Chapter 326: Hidden Energy Within the Saint Ruler’s Skeleton
Jian Chen stared at the still closeby girl with some hesitation before opening his mouth once more, “Wait a moment.”
Hearing the voice behind her, the girl stopped her steps before replying to him without turning around, “What is the matter?”
Jian Chen spoke softly, “I am thinking that you have no barrier to protect yourself with.”
“I do not have any barrier with me.” The girl didn’t deny it.
Jian Chen spoke without flinching, “You have a Ruler Armament with you and no barrier; do you really think you could travel safely like this? Although Shi Xiangran is dead, he is but only one of the many men lusting for your Ruler Armament. For example, if Qin Ji and Tianmu Ling were to face off against you, it would be incredibly difficult to fight by yourself. I trust that you know just how much any clan would value another Ruler Armament. For the sake of their clan’s expansion, it can’t be said whether or not they would try to snatch away your Solunar Bow. After all, to them, this is a huge achievement and at the same time, you have no relations to them.”
“Aside from those two, this place still has many strong Earth Saint Masters and some that may even be organized. While your Solunar Bow is capable of killing an Earth Saint Master with ease, if a group of Earth Saint Masters were to attack you at the same time, would you have enough time to shoot them all? In the end, your Solunar Bow is only strong from afar. If they were to get close, then your Solunar Bow would lose its superior edge. In the end, who knows whether or not someone will place a trap for you?”
Jian Chen didn’t know whether or not his words would be enough to convince Huang Luan to stay behind. Perhaps it was because of the month they had traveled together, but Jian Chen had no desire to see the beautiful girl die in a place like this. Jian Chen didn’t have a good understanding of Ruler Armaments, but he did know that for the sake of protecting his Ruler Armament, the extremely proud Dugu Feng had sacrificed his own life and was even willing to make a blood oath. From this, Jian Chen could infer that the Ruler Armament was truly something that many families would pay a heavy price for.
With Huang Luan by herself as a long ranged Ruler Armament user, if an enemy were to get close to her, then her longbow would lose its effectiveness. She didn’t have a barrier either so it would be hard to avoid those who might have a greedy heart.
Qin Ji and Tianmu Ling were the two people Jian Chen was most worried about. If either one were to get close to Huang Luang for a long period of time, then they would be able to touch her with ease. Although Jian Chen wasn’t sure they would do anything against Huang Luan, one must be cautious even if the chance was only one percent.
Hearing Jian Chen’s words, Huang Luang’s face grew extremely serious. Jian Chen’s words made perfect sense, and after the events from the cave, everyone knew that she had a Ruler Armament. Although this was something most people were only hearing about for the first time, they would know what a Ruler Armament was soon enough. She was afraid of meeting these men. With this treasure on her and no defensive barrier while traveling by herself, she would definitely be a target for those who might come across her.
With that in mind, Huang Luan’s face grew dark. Originally, she had thought that Shi Xiangran’s death would be the only thing she needed to live in peace. She hadn’t thought that she would gain a new type of headache. This Ruler Armament was far too precious.
“Just in case anything happens, you should continue to travel with us. This round of the tournament is almost over anyways, by the end, we’ll all be transported out of this area, you’ll be safe then.” Seeing Huang Luan’s willpower waver a bit, Jian Chen took the chance to strike. He didn’t know whether or not he was a friend or stranger to her, but he had no desire to see something unexpected happen to her. Maybe it was because she was exceedingly beautiful, or maybe it was because he had grown to like her as a friend in the month they had been traveling together. Or maybe it was because he was still feeling guilty about seeing her body that one time. But this was a complicated matter that even Jian Chen couldn’t explain clearly.
Huang Luan stood there without moving almost as if she were a statue. Then after some time, she was finally convinced and nodded her head.
With a sigh of relief, Jian Chen smiled, “Let’s head back now and find a place. Afterward, we just need to wait, with our collected tokens, we’ll definitely be within the top 500.”
With Huang Luan deciding not to leave the group, the two walked back to the group. As they returned, Jian Chen couldn’t help but notice Ming Dong gave him a knowing wink. Despite not saying anything, it didn’t take an idiot to figure out what that wink meant, but Jian Chen sensibly said nothing.
“Brother, how amazing! This girl is comparable to even my sister in beauty, but she isn’t as kind as my sister.” Qin Xiao laughed as he spoke to Jian Chen with a meaningful smile, causing Jian Chen to smile awkwardly. The relationship between him and Huang Luan wasn’t like what everyone thought, but Ming Dong and the others were trying to say otherwise. If he tried to explain himself now, not only would it not have a single impact on the situation, but it would also deepen everyone’s misunderstanding.
Later within a clear and vacant space, several white tents were pitched. In the center of the ring of tents were Ming Dong, Senior An, Yun Zheng, Jian Chen, Dugu Feng, Qin Xiao, Qin Jue, and Huang Luan who all sat at a circular table with a variety of sweet smelling dishes on it. These things had all been taken from Jiede Wukang’s Space Ring. All sorts of good looking dishes could be found inside, since the space within the Space Ring was larger than that of a Space Belt, there were a large amount of dishes that were cooked and meant for eating over a long period of time. Furthermore, the dishes within Jiede Wukang’s Space Ring were of the finest delicacy and there was enough for the group to eat for several months.
