Dominator Emperor

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The Might of the Human Emperor (Part 1)

"His Majesty the Human Emperor... is truly terrifying." Upon seeing the word "Pardon," even the cultivators watching from the distant horizon were shaken. They murmured, "His Majesty the Human Emperor is indeed unfathomable."

To intimidate a Prince with a single word, "Pardon"... one could only imagine how terrifying the Human Emperor of the Treasure Sacred Upper Country truly was! The other members of the Xiyan Ancient Sect couldn’t help but draw a sharp, cold breath.

That single word, "Pardon," was enough to prove just how frightening the Human Emperor of the Treasure Sacred Upper Country was!

"Gu Tieshou, His Majesty’s handwritten decree is here. Release the prisoners!" the Purple Mountain Marquis declared in a heavy voice. He held the Holy Decree, his imposing aura so overwhelming it was difficult to breathe.

Gu Tieshou looked at the word "Pardon," shook his head, and said, "Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan plotted to annihilate our Xiyan Ancient Sect. Even the Emperor’s Handwritten Decree makes no difference! Proceed with the execution!"

Gu Tieshou’s words made the Purple Mountain Marquis’s expression fall. He snarled, "Gu Tieshou, don’t be a fool! Defying the Holy Decree will bring utter annihilation to your Xiyan Ancient Sect!"

"Execute them!" Gu Tieshou barked, ignoring him completely.

"Wait—" Seeing Gu Tieshou refuse to back down, the Purple Mountain Marquis’s face paled. He had no choice but to concede. If he failed to bring Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan back, he would not only fail his mission, but the Human Emperor’s authority would be challenged.

"Gu Tieshou, let me take Brother Dong and Marquis Liezhan," the Purple Mountain Marquis conceded in a low voice. "In return, when Demon’s Back Ridge opens, the Xiyan Ancient Sect will be granted a share."

Hearing the Purple Mountain Marquis’s offer, Gu Tieshou hesitated. Demon’s Back Ridge was simply too important to the Xiyan Ancient Sect.

He instinctively looked toward Li Qiye. Li Qiye just smiled and said, "Demon’s Back Ridge has always been the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s territory. Why would we need a reward from the Treasure Sacred Upper Country? Kill them."

Li Qiye’s words made the Purple Mountain Marquis tremble with rage. Brandishing the Holy Decree, he roared, "Junior, do you have any idea what you’re doing? Once a Holy Decree is issued, defying it means being besieged by every sect in the Treasure Sacred Upper Country!"

"A worthless piece of paper, and you dare flaunt it in my presence?" Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed. The moment he finished speaking, he strummed the Guqin held in his arms.

TWANG— The sound of the Guqin echoed. From within the Xiyan Ancient Sect, a beam of Sword Radiance instantly shot into the sky. When the Sword Radiance swept down, the Holy Decree shattered, and the word "Pardon" was cleaved in two.

In that instant, everyone held their breath. Destroying the Human Emperor’s Holy Decree was a direct challenge to his authority.

At that very moment, with a CLANG, the two halves of the word "Pardon" fused back together as if they were a Law forged from Divine Gold. The character instantly burst with a terrifying light. From within the radiance, a magnificent figure emerged. The moment it appeared, an Imperial Power like a tidal wave, a raging flood, surged forth, crashing across the land for countless miles.

Crushed by such Imperial Power, even Gu Tieshou staggered back several steps.

"The will of the Human Emperor—" Seeing the magnificent figure emerge from the light, a distant Cultivator cried out in shock.

The magnificent figure appeared and suddenly opened its eyes. They seemed corporeal, as if they could swallow the sun and moon and command the rise and fall of the Star River, inspiring such awe that one could only tremble and bow.

"You dare defy my Imperial Power? Die!" The figure’s voice was like rolling thunder. Before the words had even faded, it chopped down with a great hand. The power of the strike, aimed straight at Li Qiye, was peerless—a single blow capable of striking the Bright Moon from the heavens and crushing any Prince.

At this moment, Gu Tieshou’s face was drained of all color. Even if Li Shuangyan had wanted to save Li Qiye, she was utterly powerless to do so.

"Get lost—" Li Qiye’s gaze narrowed. He simply barked this one word, not moving an inch.

In the blink of an eye, a massive BOOM resounded. At that moment, some disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect couldn’t bear to watch, certain that Li Qiye had met a gruesome end.

However, in the instant before the blow could land on Li Qiye, a giant hand descended from the Celestial Universe. With a deafening CRACK, the hand shattered the figure. The Human Emperor’s will let out a wretched scream as a wisp of Law tried to escape the hand’s grasp. But with a simple clench, the giant hand obliterated the Law, and the emperor’s phantom vanished into dust.

It all happened so fast that no one saw where the giant hand had come from.

While all this was happening, far away in the plaza of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, one of the Stone People had suddenly extended a stone arm. The arm shot across heaven and earth, plunging deep into the Celestial Universe, its destination unknown!

A single stone hand, reaching from the Nine Saints Demon Gate across an immeasurable distance, had effortlessly crushed the will of the Human Emperor. Even a will powerful enough to suppress a Prince was as insignificant as an ant before this giant hand.

Seeing the stone hand vanish as quickly as it had appeared, Li Shuangyan, who stood beside Li Qiye, felt her very soul tremble. Others might not have known what that giant hand was, but she did!

’A single stone hand, reaching across the void from the Nine Saints Demon Gate, had effortlessly crushed the will of the Human Emperor. How terrifying was that!’

