Chapter 3333
Chapter 3333: A Lowly Heavenly King
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King walked in before everyone. His expression was very respectful as he maintained a bow. It was like he would never straighten himself up unless he received Jian Chen’s order.
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King left all the Infinite Primes present shocked.
Heavenly kings were paramount existences that stood above all Ninth Heavenly Layer Infinite Primes, only second to rulers.
People like that were only a step away from becoming rulers themselves. They could be described as existences infinitesimally close to rulers.
Yet now, one of them was publicly declaring his loyalty.
How could they not be shocked?
If a heavenly king really wanted to swear loyalty towards a ruler, they only had to make the tiniest gesture to immediately become an honoured guest of the ruler. Was there any need to do this?
However, Bai Yurou and Xia Jianming seemed extremely calm as if they had grown accustomed to this a long time ago. After all, they had already witnessed this sight once before.
Strictly speaking, this was the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King’s second attempt at expressing his loyalty.
“Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King, I think you should just give up on that thought.” Jian Chen sighed gently. He stared at the bowing Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King below and smiled craftily. In the next moment, an ancestral imprint appeared in his hand. He said to the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King, “Do you want this ancestral imprint back?”
As soon as the ancestral imprint appeared, a mysterious presence permeated the surroundings, which drew over everyone’s attention.
For a moment, several dozen pairs of eyes from Infinite Primes all became fixed on the ancestral imprint. Their eyes were filled with undisguised envy.
It was exactly because the nine heavenly kings all possessed an ancestral imprint each that they could stand out from the rest.
“No, t-this is the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King’s ancestral imprint!” At this moment, a cry rang out from the crowd.
Everyone immediately sensed it closely. Sure enough, they discovered a wisp of presence that belonged to the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King from the ancestral imprint.
“So the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King’s ancestral imprint was taken by the ruler right from the beginning!” Everyone immediately understood what had happened. The way they looked at the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King immediately changed slightly too.
Without the ancestral imprint, the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King was no longer worthy of being a heavenly king. He was only a regular Ninth Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime. He did not possess as much prestige or influence as before.
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King’s expression changed slightly. Jian Chen had without a doubt announced to everyone that he had already lost the position of a heavenly king with that. What he worried about the most had still ended up occurring.
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King sighed inside, but he did not regret coming here. He accepted this and continued to bow. “I would never be bold enough to hope that the ruler can return my ancestral imprint. I only want to remain by the ruler’s side and offer up my puny strength. I hope the ruler can grant me this honour!”
“Hmm?” Jian Chen sat up straight and stared straight at the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King. He was surprised, feeling as if he no longer knew him anymore.
At this moment, an Infinite Prime stood forward from the crowd with his fist clasped. “You may not be aware, but the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King has made many enemies, not just including the other heavenly kings. He’s also offended many people in the Jade Centre Domain and Grand Heaven Domain. The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King even has enemies in the Scarlet Blood Domain.”
Jian Chen understood what was going on. “So the reason why you’ve declared your loyalty to me is actually because you’re in need of my protection. Without your ancestral imprint, you no longer have the ability to stave off your enemies. Am I right or not?”
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King felt pained inside. He pleaded with him. “Sir, you’ve only just become the lord of the Peace region. You need someone by your side who’s strong enough but can also handle all sorts of miscellaneous matters for you. I’m willing to share this burden of yours.”
Jian Chen sank into his thoughts with that. He considered it seriously. The nine imperial cities had already yielded, but they still required supervision. Otherwise, it would lead to all kinds of corruption and deceit, even secretly working against him.
He could not be bothered with something like that, so he could only leave it to the people around him.
However, Xia Jianming was the strongest out of all the people around him.
Xia Jianming was a Third Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime, but he was clearly a little out of his depth in front of a group of mid or late Infinite Primes. If anyone tried to play some tricks on him, Xia Jianming would struggle to resolve it all with his strength.
It would be different if he had the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King. As a Ninth Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime, he could deter everyone in the Peace region from trying something like that. He was perfect for this responsibility.
Thinking up to that point, Jian Chen made up his mind. He stared at the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King in interest. “Ceremonial Bell, I won’t be returning your ancestral imprint. Do you still want to remain by my side?”
The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King said politely with his head lowered, “I don’t want the ancestral imprint. I only want to serve you, sir.”
“Hahaha, how flexible. Ceremonial Bell, you sure have surprised me.” Jian Chen laughed.
“It’s my honour to surprise the ruler!” The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King behaved spinelessly, which stunned all of the Infinite Primes in the hall.
“Alright. Since you want to remain by my side so much, then you can stay. However, when I’m not around, you have to obey Xia Jianming and Bai Yurou. Do you have any objections?” Jian Chen asked.
With that, Xia Jianming and Bai Yurou were immediately surprised. They felt flattered.
Even all the Infinite Primes in the hall were surprised. The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King was a mighty Ninth Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime, a supreme expert only second to rulers in the past, yet now, he had to follow Xia Jianming and Bai Yurou’s instructions. That was simply humiliating.
However, the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King had no objections. He said politely, “As you wish!”
Jian Chen glanced deeply at the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King before issuing a few more orders. After a few instructions, he dismissed everyone.
Very soon, all the other Infinite Primes left. Only Jian Feng, Li Jiangshan, Ceremonial Bell, Bai Yurou, and Xia Jianming remained there.
“Ceremonial Bell, you will be responsible for patrolling the entire Peace region and supervising the imperial cities. You must ensure that all the imperial cities hand over their tax revenue and their various products.” Jian Chen immediately gave the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King a mission.
“Yes. I’ll go handle this immediately. I guarantee the ruler won’t be disappointed!” The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King seemed to become a completely different person. He had no objections at all.
“Ceremonial Bell has actually become so obedient all of a sudden. Even I find that rather difficult to adjust to,” said Jian Chen gently, shaking his head as he watched the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King vanish.
“Senior, Ceremonial Bell has far too many enemies. Without your protection, he definitely can’t survive for long without his ancestral imprint. I’m aware that there’s at least three of the eight heavenly kings that want him dead. Furthermore, there might be the Blood Slaughter Ruler too.”
“The Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King failed to complete the Blood Slaughter Ruler’s mission and lost his ancestral imprint, so he obviously won’t receive any good graces from the Blood Slaughter Ruler. As a result, if he returns to the Scarlet Blood Domain, it’s extremely likely for him to be killed by the Blood Slaughter Ruler personally. He doesn’t dare to go back. As for the Jade Centre Domain and Grand Heaven Domain, he’s even more afraid to go there.”
“As a result, if he wants to live, the Peace region has become his only choice.” The Sword Emperor cupped his fist and analysed the Ceremonial Bell Heavenly King’s current circumstances logically.