Human Emperors…
In the ancient time, the Great Saint, Empress Wa[1], worked hand-in-hand with many almighty experts, using the spirit light and spirituality derived from the Myriad Spirit Cauldron as the foundation, and combined them with the bloodlines of Divine Dragons, Phoenixes, Kilins, and many other divine beasts, to finally create the human race. Since then, some Human Emperors were born with the great fortune of the Heaven and Earth. They possessed various qualities, such as wisdom and farsightedness, might in terms of strength and courage. Some had the abilities to brace through the hardships and open up fertile land suitable for the human race to live, or were strong enough to slay demons and fiends, becoming the protectors for the development of the human race.
And, after the appearance of the Three Emperors and Five Kings, the human race established the only dynasty that existed until now - Yu!
The Human Emperors of Great Yu ruled the universe with the system of enfeoffment[2]. Marquises with the title of 'The Tribune of the People and the Protector of the Land' were conferred, given with the duty of protecting the human race that lived throughout the entire universe.
Amidst the deep, muffled beating of the dragon-skinned war drum, the fleet of thirty ships quickly closed in the company of Immortals. Wu Qi noticed that the few Immortal Monarchs, including Immortal Chuan, had a very odd expression. It was as if there was a big pile of dog poop placed before them, which they were forced to swallow. Even worst, they had to lick their lips and pretend it was very delicious. Words just could not precisely describe their expressions. Wu Qi even noticed that Immortal Chuan was so angry that he clenched his left palm into a fist behind the back, while blue veins were popping up on the back of the fist.
Suddenly, thunderclap-like loud battle cries were heard coming from the ships, as a murderous aura soared high up into the sky. In the next moment, troops of armored-soldiers charged out from the cabins of the ships. They came to the deck and fell neatly into rank, their eyes shimmering with a cold gleam as they stared at the company of Immortals and cultivators. A hostile and confronting aura that could not be concealed lingered between them. It made Wu Qi frown. It seemed to him that this Yu Zong, the Marquis Jian, and the Immortals were not on friendly terms.
Also, those Heaven Immortals from nearby heavenly realms were having a very interesting response. They very carefully moved back several miles, and formed the most orthodox formation - a formation of Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams, assuming a manner of protecting themselves. The Heaven Immortals were standing on the outside, surrounding their disciples in the middle. It made Wu Qi recall the wild buffaloes he saw in Africa back on earth. When they encountered some predators, they always employed the same tactics to protect their juveniles.
The mightiness of Human Emperors was indeed extraordinary. Holding Princess Zhang Le's hand, Wu Qi coldly watched as Immortal Chuan and the other Immortal Monarchs flew towards the ship in the middle. Meanwhile, Patriarch Yuan Hua raised his hand, signaling the Heaven Immortals and cultivators from Yuan Hua Sect to move back, joining the Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams formation as well.
A deep laughter echoed out of the ship in the middle, as a chariot pulled by three flood dragons rushed out of it, greeting upon the company of Immortal Monarchs with an escort of nearly one hundred armored-soldiers. A middle-aged man clad in a jade-colored war robe and a pale-golden armor at the outside, and with a crimson cape draped over his shoulder, was seen sitting with a straight back on a bronze throne engraved with numerous images of savage beasts. His glance was cold as he looked at the approaching Immortal Monarchs.
The visage of this middle-aged man was eighty percent similar to Yu Hede, Yu Hetian, and Yu Heling, the three now-dead brothers. Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le exchanged a glance, affirming each other's guesses. This Yu Zong, the Marquis Jian from Great Yu, who administered Yu Hua Heavenly Realm, was the father of the three brothers.
Yu Hua Heavenly Realm was a mid-upper grade heavenly realm, very far away from Puluo Heavenly Realm, and it was administered by Yu Zong. The territory under his control covered a very large area beyond the boundary of Yu Hua Heavenly Realm, and even Puluo Heavenly Realm was under his administration.
Nevertheless, as the Heaven was established after the few apocalypses that happened many, many years ago, all the almighty experts throughout the entire universe had set a rule - Immortals were administered by the Heaven, while the human race was administered by the Human Emperors. Both of them would rule their own factions, with a mutual non-interference agreement. Therefore, although Yu Zong had a huge territory under his name, as he was a Marquis conferred by the Human Emperors, he did not have the right to give any orders to the Immortal Monarchs. On the other hand, Immortal Chuan and the others merely felt scruple and helplessness when facing Yu Zong.
Immortal Chuan issued a few rather dry laughs, which sounded as if he were crying. Realizing he had a very unpleasant laughter, he came to a sudden stop after a few laughs. Then, with his fist cupped and facing Yu Zong, he said, "Immortal Chuan offers greetings, Marquis Jian!"
