Chapter 1653: Gathering of the Strongest (Two)

Jian Chen watched the four brothers leave. When the finally left his sight, he sighed gently. There was a hint of pity and disappointment on his face. Aside from answering the questions that the four brothers had, he had another intention; he wanted to let the four of them enter the Anatta Tower. He wanted to see if the four of them could somehow remove the seal on the Anatta Tower.

After all, the cultivation methods of the four brothers were related to the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt, and they had only managed to reach the Origin realm through the assistance of the four strands of sword Qi. In this world, the four of them were the only people who were related to the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt, so Jian Chen believed that the four of them would have the greatest possibility in removing the seal on the tower.

Although the seal on the tower had become far weaker after so many years, it was still a seal left behind by the greatest expert of the Immortals’ World. Even after it had weakened, it would not be something that Jian Chen could remove. He would still remain helpless against the seal even if his strength progressed by a few more layers.

Jian Chen looked at the damaged tower and stared at the sword slashes. He murmured, “These sword Qi have already developed some intelligence. They must have sensed the brothers’ arrival. Maybe they didn’t react because the four brothers were too weak. After all, they still haven’t comprehended the Way of the Sword.”

“If the four brothers comprehend the Way of the Sword and come here after their strength has progressed by quite a few cultivation realms, will the outcome be different?” Jian Chen pondered as he stared at the sword slashes on the tower. After a while of thought, he put the Anatta Tower away. With a single movement, he disappeared from the location as well, leaving behind only a huge pit the Anatta Tower created.

Jian Chen passed the next few years peacefully and simply. He either spent his time by his parent’s side or guided Shangguan Aojian through cultivation. He also passed on all the experiences he had gathered across the years to Shangguan Aojian. Sometimes, he would stay on Three Saint Island for some time, accompanying Shangguan Mu’er. He would also visit Longevity Valley from time to time, following uncle Xiu into the fields to do some farming in coarse clothes and bare feet, living an ordinary person’s life. He would also visit various places to see acquaintances and friends.

This period of time was the easiest and most pleasing time in Jian Chen’s life. There was no longer any need for him to be like before, devoting himself to cultivation every moment of the day while remaining wary against enemies, living under huge pressures, where he could potentially become eternally doomed from even the slightest carelessness.

In the past, Jian Chen had never even considered such a simple and peaceful life. Now that he could finally spend his days as he wished after so much trouble, Jian Chen valued it extremely dearly. He valued every day, every minute, and every second of it. He would often smile, revealing a sense of being relaxed, which he had never shown before.

Through the years, quite a few changes happened to his good friends and acquaintances. The third prince of the Qinhuang Kingdom, Qin Ji, had become the king quite a few years ago, while Tianmu Ling had become the matriarch of the Tianmu clan as well. Qin Xiao had become the patriarch of the Tianqin clan long ago, and he even had several grandchildren now. Under his lead, the Tianqin clan became the greatest clan in the Zhuya Kingdom. It was so prestigious that even the royal family of the kingdom was not as great.

Although there had not been many major changes with the Radiant Saint Master Union, the president announced his retirement a few days after Shangguan Aojian’s identity was announced. The new president was Quan Youcai.

The grand elder had retired as well. The two of them had become Class 8 Radiant Saint Masters in the artifact space several decades ago, so they now possessed lifespans of six thousand years. In their remaining time, they planned on stepping down completely and living a hermit lifestyle, no longer interfering with the matters of the union.

Due to the lack of Saint King ancestors, the Zaar family that once controlled the City of God had completely declined now. Although their ancestor Zaar Caiyun had become a Saint Emperor, she left the clan as well, no longer bothering with the matters relating to the clan. She had faded away from the Tian Yuan Continent.

Changyang Hu remained in the Pure Heart Pavilion to cultivate the entire time. Due to the personal guidance of Feng Xiaotian, he seemed to have severed his emotions and desires completely. He had abandoned kinship and friendship. He had never taken a single step away from the Pure Heart Pavilion after entering it, and he did not even visit his mother who was growing weak across the years.

Meanwhile, Nubis was probably the happiest one out of everyone. He spent his time travelling around with two women, moving through the territories of all four races. Sometimes, he would find a cave and go at it with the two women.

The two women were both Class 7 Magical Beasts who had assumed human forms. They were burly, broad-shouldered, and powerful, even greater than many of the large men on the Tian Yuan Continent.

Xiu Tianyu, Dugu Feng, Yun Zheng, Senior An, Sans, and so on basically spent all their time in Flame City, devoting themselves to the development of the Flame Mercenaries.

A year after Shangguan Aojian’s identity was revealed, You Yue and Huang Luan both emerged from seclusion. Their feelings became extremely mixed when they saw Shangguan Aojian.

In the blink of an eye, the ten years that Jian Chen and the Spiritking had agreed on arrived quietly. As soon as it was time, an extremely powerful presence began to radiate from the tunnel connecting the two worlds. A simple-looking middle-aged man appeared. Behind him was a metal sword that hovered with a dark glow. It radiated with soaring sword Qi. The sword Qi was so powerful that it made space distort. If it were not for the fact that the sword Qi was purposefully hidden, it would have been enough to annihilate most of the space in the world.

This middle-aged man was the Spiritking. He had punctually appeared on the Tian Yuan Continent. Behind him were the Origin realm experts from the World of Forsaken Saints.

“Shen Jian, please come to the city lord’s estate in Flame City!” Jian Chen’s voice rang out from a million kilometers away as soon as the Spiritking appeared. It crossed the distance and boomed thunderously at the location of the tunnel between the two worlds.

The Spiritking’s face did not change, nor did he say anything. He directly took a step and with that, he vanished. At the next moment, he had crossed the distance, appearing in the city lord’s estate as if he had teleported. He stood before Jian Chen.

Between the two of them was a long discussion table. All the Origin realm experts of the Tian Yuan Continent’s world had already been seated and had been waiting for some time already.

The Spiritking observed the composed Jian Chen closely. After staring for a while, he said, “Your strength has increased again?”

Jian Chen smiled, “There was some increase during my period of secluded cultivation.”

The Spiritking sat down and became rather stern. Jian Chen’s strength before was roughly the same as his. Now that his strength had increased once again during his secluded cultivation, would that mean that the difference between the two of them had shrunken again? Or maybe they were completely on the same level now?

At the same time, the Spiritking was unable to sense just how much Jian Chen’s strength had increased. However, he could tell from his battle prowess that Jian Chen might have completely exceeded him already.