Chapter 393: Birthday Present
The next day, the birthday of the Qinghuang Kingdom’s king had officially begun. Jian Chen was woken up early by Qin Ji, and the two left together to congratulate him.
The palace was especially lively today. Many influential lords and nobles came to personally congratulate the king on this happy occasion. All sorts of political leaders and major powers came and in short, everyone was of some importance.
The Qinhuang Kingdom held a lot of power and was second only to the Three Great Empires. Within the continent, the Qinhuang Kingdom was already considered one of the highest powers. Thus, every single territory within the kingdom and even the subsiding powers bordering the kingdom had sent men with gifts in order to celebrate this happy occasion. If it were not a lord or princess, it was a prime minister that came, even several Imperial Advisors had come to pay their respects.
Directly walking toward the main palace hall, Jian Chen and Qin Ji both saw well over a thousand people standing around. Each one wore gorgeous robes or were figures that were well known throughout the kingdom.
A wave of maids could be seen walking around the place with small platters of food in order to serve the guests.
“We greet the third prince!”
“We greet the third prince!”
……
Upon seeing Qin Ji arrive, many of the people there began to cup their hands in salute with extremely respectful greetings.
Greeting them all with a kind smile, Qin Ji responded amiably without any sense of arrogance.
Jian Chen followed behind Qin Ji silently. He was perfectly content not being in the limelight and did not wish for the spotlight to be put onto him.
The nobles within the palace naturally paid very little attention to him. The vast majority only believed that Jian Chen was an attendant to Qin Ji and didn’t spare him a second glance. The other part of the crowd took a neutral stance, but some noticed that Jian Chen was not any ordinary person. He was neither servile or overbearing in nature and carried himself with a graceful manner. Despite his age, he walked with a steady step that even a mountain could not attest to. Some of the stronger men in the room could even tell there was a strong pressure coming from him, causing them to look on in shock.
“Strange, why is it that I feel as if I’ve seen that man walking behind the third prince before? Just where did this feeling come from?” One of the more richly dressed men stared suspiciously at Jian Chen as he muttered to himself.
He was not the only person to have this hunch. Several other men within the palace had this same exact suspicion. They felt that he was a stranger, but they still couldn’t shake off this feeling.
“Brother Jian Chen, feel free to go rest somewhere, I still have several people to greet.” Qin Ji spoke apologetically toward Jian Chen.
Today was the 50th birthday of his father so the king could not greet any of the people himself. However, these men were all high ranking people, some from the surrounding kingdoms. They couldn’t be received by just anyone, so the children would have to take up the mantle.
Even this was considered to be a good opportunity for the prince to get to know people. It was with that excuse that they could make a foundation for political support when the time came to fight for the throne.
Jian Chen was neither a child nor an ignorant farmer from the thatched villages. He understood clearly just how important this gathering was for Qin Ji and did not argue. Taking a small snack to eat, he began to stroll to the closest corner of the room before enjoying the delicious tasting pastries.
Just then, a cyan robed middle-aged man sat down right next to Jian Chen. Nodding with a smile toward the eating Jian Chen, he spoke, “Fellow brother, have we seen each other somewhere before?”
Jian Chen lifted his head to look at the man. Seeing that the man was unfamiliar to him, he shook his head, “You must be mistaken. Perhaps I look like someone else?”
Still skeptical, the man nodded his head, “Perhaps so. My name is Tie Muzhuang, what might your name be?”
Jian Chen laughed, “This one is just a nobody and not even a member of the Qinhuang Kingdom. My name won’t be recognizable by sire even if this one speaks of it.” Jian Chen finished off the pastry and left to go get a new one.
After Jian Chen had left, Tie Muzhuang narrowed his eyes in doubt, “An unknown nobody? Is that really the truth? Why do I feel that I’ve seen you from somewhere?” Even with his mutterings, he had been unable to think of an answer, so Tie Muzhuang had no other choice but to leave as well.
“His Majesty the king has arrived!”
At that moment, a long drawn out voice could be heard announcing the arrival of the king. The noise within the palace instantly died out as everyone turned to look in the direction the cry came from.
Everyone could see a golden, purple-dragon robed middle-aged man walking into the palace with an intimidating air. Right behind him was a single elder with a crane styled hairdo.
