Chapter 398: A Gorgeous Exit
The 50th birthday celebration for the king of the Qinhuang Kingdom quickly came to the end. When the nobles and officials had all bade their farewells to Jian Chen, he immediately went for his own room.
Now that Jian Chen was an Imperial Protector for the Qinhuang Kingdom, his status was far different than from when he first came. He had been given a splendid new palace to live in called the “Qin Heaven Palace”. The Qin Heaven Palace was where only Imperial Protectors were permitted to live in. Not only was it grand in scale, but even the interior furnishing and arrangements were superior to Qin Ji’s Flowing Cloud Palace.
Carrying the still sleeping Heavenly Tiger God, Jian Chen followed the palace maid to the Qin Heaven Palace. Looking all around at the splendor of the palace, Jian Chen was momentarily speechless. The Qin Heaven Palace was so splendous that Jian Chen could swear that he had never seen such a grand palace before.
“Great Imperial Protector, allow this servant to help you bathe and your other needs!” The beautiful maids accompanying Jian Chen spoke with expectant faces. The female maids were all carefully selected by the king and were around the age of twenty as well. Not only were they extremely beautiful, but they were also virgins.
Still looking around the resplendent palace, he waved a hand toward the maids behind him, “You may leave!”
“Great Imperial Master, could it be this servant is not suitable for your needs?” The maids cried out miserably to Jian Chen, their faces were a mixture of desire and misery. Not only was Jian Chen very handsome, but with a glorious title of an Imperial Protector, it would be a great honor to spend time with him.
“You can go, I am not used to being served on. If I have something to ask for, I will call for one of you.” Jian Chen spoke calmly before walking with the tiger cub.
Seeing Jian Chen disappear, all of the carefully selected beautiful women had disappointed looks on their faces and walked out with sorrow seen clearly on their faces.
On the outside of the palace, five hundred armored soldiers stood quietly as if they were statues. With solemn expressions on their faces, they looked extremely impressive as befitting their positions as the guards of an Imperial Protector. To them, this was the greatest honor they could receive, no other guard would be as well respected as them. Aside from the other guards protecting the other Imperial Protectors, no other palace guard could compare to them, or even the army.
All of these palace guards were Great Saint Masters at the very least with five Earth Saint Masters captains led by a Sixth Cycle Earth Saint Master. All of this could be said to be Jian Chen’s personal army that served only the Imperial Protector and even the king wouldn’t be able to command them.
The night quickly passed without incident, and by the next morning, one of the palace captain assembled outside, “A report for the Imperial Protector, the third prince wishes to see you!”
Once he had made the leap to become an Imperial Protector, Jian Chen’s status had suddenly surpassed Qin Ji’s own status. Now, if Qin Ji wished to enter the Qin Heaven Palace, he would need to ask for Jian Chen’s permission.
Quickly, Jian Chen walked out to greet Qin Ji and personally led him in. Touched by this gesture, Qin Ji followed Jian Chen in with some joy.
Within the palace, Jian Chen had commanded the servants to move away so the two could have a talk in private. Congratulating Jian Chen on his promotion to become an Imperial Protector, Qin Ji had truly felt happy to see Jian Chen’s status go up.
Talking cordially with Qin Ji, Jian Chen felt that despite the sudden winds of change blowing in his favor, his friendship with Qin Ji should remain unaffected. He should treat him as he had before this, since if it were not for Qin Ji, then Jian Chen wouldn’t have this honor in the first place.
“Jian Chen, now that you are the Imperial Protector of our Qinhuang Kingdom, the Space Gate is open for you to use at any time. However, I hope that you could stay here for a little longer.” Qin Ji smiled.
Jian Chen shook his head gravely, “I’m sorry, but I must hurry on over. Now that I can use the Space Gate at any time, I must go now. The longer I wait, the more anxious I feel.”
“Jian Chen, could you tell me just what matter has gotten you so anxious? Would I be able to help you in any way?” Qin Ji asked in concern. Now that Jian Chen’s status had changed, he was even more prepared to help him.
Hesitating for a small moment, Jian Chen relented, “My homeland is on the verge of a war, I must hurry on over there or else I’m afraid something terrible may happen.”
Growing serious, Qin Ji asked about the nature of the war and the finer details of the situation. After listening to everything, his face dropped in seriousness and smiled, “A small matter then, with such a small region declaring war, our Qinhuang Kingdom will be able to resolve it without question. Jian Chen, you can mobilize any of the elite masters in our army, do you wish to use them?”
