Since the Imperial Advisors of the Qin Empire had left a sensor in the imperial palace of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom last time, Jianchen's group had directly returned to the original imperial palace through a Space Gate this time.
Stepping out of the Space Gate, Jianchen instinctively scanned his surroundings. He discovered that the imperial palace of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom still looked the same as before. The only difference was that the imperial palace was no longer as cold and cheerless as before. There were figures everywhere as far as the eye could see, and fiery red flags fluttered everywhere in the imperial palace. The picture on the flags was a ball of fire burning fiercely.
Jianchen was no stranger to this flag, because it was the symbol of the Flame Mercenaries.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps rang out in the surroundings. Several hundred people quickly rushed over from all directions, surrounding Jianchen's group. All of them had sharp gazes as they stared at Jianchen's group with fiendish eyes.
"Who are you? State your names!" A middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader sternly demanded.
"Jianchen!" Jianchen replied indifferently.
The middle-aged man was slightly stunned when he heard this. He was not unfamiliar with this name at all, and he was extremely familiar with it, because it was the name of the captain of the Flame Mercenaries.
The middle-aged man in the lead carefully examined Jianchen and finally recognized Jianchen's identity. His expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly bowed. He said respectfully, "So it's sir captain. This subordinate has eyes but failed to recognize you. Please punish me, sir captain!"
With this, the several hundred members of the Flame Mercenaries also learned of Jianchen's identity. All of them immediately changed their expressions and bowed respectfully towards Jianchen, loudly calling out, "Greetings, sir captain!" The voices of several hundred people were extremely loud, spreading very far through the silent imperial palace. Basically the entire imperial palace knew. Immediately, the crowd in the imperial palace surged. Many people quickly walked out from various halls and gathered towards Jianchen's location.
At this moment, there was a flash of azure light. A young man in white robes appeared before Jianchen in the blink of an eye. When he saw Jianchen, he immediately smiled happily and laughed aloud, "Jianchen, you've finally returned. If you took any longer, I would have gone out to look for you." The young man was Jianchen.
"Jianchen, you've finally returned!"
"Brother, you've finally returned!"
Just as Ming Dong finished speaking, two more female voices sounded from afar. You Yue, Huang Luan, and Bi Lian were accompanied by a large group of people as they ran over from afar. Their expressions were filled with joy.
Afterward, all the upper echelon of the Flame Mercenaries gathered. In the blink of an eye, the large space was filled with people.
Jianchen exchanged some pleasantries with everyone before being escorted into a majestic hall. This hall used to be the discussion hall of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom. It was where the ruler and his ministers discussed matters of the kingdom. However, it had been taken over by the Flame Mercenaries now. Even the name of the hall had been changed to the Flame Hall.
Jianchen sat on the throne boldly in the hall while Nubis, Jiede Tai, Wang Yifeng, and Little Fatty stood beside Jianchen quietly. They did not say anything. Little Fatty looked around curiously. He had only set foot on the Tian Yuan Continent recently, so everything in the outside world was so new to him.
Below him was a dense crowd of people. The few seats below him were occupied by the Heaven Saint Masters of the Flame Mercenaries and Ming Dong's group.
Jianchen glanced around. He first said some pleasantries before introducing Jiede Tai and the others. However, Jianchen only gave a rough introduction of their identities and did not go into detail about their strength.
After the introduction, Jianchen cut to the chase. He directly brought up the main topic. He took out a shattered piece of the Sun-mother Twin Rock from his Space Ring and asked, "May I ask what's happened recently to force you to shatter the Sun-mother Twin Rock?"
"It's about the tungsten alloy mine. Jianchen, the news of the tungsten alloy mine was leaked half a month ago. Right now, the news of us possessing a large tungsten alloy mine has spread like wildfire in the outside world. Basically everyone knows about it," You Yue replied.
Jianchen smiled faintly when he heard that. He said, "The truth can't be hidden forever. I expected the news of the tungsten alloy mine to spread long ago, but I never thought that it would happen so much earlier than I expected. I wonder what the other organisations have done after learning that we possess a large tungsten alloy mine."
"Ever since we joined forces with the seven organisations, our strength has skyrocketed. Coupled with the fact that we have the support of the Qin Empire, the other organisations and smaller kingdoms haven't done anything even though they're envious. It's been rather peaceful. However, the only problem is the Dragon and Tiger sect," said Bi Lian. The person who spoke was Bi Lian. Since Bi Lian and You Yue both possessed great management abilities, Jian Chen had left the Flame Mercenaries to the two of them to manage before he left.
Although there were quite a few experts in the Flame Mercenaries, including quite a few Heaven Saint Masters, strength was not everything when it came to management. This was because this was a domain that did not require talent for cultivation. Instead, it required a clever and flexible mind.
A powerful killing intent immediately flashed through Jianchen's eyes when he heard about the Dragon and Tiger sect. He could still remember the palm strike from the Saint Ruler of the Dragon and Tiger sect. He had never forgotten about it.
"Does the Dragon and Tiger sect want to steal the tungsten alloy mine from us?" Jianchen's voice sank slightly as a cold light flickered through his eyes. If it were before, the Dragon and Tiger sect would have definitely pressured him greatly, but now, the Saint Ruler of the Dragon and Tiger sect was no longer a threat in Jianchen's eyes.
