“Too arrogant! Don’t tell me he thinks that he alone, with his sword, can sweep through the geniuses of my True Spirit Continent?” Many geniuses had indignant expressions on their faces.
“Rest assured, he, West Ocean Sword Master, might be strong. But, the continent’s peak geniuses are not weak either. From the top five in Masters Ranking, which one of them is not a heroic figure?”
“Right! Yan Fengfeng is ranked fifth with her unparalleled speed. Bai Wuxue is a well-known tycoon, steady as a mountain. Tantai Mingyue has bizarre but amazing movement arts, while Du Gujue’s tyrannous blade sweeps away everything in his way. Aside from these four people, we still have the continent’s Sword Master, Ye Chen. A year has passed…Who knows what realm his strength has reached!”
“He’s surely stronger than before. As for what realm his strength has reached, that’s hard to say.”
“I’m waiting for the eighteenth September…The result will be clear.”
Numerous excited discussions arouse.
“Ye Chen, my intuition tells me that this West Ocean Sword Master is truly not easy to deal with. When the time comes, you can’t be careless.” Hai Wuya warned Ye Chen.
Ye Chen replied, “Rest assured, I’ll not look down on anybody, neither will I overestimate anybody. Once we battle, I’ll know of his strength.”
“Hehe…Seems like my warning was unnecessary. You’re calmer than me.” Hai Wuya smiled.
White Cloud Restaurant was merely a place of meeting for the party. After finishing their drinks, the group of more than twenty left Lotus City and moved northwest at a high speed.
This meeting was not just for drinking a cup of wine and being done with it.
Usually, such a big gathering didn’t happen at all. If it happened, it lasted for a month or a half, where everybody connected with each other and talked about recent affairs. If too much time passed, the relationship would turn apathetic, and be reduced to ordinary friends or even strangers.
The road of Martial Dao was endless. If one didn’t have the support of their friends on this road, it would simply be too gloomy. The meaning of Martial Dao was not to kill one’s emotion, but to keep them reserved. If one were worthy of having as a friend, he or she would be a true friend. If one were not, he or she would be forgotten.
There was no lack of scenic spots and historical attractions in Sky Martial Region. En-route, Ye Chen saw many young groups having fun. Feeling the mood, they looked for an empty site and sat down, drinking wine while chatting. Then, they exchanged a few moves, not to win or lose, but to verify their martial skills and experience.
“This is the Meteorite Mountain Range. Ten thousand years ago, a meteorite shower was the cause of its formation. The impact ended all life, and even razed the underground river. Thus, this place is completely barren, without a blade of grass, and here are no demonic beasts either. But, in the underground depths, a special meteorite crystal is frequently discovered, which is a top-notch material for forging treasures.” Yan Fengfeng pointed toward a barren mountain range and explained.
Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng turned their gazes. The latter didn’t think much of it, but Ye Chen inwardly smacked his lips. The mountain range had a lot of craters, the smallest of which had a diameter of dozens of li while the biggest actually had a diameter of several thousand meters, as if a huge iron pot buried inside. Moreover, it was several hundred li deep. If ordinary martial artists were to fall into it, they would never be able to make their way back.
The reason Ye Chen felt shocked was because he, after all, came from a different world. The smallest of meteorites here could have the entire earth covered in smoke and dust, extinguishing most of the life. Only something countless folds bigger than earth like True Spirit Continent could bear the impact of such meteorites.
Of course, the size of meteorites couldn’t be directly inferred from the size of the crater. Due to the impact, if the crater created was dozens of li wide, the size of the meteorite would be only of a few li. That crater with a diameter of thousands of li was probably created by a meteorite with a diameter of a hundred li.
Passing through the Meteorite Mountain Range, everybody arrived in a huge valley.
This valley was known as Emperor Valley, spanning over ninety nine thousand li. It was widest at over a thousand li, and its perimeter of hundreds of thousands of li was astonishingly cleaved into two by a huge crack. If one looked down from high above, they could easily be scared to death. After all, whoever saw this crack would doubt whether it was the passage to hell, and if they would be sucked inside, never to see the sunlight again.
The reason the valley was named Emperor Valley was because in its depth was an Emperor Scar Stele. Only those titled Monarch would be able to leave behind their mark on the Emperor Scar Stele. Peak Kings wouldn’t be able to leave behind even a trace.
“It’s already been tens of thousands of years since anybody left behind their mark on the stele, no?” Yan Fengfeng said.
