Chapter 397: Status

Unable to conceal his glee, the king of the Qinhuang Kingdom looked around before clearing his throat. “Now that everyone is here, your king would like to order a decree. As of now, I appoint Jian Chen to be the Imperial Protector, does anyone object?”

As the king gave his decree, the entire hall descended into a quiet calm. Each one looked at the king in a mixture of astonishment and disbelief.

An Imperial Protector and Imperial Advisor were two different ranks. An Imperial Protector was higher in power and authority than an Imperial Advisor. An Imperial Protector could mobilize the army at a whim and even order the Imperial Advisors to manage any affair. Another terrifying power that an Imperial Protector had was the ability to behead an incapable ruler or any incompetent official. This was to say that their power was even above that of the nobility of the kingdom.

The king of the Qinhuang Kingdom had seen what potential Jian Chen had, so he appointed him to be the Imperial Protector.

The decree of the king not only stunned the audience, but even Qin Ji who was standing next to him. There was a look of utter shock on his face and a blankness had entered his mind.

Half a moment later, the silence was broken as a white haired elder came forward with his hands cupped together, “You majesty, this cannot do. Jian Chen is deserving of a spot as an Imperial Advisor, but an Imperial Protector is not appropriate.”

Prime minister Kirill speaks correctly. The title of an Imperial Protector is far too high for a decision to be made this quickly. It would be more proper for Jian Chen to take the title as an Imperial Advisor for now.” Another elder spoke.

“Your Majesty, the title of an Imperial Protector cannot be made too rashly. This should be talked with the entire Imperial Advisors or perhaps even some of the revered Imperial Protectors to see if he is qualified.” Another simply dressed person spoke. This man exuded a large amount of air and was a general that commanded plenty of power himself.

“Your Majesty…”

A countless stream of opposition could be heard from the audience. Although Jian Chen was a genius they had never seen before, the title of an Imperial Protector was truly far too great of a position. Many of the nobles were especially vocal, with Jian Chen’s age, they didn’t dare let him be an Imperial Protector. At the same time, there were also a large amount of supporters of the king.

At that moment, twenty people suddenly appeared in the palace. The majority of them were elders, but some were middle-aged and three were thirty year old women.

These people quietly walked up to the back of the palace without a word or anyone noticing them.

When the king saw the group of people standing behind the crowd, he revealed a small smile, “That’s correct, the title of an Imperial Protector is not something a King could appoint. This power goes to the Imperial Advisors and four Imperial Protectors themselves.” With that, the king stood up from his throne, “With that, I would like to invite the Imperial Advisors to investigate. Does Jian Chen have the ability to be one?”

“I agree to appoint Jian Chen to be an Imperial Protector.” One of the elders spoke out in agreement. Smiling, he cupped his hands together in salute to Jian Chen, “I pay my respects to the Imperial Protector!”

“Your Majesty, with just a few Imperial Advisors agreeing, it will be hard to convince the crowd. If His Majesty wishes for Jian Chen to be an Imperial Protector, then all of us Imperial Advisors need to consent.” An elder spoke.

Smiling, the king replied, “Commander Shu speaks the truth. Now then, Imperial Advisors, what do you think?”

“We all give our consent to allow Jian Chen to be an Imperial Protector!” An elderly voice called out from the back, causing everyone to turn around. When the crowd saw just who these twenty people were, they all looked at them with shocked eyes and open mouths.

Each one of these people held influential positions and were all Imperial Advisors in their own rights. At this current moment, all of the Imperial Advisors were already gathered here.

The group of twenty Imperial Advisors began to walk forward, the entire crowd splitting apart to form a road for them. In a quick moment, they arrived right in front of Jian Chen before everyone cupped their hands, “We pay our respects to the Imperial Protector!”

At this sight, the king of the Qinhuang Kingdom began to laugh without holding back. On the contrary, the crowd contained to look on in shock as if trying to comprehend what had just happened.

One of the Imperial Advisors spoke out loud, “Everyone doesn’t need to worry. The appointment of Jian Chen to become an Imperial Protector was also approved by the four Imperial Protectors as well. The twenty of us just recently made contact with those four before we gathered here. If anyone has any suspicions, they can go to any of the Imperial Protectors for proof.”

