Chapter 467: Meeting Elders Feng and Yun Once More
Aside from Heaven Splitter, Jian Chen had also discovered a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method. Although it was also Heaven Tier, cultivation methods were mediocre in comparison to battle skills. Both the Changyang clan and Kargath Academy each had one. Despite that, Jian Chen hadn’t ignored the cultivation method since a powerful clan wouldn’t have just one type of cultivation method.
People could only learn a single cultivation method, but when it came to the power of a clan, it was best to have more than one to choose from. After all, not every cultivation method was suitable for everyone.
There weren’t many valuable things in the Space Ring left behind by the Saint Ruler. Not a single monster core or coin could be seen—they were probably left behind in the Qiangan Kingdom. Aside from the Heaven Tier Battle Skill and Cultivation Method, there wasn’t any other item that interested Jian Chen.
After he finished looking through the contents of the Space Ring, Jian Chen searched the entire house once more. But in the end, he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. However, he did find that after he had taken the Saint Ruler’s skeleton, the energy that was accumulated within the house had disappeared. Although this house had been created from wood and steel, it would be impossible to stay within this damp cave forever. Without the Saint Ruler skeleton’s energy backing it up, the moment the energy assimilated in the house was drained off, the thousand year old house would disappear from the world.
Afterward, Jian Chen did one more sweep of the entire place. As there were still no profits to be found, he left the place. Leaving the area was much easier than entering it. The very moment he stepped into the illusion array, he felt the space within tremble before he was directly sent to the 3 meter in diameter, pitch-black passageway.
Jian Chen took a deep breath before walking outside with a faint smile. In his heart, he thought, “As expected the Qiangan Kingdom didn’t lie to me. There was truly a fully intact Saint Ruler’s cave. Not only did I gain a Saint Ruler’s skeleton containing great amounts of energy, I was able to receive a Heaven Tier Battle Skill and Cultivation Method.”
A bright light appeared in Jian Chen’s line of vision. He quickly walked out of Saint Ruler’s Cave, arriving above the frigid lake at the bottom of the chilly valley.
Just then, Jian Chen’s expression suddenly changed. A light flared in his eyes, followed by a flash of pale cyan, as his body shifted five meters to the side.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Five ear-splitting sounds could be heard as five different strikes of Sword Qi came flying forward to bombard the spot Jian Chen had just stood in. The Sword Qi thundered down towards the center of the frigid lake, causing splashes everywhere.
Jian Chen’s face grew extremely unsightly. He abruptly lifted his head only to see that at some point, five figures had appeared above him. The five attacks just now had been sent out by them.
The wind elements around Jian Chen’s body suddenly became extremely powerful. His body shot up through the air like an arrow leaving a mystical bow.
“Don’t let him get away!” One of the five men had cried out. The five of them immediately formed a ring in the air to form a blockade in an attempt to seal off all of Jian Chen’s possible escape paths. At the same time, five Sword Qi strikes were shot towards Jian Chen once more.
Jian Chen’s eyes revealed a bright glow as five separate swords made of fire formed around his chest. Then, they transformed into five furious dragons radiating intense, scorching heat that collided with the Sword Qi..
“Bang!”
The sky burst out with a fierce explosive boom as the energy from the fire elements filled the entire sky and valley. The aftermath of the explosion rebounded off both the walls of the valley and fractured them into multiple spiderweb-like cracks. This continued to repeat until the cliff faces on both sides had countless large and thick cracks in them. The entire valley shuddered under the blow, causing several stones to fall off and drop into the cold waters below.
Jian Chen charged upwards from below the cliff, not running away like the five Heaven Saint Masters had thought he would. Instead, he floated up to an equal level with them.
“Who are you?” Jian Chen asked in a low voice. His eyes glowed brightly with a fierce killing intent toward the five as his gaze swept past the.. However, when he looked to two of the men in the middle, his eyes suddenly widened with some shock.
Jian Chen’s mind suddenly thought back to several years ago right in front of Wake City. He had been washing himself carelessly when he had come across Huang Luan. Afterward, he had fought with the two strong individuals Huang Luan had called uncle Feng and uncle Yun. Weren’t these two men right in front of him the same men from long ago? Despite the time that had passed since then, Jian Chen could still recognize them.
“It’s you!”
“So it’s you!”
The moment when Jian Chen had recognized the two, the two elders recognized him as well. With their eyes largening in surprise, shock began to register across their faces.
The other three men took notice of the shock on their faces. One of them quickly asked, “Elder Feng, elder Yun, do you two know him?”
Neither of the elders seemed to have heard the question and continued to look at Jian Chen. With a quavering voice, one spoke, “You…you…you stepped into the realm of the Heaven Saint Masters.” At that moment, both of the elders’ hearts were storming with emotions.
