Volume 1, Chapter 152 – Clashing for Supremacy

Another figure was that of a refined-looking man who appeared a little over thirty. Hearing the words of the shadowy figure, his expression changed slightly. With a hint of unease, he respectfully asked, “Great Emperor, that supreme existence who opened the river of time, is he of the human race?”

“Do not call me Great Emperor. When Wanggu merged his body into the Human Race Annals, he had already fallen. I am nothing more than a single remnant soul of his.”

After speaking calmly, the shadowy figure gave a slight shake of his head. “The gap between us is far too great. I cannot probe his origins. Even being able to sense the fluctuations of the river of time is only because I borrowed the power of the Human Race Annals. Besides…”

“Not only one thing has crossed the river of time. There is also an uninvited guest who will descend upon the Lingyang Realm three years from now.” The figure changed the subject and continued.

A flash of shock crossed the refined man’s face. As for what level of power an existence capable of crossing the river of time had reached, he simply could not imagine.

“This uninvited guest is not coming by his own strength, but relying on a supreme treasure that links past and present. A fragment of this treasure will emerge three years from now.”

The shadowy figure gave a slight shake of his head.

“Can the place where it emerges be confirmed?” the refined man asked hurriedly.

“Chengtian Domain.”

The border?

The refined man felt a headache coming on and asked, “When will the Sovereign be able to return?”

The shadowy figure was silent for a moment, then spoke.

“Taishi is currently fighting the Demon Emperor Chen Xin and the Purple Cloud Demon Venerable over the ownership of a star domain and will not be able to return in the short term. He will need at least two years.”

“Has the Sovereign sent any message back? Chengtian Domain is now enduring the demon race’s ravages alone, and our Imperial Court is just going to sit by and watch?”

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“Taishi’s imperial edict is to keep the demon race confined within Chengtian Domain as much as possible and drag things out for two years. When he returns, if he returns, he will be able to recover Chengtian Domain with a turn of his palm.”

“Chengtian Domain spans millions of li of territory, has tens of millions in the Demon-Suppressing Army, and hundreds of billions of subjects. We are just giving all that up?”

The refined man’s expression gradually went blank.

The shadowy figure’s gaze grew deep.

“The star domain Taishi is fighting over has an area suitable for human cultivation that is more than ten times that of Chengtian Domain and contains many precious cultivation resources. In the long run, Taishi’s decision is not wrong.”

The refined man covered his face with a hand, feeling as though his head were splitting. Taishi had not only gone personally but had also drawn away most of the Emperor level experts, leaving only a few old monsters who cared only for cultivation and extending their lifespans.

The peak combat strength of the human race had been almost completely emptied out. They had abandoned the lives of countless people in order to fight for a vast star domain on the other side of the starry sky.

“Heh…”

The man let out a soft laugh, his laughter full of sorrow.

“I believe Taishi’s decision is very much correct. A temporary sacrifice lays the foundation for the prosperity of our human race’s future generations. Those with outstanding talent in Chengtian Domain have, for the most part, established a connection with the Human Race Annals through the Demon-Suppressing Command Tokens. Even if they die in battle, when Taishi returns, he can still use the Human Race Annals to bring them back to life. Our human race’s underlying foundation will not be damaged…”

The shadowy figure spoke slowly.

“Like hell I’m going to argue reason with a dead man like you!”

The refined man was instantly enraged, like a lion driven mad. The entire ancient tower trembled faintly under the influence of his aura.

With a cold snort, the refined man flung his sleeve and left.

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“Being unable to calmly weigh pros and cons at all times is the human race’s greatest problem. Anger causes people to lose their reason.”

A trace of reminiscence flickered faintly in the shadow’s eyes. A terrible Dao resonance bloomed from the tip of the tower, shrouding the entire Imperial Palace.

The refined man soon returned, his voice ringing out in anger. “You sealed the entire Imperial Palace. What are you trying to do?”

“Taishi’s imperial edict is for you to wait here in the Imperial Palace until he returns and not to take unnecessary actions.” The shadowy figure’s tone was utterly calm.

The refined man was silent for a long while, then said slowly,

“You really are someone without a heart.”

“Wanggu’s heart was annihilated back in the Primordial Era.”

As soon as those words fell, the shadowy figure slowly dissipated.

The refined man took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on the attic floor. His boundless divine sense, like a vast ocean, spread out to envelop the crystalline volume enshrined at the center of the attic.

He wanted to try to establish contact with the Sovereign, in hopes of getting him to rescind the imperial edict.

A dazzling divine radiance flashed by as countless Dao patterns suffused with the breath of the Great Dao appeared, circling around the crystalline volume and slowly revolving.

After a long time, the man opened his eyes and shook his head with a bitter expression, letting out a long sigh. “All beings are like ants…”

……

A sea of spiritual qi ceaselessly washed over Shi Lan’s body. The several wounds she had had earlier had long since healed without leaving any trace.

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With the Jade Tempering Art operating at full power, Shi Lan’s whole body was crystal clear. Her fair skin was almost translucent, and one could faintly see the pale violet blood flowing beneath it.

After many rounds of bone-deep transformation, Shi Lan’s body was already flawless and spotless, pure and clear like crystal. Sitting cross-legged on the broken wooden bed, her expression was neither sad nor joyful, like a deity in the clouds that made one forget the dust of the mundane world at a glance.

As time passed, Shi Lan looked more and more like a glazed jade statue shining with shifting light. If not for the clear, powerful heartbeat as proof, she would hardly seem like a mortal at all.

Shi Lan’s thoughts had been emptied out completely, her mind utterly clear. Faint spirit patterns appeared on her body, not very obvious.

Crack…

With a nearly inaudible sound, the shifting light on Shi Lan’s body suddenly magnified tenfold, and the spirit patterns became clear to see.

“Boom——”

Wave-like thunderous roars filled the meditation chamber. It was the sound of Shi Lan’s blood and qi surging.

The shifting light slowly faded, and the booming gradually quieted as well.

Shi Lan slowly opened her eyes. The purple in her gaze had grown deeper by a shade, and then it gradually faded.

She lightly stroked her palm, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her eyes. After the Jade Tempering Art stepped into the seventh stage, ordinary low-grade magical artifacts could no longer pierce her flesh.

Against an ordinary mid Earth Fiend Realm martial artist, even without using true qi, she was absolutely confident she could suppress them within a handful of moves.

Moreover, it was not just that the Jade Tempering Art had advanced another stage. The He Gu acupoint at her left elbow had also been opened, and her cultivation rose another level.

After settling her true qi, Shi Lan pulled up the System panel.

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Host: Shi Lan

Cultivation: Early Earth Fiend Realm

Aptitude: 9 (Innate spiritual body, seen once in a thousand years.)

Cultivation Arts: Yuqing Creation Art (second layer), Vajra Divine Fist (mastery), Jade Tempering Art (seventh stage)

Divine Abilities: Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight (three-star), Black Domain (seven-star)

Strength Evaluation: Some minor achievement

Reputation: 51600 (Name just beginning to spread)

Her reputation value had broken the fifty-thousand mark and was already not far from the one hundred thousand target of the reputation quest.

After sweeping her eyes over her panel, Shi Lan opened the quest interface and found the few quests the System had issued previously.

【22／1000】

In this clash, twenty-two Earth Fiend Realm demonic beasts had died by her hand. That number was already astonishing, yet Shi Lan was not very satisfied.

Encounters like this would not happen every single day. At this pace, it could not be called fast. After thinking it over for a long while, Shi Lan opened the door and left the meditation chamber.