Chapter 381: Chapter 379: Parting
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. At Jiang Chen’s urging, everything was proceeding in full swing.
In just three short days, hundreds of thousands of experts from the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, along with masters from the Royal Family, had joined forces to complete the reconstruction of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect.
The mountain range where the Saint Martial Sword Sect once stood was razed to the ground!
Upon this vast, open plain, a sprawling palace complex was erected. It consisted of more than thirty-six thousand eight hundred buildings, all interconnected, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Tall city walls were built around the Sect’s perimeter.
In all ten directions, the city walls were fortified with Guardian Arrays jointly crafted by numerous Artifact Refiners from the Artifact Refiner Guild.
Kumu had now advanced to the rank of Third Grade Refining Master and served as the vice president of the Artifact Refiner Guild of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. By mobilizing ten thousand Artifact Refiners, he had crafted thirty thousand Guardian Arrays in just three days.
This made the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City, home to the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, completely impregnable!
Furthermore, with Jiang Chen, a Fourth-Grade Refining Master, taking action, one hundred Fourth Grade guardian and offensive Grand Arrays were created. Even a titan at the Union Palace Realm Ninth Stage would not be able to breach the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City’s defenses in a short time.
More importantly, Jiang Chen had set up over a thousand Spirit Gathering Arrays within the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City, combining them into one massive Spirit Gathering Array.
It gathered all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from a thousand-mile radius, turning the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City into a true Cultivation Holy Land. Cultivating here would yield twice the results with half the effort. In the long run, the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect was bound to produce more and more experts, and its rise to power was just a matter of time!
Today!
The Heaven-Soaring Sacred City was adorned with lanterns and decorations, brimming with a festive atmosphere.
Experts from all the sects of the Ten Great Dynasties, the Royal Families, and every prominent figure had arrived one after another.
They were all here to congratulate Jiang Chen on his succession as the Sect Master of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect!
The inauguration ceremony of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect was incredibly grand, with Jiang Chen’s succession being the main event. One by one, the powerful experts presented their congratulatory gifts.
The gifts from the Nine Sins Hall, Yinluo Sect, Celestial Sword Sect, and Ten Thousand Beasts Sect were especially terrifying in their value.
They only hoped that Jiang Chen would not direct his anger toward them.
In response to this, Jiang Chen displayed a tolerant side, choosing not to hold them accountable for the time being. After all, the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect’s overall strength was not yet formidable enough to openly clash with the Ten Great Sects. But when the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect grew strong enough, then it would truly be a case of ’those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish’!
The experts from the Ten Great Sects were clearly aware of this.
But there was nothing they could do.
Jiang Chen alone could suppress ten dynasties!
Who would dare to oppose him?
The colossal Heaven-Soaring Saint Hall lay crouched in the center of the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City like an ancient beast. The entire Holy Hall was constructed in the shape of a Hexagram.
At each point of the star was an entrance connected to a Void Realm.
At this moment, on the wide plaza before the Heaven-Soaring Saint Hall, countless experts had gathered. All eyes were fixed on the young man atop the high altar in the center of the square. Before the youth stood a nine-hundred-meter-tall behemoth, veiled by a massive red cloth. Yuwen Zheng stood beside him, smiling. "Sect Master Jiang, this is a congratulatory gift I had my men work through the night to create for you!"
"Your Majesty is too kind!"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
Prince Gong, who was at the side, said, "Sect Master Jiang, why don’t you uncover it and take a look!"
"Alright!"
Jiang Chen nodded. With a wave of his hand, the red cloth flew up. A gust of wind howled—WHOOSH—revealing the true face of the massive object.
This...
It was a statue!
It depicted Jiang Chen himself, clad in Black Armor, wielding the Slaying Spirit Demon Sword, in a pose of thrusting his sword toward the heavens.
The entire statue was forged from Ten Thousand Year Meteorite Iron, making it incredibly hard and incorruptible for millennia. It was exceptionally lifelike.
"Hiss!"
"What a divine and handsome statue... The Ten Thousand Year Meteorite Iron used to forge it is itself of immeasurable value!"
"The value of this statue alone is comparable to any of the great families in the Imperial Capital!"
"As expected of the Royal Family, so extravagant!"
Everyone gasped in amazement.
Jiang Chen was also quite stunned. Looking at the nine-hundred-meter-tall statue, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Sect Master Jiang, you are too polite!" Yuwen Zheng smiled slightly and glanced at Prince Gong.
Prince Gong nodded. With a wave of his hand, a line of soldiers in battle armor parted the crowd and entered.
In the center of the soldiers, more than a hundred people were being escorted as prisoners.
Someone in the crowd recognized them.
"Isn’t that the Patriarch and several elders of the great Luo Family?"
"Is that the president of the Money Commerce Association?"
"And that one... isn’t he the Patriarch of the great Li Family? He holds the official rank of Prime Minister, why was he arrested too?"
"You all don’t know? These families all offended Jiang Chen in the past. His Majesty has arrested them now as a gesture of goodwill toward Jiang Chen!"
"Isn’t this too much? Executing these people is like the Saint Martial Dynasty cutting off its own arm!"
"What do you know? Even if all the great families of the Saint Martial Dynasty were to die, as long as the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect and Sect Master Jiang are here, not even the Ten Great Dynasties would dare to offend us. He is Sect Master Jiang, the Jiang Chen who can suppress ten dynasties by himself!"
