other Saint Kings had no particular thoughts on Tian Jian becoming a Saint Emperor since a Saint Emperor in Mercenary City did not affect them at all. Only the Saint Kings of the ten protector clans did. Even if Mercenary City did not have a Saint Emperor like before, these Saint Kings were still vast existences that could not be provoked.
The Saint Kings of the protector clans came up to congratulate him as well. Although many of them did not wish to have a Saint Emperor appear for Mercenary City, they still needed to lower their heads.
Several million kilometers away in Mercenary City, the commotion caused by the clouds had completely subsided, but there were still many people who discussed the legends regarding the nine-colored clouds. There were even more people who discussed just who had become a Saint Emperor, what his background was, and so on.
Probably no one among the lowest mercenaries and small clans knew what the nine-colored clouds represented, but it was no secret to most people in Mercenary City. This was because a lot of people who gathered in the city came from hermit or even ancient clans. They had all heard the legend regarding the rainbow clouds that accompanied breakthroughs to Saint Ruler and beyond. As a result, a few people could be heard discussing about how some great person had reached Saint Emperor in the inns and streets of the city. Some said that this new Saint Emperor came from the ten protector clans, others said they came from an ancient clan, and there were even some others who said that they were independent.
In short, no one had thought that it was the great elder of Mercenary City since they all believed that the breakthrough would have occured within the city if it was a member of Mercenary City. All the Saint Kings of Mercenary City had basically left the city to learn who had become the Saint Emperor, so clearly, the Saint Emperor was not a part of Mercenary City.
Just as everyone was energetically discussing the new Saint Emperor, the city suddenly began to shake violently, as if a great earthquake was happening. The ground shook a lot and many people had almost tripped from being caught off-guard.
“What’s this? What’s happening…”
“Earthquake! Earthquake! Mercenary City is going through an earthquake…”
“Bullsh*t. What kind of place do you think Mercenary City is? Don’t forget that it’s guarded by the powerful barrier spirit, so how can an earthquake happen here…”
Everyone immediately became greatly shocked by the quaking city. Many of them ran out onto the streets frantically and glanced around in doubt and surprise.
None of the people in Mercenary City were weak. Let alone a mere earthquake, they had even witnessed mountain-collapsing tsunamis that were even more terrifying than any earthquake. The reason why they had all become so frantic over this sudden earthquake was because they were in no ordinary city. They were in Mercenary City.
They all understood that Mercenary City was protected by a powerful barrier. Since ancient times, the barrier had never been destroyed by anyone, which was why there was no exaggeration in calling Mercenary City the safest place on the continent. In all the years that the city had been guarded by the barrier, everything had been peaceful. No one had ever heard about an earthquake.
Rumble!
At this moment, a heavy sound rang out from the depths of the city. With the sound, the city began to violently tremble even more. The entire city now shook, and the trembling was so great that even a few Earth Saint Masters struggled to maintain their balance. Huge, thick cracks had appeared on the ground and were increasing, growing more and more dense until they became web-like, riddling all the streets and alleyways with fissures. Even quite a few of the structures in the city had been affected by the ripple and tiny cracks appeared in the corners before quickly spreading across the entire structure.