Chapter 803: When Kings Fight, Va.s.sals Suffer
Jiang Chen didn’t think that Emperor Shura would attend to him personally. In fact, he should’ve been an insignificant small fry in the emperor’s eyes. Emperor Shura had countless experts working for him, with even the soldiers standing in front of Taiyuan Tower’s door either peak sage realm cultivators or emperor realm cultivators. And those were just the normal soldiers.
The great emperor possessed countless powers beneath him, there was no need for him to personally take the field in order to act against Jiang Chen. While Jiang Chen was furious, he vaguely realized that the raid on Taiyuan Tower might not be just a simple attack on the shop. Perhaps it was an unfortunate casualty of Veluriyam Capital’s internal strife. It could be a conflict between aristocratic families, great clans, or even a tiny clash between great emperors. He and Taiyuan Tower were but small p.a.w.ns used by top forces to cross swords with each other! Jiang Chen calmed down when his thoughts travelled to that point.
Although he was angry, Jiang Chen also understood that the first priority right now was to secure Shen Trifire and the Wei father and son. If those three people were to perish from this calamity, then it would be too late even if he made a comeback in the future. “Their rescue comes first,” Jiang Chen had finally reached equilibrium. He looked at Wei Qixia and everyone from Taiyuan Tower with unusually determined eyes, “Everyone, I give you my word that Taiyuan Tower will open for business once more, and that no one will stay our footsteps. Anyone who dares stands in our way will be annihilated!”
Everyone was shocked to hear his declaration. It was obvious that Jiang Chen wasn’t joking. However, his words were a little hard to believe. After all, the person who was standing in Taiyuan Tower’s way right now was the great Emperor Shura! He was a great emperor who commanded great power and authority. A person like him could cause the entirety of Veluriyam Capital to tremble with a simple stamp of his foot. He was one of the cultivators who stood at the very top, even in the entire human domain. Although Pill King Zhen was a pill genius and an outstanding talent, they couldn’t help but feel that his boast went a little over the top this time.
However, young master Ji San felt an odd sense of excitement. He didn’t understand why himself, but his emotions had been ignited by Jiang Chen’s pa.s.sionate words too. Not only did he think that Jiang Chen was sincere, he even sensed that Jiang Chen had reasons to be confident in his ability to succeed. He also nodded, “Don’t be pessimistic, everyone. Veluriyam Capital is not under the control of just one power. I have brought this up to my clan lord, and he is certain to report this to Emperor Peafowl and request help. The emperor will definitely uphold justice for us!”
Emperor Peafowl was the foremost great emperor in Veluriyam Capital. He had risen to power three thousand years ago and become the number one emperor in Veluriyam Capital. To that very day, there was no one who could replace him. Three thousand years later, Emperor Peafowl had shed all superficialities and was no longer as unbridled as he’d been when he was still young. However, the acc.u.mulations of eons was also a kind of enlightenment, foundation and symbolization. As compared to the time he was showing off his capabilities three thousand years ago, the current Emperor Peafowl was mysterious, abstruse, and enigmatic.
The current Emperor Peafowl was a figure of legends in Veluriyam Capital a living monument and totem in the minds of the populace. Every descendant of Veluriyam Capital looked up to Emperor Peafowl as an idol and Veluriyam Capital’s greatest expert. After all, his three thousand years of acc.u.mulation wasn’t something any one of the six emperors could replace. That was why everyone had become spirited the moment Emperor Peafowl was brought up. Wei Qixia, especially, was overjoyed, “If Emperor Peafowl were to hear about this, he will definitely uphold justice for House Wei and Taiyuan Tower!”
“Yeah, there’s no way Emperor Peafowl would sit by and watch others abuse their power!” The crowd all grew excited when they heard this.
“You should leave soon, brother. Those people were watching you when you came in, and if my guess isn’t wrong, they have their eyes set on you already. Therefore, you must come back with me to the Coiling Dragon residence for now. Emperor Shura’s soldiers are domineering, but I doubt they would dare head into the Coiling Dragon residence to cause trouble.”
At this point, even Jiang Chen knew that he had to protect himself first no matter how displeased he was. He might have plenty of ways to escape Emperor Shura’s men, but the foundation he’d worked this hard to establish would be gone in an instant if they found his real ident.i.ty. For the sake of this base, he had to endure this. It was at this moment that Huang’er smiled and walked over. “Brother Chen, why don’t you lay low for a moment at the clan lord’s residence? This matter can only be solved by the Coiling Dragon clan lord anyways.”
Huang’er understood that Jiang Chen’s character to be staunch and unyielding. She was worried that he would tear down any semblance of politeness between him and Emperor Shura and erupt into open hostility.
Jiang Chen felt warm on the inside when he saw the care br.i.m.m.i.n.g in Huang’er’s eyes. He nodded, “Then I shall trouble you, Brother Ji.”
“Come on, you’re not troubling me at all. Also, your establishment of Taiyuan Tower and your success in thwarting the Majestic Clan has benefited the Coiling Dragon Clan as well. We have dominated Veluriyam Capital for many years, and we are not a power who only knows how to take advantage of others and skirt responsibilities. We are in the same boat here, so don’t worry too much. If my guess isn’t wrong, this incident doesn’t just involve Taiyuan Tower. In fact, Taiyuan Tower may even be an innocent victim of a larger scheme.”
