The very appearance of Jiang Chen in Rejuvenation made the choice easy. Given the latter’s circ.u.mstances, a powerful patron was something it desperately needed. The young lord of the Eternal Sacred Land was indeed an ideal choice.
In fact, many in the Rejuvenation Isles knew of Imperial Prince Huo’s previous attempts to court Jiang Chen’s favor.
They had merely chosen to laugh rather than hope. They didn’t believe the prince had a chance, nor that Jiang Chen would stay for long in a place as insignificant as Winterdraw.
Given both of these points, the prince’s chances of success seemed miniscule.
But life was just that strange sometimes. Against all odds, Imperial Prince Huo had brought young lord Jiang Chen in the flesh.
This was amazing!
If they could build a strong rapport with young lord Jiang Chen, it would mean far more than winning against Tritalent. Rejuvenation’s future development would depend on it.
After the emperor decided their direction, there was virtually no opposition.
“Good brother, has young lord Jiang Chen already arrived in Rejuvenation?” asked the emperor.
“Yes. I’ve settled him into Spring G.o.d Park. After this a.s.sembly, royal brother, you can go meet him yourself. It is good for us in the lesser factions to take a humbler stance.”
“Absolutely. We should like to visit him personally.” The emperor wasn’t a rigid person. He didn’t dare put on airs before Jiang Chen by requiring the young man to come see him.
To do so would be entirely ignorant.
When court concluded, the emperor and his brother immediately headed for Spring G.o.d Park.
This was especially true after the emperor heard about Jiang Chen’s hair-raising feat of cutting down twelve advanced empyrean experts in almost a single instant.
That number comprised of a majority of the main forces of all the hostile factions around them. How had they died so easily?
With this event, Rejuvenation finally understood the difference between the Ten Divine Nations and themselves.
Outside Spring G.o.d Park, Jiang Chen received his imperial visitors with an aura of perfect courtesy. He made no mention whatsoever of what had happened on Winterdraw.
The emperor was quite pleased to see the young man’s manners and magnanimity. He had been afraid that Jiang Chen would be a tyrannical man, wont to accept benefits without working for them.
In person, the young lord seemed extremely reasonable. This made any ensuing negotiations and discussions much easier.
“Your Majesty, you must agree to Imperial Prince Huo’s earlier promise. Once you do, we may consider the matter settled,” Jiang Chen stated matter-of-factly.
“Of course, of course!” The emperor hurriedly answered. “Why shouldn’t we give half of the islands’ owners.h.i.+p to you, young lord Jiang Chen? You are much preferred over the Tritalent brutes.”
“So you’re agreed?”
“I am!” the emperor declared decisively.
Jiang Chen smiled before standing up. “Come on, then. Let’s head for Tritalent Isles.”
His frankness caused the other two men in the conversation to exchange a confused look. But they were used to making hard decisions quickly, and immediately realized what was about to happen.
“Good brother, you’re in charge of everything related to this operation. Gather together the troops and follow behind young lord Jiang Chen. We must crush Tritalent until they have no strength or will left to make trouble!”
“You don’t need to bring too many men,” Jiang Chen smiled coolly. “In a war between two nations, taking out one’s leaders will suffice. Why put the populace in harm’s way?”
It was better for the leaders of the rival factions to settle their differences at their level. Large-scale fighting would only lead to unnecessary loss of life.
He was uninterested in arbitrary slaughter.
“Well...” the emperor was a bit hesitant.
“If you trust me, then leave this entire matter to me,” Jiang Chen stated coolly.
“Of course! Of course I trust you,” the emperor hurriedly affirmed. “Good brother, listen to young lord Jiang Chen’s every need. Bring however many he wants you to.”
It wasn’t their place to repudiate Jiang Chen’s words.
“How many should we bring, young lord Jiang Chen?” Imperial Prince Huo ventured.
“A dozen or so is more than enough.”
In actuality, Jiang Chen needed only a single guide. He didn’t mind giving Rejuvenation a feeling of partic.i.p.ation though; a few extra audience members was no issue.
The emperor was mildly perplexed when he heard the young man’s surety, but the imperial prince tossed him several meaningful glances.
The prince knew Jiang Chen much better than the emperor, and moreover had witnessed his abilities in action. The young lord of the Eternal Sacred Land was much stronger than they could ever imagine.
Thus, the prince would support the young lord even if the two of them went alone.
The emperor trusted his brother greatly. Seeing the prince thus and then thinking of the young lord’s reputation, he nodded without another word of protest.
Imperial Prince Huo was very efficient. He began to gather the men immediately.
Not all called were advanced empyrean experts. Out of the eighteen, only five were. The rest were only mid empyrean realm.
Even so, most of Rejuvenation’s elites were here. Much of the remainder was left to protect the imperial family and the capital of the isles.
Many shook their heads when they saw the scant numbers of the attacking force. What could a handful of people do? Tritalent was no slouch. Could they really be beaten by such a ragtag bunch?
The emperor saw them off personally, and waited until the group disappeared into the distance before returning.
Jiang Chen’s mood was completely calm. He didn’t make himself too familiar with anyone from Rejuvenation, instead up an aura of distance and mystique.
After leaving Rejuvenation, he turned to Imperial Prince Huo. “We go to execute the enemy’s leaders.h.i.+p, not to slaughter their civilians. Give me a list of threatening individuals among Tritalent and their allies. I’ll handle them for you.”
He didn’t want to kill too many people. If Tritalent was amenable to doing so, he would be happy to resolve the conflict without bloodshed.
He wasn’t interested in a.s.serting his dominance under the Eternal Sacred Land’s banner.
……
The Tritalent Isles received the bad news almost immediately. Gao Kui’s ambus.h.i.+ng force had been completely wiped out!
The faction and its allies were paralyzed with shock.
They hadn’t been ready to hear about something so awful. Failure had been a possibility, but only the kind that allowed Imperial Prince Huo to escape.
As for Gao Kui and his men coming to harm, that had been entirely inconceivable.
And yet, the experts that should have had a decisive upper hand had been annihilated instead. None of the twelve advanced empyrean realm cultivators had managed to escape!