A cold sneer crept onto Huang Tianbaâs face when he saw the black-robed elder crush the jade stone. âJin Tian, Jing Feng, it would appear that you invited some helpers before you arrived.â
âYou guess correctly, Huang Tianba. Allow us two to inform you of our good news. Our Hongfu clan is now allied to the Yan family through a bond of blood. From today on, whatever sorrows or celebrations are to be had, our two families will live through both of them together. Thus, weâve invited the lord of the Yan family, Yan Nan, to join us today.â One of the two smiled.
The Hongfu clan had two Saint Rulers who were brothers by birth. One of them was called Jin Tian and was at the Third Heavenly Layer. More importantly was the fact that he owned a Ruler Armament that allowed him to fight on par with a Fourth Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler. Even a Fifth Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler would have to put a little more effort in fighting him.
Jin Tianâs younger brother Jin Feng was a Second Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler with a Ruler Armament of his own so that he could fight against a Third Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler and defend against a Fourth Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler. Paired with his brother, they could contend with a Fifth Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler.
âJin Tian, Jin Feng, does your Hongfu clan also wish for a share of the tungsten alloy?â Huang Tianba sneered.
âThat is indeed our goal.â The Hongfu clan didnât bother to deny the truth. âThe tungsten alloy is an extremely precious object. Even a mountain of purple gold wouldnât be worth a deposit of tungsten alloy, let alone a tremendous wealth like this. How could our Hongfu clan ignore it?â
Huang Tianba snorted, âJin Tian, Jin Feng, trying to take tungsten alloy by yourselves is nothing more than the dreams of a madman. Do you not know that Jian Chen, the captain of the Flame Mercenaries, is also an Imperial Protector of the Qinhuang Kingdom?â
âDonât even bother mentioning the Qinhuang Kingdom! Our Hongfu clan may be hermits, but we arenât deaf to the world. With the restoration of the previous regime of the Holy Empire of the Three Great Empires, the subordinate Qinhuang Kingdom has no other choice but to get involved! They can hardly protect themselves, let alone spare a finger in this matter.â Jin Tian spoke.
âI underestimated your knowledge, it seems.â Huang Tianba grumbled.
No sooner did Huang Tianba finish speaking when another figure came speeding toward them at the speed of lightning. Coming to a stop right by the side of Jin Feng and Jin Tian, this newcomer stood in the air with an intimidating amount of pressure radiating from his body, stifling the air around.
The newcomer looked to be in his forties in age. His hair was down to his waist, but it was being blown this way and that in the air. His stature was bulky and his figure was doughty with tanned skin to complement his build. In truth, he looked more like a violent black bear.
Staring calmly at this man, Huang Tianba said, âLord Yan, it would be best for your family to stay out of this affair. Understand that the tungsten alloy is an object thatâll burn the hand of those that touch it. Even with the Yan and the Hongfu, you will not be able to safeguard it from the others.â
âCombined with us, the possibilities of taking the tungsten alloy would perhaps go up.âSitu Qing coldly laughed. Cupping his hands in greeting to the three men, he said, âMy friends, I presume you know that judging by our earlier fight, the two of us were on par with one another. Victory wonât be an easy task, but if we join forces, then the deposit will be ours. Would a fifty-fifty share suffice with you three?â
âExcellently so!â The Saint Ruler from the Hongfu clan agreed straight away. He knew that out of all the Saint Rulers here, his party was currently the weakest group. If they didnât join forces with one of the two, theyâd lose for sure.
âLet that be it then. Weâll have Bi Hai deal with Huang Tianba, and the four of us will fight to kill Jian Chen.â Situ Qing spoke. Jian Chen was the target of his grudge, and Situ Qing wished to kill him. However, he lacked the power to do so. If he didnât hurry to improve his odds, heâd perhaps be the one to lose his life instead.
âThatâll do. Then let us fight at once. The sooner we take the tungsten alloy, the better. A dream is only a dream during the night.â Lord Yan calmly spoke without ever once considering Jian Chen to be a foe to contend with.
âOne moment!â Jian Chenâs voice suddenly made itself known as they were talking to one another.
âJian Chen, what more do you have to say before your imminent death?â Situ Qing sneered.
As if mocking Situ Qing, Jian Chen gave him a strange look, âSaint Ruler, do you really think that if you ally yourself with the Hongfu clan and the Yan family, youâd be able to take the tungten alloy? How laughably naive you are.â
âI need none of your concern, Jian Chen!â Situ Qingâs eyes flashed crimson, âDo you really think youâre safe yourself? Thereâs no way for you to escape todayâs fate!â
âVery well, then allow me to show you how Iâll escape this fate today.â Jian Chen smiled before turning in another direction. âSeniors, you have come all this way today, there is no need to hide yourself. If you could, please show yourselves!â He cried out loud with a voice that echoed further and further beyond into the landscape.
âHahahaha! Jian Chen, you truly do deserve the title of being the King of Mercenaries! You have such power at such a tender age, and youâre able to sense even us as well! Not bad at all, you are a praiseworthy one!â An elderly voice replied to Jian Chen with an equally loud volume.
