The Emperor of the Three Realms

chapter 64

Upon seeing that Jiang Chen was not committed, Princess Gouyu did not push him too much. He also knew that he could be persuaded by reason, but was not afraid of violence.    

He himself had suffered many losses before him before, in this case.    

“Jiang Chen, the amount of time you spent on completing the first rank mission is counted among the faster candidates, you only spent twenty days or so. Until now, only two candidates from the rank of a Soaring Dragon duke had completed their first mission, and that had only happened two days ago.”    

That is, Jiang Chen was the third person to give up his first mission among the group competing for first rank.    

“Heh heh, success in the beginning is not necessarily success in the future, who has the actual ability only successful at the end. It doesn't mean letting them be first. If nothing else, I'll leave now.”    

Jiang Chen did not care about the question of who came first. If he had not closed his training door at home for a few days and broken through eight meridians of true qi, stabilizing the foundation of the martial dao, he could have actually reported it three days ago. Ranking who comes in early or late actually has no significant impact on the bigger picture.    

In the end, the final ranking is determined by the pencak silat demonstration.    

Gouyu did not say much when he saw Jiang Chen's indifferent attitude. He knew very well that behind his seemingly unconcerned outer appearance, his heart had a greater generosity than the hearts of others.    

Staring at the figure that had already left, Princess Gouyu suddenly gained courage from somewhere unknown, “Jiang Chen, our previous approval is still valid!”    

Jiang Chen's body paused for a moment as he laughed involuntarily, thinking, “This girl is stubborn, okay! If Zhiruo, the little girl, knew that her stupid aunt had promised her to Jiang Chen without getting her approval, I wonder if the girl would be confused whether to laugh or cry?”    

The second mission is more complicated than the first, but it seems a little more interesting.    

First rank mission: Recruit eight personal bodyguards.    

Mission requirements: Each personal bodyguard must be at six meridians true qi or higher, with the potential to continue rising.    

Age requirements: There is no lower limit, but it should not exceed twenty years.    

Identity requirements: A member of the personal guard must be a practitioner from the Eastern Kingdom, without any other citizenship.    

Mission criteria: Inspections will be conducted after the mission is completed and personal bodyguards must pass the final martial arts exam.    

Jiang Chen considered this mission quite innovative.    

At least this was not a mission that could be completed through violence and reckless actions. Due to the peculiarities of this mission, the candidates were not forbidden from revealing their identities.    

That is, candidates are strictly prohibited from revealing their identity, mobilizing family and personal relationships in other missions.    

But this mission is quite unique because it is a mission open to the public. One has to reveal their identity and use their network and connections. Otherwise, with the dignity and motives of a practitioner, who would be willing to become a personal follower of someone unknown?    

“Chen'er, this mission is not simple. Of course, if you want to attack the position of the first rank duke, you should have a personal bodyguard like this.”    

Each duke needed to have a group of death warriors willing to lay down their lives for him.    

And this group of death warriors was basically equivalent to a layer of core strength next to the future duke. The power of the duke will continue to develop from this core.    

As for the age requirement of not more than twenty years, it was only equivalent to a course. Anyone who possessed six meridians of true qi that were over twenty years old would not have much potential.    

And regarding the identity requirements, it was easier to understand. Identity verification was nothing but to guarantee that spies from other countries would not penetrate the people who were on the ducal side.    

This mission was not as simple as just recruiting eight personal bodyguards.    

At the end of the mission, these eight personal bodyguards had to go through a strength check, and a special test at that. If they did not pass this exam, this mission would be considered a failure.    

'Chen'er, our Jiang family has managed the rank of a duke of Jiang Han for hundreds of years, we have quite high local prestige. I have a strong relationship with some local powers, and they have been very supportive and supportive of me. Although your mother died early, there were also some good young disciples on her mother's side. Take a trip back to Jiang Han territory and I can help you fill four or five places.”    

As Jiang Feng had said, his control over the Jiang Han territory was quite good. In the several hundred years that the Jiang family ruled over the Jiang Han territory, they had long since forged the local territory into a sturdy sheet of iron.    

Jiang Feng had great prestige in ordinary times – no matter which local power was involved in the conflict, they would definitely ask Duke Jiang Han to make a decision.    

Jiang Feng behaved honestly and respectfully as well as impartially. His judgment often demands not only obedience, but submission with good graces.    

Therefore, even though Jiang Feng was greatly oppressed by the Soaring Dragon Duke in the capital, he was a well-loved leading figure in the Jiang Han territory with high prestige.    

If the next Duke of Jiang Han recruited his personal bodyguards, there would definitely be countless volunteers answering the call. After all, being under the banner of Duke Jiang Han meant forming a relationship with absolute power, and was equivalent to taking a step into the core strength layer in the Eastern Kingdom. This is a matter completely separate from absolute local power.    

The overwhelming power and influence of a duke of a nation was not something that a local power could imagine.    

The time allotted to complete each mission was one month.    

