Chapter Ten: Please Call Me Your Highness (Part Two)

"A slave? This..." The old man was somewhat astonished, his gaze flickering with uncertainty. After all, he was now a grandmaster himself. Just moments ago, he had already humbled himself by addressing the other as a disciple—a concession few in his position would willingly make. Every grandmaster, regardless of their seniority or newfound status, possessed a certain pride. Even if the other party was a Golden Radiance Grandmaster or even a Primordial Force Grandmaster, the differences were mere matters of strength, not of dignity. To call a grandmaster a slave—such a thing was rare even among the most exalted families.

Jiang An saw through the old man's thoughts at a glance. Sigh, ungrateful for his own fortune. In the Immortal Realm, when I spoke of taking slaves, countless land immortals would scramble to sell themselves for the chance, yet here, I am met with reluctance.

"If you can withstand a single punch from me, our debts are settled. If not, you will obediently serve as my slave. What do you say?" Jiang An spoke calmly.

"Very well! If I cannot withstand your punch, I, Dao Mo, will serve as your slave. If I do, by some stroke of luck, I will gift you half my fortune!" The surging power within his body gave Dao Mo great confidence, but he was not an ungrateful wretch. Thus, he replied in kind.

"Let’s settle it with the punch, then." Jiang An slowly raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and beneath his garments, flawless muscles could be vaguely seen, twitching slightly. Instantly, a fierce and overwhelming aura erupted from him, sweeping across the chamber.

Dao Mo’s expression changed as he swiftly tested his new strength with shifting steps. Indeed, his speed and power were leagues above what they had been before, and his body had undergone a tremendous breakthrough in resilience—surely he could withstand a single punch from the other.

"Come!" Dao Mo took his stance, martial technique operating at its peak within him. His clothing swelled, stiff as a bell, and his right fist bulged with veins as he gathered his strength, intent on meeting fist with fist.

Suddenly, Jiang An’s eyes flickered. Without a word, his right fist shot out like a dragon leaving its cave, smashing into the air. The void howled, a piercing sound split the silence, and an utterly savage gust of force shot straight at Dao Mo. His face changed dramatically, for before the force even struck, the oppressive aura crushed the air from his lungs and rendered him immobile. It was as if a speeding train had hit him—he was sent flying in an instant, crashing hard against the wall behind, shaking the entire chamber and raising a cloud of dust.

Utterly overwhelming!

A sweet taste rose at Dao Mo’s throat; he could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood, feeling somewhat relieved, though his body had suffered considerable internal injuries. And this was with the other's power withdrawn at the last moment—had he not held back, Dao Mo might have been torn limb from limb by a single blow!

Such power, beyond imagining!

Hmm, not bad at all... Jiang An was rather satisfied—not with himself, but with the old man's bodily strength. Even though his own power had been vastly diminished, his battle instincts and technique remained formidable. Even with restraint, Dao Mo had suffered only light injuries. Clearly, the martial path on Earth had its own profound mysteries, and in terms of speed, strength, and physical durability, the gap with his own body was not insurmountable.

By comparison, martial grandmasters should correspond to the entry level of the Law-Body realm, while he himself was now at the minor attainment of the same.

"Since I am defeated, I will fulfill my promise," Dao Mo said, clutching his chest as he walked over and knelt on one knee before Jiang An. "This old slave, Dao Mo, greets his master!"

"Serving beneath me is not necessarily a misfortune. In fact, you may go further than you ever imagined," Jiang An replied coolly.

"This old slave always honors his word. Since I have acknowledged you as master, I will serve with unswerving loyalty. I only hope that you might occasionally impart a few secret techniques to me, lest I bring shame to your name," Dao Mo said, growing to accept the idea of serving this mysterious man. "By the way, Master, might I know your esteemed name?"

"Jiang An—‘Jiang’ as in Ziya, ‘An’ as in the farther shore."

"Very well. Since I am your slave, all that I possess is yours. I command a force of six thousand under the Divine Blade Sect, with assets including hotels, restaurants, bars, supermarkets, and more. As soon as we leave—" Dao Mo, forthright as ever, stood up and reported his holdings respectfully, appearing utterly loyal.

"Do you take me for someone who cares for worldly wealth?" Jiang An suddenly asked coldly.