After the meal, a few of the men left the table, leaving behind Jian Chen, Ming Dong, Dugu Feng and Huang Luan.
Ming Dong looked around the table before taking a sneak peek behind to see if anyone else would come back to the table. Then, with a mysterious glance at Jian Chen, he asked, “Jian Chen, do you wish to know what the skeleton of a Saint Ruler can be used for?”
“Yes, I’m quite curious. Just why is it so precious everyone would try to steal it?” Jian Chen spoke with curiosity.
“Then let me tell you.” A sing-song like voice could be heard as Huang Luan suddenly took the initiative to speak with a quiet voice.
Preparing to speak, Huang Luang organized her thoughts before saying, “A Saint Ruler has a limited lifespan, so naturally, they die a natural death. This type of death is what we have come to call a “Seated Death”. The energy within a Saint Ruler is incredibly strong and pure. That is why after a Saint Ruler dies by a seated death, the energy and Saint Weapon within their body do not dissipate into the world. The energy continues to stay within the body and slowly enters the skeleton. After some time, the Saint Ruler will leave behind its skeleton with its full strength intact, meaning it is very precious. If one were to obtain the power of a Saint Ruler, would that not make people envious?”
Jian Chen nodded his head in understanding, “I understand a bit more, but just how did your Ruler Armaments come to be then? According to what you’ve said, the energy of a Saint Ruler blends into the skeleton, while the energy from their Saint Weapon should dissipate. How could it continue on to exist?”
Huang Luan spoke, “A Saint Ruler’s strength is classified into nine levels. This system is called the Nine Heavenly Layers. When a Saint Ruler reaches the Ninth Heavenly Layer, they are standing at the pinnacle of the current realm and from there it is only one small step to become a Saint King. At this step, the Saint Weapon within their body has reached a peak of qualitative energy. By this point, a Saint Ruler is strong enough to sever the connection between himself and the Saint Weapon. Thus, when a Saint Ruler reaches the Ninth Heavenly Layer, they will take out their Saint Weapons and sever the connection. The Saint Weapon will be able to maintain the energy within it forever without dissipating, and thus becomes a Ruler Armament.”
“So when a Saint Ruler reaches the Ninth Heavenly Layer, they will be able to sever the Saint Weapon’s connection to themselves, but no one under the Ninth Heaven Layer will be able to accomplish such a feat. Then, when these Saint Rulers die a seated death, their Saint Weapon’s energy will be harmonized into their skeletons just like this one skeleton we have now?” Jian Chen asked.
“Correct.” Huang Luan said.
“Then that’s strange, when a Saint Ruler reaches the Ninth Heavenly Layer, just why would they sever their connection with their Saint Weapon and give it to someone else? Of course, for those Saint Rulers with a family, they would do this to benefit the younger generation, but if I recall correctly, this wouldn’t be the case for most people, as not every Saint Ruler has such a clan to be in.” Jian Chen asked the question on his mind.
“It is because of a correlation to an unrealistic legend. Because of that, every Saint Ruler that reaches the Ninth Heavenly Layer will choose to break off the connection and retain the perfected state of the Saint Weapon.” Huang Luan said.
“Legend? Oh, right. Jian Chen, uncle Tian told me something before, let me explain it to you.” Ming Dong said. “Uncle Tian said that when a Ninth Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler severs the connection with his Saint Weapon, they will leave behind a small amount of essence, Qi and spirit, in their Saint Weapon and eagerly await for an impossible legend to happen to them.”
“What legend is that!?” Jian Chen spoke eagerly.
“Resurrection!” Dugu Feng spoke seriously.
“What, resurrection!” Jian Chen said startled as he stared at them all with disbelief.
Ming Dong nodded his own head with a solemn look, “That’s right, it truly is resurrection. This is what uncle Tian told me.”
“That’s…just how could it be that?” Jian Chen spoke as if the very notion was inconceivable.
Huang Luan sighed as she replied, “Of course it’s not possible since no one has ever achieved such a thing before. However, one thing is for sure; those Saint Rulers at the Ninth Heavenly Layer are all staunch believers of this without any doubt. Thus, when a Saint Ruler reaches the epitome of the Ninth Heavenly Layer, they choose to sever their connection with their Saint Weapon.”
Dugu Feng grew dark, “I can only assume that there is something we don’t know. Otherwise, why would the Saint Rulers at the Ninth Heavenly Layer believe in such a fairytale without a doubt?”
Jian Chen shook his head heavily, “This is still too inconceivable. For a Saint Ruler to use their Saint Weapon in order to resurrect, that is too much of an exaggeration. It is no wonder this legend has never borne fruit since it is an impossible task to begin with.”
As Jian Chen spoke these words, Huang Luan, Dugu Feng, and Ming Dong all agreed with him.