Zhi was startled by the cold gaze and his eyes also narrowed as he asked, “What happened?” The Azure Dragon relaxed as he sighed, “He fell from his Genius. It is a story that only a few know actually.” Zhi tilted his head in puzzlement as the Azure Dragon said, “Before the Empyrean Tribulation he was the Rising Star of his Sect. He was gentle and liked by all but after he failed to obtain the Emperors Qualification, he changed.” Zhi titled his head as he asked, “How do you know about this? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the Sovereign Realm or something when he enslaved you guys?”

The Azure Dragon just nodded as he said, “He was but we heard this from one of his Seniors at the Sect when he started the Rebellion against him.” Just as Zhi wanted to ask what exactly happened and what the Heavenly Emperor was, the Azure Dragon just smiled as he said, “Lets talk about it another time. Currently, you are the Prodigy who overcame a Tribulation never seen before.”

Hearing this Zhi just shut up as he knew that currently wasn’t the time to ask about this. The Azure Dragon also instructed him to take his Human Form and seal the Emperor Crowns Aura, as it would bring up a lot of unnecessary questions. Zhi just nodded his head as he took his Human Form and his the Emperors Aura. Zhi currently looked like he did before but his hard was pitch black instead of having white streaks mixed in.

Also, the Tattoos on his body had disappeared as well. Now his slender body was well defined but it looked more “celestial”. When everyone saw Zhi take one the Human Form, they immediately flocked him to congratulate him. The Four Island Lords even organized a huge Island wide banquet that lasted for three days. To all of them Zhi passing the Tribulation was very good news because this meant that there were now even less people who could actually threaten them.

To Zhi’s subordinates and allies, it was very good news, for people who were in a neutral stance with him, it gave a lot of thought, whether to befriend him or eliminate him. For the people that were in a hostile relationship with him, they only paled hearing the details of his Tribulation.

For the next week, various people came with their congratulatory gifts and Zhi accepted all of them. He didn’t give a damn about being seen as greedy or superficially courteous. He knew very well that all of these things can be used by himself or as a reward for the Island. After a week had passed, Zhi was just tired.

Suddenly, Fanghong appeared next to him, when he was looking at the various cultivation Arts. Since Zhi didn’t have a continuation to the Art the Fruit gave him and that Art wasn’t very suitable for him either, he was looking for a more suitable Art. When Fanghong appeared next to him, Zhi just sighed a he looked at him with an annoyed face, “Please don’t tell me that it is another one?” Fanghong just gave a wry smile but didn’t say anything.

Seeing this Zhi just sighed and as he was about to tell Fanghong that he should jut accept the gift and say that Zhi was currently in secluded meditation, a familiar voice sounded out, “Don’t you dare to send us packing! Getting here from the middle of nowhere was not easy.” As Zhi heard the voice, he was truly astonished. That voice belonged to the Azure Dragon old man. Zhi immediately looked to the Distance and saw the old man smiling. Next to him were 3 other old men wearing white, brown and red robes.

All of their features differed as the man in white had a muscular build and his glare was the same as a tiger. The old man in brown robes however, had a friendly disposition and there weren’t any scars or the like visible on him. He wasn’t muscular either but neither was he fat. If anything, he seemed a little plump. The old man in red robes however, had long red hair and his eyes reminded Zhi of the people from the Phoenix Clan.

As he sized up the three old men, the one in brown robes said, “No need to be so vigilant, we are the three brothers of this Dragon.” Hearing this, Zhi asked a bit startled, “The ones under the Emperor?” The man in red nodded to the question and then Zhi cupped his hands as he respectfully said, “I apologize for forgetting my manners Seniors.” Zhi was not an egoistical person and he also deeply remembered debts.

These three old men were the Brother’s that the Azure Dragon, who basically saved his life, talked about. Also, Zhi never mistreated those that didn’t mistreat him. If you talked to him normally and without putting on any airs, Zhi did the same.

Fanghong listened with a raised brow because he had no idea who these old men were but Zhi seemed to treat them with quite a bit of respect. He knew that Zhi had kept a lot of secrets from him and he never asked about them as long as they didn’t bring a calamity to Zhi. Seeing that all of them seemed to be familiar with one another, Fanghong just smiled to Zhi and excused himself.

After Fanghong had left, the man in white robes asked, “We travelled all this way but can’t you at least offer us some tea or something?” Zhi was stunned from the straightforwardness. However, he didn’t sense any airs behind the old mans words but it was like he stated a mere courtesy fact. Zhi just smiled and led them to his private courtyard and offered them some Spirit Tea.

