Chapter 944: Gathering of the Powerful
Bi Jian stared at Tie Ta in astoundment. “Golden blood. It’s golden blood. How can it be golden? Are you not a human?”
“Who said I’m not a human? Other than my big stature, is there any part that seems non-human?” Tie Ta became frantic as he countered hurriedly. He worried about this the most and was afraid that people would label him as a monster or an outsider.
At this very moment, the space in the sky began to distort and a Space Gate formed very quickly. A white-robed, middle-aged man emerged.
“Ripping open space to construct a Space Gate is an ability of Saint Kings.” A similar thought appeared in the heads of all the Saint Rulers when they noticed the Space Gate above, already realizing the person’s strength.
Ming Dong rejoiced when he saw the man and immediately took to the skies toward him. Ming Dong called out, “Uncle Tian, uncle Tian, you’ve finally come.”
He was the grand elder of Mercenary City, Tian Jian.
Several dozen people immediately took to the air as they flew steadily toward Tian Jian. They were all Saint Rulers that originated from various large clans on the continent; there were even a few Saint Kings hidden in between them.
They stopped fifty meters from Tian Jian and clasped their hands in unison toward him, “We greet the grand elder!”
Bi Jian also flew from the ground, clasping his hands courteously toward Tian Jian. “One of the nine princes of the Felicity Empire, Bi Jian, greets the grand elder.” Bi Jian looked at Ming Dong from the corner of his eyes from time to time; the depths of his eyes revealing an extremely well-hidden but cold light.
“The grand elder? Is he the grand elder of Mercenary City?” The Saint Rulers who did not recognize Tian Jian guessed his identity and also went up to greet him with clasped hands.
“Everyone is too courteous,” Tian Jian said calmly toward all the people, before looking toward Ming Dong. Some traces of fondness appeared in his eyes. “Not bad, your strength has been increasing very fast in the past few years. It’s so great that even when I was your age, I was nowhere near you.”
Ignoring Ming Dong’s happiness, Tian Jian then looked toward Tie Ta. When he noticed Tia Ta’s golden blood, his eyes froze, while his eyebrows also became deeply furrowed.
“Golden blood…” Tian Jian murmured as he began to think. With a wave of his hand, an invisible force immediately wrapped around Tie Ta. It lifted him up into the air and brought him in front of the grand elder.
“Tie Ta, don’t be afraid. This is my uncle Tian. He won’t harm you,” said Ming Dong.
Tie Ta nodded his head as he stared at Tian Jian. His hand remained on his wound as he pressed down tightly but golden flood still flowed through his fingers. It was eye-catching.
Tian Jian examined Tie Ta with his eyes. He revealed a frown, while his expression was torn between shock and doubt.
“Tie Ta, I never thought you’d be so powerful, to the point where you can even kill Saint Rulers. Oh right, just what type of powerful battle skills are Broken Void and Broken Mortality? Why have I never heard of them from you before? When did you learn them? Looking at their power, they should at least be high level Heaven Tier Battle Skills,” Ming Dong asked Tie Ta curiously. He was uncertain as to how Tie Ta had gained so many powerful battle skills.
Tie Ta shook his head in confusion as he replied with his soft, deep voice, “I don’t know what happened either. I- I- I just knew after I broke through.”
“What! You knew right after you broke through!” Ming Dong was stunned with disbelief.
“Mysteries of war, mysteries of war…” Tian Jian muttered softly as he thought deeply. He felt like he had seen the phrase somewhere before.
Suddenly, Tian Jian seemed to think of something. His expression changed suddenly as he stared at Tie Ta in shock. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
“Mysteries of war, golden blood, and an imprint of a battle ax between the eyebrows. Aren’t these all ancient records regarding the war god of the Hundred Races, Aergyns? P- perhaps he is the war god of the Hundred Races?” Tian Jian’s heart began to churn. After discovering the secret of Tie Ta’s identity, he struggled to remain calm even with his level of mental strength.
“Uncle Tian, what’s wrong?” Ming Dong saw how Tian Jian had reacted so violently, so he asked out of curiosity.
Bi Jian, the other Saint Rulers, and the few Saint Kings also realized Tian Jian’s reaction, which aroused their curiosity. They wondered exactly what could make the grand elder of Mercenary City react so violently. But despite their suspicions, no one dared to ask him so brazenly like Ming Dong.
Tian Jian sucked in a deep breath and slowly calmed himself down. His gaze toward Tie Ta had currently undergone an overwhelming change.
“Ming Dong, is this a friend of yours?” Tian Jian asked Ming Dong.
“Yeah, uncle Tian, Tie Ta’s one of my few friends. He’s Jian Chen’s friend as well,” replied Ming Dong.
Tian Jian was relieved. A joyful smile appeared on his face, before he exhaled deeply, “Sigh, the Winged Tiger God and the war god have reappeared. Supreme experts have been born for the Beast God Continent and the Hundred Races, while the sea goddess of the sea realm is still alive. I wonder where the supreme expert of our humanity is.”
