"The Path of the Great Emperor differs from that of mortal kings."
Li Yu smiled faintly at Zhou Yi, then strode over to the corpses of the demons and waved his hand, collecting the shattered weapons and bisected bodies into the system.
Turning back to Zhou Yi, Li Yu continued, "Mortal kings may practice kingly rule and benevolence. But cultivators are different. Without dominance, how can one command respect? To become invincible in the world, one can only conquer through strength."
He pointed at the broken tiles and ruined walls before them, then shook his head with a smile. "This was once the capital city of the Demon Emperor. As a member of the demon race, he conquered all directions and became invincible in the world, ultimately achieving his Imperial Endeavor. Do you think other races would have submitted if he had not conquered them through dominance?"
"This disciple understands!"
Zhou Yi bowed as he accepted the lesson.
"It is good that you understand."
Li Yu nodded with a smile. "Next, you will begin cultivating. I have already passed the Wheel Sea Chapter of the Dao Scripture to you. You possess the Supreme Heavenly Book, and I know a little of its functions. I will also give you two demon race corpses."
With a wave of his hand, he released the bodies of two transformed demons. Li Yu said to Zhou Yi, "Use these as your foundation. Once your cultivation improves, go outside to train. Slay demon beasts and gather spiritual herbs. Amid life and death, blood and fire, carve out your own Path of the Great Emperor."
"Yes!"
Zhou Yi nodded heavily.
"I am going out for a while. If anything happens, just call for me."
At this point, Li Yu paused before adding, "However, unless it is a matter of life and death, you had better not call for me lightly. If you develop the habit of relying on my protection, how will you ever achieve an Imperial Endeavor?"
"Yes."
Zhou Yi nodded in agreement, then looked up and asked, "Is Patriarch leaving?"
"I will not leave for the time being. At least, I will not leave before you sweep through the Yan region."
Li Yu smiled. "I can only teach you for one year. After that year, I truly will leave. The road ahead will depend on you alone."
"Patriarch..."
Zhou Yi suddenly felt a knot in his chest and did not know what to say.
"Work hard and grow stronger! I will wait for the day you achieve the position of Great Emperor."
Li Yu smiled and nodded. A streak of escaping light shot into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.
"Your Majesty, the Dao Ancestor's words are all precious counsel. The Path of the Great Emperor requires fearless courage and invincible confidence. If you become dependent on the Dao Ancestor, I fear you will achieve little. Your Majesty, your path lies beneath your own feet."
The Heavenly Book Spirit promptly offered Zhou Yi a reminder.
"That's right! My path lies beneath my own feet."
Zhou Yi clenched his fists tightly. "Heavenly Book Spirit, retrieve the demon race corpses."
An invisible ripple swept across the area, and the two demon race corpses instantly disappeared.
"Your Majesty, two Spirit Bridge Realm demon race corpses have been retrieved. You may refine the Life Origin within their bodies for cultivation."
"Good. Extract the life force from one demon body. Pass the Wheel Sea Chapter of the Dao Scripture to me. I am going to begin cultivating."
Zhou Yi sat cross-legged and issued the command to the Heavenly Book Spirit in his heart.
Within the escaping light, Li Yu saw the scene and nodded. "I had worried that this kid would aim too high, but I did not expect him to understand the importance of keeping his feet on the ground and advancing step by step. Mm, not bad."
Leaving Zhou Yi to cultivate on his own, Li Yu rode the escaping light onward.
"System, indicate the location of the remnant soul of the Azure Emperor descendant."
The system instantly marked the direction, and Li Yu flew toward the destination on his escaping light.
The purpose of this trip was that remnant soul.
The remnant soul that had failed to possess Pang Bo in the original story but had instead benefited Pang Bo was Li Yu's target.
The remnant soul itself was nothing remarkable, but it belonged to a direct descendant of a Great Emperor. He could extract secret inheritances of cultivation techniques, cultivation insights, and combat experience from it. These things would be extremely useful to Li Yu.
A short while later, Li Yu descended beside a stretch of scorched, lifeless land.
"This is the place?"
He swept his gaze across the lifeless land and frowned slightly. This vast expanse was utterly dead, without the slightest trace of life. A sinister, horrifying aura permeated the area, making Li Yu feel uncomfortable all over.
He stepped into the scorched dead zone.
Li Yu discovered that this place seemed to have once been a building. Some unknown force had smashed it directly into dust, even turning a large stretch of land into scorched, barren ground.
"What terrifying power."
Seeing the destruction caused by that single strike, Li Yu could not help clicking his tongue.
Boom!
A violent tremor suddenly erupted from the scorched ruins. An enormous cloud of black smoke burst up from the ground.
Li Yu felt a tremendous quake beneath his feet and nearly lost his balance.
"Has it come?"
A cold smile curled Li Yu's lips, but terror and panic appeared on his face as he cried out, "Oh no! What is happening?"
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Black shadows shot out from the cloud of smoke, howling as they fell from the sky.
"Ah? What are these things?"
Withered corpses fell one after another, crashing down toward Li Yu headfirst. Although Li Yu could casually slice these corpses apart with a single sword qi, he could not make a move. He could only dodge in apparent disarray.
He wanted to lure out the remnant soul, so naturally he could not appear too powerful. Otherwise, if the remnant soul fled, where would Li Yu find the time to search for it slowly?
Dodging the falling withered corpses in a fluster, Li Yu pretended to be frightened and trembled all over.
Whoosh!
At that moment, two ghostly green rays burst from the black cloud, attempting to enter Li Yu's body and seize it.
Heh. I've been waiting for you.
Watching the two green lights howl toward him, Li Yu sneered inwardly and activated the system's resource collection function.
Whoosh!
A flash of light appeared, and the two green rays rushed completely into Li Yu's body. In an instant, Li Yu felt an icy chill spread through his entire body, as though he had been frozen solid.
"Ha ha ha ha! It is actually an Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo! Heaven is truly helping me! Ha ha ha ha!"
An incomparably delighted laugh rang out in his mind. "Kid, thank you for delivering such an excellent body to me. I will let you die quickly!"
"Um... excuse me."
Li Yu chuckled. "You rushed in just like that. Did it not occur to you that this might be a trap?"
"A trap?"
The voice in his mind paused, then erupted into laughter again. "You are merely in the Sea of Bitterness Realm, and you speak of a trap? Bring out whatever trap you have and let me see it! Let us see whether it can do anything to me!"
"As you wish!"
Li Yu smiled and issued an order to the system in his heart. "Designate the remnant soul as the target. Retrieve it."
"Ah..."
A shrill scream rang out in his mind, then vanished like smoke, leaving behind only silence.
"One remnant soul has been retrieved."
"Dismantle it directly. Extract the cultivation techniques, cultivation insights, and combat experience. Refine the rest into pure spiritual power."
Li Yu smiled. "The Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture, the Eight Forms of the Heavenly Demon, and the Nine Slashes of the Demon Emperor—these are all peerless arts! By collecting this remnant soul, not only did I obtain the cultivation techniques directly without expending energy, I also gained its cultivation insights and combat experience. Not bad, not bad. A modest harvest."
Li Yu looked up toward the distant volcanic crater and smiled again.
"Next comes the Tomb of the Demon Emperor. The Azure Lotus Imperial Weapon and the Heart of the Demon Emperor are both good things! Ha ha ha ha!"