Note: I'm not the author of this work. I'm simply hosting this story here with permission from the author.

High up in the distant sky, hidden away from the mortal world, lies a grand palace. Its walls are forged out of holy gold, its pillars emitted an indescribable aura of awe to those who are fortunate enough to set eyes upon this alcazar.

This is the legendary Heavenly Palace.

Inside its majestic hall, there were several deities lined up side by side on the two edges of a long, crimson rug. Each of them wore beautiful garments that matched their dignified appearances. None of deities had even half a foot on the carpet that lead straight to the an imposing throne. On that very throne, sat a palatial ruler, commonly known as The Jade Emperor.

(Note: Jade Emperor – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor)

In front of the emperor, in the middle of the great carpet, stood a lonesome figure clad in a pure white huang pao. All the great gods in the Heavenly Palace were nervously glancing between the solitary figure in the center and the seated Jade Emperor. Although as desolate as the figure appeared in the eyes of many, there was a faint sense of loftiness in the way he stood there. His sharp eyes, thick brows, straight nose and back, and the faint smile on his face, gave off the impression of an impeccable pretty boy. His demeanor can be said to be brimming with confidence; his aura, undoubtedly noble.

(Note: Huang Pao = a traditional chinese dress/long clothing style, wore by male & Qi Pao for females Ex) Huang Pao || Qi Pao )

There was an invisible pressure developing all the spectators inside the palace. As the male deity stared calmly back at the Jade Emperor, the latter finally spoke.

“ [???], for the past centuries you have caused many mischiefs and troubles in this Heaven Domain. Many gods have complained to Us of your unruly behaviour. And today, We have finally decided to address this. [???], even as powerful of a god you are, there is still a limit to your atrocities. As such, We, and all those residing in the Heavenly Domain, have decided to banish you down to one of the Mortal Domains. You will have to rely on your own power to climb back to Our Heaven Domain from then on. Perhaps, down there after going through mortal tribulations, you would correct your faults. Do you have anything you want to say?”

The male deity remained silent as he slowly closed his eyes.

The Jade Emperor’s expression did not fluctuate when he saw that the god did not speak. After another brief moment of silence, the Jade Emperor waved his sleeves as an imposing voice spread out.

“Guards, escort him to the Yellow Spring River.”

A short moment later, four Heavenly Palace guards wearing golden armor and red clothes entered. The male deity was slowly escorted out of the palace.

The moment the banished god left the palace, the tension in the air seemed to have swiftly dissolved as all the gods secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey…who was that just now?”

One of the gods, wearing a green huang pao and standing in the lines, quietly asked the purple clothed god who was next to him.

(Note: Huang Pao = a traditional chinese dress/long clothing style, wore by male & female genders)

“What? You don’t even know who [???] is?! You must be new then…”

The purple clothed god turned and stared in amazement at the one who had questioned him a moment ago.

“Ah…it is so, senior, I am indeed a bit unfamiliar with the matters in this Heavenly Palace..” The green clothed god replied as his face wore an apologetic expression.

“Hmm…no matter, since you asked then this senior here will not ignore your question. The god who was just kicked down from the Heaven Domain, is called [???]. And I am sure you’ve already heard from the Jade Emperor, but because of his mischievous nature he has caused many great trouble in the Heaven Domain for a very long time…”

“But then why did the Jade Emperor not banish him from the Heaven Realm until now??” (Green robed god)

“Aish, although that [???]’s attitude cannot be deemed proper for a god, his power is nearly unmatched in Heaven. Besides the Jade Emperor, the Great Budhha, the goddess GuanYin, and a few other extremely ancient deities, there is practically none that can claim to be his opponent. Even though the Jade Emperor have wanted to contain [???] for a long time, because of latter’s great power the Emperor had been hesitant.” (Purple clothed god)

(Note: Guanyin – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin)

“What?! H-he is that powerful…t-then how was the Jade Emperor able to punish this [???] today?” Hearing the other god’s narration, the green attired god became fearful as he quietly continued to question the senior.

“Ahh, that is because all of us gods here in the Heavenly Palace, as well as many others in the Heaven Domain, have all decided to come together plead the Jade Emperor for something. As for what that is, hehe, it was naturally to ask Him to exile [???] from the Heaven Domain!” The purple clothed god said this as he smiled, his face brimming with pride of his ‘accomplishment.’

While listening to his senior’s words and contemplating on the almightiness of [???], the green attired god suddenly seemed to have thought of something as he quickly asked his senior.

“B-but senior, are you all not afraid [???] would one day come back to the Heaven Domain for r-revenge?”

The purple clothed god’s smile slowly faded as he seemed to have sank into deep thought. After a while, the god suddenly chuckled softly to himself, startling the green clothed god.

“W-what is wrong, senior?” The green robed god asked.

“Mmm, nothing. It is just…if [???] does manage to once again return back to the Heaven Domain, not only the ones involved in this matter suffer, perhaps, this very Domain itself will be flipped upside down….”

As the purple clothed god casually gave his analysis, the weak-hearted green robed god’s eyes slowly rolled back, revealing two white pearls, as he fainted on the spot…

—-

Four guards stood in a rectangle formation around [???] as they marched towards a yellow river. If one were to look closely at river’s water, one would see countless scenes of people at several different locations, in several different situations. This is the river of reincarnation.

As the guards and the deity approached the river an old lady, with her face covered under a large black hood sitting by the river, came into view. In her pure white hand, held a black colored bowl with an unknown liquid inside. This lady is known as Meng Po. And for those souls who drink from her soup, they will washed of all their previous life’s memories, allowing them to successfully reincarnate and lead a new life in the Mortal Domain.

Right before the guards approached Meng Po, the deity, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly moved. His tranquil eyes instantly narrowed as forcefully step forward with one foot. With a powerful push, the deity shot forth towards the Yellow Spring River as a white blur flew past Meng Po, who remained motionless.

Although the four Heavenly Palace guards reacted to this disturbance, they were still a moment slower than [???]. Before they could even catch his shadow, the white robed god sprang into the river and began his descent upon the Mortal Domain.

The four guards stood in their tracks as they thought of how they should report this back to the Emperor.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed out in the air.

“No need for pursuit. Although [???] did not go through the formal reincarnation cycle, this event can only be attributed to intricate workings of Fate. No need to dwell on this. You may all return.”

The grandiose voice belonged to the Jade Emperor.

“”””WE OBEY YOUR WISH””””

The four guards quickly shouted back in unison before they hurried back to the Heavenly Palace…

Note: Please let me know in the comments if I messed up anything in the transition as there's a lot of informational links in this prologue. Remember that this a registered with permission, the original site with the story is https://spiritualnovel.wordpress.com/the-empyrean-overlord/ I will be posting 2-3 chapters of this per day until either the author tells me to stop, I catch up to current releases, or if the author wants to take over (if the last one happens I'll just pass this account over to him).