An Emperor Clan Prodigy Despairingly Seals Himself in Divine Source, the Ancient Emperor Festival Begins!

"Boom!!!"

The enormous golden palm descended, shattering Yun Qi's barrier of imperial light like paper.

The blow sent him flying. He rolled dozens of yards across the square and spat out a great mouthful of blood.

"Pwah!"

Yun Qi struggled to rise, but Shenkong Ye had already appeared before him.

Golden Imperial Court Dao Markings spread beneath his feet, sealing the space within a hundred yards into an isolated domain.

That power pinned Yun Qi to the ground. His bones creaked all over, and he could not move so much as a finger.

"You..."

Yun Qi's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with resentment and fear.

This fellow...

Back then, I never even gave him a second glance.

Who would have thought that in just a hundred years, his combat strength would reach such a terrifying level?!

Shenkong Ye looked down at him, dark golden light flickering in his hollow eye sockets.

"The Yun Family of the Emperor Clans."

"A hundred years ago, your Yun Family extracted my sacred body and crippled my cultivation."

"Today's palm strike was merely the interest!"

"Yun Qi actually lost?!"

The prodigies of the various Emperor Clans narrowed their eyes. Some sucked in cold breaths, while others wore grave expressions.

Yun Qi was an outstanding member of the Yun Family's younger generation. With his early-stage Quasi-Emperor cultivation and the bloodline of the family's direct lineage, he rarely met his match among his peers!

Yet even such an Emperor Clan prodigy had failed to withstand a single move from Shenkong Ye!

"The Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance... the Divine Emperor Physique... impervious to all arts. Truly terrifying!"

"His combat strength must already be approaching the emperor realm."

"I heard the Su Family's Divine Son destroyed his eyes a hundred years ago. To think he would reach this level a century later... barring any mishap, he will surely become an Emperor!"

Discussion rose and fell all around them.

Shenkong Ye gazed down at Yun Qi from above and said indifferently,

"Members of the Emperor Clans are not invincible."

Just then, a ripple passed through the surrounding space.

"Enough."

An aged voice came from the void. It was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority.

An old man with snow-white hair and beard stepped out.

His aura was restrained and unfathomable as an abyss. With every step he took, a faint ripple of imperial light appeared in the space beneath his feet.

An Emperor of the Yun Family!

A true emperor realm existence!

The old man walked up to Shenkong Ye, examined him with clouded eyes, and spoke.

"Shenkong Ye..."

"The Divine Emperor Physique, the Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance, and Quasi-Emperor cultivation. To reach this point in a hundred years would make you outstanding even among the Emperor Clans. Shenkong Ye, I can settle the grievances between you and the Yun Family."

"Why don't we negotiate some terms?"

Shenkong Ye stopped.

"Terms?"

"When your Yun Family extracted my sacred body a hundred years ago, why didn't you negotiate terms with me then?"

The old man said calmly, "You should know that even the Emperor Clans covet the Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance."

"Without the Yun Family stepping in today, you will not leave this place."

"You have no right to refuse these terms."

Shenkong Ye's expression darkened. His gaze swept over the Emperor Clan prodigies watching him like hungry tigers. Every one of them had a guardian protecting them.

A Quasi-Emperor might be powerful.

But before the Emperor Clans of the heavens, he was no different from an ant!

"Speak."

Meanwhile.

At the Su Family of the Emperor Clans.

In a quiet courtyard, Li Junhua sat inside a stone pavilion, propping his chin on one hand while idly flipping through a jade slip containing a cultivation technique with the other.

Ming Suwen sat opposite him, her expression serene.

"Haven't you been cultivating too quickly lately?" Ming Suwen suddenly asked, a hint of concern in her voice. "You took only twenty years to advance from the Dengxian realm to the Jijie realm. If your foundations aren't solid, you'll face serious trouble when you try to break into the emperor realm."

Li Junhua put down the jade slip, a trace of amusement in his golden eyes.

"Don't worry. The foundations of my second incarnation are different from those of my first life. With a body remade by the Nine Profound Blood Ginseng, the Su Family's resources, and the insights from my previous life, cultivation yields twice the results for half the effort."

"The Jijie realm is only the beginning. Give me another thirty years, and I'm confident I can return to the Quasi-Emperor realm."

