“You are a disappointment.”

“Forgive me, father, I…”

“I didn’t allow you to speak. So, pathetic, you left your sister to die and retreated by yourself. This might have been the best choice considering what you were against but you should have been able ”

“Y-yes…”

In a large throne room surrounded by many guards that were all experts at Saint Emperor level a sound echoed. The Emerald Phoenix Emperor’s old palm connected with the Prince’s face while he was kneeling down. No one dared to utter a word while seeing this exchange between probably the two most influential people in their empire.

Now that the Princess was gone, Cuilu Kong had become the prime candidate for the throne. Everyone knew that the Emerald Phoenix Emperor was in the twilight days of his life. Regretfully for his son, this secret space had opened up in their lifetime and the order came to put his life on the line for victory. The prince was known for not taking any risks, and when he encountered someone who could defeat his sister in single combat, he decided to run.

While Cuilu Kong was the crown prince it didn’t mean that he was the only one that could take on that role. Other branch families and even the Prince’s own children could fill out that role if he lost his life here. The Emerald Phoenix Emperor had no siblings left; after taking the throne, he promptly dealt with any opposition. Everyone was at least certain that the whole empire would become really busy after his demise and that the rivers would flow with blood.

People were getting ready for a war, the factions had already been formed and this venture that appeared only once every hundred thousand years was also calculated. Many young emperors had perished inside it but some were also victorious. The current line of nobility had survived ever since they had been victorious and brought back various resources. Cultivating in this domain was known to boost spiritual energy to an extreme. Even the Emerald Phoenix Emperor looked a bit more lively. In the past, he would probably have someone else strike his son but after arriving here he was becoming active again.

“Now… I can feel that someone strong is approaching… but this place… it truly is fascinating, I feel a hundred years younger, I must absorb more of this spiritual energy!”

The old man that usually kept his face hidden started standing up from his throne. His visage was revealed once again to everyone, even though he was moving and saying that he felt invigorated, his appearance was less than stellar. He was nothing more than a lanky bag of bones with a long white beard and lack of hair. Only thanks to his large hat and long robes was he able to hide most of his weak features.

However, there was some kind of change, with a wave of his hand the huge glass window that was in front of them shattered into many tiny pieces. The old man that looked like a corpse flew up into the sky, the long emerald phoenix pattern on his robe continued to flutter in the wind while everyone watched. They weren’t sure what he was doing but soon they realized as the amount of Qi in the vicinity started to drop.

They were all experienced cultivators and could feel all the energy rushing in the direction of their leader. He was eating it all up, all of what was in the air in a radius of several kilometers around them was being sucked up by the emperor. The Qi turned into tiny balls of pale light which started turning green when they appeared next to the old Emperor’s body.

“More… I need more… bring me all of those herbs and pills, I need more!”

His voice which was normally quite silent started booming through the entire fortress. People started scrambling almost instantly to the warehouses where they had stored all of the spiritual herbs and pills they stole from the natives. Even before bringing them over all of these items started floating up as they were drawn into the small black hole the Emerald Phoenix Emperor was producing.

People started dropping down to their knees soon after. While the energy was being sucked up by their Emperor it still was there. Soon the concentration was making it hard for them to breathe as their leader didn’t do anything to protect them. Only thanks to all the generals that were present were the lesser cultivators able to survive through this ordeal.

“Hah… if I knew it was like this, I would have never told my useless son and daughter to come here.”

Soon the sound of the Emperor’s laugh was heard by everyone. The ones that glanced up were greeted by a green glow. This aura of spiritual excellence was brought forth by a flame that was gently spinning around the man’s frame. Muscles and a healthy complexion replaced the previously lanky appearance. This man that looked like he would die when hit by a breeze now looked mighty and ready for any challenge.

“Hm…”

Yet after getting a good laugh the Emperor calmed down, the energy that surrounded him started to thin out once more. It was as if he had a problem in containing all this might and of this, he was aware. Without saying anything the radiant emerald glow died down and he descended down to the ground.

