“No matter who is it, no side is allowed to send their Martial Emperor experts here. They also will not allow this realm to have any Martial Emperors. If war breaks out, neither side may send down a Martial Emperor. The Sky Dome Realm will belong to whichever side that wins it. However, the agreement will continue to remain in effect.”
After Xiao Chen heard this, he could not help but laugh hoa.r.s.ely. To think that when he was still a Martial Disciple in Mohe City’s Gloomy Forest, he had been under the illusion of having the Three Holy Lands’ protection.
Now that he thought about it, he truly had been too naive. Some Demonic Calamity! It was just a game arranged by the major characters of both sides. The crowd was just p.a.w.ns in the game.
Only when one grasped absolute strength could one escape this game; only then would one have the qualifications to seize hold of one’s own fate and see the truth of this world.
Old Feng continued, “However, I’m not sure why the Martial G.o.d Palace and Demonic World came to this agreement. This story involves the Dragon’s Gate’s destruction ten thousand years ago.”
Clearly, based on what he said, he did not know that Xiao Chen had already acknowledged his ident.i.ty as the Azure Emperor’s descendant in the Kunlun Realm.
Xiao Chen smiled and did not pursue the topic. He stood up and said, “Many thanks for Old Feng’s hospitality. I plan to make a trip to the Tianwu Emperor’s grave, so I’ll take my leave first.”
Old Feng was not surprised at this. He felt absolute a.s.surance in Xiao Chen’s strength. Now that there were no Martial Emperors in the Sky Dome Realm, he could not think of anyone who could stop him.
“Haha! I will not send you off, then. If I did not have to hold down the fort, this old man would also want to join in the excitement.”
After leaving the Supreme Sky Sect, Xiao Chen executed Thunder Dragon Steps. With just one step, s.p.a.ce immediately tore. Compared to the rigidity of the Kunlun Realm’s s.p.a.ce, the Sky Dome Realm’s s.p.a.ce was like paper. He instantly stepped into the void.
He advanced at full speed in the void. Occasionally, he tore open s.p.a.ce to see where he was.
In merely four hours, Xiao Chen arrived in the airs.p.a.ce of the Desolate City’s Hidden Dragon Lake from the Great Jin Nation. The void did not limit his speed at all, allowing him to move expeditiously.
“Rumble…!”
The scene before him was somewhat scary. Black thunderclouds gathered for thousands of kilometers in the skies above the Hidden Dragon Lake. Bucket-width-thick lightning bolts descended towards the water surface.
Waves surged and the sky changed color. These bolts of lightning easily tore s.p.a.ce. The lake water splashed everywhere, transforming the previously flat and calm lake into a frightening sight.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly as he watched the thunderbolts descend. If any landed on him, he would not be able to bear it. Things were looking really bad for this frost flood dragon.
Light flashed, and Xiao Chen entered the lake. He dodged the bolts of lightning and descended towards the Tianwu Emperor’s grave.
When Xiao Chen reached the center of the lake, a man in Tianwu royal robes with a sword on his back revealed a surprised expression. He muttered, “Why did he come back at this time?”
The world under the water was a completely different world. Xiao Chen stopped above and did not rush to land. He saw bolts of lightning plunging into the cold pool beside the Tianwu Emperor’s grave.
A sharp and aged roar resounded endlessly. This cry shook Xiao Chen’s eardrums, and a certain sense of sorrow stirred in his heart.
This roar did not sound like an absolute expert defying heaven with boundless sharpness and boldness. It was more like an elderly man struggling at death’s door, complaining about the final dissatisfaction in his heart.
There was an indescribable obsessiveness in that voice, a strange grief, and poignant emotions. Unless one was in its shoes, one would never understand.
The world has a cycle. No matter what creature one was, no matter how strong one was, one would not be able to escape death.
The Heavenly Dao was like a sword hanging above everyone’s head. No one could shatter it.
It looked like Old Feng was right. This frost flood dragon had lived for too long. It had been twenty thousand years already since the Tianwu Emperor established the Tianwu Dynasty.
The frost flood dragon had already exhausted its Luck. Even if it wanted to clear the tribulation and become a Frost True Dragon at this point, doing so would be almost impossible.
When Xiao Chen looked in front, he saw several figures standing at the limits of his vision. Their eyes were filled with incomparable excitement. Clearly, these people knew as well.
This old flood dragon had guarded this place for an extremely long time, forcing all the people who came with bad intentions to return in low spirits. However, it was finally going to die.
At long last, these people would learn what secrets the grave of the first-generation Tianwu Emperor hid.
Like these people, Xiao Chen felt extremely curious about this grave, sharing their endless antic.i.p.ation in his heart.
However, when they all arrived here, they heard that old, sorrowful roar. They could not help but feel moved. Such a feeling was incomprehensible without experiencing it for themselves.
Xiao Chen did not know whether or not he could be considered someone who understood. However, he could tell that this sorrowful roar contained a type of helplessness.
What was the helplessness?
It was the helplessness of being unable to fulfill the agreement between the frost flood dragon and the Tianwu Emperor. The flood dragon saw through all the mundane things and stood at the top of the Sky Dome Realm. However, it stood helpless against death.
The frost flood dragon still had tons of regrets in its heart that it could not let go. It could not let go of the grave of this first-generation Tianwu Emperor.
Helpless, helpless, utterly helpless!