When kings fight, va.s.sals suffer. The clash of big forces often start from the small powers beneath them. Taiyuan Tower was that small power right now. It was small but whole, and currently the hottest topic on the streets. At the moment, there was no better pig to slaughter than Taiyuan Tower.
Jiang Chen and Huang’er disguised themselves slightly and changed into new outfits before leaving Taiyuan Lodge, following young master Ji San’s team of attendants. Although Emperor Shura’s soldiers were domineering, it was ultimately not a wise choice to stop young master Ji San’s group from leaving publicly. After all, Ji San was not a member of House Wei. They weren’t directly related to Taiyuan Tower either. Moreover, the number one clan in Veluriyam Capital wasn’t something that they could offend however they liked. They might represent Emperor Shura himself, but just because Emperor Shura could offend a certain person easily didn’t mean that they could do the same. In the end, they were just a group of law enforcers.
These soldiers were a little displeased to see young master Ji San leaving without acknowledging their presence at all.
“Hmph, what’s up with this act! What’s all this strutting around when your clan is about to collapse?”
“This Ji San really thinks that his clan is the number one clan in Veluriyam Capital!”
“So what if it is? They are nothing before the great emperors. Just wait, he won’t be able to maintain that facade the moment the Coiling Dragon clan lord loses his power. His clan will collapse instantly.”
“That’s true. But say, do you think that Pill King Zhen would slip into Ji San’s team and sneak away?”
“Ah? Weren’t you guys paying attention just now?”
“What’s the point? A cultivator can easily disguise themselves.”
“Then what should we do? Should we stop them and inspect everyone thoroughly?”
“Absolutely not. We’ll be in great trouble if he isn’t among them. If the Coiling Dragon Clan were to make a final strike before their demise and bring this up all the way to Emperor Peafowl, it would become an enormous problem. In fact, it may even drag our emperor into a mess.”
“Yeah! There’s no need to use force against a power that’s about to die real soon. It won’t be worth it if they decided to make one last struggle.” The warriors ultimately decided against taking the risk.
…...
Inside the Coiling Dragon residence, Jiang Chen met the clan lord once more. At the moment, the clan lord’s spirit and qi were much improved after being treated with the Five Elements Augmentation Art. He didn’t look much different from his peak condition. “The direction of the winds changed faster than even I would expect, young friend.” The clan lord sighed. Jiang Chen nodded and said nothing.
“Can they be saved, clan lord?” Ji San asked curiously.
The clan lord shook his head slightly, “For now, it is impossible. But this is not the end of the story. According to my investigation, Emperor Shura didn’t personally give the order.”
“Oh?” Ji San grew interested, “Could this whole thing have nothing to do with Emperor Shura at all?”
“That’s not entirely true either. Emperor Shura might not have been personally involved, but his underlings wouldn’t dare act recklessly without his permission. Therefore, Emperor Shura must have said something, but the executor of the order was his va.s.sal, the Moon Monarch.”
“Moon Monarch?” Ji san was shocked. “Do you mean the sworn brother of the Majestic clan lord?”
“That’s the one. This person is one of the three monarchs who currently serve under Emperor Shura and is very active. He is a particularly ruthless and overbearing man. There were plenty of incidents in Veluriyam Capital that were masterminded by him.” It was obvious that the clan lord weren’t too pleased with this Moon Monarch.
“So in the end, this is just the continuation of that bet during Taiyuan Tower’s opening day, isn’t it?” Ji San exclaimed with surprise.
“It would seem that way.” The clan lord’s tone was heavy.
Jiang Chen suddenly asked, “Do they have any strong justifications for arresting our people and sealing off our store?”
The clan lord nodded, “That is the crucial point. From what I heard, they do have a strong justification to do so. It sounds like they found fatal toxins in a certain kind of Taiyuan Tower pill. It is even rumored that a descendant of a big power died from poisoning because they consumed the pill you made.”
“What?” Ji San paled, “Who?”
But Jiang Chen shook his head firmly. “It’s a lie. It doesn’t matter what the charge is since they’re going to frame us anyways.”
The clan lord asked, “Are you absolutely sure that Taiyuan Tower’s pills are perfectly fine, young friend?”
Jiang Chen said, “I am the one who created the recipes of Taiyuan Tower’s pills, and those who worked under me are all my trusted aides. There’s absolutely no chance that the problem originates with us. I can guarantee it.”
The clan lord nodded, “In that case, this is probably a ploy by the Majestic Clan. They’re purposely framing you for a crime you didn’t commit!”
“Maybe the Murong Clan is involved too,” Ji San spoke in frustration.
Although Jiang Chen hadn’t said anything in reply, his expression had turned even darker. It was impossible that Taiyuan Tower’s pills would be defective. This was absolutely a false charge. To put it bluntly, the Majestic Clan was purposefully burrowing Emperor Shura’s t.i.tle to suppress and take revenge against Taiyuan Tower.
Once he understood this, Jiang Chen actually felt a lot easier. He had a clear opponent and target to work against. He also knew their intentions now. So they wanted to oppress him, huh? This wasn’t the first time Jiang Chen was oppressed since he’d started cultivating. None of his oppressors had managed to have the last laugh yet. He was facing a more fearsome oppressor this time, but since when had he ever feared them?
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