Then just ten kilometers away, two figures in white materialized into the world, but following their arrival, another three elders suddenly made themselves known as well.
Originally ecstatic with the chance of being able to win, Situ Qingâs joy plummeted as soon as he saw these five men appear out of nowhere. Even the three Saint Rulers from the Hongfu clan and Yan family grew stern as well. The arrival of these five changed the battlefield drastically.
âEveryone, weâve seen our fill of entertainment. Let us all reveal ourselves then.â One elder smiled as he addressed the empty air around him.
One by one, figures began to appear out of nowhere throughout the area. In a short few moments, over a dozen unknown figures filled the sky, and all of them were Saint Rulers!
They had been watching the fight since the very beginning, but they had managed to hide themselves thanks to a secret method. Thus, they stood a few dozen kilometers away to watch.
By now, Situ Qingâs face had grown as dark as a shadow. He couldnât see through the strength of a dozen of these newcomers, meaning that they were all Saint Rulers of the Sixth Heavenly Layer at the very least.
Even Nubis and Ge Qiu ceased their fighting with so many people appearing out of nowhere. Sensing the strength of these figures, even they grew tense.
Reverting back to his human form, Nubis flew back to Jian Chen with a cursory glare at the figures around them. âThereâs trouble. Many of these individuals are Sixth Heavenly Layer Saint Rulers. One of them is even a Seventh Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler. I cannot help you with this, Jian Chen.â
A slight fluctuation occurred over Jian Chenâs face, but he remained calm to say, âTheyâre for sure after the tungsten alloy. What a hot item this tungsten alloy is to attract so many strong individuals, but still, thereâs no need to worry. We arenât easy to bully.â
âCorrect, thereâs nothing to fear.â Huang Tianba folded his arms over his chest and laughed.
Nubisâ eyes shined brightly for a few seconds when he saw just how confident these two were, but he said nothing.
On the other side, the ashen-faced Ge Qiu arrived back at Situ Qingâs side, âSitu Qing, the situation isnât looking very well.â
Situ Qing nodded his head slightly, but when he saw the pigment of Ge Qiuâs face, he hurried to say, âGe Qiu, you should hurry to flush the poison out of your body. With the strength of the poison of a Golden-Striped Silver Snake, even a Third Heavenly Saint Ruler would be able to fight you.â
Nodding, Ge Qiu closed his eyes and started to prepare the process of detoxifying his body.
By now, all of the experts had convened together. One of the elders cupped his hands in greeting to Jian Chen, âI am Mo Ziming, grand elder of the Divine Sword sect, and this one to my side is Jian Xu. We are pleased to meet you, friend.â
âThis junior greets his seniors!â Jian Chen returned the greeting as well.
âDivine Sword sect? I didnât believe that even they would come. The Divine Sword sect has existed for tens of thousands of years â an age longer than even the ancient clans.â Huang Tianba remarked in shock.
Even Jian Chen had to look at these two individuals in a new light after that.
âWe are from Baihua City. Brother Jian Chen, I am Bai Yan.â An elegantly dressed man cupped his hands and saluted him gracefully.
One by one, the individuals gathered around the area began to introduce themselves to Jian Chen. All of them had extremely powerful individuals as patrons and were thus a part of an extremely strong group. Two of them were from groups stronger than the most ancient clans, and one of them was a Saint Ruler of the Seventh Heavenly Layer. That alone was enough to match an ancient clan.
Despite their extremely lofty statuses, they treated Jian Chen with the utmost respect. Prior to their entry, each one of them had made their inquiries on Jian Chen. Therefore, they knew a decent amount of information. Now that he was comparable to a Saint Ruler in strength, it was enough for them to speak as equals, being courteous to a genius with limitless potential.
Unless there was absolutely no choice, none of them wanted to make Jian Chen their enemy.
âSeniors, if my guess is correct, you all must be here for the tungsten alloy.â Jian Chen spoke.
âQuick to the point, I see. Then we wonât mince words either, brother Jian Chen. Your guess is correct. Our Baihua City came here today for the tungsten alloy. We hope that brother Jian Chen will resign yourself to part with twenty percent of the deposit. Naturally, we wonât mistreat you, this will be an extremely beneficial trade to the both of us.â The graceful-looking Bai Yan spoke.
âOur Divine Sword sect wishes to trade for the tungsten alloy as well. Similarly, we hope that brother Jian Chen will be fine with trading twenty percent of the deposit to us.â The grand elder Mo Ziming opened his mouth to speak.
âOur Nine Yang School...â
Shortly afterward, the groups began to offer out their prices in hopes of taking a part of the tungsten alloy. Each one of them had originally planned on taking the tungsten alloy by force, but with how chaotic the situation was with so many forces gathering, no one would be able to monopolize it all. So thus, they would have to change their plans.
Jian Chenâs face had grown dark after listening to everyoneâs offers. Every one of them wanted ten or twenty percent of the deposit. While that wasnât a big amount individually, thereâd be none left for him if he were to divvy it up like that, and that would be not be worth it at all.
Suddenly, a melodious voice made itself known.
âHehehe, little brother Jian Chen. Itâs been a few years since we met, yet youâve changed so much! Perceiving this change has left this sister awe-shocked you know.â