Chapter 103: The Weakest in History

There were real battle records.

Let’s not even talk about her strength before becoming a Great Emperor—just her achievements after stepping into the emperor realm were enough to shake the world.

She had fought three battles against the Violet Phoenix Great Emperor.

In the first battle, the Violet Phoenix narrowly won, as Shangguan Huanling had just broken through to the Great Emperor realm, her foundation still unstable.

In the second battle, Shangguan Huanling eked out a narrow victory—the Violet Phoenix’s Violet Extreme Phoenix Fire could no longer affect her.

In the third, Shangguan Huanling achieved a complete and overwhelming win!

She had also fought the Firmament Great Emperor.

Only one battle—but the Firmament Great Emperor admitted defeat on the spot, unwilling to continue. He even invited Shangguan Huanling to tea.

And Lu Ye {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at that time? Well...

When Shangguan Huanling lost to the Violet Phoenix, Lu Ye had only recently ascended to the Heavenly Venerable realm.

When she narrowly won, Lu Ye personally slew a Fallen Dao Heavenly Venerable.

When she won decisively, Lu Ye was subjugating the Desolate Forbidden Grounds, wiping them clean and shaking the Nine Heavens.

So yes—Shangguan Huanling was truly powerful.

She was not some decorative “vase” emperor.

At this very moment, Shangguan Huanling had reached the absolute peak of the Nascent Void Stage.

Breakthrough!

Breakthrough!

In her past life, she had chosen the wrong Dao. Out of ten thousand possible paths, she had chosen—Emotion.

And that path... was never suited to her.

Perhaps she had truly loved Lu Ye. But in this world, what love is eternal?

So her Dao broke.

In this life—no matter what Dao she chose, it would never be the Dao of Emotion again.

She would become invincible.

She would walk the Path of Invincibility!

At this moment, Shangguan Huanling’s will was unwavering. She had seen many cultivators on the invincible path. Though her own Dao collapsed when she encountered Lu Ye, that had only been because they weren’t strong enough.

Those truly walking the path of invincibility, in her eyes, possessed a might that could swallow the cosmos—peerless and unparalleled.

Not even Lu Ye had ever shown such dominance.

Invincible Dao—come to me!

A faint thread of Dao intent began to manifest on Shangguan Huanling’s body.

Shangguan Hongtian and Master Danqing both jolted.

It had begun!

Dao intent flowed forth—soft and slow.

It began to gather toward Shangguan Huanling’s nascent soul.

The two of them: “???”

Invincible Dao, yes, they could recognize that.

But why was this Dao intent... so weak?

Yes—weak, incredibly weak.

Both men were well-versed in cultivation. They had seen many Path Integration cultivators before.

Even the weakest among them produced Dao ripples stronger than this—by far.

This... What was this supposed to be?

Even Shangguan Huanling was stunned.

What was going on?

She had formed the Invincible Dao—why were the Dao fluctuations so faint?

She had battle records to prove herself! She had defeated two Great Emperors! Even those eight empresses had been no match for her.

Granted, after reaching the Ascension Realm, she’d barely fought anyone—because she didn’t need to.

But having defeated so many Great Emperors—was that still not enough to claim the title invincible?

Shangguan Huanling started to panic.

What she didn’t know was—invincibility wasn’t just a baseless notion.

Yes—her Invincible Dao was only a notion. Not even a true conviction.

Since ancient times, every cultivator who dared tread the Invincible Path had fought tens of thousands of battles—until the entire world acknowledged their might.

That was the true Path of Invincibility.

It had to be forged in combat. It couldn’t be imagined into existence.

Even if Shangguan Huanling had chosen the Devouring Dao in this life, that would’ve been fine. But no one—absolutely no one—expected her to dare take the Invincible Path.

If Lu Ye saw her now, he might very well cover his eyes on the spot.

No!

No good!

The Invincible Dao was too weak. She had to choose another!

