Chapter 898: Lurking Danger

“What use is there in punishing you? Will punishing you recover the Abyssal Crystal?” The hall master of the Heaven’s Spirit Hall said heavily. His eyes shone with an outrageous light, while an invisible pressure permeated the entire palace vaguely. The entire world seemed to be in his control.

“We’ve disgraced ourselves this time. Not only were two elders killed by three 14th Star brats, even a deacon elder of ours has been taken by the Sea Goddess Hall. Hmph, we need to recover our dignity. We can’t let go of those three brats no matter what or where would our dignity lie otherwise? Send orders to get the brothers Zhou Tianzi and Zhou Yunzi to infiltrate the territory of the Sea Goddess Hall and kill off the three,” the hall master growled.

Zhou Tianzi and Zhou Yunzi were a pair of twins and also two of the eight great human experts. They were Fifth Heavenly Layer Saint Kings or 16th Star Seasoul Warriors.

“As the hall master wishes,” the hall elders all answered courteously.

In the largest, most central hall in the territory of the Serpent God Hall, hall elders Bai Yan and Charlie sat sunken-faced. Before them stood two gloomy men. They were the two divine generals who had managed to flee the land of the Heaven’s Spirit Hall.

The hot-tempered Charlie crushed the valuable teacup in his hand after he heard their reports. He said furiously, “The Heaven’s Spirit Hall actually blocked us from doing what we needed to do and they ruined it in the end. I’ll remember this and I’ll be paying it back several folds in the future.”

Bai Yan also sat there sunken-faced without making a sound. They had lost the Abyssal Crystal and they were completely responsible for it, since the two of them were tasked with it initially.

“Sigh, if I had known that my good-for-nothing disciple would mess this up, I wouldn’t have sent him to complete this mission.” Bai Yan sighed regretfully.

Charlie was absolutely furious after he heard this. He roared angrily at Bai Yan, “Bai Yan, it’s all your fault. Wasn’t it you who wanted to act smart at the beginning, sending a few emissaries to pick it up in order to avoid attracting attention? Now, look at what has happened. If you went with what I said and directly sent a few elders or me personally to retrieve it, the crystal would be in our hands long ago. There wouldn’t be so many problems like right now. Are you satisfied with the outcome now? The crystal has been taken into the territory of the Sea Goddess Hall by some brats and the Sea Goddess Hall definitely has the power to learn of its existence. They definitely will not let the item exist, destroying it in the first instance they get it. I’d like to see how you explain this to the hall master after he comes out of seclusion.”

Bai Yan sighed gently as he sat there silently. He knew that there was no more room for redemption regarding this matter.

“Guards, bring me Yensen, that motherf*cker. I want to rip out his spine, skin him alive, drink his blood and eat his flesh!” Charlie yelled madly.

Very soon, Yensen was forcefully dragged over like a dog by two guards. He seemed to know what was about to happen, becoming pale white from fright as all the blood drained from his face.

“Spare me, hall elder, spare me. Yensen knows he’s wrong, Yensen knows he’s wrong. Yensen doesn’t dare to make such a big mistake ever again. Save me, master, please save me.” Yensen constantly banged his head on the floor as he groveled for his life. He no longer possessed the arrogant, condescending attitude that was present outside.

Currently, Yensen was filled with regret. If he had known that the situation would end up like this, would he still have offended Jian Chen at the very start? He currently wished for time to flow backward, to return to that moment from before so that he could make a different choice.

“You’ve made such a huge mistake and yet you want to beg for your life? You’re dreaming.” Killing intent erupted in Charlie’s eyes. He directly stabbed his hand into the back of Yensen’s neck, before pulling it out abruptly. A bloody spinal cord was ripped out of Yensen’s body by Charlie.

Yensen produced an agonizing cry. His entire body convulsed violently. Having his spinal cord ripped out made him suffer unendurable pain.

Shortly afterward, Yensen’s body began to change at a visible rate. He began to expand quickly, becoming a five-meter long, deep blue sea creature. He seemed like a snake, yet not like a snake; like a serpent, yet not like a serpent. This was Yensen’s original body.

Yensen was no longer able to remain in his human form after his spinal cord was ripped out. He did not die immediately but he was on the brink of death.

Bai Yan sighed gently as he watched Yensen end up like this. Yensen’s mistake was just too severe. Even if he was talented, even if Yensen was his disciple, it was difficult for Yensen to escape with his life intact.

“Drag this piece of trash out of here. I’ll properly deal with him after I handle the matters here,” Charlie said angrily as he held the bloody spinal cord.

Very quickly, Yensen was dragged away by the two guards. All that was left was a great pool of blood in the hall.

Bai Yan thought silently for a while, before standing up from his seat. “It may be Yensen’s fault for this matter but we can’t forgive those people who stole the item. Send Li Fengxin personally to pay a visit to the Sea Goddess Hall’s territory. We can’t let those people off.”

