All the supreme beings gathered, contending for supremacy among mortals — it was as if the legendary era had returned once more, leaving people both awed and fearful.
“BOOM!”
Emperor Tian roared long and loud, his hair flying wildly. Though his left shoulder had been pierced through, he now seemed even more valiant, fighting fiercely, having fixed his target on the Azure Emperor.
Because it was precisely the Azure Emperor’s strike that had nearly killed him outright, leaving him drenched in blood, half his body stained red with his own blood.
However, he cultivated a heavenly technique, chanting scripture from his mouth, healing his wounded body, growing ever more valiant, shouting: “Reincarnated through the Three Realms, life after life, my name shall be carved!”
Boom!
A fierce, great collision erupted between Emperor Tian and the bygone Great Emperor’s phantom form, dazzling and magnificent, striking terror into every heart — the sea of lightning boundless, the Tribulation without limit.
Combined with the chaos exploding outward, and the young supreme beings’ battle raging on, this place grew ever more devastated, the state of the starry sky utterly dire and terrifying.
People were horrified — Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God truly were extraordinary and powerful, actually able to battle against the phantom traces of the ancient Great Emperors’ Dao — truly worthy of the title of young supreme beings.
Emperor Tian roared, wielding his Three Realms Palm, his fingers transforming heaven and earth, encompassing everything within, pressing down toward the Azure Emperor, boundlessly terrifying.
Since his emergence until now, no one had ever wounded him this severely — since walking the ancient starry road, he had been unstoppable, hailed as supreme among mortals, yet now he had nearly been killed outright, and it had ignited something fierce within him.
Even though it was the Azure Emperor who had wounded him!
Emperor Tian showed not the slightest fear, in fact it stirred up an even fiercer bloodlust within him, giving rise to a powerful fighting spirit, determined to contend with the Azure Emperor, the sole being to have attained the Dao since ancient antiquity.
That single giant hand seemed to press down upon the Three Realms, ruling over the nine heavens, controlling the life and death of all living beings, divine might overshadowing the world!
Everyone’s expressions changed — Emperor Tian’s methods were far too heaven-defying; within that palm, chaotic energy surged in all directions, the radiance of sun, moon, and stars flowing through it, as if the entire cosmos itself had been enveloped within.
There was a force here like the creation of heaven and earth itself — reincarnated through the Three Realms, life after life, his name carved into fate; this was a divine proclamation, the peerless ancient technique of a legendary era.
It was as if heaven and earth were being created anew, as if sun, moon, and stars were being destroyed to forge a brand new world, summoning gods and demons back to their rightful places!
The assembled heroes were dazed, as if witnessing the rise of some peerless, ferocious figure — daring to forcibly clash with the Azure Emperor, knowing full well that this was the one supreme being to have broken through the shackles of heaven and earth and attained the Dao in a hundred thousand years!
“BOOM!”
A single hand covering the sky, coiling around the river of stars, vast and boundless, slapping downward. Emperor Tian, valiant beyond an entire era, unleashed his strongest strike at this moment, actually intending to slaughter the Azure Emperor’s phantom form.
Without doubt, he held a certain advantage, because this was a phantom manifested based on Ye Fan’s sacred body Tribulation — these young Great Emperors were matched to Ye Fan’s cultivation realm, which was lower than Emperor Tian’s own.
Everyone’s expressions froze — the ancient Great Emperors were slightly disadvantaged in terms of cultivation realm; would they truly be slaughtered now? Even if it was only a Dao-trace avatar, it still left a bitter, indescribable taste in people’s hearts.
One had to remember, that was an “Emperor” — those two words alone represented being unrivaled above and below the heavens, someone whom none could disrespect even after death.
Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for the outcome.
A blazing ray of light flashed across, revealing the answer — the Azure Emperor’s divine might overshadowed the world, one punch smashing through, and Emperor Tian’s giant hand bled in dotted patches, his body staggering backward.
“What, how can this be?!”
“Emperor Tian is a supreme being of the younger generation — even with the advantage in cultivation realm, he still couldn’t win. Who else on the ancient human road could possibly contend for supremacy against the Emperor?”
Some who had favored Emperor Tian stood dumbstruck — in the past he had been an invincible legend, yet now that legend had been shaken, his blood staining the starry sky before the Azure Emperor, nearly collapsing within the sea of lightning.
