Sword of the Heavenly Emperor

The next day, at the rear mountain.

The Otherworlders, rarely seen on ordinary days, were now everywhere.

They possessed powers far beyond ordinary people, yet could not occupy the mainstream of this world. Even using a bit of "qi" had to be done furtively. Now that they finally had a chance to show themselves, all manner of demons and monsters naturally came crawling out of the woodwork.

Amid the clamor, the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain stepped onto the high platform. After a few polite pleasantries, he went straight to the point.

"...Those of you who wish to spar, please come forward one at a time and draw a number from the box. The numbers consist of a Heavenly Stem and an animal. The Heavenly Stem determines the order in which you enter to fight. There are four of each animal, and those who draw the same animal will enter the arena together!"

Everyone lined up in an orderly fashion to draw their numbers, while murmurs occasionally rose from the crowd.

"Ding-White Tiger. The fourth match... I'll have to wait forever."

"Yi-Green Turtle. Damn it, why do other people get White Tiger and Vermilion Bird, while I get a Green Turtle? Shouldn't it be Black Tortoise?"

"The Black Tortoise is turtle and snake as one, so that counts as two animals. I think it makes perfect sense!"

"A turtle is a turtle, but why add 'green' in front of it? I feel offended!"

Listening to the discussions around him, Shen Ye remained expressionless as he looked at the token in his hand and murmured, "Jia-Azure Dragon. First match... just what I wanted."

Though none of Shen Ye's three opponents were star contestants worth watching, as the first battle of the Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual, this preliminary round still drew many onlookers.

Within the oval arena, the four contestants stood at the east, south, west, and north positions.

The bearded burly man standing opposite Shen Ye was currently grumbling furiously in his heart.

"What is Longhu Mountain doing? They even let a snot-nosed brat like this in? And there are so many people watching, too. Even if I beat him, they'll only say I'm bullying a child. Forget it. I'll defeat the other two first, then send him packing last!"

Unfortunately, the other two were thinking exactly the same thing.

After the referee announced the start of the match, the three of them charged at one another almost as though they had agreed beforehand, descending into a chaotic melee.

Shen Ye, completely detached from the battle, watched the scene calmly. Though he had been underestimated, his heart remained entirely unruffled. He merely drew the longsword at his waist—the Zhaoming Wooden Sword he had fashioned from scraps after finishing the puppet armor yesterday.

In his previous life, he had mostly fought using Five Elements Arts, sorcery, and puppet armor. His attainments in swordsmanship were not particularly high. Yet during the period before his rebirth when he had wielded the Zhaoming Divine Sword, he had perceived some of the Great Dao imprints left within it by the Heavenly Emperor.

Though legend had it that the Heavenly Emperor did not excel in the Sword Dao either, his stature was there. Even the simplest motion of swinging a sword seemed as profound and mysterious as the transformations of the Heavenly Dao itself.

Seeing Shen Ye hold a wooden sword with his eyes closed, looking solemn and dignified, quite a few people in the stands chuckled.

"Is this little brother charging up some ultimate move?"

"What use is a move that needs charging? Even if he somehow wins this round, will the people afterward give him another chance?"

"Why be so harsh? To maintain such a state of mind amid this chaos is already no easy feat!"

But very soon, they realized something was wrong.

Shen Ye held the sword in his right hand and extended two fingers from his left, lightly brushing them along the blade.

The next instant, violet-black lightning descended from the sky. Like slithering serpents, it coiled around the sword, casting Shen Ye as a god who held dominion over thunder.

An inexplicable majesty hung over the arena, bringing a suffocating sense of dread.

Even the people in the stands noticed it. Needless to say, the three inside the arena were utterly horrified.

"What's going on? This kid isn't here just to make up the numbers!"

"No, we absolutely can't let him keep building momentum like this!"

The three exchanged looks. As if by prior agreement, they stopped fighting at once, then charged toward Shen Ye together.

But they were still too slow. At one side of the arena, Shen Ye had already swung his sword down.

Above, it cleaved the drifting clouds; below, it split the earth's bounds. Heaven's might blazed in radiant splendor—one sword stroke, and all was severed!

A thunderclap exploded in everyone's hearts. Lightning flashed, and the dazzling brilliance was so fierce that they could not even open their eyes.