Taking a sip of the Tea, a tear came to the white robed man’s eyes as he said, “This is the only thing I have missed in those countless years of being stuck inside that damned mist.” Everyone just laughed lightly at the statement but then Zhi broke the merry mood by asking, “So, what brings all of the exalted Seniors here? I seriously doubt that it is to congratulate me on passing the Tribulation.”

After hearing this, the Azure Dragon waved his hand and Concealment Formations completely enveloped them, preventing anyone from spying on them. The Azure Dragon looked at Zhi seriously and said, “You’re right, we are not here to just congratulate you. We are here because of the Emperor’s Qualification.” Hearing this, Zhi just sipped his tea. This was basically what he had expected.

Seeing Zhi so calmly take it, the Azure Dragon just continued, “Before we continue any further, let me just ask you. What are you planning on doing when you obtain the Throne?” Zhi just sighed as he answered, “Can I give up the Qualifications instead?” This statement just baffled everyone present and the man in white robes nearly chocked on the Tea.

The man in brown robes was the first to recover from the statement and asked, “Why do you want to give up the Qualifications?” Everyone’s eyes narrowed as the waited Zhi’s answer. Zhi just looked at his Tea and said, “Because this things was practically forced on me and as much as I understand about it, it is a “hot potato”.”

The man in brown frowned as he immediately asked, “Hot potato?” Zhi nodded his head as he said, “A hot potato is something that is really bad. The best example for this scenario is: Imagine you are a mere mortal and a Cultivator suddenly appears and throws you a colourful Gem.”

He took a sip of tea before continuing, “As you look at the Gem and think about the situation a Giant Demon appears and sees the Gem. It accuses you of stealing his precious treasure and kills you to take the Gem.”

The old man thought of the situation a bit and then as the Azure Dragon opened his mouth to say something, Zhi said the crux of the story, “However, the Gem was never the Giant Demons but rather the Giant Demon had taken a fancy to it when he saw the Cultivator from before use it to resist his attack.” Everyone now looked at Zhi in confusion.

From the story they understood some things but they did not know whether they were right or not. Zhi just gave a bitter smile as he said, “I am the mortal, the Gem is the Qualification and the Giant Demon is all of the people that want to rob the Qualification. Now you tell me, would you want anything to do with the Gem if you were me?” This made everyone truly silent as they thought about it.

Even they had no guarantee that they would be able to fight against the Heavenly Emperors of other Realms if they came to kill Zhi. More importantly, Zhi was currently only an Empyrean Immortal, his true battle strength might be unreal it was still limited. The Azure Dragon just chuckled as he said, “I told you guys that using common sense to read him is not going to work.”

Hearing this Zhi tilted his head in confusion but the man in red just gave a bitter laugh as he said, “I truly apologize doubting you my old friend. Your judgement had been correct.” Zhi looked at the old man in red and just as he was about to say something, the man in brown robes nodded his head and said, “Same for me. I have also seen the true nature of this young lad.”

A vein popped on Zhi’s head and just as the man in white started saying something Zhi exploded, “Will someone tell me what in the Seven Hells is going on?” Everyone was taken a back by the outburst but before they could say anything, Zhi continued, “Not only have you not answered my question on whether there is a way to get rid of this dame Qualification, you all keep talking about some insider thing that I have no clue of. So will someone please tell me what the Fuck is going on now?”

After saying so, Zhi took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and crossed his hands before his chest. A moment, then another passed in silence, then suddenly everyone burst out laughing loudly. The Azure Dragon that was sitting next to Zhi patted him as he said, “That’s the way. Be concrete and be authoritative, you are our future Emperor after all.” Hearing this, Zhi just looked at he Azure Dragon and said, “Huh? I want to get rid of the Qualification, not win you over to my side.” The merry atmosphere slowly dissipated as everyone turned serious.

The Azure Dragon said, “The Heavenly Emperor isn’t just a ruler but rather a Protector.” Zhi looked at the old man and asked, “Protector?” The man in brown nodded as he continued, “You see, the Heavenly Emperor is the one who controls the Heavens of the Realm but at the same time, he is responsible for protecting the Realm from outside invaders. Although, the Laws of Heaven help us out by restricting the level of the people that can come here, they can’t block all of them.”

Just as the man in brown ended his sentence, the man in white continued the explanation, “That’s why we are currently laying the Protective Formation to keep everyone out. Until now, there haven’t been any people we couldn’t deal with but it is only a matter of time, when there will be people like that and then, we will fall. If we fall, the Realm is up for the picking.”