“It’s… the Divine Interdict!”
A Guardian of the human race had arrived, revealing shock on his face, explaining the reason behind Emperor Tian’s bloodshed.
The ancient Great Emperors could not be disrespected — even in death, the Dao they left behind remained supreme, and no one could defile it. At this moment, Emperor Tian, with his slightly higher cultivation realm, had originally held a natural advantage.
However, the Azure Emperor directly ascended into the Divine Interdict domain, unleashing a punch that could shatter all things in heaven and earth!
“This is too terrifying!”
“The Azure Emperor was always the most formidable of the Great Emperors — how could he ever allow himself to be overpowered? This is the eruption of the ultimate Dao.”
People murmured quietly, explaining the fundamental truth behind it.
The Azure Emperor’s brilliance was known throughout the entire ancient human road — first under heaven for a hundred thousand years, unmatched by anyone, resounding through the ages, having created an era of history, attaining the Dao in the most impossible of times, becoming a Great Emperor.
Emperor Tian roared long and loud, unyielding and unbowed, the light in his eyes growing even more intense, his combative nature reviving, merging with the entire heaven and earth, bearing the power of the great Dao, achieving unity of man and heaven.
He himself was the law, he himself was the Dao — every gesture of his hands and feet could crumble mountains and rivers, make the sun, moon, and stars fall.
He grew even more terrifying, locked in fierce battle with the Azure Emperor.
However, something shocking happened — the Azure Emperor was invincible, standing firm within the Divine Interdict domain, exiting and then re-entering it, slaughtering every enemy in the world as he went.
It was said that only after truly attaining Emperorhood could one remain permanently within the Divine Interdict domain — otherwise, once one exited, one could not immediately re-enter.
The Azure Emperor was a trace of the Dao itself — having just now nearly killed his opponent outright, he automatically withdrew from the Divine Interdict domain, moving toward another side. Yet when Emperor Tian attacked him again, the Azure Emperor once more ascended into the Divine Interdict domain, terrifying everyone — able to enter at any moment, far too frightening.
“That’s wrong, no one in this world should be able to do this — throughout history, no one, unless they had already attained Emperorhood.” A human race Great Sage murmured, instantly understanding what had happened.
Emperor Tian had entered the Sage King realm many years ago, and now his cultivation realm exceeded that of the nine imperial phantom forms that had appeared based on Ye Fan’s benchmark.
However, the ancient Great Emperors could not be disrespected — as if some will existed within the void, the Azure Emperor seemed to revive, triggering automatically, raising his combat strength to compensate for the gap in cultivation realm.
“Splat!”
Emperor Tian spat out a large mouthful of blood, his chest pierced through once more by the Divine Interdict, suffering severe injury, a piece of his forehead bone cracked, the light of his primordial spirit spilling out.
Everyone’s expressions changed, feeling deeply shaken.
“Challenging the Azure Emperor is truly asking for trouble — the sole being to have attained the Dao since ancient antiquity, first under heaven for a hundred thousand years — not something just anyone can break through!” Daoist Baijie sneered coldly.
He himself was a Great Sage of the demon race, yet had always walked the ancient human road, because he was pursuing the footsteps of the Demon Emperor and the Azure Emperor, searching for their great secrets.
Emperor Tian roared long and loud — though drenched in blood all over, he did not retreat, charging forward, fighting fiercely against the invincible Azure Emperor.
If anyone else could exchange even a single blow with the Azure Emperor and survive, that alone would be something to be proud of, worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.
And even in defeat, it would feel like a supreme honor, for one simple reason — this person was the Azure Emperor, and that name alone was enough!
Yet Emperor Tian remained unwilling to accept it, even having fought to this point, he still refused to concede. Even if his opponent was the singular Azure Emperor since ancient antiquity, it made no difference — he had to win, to contend for supremacy in this world, unrivaled under heaven.
“If this were a battle against the ancient Great Emperors in their youth, with Emperor Tian’s bearing, victory would come without question. But to contend against the strongest of the young Great Emperors, the Azure Emperor — that is truly too difficult.” an elder-generation figure shook his head.