Yu Zong remained sitting in the chariot. He did not rise to his feet, nor did he return the greeting. Instead, in an utterly arrogant manner, he grinned coldly and said, "You can dispense with the formalities!"
His words were brief, but they made Immortal Chuan and the other few Immortal Monarchs' faces flushed with anger. A faint immortal pressure spread out from them, quickly wrapping towards all the armored-soldiers on the fleet of thirty ships who Yu Zong brought here. Almost instantly and together, the armored-soldiers issued a bellow of rage and sent forth a towering murderous aura, which transformed into a near corporeal sword energy. Even as it appeared, the sword energy brutally slashed onto the immortal pressure jointly unleashed by Immortal Chuan and the others, ripping it to shreds.
Patriarch Yuan Hua chuckled and said under his breath, "So, the rumor is true. This Yu Zong the Marquis Jian is indeed an arrogant and unyielding man! Hehe, if not for the fact that the Heaven has to show some respect for the Human Emperors, a man like him would have long been killed by those great Immortals!"
Darting his eyes from side to side, Wu Qi asked in a whisper, "Ancestral Master, how strong is this Yu Zong?"
Patriarch Yuan Hua said coolly, "Yu Zong, the Marquis Jian, is the keeper of Yu Hua Heavenly Realm, whose responsibility is to safeguard the human race in this part of the universe. Tsk, that is just a mere decoration to his reputation! The mortals in the territories ruled by various immortal sects have long established their own empires and dynasties. How could he interfere with them? He is just a nail that the Great Yu's Human Emperors planted into this part of the universe. Nevertheless, he is strong. I reckon his cultivation base must be at par with a Twentieth Tier Heaven Immortal?"
A Twentieth Tier Heaven Immortal? That meant the magical power he possessed was roughly two hundred times greater than a Thirty-Sixth Tier Heaven Immortal. Compared to Patriarch Yuan Hua's cultivation base of Twenty-Seventh Tier, he was about four times stronger. But, as Patriarch Yuan Hua now owned the golden immortal sword, his overall strength could easily match Yu Zong. Thus, he had no fear for this guy.
But, the army of several tens of thousands of armored-soldiers who Yu Zong brought here with the fleet of thirty ships was very strong. In fact, the military strength Yu Zong possessed was far superior to any one of the immortal sects in Puluo Heavenly Realm. None of them in Puluo Heavenly Realm had such a strong backing as him. This was what made all the Immortals fear him so much.
Provoked by Yu Zong's rude attitude, the few Immortal Monarchs were fuming with rage. However, when their immortal pressure was shattered by the armored-soldiers' murderous aura, their bodies trembled, and their faces turned extremely unsightly. "Is Marquis Jian here to insult us?" Immortal Chuan asked with a sneer, "If you are just looking for enemies here, we are not your match. But, I can always report this to Heavenly Lord San Yu of Yu Hua Heavenly Realm, and I believe he will be more than willing to be the judge here... What do you think?"
Heavenly Lord San Yu was a seasoned Heaven Immortal with a very profound cultivation base, the superior to Immortal Chuan and a few other Immortal Monarchs. He was in charge of a very large territory within the vicinity of Yu Hua Heavenly Realm, an area larger than the one administered by Yu Zong. He was the only person who could suppress Yu Zong in this part of the universe. On top of that, he had a very strong backing in the Heaven. No matter it was his personal overall strength, or the power of his backing, both of them allowed him to stand firmly above Yu Zong.
Upon hearing Immortal Chuan's words, Yu Zong grinned coldly and said, "Trying to threaten me with Heavenly Lord San Yu? Hehe!"
Even as he was grinning, Yu Zong rubbed his nose, where a few very obvious tiny black threads could be seen. In fact, they were the traces of yet-to-disappear ghost aura from Princess Zhang Le's ghost spell. While slightly twisting her slender waist, Princess Zhang Le gently scratched Wu Qi's palm as she told him with a voice transmission, "How is the power of Zi Xuan's spell? Although he is a Twentieth Tier Heaven Immortal, he also can't withstand the power of my ghost spell!"
Wu Qi nodded silently. He was really surprised that Princess Zhang Le's ghost spell could truly hurt Yu Zong!
A few very unpleasant hissing noises were heard coming from Yu Zong's nose. While placing down his hand, he said coldly, "Immortal Chuan, I know you've found an ancient mansion which belongs to Great Yu."
Immortal Chuan's expression changed abruptly. It turned ghastly pale as he cried out at the top of his voice, "What do you want?"