The king was turning fifty years old, but his appearance made him look as if he was forty instead. He was smiling widely with eyes that flickered with vigor and wisdom. The Qinhuang Kingdom’s king had twelve children. Seven of them were princes and the other five were princesses. The eldest was already thirty years old and the youngest was only six. At this moment, those twelve children were walking right behind him.
“Greet His Majesty and wish him a long life and glory to the Qinhuang Kingdom!”
The entire palace began to speak out the words, “Long live and a thousand years!” Within the Tian Yuan Continent, these were the highest words of celebration that generally only the nobility of countries could hear.
That was because a thousand years was the lifespan of a Heaven Saint Master. Saint Rulers and Saint Kings weren’t even able to live past ten thousand years and were generally within the thousands.
Afterward, everyone began to give the gifts they had prepared. The vast majority of the items were all vastly valuable, some of them were even beyond the scope of what money could be. Apart from this, there was plenty of antique pottery and vases from several people as well as plenty of heavenly resources that were aged well over a thousand years.
After the majority of the men had presented their gifts, Jian Chen came walking forward with a purple and gold box. Striding forward, he presented it to the king with a smile, “There is a Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill within this box. I present this to His Majesty in congratulations on his birthday.” Jian Chen spoke succinctly without any flowery words.
“A Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill? I’ve heard only a Seventh Class Radiant Saint Master would be able to produce such a pill. It is a pill that is fully deserving of being called a true healing catholicon! Not only can it purify any venom, but it could even rescue a person from the jaws of death!”
“A Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill can be rarely seen within the entire continent. This would make even hermits drool at the mouth to have such a life saving treasure.”
…….
Upon hearing the words ‘Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill’, the entire palace began to burst into commotion and admiration at this item. They all looked at the purple and golden box within Jian Chen’s hands. Each one believed that such a high leveled Radiant Spirit Pill had gone extinct since the only Radiant Saint Masters capable of making one were as rare as a phoenix feather. Furthermore, creating just one of these would require a tremendous amount of energy from them.
The Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill had moved even the king. If he wanted to obtain some sort of heavenly resource or any other priceless treasure, it was not at all difficult for him. A Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill was a different matter. That was because items that could save one’s life were far too priceless to be obtained.
Following a stare from the king, a white robed elder immediately came forth from the crowd. Taking the box from Jian Chen’s hands, he took out the bottle from within and then began to inspect the thumb sized pill from it.
This elder was a Radiant Saint Master that would be able to tell how rich the Radiant Saint Force was within the pill. After making sure he wasn’t wrong, the elder’s face lit up in delight as he carefully put the pill back into the box and cupped his hands to the king. “Your Majesty, this is truly a Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill!” The elder’s voice held an emotional tone to it since he knew just how rare it was to see such a high leveled pill.
Standing right behind the king, Qin Ji sent an appreciative glance to Jian Chen. Even he knew just how priceless a Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill was. For Jian Chen to unexpectedly gift such a pill to the king, the meaning would be loud and clear, allowing Qin Ji to feel happy.
Even the other people standing by the king’s side began to change their opinion of Jian Chen by smiling and nodding. A Class 8 Radiant Spirit Pill couldn’t be given by just anyone. This action from Jian Chen had inadvertently solidified his status among everyone in the crowd.
Hearing the confirmation from the elder, the king immediately began to laugh as he regarded Jian Chen in a new light. “Remarkable brother, it only takes one look to know that you are a giant among the men here. I admit to knowing no noble that would relinquish such a priceless gift, but I am truly grateful.”
“Father, he is called Jian Chen, a friend I have made from the outside.” Before Jian Chen could even say anything, Qin Ji spoke out respectfully to his father.
As soon as Qin Ji spoke, several other men began to cry out.
“Jian Chen! He’s Jian Chen, it’s no wonder I thought he looked familiar!”
“Could he be that very same Jian Chen who became the King of Mercenaries at the last Gathering of the Mercenaries? His strength was on par with a Heaven Saint Master, it’s no wonder I felt that there was something to him.”
“I’ve got it! He’s that Jian Chen who became the King of Mercenaries! I was there for the event, so no wonder I had thought he was familiar looking! It’s because his hair is nearly gone so that I was unable to recognize him!”
“Even his eyelashes are gone…”