Zhi’s face was serious as he listened. He wanted to know exactly where this explanation will lead to. The man in red was the last to speak and he was the one who concluded, “However, if an Emperor rises, he can unify the Realm to actually put up a resistance against the Invaders. Currently, it is only the four of us that act as the protective screen. After we fall, because there is currently no Emperor and because the Realm is not unified but rather fragmented like this, it will be easy for the invaders to take over.” After hearing the conclusion, Zhi understood what the old men were all after.

He furrowed his brows as he asked, “You want me to become the Emperor, so that I can unify the Realm and then protect it from the outside invaders.” The four old men nodded and the Azure Dragon sighed as well, “You see, because there is currently, no Emperor, it is very hard for us to advance actually. The Emperor is the best talent in the Realm so before he is crowned, everyone’s gathering of insights will be extremely hard. Not to mention that all the Qi Formations of the Realm are currently inactive.” Hearing this Zhi looked at the old man with an agape jaw as he asked, “Realm Qi Gathering Formations?”

The Azure Dragon nodded as he said, “Yes, all Qi comes from the Primadorial Mist. The purity and the abundance of Qi is very scarce before the Realm Formations are activated by the Emperor. Our current situation is that there are countless tigers pitched into a single cage and the one that survives, lives like a king.”

He just sighed as he said, “The one who becomes the Emperor literally controls the entire Realm. If you want someone to die, you need to just think about it and the Heavenly Lighting will strike the person to smithereens.” Hearing this Zhi just felt his scalp numb. He had not imagine that the Emperor would have as much power as that. Zhi honestly did not know what to say to that but the four old men didn’t pressure him.

They understood very well, how much responsibility a Heavenly Emperor has. He was the one who bears the fate of the Realm, that burden was something none of them wanted on their shoulders, not to say anything about an Empyrean Immortal.

The man in white just said, “Well, don’t worry about it, there is still a long way until that time. It is useless to think of it before you reach that Level.” Zhi could only nod to that, he had learned a lot from this brief conversation he had with the old men. He realized just how important a Heavenly Emperor is to the Realm. The Azure Dragon just smiled as he said, “As White Tiger said, there is still a long way until that time. For now, enjoy the gifts we brought you in celebration of you passing the Tribulation.” As the Azure Dragon said that, the serious atmosphere disappeared into thin air and the merry atmosphere took over again.

The Azure Dragon just produced a jade slip and a few bottles of Pills as he said, “This is the strongest cultivation Art for a Dragon in our Realm. It took me over a trillion years to completely perfect it from a Top Grade Heaven Rank Art. In the bottles are various Pills that are very useful when used in cultivating the Art.”

The Azure Dragon’s words released an avalanche of the gifts as the man in white pulled out the next jade slip, “This is the most profound Weapon Art I have, a Naginata Art called “Dragon Sovereign”. It is by far the strongest Art I have in my collection.” After accepting the two Arts, Zhi forced a smile.

For some reason, the old men seemed to be competing on whose gift was the best. The man in brown just snorted as he produced a set of clothes and a Naginata, “These two are my greatest creation. They are all Top Grade Heaven Rank Artefacts and if you put in some effort, it is very possible to evolve them to a Primadorial Artefact.” The set of clothes and the Naginata also flew in front of Zhi and as Zhi was looking over the things, the three old men were looking at the man in red with a smug face.

The old man in red just smiled as he produced over a thousand Pill bottles and 12 jade slips. Seeing this, even the jaws of the three old men fell, not to mention Zhi’s.

The man in red said smugly, “These Pills are all beneficial to you in your path has a Body Refiner. These are all Top Grade Heaven Rank Pills for tempering the body, fortifying the Soul and purifying the Qi. There are also various Healing and Detoxifying Pills as well, in case you run into some trouble.”

After seeing the mountain of Pill Bottles, Zhi just stared at it blankly. He did not even know what to think about it any more. Every single one of these gifts was something that could cause a bloody war amongst cultivators. Zhi was no fool either, although, the old men said not to sweat it, they gave him all of the best possible Arts, Artefacts and Pills. It conveyed to Zhi, just how high their expectations of him were.

Zhi couldn’t quite blame them either because from the fall of the Black and White Emperor, maybe even during his reign, they have been the ones that have been guarding the Realm in place of the Heavenly Emperor. No matter what, they must be tired as well, so when they saw a light at the end of the tunnel that was Zhi, they did not care at all and invested everything into him.

Zhi just accepted all of the gifts that were given to him and them seeing Zhi give them such a mixed gaze, they all just smiled. These gifts were all enough to give away all of their intentions so to say anything more was just pointless and in fact useless.