Even though he was now containing the new gained power inside of his body, the experts that were around here knew that it was only a temporary boost. All of them had gone through a similar intoxication with their newfound energy but it also had its limits. In the case of the old emperor, it wouldn’t last as long due to his advanced age. There was no way of beating time, nevertheless he had gained some by coming here and his old power had been restored. With their leader in such a state there was no reason to believe that their enemies would be able to defeat them.

“Unwelcome guests are coming… one of them… how interesting…”

After mumbling some words to himself the old emperor returned to his previous throne room. It was time to face his new opponent which had appeared before him. The other generals and masters knew this well, their enemies were done taking care of the remnants of Cuilu Kong’s forces. They would soon appear here to lay siege to their fortress but with the Emerald Phoenix Emperor being here, they knew that their enemies stood no chance.

People started cheering at the display of power, after weeks of nothing but losses they knew that victory was at their fingertips. Not everyone was glad, there was one person that wasn’t looking at the Emperor with reverence but with disgust. His face was somewhat similar to the man that had regained some of his lost youth.

“Engorge yourself in this moment of glory, it will be short-lived…”

Soon he vanished into the shadows without anyone being the wiser. With so much happening around them and the enemy army quickly approaching there was just no time for anyone to pay attention. Soon the gong resounded through the encampment and the huge flying fortress that the Emerald Phoenix Emperor arrived in started moving, it was time to show why this Emperor had managed to place a whole empire under his boot.

…

‘What is happening there, looks like the red fog is getting sucked into that middle dot… and it’s growing in size?’

Zhang Dong had previously identified the Emerald Phoenix Emperor as the big red dot on the map. Now it was gradually increasing in size while the other smaller red symbols started getting smaller.

‘Is he absorbing the spiritual energy around him? These guys do get a power boost when coming to this side…’

He remembered that just by stepping foot into the Azure Empire it was possible for the people from the other one to get a power boost. This was another chance that he probably lost, if he moved faster then perhaps he could have battled the Emerald Phoenix Emperor while he was in his incomplete state. Now his power had risen further and perhaps could even rival his own. Even when being still far away from their base he could feel a powerful being in the distance and he was sure that he had been spotted by that person.

‘Hope this Emerald Phoenix Emperor likes duels, if I have to fight him and multiple Saint Emperors it might go badly… but not like I’m alone and there is always that option that I can activate.’

It was getting close to the last showdown, the enemy was at their base which would make it more favorable for them. He was at the helm of the attacking army with his angelic automatons, on the left were the Heavenly Crane Sect forces, and on the other Lucius with the golden knight squadron. His new allies had actually committed quite a lot of resources to this and had already gained a lot of rewards along the way.

Regretfully there weren’t that many reinforcements along the way. The Emerald Phoenix Empire forces were quite diligent in murdering any cultivators from the Azure Dragon Empire. There were no prisoners to liberate along the way, only injured women and children that were left behind as servants.

This didn’t mean that they didn’t garner any help from others. When word started reaching that the invaders were being eradicated many sell swords decided to join. It wasn’t anything new for people to join the winning side, it was an obvious choice to the cultivators living in this world. They weren’t all that strong but they did offer some help and also could bolster their defensive or attacking formations with their spiritual energy.

“Hoh, so they do have one of those… I might have to get my bastion over here a lot faster than I expected…”

Zhang Dong and his forces started slowing down as the enemy fortress appeared before them. While there were some defensive structures down on the ground along with defensive towers this was not what he was looking at. Up in the air was a massive flying structure that was even larger than his own Golden Dong Palace. It was truly massive and produced a massive shadow over the land it was hovering over.

“Everyone, stop!”

His words echoed through the whole army which instantly reacted. It was time for a quick talk between leaders. Naturally, he didn’t believe that this could be talked through but if even a minuscule chance existed, then he had to try.

“Emerald Phoenix Emperor, I am Long Dong, the Golden Dragon, I wish to have an audience with you!”

“Hah, so you are the brat that drove my useless son back… interesting…”