Bolstered by the Nephrite mandateâs heavenly energies, Zhao Shenguang resonated with the entire major. The other celestial emperors collectively paled, and the monster emperors were sent tumbling to the ground by the shock.
After disappearing for so long, no one had expected the prince to return with so much newfound strength, alongside the harbingers of trouble, Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi. Right now, he was displaying power far greater than Zhao Changkong had ever shown!
During the incident in Azure Province, Zhao Changkong had called upon the Path of Ingress rather than Nephrite Majorâs heavenly mandate. By that point, heâd reached peak arcane dao realm. Though heâd poured everything he had into the treasure, he still had a decent shot at surviving in some form of lifeâheâd only perished thanks to the misfortune of landing in the celestial master tomb.
On the other hand, if heâd used the heavenly mandate against Goldenlight and Kui, he wouldâve been crushed by its backlashâsoul, true spirit, and all.
That was a far steeper price than using the Path of Ingress. Though Zhao Changkong had willingly chosen death, he had done so with fear in his heart. Without the heavenly mandateâs recognition, he couldnât comprehend the heart of the world.
In comparison, Zhao Shenguang had done all of that and more. After summoning the Path of Ingress to connect Nephrite Major and the central world, heâd also resonated with Nephriteâs heavenly mandate as a mere peerless immortal.
Such a feat wouldâve been unimaginable for his brother.
âŠâŠ
âThat Zhao Shenguang came out of the Ancient Tree of Life with Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi, didnât he? Maybe those devils had a miraculous encounter of some sort inside?â The celestial emperors of Primus, Enlightened, Truespirit, Thundergale, and Lazuli Majors were uniformly concerned.
That Zhao Shenguang could resonate with his territory placed him far ahead of them, making them feel just as self-conscious as the monster and dragon emperors of the ten lands and three immortal seas.
Zhao Shenguang was Chen Xiao and Qing Buyiâs sidekick, and had indubitably been influenced by those two daredevils. If he crushed them with the power of Nephrite Major in a fit of impulse, they would have all died for nothing.
The new celestial emperor looked more murderous by the minute.
âYouâre mistaken, Your Majesty.â The long-absent Qi Hai finally reappeared. âDestiny City is a sacred city for all cultivators and an uncountable number of them have congregated here. Even if we want to kill that fur seal, we must do so somewhere else.
âThe fur seal is an underling of the demon lord. If a fight breaks out, the whole of Life Province will be caught up in it, much less than a singular Destiny City. It is our responsibility to make sure he doesnât try anything drastic, we can figure out where to go from there.â
Qi Hai had a pale, handsome face and a lean figure. As soon as he appeared, Destiny City pulsed with a miraculous force that pushed back against Nephriteâs heavenly mandate. The looming pressure of the Four Legions was rebuffed as well.
Destiny City had been one of the three hundred and sixty-five main cities during the era of human dao. As one of the wellsprings of humanityâs power, it naturally possessed certain extraordinary qualities that couldnât be denied. Moreover, Qi Hai was the foremost city lord among all three hundred and sixty-five cities, with sufficient authority to command the rest. It was trivial for him to make use of the power within Destiny City.
âYouâŠâ Zhao Shenguangâs face colored slightly. âIf thatâs the case, this emperor shall not pursue the matter further.â
Qi Haiâs mouth twitched at the pompous self-reference. Before Emperors Fall, it had been used by celestial emperors of all races. Nowadays, rulers preferred the royal âWeâ, much like monarchs back on Earth. The difference, and the reappearance of âemperorsâ and âkingsâ, had been brought about after the severing of the path of cultivation. It seemed to have something to do with humanityâs ancestral planet.
As such, Zhao Shenguangâs continued usage of the term made Qi Haiâs teeth hurt. Not that he could do much about it, alas. If Destiny City were at its peak, he would have thrashed the young man and halted his antics a long time ago.
âHowever, the fur seals are subordinate to the demon god. They plot to overturn the world of immortals with every breath. Therefore, this emperor believes there is a great need for us to come together to defeat them.â
âŠâŠ
Inside the teahouse, Lu Yun and Qing Yu stared flabbergasted at the Nephrite once-prince.
âIs he really Zhao Shenguang?â Qing Yu blinked. She knew the youthâor thought she did, anyway. The prince was a dandy whoâd gotten both of his legs broken by Chen Xiao when fighting over a woman, then ended up hung up over the Nephrite palace doorsâŠ
How had he become so assertive?
Moreover, his ability to use the Path of Ingress and Nephriteâs mandate simultaneously was also a mystery.
âGe Long once said that the Key of Life wasnât a part of the original Ancient Tree of Life. Born of the Wood Altar, it eventually became a part of the treeâs source.â Lu Yun furrowed his brow. âBefore Emperors Fall, the ancient tree was the personal treasure of a certain emperor. If Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi specifically brought Zhao Shenguang along to pluck the treeâs fruitâŠâ
âAre you sayingâŠâ Qing Yuâs eyes widened in shock. âZhao Shenguang received that emperorâs heritage from the tree?â
âItâs just a sudden theory of mine.â Lu Yun shook his head. âAfter the battle of Emperors Fall, every trace of the great emperors was wiped away from history⊠Iâve never heard of anyone obtaining their heritage after that. In fact, the very title of âemperorâ became an ill omen.â
He turned back toward Dusk Province. He couldnât quite put his finger on it, but the demon spirit thatâd corrupted the Ancient Tree of Life still seemed odd to him. However, Ge Long had already eaten the crystal core that once contained it, so there was nothing that could be further explored there.
Nevertheless, Zhao Shenguangâs transformation was clearly due to some kind of inherited strength from the Ancient Tree of Life. If Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi hadnât placed any restrictions on himâindeed, they apparently condoned his ascension to Nephriteâs imperial throneâthey evidently thought he was qualified to rule.
âOh, didnât Holy Lord Ashu say that the Ancient Tree of Life was some sort of great emperorâs⊠covenant?â Qing Yu wasnât too sure about this.
During her baptism by the energies of the ancient tree, she had felt the full extent of its tremendous vigor. There was enough life contained there to construct an entire world. Lu Yun shook his head again; he had no way to know whether the holy lord had spoken true.
âŠâŠ
âWow, what a beauty!!â A loud shriek echoed beside Lu Yun and Qing Yuâs ears. The triumphant Zhao Shenguang had landed at some point when they werenât looking. His eyes were practically glued to Qing Yuâs face. âHello, miss. This emperor is Zhao Shenguang, the celestial emperor of Nephrite Major. Do you have a dao partner? If We may, We would like to suggestâŠâ
âAre you not worried about Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi breaking your third leg?â Qing Yu snickered, then hurriedly flung out a restraining arm in front of Lu Yun.
âHuh?â Zhao Shenguang shivered violently at the mention of the Twin Devils.
Boomâ
Boomâ
Heaven and earth trembled alongside him. Two instances of ascension phenomena appeared consecutively, rippling through the whole world! In the next instant, they vanished as quickly as theyâd appeared.
âThose Twin Devils became void-ascended immortals so fastâŠâ The gathered celestial emperors gulped apprehensively in wariness and envy. They absolutely didnât have the courage to discard their cultivation and ascend anew through the void realm.
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