The nine figures were none other than the nine Emperor Tier beings who had hurried over, led by the Blue Emperor—nine of the last survivors among the Thirty-Six Emperors.
It was also Merlin's first time seeing such formidable beings as the Thirty-Six Emperors. Sure enough, he found them vastly different from the guardians he had seen before. Those guardians had also been Fourth Tier Emperor Tier beings, with threads of Rule Power condensed around them, forming an almost inseverable connection with the Void Realm.
Yet for great beings like the Ancient Thirty-Six Emperors, the threads of Rule Power around them had in fact disappeared. That was because they had completely merged into the Rule Origin itself, becoming part of it—perhaps even its incarnations.
This was the price the Ancient Thirty-Six Emperors had paid. If they wished to possess even greater power and stand above ordinary Fourth Tier Emperor Tier beings, this was their only path: becoming part of the Rule Origin.
Of course, with such immense power came responsibilities and a price. Their responsibility was to maintain the operation of the entire Void Realm and preserve its balance. So long as there was the slightest threat to that balance, they had to act and destroy it.
When the three Golden Radiance Warriors had previously escaped, they had not caused any great slaughter, so the nine Emperor Tier beings could ignore them. Though they had become part of the Rule Origin, unless they were compelled to act, they could not be bothered.
But now, the three Golden Radiance Warriors had set their sights on the Rule Origin. Like the Remnant Clan of old, they wanted to cross the Rule Gate and enter the Rule Origin.
The Rule Origin was the foundation of the entire Void Realm. No matter what, the Void