Chapter 524: Grand Elder of Mercenary City
Seeing this tear in the fabric of space occur within his tiny house made the ancestor feel dumbfounded. He had placed a barrier on this mountain so that it would be isolated from the rest of the world. Even a Saint Ruler wouldn’t be able to walk in here without being detected, let alone open a Space Gate without resistance. Furthermore, this Space Gate had coincidentally opened up right inside his small home.
When his eyes landed upon Jian Chen who was one of the three, his eyes began to shine and his body began to tremble. Immediately leaping up from his jade seat, he gave a respectful bow, “Junior Huang Tianba pays his respect to senior.” The ancestor was so excited that his voice quavered as he spoke.
Uncle Tian glanced at the ancestor before turning to ask Jian Chen, “Is this the man?” From his stare, uncle Tian simply disregarded the ancestor as anyone important despite him being a Saint Ruler.
Jian Chen nodded. Seeing the venerable expression of the ancestor, he couldn’t help but laugh to himself in his mind, but his expression was still calm on the outside. “Senior, I’ve done what you have asked and brought the person in question to you. Is this to your satisfaction?”
The ancestor’s face started when he heard Jian Chen. Changing from a respectful expression to one that would bow and scrape for favors, he seemed as if he was afraid of infuriating this senior in front of him. After all, having such a high and mighty person come running all the way for such a tiny figure like him was not how a respectful senior should be treated.
“Brother Jian Chen loves his jokes, so this junior had spoken his own joke. I had no idea that brother Jian Chen would take it seriously. Senior, if this junior has offended you for having you brought all the way here, please forgive this one.” The ancestor sounded very panicked. A monster of a person who had managed to live for 5000 years was someone that even the ancient clans wouldn’t offend, let alone the ancestor of an isolated family like the Huang.
Uncle Tian remained unmoved at the bowing of the head and the bending of the knees of the ancestor and replied indifferently, “There was no harm. I came at Jian Chen’s request to resolve a problem. I presume you are the man in question of this problem.”
At those words, the heart of the ancestor was shocked by Jian Chen’s capabilities. In this moment, Jian Chen’s status instantly rocketed up in his mind to become a person who he could never offend and also someone who should be roped into his family at all costs.
He didn’t dare not respond to the ancestor, so he replied with a respectful tone, “Senior’s words are too serious. There is no need for senior to involve himself in this trifling matter, this junior will resolve it himself.”
“If that is right, then that would be for the best. I do not like meddling in the affairs of others, but I have already promised Jian Chen to help. I have listened to your family troubles, so I shall give you this jade piece. Should you ever need me to act, then just crush this in your hand and I’ll come within three breaths worth of time!” A thumb-sized white jade floated from uncle Tian’s hand and slowly moved toward the ancestor.
The ancestor’s excitement could barely be contained as he took hold of the white jade into his hands. “Many thanks for senior’s generosity!” To be able to receive the assistance of a Saint King was far too important in meaning to the Huang family. Although he only had this one chance to use it, it would bolster the might of the Huang family and would resolve the issue of the Huang family’s conflict with the other Saint Rulers.
The ancestor hesitated for a moment as he looked at uncle Tian for a moment before carefully asking. “If this junior might ask senior what to refer to you by, or what affiliation senior might have so that in the future this junior’s meager help may be given.”
“I am known as Tian Jian, a grand elder of Mercenary City. Your help won’t be necessary for now with what power you have. Wait until you become a Saint King, then we’ll talk!” Uncle Tian spoke. To him, a Saint Ruler was nothing special, there were plenty of those to be seen in Mercenary City.
When the title of being a grand elder for Mercenary City was heard to the ancestor, his entire body was suddenly drained of its strength and is knees dropped to the ground after being unable to sustain his body weight. There was panic in his expression, and his heart threatened to leap out from his throat. Looking at Tian Jian’s face, there was utter disbelief in his expression along with some terror and fear mixed in.
As a Saint Ruler, he was somewhat knowledgeable about the inner workings of Mercenary City despite not being affiliated with it. He was extremely clear on the hierarchy of Mercenary City, how it was ruled, governed, and divided up.
Mercenary City was indeed a city, but it wasn’t under the jurisdiction of any one area while maintaining the same strength as any other city might have. There was no city ruler as Mercenary City had no need for one of those to keep law and order. The prohibition on fighting was a rule that even Saint Rulers wouldn’t dare violate. The ones who truly held power in Mercenary City, were all from a group of elders. These elders were the highest nucleus of power for Mercenary City, and among them, the grand elders held the highest position.