Dao Mo was startled, afraid he had angered Jiang An, and was about to explain, but Jiang An raised a hand to stop him. "You will remain the master of the Divine Blade Sect. I will only summon you when I have need of you."

"As you command, Master," Dao Mo nodded, then beckoned to the chicken-eating youth and the now-awake scarred man. "You two, come pay your respects to the master. Master, these are two of my most trusted lieutenants: the one skilled with guns is Cheng Yang, the swordsman is Gao Chao, and the one who manages business is Fan Jun—"

"Enough. Only you are acceptable as a slave; as for the others, let it be. But since you command so many, from now on, all of you will address me as ‘Your Highness’. My existence is to remain known only to you few," Jiang An said.

Cheng Yang and Gao Chao, initially anxious at the prospect of calling someone master, felt relieved. Yet, hearing they were to address him as ‘Your Highness’, they felt a strange sense of anachronism—was this some ancient kingdom, or was he a prince?

But one glare from Dao Mo and the two had no choice but to bow in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Jiang An nodded in acknowledgement. This was no matter of personal amusement; in the Immortal Realm, he was indeed one of the Nine Princes, addressed by trillions as "Your Highness"! Ah, if only Old Ming Xuan had emerged from seclusion—if he knew I had reached the Creation Stage, he would surely be clamoring to abdicate the throne...

"Back to business. Tell me, how did this object come to be, and why has it circulated?" Jiang An produced the pendant he had acquired from the Daoist Hall and asked.

"Your Highness, this is a companion stone of the Divine Stone, also called jade within stone. We deliberately sold it to those Koreans," Dao Mo explained, looking surprised but answering honestly. "Currently, Korea’s top grandmaster, Park Yi-Seong—under the alias Gu Yi-Seong—spent eight years in China learning from countless sects, acquiring many secret techniques through his extraordinary talent. With these, he forged his own martial path. The incident caused quite a stir at the time, though it eventually faded from public view. But the Chinese martial world has not forgotten; they made sure the Korean martial halls paid dearly. The ‘jade within stone’ we sold them at a high price was treated with ‘inorganic water’ beforehand. Its effects appear normal, but the longer it’s worn, the more the wearer’s meridians will atrophy, severing their path to martial advancement."

Dao Mo’s words were full of hidden secrets and intrigue, but Jiang An was uninterested in the details. "And the Divine Stone itself?"

"Your Highness, the Divine Stone is right here." Dao Mo walked to a corner and opened a hidden compartment as tall as a man. Inside were heaps of gold, diamonds, deeds, cash, and—at the very bottom—three small, dull stones that looked most unremarkable.

"Can more of these stones be found?" Jiang An reached out, and with a sweep of his hand, the three stones shot into his palm.

"They’re very hard to find now. There are none on the open market. Decades ago, China discovered a small Divine Stone mine—about a thousand stones were unearthed. After all these years, very few remain. The top powers must still have some. These three, I acquired by chance a few years ago. At first, they slightly aided cultivation, but now that I’m a grandmaster, their effects are negligible—at most, some sorcerers use them to enhance array formations."

Jiang An had discerned the truth: the cultivation heritage on Earth had fallen into decline. The once-glorious spirit stones were now mistaken for mere Divine Stones, regarded as minor aids only because no one had the cultivation methods to draw out their spiritual energy. Yet, with the decline of immortal cultivation, the martial path had diversified into countless schools.

This, perhaps, was good news.

"Now, you are to focus on two things for me. First, keep collecting Divine Stones, whatever the cost. Second, gather every herb on this list. They are not only of great use to me, but also to you." Jiang An handed Dao Mo a small slip of paper.

"Centenarian Ganoderma, Centenarian Netherroot, Centenarian..." Dao Mo saw nine herbs listed, all requiring over a hundred years of age.

"To be frank, these are for preparing ‘Pure Essence Night’. And what is its use? It fortifies the foundation and essence, rapidly healing your injuries, Dao Mo, and even boosting cultivation. For you two, with regular use, you should be able to open all your major acupoints within three to five years, making a breakthrough to grandmaster possible."

Jiang An’s words filled Cheng Yang and Gao Chao with delight. They too could become grandmasters?! Motivation surged within them, filling them with fresh determination.

"I’ve heard that Lin City is home to seven great families and three major gangs. Well, my first step is to unify Lin City," Jiang An said softly.

(To be continued)