Ming Suwen glanced at him and said nothing more.

She knew this man all too well.

In his first life, he had been just as confident and flamboyant.

Now, in his second life, that confidence remained, but he had grown more composed.

Just then.

Someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Grand Elder Su pushed open the gate and entered, his expression somewhat grave. He strode up to Li Junhua and cupped his hands slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Li, His Highness the Divine Son requests your presence in the main hall to discuss matters."

"Master?"

Li Junhua rose and glanced at Ming Suwen. Together, they followed the Grand Elder toward the main hall.

"Understood. I'll go right away."

Inside the main hall.

Su Linxian was already seated beside the seat of honor.

Shenyue Su sat upright in the seat of honor, with dozens of elders arrayed on either side below him. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, and everyone's eyes were on Su Linxian.

The Grand Elder walked into the hall and spoke solemnly.

"Your Highness, news has arrived from the Primordial Imperial Court's ruins."

"None of our Emperor Clan members gained the inheritance's recognition this time."

"Shenkong Ye, however... obtained the Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance."

A low murmur spread through the hall.

Shenkong Ye?

Su Linxian's hand paused briefly around his teacup, and he looked up at the Grand Elder.

"Shenkong Ye?"

"That fellow I crippled?"

The Grand Elder nodded, his expression grave. "Precisely. Not only did he obtain the Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance, but he also awakened the Divine Emperor Physique. His cultivation has entered the quasi-emperor realm."

"In the preliminary selection the day before yesterday, he defeated Yun Qi of the Yun Family with a single palm strike. The various Emperor Clans are all discussing him now."

Su Linxian narrowed his eyes and set down his teacup.

"A Quasi-Emperor..."

"That was rather quick."

He had broken through to Quasi-Emperor in a hundred and forty years.

At this level, he could already be considered a mid-to-late-stage Heaven-Destined Protagonist.

The Grand Elder hesitated, then continued, "Your Highness, the Primordial Imperial Court's inheritance cannot be underestimated. With the Imperial Court Dao Markings and the Divine Emperor Physique's immunity to all arts, his combat strength likely far surpasses that of ordinary Quasi-Emperors."

"If he is allowed to keep growing..."

The Divine Son had destroyed his eyes back then. He was certain to harbor hatred toward the Su Family.

"No matter." Su Linxian smiled faintly.

"I'll go back and deal with him."

"When does the Ancient Emperor Festival begin?"

"In three days."

Su Linxian stood and shrugged.

"Then let's go take a look."

As he spoke, he turned toward Li Junhua and Ming Suwen below.

One was at the peak emperor realm, and the other was in his second incarnation. Even within the Su Family, no one dared underestimate them.

Both were now members of the Su Family's Shadow Guard.

Su Linxian asked, "You've reached the Jijie realm?"

"Not bad."

Li Junhua hurriedly cupped his hands. "Thank you for the resources you bestowed, Master."

Only after joining the Emperor Clan had he realized that cultivation resources were never in short supply.

What kind of life had I been living before?

Su Linxian smiled. "Hurry and break through. Some time ago, news arrived from the Star-Lattice Divine Sect."

"The heavens' End of Dharma Age is coming."

The Star-Lattice Divine Sect's supreme ancestor had divined that in seven million years, after the golden age passed, the heavens would usher in a new End of Dharma Age.

This time, even the Emperor Clans would find it difficult to escape unscathed.

Li Junhua's pupils contracted.

"The End of Dharma Age?!"

Three days later, outside Emperor City's gates.

Dragon Phoenix Divine Roars, divine beasts of heaven and earth, drew an enormous war chariot cast entirely from primordial divine gold. The chariot was covered in the Su Family's ancient Dao markings, every line flowing with purple primordial qi.

War guards stood on either side of the shafts, their armor gleaming and their killing intent restrained.

Shenyue Su personally stood beside the war chariot and bowed slightly to Su Linxian.

"Your Highness, please."

Su Linxian nodded slightly.

Yu Yao bounded onto the chariot behind him, her golden dragon horns sparkling in the sunlight.

Li Junhua and Ming Suwen also boarded the chariot. Standing behind Su Linxian, they gazed at the emperor realm divine beasts before them, their eyes full of wonder.

"The Emperor Clans truly are terrifying," Li Junhua murmured.

