The Great Ruler

“Greetings, Little Lord. I am Long Xiang!” When the middle-aged man bowed with one knee down, Mu Chen was stunned. He had been wary of him and had been preparing for a fight. Luo Li, Luo Tianshen, and the rest were shocked. Apparently, they were also stunned by the sudden change. They were not expecting the middle-aged man, who had looked fierce earlier, to act in such a way. Moreover, judging from his respectful demeanor, he did not seem to be faking it, but rather, it was sincere.

Luo Li and the rest looked at each other with questions in their eyes. They did not understand what kind of stand this middle-aged man was taking.

Mu Chen was stunned for a while before he regained his senses. However, he did not lower his guard. He stared at the middle-aged man named Long Xiang and said, “Are you from the Ancient Budur Clan?”

“Yes!” Long Xiang nodded.

“Then you should know what kind of attitude the Budur Ancient Clan has toward me.” Mu Chen gave a faint smile, but his eyes were looking sharply at Long Xiang. “The people from the Ancient Budur Clan would not treat me like this.”

Long Xiang nodded again with honestly in regards to Mu Chen’s doubts. He said, “Yes, I came from the Ancient Budur Clan, but if it were not for my Lord, I would be dead bones by now. I’m indebted to my Lord. In my heart, my Lord is superior to the Ancient Budur Clan.”

Mu Chen blinked. “Who is your Lord?”

Long Xiang smiled and said, “She’s your mother, Qing Yanjing.”

Mu Chen stared hard at Long Xiang. He did not see any evasion in the latter’s eyes. Moreover, when he spoke the name “Qing Yanjing,” Mu Chen could sense the respect from the bottom of his heart.

After a moment of silence, his doubt slowly disappeared, and he lowered his guard. Given how those ancient clans like the Ancient Budur Clan worked, they might not resort to using this method just to cheat him. They were formidable clans. As such, it would be more useful to send an authentic Complete Earthly Sovereign or even a Heavenly Sovereign.

Hence, he quickly stepped forward and pulled Long Xiang up from the ground. He smiled. “Please get up, Brother Long Xiang. If you don’t mind, just call me Mu Chen. I’m not fit to be called ‘Little Lord.'”

Long Xiang shook his head. “Your mother is my Lord. Naturally, you’re my Little Lord.” He spoke with stubbornness. Apparently, he would not change the way he addressed Mu Chen.

Mu Chen could not help but scratch his head. All these years, he had been working on his own. Although his mother was from the Ancient Budur Clan, and she was an authentic Spiritual Array Ancestral Master, he had never received any special prestige and resources. Hence, he had gotten used to being an ordinary person. He felt extremely uncomfortable when a Sovereign who was a half step to Complete Earthly Sovereign addressed him as “Little Lord” with respect.

However, Mu Chen did not comment any further when he saw Long Xiang’s stubborn eyes. “Don’t mind my previous words, Brother Long Xiang.” In the beginning, when he thought Long Xiang had been sent by the Ancient Budur Clan, he had not been polite to him.

Long Xiang smiled. He said with some consolation, “Little Lord is indeed the child of my Lord. Not only are you gifted, but most importantly, you reached your current level without Lord’s help. That is really not easy.”

This came from the bottom of his heart. At such a young age, Mu Chen’s achievements were extremely astonishing. Not only was he the Child of the Continent from the Western Kingdom Continent, but he had also made it to Upper Earthly Sovereign. As mighty as Long Xiang could be, he did not think he had a chance of defeating Mu Chen, even though he was just an Upper Earthly Sovereign. That was the most daunting thing.

“If Little Lord were to grow up and make use of the resources in the Ancient Budur Clan, I think you would make one of the best candidates for the next clan leader. You are not any weaker than the other Little Lord, Xuan Luo.” Long Xiang let out a sigh.

Mu Chen gave a nonchalant smile. He did not feel pity at all. All these years, he was used to being independent. As such, he had no interest in the substantial resources possessed by the Ancient Budur Clan.

“Brother Long Xiang, how is my mother doing now?” Even though Mu Chen was not interested in the resources, he was very concerned with regards to his mother’s situation. Previously, he had no connection with the Ancient Budur Clan. He could get details now, since his mother’s subordinate had shown up.

“Lord is still held captive in the clan, but she is fine. It’s just that she misses you and your father.” Long Xiang smiled. Subsequently, he said with some pride, “Lord has unpredictable strength. Even the Great Elder does not dare to push her much. If she was not worried that she might bring trouble to you, I’m afraid none of them could confine her.”

Mu Chen relaxed slightly as he heaved a sigh. Come to think of it, if they wanted to fight with a Spiritual Array Ancestral Master, even an ancient clan like the Ancient Budur Clan might have to pay a hefty price. However, Mu Chen felt reproached, and his heart ached whenever he thought of his mother, who had gotten locked up by the Ancient Budur Clan because of him.