Ye Chen doubted, “Emperor Void is titled Monarch. Even he couldn’t do it?”
Hai Wuya said, “The standard of the ancient times are different from the present. With Void Emperor’s strength, he would have only been qualified to be a peak King in the ancient times.”
“So, it’s like that!” Ye Chen nodded.
“Come, let’s take a look.”
Yan Fengfeng increased her speed and headed toward the depths of the Emperor valley, and others followed closely behind her. About an hour later, the group arrived at the center of the valley.
“Descend!”
Without a trace of hesitation, Yan Fengfeng’s figure spread out, and she entered the valley. Ye Chen, Murong Qingcheng, and Hai Wuya followed after her without a trace of hesitation. Others exchanged glances with each other, then clenched their teeth after a momentary thought and chased after them. It seemed as if the depths of the valley had something they feared.
The middle section of the valley was its widest region, with a diameter of over a thousand li. In this more than a thousand li wide region, there was not a trace of vitality, neither that of any miscellaneous objects. There was only a stone stele erected at the center, which was ninety li high and nine li wide. There were a lot of scars imprinted on it. It had blade scars, sword scars, palm imprints, fist imprints, finger imprints, and also claw imprints. They were neatly arranged from top to bottom. However, from the middle section, there were no scars, and it was completely blank.
Everybody paused a hundred li away, then began to slowly descend.
It was not that they didn’t wish to approach the stele, but they couldn’t. It was not an ordinary stone stele. The aura it emitted made their Zhen Yuan, blood circulation, and even heartbeats chaotic. There was a chance that just brushing off this aura would send them to their deaths.
Yan Fengfeng said, “The Emperor Scar Stele is a strange thing in itself. Every single scar on the stele represents a world-shaking titled Monarch. Although nobody has left a scar in the recent tens of thousands of years, even the remnant aura is not something anybody can endure. We call this aura the Emperor Qi, the aura of a titled Monarch.”
“Emperor Qi!” Ye Chen muttered.
Yan Fengfeng turned toward the disciples of Mysterious Sect and Sky Ocean Sect, “Stay here…You don’t have to get too close.”
Upon saying these words, she said to Ye Chen and the other two, “We can move a bit closer and see much clearer. The scars on the surface are the work of deities. Even the shallowest cut carries an astonishing might and contains mysteries of the heaven and earth.”
Ordinary Sea of Soul experts naturally couldn’t enter a hundred li from the stele, but Yan Fengfeng, Hai Wuya, Ye Chen, and Murong Qingcheng were all top experts. Thus, they could approach it a little more without any problems. Moreover, beyond a hundred li, they couldn’t see clearly. The Emperor Qi’s were restricting their perception and vision, shrouding the truth.
“Alright!”
Ye Chen was extremely interested in the Emperor’s Scar Stele. From its surface, he could sense countless strands of frightening wills: sword intent, blade intent, palm intent…Every scar astonished him. Compared to their wills, Ye Chen’s destruction sword intent was not even worth mentioning. It was like a firefly before the bright moon.
Ninety Li!
Eighty L!
Upon reaching seventy-five li, Hai Wuya bitterly smiled, unable to continue. Meanwhile, Yan Fengfeng and the other two continued on.
Seventy Li!
Sixty Li!
Murong Qingcheng halted, and Yan Fengfeng’s face was also not looking good, carrying a slight paleness.
“Here is fine!”
Ye Chen’s face was calm. The Emperor’s Qi sixty li away was equivalent to an attack of peak fifth step sword intent. Although it was quite fierce, Ye Chen, who had the fifth step Destruction Sword Intent, wasn’t influenced in the slightest. However, he was also considerate of Yan Fengfeng and Murong Qingcheng.
Yan Fengfeng glanced at him and said, “The Emperor Qi issued by Emperor Scar Stele contains a lot of wills. Be careful…the most offensive ones are the sword intent and blade intent!”
“I know!”
Ye Chen had received the impact of a strand of sword intent a moment ago. Who knew how many years this strand of sword intent had been here, but it was still so sharp and dense.
Raising his eyes, Ye Chen saw the first scar. It was a fist imprint, which was square as if imprinted from a jade seal. It was embedded deep into the surface, but since too long had passed, the aura it emitted was somewhat weakened. However, compared to the scars under it, the Emperor Qi emitted by this fist imprint was the most boundless, like an emperor overlooking the heaven and earth from his throne.