With that, the entire audience began to grow noisy once more.

The Imperial Advisors of the Qinhuang Kingdom were all Heaven Saint Masters, so when they saluted Jian Chen, he was knocked in for a loop. At a loss for what to do, Jian Chen didn’t know what to think—in no time at all, he had been inducted to become one of the Imperial Protectors of the Qinhuang Kingdom.

“Your Majesty, this one’s experience is still quite lacking, I’m afraid that I may fail to please.” Jian Chen bowed to the king.

Laughing, the king replied, “Nephew Jian Chen, appointing you as the Imperial Protector is something that the four Imperial Protectors have consented to. With this, this king cannot make any decision.”

There was some hesitation on his face, becoming an Imperial Protector for the Qinhuang Kingdom was no small matter. However, because of how fast this situation had developed, Jian Chen had no time to figure the benefits and detriments and could not come to a resolution.

Seeing the look of hesitation on Jian Chen’s face, Qin Ji’s own face had a minute amount of worry to it. He and Jian Chen had only a regular relationship for now, but he was absolutely willing to have Jian Chen be an Imperial Protector since it would be a tremendously good thing for him.

But this expression from Qin Ji had gone unnoticed by Jian Chen since he was currently stuck in a dilemma. Although the title of an Imperial Protector was indeed high, but he didn’t wish to be tied down by it.

The entire palace began to grow in noise as everyone looked toward Jian Chen. Xiao Han on the other hand had gone as white as paper before shaking all over.

The authority of an Imperial Protector far outstripped the powers of his grandfather. It could even be said his grandfather would be a subordinate to Jian Chen.

Qin Ji’s face grew more and more panicked as he feared that Jian Chen would not accept the title of an Imperial Protector. In the end, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and spoke, “Jian Chen, being an Imperial Protector of our Qinhuang Kingdom means that you would be able to use the Space Gate of our kingdom without any limitations and our resources. Even your authority would be comparable to the king!”

Upon hearing the ability of being able to use the Space Gate, Jian Chen’s heart skipped a beat before he spoke, “Your Majesty, if I were to become an Imperial Protector, would I have to limit my movements?”

“Of course not. Nephew Jian Chen, you will not be limited in your travels as our Imperial Protector. We only wish that in our moment of need, you will come to help us and to not work against us.” The king smiled.

With that, Jian Chen came to a conclusion. This was a deal that was almost all benefit with no detriment. With the Qinhuang Kingdom’s strength, the chance of it being in danger was practically nil.

With that thought in mind, Jian Chen no longer hesitated and agreed to be an Imperial Protector.

“We pay our respects to the Imperial Protector!”

After Jian Chen’s consent, every single person within the audience began to swoop in to give their respects. The title of an Imperial Protector was extremely illustrious and was far more powerful than even the lord and sometimes even the king of the kingdom. With at least half of the Imperial Protectors agreement, a noble could be removed from his position without even the king being able to overturn it or risk a large war.

From this, it could be seen that an Imperial Protector was a powerful entity.

Afterward, the nobles and the Imperial Advisors began to congratulate and pull Jian Chen into their good graces. Although Jian Chen’s young age had caused everyone to belittle him at first, his potential was not ignorable to anyone. His future was something no one would be able to predict, and even the four Imperial Protectors were astounded by him.

Jian Chen becoming an Imperial Protector made Qin Ji extremely happy. His smile could illuminate the night and could not be masked.

Jian Chen’s appearance had truly taken the spotlight for the events of today. It was originally a day of celebration for the king’s 50th birthday, but instead of the king being the main character, the great winds had been stolen by Jian Chen. However, the king wasn’t sad in the very least, the smile on his face could not be said to be unhappy at all.

For the king to be able to make a great genius become their Imperial Protector, this was a great honor for the Qinhuang Kingdom. In the future, it could be possible that the Qinhuang Kingdom would be able to stand alongside the Three Great Empires of the Tian Yuan Continent.