A group of well equipped soldiers stood at the entrance of Taiyuan Tower, looking like fearsome wolves. The main entrance of the door was tightly shut, and seals coldly plastered all over the door. Thankfully, Taiyuan Lodge hadnât been marked as Taiyuan Towerâs property yet, so it hadnât been sealed along with Taiyuan Tower. Everyone in Taiyuan Tower had been chased into Taiyuan Lodge.
Fury rose up in Jiang Chenâs heart when he saw this scene from afar. However, Captain Moâs sharp eyes quickly discerned the soldiersâ identity, and immediately restrained Jiang Chen before he could unleash his wrath. The captain said in a soft tone, âControl yourself, Pill King Zhen. These soldiers are under the direct command of a great emperor.â
A great emperor? Jiang Chenâs mind shook. Why was a great emperor attracted by a pill force that had barely established itself not long ago? Also, didnât the seven great emperors normally keep their hands out of Veluriyam Capitalâs worldly affairs? Distress battered Jiang Chen, but was quickly surmounted by his growing anger. So what if they work for a great emperor? How can a great emperor seal my store without good reason? Jiang Chen was absolutely certain that Taiyuan Tower had obeyed and executed every procedure to the letter of the law. With how cautious Wei Tianxiao was, there was no way he would make a mistake either.
There was no doubt that todayâs incident wasnât Taiyuan Towerâs fault. Jiang Chen didnât even need to think to know that this was a malicious scheme against his store Someone was attacking him on purpose! It didnât matter if it was an attack by a great emperor or a great clan.âLetâs head over and take a look,â Jiang Chen had calmed down after learning that those soldiers belonged to a great emperor. He understood that he couldnât clash head on against a great emperorâs force with his current strength. That would be rather unwise. However, that didnât mean he could just ignore this affront and do nothing. Jiang Chen wouldnât submit even to an empyrean expert without good reason, much less one of the great emperors!
Captain Mo was afraid that something might befall Jiang Chen. Therefore, he forced himself to follow behind Jiang Chen even though he didnât wish to clash against a great emperorâs men. On the other hand, Captain Zhang hadnât thought that far ahead. He could only feel the blood rushing to his head when he saw Jiang Chen being bullied. He thought that this world was truly unfair if even someone as good as Pill King Zhen was oppressed like this! Right now, Captain Zhang only had one thought in his mind, and that was to give his utmost, even his life, to take down those bastards if Pill King Zhen were to give the order.
âThese are sealed grounds. All unrelated personnel are to leave immediately!â A soldier immediately yelled at Jiang Chen the second the latter walked close to his property. The soldier never even bothered to look at him, and his tone sounded as disdainful as someone who was chasing away a group of flies.
Jiang Chen stared darkly at the group of soldiers. Captain Mo hastily pulled him to the side. It was at that moment a person ran out of Taiyuan Lodge and grabbed Jiang Chen, âCome this way and talk, brother.â This person was actually young master Ji San.
He was currently looking completely serious, without a hint of his usual confidence and ease. With hushed words in a heavy tone, he immediately dragged Jiang Chen into Taiyuan Lodge regardless of the latterâs will. The moment he went through the door, young master Ji San waved his hands and ordered, âClose the door!â
Captain Mo himself hastily went over to shut the door.
The group of emperor soldiers standing at the entrance of Taiyuan Tower laughed disdainfully upon seeing the closely shut door on the opposite side of the street. Their noses rose even higher at the outcome. âEveryone says that young master Ji San of the Coiling Dragon Clan is a great person, but I guess heâs really just a cowardly boy.â
âHow dare a mere great clan call themselves king of the world? Thereâs no room for their arrogance before an emperorâs soldiers!â
âSpeaking of which, who was that group of people just now?â
âWho knows? I think I heard Ji San calling him âbrotherâ just now, right?â
âCould he be that Pill King Zhen?â
âYou mean Taiyuan Towerâs Pill King Zhen? We have orders to arrest him and bring him back for interrogation immediately if we see him!â
âIs he really that Pill King Zhen?â
âWeâll know that if we charge inside and catch him, wonât we?â
âWe better not. Our orders are only to seal Taiyuan Tower, and that store hasnât broken any rules. Weâd be crossing a line if we force our way in, not to mention that the Coiling Dragon Clanâs men are there too. If they escalate this up to Emperor Peafowl, our great emperor would be inconvenienced too.â
âYeah, we shouldnât force our way in. Heâll come out eventually, and when he does, weâll question his identity. If he really is Pill King Zhen, weâll just capture him then. Weâre just following orders, and I doubt that young master Ji San would dare stop us.â
âMm, thatâs settled then. Look sharp and watch them closely.â These warriors belonged to Emperor Shura, one of the seven great emperors of Veluriyam Capital. Ranking wise, Emperor Shura sat in third place among all seven great emperors. However, he was firmly in second place in terms of strength and closing in on the number one great emperor, Emperor Peafowl. Moreover, Emperor Shura was a man of swift and decisive conduct. In the past few years, Emperor Shura had invaded and won many territories for Veluriyam Capital. He had strong support inside Veluriyam Capital, and was a new and rising power. The Majestic Clan and Murong Clan were all great clans serving directly under Emperor Shura. Together, they represented a powerful faction inside Veluriyam Capital.
