Sovereign of the Three Realms - Chapter 1826

Chapter 1826: 1826

News of the venerated forefather breaking free was powerful impetus for the sacred land army . Though its members were already in high spirits, they felt the last vestige of their worries melt away .

Now that the venerated forefather was back, what could House Xiahou’s divine forefather do?

Only the venerated forefather was the true foremost expert in Eternal Divine Nation . An undisputed totem and god of protection!

“Duke Xiaoyao, meet your maker!” Saying this, the first prime touched a point in space with a weapon that looked like a willow branch . In the next instant, it turned into thousands of twirling tendrils that filled the air .

Duke Xiaoyao was as still as an inanimate statue . It was as if his soul had been sucked out . He made no move to resist the first prime’s attack .

Jiang Chen’s news was the straw that broke the camel’s back . It utterly crushed any remaining will he had left to fight . There was no question as to the battle’s conclusion now .

The tendrils transformed into streaks of light that wrapped around the duke . He was soon ensnared inside a glowing cocoon . The three primes struck in decisive unison, landing three blows upon Duke Xiaoyao’s vitals . His qi ocean was utterly destroyed, among other injuries .

The duke’s body crumpled like a ragdoll onto the ground . There was barely any breath left in him . The loss of Duke Xiaoyao meant that there was no bite left in House Xiahou’s continued resistance .

The three primes refrained from taking to the field themselves, instead delegating their men to a few final sweeps .

“First Prime, the capital is in fearful unrest . Excessive scrutiny isn't conducive to calming the citizens . We can’t add more fuel to the fire . ” Jiang Chen had paid close attention to the situation in the capital the last few days, so voiced his advice .

“House Xiahou’s forces have largely been defeated,” the first prime mused . “The survivors are incapable of causing much more trouble . The capital needs peace . ”

“From this day forth, any efforts at hunting down the Xiahou and imperial family sympathizers should take special care to avoid harming innocents! Anyone who disobeys will be punished as a rebel himself!”

After weathering the rebellion, Eternal Divine Nation was somewhat restless . It needed some pacification to reduce the collective stress of the capital’s inhabitants . The prevailing fear was that the sacred land would punish it severely for its past allegiances . The order allowed most to rest easy, making most safe from retribution .

After the matter of the capital, next came the factions .

Various factions had first rebelled alongside House Xiahou, then turned back to the light . The sacred land had agreed it would pardon crimes based on meritorious conduct . They needed to be placated as well . Eternal Divine Nation couldn't bear a fresh rebellion .

The factions that had resisted rather than followed House Xiahou needed to be praised and supported, of course .

As the number one hero of quelling the rebellion, Jiang Chen was chosen as an ambassador to foster his personal growth and connections .

“Shao Yuan, you have a history with House Yan . Do you have an opinion on how to deal with them?” The first prime cared a lot about the young man’s opinion .

In the final hours of battle, Yan Zhenhuai had led a group of House Yan troops into the fray . Their presence offered a minuscule amount of assistance that was better than nothing .

But Jiang Chen didn't actually think that this last-minute posturing was particularly wise .

If they’d sent their men earlier, the sacred land might have taken notice . Reinforcements near the very end of the battle were obviously too late .

Still, he needed to make a trip to House Yan regardless . He wanted to ask them about several things . The exact fate and whereabouts of Huang’er’s parents, for example .

The second day after the vanquishing of House Xiahou, the venerated forefather and the Vermilion Bird made their triumphant return . Under the coordinated onslaught of two experts, the Xiahou forefather had been utterly annihilated .

The venerated forefather didn't fight the Vermilion Bird for spoils; the Xiahou forefather’s divine decree went to the bird .

Now, the dust had finally settled on Eternal Divine Nation’s insurrection .

The imperial family and House Xiahou had been utterly destroyed in the revolution, but the other first-rate factions had suffered losses to varying degrees as well . The nation’s overall strength had taken a significant hit .

Thankfully, long-term confrontation had been broken wide open . Because of this, the war hadn’t lasted particularly long . The divine nation’s foundations were largely intact . A bit scuffed, but nothing some repairs couldn’t fix .

……

For the sacred land, the victory had been pyrrhic at best .

It had its gains, of course: it had discovered Shao Yuan’s incredible talent and ability . Even those who’d been the most envious of Shao Yuan before had nothing bad to say about him now .

Without Shao Yuan, the Eternal Sacred Land wouldn't have won . He was the deciding factor in their supremacy .

