A single letter — and yet it blazed with brilliance and splendor, radiating a kind of Great Emperor’s majesty, as though a supreme and unrivaled being had stepped into the world, sovereign over all beneath the heavens, dimming the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers.

The letter shimmered with a flowing, gentle radiance — inwardly restrained yet carrying an aura that inspired awe and reverence. Many among the crowd nearly dropped to their knees.

It was not aggressive or domineering in the slightest, yet an imprint of that magnitude had been left upon it. Across all the many heavens and myriad realms, every living creature — from the greatest sage down to the lowliest street peddler — would feel a profound dread within their hearts, shuddering with cold, as though facing the ruler of the age of creation — a fear rooted in the very soul, driving one to prostrate and worship.

Who could fail to be shaken? Even the sacred beings who had come from beyond the domain, along with the various patriarchs, felt a surge of apprehension. Who was this?

“Ye Fan, come out and receive the imperial decree.” The Great Sage said coldly, his face expressionless, without a trace of goodwill.

“And who are you, being this arrogant? Looking for a spanking?” The Divine Child shouted. Because he had put on a rather “heroic” showing in his battle against Shenming’s children, as a reward Ye Fan had not yet put him away — leaving him free to roam about and play.

The chubby little boy, for all his efforts to appear mature and dignified, was completely bare, his small little bits on full display, white and plump from head to toe. And then came the word “spanking,” which gave away his childlike innocence entirely.

In the past, every time he misbehaved he got beaten on the backside by Li Tian. In his mind, that was the most detestable punishment imaginable — something he loathed with every fiber of his being — and so it had naturally become the great “ultimate threat” he wielded against others.

This was a Great Sage who appeared to be in his prime — his vital energy at its peak. One could say that with sufficient effort, he stood a real chance at charging through and reaching the quasi-emperor threshold. His thick, dense brown hair, powerfully built physique, and skin the color of ancient bronze marked him out. His eyes were like golden lanterns — intensely piercing. He swept a single cold gaze over the Divine Child, and the chubby boy immediately broke into a full body shiver.

The moment everyone saw his manner — unfazed by the foundation of Ye Fan and the others, unintimidated even within the Ji Family itself, neither particularly deferential nor particularly apprehensive — they understood. This was a hard figure, someone with a formidable background. He was clearly someone who had full confidence in their backing.

He naturally wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a child, yet he did release a wave of Great Sage might as a warning — his gaze razor-sharp and cutting.

“The little runt’s got a point — who do you think you are, being this arrogant? This lord once fought side by side with the Great Emperor Wushi across the world, and even then I didn’t put on airs like you. Coming here and acting like you own the place?” The Black Emperor stepped forward, its brass-bell eyes dark and gleaming, baring a full set of snow-white fangs.

Everyone felt a chill. This great black dog was different from before — it was rare for it to actively acknowledge having followed Wushi, and it had stated it plainly and without ambiguity. Of course, it was surely exaggerating. When Wushi was sweeping through the world, what need did he have for the Black Emperor to intervene?

According to certain unofficial histories and ancient records, the Black Emperor was a wandering pup who had been found by the Great Emperor Wushi in his twilight years and taken in and raised. It could not possibly have experienced the various divine battles of Wushi’s campaign to suppress all nine heavens and ten earths. It had only witnessed a magnificent stretch of that storied history, and watched a Great Emperor who looked down upon all of eternity at the absolute height of his glory before the curtain finally fell.

Those great campaigns of the Emperor had nothing to do with the Black Emperor. It had merely borne witness to one extraordinary era, and to the final chapter of one incomparable Great Emperor’s radiant existence.

“You’re the little runt!” The chubby boy said indignantly. He was clearly very displeased with the Black Emperor’s term of address.

“I have nothing particularly arrogant to show here. I was simply entrusted to deliver a letter. Whether you accept it or refuse it is entirely your own choice.” The brown-haired Great Sage said coldly. His eyes were ice-cold. Though he was concealing it, a streak of hostility was still visible within them. He spoke with no expression on his face — like a man made of ice.

