The New Emperor Ascends

In Holy Mountain City, the news of a new Great Emperor has spread throughout the entire city.

"A Great Emperor! To think that in my lifetime, I would be able to witness a Great Emperor taking residence in Holy Mountain City." An old man felt his heart surging with emotion. "I must record everything I have witnessed with my heart and leave it for my descendants."

These were the true elders who had experienced the departure of the previous Great Emperor and witnessed the fading of that glory; they were the ones filled with the most profound emotions.

The last time a Great Emperor took residence in Holy Mountain City was nearly one hundred thousand years ago. Time is merciless, and the residents of Holy Mountain City have changed generation after generation. For many, being able to personally experience such a grand event is absolutely rare and precious, a source of immense pride.

At this moment, many people in Holy Mountain City are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Great Emperor.

To some, the City Lord is merely a steward of Holy Mountain City, while the Great Emperor is the true master of this place. A Holy Mountain City without a Great Emperor presiding over it is incomplete.

Many even feel that the current chaos and struggles in the world are all because there is no one powerful enough to suppress them.

Of course, besides this, there is also confusion, fear, and unease.

The area around the massive Stone Gate of the Abyss Rift is not as noisy as the outside world; instead, it has fallen into a stifling silence.

"They should be coming out soon," a powerful Winged People expert whispered.

The world within the Stone Gate is very peculiar; venturing deeper inside entails all sorts of difficulties and dangers, but returning is not the same, so the speed of return is many times faster.

A tense atmosphere spreads among the crowd.

"It's truly worrying. I wonder who the Great Emperor is."

"I just hope it isn't our enemy."

"We made many preparations before coming in; I just hope it isn't the worst possible outcome."

The unknown is what is truly terrifying.

If an enemy truly becomes the Great Emperor, then for certain people and certain factions, it would be an absolute nightmare.

Historically, the ascension of some Great Emperors often represented a period of blood and slaughter, and the demise of certain factions.

With such a major event occurring, there are few left who can calm their minds and continue their cultivation.

The only ones still persisting are Su Ke, the Gulei Clan, and a very small number of others.

The Golden-Robed Elder sees Su Ke remaining unmoved, focusing intently on comprehending cultivation before the Stone Gate, and nods to himself. Regardless of the boy's aptitude, his temperament alone is excellent; he is barely worthy of his granddaughter.

He remembers that Su Ke seems to come from the side of the unaffiliated cultivators. Saint Lyumila even personally made requests to various parties on his behalf. Being able to come here means he must be a junior highly valued by Saint Lyumila and Saint Khair, so his status is not low. He can be considered qualified to marry into their Gulei Family.

The Golden-Robed Elder has already thought of names for his yet-to-be-born great-grandchild.

Just at this moment, two figures suddenly fly out from the portal on the Stone Gate.

"Someone has come out!"

The area above the Abyss Rift, which previously had some noise, suddenly falls into absolute silence.

Pairs of eyes filled with anxiety, tension, panic, anticipation... all sorts of gazes focus on the direction of the Stone Gate.

The two figures suspended in mid-air instantly become the center of everyone's attention.

The one who emerged is a tall and sturdy man, and the other is a petite and exquisite woman; they are none other than Khair and Lyumila, who have just returned together after breaking through inside the Stone Gate.

Although they went the deepest into the Stone Gate and were delayed by several days, because their strength increased significantly after breaking through to the Universe Rank, they appeared here before the other parties who had returned earlier.

Khair sees the silent scene before him and, thinking of his master's instructions, wears an expression that is stern and imposing. He lets out a cold snort, and an incomparably powerful aura immediately sweeps across the area.

"BOOM!"

The aura of a Universe Rank Level 9 erupts without reservation.

"Ah!"

It is as if the heavens are enraged; the surrounding space trembles. It is like a divine dragon descending, its pressure weighing down on countless ants. That pressure, which leaves people with no power to resist, instantly spreads to the surroundings. People feel the pressure becoming increasingly astonishing and retreat repeatedly.