Yu Zong waved his hand, assuming a very generous look as he said, "I'm not having a very good mood recently, so I will not waste my breath with you. I want all the treasures found in the core of the ancient mansion. Those are the treasures of the human race, and they are useless to you, the Immortals. Apart from that, I will not take anything else. What say you?"
Immortal Chuan's expression turned even uglier. "This is absurd," he said coldly, "If I bring those treasures of the human race to the market in the Heaven, I can always exchange them for a significant amount of immortal stones and immortal pills. How could Marquis Jian want them without paying anything?"
Yu Zong rubbed his nose, making the same unpleasant hissing noise. His body trembled slightly as he bellowed, "Don't give me that nonsense! Who tells you that I didn't pay anything for them? Do you see all the soldiers I brought here? Do you think that I don't have to pay for their expenses? And, I've even brought thirty ships here! Do you have any idea how many energy stones had I spent in order to travel so far here? Immortal Chuan, you better don't reject the respect I have for you!"
Wu Qi shook his head, wondering why this Yu Zong acted just like a bandit or hooligan. But, at the same time, Wu Qi could understand why he had such a bad mood, as he had just lost three sons. Looking at Immortal Chuan and the few others, Wu Qi sighed silently. He had a feeling that Yu Zong was actually venting his pent-up anger on Immortal Chuan and the others.
Daoist Chi came next to Patriarch Yuan Hua and asked with a whisper, "Master, if a fight breaks out between them, should we assist the Immortal Monarchs?"
Patriarch Yuan Hua turned to give those Heaven Immortals from Eminent Cloud Sect a glance. All of them, including Reverend Yun, were staring back at him with a hostile look in their eyes. Patriarch Yuan Hua shook his head and said, "If they do fight later, you will bring all our children back to Green Cliff Planet, then bring someone to reinforce your Junior Brother. I'll stay here and provide some assistance to the few Immortal Monarchs."
With the golden immortal sword in his hand now, Patriarch Yuan Hua was very confident in his own overall strength. Thus, he had decided to provide some assistance to the few Immortal Monarchs.
But, his words made all the other Heaven Immortals feel jealous and envy. Meanwhile, Reverend Yun's heart sunk when he heard Patriarch Yuan Hua was asking Daoist Chi to bring reinforcements to Daoist Min. Why was Daoist Min needing reinforcement? What was he doing right now?
While all the Immortals were having different thoughts in their mind, Yu Zong roared impatiently as he clenched his right palm into a fist, thrusting it straight towards Immortal Chuan. Little did Immortal Chuan expect that Yu Zong was truly an unreasonable man as per the rumor, and hence was caught unprepared, allowing the punch to quickly close in.
The uniform of Immortal Monarch clad by Immortal Chuan was given to him by the Heaven when he took up the post. It was a defensive outfit of lower-grade immortal item level. Right when Yu Zong thrust his fist out, the immortal robe issued a clear and melodious bird tweet, and a green sparrow thrust out from it, together with a large column of clouds and smoke. The clouds and smoke swirled around him, amidst which, one could vaguely see some glinting rivers and mountains. Then, Yu Zong's fist sunk into the cloud, and became slower and slower.
Grinning coldly, Yu Zong bellowed suddenly, "Hissing Wind Jade Butterfly, attack!"
A jade-colored smoke billowed from behind Yu Zong, from which, a jade-colored butterfly that was about one thousand feet in length flew out. It blinked, then transformed into a strong jade-colored beam and fused with Yu Zong's right arm. With that, the power of the punch abruptly increased by one hundred times. A very unpleasant tearing noise rang out, as Immortal Chuan's immortal robe was riddled with several tens of holes suddenly, before Yu Zong's fist punched straight in his right chest.
Countless jade-colored lights shaped like butterflies rushed out of Yu Zong's fist and thrust into Immortal Chuan's body, shattering his entire right chest while tearing his right arm away, together with golden immortal blood and flesh. A tragic shriek was issued by Immortal Chuan.
The army of several tens of thousands of armored-soldiers roared with deafening battle cries, and the fleet of thirty battleships charged forward threateningly.
[1] Empress Wa - Nüwa or Nügua is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology, the sister and wife of Fuxi, the emperor-god. She is credited with creating mankind and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. Her reverential name is Wahuang (Chinese: 媧皇; literally: "Empress Wa"). (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nüwa)
[2] System of enfeoffment - A system by which a person was given land in exchange for pledge or service.
Empress Wa - Nüwa or Nügua is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology, the sister and wife of Fuxi, the emperor-god. She is credited with creating mankind and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. Her reverential name is Wahuang (Chinese: 媧皇; literally: "Empress Wa"). (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nüwa)System of enfeoffment - A system by which a person was given land in exchange for pledge or service.