Chaotic Sword God
chapter-610

The area near the back of the Shi family compound was a forbidden place that many people were not allowed to enter. Only the lord of the Shi family and the elders could convene and gather there. One by one, they looked to a hole in the mountain with reverent gazes.

The sounds of stones being moved rang out as a heavy stone gate slowly started to rise. It was situated on the mountain, and revealed a pitch black hole behind it. From within, a middle-aged man dressed in white slowly made his presence known to everyone.

Upon seeing this middle-aged man, everyone — the lord of the Shi family included — genuflected to him and respectfully said, “Congratulations to the patriarch for breaking through. Congratulations on becoming stronger!”

“The patriarch is talented beyond all else. Becoming a Saint King is only just around the corner. Our Shi family is only great because of the patriarch!” One elder smiled as he flattered the patriarch.

In return, the patriarch smiled, “Wait until I reach the Ninth Heavenly Layer of the Saint Ruler realm and attempt to fuse with the Seal of Treasure Mountain. If I manage to do so, then my chances of becoming a Saint King will become exponentially higher.” However, his expression went askew as he looked to the group with suspicion. “Where is the Seal of Treasure Mountain? Why can I not sense its existence?”

His words caused the high ranking elders of the family to grow nervous. Delaying a reply for some time, the head of the Shi family finally explained, “Patriarch, the Seal of Treasure Mountain was lost to us because of our inabilities.”

“What!? The Seal of Treasure Mountain was stolen?” The patriarch’s face blanched. The joy that he had felt from making the breakthrough instantly slipped off his face.

After that, the lord of the Shi family began to recount the tale of what happened to the patriarch without leaving a single word out. After all was told to him, the anger on the patriarch’s face slowly drained away.

“It would appear my initial command for you to steal the Solunar Bow from the Huang family was a mistake. I had not thought that the barrier I placed on my great-grandson would fail and lead to his death. The Seal of Treasure Mountain was taken as a result as well.” The patriarch softly hummed.

Slowly closing his eyes, the patriarch thought for a moment. His mouth opened a little later, “I’ve sensed his location, but what is strange is that I cannot sense the existence of the Seal of Treasure Mountain. It is almost as if my connection with it has been broken. Has this Jian Chen perhaps found a way to hide it from even my perception? Not only can I not sense it, I cannot even recall the Seal of Treasure Mountain even if I exhausted a tremendous price for it.”

The patriarch hummed. “There has been no conflict between us and the Jiede clan. They themselves are quite strong as well. Since we’ve already made enemies with the Huang family, it wouldn’t do to make even more enemies. Go and notify the Jiede clan of this.”

“Yes, patriarch!” The lord bowed reverently.

“You may all leave. I will go find Jian Chen. The Seal of Treasure Mountain must be returned as soon as possible to avoid any other unforeseen circumstances.” With that said, the patriarch’s figure instantly dissolved into a bolt of lightning that shot straight into the sky. His speed was just as fast as real lightning.

The patriarch was filled with dread since he couldn’t sense the Seal of Treasure Mountain. He feared that his inability to sense it meant the Ruler Armament was eternally lost. Without it, his chances of making the breakthrough to become Saint King would become all the harder.

After the patriarch had left, the lord of the Shi family sent men to the Jiede clan to spread the news and tell them of the whereabouts of the Duanyun sword.

The Jiede clan had actually received news of what had happened in Mercenary City at the very same time the Shi family did. They learned that the one who stole the Duanyun sword, Jian Chen, was still alive. Furthermore, they learned that he was the one who killed five elders from the Shi family. When they heard the news, they immediately sent a group of people to run to Mercenary City as fast as possible. Even their Saint Ruler set out when he heard the news to ensure that the operation would succeed without failure. In the eyes of the Jiede clan, Jian Chen killing five Heaven Saint Master was far too important to disregard.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since Jian Chen had killed the five Heaven Saint Masters. During those two days, Jian Chen spent all of his time in his room with the sword spirits. They were trying to purify the Imprint of Death on his body. It had not been that easy, and even after two days, the sword spirits had only managed to get rid of a small speck of it. At this pace, it would take the complete three months, the initial projection timeframe, to fully eliminate the Imprint of Death.

Two days after that, Jian Chen was just opening his eyes when a wriggling sensation could be felt. Looking down, Jian Chen saw the tiger cub sprawled over his legs in boredom.

