Deep in the imperial palace's royal garden, in the Imperial Capital of the Through-Ancient Dynasty.
A cool breeze stirred through the quiet pavilions.
But there was not a trace of ease or peace in the air.
Inside a stone pavilion, seven Saint Emperors sat in silence.
At their head was Saint Emperor Seal Heaven.
The other six were the last surviving Saint Emperors of the Through-Ancient Imperial Clan.
The Through-Ancient Imperial Clan had once flourished, with fourteen Saint Emperors. Then Li Yun had raided Saint Emperor Ruiyun's birthday banquet, and half of them had fallen—all beneath Li Yun's Heaven's Will Blade.
The Imperial Clan had suffered an unprecedented blow. More than half its realm had slipped from its grasp.
If they had not spent years desperately suppressing the strength of the Martial Dao experts under their command, sealing off every path to the Saint Emperor Realm, the Through-Ancient Dynasty might already have escaped their control.
And even so...
The reports their palace guards and informants gathered from the various Star Domains still left them furious and alarmed.
Word of the Through-Ancient Imperial Clan's losses had spread. The forces beneath it were beginning to entertain other ambitions, and in some remote Star Domains, rumors had even begun to circulate that the clan's days were numbered.
It was a collapse of faith.
The Through-Ancient Imperial Clan's hold over the Through-Ancient Dynasty was weakening.
And Li Yun was unquestionably to blame.
Had Li Yun not launched his surprise attack at Saint Emperor Ruiyun's birthday banquet, none of this would have happened.
For that—
Saint Emperor Seal Heaven and the others hated Li Yun to the bone.
They wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
Yet for all their hatred, they had to admit that Li Yun was terrifying.
His strength