The cultivators who had just arrived at the Imperial Pass fell silent when they saw Xu Changqing being personally led into the city by the Guide Envoy.
"Why? I'm a Saint too! I refuse to accept this!" Some proud individuals roared loudly.
Lin Feng held a paper fan and shook his head at the sight. Though he was only a Half-Saint, he had seen much of the world.
"Not even the Buddha Son received such treatment. Who exactly is he?" someone asked doubtfully.
They entered the Imperial Pass one after another, while some began asking around about Xu Changqing's identity and background.
A smiling young man climbed onto the city wall and approached the captain. "Uncle, who was that white-haired young man just now?"
He was naturally a Saint as well, and he was related to the Saint King captain.
The commander wore black armor, his entire body sealed tightly within metal except for his head. He looked middle-aged, with a stern and rugged face. When he saw the young man, he smiled slightly. "Nephew Zhang, you've finally arrived. Your uncle has been waiting for you."
After hearing his nephew's question, his expression turned serious. "He's the person those monsters most want to kill. He came from Burial Emperor Star. According to those people from Burial Emperor Star, he had already entered the Eight Prohibitions while still in the Transforming Dragon realm."
"He even killed a Divine Body with a Mortal Body."
"And in this era, there are two monstrous Mortal Bodies. They are known as the Twin Demons of the Era."
"According to unofficial reports, several years ago, he nearly slaughtered an entire major starfield. Hundreds of millions of beings died at his hands."
He sighed. "Although he has only just arrived on the Ancient Road, those from Burial Emperor Star have long awaited his arrival. His name is already famous on the roads ahead."
"Before the man arrives, his reputation precedes him."
The young man looked casual, though arrogance filled his brow. "Uncle, how do I compare to him?"
The commander glanced at his nephew and said mercilessly, "Although you possess a special physique, he might only need a few moves to deal with you. Even I wouldn't dare claim that I could defeat him."
Though he was a Saint King, he was not confident he could kill Xu Changqing. Anyone capable of slaying a Divine Body with a Mortal Body was unimaginably powerful.
Moreover, Xu Changqing had entered the Forbidden Domain.
"Still, it's fortunate that he didn't remain at the First Pass. If you provoked him and he started slaughtering without restraint, perhaps even I wouldn't be able to stop him."
"You're a special case, so I can't let you bully those who have just arrived on the Emperor's Road. Therefore, I've decided to send you to their pass. What do you think?" the Guide Envoy asked as he traveled through the Starry Sky with Xu Changqing.
It could not be helped. As the Human Race's Guide Envoy, he had ways of learning whenever an unparalleled Heavenly Pride appeared in the Starry Sky.
Besides, the cultivation of that group was now the same as Xu Changqing's. They were all in the Saint Realm.
Xu Changqing nodded without speaking, quietly following beside the Guide Envoy.
To him, it did not matter where he went. As long as he could rise, even Purgatory would do.
Seeing Xu Changqing agree, the Guide Envoy took out a milky-white disk and tossed it to him. "This is the Divine Light Platform. It can cross twenty passes of the Emperor's Road."
Then he took out several more items and gave them all to Xu Changqing. His tone grew somewhat serious. "There are many powerful figures in the Starry Sky. Some mysterious people may have terrifying experts behind them. Do not kill recklessly."
He wanted to see how far this emotionless person would ultimately go. If he encountered old acquaintances from the past, would he be able to strike them down?
If Xu Changqing truly slaughtered his way until no one in the world could match him, then his path would suit many people.
"I won't be going with you. Roam on your own." After the Guide Envoy spoke, his body blurred as though it had fused with the void, vanishing before Xu Changqing.
Xu Changqing pondered for a moment. He first activated the Divine Light Platform, then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Starry Sky of the Human Race's First Pass, shooting through starfield after starfield at astonishing speed.
Almost every so often, a city would appear, and the powerful figures within those cities would silently watch the Starry Sky.
Those Guide Envoys and Saint King-level experts revealed shocked expressions when they saw that white light.
"Who is that?" Some experts frowned. Who would charge straight through the passes from the Human Race's First Pass like this?
Moreover, he followed a clear trajectory through the Starry Sky, never entering the trial grounds and challenging each pass one by one.