Li Shuangyan had heard from her master, the Sun Demon Emperor, that the four Stone People were the Guardian Gods of the Nine Saints Demon Gate. However, she never knew just how powerful these Guardian Gods truly were.

Today, Li Shuangyan finally understood how terrifying the four Stone People were. She also understood why her master had yielded to Li Qiye that day. ’What are Demon Emperors or Human Emperors? Before the four Guardian Gods, they could be crushed with ease!’

At this moment, it wasn’t just the distant Cultivators who were stunned. The entire Xiyan Ancient Sect, from top to bottom, was frozen in place. The Purple Mountain Marquis was so shocked he was completely stupefied.

’The will of the Human Emperor was so horrifyingly powerful, yet it was crushed with such ease. Who in the world could have done that?!’

"He’s just a Human Emperor. Even a Human Emperor of a higher caliber would be nothing to speak of." Li Qiye paid the matter no mind, uttering these words in the calmest tone imaginable.

"Execute them," Li Qiye commanded.

"No—!" Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan screamed at death’s door. They never imagined that even the Human Emperor would be unable to save them!

The disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect snapped back to reality. With a flash of their blades, they beheaded Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan. The severed heads rolled far into the distance.

Finally, the disciples of the Xiyan Ancient Sect placed the heads of Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan into a wooden box. On Li Qiye’s order, it was presented to the Purple Mountain Marquis.

"Take a message to the Holy Heaven Sect for me: Those who stand in my way will be slain without mercy!" Li Qiye said calmly, giving the Purple Mountain Marquis a single, indifferent glance. Having said his piece, he turned and slowly walked away.

The Purple Mountain Marquis’s expression was darker than night, but he didn’t dare make a reckless move. He took the heads of Dong Shenglong and Marquis Liezhan and departed in haste.

At the very moment the giant hand crushed the will of the Treasure Sacred Upper Country’s Human Emperor, a majestic and imperious man in the Imperial City of Treasure Sacred trembled violently. Crying out in alarm, his eyes, which blazed with Divine Flame, snapped open. He shot to his feet.

The man’s expression changed dramatically. Standing on an observation platform, he gazed toward the distant horizon as if staring directly at the grounds of the Xiyan Ancient Sect. His expression grew incomparably grim. He was the Human Emperor. He had once been a master of strategy, a man who had suppressed all other monarchs. But today, his very spirit was shaken, and his Dao Heart wavered.

The man stood there, his face dark, remaining silent for a long time. For a man of his ambition and strategy, who had once swept across the entire Treasure Sacred territory, to have his will crushed so easily and without the slightest chance to resist... this was not merely a supreme humiliation. It was a dire omen.

"Consult the Elder Ancestor," the man finally said in a heavy voice. He dispatched an Envoy to the Ancestral Land of the Holy Heaven Sect to seek guidance from their Elder Ancestor. This event had simply been too shocking.

Word that a hand from one of the Stone People had crossed the heavens to crush the Human Emperor’s will quickly reached the Sun Demon Emperor in the Nine Saints Demon Gate. When he received the report, he too was visibly shaken.

Within the Nine Saints Demon Gate, the Sun Demon Emperor convened a meeting with the Elders. The atmosphere in the secret chamber was tense.

"The news is confirmed. One of our sect’s Stone People reached out a hand across the heavens and crushed the will of the Treasure Sacred Upper Country’s Human Emperor!" Though the Sun Demon Emperor himself was not visible, his voice echoed through the secret chamber.

The Nine Saints Demon Gate’s intelligence network was truly impressive; they had learned of the event in the shortest possible time.

At this news, the assembled Elders could only look at one another in dismay. The event was not only sudden, it was completely outside the control of their Nine Saints Demon Gate.

"It must have been Li Qiye who summoned the Guardian God," one of the Elders said grimly. It was a foregone conclusion; the answer was obvious.

Forget them—no one in the entire Nine Saints Demon Gate could summon the four Guardian Gods. Only Li Qiye was capable of it! Who else could it possibly be?

After a long silence, an Elder spoke up. "Our Nine Saints Demon Gate and the Xiyan Ancient Sect are separated by millions of miles, not even in the same Jiang Country. And yet, one of our Guardian Gods could reach out a hand, cross the heavens, and easily crush the will of a Human Emperor!"

The Elder paused for a moment before asking, "Just how powerful does that make them?"

This question sent a tremor through the hearts of the other Elders. They exchanged glances once more. This was indeed a challenging question. From time immemorial, they had never heard of the Guardian Gods taking action. In fact, before Li Qiye’s arrival, none of the Elders even knew that their Nine Saints Demon Gate possessed Guardian Gods.

To cross the heavens and crush the will of a Human Emperor with a single hand... this was an absolutely earth-shattering affair.

"It is time for us to make a move." As the Elders sat in silence, the voice of the Sun Demon Emperor sounded once more. "The conflict between the Holy Heaven Sect and the Xiyan Ancient Sect... it’s time we mediated."

Hearing the Sun Demon Emperor’s words, the hearts of the assembled Elders jolted. One of them couldn’t help but speak up. "Your Majesty, the Holy Heaven Sect and the Xiyan Ancient Sect are mortal enemies. The Holy Heaven Sect’s desire to exterminate the Xiyan Ancient Sect has never wavered. If our Nine Saints Demon Gate intervenes, I fear it would mean making an enemy of the Holy Heaven Sect."