It was no exaggeration to say that a grand elder was the ultimate ruler of Mercenary City. Not only could they mobilize the entirety of Mercenary City, they were the decided people who had the most authority in it.
Aside from that, the grand elders of Mercenary City were extremely strong. They stood on the forefront of the strongest on the Tian Yuan Continent and were truly the ones who stood at the top of the power pyramid.
Even if he were to dream, the ancestor would never hope to think that Jian Chen would invite a senior that held such unimaginable power. Even the thought had struck a feeling of terror in his heart.
Like a wooden chicken, the ancestor just stood there. Despite being a Saint Ruler, he was nothing but an ant in front of a grand elder of Mercenary City.
Moving his eyes from the ancestor to Ming Dong affectionately, he smiled, “Child, you should come with me to Mercenary City and stay there for now.”
“Uncle Tian. I wish to be with brother Jian Chen for now. I’ll stay here.” Ming Dong responded.
“Very well! All you lack is experience right now. Following Jian Chen would make you stronger than staying in Mercenary City.” Tian Jian nodded.
Just then, Ming Dong suddenly thought of something and his eyes began to sparkle, “Uncle Tian, the Shi family and the Jiede clan are both enemies of ours. Our sworn brother has been forced by them in the past. You might as well settle the problem with those two families. If the experts of their families come, the two of us wouldn’t have enough strength to fight them.”
Tian Jian shook his head, “Child, you cannot leave every single problem for your uncle to resolve. If there comes a day when I am not around, how will you survive on the Tian Yuan Continent? Right now, you must learn to overcome any difficulties and troubles you come across yourself.” Although he was lecturing Ming Dong, Tian Jian’s voice was very soft and did not sound too harsh. It gave off the grandfatherly feeling of benevolence.
“Yes, uncle Tian!” Ming Dong spoke with some helplessness and disappointment.
“Now that the problem has been taken care of, I will be returning to Mercenary City. Will you be staying here in the Gesun Kingdom?” Tian Jian asked.
Ming Dong had said nothing and instead looked to Jian Chen.
Jian Chen took a moment to think about it, “Senior, we will be staying here for some time!”
Tian Jian said nothing and instead lifted his palms up to part the space once more. Within two breaths worth of time, a giant building could be seen on the other side of the Space Gate before he disappeared into it.
At this sight, Jian Chen’s eyes revealed a deep look of yearning. Tian Jian’s usage of space was something that was perfected to the highest level. With such capabilities like this, one would be able to travel anywhere under the heavens without wasting time or money to travel on the road.
With Jian Chen’s current strength, he could only yearn for this power for now. A spot where Tian Jian resided was a spot where Jian Chen could only look forward to. After all, that was a position where even a Saint Ruler had to bow and scrape his knee.
The ancestor watched the ancestor leave with a stunned expression. A little absent-mindedly, he muttered, “So that is the strength of a Saint King, they can tear apart the space to travel millions of kilometers.” Shortly afterward, the ancestor looked to the jade piece held in his hand and began to grow excited. In this moment of observation, this jade piece was a thousand times more precious than any other treasure under the heavens. None other could compare to this one.
The ancestor took out an exquisite jade case from his Space Ring and gently placed the jade piece into it for safekeeping. This jade piece could be used to summon a grand elder of Mercenary City; even if it was only a single use, it was still priceless in value since it equated to an unbelievable amount of might.
After putting away the jade piece, the ancestor exhaled. It took him a long time to calm down because his heart was still beating rapidly. It was at this moment that he discovered with some shock that his entire forehead was drenched with sweat.
Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, the ancestor looked to Jian Chen and Ming Dong with a complicated stare. Despite Ming Dong only being an Earth Saint Master, Ming Dong was essentially the ancestor of his own family in the eyes of the ancestor. He had witnessed how Ming Dong had referred to Tian Jian all too clearly.
Even with the ancestor in such a state of doubtful panic, Jian Chen laughed and spoke to him, “Senior, would it be possible for you to rescind the engagement between miss Huang’er and the Huanggu clan?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” The ancestor hurried to respond. Now that the ancestor knew that Jian Chen and Ming Dong were both backed by a grand elder from Mercenary City, his attitude toward them both drastically changed. Even now, there was a bit of a fawning tone to it that disregarded his own status.