Chapter 254: Provoking the Xia Clan
Hearing this, the middle aged man looked at Jian Chen to size him up, “So you’re Jian Chen. It would appear the rumors are true, you don’t look like you’re over the age of twenty five.”
Jian Chen looked at the five injured Great Saint Masters on the ground before turning back to the middle aged man with a dark expression, “Xia clansmen, what matter did you really have with me.”
Jian Chen’s attitude had made the middle aged man’s eyebrows furrow together before snorting, “Jian Chen, the young lord of our Xia clan wanted to see you, hurry up and greet the young lord.”
At this moment, the carriage doors flipped open as an expensively dressed youth slowly walked down from within. The youth was thin in physique and was around twenty eight years old. His appearance was rather grand and he himself was quite handsome. In his hand, an expensive looking fan could be seen as he elegantly fanned himself.
“My lord!”
“My lord!”
.......
This youth was clearly a high holding position within the Xia clan. The very moment he revealed his face every single guard there immediately paid their respects.
Without looking any other way, the youth walked into the courtyard with a few strong looking men following him from behind. Their eyes glared fiercely as they scanned the place in order to safely protect the young charge in front of them from any danger.
The youth’s eyes fell onto Jian Chen as the intensity in his eyes flared up at the sight of Jian Chen’s handsome face. Smiling, he spoke, “So you are Jian Chen? You are unexpectedly quite handsome looking.”
Jian Chen looked at the young lord of the Xia clan for a moment before looking at the men around him. He could tell their strengths automatically; three Great Saint Masters, five Peak Saint Masters, and the water Saint Force Peak Great Saint Master that could fight the five Great Saint Masters. This was surely a very strong force of power that could not be easily matched in Wake City.
Jian Chen sneered, “Lord Xia, explain your purpose for coming.”
Laughing, the young lord said, “So you are a man who gets to the point. Good, I won’t beat around the bush and get straight to the problem then.” With this, the young lord stopped speaking for a moment before resuming with a serious expression, “Jian Chen, I know you have two Class 5 Monster Cores, I have come here today to buy those two monster cores from you.”
“Apologies, but I am not selling the monster cores!” Jian Chen spoke with no hesitation at all.
The young lord had already anticipated this outcome however and continued, “Jian Chen, those Class 5 Monster Cores will only bring you trouble if you continue to keep them. You are risking your life, and even as a mercenary captain, those Great Saint Masters under you are not enough to guard the monster cores. Even an Earth Saint Master would be attracted to take a Class 5 Monster Core; you wouldn’t have the ability to stop them if they tried. So it would be in your best interest to sell them to me. This way, not only will you make a nice sum of money, but you will also be one problem shorter.”
“My apologies, but I’ve said already that I am not selling the monster cores.” Jian Chen’s voice grew colder with this repetition.
The young lord’s eyes frosted over for a moment before smiling, “Jian Chen, I will give you three days to think it over. On the third day, I will come back. Of course, don’t even think about running away in that time. If you do, then we will take this as a provocation of our good will. And after that, you will be aware of the consequences.” With that, the Xia clan’s young lord turned around to leave.
Seeing the young lord about to leave, Jian Chen’s eyes flashed coldly before shouting, “Halt!”
The young lord turned around with a smile as he stared at Jian Chen, “What’s wrong, have you changed your mind?”
Jian Chen looked at the five injured men at his side before pointing at the middle aged man, “The rest of you can go, but you will stay behind!”
Hearing this, the young lord’s expression changed as did the middle aged man who looked at him in shock.
“Jian Chen, just what is the meaning of this?” The young lord had already sensed the ill intent of Jian Chen who’s face continued to grow darker. Within Wake City, there had never been someone who dared to provoke the Xia clan’s authority.
Jian Chen’s face revealed a cold smile, “You truly do treat this area as if it was your backyard. You come whenever you want, and you leave whenever you wish. After injuring my men, don’t even think about leaving today.”
“Pa!” The folding fan in the lord’s hand snapped shut as he lost his previously calm demeanor. “Impudence! You should remember just who you are speaking to, Jian Chen.”
The young lord’s words fell on deaf ears as Jian Chen continued to stare dangerously at the man who had injured his five Great Saint Masters.
The middle aged man looked at him in amusement as he couldn’t help but break out into a smile. Despite hearing that Jian Chen’s strength was quite strong, Jian Chen was still very young therefore he couldn’t be that strong. Also, the middle aged man had full confidence in his strength, so he hadn’t placed Jian Chen within his eye at all.
“Jian Chen, could it be that you wish to punish me? But, how do you plan on doing that?” The man smiled with disdain.