The venerated forefather was very excited to find Jiang Chen upon his return . He had nothing but good things to say both to and about the young man .

“You’ve done the sacred land a great service, kid . Indeed, you saved my life . ” The venerated forefather clapped Jiang Chen on the shoulder .

“Ah, not at all,” Jiang Chen evaded humbly .

“Not directly, but you turned the sacred land’s situation around . The Xiahou and imperial forefathers were forced to abandon the sealing formation, giving me room to rest and recuperate . You were the reason I could free myself!”

“The sacred land is a blessed place . Even if I wasn’t around, someone else would’ve come forward to save it . ” Jiang Chen was unwilling to take too much credit before the venerated forefather .

“You’re an interesting kid . What? You still want to keep your real identity a secret? What name should I call you? Shao Yuan, or Jiang Chen?”

Aside from Yan Qingsang, the venerated forefather was the only other who knew who Jiang Chen was .

“Now that House Xiahou is no more, I see no reason to hide my identity . ” Jiang Chen had used the pseudonym Shao Yuan largely because of House Xiahou . The old bounty on his head from Polylore had been only a tangential reason .

He didn’t want to be targeted before he had a chance to grow, but hadn’t expected House Xiahou to collapse this soon .

“Hmm, it is as you say . ” The venerated forefather chuckled . “Let’s use this opportunity announce your true name to the world!”

Jiang Chen nodded . “Alright . ”

Rumors about Shao Yuan’s actual identity spread fast in the Eternal Sacred Land .

The three primes were astonished . They had never imagined the brilliant Shao Yuan to have come from the human domain . Wasn’t the human domain a barren wilderness? How could a place as crude as that foster a genius like this?

Questions and surprise filled the sacred land’s every corner . Still, no one suspected the veracity of the forefather’s words .

Ziju Min was the first to seek out Jiang Chen to seek the veracity of the rumors, and the young man admitted the truth readily .

The elder was quite for a long time before sighing . “Shao Yuan… ah, that’s right, I should call you Jiang Chen instead . ”

“Elder Ziju, I know what you want to say . My origins aren’t important . I’ve always been grateful to you for your recommendation, and I share that feeling still . ”

Ziju Min became thoughtful . “Yes, yes!” he nodded . “The things you’ve done for the sacred land are proof enough . No matter what, Jiang Chen, recommending you joining the sacred land was my biggest success in this life . The conclusion of this rebellion shows that quite clearly . ”

After seeing the senior off, Jiang Chen took the more direct approach of finding and explaining to the three primes the course of his history .

The three primes had gathered the same from the venerated forefather already . Rather than give him the cold shoulder, they heaped him with acclaim and commendation .

“Haha, it doesn’t matter who you are, Jiang Chen . We all know you as a genius the sacred land can be proud of . House Yan sent more messengers today, but they were denied an audience . We’d like you to take care of House Yan as you see fit . How about it? Are you confident you’ll do well?” The first prime looked at Jiang Chen with anticipation .

Jiang Chen thought about it for a moment, then nodded . “Sure . ”

“Don’t feel weighed down with baggage . We’ve given you all authority to act as you like . No matter what you say or do, we will not interfere . We are laying the way for you, do you understand?”

Jiang Chen knew that the sacred land wanted to raise him up . Right now, he didn’t have a good reason to refuse . “I will do my best . ”

Saying farewell to the three primes, he returned to his residence . The Vermilion Bird had closed its doors once more after the battle to cultivate . It had been the biggest beneficiary of the Xiahou forefather’s death, having acquired a large portion of the old man’s life essence . As always, this was an enormously helpful tonic to the bird .

The Xiahou forefather’s divine decree, on the other hand, was given to Jiang Chen .

After making the necessary preparations, Jiang Chen led a group of sacred land experts to House Yan . As the designated heir of the sacred land, he had no shortage of underlings .

House Yan had lived for the past few days in utter turmoil . Each day was a struggle for survival . There was an invisible sword atop the house’s head that could crash down in judgment at any moment .

The house had sent messengers to the sacred land several times to seek a meeting with the three primes, but they were refused every time without fail . The three primes simply weren’t interested .

House Yan was almost in despair when an unexpected guest made his visit . The house instantly began to panic .

The current Shao Yuan wasn’t the same youth as the one who had stayed at House Yan .

They weren’t yet aware of Shao Yuan’s real identity though, since the rumor hadn’t made its way to them just yet . Its members did know, however, that the biggest contributor to the sacred land’s victory would surely be its heir .  

That made him an existence that everyone else had to look up to .