There was a place in the backmost courtyards of the Jiede clan that the majority of people were forbidden from entering. This forbidden place was what many of the clan members considered to be a type of holy ground. Practically everyone bowed reverently in the direction of these grounds when standing near them.
The patriarch of the Jiede clan would often shut himself off from the world in this forbidden place to focus on his cultivation. He was the sole Saint Ruler of the Jiede clan and was the sole reason for the Jiede clan’s status as a hermit clan.
Within a flower garden in the forbidden zone, all sorts of flowers were blooming in a stunning fashion. A rich aroma wafted through the air, and a large rabble of butterflies could be seen flapping their wings gently as they traveled through the air, giving this deathly-quiet area a vibrant feeling of life.
At the very center of the flower garden was a wooden house. This wooden house clearly looked as if it had stood for a very long time. The wood was ancient, but despite that, it remained standing with signs of damage from the passage of time. It had clearly been worn down to the point where it looked as if it would collapse. Like an elderly man that seemed destined to fall at any moment, this house looked as if it was about to collapse on itself with a single totter.
Within the house, the patriarch of the Jiede clan sat at a wooden table in the center of the room. His eyebrows were furrowed together as if deep in thought, and his face was covered with a look of worry.
Ever since his escape from Mercenary City, the man had been living in unease without a day of solace. When he had first realized what was happening in Mercenary City, he had been deeply influenced by it. Jian Chen was able to do as he pleased in Mercenary City without restraint, and for the life of him, the patriarch could not understand why.
As a two thousand year old Saint Ruler, patriarch Jiede knew a lot about the world. Even the barrier of Mercenary City was known to him to several degrees, and he knew that its capabilities were something that a Heaven Saint Master could never hope to match.
Jian Chen had violated the laws of Mercenary City, but he had not been punished. In the eyes of an outsider, Jian Chen had clearly some sort of connection with the power holders of the city, but patriarch Jiede didn’t truly believe in that.
He knew that the barrier of the city had gained sentient life which had given rise to the rumors of the spirit of the barrier. It had already been countless of years since its birth, and the status it wielded in Mercenary City was something practically no one could ever touch aside from the founder of the city himself, Mo Tianyun. Not a single person could command the spirit of the barrier, not even the grand elder.
Patriarch Jiede was completely convinced that the reason why Jian Chen had escaped punishment had nothing to do with having a relationship with the power holders of Mercenary City. The elder was puzzled by the method Jian Chen used to escape punishment.
He was more worried about Jian Chen’s talents and the fact that he could not locate the Duanyun sword than the method Jian Chen used to escape punishment.
Patriarch Jiede was more than aware that Jian Chen was skilled enough to reach the realm of a Saint Ruler soon. With such a powerful entity as an enemy, the patriarch knew that it would lead to nothing good. However, the undeniable importance of the patriarch’s Ruler Armament meant he was extremely unwilling to forget about it.
Not only was the Ruler Armament a treasure to the Jiede clan as their symbol of power, it was also passed down from generation to generation from the previous patriarch. It held meaning beyond all else and would be a great boon to him when he attempted to crossover to become a Saint King.
A Saint Ruler at the Ninth Heavenly Layer would be able to fuse with a Ruler Armament, and in the case that one was successful in doing so, that Saint Ruler’s chances of making the breakthrough to becoming a Saint King would skyrocket.
I absolutely cannot return to Mercenary City, but if Jian Chen spends the rest of his life in Mercenary City without leaving, what good will that be? With time, even he’ll become a Saint Ruler, and when the time comes, he definitely won’t be easy to deal with. It seems I have no other choice. Even if I cannot take back the Ruler Armament, I cannot allow Jian Chen to live any longer. Otherwise, he’ll bring doom and destruction to the Jiede clan.
The patriarch muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a tremendous power from outside suddenly made itself known to him. Sensing this provoking aura, the patriarch sat upright.
What power! Who might that be?
He wondered aloud to himself before flying outside to greet the invader of his territory.
