The Human Emperor had fallen!
Though it had long been expected, when it truly came to this, Li Qi was still caught somewhat off guard.
The Human Emperor—a First Rank.
Just like that, he had died.
A First Rank should not have died like this, but the Human Emperor was different. The reason the Human Path could fight three against one within the Nine Lands of the World without falling behind lay precisely in this characteristic of the Human Path.
Unity could bring strength under any circumstances. The Human Emperor bore the Human Path across all space and time, nourished by the collective power of the Human Path throughout all space and time—including every First Rank, Second Rank, and Third Rank. A pyramid-shaped supporting force was all concentrated upon the Human Emperor.
He who bore the filth of the state was called lord of the Altar of Earth and Grain; he who bore the state's misfortunes was king of the world.
The Human Emperor was precisely a position that gathered all the hopes of the Human Path and bore all its crushing weight.
Thus, among First Ranks, the Human Emperor's lifespan was especially short. He was not immortal; rather, every time he acted, he sacrificed some of his lifespan.
By now, Li Qi understood the purpose of the Sun and Moon Path to the Human Emperor.
The Human Path possessed a Dharma treasure called the "Ecliptic," containing many stars. It stretched south to Altair and north to Dongjing, even including a Jade-made Big Dipper. Li Qi had heard of it back when he was Eighth Rank; it was quite famous. (See Chapter 248 for details.)
Among them, Xuanji was the tool by which an emperor set Heaven aright, capable of judging Heaven's will.
At the time, Li Qi had merely