In the blink of an eye, the white light vanished. Even Saint Kings could not sense that aura. It was far too fast.
Before long, Xu Changqing arrived at the Human Race's Twentieth Pass.
He appeared directly within the city of the Twentieth Pass. Some powerful figures sensed his arrival, but chose to remain silent rather than come forward to speak with him.
"Dragon bunss for sale! Meat buns stuffed with the flesh of experts from the Demon Race's Emperor's Path!"
"Hey, young brother, want your fortune told? This old Daoist entered the Dao through divination. On the Emperor's Road, they call me the Blind Divine Calculation!"
"Forming a team to cross the Bloody River! Who's coming?!"
All sorts of cries rang through the streets. The roads were paved with blue stone, lined with yellowing maple trees and all kinds of peach blossoms.
There were also old-fashioned shops. Members of the younger generation squatted in street corners, leaning blankly against the walls. Some cultivators spread out cloth on the roadside and openly sold spirit herbs displayed upon it.
Xu Changqing strolled along the blue-stone street, his heart calm as he silently watched the crowd.
"I confidently brought my cultivation partner onto the Emperor's Road, never expecting her to die before my eyes. I hate this!"
"Everything is gone. Everything... I couldn't even endure three moves against those people. Why did I come here? To become someone else's stepping stone?"
"No, perhaps I'm not even worthy of being a stepping stone. Even a withered weed by the roadside could be casually killed by those people..."
A blood-soaked young man stumbled out of a tavern in a daze. Tear tracks covered his face, and exhaustion and despair filled his eyes.
The Emperor's Road was too terrifying. Back in his homeland, he had been the number one figure of the younger generation. But after arriving on the Emperor's Road, those former titles and honors meant nothing here.
The Human Race's Twentieth Pass was broad and vast, yet the crowds were not dense. On the contrary, the city felt somewhat desolate.
There were no packed streams of pedestrians on the streets. There were only despairing crowds and powerful figures whose state of mind had shattered.
With white hair falling loose around him, Xu Changqing silently walked through the streets. In the end, he entered the largest tavern in the city and ordered several expensive dishes and fine wines.
He no longer knew how long it had been since he had eaten anything.
He sat by the window, holding a milky-white jade cup fragrant with rich wine. Delicacies were spread across the table before him.
He watched the yellowing fallen leaves outside, as though autumn had arrived. Every so often, blood-covered youths and middle-aged men passed by on the street.
Some people collapsed in corners by the walls, crying in regret.
This was the current state of the Emperor's Road.
"I want to go home. The Emperor's Road is wonderful, but I'll never come here again."
"Those Heavenly Prides have no Invincible Heart! They used my own younger brother to threaten me and nearly killed me. But my brother died right before my eyes!"
"I want to go home, establish a Holy Land, and be a Holy Master for a few thousand years. That would still be better than being inferior even to their servants here."
Many sighs came from within the tavern, though there was even more choked sobbing. The Emperor's Road was too terrifying. It was not a place ordinary people could set foot upon.
And even if they fought their way to first place here, so what? Ahead of them stood several experts capable of suppressing an entire era.
"The Feathered Divine Son, the Heavenly Fairy Maiden, the Overlord Emperor, Taiyin, Taiyang, the Buddha Son, and experts from the Divine Race and all the major Ancient Roads, along with Saint Spirits and the Demon Race... They are all too terrifying."
"Compete with them? You're dreaming. Even the aftershock of their attacks could kill us."
"The Emperor's Road..."
Many experts in the tavern smiled bitterly, regretting ever setting foot upon the Emperor's Road.
Xu Changqing listened to their lamentations, their regrets, and their various reasons for giving up.
His heart remained unmoved. He merely drank a few cups of wine, ate a little food, paid his bill, and left.
To him, many powerful Heavenly Prides could not accept their own failures.
That was because every one of them had been an outstanding figure within their family, faction, or even starfield.
The moment they encountered a setback, they regretted it here, raged helplessly there, and sank into despair, yet were unwilling to leave the Emperor's Road.
But what use was that?
Some people with self-awareness withdrew from the Emperor's Road, or became soldiers and commanders upon it.
But Xu Changqing would not give up. Even if he died, it would be worth it.
Before you continue