Those as weak as Planetary Rank lose their ability to move entirely, collapsing and only avoiding falling into the abyss because they are protected by their elders.

As for Su Ke, he had already retreated silently behind the crowd with his guards the moment Khair and the others emerged, staying far away from the range of Khair's erupting aura.

"How terrifying!"

"Such an astonishing aura! This is the power of a Great Emperor!"

"Khair! An expert from the unaffiliated factions—it was actually him who became the Great Emperor!!!"

Shocked gazes are cast toward the now dazzling Khair.

That figure stands there as if he were a towering divine mountain. At the same time, an invisible, surging aura permeates the area, directly suppressing the Saints and others present.

A majestic and indifferent voice comes through, low and deep. "I, Khair, have returned today having ascended to the rank of Great Emperor. Does anyone refuse to submit?"

His gaze, sharp as a sword, falls upon the crowd.

A chill runs through their hearts.

The various factions present look at one another, but without much hesitation, they all kneel down.

"Greetings, Great Emperor."

Respectfully, without a single sound of dissent, whether it be the people of Holy Mountain City, or the Sea People, Winged People, Shan People, Snow People... no faction has any thought of resistance; all bow down in respectful submission.

The impression of the Great Emperor's invincibility has long been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the natives over countless years. Since Khair has successfully ascended to the Imperial Realm, regardless of how he achieved it, his strength cannot be fake. A Great Emperor is a Great Emperor, possessing the invincible power to sweep away everything. Even if they were to unite to resist, it would be nothing more than a joke.

Some even secretly rejoiced in their hearts that the one who became the Great Emperor was Khair and not their enemy.

Khair stood there motionless, accepting the kneeling of the crowd, and only after a long while did he slowly nod.

The Golden-Robed Elder was the first to stand up and fly before Khair. Looking at this former peak Saint of the unaffiliated factions who had now transformed into a supreme Great Emperor, he still felt a lingering shock. He said respectfully, "Great Emperor, I am City Lord Gulei, the administrator of Holy Mountain City. May I ask when the Great Emperor will hold the coronation ceremony?"

According to tradition, every Great Emperor would hold an enthronement ceremony to proclaim the authority of their rule to the world and win the hearts of all living beings.

Khair glanced at City Lord Gulei and said slowly, "No rush, no rush. Let us wait until the one-year period has completely passed first."

City Lord Gulei's heart stirred, "Does the Great Emperor mean..."

Khair said, "I intend to continue contemplating the mysteries of the Stone Gate here; we shall discuss the ceremony later." In truth, he was staying behind to cover for Su Ke.

"I understand. Then we shall..." City Lord Gulei revealed a look of hesitation.

Recalling the voice from the darkness earlier, Khair said expressionlessly, "You may also continue to stay here, provided you do not disturb me."

"Naturally, no one would dare to disturb the Great Emperor. I shall take my leave then." Having received the answer he wanted, City Lord Gulei breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Lyumila had already flown to Su Ke's side, and the surrounding gazes naturally converged, focusing on Su Ke.

The ones most excited by Khair's success were undoubtedly the Saints from the unaffiliated faction who had associated with Khair in the past.

Many other factions were all considering how to curry favor with this new Great Emperor and draw closer to him, so as to gain an advantage in the future shifts of the situation.

It is no exaggeration to say that a single word from the Great Emperor could determine the rise, fall, or survival of a major power.

Therefore, upon seeing the young Su Ke, many who knew of his status as a "junior" valued by Khair had their eyes light up instantly. In this moment, quite a few factions developed the same thoughts as the Golden-Robed Elder had earlier.

The ones who regretted it most were undoubtedly the Sea People. Seeing Khair become the Great Emperor, they naturally knew that Khair and Lyumila were on the same side. Thinking of the offenses they had committed previously, the arrogant and conceited Sea People had already begun to fret, wondering how they might plead for forgiveness from the new Great Emperor.