The rumbling thunder accompanied the fierce lightning blitzing through the sky, tearing through s.p.a.ce; thunderbolts plunged indifferently into the cold pool.
Xiao Chen raised his head and looked into the distance. He saw ten-odd Martial Sages with extremely excited expressions. They were all tense and did not dare to say anything.
He looked back and forth between the cold pool and the distant group of people. Then he shook his head slightly and stepped back. For some reason, he lost interest in this Tianwu Emperor’s grave.
Xiao Chen truly did not wish to profane the obsession of the old flood dragon who had guarded this place for twenty thousand years.
Just when he was about to leave quietly, thousands of purple lightning bolts merged together and formed a golden bolt of lightning.
The lightning bolt flashed from the sky like a thrown spear. Even before it landed, the entire s.p.a.ce started trembling.
Countless pitch-black cracks spread out in a spider web fas.h.i.+on in all directions from where the golden lightning bolt struck. It seemed like s.p.a.ce shattered.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!” The cracks were like tentacles reaching for Xiao Chen. Then, a formless power stopped them, preventing them from proceeding forward.
“This old flood dragon is finished.”
Xiao Chen did not even bother looking at those scary cracks. He simply gazed at the cold pool and sighed.
“Boom!”
The golden bolt of lightning instantly entered the cold pool, and the intense roaring stopped. The Hidden Dragon Lake finally regained its previous calm; the great disaster silently disappeared.
After a while, a green light came out from the cold pool. It looked like the fireflies of summer, so very beautiful.
The motes of light landed on the ground, and green plants instantly grew around the Tianwu Emperor’s desolate burial ground. This land suddenly teemed with life.
The old flood dragon died. Its long and extensive life essence quickly scattered, presenting everyone with a miraculous scene.
The plants on the ground grew rampantly, filling this gloomy place with intense spirituality, turning it into a world of plants.
As the crowd marveled at such a sight, a dragon pearl flew out of the cold pool, giving off a bright light. This light was as resplendent as the sun, so piercing that it hurt the eyes.
The expressions of all the cultivators around the Tianwu Emperor’s grave changed as they felt an apocalyptic power threatening to destroy the entire Desolate City.
“This is bad. This old flood dragon is unable to die in peace and wants to destroy the entire Desolate City, burying everything with it.”
“We are finished. We cannot escape. This energy has locked the surrounding s.p.a.ce. There is no way out.”
A Martial Sage who flew up met with an invisible wall and rebounded. They were all in a panic now. Their faces turned ashen as boundless despair flooded their hearts.
However, after waiting for a while, they discovered that the dragon pearl had mysteriously disappeared. The energy locking down the s.p.a.ce had also dissipated.
“That startled me. It turns out that it was just a feint.”
“I just knew that old flood dragon would not have any energy left to do anything like that after getting struck half-dead by the lightning.”
All the Martial Sages around released their bated breaths at the same time. Then they stared at the Tianwu Emperor’s grave once again. The despair on their faces disappeared. Replacing it was a boundless fervor.
“Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+”
Figures flashed as everyone rushed to the Tianwu Emperor’s grave. However, when this group of people got close, lightning flashed, and a white figure suddenly stood on the grave.
“Everyone, please go back. This grave is not something you can open.”
The sudden appearance of the white figure startled everyone. There were very few Martial Sages in the Sky Dome Realm. They all knew everyone within this circle.
Even if they did not personally know each other, they would at least have heard of the other party’s name and would not be completely unaware of them. However, they had never heard of such a young Martial Sage appearing before. Furthermore, his cultivation was unfathomable.
The Clan Head of the Great Jin Nation’s Li n.o.ble Clan looked at Xiao Chen and asked, “Little friend, where might you be from? Will you tell us your name?”
Xiao Chen felt slightly stunned. It had just been two years or so, yet not a single person recognized him. This felt strange to him.
In fact, Xiao Chen did not realize that not only had his appearance changed in his two years in the Kunlun Realm, but his aura had also undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
The White Robed Bladesman of the Sky Dome Realm kept a low profile and was withdrawn. He hid his sharpness, showing a calm exterior and a proud heart.
However, the current Xiao Chen revealed his sharpness and also had the bloodline of a sovereign overlord, which affected his aura. With one glance, he looked like a treasured saber, brilliant and dazzling.
He appeared unparalleled and sharp, but his heart remained as calm as still water—a complete reversal from before. Furthermore, several people here had never seen him in person, so it was normal for them not to recognize him.
Only the Bai Clan’s and the Sima Clan’s Clan Heads had looks of uncertain shock in their eyes; they felt that Xiao Chen seemed familiar.
However, they simply could not connect this Xiao Chen, who had changed a lot, to that White Robed Bladesman. Furthermore, they were unwilling to believe that a Martial Monarch could advance to Martial Sage in two short years. Just the thought of it was incredible.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly as he looked at the ten-odd Martial Sages in front. He said, “My family name is Xiao, and my given name is Chen. It is the Xiao with the gra.s.s head and the Chen with the sun head. You should have heard of my name before.
“I remember that there are some people here who fought with me personally in the past. What’s wrong? It’s just been two years. Have you already forgotten about this Xiao’s existence?”
Chapter Notes:
Been getting a couple of comments about this. For those who are not aware, the blurred chapter t.i.tles can be revealed by hovering your mouse over it, clicking it, or tapping on it (for those on mobile).