Jiang Chen met his brother with a dark face after he was pulled into the store by young master Ji San, âWhy the haste, Brother Ji?â
Jiang Chen was obviously still angry. He couldnât stand seeing his territory violated and these soldiers arrogantly ridiculing him with their masterâs authority. He might be good tempered, but even he couldnât stand this nonsense.
âItâs a long and complicated story, brother. This had happened a few days ago, and the reason I hadnât told you about this was to ensure that you didnât worry during your breakthrough!â Young master Ji San said solemnly.
Jiang Chen understood that the situation was not as simple as it seemed after seeing how serious young master Ji San looked. He looked around and frowned, âWhere are the Wei father and son?â
âThey were captured,â Young master Ji San sighed softly, âThey and a Pill Master Yan of Taiyuan Tower were all captured.â
âWhat?â Jiang Chen was shocked when he heard this. Pill Master Yan [1] was in fact his peer from the Regal Pill Palace, Shen Trifire. Jiang Chen paid great attention to his growth because Shen Trifire absolutely possessed the qualities to become an initial level pill king, even if he hadnât taken the examination yet. Jiang Chen had intended for Shen Trifire to be capable of holding down the fort himself, but hadnât thought that he would be captured as well.
âIt all happened very suddenly. These soldiers suddenly barged into Taiyuan Tower one fine day and asked for the person in charge to step forward immediately. Since you werenât around, Pill Master Yan stepped up and claimed responsibility. He was shackled on the spot and hauled away. Since young master Wei Jie was present at the time, he too was taken away. At the same time, they also sealed off House Weiâs residence and took away the house lord.â
The person who said this was Wei QixiaâWei Jieâs trusted aide. He had been watching over Taiyuan Tower all this time. The more Jiang Chen heard, the angrier he grew. âDid they state any reason as to why they took them away?â
Wei Qixia said angrily, âNone. They just flashed Emperor Shuraâs warrant, took our people away and sealed the store. They didnât care to talk at all.â
âTheyâre capturing people without giving a reason? Are they bandits? Is this the conduct of a so-called force of a great emperor? Is this what they call non-interference of all worldly affairs?â Jiang Chen was furious when he heard this. He could just barely swallow this if the fault really lay on Taiyuan Towerâs side. But wasnât it pure nonsense to seal off his store for no reason at all?
Young master Ji San was also smiling bitterly at this whole predicament as he tried to comfort Jiang Chen. âCalm down, brother. This entire matter is very strange. I suspect that they have some crucial information that can be used against us, but are withholding it for now due to certain reasons. Iâm guessing that this isnât the end of the whole matter, and that more trouble is heading our way.â
âInformation, you say?â Jiang Chen sneered, âI may not know about the rest, but Iâm absolutely sure that Taiyuan Tower possesses no such skeleton in our closet!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Young master Ji San sighed, âMaybe there isnât one, but that doesnât stop them from trying to frame us. After all, there are at least hundreds of ways for a great emperorâs force to seal off a store.â
Jiang Chen smiled and nodded , his anger fully stoked. He actually stopped trying to argue with Ji San. He would be a fool if he hadnât figured out what was going on at this point. There was no point arguing with them; they were all in the same boat. Jiang Chen looked around once before asking, âEveryone else is fine, right?â
âThey took away only the Wei father and son and Pill Master Yan. Everyone else is safe. Thereâs no way a great emperorâs force would act disgracefully enough to capture everyone. It also wouldnât be easy to deal with the aftermath if they caused too big of a commotion.â Ji San sighed resignedly.
âEmperor Shura...â Jiang Chen breathed the words softly between his teeth as a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes. All he wanted to do was to establish a firm footing in Veluriyam Capital and slowly build his power base. There was nothing heâd done that would possibly affect the emperor in any way. The emperor hadnât given him any reason either. Theyâd captured his people and sealed his store as they liked, with no room for negotiation. This code of conduct soured Jiang Chenâs impression of Emperor Shura immediately. Did he think that an emperor was unrivalled in this world? Did he think that he could do whatever he wanted to? Even the Celestial Emperor, the ruler of a realm, hadnât been so tyrannical that he would screw over someone just because he felt like it.
âThe situation is complicated, brother, and you are not safe. I heard that your name is on their list of targets, so I suggest that you head to the clan manor and lay low for a time. This matter is most certainly going to turn into an extended battle that wonât be settled in just a day or two.â Ji San had stayed at Taiyuan Lodge for the past few days because he was afraid that Jiang Chen would stumble head first into Emperor Shuraâs trap. If even Jiang Chen was captured by Emperor Shuraâs men, then they would have an utter field day. Not even the Coiling Dragon Clan dared claim for sure that they could rescue Jiang Chen from Emperor Shura.
Captain Mo also advised, âPill King Zhen, you canât win against them as you are now, and these people are not good people. There is always hope as long as you arenât captured.â
Jiang Chen understood the sense in their words. He might not even be able to duel the Majestic Clan without external help in his current condition, much less Emperor Shura. Unless he was willing to sacrifice the final charge of the empyrean level restriction inside his palace, he wouldnât be able to kill a great emperor.
However, it was obviously an unworthy trade. Not only was it Jiang Chenâs most powerful trump card to date, it was one-time use strike. Even if he did decide to use up his final trump card, heâd have to first set a trap for Emperor Shura himself!
The âyanâ character is three of the character for âfireâ