“Little Lord, you don’t have to blame yourself. If Lord sees your current achievements, she will also be pleased about them,” Long Xiang said, as if he knew Mu Chen’s thoughts.

Mu Chen nodded. He was not someone who would indulge in sadness. Self-reproach would not help in his current situation. What he needed to do now was to grow stronger, such that the Ancient Budur Clan would not be able to use him as a threat to his mother.

In the hall, Luo Li and the rest finally heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that the hostility between the two persons had disappeared. In any case, this middle-aged man who had seemed like a tricky opponent was a friend and not a foe.

Long Xiang looked at Mu Chen and reminded him, “You won the title of the Child of the Continent in the Western Kingdom Continent. Now your fame has slowly spread. Some people from the Ancient Budur Clan have already noticed you.”

Mu Chen was not surprised by this, as he knew that the Ancient Budur Clan was so resourceful that he could not stay unnoticed. However, he was no longer a weak young man. The young cub was finally revealing his claws. Even if he met an authentic Complete Earthly Sovereign, he could give them a fight.

Moreover, if the Ancient Budur Clan sent a Heavenly Sovereign to deal with him, he could also request assistance to fight against them. He could protect himself now. Even though he was not afraid of the Ancient Budur Clan, he would still stay alert and keep his guard up. After all, being one of the ancient clans, the Ancient Budur Clan was not an easy opponent.

Long Xiang nodded. His eyes flickered a little as though some words were stuck in his throat, but eventually, he swallowed them down.

Someone outside of the hall came in and bowed to Luo Li, and then said respectfully, “Your Majesty, someone sent a message to the palace anonymously.” The messenger had a jade fragment in his hand.

Luo Li paused slightly before she raised her hand and took the jade fragment. She interacted with it slightly, and the expression on her pretty face changed. She looked at Mu Chen with her beautiful eyes.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mu Chen when he saw this.

Luo Li hesitated a little, but she injected some spiritual energy into the jade fragment. Immediately, spiritual light exploded from the jade fragment and formed a light screen. An elder wearing an ash-gray robe appeared on the screen.

That elder was sitting in front of a black pagoda. He locked his gaze onto Mu Chen. He said with an indifferent voice, “The perpetrator, Mu Chen, has probably met with Long Xiang by now. Regardless if he has captured you or not, I just want to tell you this.

“Come to Spiritual Jade Island in the Myriad Islands Continent if you want to save this girl. Otherwise, I will hand her over to the clan, and there will be no mercy when the torture begins.” After the elder finished speaking, a black prison cell appeared on the screen. Within the cell sat a cold and quiet white-robed lady.

“Sister Ling Xi!” As soon as Mu Chen saw the white-robed lady, his eyes immediately narrowed. Intense killing intent instantly surged from his eyes.

“If you do not want to see her dead body, come to Spiritual Jade Island. I will be waiting for you.” That elder smiled coldly. He swung his robe, and the spiritual energy light screen disappeared. The jade fragment was also reduced to ashes.

Mu Chen looked sullen, and the hall was silent. He never expected that Ling Xi, who had been missing for years, would be imprisoned on Spiritual Jade Island. He turned to Long Xiang and asked in a low voice, “Brother Long Xiang, is what that old fellow said true?”

Long Xiang paused for a moment before he nodded. “Yes, Ling Xi is indeed held captive on Spiritual Jade Island. Previously, the Lion King Gu used her to threaten me. He wanted me to seize you and bring you back to Spiritual Jade Island. I wanted to travel back secretly and find a chance to rescue her after I saw you. I never thought that old fellow would send a message to you after he sent me here. It looks like he already knew that I would not bring you back after seeing you.

“Little Lord, this old fellow harbors evil thoughts towards you. He wanted you to walk right into his trap. He has managed Spiritual Jade Island for many years, and he put up a strong island defense. Even a Complete Earthly Sovereign would find it tricky. Moreover, the Lion King Gu is a strong Complete Earthly Sovereign himself!” Long Xiang tried to persuade him not to go. Mu Chen had formidable strength, but to him, it was still impossible to go up against a Complete Earthly Sovereign.

Mu Chen gave an enigmatic smile upon hearing Long Xiang’s reasoning. He nodded gently and said in a calm voice, “Brother Long Xiang, I know this old fellow wants me to walk right into his trap, but he might not realize something. His trap is too small. When the trap is breached, the hunter will get eaten up by the eagle, not the other way around.” Mu Chen smiled slightly. It was a smile full of killing aura. Even Long Xiang could feel the chilliness as though a harsh winter had arrived.