Everyone cried out in shock.
Their gazes toward Jiang Chen were filled with fervent fanaticism and awe.
In the crowd, Si Xiaosheng and Yulan Tianpeng had looks of dejection on their faces.
The young man who was now as radiant as the midday sun had once called them brothers. But now... the distance between them was like the gap between heaven and earth.
Experts like Bai Ling and Yuwen Xunyi also looked at Jiang Chen with nothing but reverence and awe.
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. He looked at the powerful figures from the great families kneeling before him, then turned to Yuwen Zheng. "Your Majesty, this is..."
"These people have, in one way or another, offended you, Sect Master Jiang. I have arrested them today to hand them over to you for judgment!" Yuwen Zheng said with a serene smile.
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. "They are all pillars of the dynasty. If they are all killed, wouldn’t it shake the foundations of the nation?"
"For my Saint Martial Dynasty, having you alone, Sect Master Jiang, is enough!" Yuwen Zheng stated calmly.
As soon as these words were spoken, a terrifying silence fell over the Heaven-Soaring Saint Hall. You could hear a pin drop.
With this statement, Yuwen Zheng had truly acknowledged Jiang Chen’s status.
Unshakeable!
Jiang Chen was also a little surprised. He then smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. As long as I, Jiang Chen, am here, I can guarantee the Saint Martial Dynasty will not decline!"
"On behalf of the thousands of disciples of the Royal Family and the hundreds of millions of citizens of the dynasty, I thank you, Sect Master Jiang!" Yuwen Zheng clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully to Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen accepted it calmly.
In his current position, he was qualified to make the monarch of a nation bow to him.
He reached out to help Yuwen Zheng up, a smile on his face. "Your Majesty exaggerates. I, Jiang Chen, am also a part of the Saint Martial Dynasty!"
"Yes, yes, Sect Master Jiang is absolutely right!" Yuwen Zheng nodded happily, then glanced at the bound members of the Luo Family and the others. "Sect Master Jiang, as for these people..."
Jiang Chen said coolly, "The inauguration ceremony of my Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect is in need of some sacrificial offerings!"
"I understand!"
Yuwen Zheng nodded and glanced at the soldiers clad in black armor.
Flashes of blades and swords whistled through the air.
SPLURT, SPLURT, SPLURT...
The once high and mighty experts were all beheaded, not a single one left alive.
With a calm expression, Jiang Chen waved his hand and declared, "The inauguration ceremony of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect—officially begins!"
BOOM!
The entire Heaven-Soaring Sacred City erupted in celebration.
Jiang Chen naturally became the center of everyone’s attention, though only the titans from various factions dared to exchange a few words with him. After several rounds of drinks and courses, Jiang Chen took his leave from the powerful magnates and walked toward the area where Bai Ling, White Tiger, Di Tian, Sima Qingling, Night Emperor, Xue Yinhao, and the others were gathered.
They were all young, so they had more in common to talk about.
Moreover, they were all chosen sons of heaven, so they soon shed their inhibitions and began toasting each other. Di Tian looked at Jiang Chen, "Brother Jiang, I wonder what your plans are next?"
Jiang Chen was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Tomorrow, I will be leaving the Saint Martial Dynasty!"
"Oh?"
Di Tian’s eyes lit up, and the others all looked up at him as well. Di Tian asked, "Where might you be headed?"
"First, I’ll make a trip to the Profound Celestial Ice Field!" Jiang Chen said.
Di Tian nodded.
They also knew about Xiao Qingyi’s situation.
Di Tian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Brother Jiang, would you be willing to travel with me to the Zhongzhou Undying Sect? To be honest, I am the Young Master of the Undying Sect. Back then, my father wanted to temper me, so he sent me here to compete for the Divine Blood in the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm. Now that you’ve obtained the Divine Blood, Brother Jiang, my mission is a failure, and I must return soon! Besides, you’ve offended Xiang Tianwen. If you have the protection of my Undying Sect, even he wouldn’t dare to do anything to you!"
"The Undying Sect? If I go to Zhongzhou, I will definitely visit you at the Undying Sect!" Jiang Chen nodded and said.
"Good, I’ll be waiting for you then!"
Di Tian nodded.
Following that, Xue Yinhao, Night Emperor, and the others expressed great interest in the Undying Sect. They were all exceptional talents, possessing such strength despite being from the remote Cloud Domain. This naturally made Di Tian feel a desire to recruit them.
He extended invitations to them all.
In the end, Xue Yinhao, Night Emperor, Yuwen Tiandu, and the others all decided to accompany Di Tian to the Zhongzhou Undying Sect.
Everyone sensed their imminent departure and drank until they were completely smashed.
「The next day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.」
A youthful figure, accompanied by two Battle Pets, one black and one white, flew out of the Heaven-Soaring Sacred City. Looking back at the majestic city, the young man clenched his fists. ’The day I return will be the day the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect dominates the Eastern Continent!’
SWOOSH—
The young man and the two beasts shot up into the sky and flew away...
[Third update of the day is done! I’m out on a business trip, will have a burst of Chapters when I get back! By the way, I recommend a completed Xuanhuan power-fantasy novel, Great God An Qiye’s masterpiece: *Immortal Martial Emperor*. Little Tian has read the whole thing, you know. Although it’s a tiny bit worse than what Little Tian writes, it’s still pretty good! Haha...]
