Chapter 615: Return to the Floating Shrine

The beam of light had been extremely scorching in its light and basked the entire world in a radiant light. With unbelievable speed, it had been brought down onto the head of patriarch Shi before anyone could even react.

The rest of the patriarch’s body grew rigid following the advent of the light. His palm came to a stop in midair, and the furious amount of energy that had been warped around the palm disappeared into the world without a trace without the patriarch controlling it. Even the space around Jian Chen’s body had begun to return to normal, allowing Jian Chen freedom in being able to move once again.

As soon as Jian Chen felt his body go back to normal, he immediately leapt backwards several steps in retreat to get as far away from the patriarch as possible. That palm strike of his just now had caused him to be completely terrified of the power.

A Saint Ruler’s strength was indeed far too strong. The saying that all were like ants in front of a Saint Ruler was without a doubt true. Even with his strength, Jian Chen simply had not enough power or strength to dodge the Saint Ruler and could only await death patiently.

A Heaven Saint Master was only a tier away from a Saint Ruler in tier, but in terms of power, the difference was akin to the difference between heaven and earth. There was nothing that could make up that deficient, and even Heaven Tier Battle Skills wouldn’t be enough to bridge the gap.

As if struck by a curse, patriarch Shi’s body had been stuck hovering in midair. The spirit in his eyes had long since left, making his eyes vacant in expression. Then, his body began to tilt to the side before falling back down to the ground and crashing onto it without any further movements.

In mid air, Jian Chen stared at the Saint Ruler sluggishly. He had been surprised to see the sight in front of him. A Saint Ruler had actually died?

He hadn’t been the only one. The spectators who had originally thought that the punishment of Mercenary City wouldn’t fall had all immediately turned silent. They all stared at the motionless body of the Saint Ruler in utter disbelief and did not speak for the longest time.

This sudden development had taken the Saint Ruler of the Jiede clan completely off guard, He had immediately taken back his palm when he saw what happened to patriarch Shi, and even his entire body began to shake. It could be seen from this that even he was completely filled with terror.

“N-no! That can’t be! The one who struck first was clearly Jian Chen! Why was he the one to escape punishment instead of patriarch Shi, who struck only afterwards? This is impossible!” The Saint Ruler cried out in disbelief. The fact that the barrier of Mercenary City had ignored punishment for Jian Chen had given him no small amount of fear. As of now, the Saint Ruler was completely besides himself.

By now, the streets were so jampacked with people that even water wouldn’t be able to make its way through. Not a single one of them spoke however, leaving the place to be completely still. Only the continuous sounds of breathing could be heard as everyone stared at the dead corpse of the Saint Ruler in silence.

Even Jian Chen himself was completely still as if some sort of curse had petrified him. He was no longer as awe-inspiring as before with his movements as he was now looking at the completely dead corpse of the Saint Ruler. He had been killed just like that so easily, and Jian Chen had been utterly astounded by it.

“Aiyah, big brother, what are you so stunned about? There’s still a baddy over there, hurry up and beat him! Don’t let him get away! If the baddy doesn’t fight back, then Little Spirit can’t hit him!” Little Spirit’s voice suddenly made itself known in Jian Chen’s ear before her body suddenly materialized in front of him with both of her fists brandished outwards as if ready to punch the Saint Ruler.

Startled awake by Little Spirit, Jian Chen immediately quashed the feeling in his heart and rushed for the Saint Ruler.

Seeing that Jian Chen was rushing at him, the Saint Ruler had blanched. No longer wishing to stay within Mercenary City, his body flickered away with the speed of light before finally disappearing from Jian Chen’s sight.

“Don’t let the baddy get away! Big brother, chase him down, hurry!” Little Spirit spoke out anxiously from the side again and again. If not for the fact that she couldn’t attack the Saint Ruler, she would have perhaps helped Jian Chen earlier to strike him down.

A bitter smile appeared on Jian Chen’s face, “Little Spirit, you overestimate my abilities. He is a Saint Ruler, how could I even catch up to him?”

“Ai! That baddy ran away. He runs too fast.” Little Spirit spoke hatefully. She had held a grudge against the two men that were bullying the one she regarded as her big brother.

Slowly descending back down from the skies, Jian Chen looked at the corpse of patriarch Shi in silence for a moment. Then squatting down next to it, Jian Chen took the Space Ring of his. Inside would be the items that a Saint Ruler would have and would undoubtedly be far more precious than what could be found within what a Heaven Saint Master would have.

Suddenly, Jian Chen swung his head to look up only to see several people flying on over. In a moment, they arrived right in front of Jian Chen, and when Jian Chen saw the middle-aged man heading the front, he immediately spoke out in respect.

“Junior Jian Chen pays his respects to senior!” Jian Chen arced his body down politely; the person in front of him was Ming Dong’s uncle, Tian Jian.

Tian Jian stared at Jian Chen with an extremely complicated expression before looking to the recently deceased body of patriarch Shi. “Jian Chen, come with me!” At the final syllable, Tian Jian turned around to leave without a single ripple of space being affected by his movement as he flew away.

At the same time, a strange energy enwrapped around Jian Chen’s body before it carried him up into the air and towards the center of Mercenary City.

