Chapter 517: Plight of the Huang Family
“This one is Jian Chen, I pay my respects to senior!” Jian Chen bowed down to his waist with the utmost respect. This was a Saint Ruler standing in front of him after all.
The eyes to the ancestor of the Huang family were sparkling bright like the moon. As if capable of staring into the center of Jian Chen’s heart, his eyes studied Jian Chen with a faint smile and a nod of his head.
Welcoming the gaze of the patriarch, Jian Chen suddenly felt as if his entire body was being analyzed and understood by him. In front of the patriarch, Jian Chen may as well have been without clothes or any other object, as nothing was a secret to the patriarch’s eyes.
The light in the patriarch’s eyes quickly receded back into an ordinary one. Spearing forward with conversation, the patriarch praised Jian Chen, “You deserve to be called a man of character and astronomical talent. Not only were you able to breakthrough to the Heaven Saint Master realm at your age, you are also not too prideful, not too impatient, and steady as a mountain. To be able to accomplish so much in so little time is very difficult. It is no wonder the Qinhuang Kingdom was so easily willing and confident to let such a youngster take up the mantle of an Imperial Protector. Not only did they see your talent, they saw your personal character and conduct.”
The ancestor’s words caused Jian Chen to be astonished. Even with the high importance Jian Chen had placed on the strength of a Saint Ruler, he did not expect to have his entire strength be seen through with just his eyes. That strength was too terrifying. Subsequently, Jian Chen felt worried and unsure if the Saint Ruler would be able to see through the secret that he had no Saint Weapon and the existence of the azure and violet Sword Spirits.
When he looked at the ancestor’s expression, Jian Chen relaxed a bit. That was because the ancestor clearly did not look as though he had seen through everything from Jian Chen. Otherwise, if he knew that Jian Chen had such an unbelievable amount of strength without a Saint Weapon, then even a Saint Ruler wouldn’t help but feel shocked and would be unable to maintain a calm face like the one he had now.
Because the destruction of a Saint Weapon meant either death or becoming a cripple for a person. This was considered to be an uncontroversial fact, but Jian Chen was a deviation from this.
“This one feels quite accomplished with the amount of praise from senior. I am not as outstanding as senior says, in comparison, this one is nothing and not worth so much praise.” Jian Chen cupped his hands together. Although there was a smile on his face, he was neither servile nor overbearing.
Hearing this, the ancestor laughed and stroked the beard under his chin with a gentle hand. “This old man was only able to get to where I am today after spending 1300 years worth of time. If I think back to when this old man was your age, I was still dithering around the boundary to become an Earth Saint Master, but I was still not quite there. Compared to you, it is this old man’s achievements that are not worth mentioning. If you cultivate for as long as this old man, then you will definitely reach past this old man. At the very least, you will become an entity a layer higher than a Saint Ruler.”
Jian Chen had no look of arrogance on his face. Having the memories of two lives, he had experienced many things that had honed him. With the great waves and tremendous winds, Jian Chen had lingered between the realms of Yin and Yang. Compared to the children born and raised within the greenhouse-like family to mature, Jian Chen was completely different. He had long since been mentally fortified by his experiences.
“Senior likes to joke I see. The events in the future cannot be so easily dictated by anyone. Although I have several achievements now, the path for the future is still to be taken slowly. One cannot say for certain that this one will reach the world senior lives in, or if this one will die on the way there.” Jian Chen spoke calmly.
Hearing this, the ancestor nodded his head in approval. “Your words have merit to them. There are many people on the Tian Yuan Continent, and there are just as many outstanding geniuses. Even among these talents, only a few of them actually become successful. Plenty of them lose their lives on the way or in the cradle of success.”
The ancestor suddenly stopped speaking to glance impassively at Jian Chen, but there was a faint smile on his face, “Well then, let us dispense all of the pleasantries. Jian Chen, do you know why I called you here today?”
“Forgive this one for his ignorance. Please, if the ancestor could enlighten me!” Jian Chen spoke.
The ancestor stood up, “This house is actually quite too small for this. Let us walk outside to speak.” With that, the ancestor walked out from his wooden house.
Jian Chen walked out from the house only to realize that a transparent barrier had somehow been erected in the surrounding area around the mountain peak. The entire mountain peak was enclosed inside so that the howling winds would have no effect on the people inside.
Not too far away, the earth element had begun to gather and form a stone table in front of them. The ancestor could be seen already seated on a stone stool.
“Come, sit!” The ancestor gestured to Jian Chen.
Jian Chen didn’t hesitate to sit down at the table.
The ancestor took out two wine cups and a jade bottle from his Space Ring before pouring a cup for Jian Chen. “This old man has erected a barrier over this area. Not only will our conversation be unhearable from the outside, this entire interior will be invisible as well.”
Jian Chen knew that the ancestor of the Huang family would begin to talk about a serious point and grew extremely solemn himself. But before he could even open his mouth to speak, the ancestor had already beaten him to the punch.
“Jian Chen, this old man invited you here today to primarily talk about a matter of business with the Qinhuang Kingdom. Since you are an Imperial Protector for them, your status is even higher than that of the king, you represent the Qinhuang Kingdom.” He spoke.
Pondering, Jian Chen asked, “What sort of business might senior be talking about?”