When the radiance faded, what greeted their eyes was the terrifying sight of the entire arena split cleanly in two, drawing countless sharp gasps.

"You've got to be kidding! An attack like that came from a child?"

"How terrifying. Even the Old Heavenly Master couldn't have done that at his age, could he?"

Since he had no intention of killing anyone, the sword-light had not crushed the other three. Even so, the terrifying aura of lightning had frightened them so badly that their entire bodies went limp. They did not even have the strength to stand.

Seeing this, many people grew even more wary of Shen Ye.

Splitting the arena apart with one sword strike had tremendous visual impact, but in the eyes of many, it was not something that could not be replicated.

What was truly terrifying was the blazing, majestic heavenly might contained within that sword strike—as though it could destroy the world!

In one corner of the stands, Zhang Chulan's eyes widened. "Holy hell, this guy really is a big shot hiding his depths!"

Beside him, Xu Si gave an unusually serious analysis. "Was it because he charged up? Still, even if it was, it's terrifying enough! Chulan, if you run into him in a fight, you absolutely cannot give him the chance to charge up!"

Zhang Chulan nodded in deep agreement, then immediately pulled a miserable face. His strongest ability was the Thunder Technique derived from the Golden Light Curse, but no matter how he thought about it, his own lightning seemed to be on a completely different level from that man's thunder.

Elsewhere, Zhuge Qing—the descendant of Marquis Zhuge's family and one of the favorites to win this Grand Heavenly Offering Ritual—rarely opened his squinting eyes wide. "With a Thunder Technique like that, even Longhu Mountain, number one in Thunder Technique inheritances, would find it hard to achieve, wouldn't they?"

As he spoke, he looked toward his younger brother, who was already dumbstruck beside him. "He looks about your age, Bai. Do you have any confidence if you face him?"

Zhuge Bai snapped out of his shock. Hearing his brother's question, he immediately shook his head wildly like a rattle-drum. "How could I? If I fought him, I'd be killed!"

Under the gazes of those either horrified or awestruck, Shen Ye walked calmly out of the arena, though faint ripples stirred within his heart.

Within the Life Palace, the bead that had originally been dull and lifeless due to his transmigration had now become somewhat more lustrous, with wisps of white mist curling around it.

"Just as I thought, changes in fate are this bead's source of energy... or at least one of its sources!"

He had suspected this before. Why had this bead only finally come into effect before his death? Now, it seemed highly likely that it was because of his contact with those Sons of Destiny. Aside from that, the influence of his first life might also have been a contributing factor.

Although he had not awakened the memories of his first life in his previous life, under its subtle influence, he had still caused slight changes to the so-called Worldline.

"Could it be that I'll have to constantly scheme around those Sons of Destiny from now on?" Shen Ye pondered inwardly, but soon shook his head slightly. "Not necessarily. Sons of Destiny are merely those favored by the world's will for a period of time. If I truly want to obtain that kind of power, wouldn't overturning an entire world be much faster?"

"Still, the greater the gains, the greater the risks. Especially when I'm not strong enough—reaching too high could get me killed before I even know how I died!" Shen Ye swiftly reined in those dangerous thoughts and turned his gaze back to the faintly glowing bead. "Since fate is the catalyst, I'll call you the Destiny Orb!"

Thanks to reader slikdj for the 1,500 donation, reader Broken Bridge Remaining Snow 282 for the 1,000 donation, reader Satan's Gift 2016 for the 500 donation, and reader Doomsday Starry Sky L for the 100 donation.

The Under One Person world won't be very long—just over a dozen chapters or so. It's mainly meant to introduce a setting that will come after this world ends.

Also, the protagonist won't be scheming for the Eight Unique Skills, nor will the Eight Unique Skills be elevated into anything overly powerful. After all, the protagonist was already a big shot in his previous life, so his standards are quite high. Of course, that doesn't mean the protagonist won't gain anything in this world. Just keep reading and you'll find out.

Finally, I heard that ongoing readership is very important now, as it determines whether there will be recommendations later on. I humbly ask everyone to keep following along (ˇεˇ). Even if you aren't interested in this world, or plan to let chapters pile up first, I still hope you can click in and flip through it during the early stages. Gao Sao kneels in thanks Or2.