God Emperor

“It’s really unexpected to see you here,” Zhang Ruochen said.

Shi Ren’s appearance pushed down the protesting voices from the Guardians of the Prison. They could see that the Young Clan Leader had an unusual relationship with Zhang Ruochen. They didn’t like Zhang Ruochen, but they still had to respect the Young Clan Leader.

“Young Clan Leader, we must be careful about Zhang Ruochen. Otherwise, we may suffer endless consequences.”

Xiang Zhengfeng had no positive feelings towards Zhang Ruochen. When he spoke, Sword Intent surged in him. It transformed into a streak of white light and flew into the Sword Tomb.

Shi Ren chuckled. “Brother Zhang, ignore his words. Since you’re the heir of Sword Saint Xuanji, then you’re the most esteemed guest of the Guardians of the Prison. The Clan Leader is waiting for you in the Sword Mausoleum. Shall we go together?”

“Please.” Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and motioned forward.

Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren walked through the gates between the two mountains together. As for the other Half-Saints, they followed closely behind and hurried toward the Sword Mausoleum.

The Sword Mausoleum was built with huge boulders. It was a tomb shaped like a pyramid. It was 800 meters tall and dozens of miles wide. When the group walked into the square outside the mausoleum, they seemed tinier than ants.

It was rumored that the Sword Mausoleum was a powerful saint weapon. Once activated, it could produce saintly might strong enough to destroy the world.

The Sword Mausoleum contained an ancient Spiritual Collecting Formation. When they entered the doors, they could instantly feel the heavy Spiritual Qi in the air. It was entering a paradise.

The Guardians of the Prison’s Clan Leader stood up top. Sixty-four rays of Holy Qi surrounded him. He was like a towering and unmovable mountain and gave off a sacred feeling. They could only look up at him.

“Greetings, Clan Leader.”

Both Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren put their hands together and bowed. The other Half-Saints all bowed as well, showing their respect to the Clan Leader.

“Everyone, take a seat!”

The Clan Leader’s voice was resonant and emanated an authoritative feeling. All the Monks present felt pressure. Zhang Ruochen wasn’t an exception. He felt that the man’s cultivation was the open sea while he was a leaf floating on the waves. The man’s single thought could crush him.

Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren retreated to the right. They sat in the first and second chair respectively.

Now, Zhang Ruochen started to secretly investigate the Clan Leader. Unfortunately, his cultivation was honestly too high and also had the 64 beams of Holy Qi around him. Thus, Zhang Ruochen could only see a vague figure. He guessed that the Clan Leader wasn’t too old. He was probably around 40 or 50 years old.

Other than the Clan Leader, there were some other Saints in the Sword Mausoleum. They sat in a white cloud of Holy Qi and seemed very mysterious. The people had to revere them.

Xiang Zhengfeng, owner of the Zhutian Sword, sat in the first seat on the left. His back was straight and he had a very upright aura.

The Clan Leader directed his gaze at Zhang Ruochen. “Zhang Ruochen, how is your master, Sword Saint Xuanji?” he asked.

Zhang Ruochen stood up. “Clan Leader, after experiencing this fatal incident, his cultivation has improved. However, he has a very important matter, so he sent me to the Pluto Sword Tomb.”

Zhang Ruochen’s words naturally caused a stir. Everyone knew that Sword Saint Xuanji’s cultivation had already reached the top level of the Saint Realm. If he improved again, wouldn’t he become a King of the Saintly Way?

A King among the Saints.

On the left, Xiang Zhengfeng’s eyes flashed.

The Clan Leader was quiet for a bit. Instead of asking what Sword Saint Xuanji was doing, he asked, “Do you know why Sword Saint Xuanji told you to bring the Taotian Sword to the Pluto Sword Tomb?”

“I do not.” Zhang Ruochen shook his head.

“Actually, he has already passed the Taotian Sword to him,” the Clan Leader said. “The moment you stepped foot inside the Pluto Sword Tomb, it also meant that you will join the 17th generation of Swordsmen of the Pluto Sword Tomb. Once you become a Swordsman, it means that you will shoulder a heavy responsibility. Of course, the responsibility isn’t to protect the Guardians of the Prison. It is to protect the Pluto Sword Tomb.”

The Guardians of the Prison was not the same as the Pluto Sword Tomb. Actually, the Guardians of the Prison had the same responsibility as the Six Swordsmen—to protect the Pluto Sword Tomb.