The ancestor did not reply right away. He instead took a sip of his wine. After a small while, he finally continued, “Jian Chen, this old man does not enjoy beating around the bush, so I’ll speak honestly. Our Huang family wishes to ally ourselves with the Qinhuang Kingdom. If the Qinhuang Kingdom is able to help us survive something, then our Huang family will never be able to thank the Qinhuang Kingdom enough.”
“Senior, would it be possible to tell us just what circumstances the Huang family is in. Is it related to the Shi family?” Jian chen asked.
The ancestor shook his head, “If it was the Shi family, then our Huang family wouldn’t be forced back in such a manner. This time it is because of the Hongfu clan.”
“Hongfu clan? Senior, could this Hongfu clan be even stronger than the Shi family?” Jian Chen spoke with a newfound interest.
The ancestor nodded his head, “Correct. To be specific, the Hongfu clan is several times stronger than the Shi family. That is because in their clan, they have two Saint Rulers and two Ruler Armaments!”
“What!? Two Saint Rulers!” Jian Chen was dumbfounded. On the Tian Yuan Continent, a clan that had one Saint Ruler was already considered one of the best clans, but the Hongfu clan had actually two Saint Rulers. Their strength wasn’t too far off from the Sect of Dragon and Tiger.
Seeing the shocked look on Jian Chen’s face, the ancestor of the Huang family gave a reassuring smile, “Jian Chen, you needn’t worry. While the Hongfu clan has two Saint Rulers, their strengths lie upon the Second and Third Layer. Even if they both wielded Ruler Armaments, this old man could handle the both of them alone.
Jian Chen was shocked once again. He looked at the ancestor with a newfound light in his eyes. If he could go against two Saint Rulers wielding Ruler Armaments by himself, then just what level of strength had this ancestor reached? The Fourth Layer? He had to at least be at the Fourth Layer.
The ancestor continued to speak, “The grievances between our Huang family and the Hongfu clan have long since reached a point of no return. They had started several thousand years ago, and up to even now, our Huang family and their Hongfu clan have been at equivalent strengths almost. Even now, our two families would suffer tremendous losses if we were to fight now. Thus, there has never been any conflicts between our two sides, but in private, there have been countless clashes that occur on a frequent basis. Even this old man has fought several times with the two Saint Ruler, but it has never been so serious yet.”
“A few years ago, the Hongfu clan and another family began to get close. In addition to having the Yan family draw close to them by use of marriage, they begun to treat our Huang family even more threateningly. Just faintly, they have already started to bring us closer to a battle to the death through an ever increasing amount of pressure. This was the reason why the offspring of my Huang family had entered the empty space without a barrier during the Gathering of the Mercenaries. This old man did not use any energy so I could conserve as much energy as I could in the case that the Hongfu clan and Yan family made a surprise attack.”
“What this old man didn’t think of was the fact that while my Huang family was minding their own business, the Shi family would suddenly attack our Huang family. They tried to steal away the Ruler Armament in our possession, and although this old man has no way to forcibly recall the Ruler Armament, it would cost some of my vital energy to reclaim it. Without a Ruler Armament, if the Hongfu clan and Yan family unleashed a surprise attack, even I would not be able to stop their alliance. From this, I can only imagine that if the Shi family did not get roped in by the Hongfu clan, then they had at least reached a secret agreement with each other.”
The ancestor’s face looked helpless. With a sigh, he spoke, “The combination of the Hongfu clan and Yan family is already a considerable amount of pressure to my Huang family. With the added Shi family, my Huang family would have no power to defend ourselves if they all attacked together. Thus, my Huang family is desperately looking for an outside power to assist us.”
Hearing this, Jian Chen felt a headache occur. The Huang family was certainly facing an unhappy situation. The Hongfu clan had two Saint Rulers that the ancestor of the Huang family was still able to fend off with difficulty. With the Yan and Shi family participating, there would be another two Saint Rulers added to the mix as enemies. With the ancestor by himself, he was clearly no match for the four.
Jian Chen was extremely clear on the motive for the ancestor wishing for an alliance with the Qinhuang Kingdom. There was nothing else but his desire to borrow the power of the Qinhuang Kingdom to stabilize his Huang family.
Jian Chen hesitated for a moment. “Senior, this is quite the important manner. Please forgive this one for not being the one to give a response.” Jian Chen really didn’t dare give a response to something like this. If he did, then it would be very possible that the Qinhuang Kingdom would earn another two strong enemies. Although the Qinhuang Kingdom had four Saint Rulers, two enemy Saint Rulers was still quite a foe to the kingdom.
Furthermore, there had been a sour taste left in Jian Chen’s mouth after the events with the Sect of Dragon and Tiger. To him, the two Saint Rulers of the Qinhuang Kingdom had personally come to fight with the Saint Ruler from the Sect of Dragon and Tiger. Even if the Saint Ruler from the Sect of Dragon and Tiger didn’t fight, he would have to pay a very hefty price, but the final conclusion had been completely outside of Jian Chen’s expectations. Not only did no fight occur, the two Saint Rulers from the Qinhuang Kingdom had unexpectedly left with such serious expressions. This had made Jian Chen uneasy and slightly concerned in his heart. Although he didn’t know what the elder sectmaster had said to the two Saint Rulers, it surely had to do with the Qinhuang Kingdom if it had stopped the two of them dead in their tracks.
Thus, at this crucial moment, Jian Chen wasn’t willing to make the Qinhuang Kingdom a lightning rod for additional troubles.