"Even emperor realm divine beasts are only fit to pull their chariots."

Ming Suwen nodded slightly.

She had lived for ten thousand years and witnessed countless grand spectacles. Yet the sight of Emperor Clan war guards filling the sky and divine beasts drawing a chariot still shook her to the core.

"So this is an Emperor Clan's foundation..."

Yu Yao, however, pouted.

She crouched at the edge of the chariot, swept her golden slit pupils over the beasts, and muttered,

"You humans always like using our Demon Race to put on a show."

Su Linxian said lightly, "At least you don't have to."

Speaking of which, his original plan for this Dragon Carp had been to eat her.

Yu Yao froze, then broke into a delighted smile, her golden eyes curving into crescents.

"You're right, Master!"

Shenyue Su commanded, "Depart!"

"Roar!"

The Dragon Phoenix Divine Roars raised their heads in unison and unleashed a roar that shook the clouds.

The sound pierced tens of thousands of miles of space. The war chariot slowly rose into the air, then tore through the void toward Ancient Emperor City.

The Black Armor War Guards followed close behind, their formations surging like a tide, their killing intent gathering like clouds.

Ancient Emperor City.

The city floated deep in the void where the myriad worlds of the heavens converged. It was far more than a hundred times larger than King-Sealing City.

Its walls towered over a hundred thousand zhang high, cast entirely from primordial star stone. Every brick bore ancient imperial markings.

Palaces crowded the city like a forest, and streets spread like a web, with countless cultivators moving through them. Prodigies from the various Emperor Clans gathered within, while the flags of the great powers snapped in the wind atop the walls.

The instant the Su Family's war chariot arrived, all of Ancient Emperor City fell silent for a moment.

Dragon and phoenix cries echoed overhead. The Black Armor War Guards' murderous aura condensed into tangible clouds, pressing half the sky lower.

Atop the war chariot, a white-robed figure stood with his hands behind his back. His aura was restrained and deep as an abyss, like a banished immortal descending to the mortal world, lofty and unreachable.

"The Su Family has arrived!"

"The Su Family's Divine Son is here too!"

Some Emperor Clan prodigies looked up, their expressions shifting slightly.

Even they felt ashamed of their own inferiority before Su Linxian, a peerless prodigy who stood above his entire generation.

"So that is the Su Family's Divine Son... I heard he has emperor realm cultivation. Truly terrifying..."

"An Emperor barely over a hundred years old, the Divine Emperor's son, with a fully perfected Desolate Ancient Sacred Body. All those identities combined..."

On a raised platform within the city, several young people of extraordinary bearing looked up at the same time.

Their leader wore a scarlet-gold robe. He had handsome features, and an innate nobility shone between his brows.

He was Ji Wuye, a prodigy of the Ji Family's direct line.

His cultivation was at the quasi-emperor realm.

"Brother Wang... do you think this man is truly someone we can stand alongside?"

Ji Wuye gave a bitter laugh. He possessed the Imperial Heaven Divine Body passed down through generations of the Ji Family and was their peerless genius.

"I only became a Quasi-Emperor at three hundred. I thought I could suppress everyone my age. To have been born in the same era as him... what a misfortune."

Yet after hearing of the Su Family's Divine Son and his feats, he, too, felt a wave of despair.

He had become an Emperor at one hundred, then entered a Life Forbidden Zone at two hundred and slain the forbidden being, Dao Qiniu!

Even in the Ancient Immortal Era, existences like him were rare!

One could say that his eventual ascension to Divine Emperor was already nailed firmly into place!

"The only question is what his cultivation is now..."

"If he's at the first-level emperor realm, we might still have a chance of catching up..."

A young man in a dark robe standing beside him spoke.

His features were cold and stern, his aura sharp as a sword.

He was Wang Ling, the son of the Wang Family's Divine Emperor.

Several other Quasi-Emperors stood behind the two, all outstanding figures among the younger generations of the Emperor Clans.

"A forbidden being from a forbidden zone... would be at least at the peak emperor realm. If the Su Family's Divine Son could kill one... everyone..." someone said quietly.

At that moment, the entire gathering fell deathly silent.

"..." Wang Ling's gaze settled on Su Linxian, and he, too, felt a profound sense of helplessness.