Yan Fengfeng explained, “The first imprint was left behind by the first titled Monarch of the ancient era, known as the Ancient Emperor. According to the ancient records, this fist imprint ought to be left behind by the Ancient Emperor’s Four Way Emperor Fist, which is one of the most famous peak profound martial skills.”
Looking down, the three saw the second scar, which was a claw scar.
The three naturally wouldn’t put an ordinary claw scar in their eyes. This claw scar made them feel as if their blood was going cold. It seemed as if this scar was not clawed on the stele—be it the vast lands, mountains and rivers, or even stars, anything and everything would be destroyed under this scar. Moreover, this scar was actually emitting a demonic will, evoking a great fear.
“This is the second titled Monarch after the Ancient Emperor—the Abdicated Celestial Emperor. He walked on the demonic path, and was also the third great king of demonic dao. When he was at his peak, he left this world for the starry sky and disappeared, never to be heard of again.”
Hearing Yan Fengfeng’s words, coupled with the demonic will in her body, Murong Qingcheng felt an illusion before her eyes. She saw a figure on the stele so boundless that it seemed to reach the starry sky. When he stepped down on the land, the entire world seemed to be covered in his shadow. When he waved his hand, large expanses of mountains and rivers were destroyed and stars exploded.
“What a powerful figure!” Shaking her head, Murong Qingcheng cleared her head.
She knew that this was not a simple delusion. Yan Fengfeng’s story created the Abdicated Celestial Emperor’s first impression in her mind. Thereupon, when she was assaulted by his Emperor’s Qi, it combined with the impression in her mind, evoking a profound and mysterious feeling.
“Eighth sword scar is a special case. He didn’t have the strength of a Titled Monarch, but had the means of leaving behind his mark on the stele. He was titled Sword King.” Yan Fengfeng looked toward Ye Chen.
“He is Sword King!”
Ye Chen mumbled. Under the heavens, since the history of mankind, there had only been one Sword King, which was the sword king of the ancient era. The reason why Battle King didn’t dare call himself that was because he believed that his accomplishments were not comparable to this ancient figure. However, this Sword King was more frightening than he imagined—to leave behind a sword scar on Emperor’s Stele with a King’s identity. Although the scar itself was shallow, the aura it gave off was not one bit weak, and gave off a rather rebellious and destructive feeling.
“Too arrogant! Don’t tell me he thinks that he alone, with his sword, can sweep through the geniuses of my True Spirit Continent?” Many geniuses had indignant expressions on their faces.
“Rest assured, he, West Ocean Sword Master, might be strong. But, the continent’s peak geniuses are not weak either. From the top five in Masters Ranking, which one of them is not a heroic figure?”
“Right! Yan Fengfeng is ranked fifth with her unparalleled speed. Bai Wuxue is a well-known tycoon, steady as a mountain. Tantai Mingyue has bizarre but amazing movement arts, while Du Gujue’s tyrannous blade sweeps away everything in his way. Aside from these four people, we still have the continent’s Sword Master, Ye Chen. A year has passed…Who knows what realm his strength has reached!”
“He’s surely stronger than before. As for what realm his strength has reached, that’s hard to say.”
“I’m waiting for the eighteenth September…The result will be clear.”
Numerous excited discussions arouse.
“Ye Chen, my intuition tells me that this West Ocean Sword Master is truly not easy to deal with. When the time comes, you can’t be careless.” Hai Wuya warned Ye Chen.
Ye Chen replied, “Rest assured, I’ll not look down on anybody, neither will I overestimate anybody. Once we battle, I’ll know of his strength.”
“Hehe…Seems like my warning was unnecessary. You’re calmer than me.” Hai Wuya smiled.
White Cloud Restaurant was merely a place of meeting for the party. After finishing their drinks, the group of more than twenty left Lotus City and moved northwest at a high speed.
This meeting was not just for drinking a cup of wine and being done with it.
Usually, such a big gathering didn’t happen at all. If it happened, it lasted for a month or a half, where everybody connected with each other and talked about recent affairs. If too much time passed, the relationship would turn apathetic, and be reduced to ordinary friends or even strangers.
The road of Martial Dao was endless. If one didn’t have the support of their friends on this road, it would simply be too gloomy. The meaning of Martial Dao was not to kill one’s emotion, but to keep them reserved. If one were worthy of having as a friend, he or she would be a true friend. If one were not, he or she would be forgotten.