When it came to Jian Chen, they were no stranger to him and had a deep impression of him. Because of their negligence in Wake City, a mere Great Saint had been able to “steal” a glance at their Huang Luan bathing. Their precious Huang Luan had been seen by a man for the very first time, and when they had struck out at Jian Chen, they had been injured by his azure and violet Sword Spirits. This had greatly shocked them.
Afterward, during the Gathering of the Mercenaries half a year ago, they’d seen Jian Chen’s display at the arena. At that time, it was extremely shocking to them. Before that time, Jian Chen had only been a Great Saint; they hadn’t thought that in four years of time, Jian Chen would have risen at an unbelievable rate and become an Earth Saint Master. This type of strength was practically unheard of before.
Plus, they had also heard from Huang Luan that Jian Chen had been tried during the Gathering of the Mercenaries. When the Solunar Bow of the Huang clan had nearly been stolen by the Shi family, it had been because of Jian Chen, that the Solunar Bow had been preserved at the very last moment. Thus, Jian Chen had earned the ire of the powerful Shi family.
And now, half a year later, Jian Chen had unexpectedly skyrocketed from being an Earth Saint Master to a Heaven Saint Master. An unbelievable speed like this left the two elders tongue-tied and heavy-hearted.
“Elder Feng, elder Yun, who is he? Do you two know him?” Another person asked.
The elders gave a sigh before slowly steeling their nerves. “He is Jian Chen, the very same Jian Chen that earned the number one spot in the Gathering of the Mercenaries.”
“What? He is Jian Chen?” Hearing that, the other three men revealed looks of shock as they again shifted their gazes back at Jian Chen.
Those who participated within the Gathering of the Mercenaries had to be below fifty years old in age. If Jian Chen had participated in that, then he was no doubt younger than that. By this point, it had only been half a year since the Gathering of the Mercenaries. Having said that, this meant that the youth in front of them had reached the Heaven Saint Master realm before the age of fifty.
Within the Tian Yuan Continent, a progress speed as fast as this could only mean that he was an unparalleled genius.
“Jian Chen, why are you here?” Elder Yun asked in surprise.
Jian Chen stared at everyone with a blank expression, “Such a phrase like that should be asked by me. Why are you here, and why act against me just now?”
Hearing this, elder Yun’s gaze moved to the entrance of the Saint Ruler’s cave with a twinkling light. He quickly connected the dots quietly spoke with a heavy expression, “I hadn’t imagined that the person the Qiangan Kingdom’s Heaven Saint Master had been talking about was Jian Chen.”
Although the elder had spoken in a soft voice, Jian Chen had heard it clearly. His eyes began to blaze with a fearsome glare as he asked, “Did Qian Yun tell you the location of the Saint Ruler’s cave?”
“Correct, a Heaven Saint Master from the Qiangan Kingdom had told us about the Saint Ruler’s cave. In exchange, he told us to take the life of a certain person.” The middle-aged man spoke without expression, but his gaze held a hint of a cold light as he looked at Jian Chen.
Jian Chen’s mouth quirked to form a cold smile as his glare dropped several degrees. “I didn’t think that the Qiangan Kingdom would deal such a hand. If they want you to kill someone, it is surely me.”
“Correct.” The same middle-aged man expressionlessly replied.
Jian Chen looked at that man and asked, “Now that I am here, what will you do now?”
Anger filled the man’s heart. He coldly snorted and said, “The promises our Huang family make must be fulfilled. No matter who you are, you will not leave today!”
“No!” Elder Yun and elder Feng cried out, “Jian Chen has been a benefactor to our Huang family. If not for him, our Solunar Bow would have been stolen by the Shi family. Furthermore, he has saved the life of our young miss.”
“Elder Yun, that is only the miss’ side of the story. We don’t know what happened in that isolated space during the tournament where we cannot differentiate between falsity and truth. Who knows whether or not the young miss’ words are true?” The middle aged man fired back in argument.
“Then surely Shi Xiangran’s death must be true to you.” Elder Feng replied, clearly on Jian Chen’s side.
“And what can Shi Xiangran’s death prove? It doesn’t say for sure whether there were personal feelings of gratitude or resentment between Jian Chen and Shi Xiangran.” The man justified.
The two elders glanced at each other, the expressions turning extremely ugly. After realizing that their target was Jian Chen, the two had a change of plans. Even if they were to brave the aftermath of damaging their clan’s reputation, they didn’t wish to make a move against Jian Chen. Not only was he a genius, but he had been a benefactor to their family. This was more than enough for the two elders to do so. Furthermore, he and Huang Luan had a strange sort of connection between them.
However, their wishes did not speak for the entire group. The middle-aged man’s attitude, in particular, made it hard for them to act.