Meanwhile, the Great Demon God’s divine might overshadowed the world, his aura swallowing all directions, growing fiercer as he fought, boundless bloody energy pouring out, making the starry sky look like mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Quite unfortunately, three of the young imperial figures turned their gazes at the same moment, looking this way together, and all at once raised their fists, each striking a blow toward this direction.
“Splat!”
That overwhelming mist of blood, those endless piles of bones, all scattered apart — in the eyes of these Emperors, this meant nothing at all!
In ancient times, in the contention for the Emperor’s path, what mountains of corpses and seas of blood had the final victors not already experienced?
At this moment, quite unfortunately, three young Great Emperors struck together, and the Great Demon God’s blood sprayed through the void — had he not, at the critical moment, activated his Demon Technique Nine Revolutions and retreated in time, he truly would have been in danger.
Even so, his body nearly split open, covered head to toe in blood marks, having suffered severe injury.
The Great Demon God roared, not having noticed the situation with Emperor Tian on the other side — unable to restrain himself, he too broke through his seal, displaying his strongest realm, wanting to overpower the ancient Great Emperors with force.
As a result, an unfortunate thing happened — two of the young Great Emperors simultaneously ascended into the Divine Interdict, two of the most brilliant divine radiances rushing forth, nearly shattering the Great Demon God, his chest bones flying out, blood raining down, his hair scattering loose.
In the past, it had always been him who destroyed his enemies, reaping their lives — yet today it was he himself who bled, nearly perishing right here.
People held their breath in terror — the sacred body’s Tribulation was simply too heaven-defying, something no mortal strength could possibly withstand; under normal circumstances, no one could ever survive it.
As astonishing as Emperor Tian was, as powerful as the Great Demon God was, both had suffered grievous wounds — continuing on like this, they might well perish here.
“Don’t fight at a higher cultivation realm — engage on equal footing, or else the Divine Interdict has no solution, and it might even suppress you by half a level in terms of realm.” Just then, another Guardian of the human race, Daoist Qinghuang, arrived, offering this warning.
Those caught in the moment are often blind, while onlookers see clearly — he had realized this situation: fighting at the same cultivation realm, these young Great Emperors would engage in a “fair fight.” But if pressed with a realm advantage, the Divine Interdict would emerge, self-adjusting, suppressing them by half a level in return!
Under normal circumstances, whoever provoked the Heavenly Tribulation would face a Great Tribulation matching their own cultivation realm. But Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God carried something like Heaven-Deceiving Array patterns on their bodies, which could circumvent all of this.
However, the ancient Great Emperors could not be disrespected — even if the cultivation realm remained unchanged, the Divine Interdict would still emerge, functioning as a kind of “fine adjustment”!
Sure enough, after Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God fought on equal footing, the situation changed — the Divine Interdict no longer manifested. However, their circumstances showed no improvement at all — in fact, it grew even more dangerous.
Because as the battle continued, it grew ever more intense, and in the chaotic melee, all nine young Great Emperors joined the fray, transforming into a storm of destruction.
Who could possibly withstand this? No matter how powerful one person was, they could never fight so many young Emperors of the same rank at once — not even a god descending could manage it!
Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God suffered devastating injuries; eventually, their bodies were shattered repeatedly, a gruesome sight to behold — this was practically a massacre. Had they not each possessed divine arts, they would have already perished.
Neither was willing to retreat first — wanting to battle the ancient Great Emperors in their youth was one reason, but not wanting to fall behind the other was another.
Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God were rivals, having remained evenly matched for so many years — at this moment, neither wanted to be the first to leave.
And when they saw the true target, Ye Fan, they truly couldn’t remain composed — this man had still not had his physical body torn apart even once, though he had suffered severe injuries many times, he had always narrowly escaped death at the critical moment.
The two supreme beings grew anxious, their hearts unsettled — in a moment of distraction, they were struck and shattered again, painstakingly reassembling themselves.
Ye Fan was no stranger to facing off against nine Emperors — his experience was rich, and combined with his own formidable strength, using the correct methods, he had managed to keep his physical body from being destroyed the entire time.
Of course, an important reason was also that Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God were drawing the Emperors’ attention, blocking many fatal attacks meant for him.
In the end, Ye Fan too had his true body shattered three times, but far fewer than Emperor Tian and the Great Demon God — this alone nearly shook the Dao-hearts of the two, their expressions turning grim.
