A threat?
If anyone else were listening, they’d assume she’d gone mad to say such a thing.
This was the god race’s Heavenly God City, while Zhou Wu was their God Emperor. She wanted to make Heavenly God City his burial ground? How ridiculous was that?
And yet, since those words had come out of Su Qingyan’s mouth, no one doubted that she meant them.
She radiated dense killing intent, and her gaze was decisive.
This was no mere threat.
She’d nursed her grudge against God Emperor Zhou Wu for a thousand years, dreaming of how satisfying it would be to kill him day and night.
But now…
Although she was here to find Ye Zichen, now that she’d seen Zhou Wu, she couldn’t suppress her hatred.
Why not just get it over with, and resolve all her hatred in one fell swoop?
Everyone who knew of her grudge let out long, inward sighs. Zhou Wu had usurped the Five Elements Great Emperor’s celestial fate and taken the throne, making him the subject of all clan’s reverence. The person who ought to rightfully occupy that throne, meanwhile, had died a bitter, stifled death.
Su Qingyan was the Five Element Great Emperor’s wife. Now that she was face to face with the man who killed her husband, how could she possibly remain calm?
No one said anything to persuade her to calm down. Not even they could self-righteously lecture her about putting the big picture first. Or perhaps, it was because they knew that from the moment they entered the city, they stood opposed to Zhou Wu.
For the sake of the god race’s future, they might resist breaking into violence at the drop of a hat.
But ultimately, the rifts between them were unfixable.
They were destined to be enemies. If Zhou Wu was determined to hold them back, they didn’t mind bumping their inevitable conflict up a little.
“Qingyan, it’s been over ten thousand years. I’m surprised you still hate me so much.” Zhou Wu shook his head.
“Three!”
“Five Elements wasn’t fated to become emperor. That was just his destiny. If he’d entered the Time Corridor first, then my throne naturally would have been his. You can’t blame me….”
“Two!”
As Su Qingyan counted backwards, her aura intensified. It was as if the entire city had been enveloped in a dark cloud. Within their homes, the countless cultivators of Heavenly God City trembled.
“Hah….” When he saw that Su Qingyan was in no mood to talk things over with him, Zhou Wu shook his head and laughed. His imperial robes fluttered in the wind, and his gaze flitted to the others.
At the same time, the Divine Arbiter approached and whispered something in his ear.
The others couldn’t tell what they were talking about or how they were communicating. All they knew was that Zhou Wu’s gaze grew even brighter with obvious delight. He leisurely backed away, clearing a path for them.
Although she was on the brink of explosion, Su Qingyan suppressed her rage, glared at Zhou Wu, and brushed past him.
“Everyone, please wait a moment.” After they’d taken just a few steps, God Emperor Zhou Wu inexplicably called out to them.
Su Qingyan’s repressed aura instantly exploded out, and without so much as turning her head to look at him, she sprouted nine snowy-white tales. A biting, stinging blizzard appeared out of nowhere, and in the blink of an eye, all the buildings in the city were covered in a dense layer of snow.
As soon as the blizzard came into existence, the Divine Arbiter stepped forward.
There was a strange fluctuation around her and Zhou Wu. The space they occupied was severed from the rest of the city, and not even the slightest wind or smallest snowflake could approach them.
Xuan Ji, Xue Yang, the Zhao sisters, and Bi’an all knit their brows.
“Don’t lose your temper. I’m not trying to bar your way. There’s just something I’m wondering about, and I’m hoping you can confirm it for me. In exchange, I can share useful information with you too.” Zhou Wu smiled amiably.
The others said nothing, so he continued, “Who exactly is that youth, Ye Zichen, for you to go to such great lengths…”
“What does that have to do with you?” Su Qingyan turned back around, her eyes glinting like sapphires.
The blizzard howled, and several buildings were already completely buried in snow. The cultivators of the Profound Pavilion had taken to the skies, huddling in groups to form barriers and block the cold. That was the only way to ensure their safety.
The floating Profound Pavilion cultivators released their divine power, looking like stars against the night sky.
The light of their barriers illuminated the city below. Zhou Wu watched his all play out and sensed Su Qingyan’s killing intent. He silently smiled, then gestured for them to go on.
His meaning was clear: he would let them go without insisting on clarification.
“Let’s go.”
Xuan Ji and the others turned around. Su Qingyan, who’d already sprouted her tails, glared at Zhou Wu and gnashed her teeth. She seemed reluctant to move.
Zhao Qianhe and Zhao Qianling walked up to her, then forcefully tugged her away with them.
The others sent her divine sense transmissions urging her to leave with them.
“Five Elements, your grudge…. I’ll avenge it for you some other time.”
Still gnashing their teeth, Xuan Ji and the others turned away and disappeared from the God Emperor’s Estate.
….
After taking their leave, they continued towards the closest Bai Family Branch. Zhou Wu’s sudden appearance was nothing more than an interlude, and it hadn’t delayed them for long.
“I’m afraid that the Divine Arbiter has already condensed the Grand Dao of Space’s Dao Heart,” Xue Yang transmitted to the others as he recalled that step she’d taken.
The others nodded slightly. They’d been frowning earlier because they, too, could sense how extraordinary that step was. It was indeed possible that she’d condensed the dao heart.
“If she’s condensed a dao heart, she’s at the imperial lord-level, and the Dao of Space is one of the Grand Daos; we can’t afford to underestimate her.”
“Emperor-level” was recognition of someone’s strength, but the term actually encompassed several different levels.
Imperial King, Imperial Lord, and Imperial Sovereign. These were the three divisions of the so-called “emperor” level.
Imperial Sovereigns were at the top, while Imperial King’s were at the bottom.
Of them, imperial kings were all titled, granted the title of emperor. All of them were top-class ruler experts, on the level of Yao Kings and Demon Gods.
Imperial lords were one level above them. To qualify, one top of imperial-king-level strength, you needed to condense a dao heart.
Xuan Ji, Xue Yang, Xiao Ting and others like them were all Imperial Lords. Although Bi’an’s talent was shockingly monstrous and he possessed transcendent power along with a godhead, he was still only an Imperial Lord as well. He was, however, endlessly close to the true imperial sovereign level.
Imperial sovereigns!
This was the highest title one could achieve. You won it upon condensing multiple dao hearts and nearing the absolute pinnacle of the ruler realm. The Upper Three Realm’s God, Yao, and Demon Emperors were all at this level.
“She’ll be a powerful enemy in the future,” said Bi’an.
They all acknowledged her power, except for Xuan Ji. She was the one leading them, and as they forged ahead, her expression grew darker and darker.
She’d heard from her subordinates just how large an army Ye Zichen had led into battle.
They were already close to the Bai Family’s branch, but even now, they saw no traces of battle. After running into God Emperor Zhou Wu, she no longer held back, spreading her divine sense without reservation or fear he’d discover her….
Logically speaking, it should have been easy for her to discover Ye Zichen and his massive army.
But she couldn’t find him at all!
She’d ordered her subordinates not to get too close to the Bai Family branch, otherwise she could get information from them.
Despite her reservations, they were already here, so she decided to take a look at the Bai Family estate.
It was then that she realized….
“They’re not here!”
When Xuan Ji and the others reached the local Bai Family branch, they saw absolutely no trace of the grand army Hu Bazi had described. The sky was empty, without so much as a single person.
On the surface, the Bai Family branch looked occupied. Even the lamps were still lit. However, when Xuan Ji searched the interior with her divine sense, she discovered it was completely empty!