As if sensing Jian Chen wake up, the tiger cub looked at him with a pitiful glance. Opening its kitten-like maw, the cub began to purr with a barely audible sound. One of its paws also scratched at the Space Ring Jian Chen wore on his finger.

Petting the head of the cub with a soft caress of his fingers, Jian Chen said, “You are beginning to want even more and more heavenly resources. You’ve eaten quite a few thousand year old resources already and you’re still a Class 4 Magical Beast. It seems that you will require plenty more heavenly resources before you become a Class 5 Magical Beast. That’s more than I have.” Despite that, Jian Chen was not too stingy with his heavenly resources as he handed the tiger cub another five or six heavenly resources to eat.

The cub let out an excited purr before immediately wolfing down the items given to it. A short few seconds later, it had eaten them all.

With all six heavenly resources eaten, the cub relaxed on the bed, content. It then closed its eyes in order to fall back asleep.

Seeing the cub act this way, Jian Chen helplessly shook his head, but he allowed the cub to sleep while he walked out of the room.

Jian Chen wasn’t worried about anyone harming the tiger cub since he was residing in Mercenary City. The cub hadn’t attracted any outside attention so far, and the only ones that knew about it were Ming Dong and the others.

Arriving at the dining halls below, Jian Chen sat down at a table and said, “Waiter, a platter of roast meat and your finest wine.”

The waiter gave only one look at Jian Chen before his eyes lit up with recognition, “Oh my! You’re lord Jian Chen, the King of Mercenaries! Please wait one moment, lord Jian Chen, this server of yours will go notify the chefs to prepare your food with all haste!” With that said, the waiter flew to the kitchens as if the floor beneath his feet was slick with oil.

There had been a numerous amount of people in the area, so plenty of people turned to look over when the waiter had cried out. When their eyes landed on Jian Chen, they too let out gasps of both shock and admiration.

At that moment, a middle-aged man and an elderly figure walked over from their own tables. Without even giving a greeting, the two of them sat down, giving hard looks to Jian Chen.

The middle-aged man looked to be around forty years old, and wore simple clothing, a cheap azure robe. His hair was tossed freely behind him without anything to dress it. His appearance gave him a sense of being a messy person, and there was not a sense of aura coming from him. He looked to be just an average commoner.

The other elder wore white robes, and his hair was tied together. His seventy-year-old face was peaceful-looking, and he seemed to carry around a sagely presence. Yet, he did not have an aura to him either, but his face spoke volumes of the man, marking him to be an extremely capable person.

Jian Chen looked at the two without a single sound, but his mind had grown serious. He had no way of ascertaining their strengths. Even his presence had come up with nothing definitive. His presence was something that could even detect a Heaven Saint Master if they tried to conceal themselves from him. The only thing he knew that could overcome his presence was an expert at the Saint Ruler realm.

“Are you Jian Chen?” The middle-aged man calmly asked. Not a hint of emotion could be heard from him.

“Correct, I am he. Who might you two be?” Jian Chen replied just as calmly. Although two Saint Rulers were seated in front of him, they were no different than any other person in Mercenary City.

“We’ve waited for you for one whole day. At last you’ve finally come out. This must be the very first time a mere Heaven Saint Master has received such treatment in history.” The middle-aged man spoke. This time, his voice carried a cold edge to it. “Jian Chen, I am from the Shi family, and he is from the Jiede clan. We are both Saint Rulers and came today to make you return our items to us. You must know that much.” The Saint Ruler from the Shi family explained. He must have realized that Jian Chen knew the two of them were Saint Rulers and had thus mentioned it so readily.

However, to his disappointment, Jian Chen did not react at all to this revelation. He remained as calm as before as if this piece of information had no effect on him at all.

“So you are the predecessors of the Shi family and the Jiede clan, greetings!” Jian Chen smiled with his hands cupped together. Even faced against two Saint Rulers with less than agreeable feelings for him, he remained calm.

“Jian Chen. You know why we are here. So, are you willing to return what is rightfully ours? From here, we will write off our debts if you do and won’t seek trouble with you in the future.” The Saint Ruler from the Jiede clan calmly inquired.

Giving an apologetic smile, Jian Chen replied, “My apologies, but the items you wish for are no longer in my possession.”

The two Saint Rulers grew rigid straight away as the Saint Ruler from the Shi family questioned, “Then where are they now?”