"My father said the End of Dharma Age is approaching."

"We have no hope of contending for this era's Divine Emperor destiny."

"Brother Ji, after the Ancient Emperor Festival, I will enter the Primordial Divine Source and slumber..."

Ji Wuye fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Together."

Within Ancient Emperor City, the prodigies of the various Emperor Clans all looked up at the war chariot descending from the sky.

Countless gazes converged, filled with nothing but wariness and awe!

Before Su Linxian, the geniuses of the great Emperor Clans could not summon even the slightest will to fight.

An Emperor at one hundred, a Divine Emperor's son, the slayer of a forbidden being from a forbidden zone.

Those distinctions together were enough to plunge anyone into despair.

And now, that very man stood before them!

Su Linxian looked down and said with a faint smile.

"Quite a lively gathering."

The Ancient Emperor Festival was held once every epoch.

This era's Ancient Emperor Festival was hosted by the Su Family of the Saint Emperor Clan, on the Emperor Platform at the very center of Ancient Emperor City.

The Emperor Platform was an enormous arena forged entirely from primordial star stone, ten thousand zhang across and over a thousand zhang tall.

Its surface was densely engraved with ancient formation patterns, enough to withstand a full-force strike from someone at the peak emperor realm without breaking. Around the Emperor Platform, nine towering stone pillars rose from the ground, each entwined with a colossal stone dragon. Their heads faced the center of the platform, and each dragon held a massive luminous pearl in its mouth.

Sealed within those nine luminous pearls were the imprints of victors from past Ancient Emperor Festivals, each emanating pressure powerful enough to make a Quasi-Emperor's heart tremble.

Grand Elder Su stood atop the Emperor Platform with his hands behind his back.

Today, he had changed into formal dark imperial robes. His white hair was bound beneath a crown, his expression solemn, and a sharp gleam lay concealed within his cloudy old eyes.

"The Ancient Emperor Festival is held once every epoch. This era, it is hosted by the Su Family of the Saint Emperor Clan."

"The rules are as follows: any cultivator under one thousand years of age may take the stage. The victor stays, and the defeated leave. Fights to the death are forbidden. Any objections?"

No one below the platform spoke.

The prodigies of the Emperor Clans were already rubbing their fists and flexing their palms, their burning gazes fixed on the Emperor Platform.

Seeing that no one spoke, Grand Elder Su nodded slightly and waved his hand.

"Let each clan contribute its prize!"

Representatives of the Ten Great Emperor Clans stepped forward one after another and placed their respective prizes into the nine luminous pearls at the center of the Emperor Platform.

The Su Family offered a Primordial Purple Fruit, the Yun Family offered a Primordial Emperor-Grade Cultivation Technique, and the Ji Family offered an Emperor Weapon longsword...

Each prize's appearance prompted a low murmur of discussion below the platform.

The rewards for the Ancient Emperor Festival were jointly provided by the Ten Great Emperor Clans, and every item was a supreme treasure that would make even emperor realm cultivators' eyes burn with envy.

Yet the prodigies of the Emperor Clans merely glanced at them before looking away.

For the true geniuses of these Emperor Clans, treasures were secondary.

What they lacked was not treasure, but an opportunity to prove they could tower over and suppress their entire generation.

The victor of the Ancient Emperor Festival would be the foremost figure of their generation in this era!

Seeing these treasures, Li Junhua felt as though his entire worldview had been overturned. He clicked his tongue. "Out in the world, any one of these treasures would be enough to make emperor realm cultivators fight until their heads were bloodied..."

"And here, they're nothing more than prizes..."

Had he not been barred from participating because he was not a member of an Emperor Clan, he would have wanted to go up and compete as well!

Su Linxian sat on the raised dais east of the Emperor Platform, leaning against the back of his chair as he surveyed the densely packed crowd below.

His gaze passed over one youthful face after another, and the auras of the Emperor Clans' geniuses were clearly discernible to his senses.

Among the cultivators under a thousand years old, those at the supreme realm were everywhere, and there were a few at the quasi-emperor realm as well.

He gave an extra glance to the few whose auras were the most formidable.

"Not bad."

But that was all.

Su Linxian swept his gaze through the crowd before finally settling on a golden figure.

"Hm?"

"This fellow came too?"