Jiang Chen laughed as he gave the eight stone golem brothers a once-over. “Just do the jobs I give you the best you can. As long as you work hard, I a.s.sure you there’s a bright future ahead of you.”
Though the golems were somewhat deflated, they didn’t dare disobey.
Jiang Chen set off once more for the Celestial Cicada Court.
He utilized the transportation formation there to arrive on Winterdraw again. He had experience traveling in both directions now, and his confidence in the formation’s ability to take him between the two realms increased as a result.
This trip was much easier than his last.
Lu Che and the others had taken good care of the island while he was gone. Yan Wanjun, on the other hand, hadn’t yet returned from his visit to House Yan.
The former was overjoyed to see Jiang Chen, though he paled a little when he saw the Vermilion Bird nearby. Clearly, he was daunted by the terrifying aura the sacred fowl emitted.
Cold beads of sweat rolled down his back. The Vermilion Bird had attained G.o.dhood!
The cultivator’s eyes were filled with solemn respect.
“Anything happen in Winterdraw while I was gone?” Jiang Chen chuckled. “News from the outside, perhaps?”
“I’ve gotten no notable news from the outside world,” Lu Che replied hurriedly, “but Winterdraw itself has been relatively peaceful. Rejuvenation’s imperial family comes to offer obeisance on a regular basis. All in all, they’re very courteous about it.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised that this was so. As a second or third rate faction, Rejuvenation clutched desperately at any straws of upward mobility.
Several years back, it had invited a number of Polylore’s young scions for a trial solely to flatter the more prominent nation’s people in power. It had suffered heavily thanks to that disastrous event.
But that hadn’t eliminated its ambitious desires. After the imperial family found out Jiang Chen was the heir to the Eternal Sacred Land, its members began to have new designs.
The young man’s martial prowess had spread far and wide to every corner of Myriad Abyss. Though Rejuvenation was in a remote place, it had heard about him just like the rest.
Therefore, it had a burning wish to curry favor with Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen didn’t hate these people for their designs. In the world of martial dao, a mindset like this was common. Despite Rejuvenation initially causing him some trouble in its attempt to lick Polylore’s boots, the experience had actually turned out to be something positive.
Without it, how would he have gone into Winterdraw’s core? How would he have gotten his hands on information about the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement without obtaining Pei Xing’s relics and heritage?
Sometimes, there really did seem to be a hand of destiny directing life.
Because of all this, Jiang Chen wasn’t particularly hostile toward Rejuvenation. Furthermore, it was possible that he could outsource some of his desperate need for resources to his neighbors.
To speak of the devil was to summon him. Just as he was considering this during Lu Che’s briefing, Imperial Prince Huo and Chief Warden Ding arrived on his doorstep.
“Are you going to see them, young lord?” asked Lu Che.
“How did you deal with them the last few times they came?” Jiang Chen chuckled.
“They’ve brought gifts every time,” Lu Che responded seriously. “I accepted the gifts, but haven’t let them inside yet.”
Jiang Chen nodded. “Well done. You have acted as a good subordinate should. If you had allowed them to come in, that would’ve been unbecoming of your station.”
“As is my duty,” Lu Che inclined his head in hurried deference.
“Alright. Tell them that I’ve decided to see them face to face.” He saw no reason to refuse a source of willing extortion. He didn’t have that kind of chance every day!
Imperial Prince Huo and Chief Warden Ding had come to Winterdraw several times already. Unfortunately, they had left disappointed each time.
Yes, they’d managed to give away their gifts, but the protector of the island had always told them that young lord Jiang Chen wasn’t there. Neither man had ever been granted an audience.
It was upsetting, to say the least.
They had come to try their luck once more. That young lord Jiang Chen was actually here and willing to meet them was utterly astonis.h.i.+ng!
Both men were beyond flattered.
They had a certain degree of prominence and cultivation in their own right, but didn’t dare flaunt a bit of pride before Jiang Chen.
“Greetings, young lord Jiang Chen.”
Indeed, they were the perfect image of respectful humility before him. They raised their heads only after bowing, contemplating the legendary genius who stood before them.
The fates of the Eternal and Martial Sacred Lands had been altered because of him. That alone was enough to spread his fame far and wide in Myriad Abyss Island.
Jiang Chen’s expression was cool. A slight smile hung on his face as he gazed at Rejuvenation’s imperial prince and chief warden. His lingering eyes made them slightly uncomfortable.
“Haha, h.e.l.lo. I daresay neither of us expected this little reunion here on Winterdraw Island.” The young man chuckled.
“Reunion?” Imperial Prince Huo traded a confused look with Chief Warden Ding. They couldn’t understand what Jiang Chen meant.
Jiang Chen smiled slyly. He tapped his index and middle fingers against the table, continuing with an even voice. “I used to be one of the trial cultivators here on Winterdraw, prey for those Polylore geniuses. Maybe you’ve forgotten me by now, hmm?”
The imperial prince and the warden both s.h.i.+vered. The nightmarish past they had adamantly wanted to forget resurfaced with an incredible suddenness. They returned Jiang Chen’s look with bewilderment and turmoil.
Then, something clicked. Both men instantly turned as pale as a sheet. They had remembered something almost simultaneously.
“No need to be so tense. The past is in the past. Plus, I found it a reasonable learning experience about the harshness of things here. A rare, rather different kind of trial for my martial dao career.” Jiang Chen really didn’t hold a grudge any longer.
Chief Warden Ding drew a sharp breath. “Young lord,” he asked in a low voice. “Are you… the one who gave the houses of Polylore so much trouble? … Jiang Huang?”
Jiang Huang, Jiang Chen…
The two men from Rejuvenation finally understood.