The Evil Emperor Relic Weapon

"Speaking of which, His Highness Xuanyuan has been quite the center of attention lately. In the Thousand Profound Secret Realm of the Heavenly Wind Ancient Domain, an inheritance that countless people had sought in vain for years fell into your hands. Many heaven's chosen returned with broken wings after facing you, and even two princes of the Heavenly Demon Divine Court fell at your hands." Li Jiuzhou smiled as he spoke, looking at Ning Xuanyuan.

At those words, Yun Lou, crown prince of the Heaven-Contending Dynasty, immediately turned his gaze toward him. Fighting intent rose in his eyes, and his expression was sharp enough to pierce.

The Heaven-Contending Dynasty was one of the overlords of the Heavenly Wind Ancient Domain, giving it the advantage of proximity to the Thousand Profound Secret Realm. Yet the Evil Emperor Inheritance, passed down through the ages, had fallen into an outsider's hands. Now that Li Jiuzhou had brought it up in public, Yun Lou was naturally displeased.

In fact, Yun Lou had been in seclusion when the Thousand Profound Secret Realm opened. By the time he emerged, the dust had already settled. Otherwise, he was confident that the Evil Emperor Inheritance would surely have been his for the taking.

"You praise me too highly, Senior." Ning Xuanyuan looked at Li Jiuzhou, cursing inwardly. Was this old bastard doing it on purpose? Those fellows already disliked him, and now Li Jiuzhou was putting him on such a pedestal. He was simply pouring oil on the fire. Ning Xuanyuan wasn't afraid, but it was a hassle.

Though he cursed inwardly, Ning Xuanyuan showed nothing on his face. There was no helping it; he couldn't afford to provoke a Human Emperor expert.

Come to think of it, his own old man was more lovable. Though he always wore a sour face, he still spoiled Ning Xuanyuan.

"Actually, I only obtained the inheritance through a fortunate coincidence. It was just luck."

"Your Highness is modest. That is a rare virtue. Still, I don't believe luck alone could have won you the Evil Emperor Inheritance," Li Jiuzhou said with a smile.

Ning Xuanyuan smiled on the outside, but inside he was cursing. Are you fucking done yet? Enough already! Who the fuck needs you to praise me here?

"Senior Sword Emperor, I actually think this man has some self-awareness. When the secret realm opened that time, quite a few people were unable to go for various reasons and missed their chance. Perhaps the inheritance had a spirit and was unwilling to remain dormant any longer, so it had no choice but to emerge. He just happened to be there at the right time and picked up a bargain."

A rather grating voice rang out. Many gazes turned toward the speaker, who was none other than Su Mo of Heaven's Gate Palace.

Many people's eyes flickered. Earlier, Qin Lang had forcefully suppressed Yan Sen, making him lose face. Moreover, they had heard that Su Mo's younger brother, Su Ting, seemed to have suffered a setback at Ning Xuanyuan's hands in the Thousand Profound Secret Realm, just like Jian Wuya of the Sword Emperor Sect.

Seen in that light, Su Mo was obviously targeting Ning Xuanyuan on purpose.

"You were absolutely right about one thing." Ning Xuanyuan smiled and looked at Su Mo. "The inheritance has a spirit. But it wasn't unwilling to remain dormant. It chose its own master."

"A fine bird chooses the tree in which it roosts; a worthy minister chooses the lord he serves. What a remarkable figure the Evil Emperor Xuantian was in his day! Unmatched with both saber and sword, he roamed the eight domains unchallenged. Naturally, the inheritance he left behind would not let a bright pearl gather dust."

"The Evil Emperor Inheritance chose me as its master. Whether that was due to luck or strength doesn't matter. But there is one thing I can say for certain: if it had been you that day, the inheritance would rather never have emerged than choose you."

Hearing Ning Xuanyuan's words, the people around them narrowed their eyes.

His seemingly even tone carried an extreme arrogance.

Su Mo had said that Ning Xuanyuan had obtained the inheritance through luck alone. But Ning Xuanyuan had said that whether it was luck did not matter. He had also said that the inheritance had a spirit, could choose its own master, and was unwilling to gather dust.

The implication was that, since the inheritance had chosen him, it had naturally acknowledged him. In other words, he was worthy of being acknowledged as its master.

And finally, he had said that if it had been Su Mo, the inheritance would rather never emerge than choose him. He might as well have pointed at Su Mo's nose and shown him his contempt.

"What did you say!" Su Mo's face instantly turned cold and dark. He slammed the table and rose to his feet. "Ning Xuanyuan, stop spouting such arrogant nonsense. If you have the ability, fight me. I'd like to see just how much you, this Asura Blood Scion, are really worth!"

"Fight me? Are you worthy?" Ning Xuanyuan glanced at Su Mo and spoke indifferently. Now that things had reached this point, he couldn't be bothered to keep up a false show of civility and retorted directly.

"You!"

Su Mo's presence surged, and streaks of explosive lightning swept out of his body. Clearly furious, he was about to strike. The Heaven's Gate Palace disciples around him also glared at Ning Xuanyuan with hostile expressions.

"Everyone." Li Jiuzhou suddenly spoke from his throne. An invisible pressure spread out, instantly suppressing the thunderous intent emanating from Su Mo. "The Evil Emperor Inheritance has already acknowledged a master. There is no point in arguing over it any further."

Now that the Sword Emperor had spoken, Su Mo dared not make trouble, however furious he was. He could only sit down resentfully. As for the others, their gazes were also extremely sharp as they looked at Ning Xuanyuan, their edges fully bared.

Li Jiuzhou glanced below. The mountain gate ceremony had now ended, and all the heaven's chosen who had come to the Sword Emperor Sect for disciple recruitment had displayed their abilities.

By now, all those selected had been chosen by the heads of the various peaks. The square had grown empty once more.

Around the square, however, people still filled the area like mountains and seas. The crowd had not dispersed, as though waiting for something.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Jiuzhou looked once more at the people in the guest seats and said, "The reason this old man mentioned the Evil Emperor Inheritance today is that an Evil Emperor Relic Weapon remains in my Sword Emperor Sect."

As soon as Li Jiuzhou finished speaking, everyone abruptly raised their heads. From somewhere within the Sword Emperor Sect, an extremely terrifying presence suddenly swept outward. The sky and earth darkened, and the wind and clouds danced wildly overhead.

In the distant sky, a streak of black light shot toward them. In an instant, a piercing sonic boom rang out between Heaven and Earth Realm. The sound was so sharp and shrill that it seized at their minds. Many people's faces instantly turned pale, and they staggered.

"Clang!"

The streak of black light landed in the square, and a violent, ferocious blast of air swept outward. Within a hundred zhang, billowing black currents swirled and howled, and a strange demonic sound seemed to echo from somewhere unseen. Wisps of terrifying Sword Qi spread out, tyrannical beyond compare.

Everyone looked over at once, and their expressions changed. Even Ning Xuanyuan's pupils contracted sharply.

It was a pitch-black sword.

A Demon Sword!

The sword shrieked, and demonic might surged.

The Demon Sword was merely embedded in the ground, yet a terrifying demonic domain had already formed around it. If anyone stepped into that domain, they would likely immediately draw down an even more terrifying power of demonic will and be suppressed.

At that moment, figures appeared in the air around the square. They were the six sword peak heads other than the Sword Emperor.

The six Saint Realm experts stood in the air and formed hand seals. An invisible barrier instantly sealed off the square.

Ordinary people simply could not withstand the Demon Sword's might. Without a restriction in place, everyone present except a handful of people would likely have been injured by its might.