Fortunately, they realized that this clearly wasn’t the first time Ye Fan had dealt with such a situation — this realization calmed their hearts somewhat, allowing them to focus on the battle.
“Forgive me, Brother Ye. This isn’t personal — I too wish to battle the ancient Great Emperors in their youth, on equal footing.” Just then, Immortal Qingshi entered the fray, joining the battle, making the fighting even more intense.
“BOOM!”
At the same moment, another blurred figure entered the fray, also joining the battle, participating in the contest among supreme beings.
People realized this person was either the Goddess or the Human King — nearly all the young supreme beings of the ancient human road had gathered here!
They all shared one thought — to battle the ancient Great Emperors on equal footing was an exceedingly rare opportunity, a chance to see who was truly stronger or weaker.
Counting Ye Fan, there were now five figures within the sea of lightning, facing off against the nine young Great Emperors, fighting to the point of madness, the river of stars turning to smoke, the heavenly sky shattering.
This battle raged with earth-shaking fury, striking terror into all the saints — five young supreme beings battling nine Emperors, the disadvantage of five against nine plainly evident.
And even if it truly were nine against nine, they would lose more than they’d win!
In this battle, Ye Fan moved freely among the imperial phantoms, tempering himself, luring the nine Emperors to strike east and attack west, guiding the rhythm of the battle.
The Art of Forgetting Self, the Art of the Dao Self, the Art of the Word — these gave him the high ground in terms of natural advantage, and combined with the presence of the other four, his physical body wasn’t shattered as many times.
Emperor Tian, the Great Demon God, and the other two wore increasingly grim expressions — this trial, this contest against the ancient Great Emperors, had left them suffering unimaginable wounds, each one gravely injured, near death.
“Kill!”
In the midst of this, Ye Fan struck, attacking Emperor Tian, striking at the supreme beings who wished to temper themselves using his Tribulation. The battle grew even more terrifying, a chaotic melee, a bloody slaughter, fighting until sun and moon lost their light, the river of stars lost its color.
No one knew how much time had passed before the nine young Great Emperors’ figures finally faded one by one, slowly vanishing, as if a curtain had fallen.
The Great Demon God, Emperor Tian, Immortal Qingshi, and the others were covered in wounds all over — this bloody battle left a taste in their hearts hard to describe, with not a shred of joy, having nearly perished here after what felt like an eternity of grinding through time.
No matter how one looked at it, they had experienced a battle on equal footing with the young Great Emperors — something to be proud of, even having had their physical bodies shattered multiple times, relying on secret treasures and ancient techniques to painstakingly recover; this too was a legendary battle achievement.
“It’s over…” Everyone murmured to themselves inwardly, letting out a long breath, feeling a sense of relief.
“BOOM!”
Suddenly, the Heavenly Tribulation raged violently once more, nine humanoid bolts of lightning reappearing — nine figures in succession, moving like dragons and striding like tigers, their aura swallowing ten thousand miles, closing in on them once again.
Nine Great Emperors again — everyone stood dumbstruck.
The Great Demon God, Emperor Tian, and the others all staggered, nearly collapsing — how could nine more appear again? They had only just finished one battle, and now nine more Emperors had been replenished, leaving these several people utterly unnerved.
Their injuries were unimaginable — continuing to fight might well spell doom.
At this point, they could find no confidence from their battle against the ancient Great Emperors — instead, they had brought upon themselves a monumental headache.
“Survive tenaciously — let these words be a mutual encouragement among us all.” Ye Fan smiled, revealing a mouth of snow-white teeth, though however one looked at it, it was filled with overwhelming killing intent.
Nine figures arrived, all striking together at once, each one shocking the world!
The Six Paths of Reincarnation Fist, the Art of Weapons, the Nine Characters of Lunar Yin, One Weapon Breaking Ten Thousand Methods, the Golden Divine Vault…
Each of these people wielded a supreme secret technique, honed to the utmost, capable of battling several supreme beings at once.
“What?!” Several of them were shocked — wasn’t this Ye Fan transforming himself into nine sacred bodies, engraved and recorded by the great Dao of heaven and earth itself?!
Everyone else was stunned as well, even the Great Sages turned to stone in shock, especially Qi Tian, whose face turned deathly pale, not a trace of blood color left — everyone was utterly shocked.