There was no lack of scenic spots and historical attractions in Sky Martial Region. En-route, Ye Chen saw many young groups having fun. Feeling the mood, they looked for an empty site and sat down, drinking wine while chatting. Then, they exchanged a few moves, not to win or lose, but to verify their martial skills and experience.
“This is the Meteorite Mountain Range. Ten thousand years ago, a meteorite shower was the cause of its formation. The impact ended all life, and even razed the underground river. Thus, this place is completely barren, without a blade of grass, and here are no demonic beasts either. But, in the underground depths, a special meteorite crystal is frequently discovered, which is a top-notch material for forging treasures.” Yan Fengfeng pointed toward a barren mountain range and explained.
Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng turned their gazes. The latter didn’t think much of it, but Ye Chen inwardly smacked his lips. The mountain range had a lot of craters, the smallest of which had a diameter of dozens of li while the biggest actually had a diameter of several thousand meters, as if a huge iron pot buried inside. Moreover, it was several hundred li deep. If ordinary martial artists were to fall into it, they would never be able to make their way back.
The reason Ye Chen felt shocked was because he, after all, came from a different world. The smallest of meteorites here could have the entire earth covered in smoke and dust, extinguishing most of the life. Only something countless folds bigger than earth like True Spirit Continent could bear the impact of such meteorites.
Of course, the size of meteorites couldn’t be directly inferred from the size of the crater. Due to the impact, if the crater created was dozens of li wide, the size of the meteorite would be only of a few li. That crater with a diameter of thousands of li was probably created by a meteorite with a diameter of a hundred li.
Passing through the Meteorite Mountain Range, everybody arrived in a huge valley.
This valley was known as Emperor Valley, spanning over ninety nine thousand li. It was widest at over a thousand li, and its perimeter of hundreds of thousands of li was astonishingly cleaved into two by a huge crack. If one looked down from high above, they could easily be scared to death. After all, whoever saw this crack would doubt whether it was the passage to hell, and if they would be sucked inside, never to see the sunlight again.
The reason the valley was named Emperor Valley was because in its depth was an Emperor Scar Stele. Only those titled Monarch would be able to leave behind their mark on the Emperor Scar Stele. Peak Kings wouldn’t be able to leave behind even a trace.
“It’s already been tens of thousands of years since anybody left behind their mark on the stele, no?” Yan Fengfeng said.
Ye Chen doubted, “Emperor Void is titled Monarch. Even he couldn’t do it?”
Hai Wuya said, “The standard of the ancient times are different from the present. With Void Emperor’s strength, he would have only been qualified to be a peak King in the ancient times.”
“So, it’s like that!” Ye Chen nodded.
“Come, let’s take a look.”
Yan Fengfeng increased her speed and headed toward the depths of the Emperor valley, and others followed closely behind her. About an hour later, the group arrived at the center of the valley.
“Descend!”
Without a trace of hesitation, Yan Fengfeng’s figure spread out, and she entered the valley. Ye Chen, Murong Qingcheng, and Hai Wuya followed after her without a trace of hesitation. Others exchanged glances with each other, then clenched their teeth after a momentary thought and chased after them. It seemed as if the depths of the valley had something they feared.
The middle section of the valley was its widest region, with a diameter of over a thousand li. In this more than a thousand li wide region, there was not a trace of vitality, neither that of any miscellaneous objects. There was only a stone stele erected at the center, which was ninety li high and nine li wide. There were a lot of scars imprinted on it. It had blade scars, sword scars, palm imprints, fist imprints, finger imprints, and also claw imprints. They were neatly arranged from top to bottom. However, from the middle section, there were no scars, and it was completely blank.
Everybody paused a hundred li away, then began to slowly descend.
It was not that they didn’t wish to approach the stele, but they couldn’t. It was not an ordinary stone stele. The aura it emitted made their Zhen Yuan, blood circulation, and even heartbeats chaotic. There was a chance that just brushing off this aura would send them to their deaths.
Yan Fengfeng said, “The Emperor Scar Stele is a strange thing in itself. Every single scar on the stele represents a world-shaking titled Monarch. Although nobody has left a scar in the recent tens of thousands of years, even the remnant aura is not something anybody can endure. We call this aura the Emperor Qi, the aura of a titled Monarch.”
“Emperor Qi!” Ye Chen muttered.
Yan Fengfeng turned toward the disciples of Mysterious Sect and Sky Ocean Sect, “Stay here…You don’t have to get too close.”
Upon saying these words, she said to Ye Chen and the other two, “We can move a bit closer and see much clearer. The scars on the surface are the work of deities. Even the shallowest cut carries an astonishing might and contains mysteries of the heaven and earth.”
