When he saw the Canopy Marshall slam into the ground, the North Pole Emperor’s face flashed with concern.
He turned to the other immortals and said, “take the Canopy Marshall to Old Lord Taishang for treatment.”
He said to the immortals in the palace. Yue Lao stepped out of the crowd, lifted the gravely wounded Canopy Marshall from the ground, then disappeared from the hall.
The other immortals gulped. Judging from the Canopy Marshall’s injuries….
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity’s intentions were obvious.
“Hmph, so you aren’t totally unqualified to be Master of the Heavenly Court.”
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity laughed calmly as he scanned the crowd. When they sensed his gaze, more than half of the immortals dared not meet his eyes.
“What are you people still here for? What do you want to accomplish? Acting tough?”
“Elder Brother, do you really have to be like this?” asked the North Pole Emperor, sidestepping the question.
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity cracked his neck, then flung his greatsword to the palace floor with a bang.
“All I need is for you to give up the throne.”
Outside the palace.
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity's soldiers waved their weapons above their heads and cried, “Step down! Step down! Step down!”
When the immortals in the Cloudy Palace of the Golden Arches saw their battle formation, their hearts shook.
Boom!
A sudden crack of lightning cut through the air.
Seeing this, even the North Pole Emperor was visibly shaken.
This was the Heavenly Court! Only someone from a higher realm could drop lightning here.
"Did you see it? This is the Will of the Heavens; it cannot be defied. Step down, little brother. I am not drooling over your throne. Once I've gotten what I’m after, the throne will belong to you once more.”
"What is it you wish to obtain?"
"Transcendence," said the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity arrogantly. "I don't care about power or status. All I want is transcendence. I want to grow and challenge myself in a larger world. This place is too small for me; it can’t contain me.”
"So that's why you colluded with the demons?" growled the North Pole Emperor.
"How could you call this ‘colluding?’ It’s simply a mutually beneficial exchange. They need me to restrain the Heavenly Court for this period of time. When the time is up, I'll ascend to a higher realm with their help. After that, feel free to reclaim the imperial throne and handle the demons as you see fit. All I want is ascension. I don’t care what’s going on between you or about empty titles.”
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity's expression was one of unbridled arrogance. In his eyes, his world couldn't be restricted to this tiny patch of land.
He needed a larger platform to develop himself. Everyone else was beneath his notice.
Back then, the Jade Emperor's seat ought to have been his. However, he wasn’t interested in empty titles, nor did he want such trifles to influence his state of mind.
In truth, the Jade Emperor was stronger than him.
However, his Dao was deeper than the Jade Emperor's.
He was enlightened in the strongest of the Three Thousand Great Daos, the Dao of Destruction. It was slow to cultivate but if he succeeded, he'd be invincible.
However, he'd been too arrogant. Walking the path of Destruction was treacherous.
He hadn’t taken a single step forward, not in tens of thousands of years.
He never would have guessed that the Jade Emperor he’d once looked down on would ascend faster than him. Meanwhile, he was still stuck at the peak of the immortal king level, unable to cross that final threshold.
He was proud.
He refused to accept it.
He didn't want to fall behind others.
He walked the path of the strongest Dao, yet lagged behind other people.
For someone as wantonly arrogant as he was, this was an enormous shock.
However, not long ago, someone had contacted him. They’d promised that, so long as he took control of the Heavenly Court, they'd help him cross that final threshold.
Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to trust them lightly.
But then the other party offered him a taste of what was to come: his strength, which had been stagnant for so long, actually made some progress.
So he decided to cooperate.
As for the principles of the Three Realms or the life and death of its countless inhabitants….
Did that have anything to do with him?
They were nothing but ants. How could they stop him from pursuing his Dao?
No one could get in the way of his success!
Not even his little brother….
If his brother dared interfere, he’d kill him too!
“That really does sound like you.” The North Pole Emperor nodded. He understood the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity better than anyone.
This was just the sort of person he was: selfish beyond compare.
“If you understand, hurry and step down. You ought to know what will happen if you don’t. I won’t show you any mercy,” shouted the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity. He’d already given this little brother of his enough face.
If anyone else dared speak to him like that, he might very well have slapped them to death and ended things already.
That said, although they were brothers, the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity was still impatient and had still massacred his way through the palace.
“Can I ask you a few questions?” said the North Pole Emperor, side-stepping the issue once more.
“Ask,” snorted the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity.
“Are the Underworld and Immortal Region in the same situation?”
“They are. The Five Ghost Emperors should be making a fuss in the Underworld as we speak. As for the Immortal Region, they’re in the midst of an internal conflict. However, I’m different from the others. They truly are interested in sitting at the top of their respective realms, whereas I’m in it purely for the sake of reaching my own goals.
The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity grinned confidently as if telling the onlookers, “my goals are far loftier than theirs.”
When the other immortals heard this, their hearts sank. They never would have guessed that neither the Underworld nor the Immortal Region was able to avoid encountering such a calamity.
To succeed in simultaneously inciting so many major figures to rebel, just who exactly was supporting the demons?
As they inwardly considered the matter, the North Pole Emperor simply asked him directly.
He knew the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity far too well; he’d surely answer the question.
“Just who exactly is standing behind the demons to have convinced so many of you to rebel at the same time? And he’s even capable of helping you take that final step? If I’m not mistaken, you pursue the Great Dao of Destruction, a path no one else in the Three Realms dares walk.”
“I can’t say. Rather, he won’t let me say it,” snorted the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity. “That said, I can tell you that he isn’t siding with the demons. The one who contacted me was a boy named Gu Li. He appeared before me on that expert’s behalf. Therefore, you needn’t worry; there is no one backing the demons. Once I’ve left, you can fight them as you see fit.”
The North Pole Emperor nodded in understanding. “So that’s how it is.”
“I’ve already cleared up your doubts. Now then, shouldn’t you make this easy for me too?”
“Amitabha.”
Suddenly, a golden cicada fell into the main hall. Mere moments later, the cicada transformed into a monk before their very eyes.
When the immortals saw him, they arched their brows in surprise. “The Golden Cicada.”
“Are the people of the Buddhist Domain planning to get mixed up in this too?” growled the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity.
“Amitabha. This humble monk is here for his disciple, not for the Buddhist Domain,” said the Golden Cicada with a calm smile. “Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity, you seriously wounded my disciple. Am I not allowed to speak up on his behalf?”