The Clan Leader continued, “At the same time that you take this responsibility, you’ll also be treated like none other. From now on, as long as you are in the Pluto Sword Tomb, anyone who becomes your enemy will also be the enemy of the Guardians of the Prison.”

“What about the imperial court?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

“Even the imperial court has no say in the internal matters of the Pluto Sword Tomb. Of course, if you leave and the imperial court arrests you, the Guardians of the Prison won’t be able to help you.”

Zhang Ruochen nodded. Now he understood. His master must have known the rules of the Pluto Sword Tomb, so he’d told Zhang Ruochen to come here. The imperial court wouldn’t be able to affect him here. He could mature more and win some time.

The Clan Leader continued, “Since you’ve come here, you should visit the tombs of the various owners of the Taotian Sword. You may find unimaginable results. Shi Ren, you will arrange everything for Zhang Ruochen in the Pluto Sword Tomb.”

Shi Ren sat in place and nodded. He accepted it. Zhang Ruochen was observant and he knew Shi Ren wasn’t such an impolite person. So why was he so cold toward the Clan Leader?

Everything about the Guardians of the Prison was strange. Zhang Ruochen had wanted to reveal his secret, but he kept it down now. He decided to observe a bit more. He should wait to get a clearer image of the Guardians of the Prison first.

Next, they started talking about the Immortal Vampires. The war hawks requested the Clan Leader to declare war and chase the Vampires out of the Yuan Mansion. The conservative Monks persuaded tirelessly, noting all sorts of hidden troubles and worries. The two sides argued without stop. If the Clan Leader wasn’t sitting up there, they would have probably started fighting.

Zhang Ruochen didn’t participate. He continued to keep silent.

His eyes focused on Shi Ren but found that the Young Clan Leader was resting with his eyes closed. He didn’t plan on joining the debate at all.

This argument still came to no consensus. When they walked out of the Sword Mausoleum, Shi Ren brought Zhang Ruochen to where the clansmen gathered.

The Sword Tomb was like a hidden paradise. It had green trees and clear water with beautiful scenery and pavilions.

After countless millenniums of development, the members of the three major families had grown to this large number. Each family had over ten million people.

However, this area was enveloped by a formation from the middle ages. Outsiders couldn’t come in. Thus, very few people knew that there was another world hidden deep in the mountains.

Shi Ren looked into the distance. A group of children was studying formations by a tree. “Brother Zhang,” he said meaningfully. “Do you think the Guardians of the Prison should attack or continue pulling back our forces to protect the Sword Tomb?”

Zhang Ruochen chuckled. “I’m new here and don’t know many things. It’s not my place to express my opinion.”

“Someone as wise as you has no need to be humble.” Shi Ren sighed. “To be honest, I don’t support declaring war.”

“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

“First, the Vampires must have prepared well before gathering in the Yuan Mansion. No one knows how many people have come or what their exact plan is. If the Guardians of the Prison attack under these circumstances, we’ll have bloody losses even if we win. I don’t know how many people will die because of this.”

“In addition, I’m sure you can see that the Guardians of the Prison aren’t completely united internally. There are signs of breaking off into factions. Once war begins, there are too many variables. We might really collapse from within. The consequences would be unimaginable.”

After a pause, Shi Ren’s eyes darkened. “It’s not that big of a deal even if the Guardians of the Prison becomes extinct. But if the evil men and beasts, or even Pluto, imprisoned in the Sword Tomb escape, no one can imagine what kind of catastrophe will occur.”

Everything imprisoned in the Sword Tomb was a considerably powerful existence. Any one that escaped would cause a world-shaking disaster.

“Do you really want to hear my opinion?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

“Of course,” Shi Ren said.

“Actually, I propose attacking the Vampires first,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Force them back first to avoid future troubles.”

“Why?” Shi Ren furrowed his brow, a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen to be an extremist.

“Because continuing like this will only bring more disadvantages to the Guardians of the Prison,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Firstly, Vampires are good at disguises. They can easily become someone else. Since they’re prepared, I’m sure that there are already Vampires hiding within the clansmen—and not only one.”

“Secondly, the Guardians of the Prison are calling the elites from outer families back to the Sword Tomb. How would the Vampires let go of this optimal chance? More and more Vampires will infiltrate the Sword Tomb. This way, the internal conflicts will intensify and war will erupt sooner or later.”

“Instead of just waiting, why don’t you start war immediately? You can even use this to find the moles.”

Shi Ren’s expression turned serious. He had to admit that Zhang Ruochen had mentioned things that he hadn’t thought about earlier.