Ordinary Sea of Soul experts naturally couldn’t enter a hundred li from the stele, but Yan Fengfeng, Hai Wuya, Ye Chen, and Murong Qingcheng were all top experts. Thus, they could approach it a little more without any problems. Moreover, beyond a hundred li, they couldn’t see clearly. The Emperor Qi’s were restricting their perception and vision, shrouding the truth.
“Alright!”
Ye Chen was extremely interested in the Emperor’s Scar Stele. From its surface, he could sense countless strands of frightening wills: sword intent, blade intent, palm intent…Every scar astonished him. Compared to their wills, Ye Chen’s destruction sword intent was not even worth mentioning. It was like a firefly before the bright moon.
Ninety Li!
Eighty L!
Upon reaching seventy-five li, Hai Wuya bitterly smiled, unable to continue. Meanwhile, Yan Fengfeng and the other two continued on.
Seventy Li!
Sixty Li!
Murong Qingcheng halted, and Yan Fengfeng’s face was also not looking good, carrying a slight paleness.
“Here is fine!”
Ye Chen’s face was calm. The Emperor’s Qi sixty li away was equivalent to an attack of peak fifth step sword intent. Although it was quite fierce, Ye Chen, who had the fifth step Destruction Sword Intent, wasn’t influenced in the slightest. However, he was also considerate of Yan Fengfeng and Murong Qingcheng.
Yan Fengfeng glanced at him and said, “The Emperor Qi issued by Emperor Scar Stele contains a lot of wills. Be careful…the most offensive ones are the sword intent and blade intent!”
“I know!”
Ye Chen had received the impact of a strand of sword intent a moment ago. Who knew how many years this strand of sword intent had been here, but it was still so sharp and dense.
Raising his eyes, Ye Chen saw the first scar. It was a fist imprint, which was square as if imprinted from a jade seal. It was embedded deep into the surface, but since too long had passed, the aura it emitted was somewhat weakened. However, compared to the scars under it, the Emperor Qi emitted by this fist imprint was the most boundless, like an emperor overlooking the heaven and earth from his throne.
Yan Fengfeng explained, “The first imprint was left behind by the first titled Monarch of the ancient era, known as the Ancient Emperor. According to the ancient records, this fist imprint ought to be left behind by the Ancient Emperor’s Four Way Emperor Fist, which is one of the most famous peak profound martial skills.”
Looking down, the three saw the second scar, which was a claw scar.
The three naturally wouldn’t put an ordinary claw scar in their eyes. This claw scar made them feel as if their blood was going cold. It seemed as if this scar was not clawed on the stele—be it the vast lands, mountains and rivers, or even stars, anything and everything would be destroyed under this scar. Moreover, this scar was actually emitting a demonic will, evoking a great fear.
“This is the second titled Monarch after the Ancient Emperor—the Abdicated Celestial Emperor. He walked on the demonic path, and was also the third great king of demonic dao. When he was at his peak, he left this world for the starry sky and disappeared, never to be heard of again.”
Hearing Yan Fengfeng’s words, coupled with the demonic will in her body, Murong Qingcheng felt an illusion before her eyes. She saw a figure on the stele so boundless that it seemed to reach the starry sky. When he stepped down on the land, the entire world seemed to be covered in his shadow. When he waved his hand, large expanses of mountains and rivers were destroyed and stars exploded.
“What a powerful figure!” Shaking her head, Murong Qingcheng cleared her head.
She knew that this was not a simple delusion. Yan Fengfeng’s story created the Abdicated Celestial Emperor’s first impression in her mind. Thereupon, when she was assaulted by his Emperor’s Qi, it combined with the impression in her mind, evoking a profound and mysterious feeling.
“Eighth sword scar is a special case. He didn’t have the strength of a Titled Monarch, but had the means of leaving behind his mark on the stele. He was titled Sword King.” Yan Fengfeng looked toward Ye Chen.
“He is Sword King!”
Ye Chen mumbled. Under the heavens, since the history of mankind, there had only been one Sword King, which was the sword king of the ancient era. The reason why Battle King didn’t dare call himself that was because he believed that his accomplishments were not comparable to this ancient figure. However, this Sword King was more frightening than he imagined—to leave behind a sword scar on Emperor’s Stele with a King’s identity. Although the scar itself was shallow, the aura it gave off was not one bit weak, and gave off a rather rebellious and destructive feeling.
