Jiang Ding had a general understanding of the path of proving the Dao through force.
It was a path that did not measure the Immortal Path Universe Constants, but climbed upward along a certain Immortal Path standard. It meant reaching the ultimate limit of the Endless Starry Sky in one aspect—such as the pinnacle of sword Dao or the pinnacle of body cultivation—or infinitely approaching and rivaling the Human Emperor in one respect. Many cultivators called this the Emperor's Path, or the Ninth Tribulation Supreme.
At their peak, a Ninth Tribulation Supreme could fight the Human Emperor for a time without dying.
The Human Emperor was strong in every respect, with absolutely no shortcomings. A Ninth Tribulation Supreme merely possessed one plank of the barrel; in strength, lifespan, and Great Dao comprehension, they remained vastly inferior to the Human Emperor, with only a ten-million-year lifespan.
Many cultivators called Ninth Tribulation Supremes "Emperors."
That was clearly somewhat presumptuous. Much like how the Human Emperor called his residence the Imperial Heavens, the term "Emperor" had once been a title for rulers in ancient times. As the years passed, it began to lose value and was applied to Ninth Tribulation Supremes.
Such things were exceedingly common throughout the development of human history. For instance, "young master" had originally meant the offspring of a king, while "gentleman" had originally been a title for a monarch's son... Yet as time passed, for all manner of reasons, these terms came to address ordinary people and no longer belonged exclusively to any one person.
"Emperor" had undergone precisely such a process in Immortal Path history, gradually becoming synonymous with a Ninth Tribulation Supreme.
One could only say that everyone had vanity.
According to the conclusions drawn by generations of cultivators, the process from an Eight Calamity Supreme