She—

And at that very instant, the Dao completely merged with her nascent soul—and in the final second before integration, the Invincible Dao nearly shattered completely.

Path Integration—complete!

Shangguan Huanling’s body trembled slightly.

It had fused. She had actually fused with a Dao this... weak?

This Dao...

Shangguan Huanling didn’t even know how to describe what she was feeling right now.

Shangguan Hongtian and Master Danqing’s expressions simultaneously changed drastically.

“Ling’er, what’s going on with the Dao you chose for integration?” Shangguan Hongtian couldn’t even be bothered about interrupting her cultivation at this point.

Because the Dao... was far too weak.

The strength of the integrated Dao directly determined a cultivator’s future ceiling.

With a weak Dao, no matter how hard you cultivated—even if you pushed yourself to the brink of death—you’d never match someone who walked a superior path.

Shangguan Huanling’s chosen Dao was the Invincible Path. This Dao was among the most supreme, and one of the easiest to step onto.

Easy to begin, high ceiling—but the mortality rate was enormous.

And yet, this Invincible Path that should’ve been so dominant—Shangguan Huanling had barely managed to integrate it...

Shangguan Huanling herself realized she had rushed the integration. A pang of unease hit her chest—it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this!

But... still!

“Father Emperor, Senior Danqing, don’t be impatient. I merely gave it a try. My cultivation method doesn’t actually require a Dao at all. I only chose to integrate a Dao to break past the original limits of the technique. Just watch me keep ascending.”

Although a flicker of panic stirred in her heart, Shangguan Huanling’s mind was quick to shift.

She still didn’t understand why the Invincible Dao she’d chosen had manifested so weakly. In her past life, she’d become a Great Emperor without even integrating a Dao. Now that she had integrated one—even a poor one—so long as she pressed on, she could grow.

She resumed cultivating.

And sure enough, as she continued devouring spirit treasures, her aura began rising once more—without limit.

At this point, although doubt still lingered in Shangguan Hongtian and Master Danqing’s hearts, it was bearable.

So long as she kept advancing—!

One spirit treasure after another was rapidly consumed.

Second Layer of Path Integration!

Third Layer!

Fourth Layer!

Too fast!

Shangguan Hongtian and Master Danqing straightened with renewed vigor. Some of their unease began to dissipate.

But the treasures were vanishing even faster.

The higher her cultivation climbed, the more true essence she had to refine, which meant she needed more and more spirit treasures to fuel it.

From over a hundred spirit treasures, only twenty remained.

Seventh Layer of Path Integration!

Now just thirteen left.

“This won’t do. These spirit treasures aren’t enough—I need more!” Shangguan Huanling declared.

“Daoist friend,” Shangguan Hongtian turned to Master Danqing.

Master Danqing hesitated, his expression conflicted.

BOOM!

Another deafening explosion resounded.

Cracks had begun to appear in the protective formation around the capital.

“Daoist friend, the situation is dire!”

“Annihilation of our sects and nation is right at the doorstep!”

Master Danqing gritted his teeth and brought out eleven more spirit treasures—this batch clearly superior to the previous ones in both quality and rarity.

Eighth Layer of Path Integration!

Only five treasures left.

“Still not enough!”

Shangguan Hongtian bit down hard and brought out the Supreme Empire’s final reserve of spirit treasures—artifacts used exclusively by the nation’s strongest cultivators.

He looked toward Master Danqing again.

At this moment, both men had fully become gamblers.

They had already wagered everything on Shangguan Huanling—and this was a bet that couldn’t be taken back.

If they didn’t follow through now, all their previous efforts would go to waste.

And worse—they would lose their nation and their sect.

There was no choice but to press on.

Master Danqing let out a long, bitter sigh.

Truthfully, by now, he was already regretting it.

Was this woman really the reincarnation of a Great Emperor?

She... really didn’t seem like it.

But there was no turning back. Resigned, he vanished from the hall—off to collect every remaining spirit treasure from the other cultivators of the Mountain River Pagoda Sect.