“Death!” Immediately, a strong amount of killing intent flooded Jian Chen’s face. When it came to those who wronged him first, Jian Chen had no mercy. If he hadn’t shown up at the time he did, then the five Great Saint Masters would had suffered from even more serious wounds. Even then, in front of all the Flame Mercenaries, he had to be unyielding to everyone else. If he were not, then it would affect his leadership. That was because while his Flame Mercenaries were not considered weak, there were still people who were hell bent on overtaking him.
“Jian Chen, you are courting death!” Both the middle aged man and the young lord cried out in anger. Their faces grew ugly to look at as they looked at Jian Chen with a killing intent.
Jian Chen’s words made it seem as if the Xia clan were of no importance to him. Something like this was unbearable to endure by the young lord.
At that moment, every single member of the Flame Mercenaries looked at Jian Chen. Many of them had secretly approving of this manner and had been moved by his words as well. Many of the mercenaries had been under Duo Kang’s group previously, so while on the surface there had been some ups and downs between the group and Duo Kang, they were still best friends until the ends of their time. They were brothers between brothers, otherwise, they would not have followed him into the Flame Mercenaries. With Duo Kang injured, they couldn’t help but feel indignation within their hearts, but with the enemy being so strong, they weren’t able to do anything. Thus all of their hopes to fight back had been placed on Jian Chen’s shoulders.
The middle aged man laughed angrily before placing his hands across his chest. “Good! Very good, Jian Chen! You truly do have a courageous spirit that should be praised. But your words are something that are quite difficult to say. Careful you don’t bring disgrace upon yourself now. So if you wish to kill me, then make your move, let me see just how true those rumors truly are.”
“Hmph, uncle Liu, it would appear that we no longer need to buy those Class 5 Monster Cores from Jian Chen.”
“That is true, young lord. This means we can save a good amount of money now.” The one named uncle Liu began to laugh. The blue colored whip appeared in his right hand once more before snapping in midair with a single snap of his wrist, letting out a fierce cracking sound.
Jian Chen’s lips curled into a cold smile. Despite going up against a water Saint Force expert, he still didn’t see such a person as his opponent. With a swaying motion, Jian Chen’s figure immediately disappeared and left behind a faint phantom image of himself. Quickly he flew toward the middle aged man while simultaneously bringing out his Light Wind Sword to stab at the middle aged man’s throat.
The Light Wind Sword became a streak of silver light that flew at the middle aged man so fast that by the time the man could react, it had already reached within a foot of his throat.
For the sake of his brothers within the Flame Mercenaries, this victory had to be a clear cut one, so Jian Chen didn’t hesitate to use more power than before.
“How quick he is!” The middle aged man grew startled as his mocking expression quickly became a serious one. Quickly, he had realized that Jian Chen wouldn’t be as easy to deal with as he thought.
The middle aged man burst backward and brandished his whip so that it flew at Jian Chen like a viper. In mid air, it began to coil around the Light Wind Sword as it flew to stab at him.
He had underestimated the Light Wind Sword’s speed; just as the whip was about to coil around the sword, the Light Wind Sword’s speed instantly increased several times over and instantly flew faster.
Against such a fast sword, the middle aged man wasn’t able to dodge or defend himself in time. So in the end, the Light Wind Sword had pierced into the man’s throat with a terrifying amount of speed.
Despite the man having water Saint Force which granted him a superiority in some areas, but to Jian Chen, this advantage was no advantage at all. Even though the man had a battle skill, there was no time to use it .
The middle aged man stared rigidly at Jian Chen in utter disbelief. Even with his entire strength, he had been completely unable to dodge the sword.
“Uncle Liu...” The young lord’s face slackened as he looked on in disbelief. He had a good understanding of his uncle’s strength, and within the clan, uncle Liu was ranked third. Aside from an Earth Saint Master, there was not a single person that could fight and win against his uncle Liu. Even with that, Jian Chen had been able to kill him in a single stroke. This type of result was simply not one he could take.
“Protect the young lord!”
With the middle aged man killed, every single guard of the Xia clan immediately grew vigilant. They quickly grabbed the young lord and retreated from the Kai clan with a hard look at Jian Chen and took precautions in case Jian Chen wanted to strike to kill again.
“I’ve said it before, this area is not the courtyard of the Xia clan. In here, you simply cannot come as you want and leave as you wish. Men, surround them!” Jian Chen commanded.
“Yes, captain!”
The brothers of the Flame Mercenaries immediately obeyed the command instantly barricading the gate to prevent the Xia clan from leaving.
“Jian Chen, what are you doing?” The young lord of the Xia clan went white as he roared in false bravado. Jian Chen’s reveal of strength had made the young lord feel an intense amount of fear in his heart.