Sima You Yue nodded, "That's right. The Dragon and Tiger Sect does want a share of the loot. However, they have a huge appetite. The moment they opened their mouth, they wanted to take two thirds of the mine. Naturally, we would not agree and directly rejected this overboard proposal. Furthermore, they might be afraid of the Qinhuang Kingdom behind us. That's why, after we rejected them for a short while, the Dragon and Tiger Sect did not immediately take action to snatch the loot.
"Brother, the Dragon Tiger Sect is only doing this to test the Qinhuang Kingdom's attitude towards this matter. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't be so kind. I've already learned the details of the Dragon Tiger Sect's strength from everyone, and I've also compared it to our current strength. The conclusion I've come to is that we don't have the ability to contend against the Dragon Tiger Sect. I'm certain that if the Qinhuang Kingdom doesn't interfere, the Dragon Tiger Sect will definitely snatch the tungsten alloy mine from us," said Bi Lian.
"Yeah, Jianchen, Bi Lian is right. If we want to keep the tungsten alloy mine, we can only ask the Qin Empire for help, but you're the only one who has connections with the Qin Empire. Time is very tight right now, so we had no choice but to crush the Mother-Child Twin Stones and tell you to come back," You Yue said rather sternly. The Dragon and Tiger sect's interference had given her a huge headache.
"How many days have passed since the Dragon and Tiger sect gave us seven days?" Jianchen asked with a heavy voice.
"It's already been six days. Tomorrow will be the last day!" This time, it was Ming Dong who spoke. He was stern.
Jianchen sneered, "If that's the case, let's quietly wait for the Dragon and Tiger sect's arrival. However, there's no need for anyone to worry about this matter. I have my ways to deal with the Dragon and Tiger sect. They're nothing to worry about."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief when they heard what Jianchen had said. They did not doubt the authenticity of Jianchen's words at all because they had all learned about Jianchen's other identity in the past few days. He was the Imperial Protector of the Qin Empire, one of the eight great empires of the continent. His status was supreme, so how could he speak without thinking?
With the Dragon and Tiger sect's worries resolved, everyone dispersed under Jianchen's signal. The spacious hall became empty very soon. Only a few people remained.
Jianchen stood up from his throne and glanced past You Yue and Bi Lian. Compared to a few months ago, You Yue and Bi Lian had clearly become thinner. They had spent quite a lot of effort dealing with the internal matters of the mercenary group.
Jianchen looked at the two of them rather apologetically. He smiled, "You Yue, Lian 'er, it's really been hard on the two of you. Perhaps I shouldn't have left such tiring matters to the two of you. Look at how much thinner you've become compared to a few months ago."
Bi Lian smiled sweetly when she heard that. She said, "Brother, it's fine. The Flame Mercenaries have only just been formed and is still in the process of development, so there are a lot of things to deal with. However, it'll be much easier once the Flame Mercenaries have stabilized."
"Once you find people who are adept at management and trustworthy, you can properly nurture them. Try to spread the matters out and let them deal with them. That way, it'll lessen your pressure," Jianchen suggested.
"Brother, we've thought of this a long time ago, but there really are quite a few people who are adept at management in our mercenaries. The most outstanding one is Zhantian," said Bi Lian.
"Zhantian!" Jianchen was slightly surprised. He had not forgotten about this person. He was the captain of the Carnage Mercenaries.
After a moment of thought, Jianchen said, "If Zhantian is reliable, let him take on the heavy responsibility."
"Got it, brother!"
Afterwards, Jianchen pulled out a fist-sized fruit from his Space Ring. He looked at Bi Lian with a gentle gaze and smiled, "Lian 'er, this is an Earth Core Fruit. It's a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource. I specially bought it from an auction in Mercenary City. It can change your constitution. Once you consume it, you'll immediately possess an excellent body for cultivation. From then on, you won't encounter any obstructions on your path of cultivation."
"Brother, you must have wasted a lot of money." Bi Lian was deeply moved. She stared at the Earth Core Fruit with mixed feelings as tears flickered in her eyes.
Jianchen smiled without minding at all, "What's money? As long as it can change Lian 'er's constitution, it's worth it no matter how much money I spend."
Nubis stared at the Earth Core Fruit in Jianchen's hand with desire as he stood beside Jianchen. He said, "Using a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource to change the constitution of an ordinary person is just a waste. This is a treasure that can extend the lifespan of a Saint Ruler. It's extremely rare. Jianchen, how about we make a deal? If you give the Earth Core Fruit to me, I, the great Nubis, will follow you for three more years."
Although the Earth Core Fruit was precious in the human world, it was not extinct. At the very least, Mercenary City would auction off one every year. However, as a magical beast, Nubis could not enter Mercenary City, so it was extremely difficult for him to obtain a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource. He could not obtain it from the human world.
Although there were ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resources in the depths of the Cross Mountains, they were all controlled by the Gilligan clan, so he could not obtain them. As a result, it was difficult for Nubis to obtain a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource even though he was a Class 7 Magical Beast.
Jianchen shook his head without any hesitation, "I've specially prepared this Earth Core Fruit for Lian 'er. If you need it, I'll buy one for you in Mercenary City in the future."
"Alright, it's a deal then." Nubis agreed with great excitement. Ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resources could extend the lifespan of magical beasts as well.
"Ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resources are not something a normal person can endure. Jianchen, if you want to use it to change your sister's constitution, you should hire an alchemist. An alchemist can make the energy within the heavenly resource docile by adding in other medicinal ingredients. Only then can your sister endure it," Jiede Tai suddenly said.
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