Afterwards, Jian Chen followed Tian Jian and the other elders through a series of Space Gates before finally returning to the floating shrine that stood alone in its own special space. The twenty-second elder and twenty-third elder had not followed them, and only Tian Jian, the second and fourth elder followed Jian Chen into the shrine.

Jian Chen turned around to look at the shrine curiously. This would be the second time he had seen this place before, but perhaps it was because his strength was far stronger than before that Jian Chen felt that this shrine felt extremely different than before.

Standing at the center of the shrine, Jian Chen felt as if he was some sort of insignificant speck within the boundless space itself. In the shrine, there was a mysterious and profound sensation that would flow about the place and bask Jian Chen within that feeling. Even if Jian Chen were to try and pinpoint this feeling, he would not be able to.

Jian Chen knew that this shrine had to be filled with the profound mysteries of the world and was a place that would be good to breakthrough to become a Saint Ruler. Such a great opportunity was standing right in front of him, but he was completely unable to enjoy this great bounty and could only watch as the profound mysteries of the world flow by his body.

Right in front of Jian Chen, Tian Jian and the two elders stood shoulder to shoulder as they observed him. It was the second and fourth elder most especially that were watching Jian Chen with undisguised shock, praise, and a slight amount of curiosity.

Nervously, Jian Chen stood at the center of the shrine. He knew that these three men held unbelievably important statuses within Mercenary City and was thus afraid that reprimand or punish him for violating one of the rules of Mercenary City. After all, he had caused a tremendous ruckus within the city, and not only did he destroy multiple buildings, he had caused Mercenary City itself to be negatively influenced by the fact that he escaped punishment.

“Jian Chen, are you able to tell my just how you were able to fight within Mercenary City without punishment befalling you?” An echo sounded out through the shrine as Tian Jian finally broke the silence. Although he knew that the spirit of the barrier was connected, he wanted to understand just how close the two were and what their relationship was.

Jian Chen gave a small hum to think before replying, “Everything was because of Little Spirit’s help.”

“How did Little Spirit help you? How do you even know Little Spirit?” The second elder suddenly blurted out. As he was now, the second elder was extremely nervous and curious to know the answer of this question.

“I….” Jian Chen hesitated. He had no idea just how to answer this question since even he was confused how Little Spirit and he were connected. He couldn’t exactly say that he had the scent of Mo Tianyun on him and that Little Spirit had decided him to be a family member almost.

“Don’t you bully big brother!” Just at that moment, Little Spirit’s voice rang through the entire shrine. Her ethereal body made an appearance within the shrine, and even though entrance within the shrine itself was extremely difficult, she had done so without difficulty. This time, she had not bothered to hide her body so Tian Jian and the two elders were able to see her clearly.

“Spirit of the barrier!”

The three elders spoke out all at once in surprise. Looking at Little Spirit, the three of them remained stunned for a very long time. This would be the very first time they would see Little Spirit.

Although the spirit of the barrier had existed for countless of years, it had never once appeared in front of them and had long since become a legend of Mercenary City. This was the very first time many of the elders had ever seen or heard the barrier of the spirit. And to see her in person caused the three elders to feel excited and joyous.

Floating just three inches away from Jian Chen’s side, Little Spirit spoke earnestly, “Big brother, you don’t need to be afraid. As long as Little Spirit is here, they won’t bully you.” And then turning to the three, she continued to speak, “You are not allowed to bully big brother or else Little Spirit will hit you.”

The three elders didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when they heard what Little Spirit said. From this, they could all understand that there was undoubtedly a deeper relationship between the two, but that had been very shocking to them. None of them had known just how Jian Chen was able to meet with Little Spirit, and so the mystery had only thickened.

“Spirit of the barrier, worry not. We will not bully your big brother!” Tian Jian smiled as he spoke to Little Spirit with respect.

This was the silent guardian that had protected Mercenary City for countless of years. Her position in the city was irreplaceable, and furthermore, as a creation left behind by Mo Tianyun, this meant she was a being that existed during the time of Mo Tianyun.

It was only after hearing those words that Little Spirit began to relax. Turning to look at Jian Chen, she spoke, “Big brother, Little Spirit will leave first. We can play after you come out!”

“Understood!” Jian Chen smiled and nodded his head towards her in response. Revealing a sweet smile, Little Spirit’s body began to fade away from sight before disappearing without a trace.

After Little Spirit left, the three elders looked back to Jian Chen once more with an even more complicated look than before.

“Jian Chen, I had no idea that you had such a relationship with the spirit of the barrier. I am truly speechless at this sight.” Tian Jian sighed. But then, his eyes suddenly noticed the tiger cub that was starting to look around the place with great curiosity. Brought into a daze once more, his eyes immediately focused into a serious expression as he asked, “Jian Chen, where did you get that magical beast on your shoulder?”

Seeing the sudden change in Tian Jian’s expression, Jian Chen’s heart skipped a beat. Hiding away the cub in his embrace, he gave a hollow smile, “Senior, this is Xiao Bai. I found him in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.”

“Let me see!” Tian Jian boomed. Then without making any visible movements, Tian Jian had suddenly surrounded the tiger cub in a mysterious energy as it was in Jian Chen’s arms. Separating the cub from Jian Chen, Tian Jian had the cub float three meters away towards where he was.

Suddenly, two bright golden rays of light shot forth from Tian Jian’s eyes and basked the tiger cub’s body within it.