“We need to make them die a graveless death.” Charlie clenched his fists. His gaze shone with outrage.

Soon afterward, a white-robed, middle-aged man left the Serpent God Hall. He shot toward the territory of the Sea Goddess Hall as a streak of white light with lightning speed. He was Li Fengxing, the greatest of the five great magical beast experts of the sea realm. His true form was a mutated savage beast and he possessed an extremely powerful strength.

Jian Chen had no idea that both the Heaven’s Spirit Hall and the Serpent God Hall had sent experts that currently headed to his location. He was still being tugged along by the old man from the Turtle clan, now very far from the hall. They finally stopped before a huge tribe after traversing over three hundred thousand kilometers.

It was a large tribe. All the huts of the tribe were made from mud through a certain ability, making it extremely tough like steel. Before the main entrance of the tribe stood a great archway, labeled with the words ‘Turtle Clan’ which was written with vigor. These words were simple and they had already existed for who knows how long. They possessed traces of wear from time.

“Our Turtle clan is a large tribe within the sea realm. There are so many members that it has almost spread across the entirety of the sea realm, with countless branch tribes. Although it’s not a tribe that stands at the very top, it has some renown within the sea realm. The tribe before you is the main headquarters of the clan,” explained the old man to Jian Chen, before he continued onward as he tugged Jian Chen along. He did not even give Jian Chen the chance to resist.

“We greet the grand elder.” Several Earth Saint Master guards outside recognized the old man and all bowed courteously to him. Afterward, they looked toward Jian Chen, revealing uneasy glances.

The Ruler’s Qi in Jian Chen could only be sensed by outsiders after practicing a secret technique. However, if they met other clansmen, there would be a natural response from their bloodline. The guards were all members of the Turtle clan, so they felt a pressure from the very depths of their souls when they saw Jian Chen. They felt a slightly odd dread toward him.

“I greet the grand elder.”

“I greet the grand elder.”

There were many people around and about in the tribe. The old man pulled Jian Chen along, directly making way for a grand hall up ahead. All the people he passed by would bow toward him respectfully and courteously, before observing Jian Chen curiously. They all ended up revealing uneasy expressions without any exceptions. As members of the Turtle clan, they could all feel a slight pressure from the very depths of their bloodline. Weirdly enough, they felt a sliver of respect and dread when they saw Jian Chen, which confused all of them. They had no idea why they would feel such feelings toward someone they did not know.

“Ring the central bell and gather all elders,” the old man commanded. Afterward, he tugged Jian Chen straight into the grand hall, forcefully pressing Jian Chen down onto the throne in the hall. He did not give Jian Chen any chances to resist.

“Senior, you’ve mistaken. I’m not actually your ruler…” Jian Chen was bitter. He had already said this countless times but the old man firmly believed him to be the ruler of the Turtle clan.

“Ruler, you don’t need to say anymore. You’re undoubtedly the ruler of our Turtle clan. That’s the irrefutable truth. I’ve brought you back to the Turtle clan for you to inherit the position as the ruler and make up for the ruler-less gap of thirty thousand years,” the old man spoke with absolute determination. He was certain about Jian Chen’s identity.

The deep sound of a bell rung through the entire tribe. Very quickly, people hurried over from all directions one after another, all gathering in the hall. There was a dozen or so of them in total, all of different ages. However, they were all Saint Rulers.

As soon as they entered the hall, they discovered Jian Chen who sat on the throne. They all became stunned, revealing expressions of shock and doubt.

“I- is- is this the Ruler’s Qi?” A middle-aged man stared fixedly at Jian Chen as he spoke with a shocked voice. He seemed rather uncertain; after all, it had already been too long since a ruler of the Turtle clan had appeared.

“That’s the Ruler’s Qi of our Turtle clan. Is he the new ruler of our clan?”

“It has been thirty thousand years since a ruler has appeared for us. Never would I have thought a ruler would be born now.”

“Just when was the ruler born? How come we had no idea about this at all before?”

All the people in the hall broke into discussions. They had already noticed the Ruler’s Qi from Jian Chen.

“Grand elder, why did you come here? Weren’t you focusing on your cultivation at the hall? Have you gathered us all just then because you’ve brought back some important news?” An old voice boomed from outside the hall. Two skinny old men walked in together, while many other Saint Rulers followed behind them.

“More Saint Kings.” Jian Chen was surprised when he saw the two old men who walked at the front. The Turtle clan actually had a total of three Saint Kings. That made it quite a powerful force.

The grand elder stood beside Jian Chen and stared deeply at the two old men. He laughed and said, “Second elder, third elder, you’ve come at the perfect moment. Now that a ruler of our Turtle clan had appeared, it’s time for us to regain our former glory.”

“What! A ruler of our clan has appeared?” The two elders were shocked, before looking toward Jian Chen who had been pressed down into the throne. Their eyes narrowed abruptly.