Jiang Chen had saved ten days from his first mission. That meant he had forty days during this second mission. It seems time is enough, but it may not be.    

“It looks like you and I need to travel back to the southern border.” Jiang Feng had also left the Jiang Han territory for quite some time, and he felt somewhat homesick.    

Jiang Feng was startled for a moment, then thought of something soon after. She smiled, “Chen’er, you want to go back alone?”    

“I'll be back alone.” Jiang Chen nodded firmly.    

“Alright, I have always respected your wishes as your father. Then, you should go back on your own, and take advantage of this opportunity to test your control of the bigger picture.” Jiang Feng chuckled.    

The true Duke of Jiang Han was very different from a young duke.    

The Duke of Jiang Han was very famous in his territory, but that did not mean that the young duke would receive the same treatment. Especially since Jiang Chen was previously a useless dandy. His reputation that lacked knowledge or famous arts, was not only in the capital, but was also quite famous in the Jiang Han territory.    

Therefore, for Jiang Chen, there would be a certain level of difficulty for him to achieve a certain deed and successfully recruit eight personal bodyguards in the Jiang Han territory without his father representing him.    

“Chen'er, I have decided to hold a private banquet tonight and invite some dukes who have friendly relations with us, in the hope that they will advertise a little for us and provide a wide net when recruiting talent.”    

It would actually be extremely difficult to suddenly find eight promising youths with six meridians of true qi in just the Jiang Han territory.    

It was not difficult to only find eight youths with martial dao potential.    

But to recruit a personal following, strength and potential are not the only questions asked. We must also consider temperament, willpower, and competence, amid a number of other questions.    

Taking all these factors into consideration makes the search even more difficult. Asking some dukes who were more friendly with them to spread the word in their territory would actually be an ideal channel.    

Jiang Chen did not mind. After all, the more places, the better now. As for what type of person they recruited and whether they were reliable or not, it was still up to him.    

That night, the Duke of Jiang Han held a banquet and invited seven or eight dukes whose friendship was quite close and close.    

It was common for the dukes to visit each other often and have a harmonious disposition.    

Even when they knew that the relationship between the Soaring Dragon Duke and the Jiang Han Duke was not good, it still did not affect the relationship between the duke and Jiang Feng.    

After all, there were many conflicts among the dukes. It was not that the Duke of Soaring Dragon would be able to cover the sky with one hand.    

Not to mention the situation the Jiang family lost in the fog and clouds, and many did not understand it. The always in vain Jiang Chen suddenly shot up into the sky with one incredible feat, and continued to perform many amazing actions.    

Even many suspected that Jiang's father and son had long harbored ambitions, and hid their strength from attracting attention. They were actually eyeing the positions of the four grand dukes!    

The selection of a first rank mission by Jiang Chen this time had corroborated the speculation of many parties.    

Therefore, when Duke Jiang Han summoned them, even those who previously had no relationship would not openly deny Jiang Feng face, he said, not to mention those who had a pre-existing relationship with him.    

When the banquet was over, news of Jiang Chen's recruitment as his personal bodyguard also started to spread.    

It had to be said, the speed of news dissemination in the capital was much faster than Jiang Chen could have imagined.    

The resulting tiered reaction also came at a rapid pace.    

The important figures started calling Jiang Chen the next morning.    

The first to arrive was Qiao Baishi.    

“Dear Lord, your disciple has two nephews in his family clan. They are twin brothers and always train in the family, with a little guidance from me. With the help of my spirit medicine, they have also trained six meridians of true qi at the age of seventeen this year. It would be a waste of their peak life if they stayed where they were. Baishi had heard that the venerable master was recruiting his personal bodyguards, therefore.”    

Jiang Chen understood, Qiao Baishi recommended the candidate to him.    

"Twin brother? It's actually pretty good. Rarely do you have such thoughts, Baishi. I'll leave two places for your two nephews. Write a letter to them and have them meet with me in the Jiang Han territory.    

Qiao Baishi was overjoyed to hear these words. Even though he called them nieces and nephews of the family clan, Qiao Baishi actually had an ambiguous relationship with their mother. He had done a ridiculous act when he was young.    

Qiao Baishi's relationship with his two nephews was like that of an uncle and nephew, but in reality Qiao Baishi viewed them as his son.    

He had a desire to help his two nephews advance in life, but unfortunately these two people were not at all interested in the spirit medicine business. They just wanted to train well and flocked towards the royal banner or nobility in the future, excelling above the rest.    

Jiang Chen's mind became calm when it came to the people Qiao Baishi recommended. At least there won't be any problem in terms of loyalty.    

After Qiao Baishi left, Princess Gouyu came again. Even he had come to recommend someone to Jiang Chen.    

“Jiang Chen, I came to recommend someone with my personal guarantee. He is the eldest grandson of my first dao martial master. His family is in a bad financial situation now, but he is an honest, sincere, and tolerant individual    

Princess Gouyu was also straight to the point.