“That won’t be necessary, my homeland is still quite some distance away even after the Space Gate. With my speed, it should take two or three months to arrive, but with an army, the speed would be drastically slower. By the time the army gets there, it would take at least a year.” Jian Chen replied.
“Then take some of the Imperial Advisors at the very least. With your position, you could take all of the Imperial Advisors without opposition or question. Don’t worry, our Qinhuang Kingdom has four unbelievably strong Imperial Protectors to remain here to defend the place without worry.”
Jian Chen hesitated as he listened, he knew that the Gesun Kingdom had a dozen Heaven Saint Masters at the most, and the other four Great Kingdoms had at least twenty-three of them. This difference in strength was far too great.
Seeing the look of hesitation on Jian Chen’s face, Qin Ji knew of the conundrum within his mind. Encouraging him, Qin Ji spoke, “Jian Chen, don’t hesitate and don’t forget your power, you have the authority to mobilize such a force.”
After some consideration, Jian Chen had finally consented to Qin Ji’s proposal. For the sake of insurance, Jin Chen would bring some of the Imperial Advisors with him.
“Jian Chen, you need not worry about the limits. With your command, you needn’t even report this to the king personally. Have the palace guards gather some of the Imperial Advisors and convene here.” Qin Ji spoke since he knew Jian Chen wasn’t as knowledgeable about his newfound authority yet.
Afterward, Jian Chen had followed Qin Ji’s proposal and had the palace guards gather up the Imperial Advisors. In a flash, twenty varying aged Imperial Advisors had convened at the Qin Heaven Palace. Although Jian Chen was quite young, his strength had already earned the respect of all the Imperial Advisors. Despite the position between them and Jian Chen wasn’t too far apart, they wished to become friends with Jian Chen. In their hearts, they knew that not only was Jian Chen accepted by the four Imperial Protectors, Jian Chen would sooner or later step into the realm of the Saint Rulers and even the Saint King realm. By then, they would want to be in his good graces, so this was the time to increase their connections.
Once Jian Chen had explained his reason and plan to the twenty Imperial Advisors, each one of them had readily agreed to go with him. Seeing just how enthusiastic they were in replying, Jian Chen had doubted the space in power between an Imperial Advisor and Imperial Protector. In fact, he had begun to question whether or not if it was him being asked for help from the Imperial Advisors instead.
Just then, a refined looking elder walked forward with his hands cupped in salute, “Great Imperial Protector, this one is Xiao Tian, the grandfather of Xiao Han. I’ve heard yesterday that my dunce grandchild has offended you, I can only hope that you will forgive my unworthy grandchild. I’ve already taught him a lesson and locked him in as punishment. This journey with you will serve as a part my atonement for my grandchild. I hope that you will forgive him.”
Jian Chen looked at Xiao Tian as if to study him. Xiao Tian was wearing a white robe in a refined manner and his white hair was tied up around his head. There was a heroic spirit to him, and justice could easily be used to describe his aura.
“Is this the Fifth Cycle Heaven Saint Master Qin Ji told me about?” Jian Chen thought. Knowing who Xiao Tian was was completely different from actually meeting him. After seeing him just once however, Jian Chen had a feeling that Xiao Tian was an extremely righteous person.
This type of open and straightforward person was a clear cut contrast to his grandchild Xiao Han.
After some quick thinking, Jian Chen cupped his hands with a smile, “Mister Xiao Han, you must be joking. The matter with your grandchild I have already forgotten about. If mister Xiao Han wishes to come with me, then I have no objections. Nonetheless, I am grateful for your support.”
Smiling widely, Xiao Tian spoke, “You are too modest, to be able to accompany an Imperial Protector is a great honor to me.”
Then after selecting the four strongest and most reliable individuals, he began to prepare to leave for the Gesun Kingdom from the Qin Heaven palace and soon headed toward the Space Gate with Qin Ji leading the way.
Leading the five Imperial Advisors with Xiao Tian as the strongest one there, the other four Imperial Advisors were two Fourth Cycles and two Third Cycle Heaven Saint Masters. Although they weren’t the strongest of the Imperial Advisors, Jian Chen had faith in them.
The Space Gate was in the center of the palace, and with Jian Chen’s status, he didn’t require notifying anyone before using it. Taking the five Imperial Advisors to it, he handed several Class 5 Monster Cores and began to locate the desired destination. Then, in a single line, they crossed through the Space Gate.