“If you’re looking to die, this lord will grant your wish and stuff you in the sea eye!” The great black dog said with icy, quiet menace. In the past, it used to clamor about taking holy sons and daughters as pets, and although people gnashed their teeth with fury, few took it seriously — most didn’t believe it capable of following through. But now things were very different. This dog had grown increasingly terrifying. With this kind of dominance, it seemed entirely natural.

The brown-haired Great Sage said coldly, “I have no interest in speaking at length with you. The words have been said, and the letter has been delivered. Whether you accept or refuse is your choice. But if you truly defy a Great Emperor, I do admire your nerve — if you’re not afraid of annihilation, feel free to do so.”

“Clang!”

In that instant, dozens of formation platforms materialized out of thin air, enclosing the Great Sage within. The Black Emperor was direct — it moved to capture the man then and there.

“Hum!”

A gleam of light flashed from the brown-haired Great Sage’s brow. A tower flew out, thirty-three stories tall, flowing with primal yellow and chaos light, settling directly above his head and enclosing him within its protection.

Imperial might billowed forth — terrifyingly vast — transforming the surrounding area into an inviolable sacred ground that no one could shake. It blocked the oppressive force the formation platforms were unleashing.

Was this an imperial weapon? Everyone was stunned — utterly incredulous. Yet searching through all the supreme immortal weapons from antiquity, there was no such object on record. It had never existed before.

Could it have been forged recently? That was too staggering. Did that mean someone had attained the supreme throne of a Great Emperor? If so, it was almost too horrifying — if that were true, would it not plunge every young and gifted prodigy of this generation into despair?

This tower was thirty-three stories tall, forged from eternal blue gold — a true immortal material, a substance exclusively associated with the Great Emperors of antiquity. Hovering now in the void, it was a dazzling, crystalline blue — brilliant and blazing, searing to the eyes. Its scale was boundless and its presence magnificent, as though it embodied the thirty-three heavens, pressing down upon this place and shaking the hearts of all who witnessed it.

Furthermore, from each and every level of the tower, the Mother Qi of All Things cascaded down — like great, sweeping waterfalls pouring down one after another from the thirty-three heavens above.

It had been fused with a portion of Mother Qi. While it did not compare to the source root of Ye Fan’s Mother Qi — it was not the refined essence of primal yellow — it was nonetheless extraordinarily precious. It was enough to shock the world.

This imperial tower was remarkable indeed — forged from two different immortal materials. That was exceedingly rare, a marvel that left the world aghast.

Who was this? Who had actually attained the path of an Emperor? If such were truly the case, it was the equivalent of sealing off the road ahead for every young supreme prodigy across all nine heavens and ten earths — filling every heart with profound dread.

Without a sound, without fanfare, reaching this point — defying heaven and astonishing the world. No wonder the brown-haired Great Sage dared to carry himself so. Even standing before the seven great Forbidden Zones of Life, he felt sufficient confidence to do so. He had no fear whatsoever.

For it meant that the person standing behind him could already fight toe-to-toe with the supreme ancient beings within the seven great Forbidden Zones of Life — because those ancient supreme beings had survived into the present age at the most devastating cost.

Therefore, one could say that in the present age this person already had nothing left to fear. Without overstating it, to call him the strongest beneath the heavens was not far off the mark.

He had achieved the supreme fruition of the Great Dao — lacking only one final step to cross through that threshold and become yet another eternally supreme Great Emperor of the ages.

It shook the hearts of all present. Those who had still been clinging to a sliver of hope were now consumed with terror. Was someone truly about to become a Great Emperor? And with no way to stop it? The outcome seemed settled — not even the beings of the Forbidden Zones could do anything about it.

At the very least, this person was certainly more vigorous and full of vitality than the ancient supreme beings who had survived from antiquity into the present — currently at the absolute peak of their life — on the verge of breaking through all fetters to reign supreme over the nine heavens and suppress this entire age.

No wonder.

Now people finally understood why the brown-haired Great Sage dared to carry himself so. The one behind him was about to attain the Dao. This was a supreme being of the cosmos with an even deeper foundation than the Forbidden Zones of Life, a being who might come to rule all the many heavens and domains.

One old era was about to draw to a close. A brand new epoch was about to begin — creating yet another divine dynasty of a Great Emperor unlike any in all the ages, worshipped universally across all nine heavens and ten earths.