Chapter 1856: The Divine King
The royal palace of the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian was located in the centre of the city. It seemed to sit on the heart of the royal capital. Within a radius of ten kilometers, all pedestrians and carriages were forbidden. It was a forbidden zone that hid countless experts who secretly protected the place.
The entrance to the royal palace was always guarded by members of the Royal Divine Army on their flaming Three-flamed Divine Horses. They possessed the prestige of the royal palace.
Squads of soldiers from the Royal Divine Army patrolled the interior of the royal palace. They moved around with their heads held high and a firm presence as they patrolled every inch of the palace in a certain formation.
The entire royal palace emanated with a ruler’s presence. It seemed grand and almost holy.
Jian Chen directly made his way towards the royal palace. As soon as he stepped into the forbidden zone around the palace, he immediately sensed several dozen senses of the soul basically gather on him simultaneously.
Jian Chen knew they came from the hidden guards, so he did not conceal his presence. He continued to walk, striding towards the royal palace.
However, the owners of the senses seemed to recognise Jian Chen as well. They retreated as soon as they came in contact with Jian Chen and never appeared again. They allowed Jian Chen to approach the royal palace.
After being identified, Jian Chen entered the royal palace without any obstructions. Two soldiers on their Three-flamed Divine Horses led the way for Jian Chen through the royal palace. In the end, he entered a beautiful, fragrant garden.
“Patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan, his majesty is waiting for you in the royal gardens. We will be dismissing ourselves first!” The two soldiers clasped their fists at Jian Chen together. They were extremely polite, and they backed off silently.
Jian Chen moved through the royal gardens alone. The royal gardens were extremely large, and it was filled with various exotic flowers that gave off an exhilirating fragrance.
“There are Origin-gathering Flowers!” Jian Chen’s eyes narrowed. He discovered an exotic type of flower that had bloomed facing the sun just like a sunflower. Its existence managed to gather the surrounding origin energy. If people cultivated near the flower, they would be able to progress several times faster.
Jian Chen had learnt about the Origin-gathering Flower from Xuan Dou. It was extremely valuable, with basically all demand and no supply. Even many Overgods did not possess them. He had never expected to see them in the royal gardens.
Moreover, it was not just a single flower. There was over a dozen of them.
Jian Chen also recognised a few more exotic flowers that rarely appeared on the market aside from the Origin-gathering flower. Every single one of them was extraordinary, and they all had their uses. They filled him with great eagerness as he desired them.
“If I could move the royal gardens to the Tian Yuan clan, I’ll be able to cultivate a large number of experts before long,” Jian Chen thought. Just the royal gardens alone was priceless. However, the worst part of it was that the exotic, priceless flowers could only be admired in the royal palace.
“Godkings sure are wealthy,” Jian Chen sighed emotionally. He admired the flowers as he quickly advanced towards the depths of the gardens. He could vaguely feel a presence in a certain direction.
As Jian Chen approached it, he saw two white-robed people seated in a pavilion from afar. One of them was an old man with grey hair. His appearance was nothing special. The presence that Jian Chen felt came from the old man.
The other person was a dignified, middle-aged man. He possessed the presence of a ruler. Even without trying, all his actions made him seem like royalty. He could command respect with simply a stare.
Jian Chen had seen the ordinary old man before. He was the Grand Imperial Protector. However, when Jian Chen saw the middle-aged man, his eyes narrowed suddenly.
He was still able to sense an obscure presence from the Grand Imperial Protector. However, Jian Chen could not sense anything from the middle-aged man across him. As a matter of fact, if Jian Chen closed his eyes, he would not even be able to sense his existence.
He seemed to be like air.
This left Jian Chen greatly shocked. After all, he had reached the level of late Overgod in terms of comprehension. His soul was so powerful that even when the Grand Imperial Protector hid his presence, he was confident about detecting a trace of it. However, the middle-aged man clearly did not try to hide his presence, yet Jian Chen was unable to sense his existence at all.
“This divine king is very powerful. He’s much more powerful than the Grand Imperial Protector,” Jian Chen concluded.
“Jian Chen, since you’ve come, why’re you just standing there? Come, sit!” The Grand Imperial Protector gestured at Jian Chen with a smile. Right now, he seemed very approachable, just like a kind old man. He did not give off the airs of a Godking at all.
Jian Chen made his way over and bowed, “Patriarch Jian Chen of the Tian Yuan clan greets your majesty and the Grand Imperial Protector!”
The divine king’s gaze landed on Jian Chen. Just his gaze alone made Jian Chen’s heart tighten uncontrollably. At that moment, he suddenly felt like all the secrets on him had been revealed to the divine king.
Of course, that was only what he felt. It was not what actually happened. However, even with that being the case, Jian Chen became much more vigilant. Not only was the divine king more powerful than the Grand Imperial Protector, but he was in fact much, much more powerful.
Suddenly, the divine king smiled. Jian Chen immediately felt like he was standing in a spring breeze as if all the haze in his heart had been blown away.
“Jian Chen, I’ve heard of you several dozen years ago. I’ve always been paying attention to you since then. Every day, I anticipated the day that I could meet you personally so that I could properly lay my eyes on the Overgod who comprehended the Laws of the Sword and managed to cause such a great disturbance in Godking Duanmu’s dwelling. I’ve finally got to meet you,” the divine king smiled. He stared at Jian Chen with a strange light before sighing gently, “Seeing really is much more than hearing. Who would have thought that the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan, the person who caused such a great disturbance in Godking Duanmu’s dwelling, defeated formation master Chanlong, and stood up to Yang Kai, has not even cultivated for a thousand years. It really is astonishing. Astonishing I say.”
Spurt! The Grand Imperial Protector spat out his tea as he stared at the divine king in shock. He said with his tongue tied, “Pingtian, w- w- what did you say? Jian Chen hasn’t even cultivated for a thousand years? D- don’t joke with me. How can I accept such an unbelievable piece of news?”
“If you don’t believe me, you are welcome to ask Jian Chen yourself,” the divine king said. His gaze towards Jian Chen was filled with amazement as if he was studying a great treasure.
“Jian Chen, is that true? Have you really cultivated for less than a thousand years?” The Grand Imperial Protector stared at Jian Chen as he spoke in a hurry. This news was simply too frightening. If it made it out, it would be enough to take the forty-nine great planes and the eighty-one great planets of the Saints’ World by storm. Countless peak clans and eternal empires would all move out for him.