In that moment, a strong uneasiness overwhelmed Tian Jian’s heart. He was worried about the safety of the Tian Yuan Continent. Of the four great races, only the Tian Yuan Continent’s supreme expert had yet to appear. If they were to return to how it was in the ancient times, how would the Tian Yuan Continent possess the power to contend with the three other races?
However, what made him slightly relieved was that both the Winged Tiger God and the war god were on great terms with Jian Chen and Ming Dong. They had yet to become enemies with the Tian Yuan Continent.
“I wonder how Jian Chen is like. He reached Saint Ruler in twenty years. His talent is the most outstanding on our current continent and he knows the spirit of the barrier as well. Is he the future hope of our continent?” Tian Jian began to think of Jian Chen this time and immediately experienced a wave of anticipation.
At that very moment, Tian Jian’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Tie Ta, you should go to Mercenary City.” As he said that, he directly waved his sleeve. A heavy force wrapped around Tie Ta before he could even reply, forcefully dragging him away through the Space Gate.
Bi Jian’s expression changed slightly when he saw Tie Ta taken away by Tian Jian. Tie Ta was someone he needed to kill. However, he said nothing.
“Uncle Tian, what are you doing?” Ming Dong looked toward Tian Jian in confusion.
As soon as he finished this sentence, the surrounding space began to distort violently once again. Several Space Gates appeared in unison, and experts of varying ages stepped out from within. To no surprise, they were all members of the ten protector clans.
All ten protector clans had gathered in the air above Mercenary City. Although the people who had come were not the most powerful in their clans, they were all still Saint Kings.
Another Space Gate opened up beside Bi Jian and his father Bi Yifei emerged. His face was rather pale and haggard.
His soul had been injured by Jian Chen’s God Descent in the battle above the sea realm. A great elder of the Yiyuan Sect was injured too, while Bi Yifei had yet to fully recover.
Tian Jian stared calmly at all the people from the protector clans and said softly, “I never thought that all the protector clans would come.”
“Grand elder, Jian Chen is Changyang Xiangtian, while Changyang Xiangtian is a member of the protector Changyang clan. The Flame Mercenaries he founded breaks the agreement that our ten clans initially set down, so they must be destroyed. We are currently dealing with our personal business, so I hope your Mercenary City does not interfere,” a great elder of the Yiyuan sect said to Tian Jian with clasped hands.
At this moment, another Space Gate opened up. Two ruddy old men emerged from within, arriving before Tian Jian as they glided through the air with a single step. They were the third and fourth elders of Mercenary City.
“Grand elder, we cannot interfere with the matters of the Tian Yuan Continent. We can’t forget what the city lord set down before,” said the third elder.
“Grand elder, the rules the city lord initially set down was that only when the entire continent was in danger. Only then could we come out and prevent internal conflicts, preventing our strength from waning. However, this small-scale conflict is not enough for us to interfere, and this is also classified as an internal affair between the ten protector clans. We can’t interfere,” added the fourth elder in persuasion.
Ming Dong immediately became worried when he heard that. “Uncle Tian, we spent several years worth of power and efforts to build this city. You can’t let others take it.”
Tian Jian sighed gently and said after some thought, “Ming Dong, I can’t help you with this.”
“Uncle Tian…” Ming Dong did not give up and wanted to continue his pleas. But before he could say anything, he was cut off by Tian Jian, “This is all because of Jian Chen. If you want to change this, only Jian Chen can do it. Once he becomes powerful enough, he’ll naturally be able to retake the city. Ming Dong, come back to Mercenary City with me and cultivate hard there. I’ll use all my extra time to assist you as much as I can.” Without even listening to Ming Dong’s reply, Tian Jian forcefully took Ming Dong away, returning to Mercenary City through the Space Gate.
The two elders of Mercenary City also left in unison with Tian Jian’s departure. They did not stay for long.
“Kong’er, come back with us.” Changyang Zu Yunxiao looked at Changyang Zu Yunkong. His voice was filled with helplessness.
Changyang Zu Yunkong had returned to the city walls with You Yue and Bi Lian again. Hearing Changyang Zu Yunxiao’s words, anger immediately appeared on his face. “Father, do you really want to just watch what your own grandson made after all these years and efforts be destroyed just like this?”
“Kong’er, it doesn’t matter how great of an organization he formed before he was a member of the protector Changyang clan. Now he is a member, we need to follow the agreement we had set down. I hope you can understand,” sighed Changyang Zu Yunxiao. Why would he not want to keep the city completely made of tungsten alloy? But the agreements was like that; he could not do what he wished. This was because as soon as the agreement was violated, their Changyang clan would become pressured by the other nine clans.
“Changyang Zu Yunkong, the agreement set down all those years ago between us cannot be broken. As a member of a protector clan, you must follow through with the agreement. It’s best if you don’t interfere with what happens here,” an expert from the Pure Heart Pavilion said. He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man who possessed an aura as if he had transcended worldly affairs.