Just a hundred meters above the Jiede clan, the white-robed Jian Chen hovered in place, icily looking down below him. His eyes were intimidating, and his aura was not concealed at all. It was there for the entirety of the Jiede clan to notice and tremble under.
Suddenly, ten different figures came flying up to greet him. One by one, they surrounded Jian Chen in a tight ring with unfavorable expressions.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
Four heaven-shaking roars could be heard as four different magical beasts came flying forward from different directions. Shortly afterward, the entire forest seemed to shake as the silent Class 6 Magical Beast protectors sensed the abnormality in the area and came to greet Jian Chen.
These Class 6 Magical Beasts were not similar to the ones born in the wild lands of Cross Mountains. They were born and bred from the careful and painstaking energy of the Jiede clan. As a result, the friendship between magical beast and humans had reached a skintight relationship. Over these years, these Class 6 Magical Beasts had spent their entire lives protecting the clan silently against any invader or mercenary that dared to draw too close.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Following three separate muffled explosions, four large magical beasts made their way into Jian Chen’s line of sight. Jumping from the mountain range, the magical beasts were like miniature mountains themselves. With each step they took, the earth beneath them shook.
They were pitch black in color and stood on two legs exactly like how a human stood. The only exception was that their heights were roughly thirty meters tall, a height far taller than a human.
Boom!
Another muffled explosion reverberated across the sky as the four Class 6 Magical Beasts positioned themselves two hundred meters away from Jian Chen. They stood in the cardinal directions, surrounding Jian Chen yet again.
Hemophilic Apes!
Jian Chen recognized the four Class 6 Magical Beasts, feeling slightly surprised. Hemophilic Apes were a type of magical beasts that had particularly bloodthirsty and violent tendencies. They were, as a result, extremely hard to tame, but the Jiede clan had somehow managed to perfectly tame four of them as protectors. To Jian Chen, this feat was by no means a minor one.
Sire, who might you be!? State your name and reason for coming!
An elder intimidatingly barked at Jian Chen. There had been no kind edge to his voice since Jian Chen had purposely intruded upon the Jiede clan with such a powerful aura that was obviously intended to provoke the experts of the clan.
Folding his arms against his chest, Jian Chen stared at the several Heaven Saint Masters around him with a smile.
I’m the one you’ve been looking for, Jian Chen. I came today to visit your Jiede clan.
What? You’re Jian Chen?
So you’re Jian Chen…
You have the guts to come knocking on our door to seek your death…
As soon as they learned who he was, everyone felt surprised. Shortly after their surprised, they all laughed as a tremendous spike of killing intent suddenly erupted from their bodies.
Roar!
Sensing the hostility in their owners, the four Hemophilic Apes immediately identified Jian Chen as an enemy. One by one, they let out a roar that shook the heavens as a bloodthirsty light entered their fist-sized pupils.
The tiger cub on Jian Chen’s shoulder was none too pleased at the four Class 6 Magical Beasts aggressive behavior Standing up, the cub let loose a mighty roar toward the four apes. Although the cub was extremely proud, it was still a Class 4 Magical Beast in strength. It was not yet mature enough to deal with four Class 6 Magical Beasts. Thus, the action of the tiger cub had not been an attempt to fight the four beasts but to completely infuriate them.
As expected, the four apes let out a furious howl before charging at Jian Chen with great cumbersome steps.
Not only did the Jiede clan do nothing to stop the four Hemophilic Apes, they took several steps away to give them space to fight.
They knew of Jian Chen’s strength and how he had been able to best four Heaven Saint Master’s Heaven Tier Battle Skills before killing the four. His strength was not something that they could easily overlook, so they wanted the four apes to test his strength first.
As if coordinating with one another, the four apes charged at Jian Chen before leaping into the air. Their mountainous bodies were like great big cranes as they took flight, making their way a hundred meters into the air where Jian Chen was.
Staring at the four Hemophilic Apes in disdain as they charged at him, Jian Chen smiled cruelly. With a flip of his hand, a condensed blob of Chaotic Force encompassed it before he moved to slap them down.
