Within the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum, all the surviving Supreme Realm experts of the Tianluo Continent had gathered, making the place bustle with activity.
The deepest enmity among them lay between Mu Chen and Xia Hong, the fourth prince of the Great Xia Dynasty. Not long ago, Mu Chen had killed the dynasty's crown prince, Xia Yu.
"Heh heh, Mu Chen, you were so smug and arrogant earlier!" Xia Hong stared sinisterly at Mu Chen, a chilling smile curling his lips.
Before this, even if he had encountered Mu Chen, he would probably have had to duck his head and hide. But things were different now. The moment he stepped into the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum, Mu Chen had become no different from a dead man in his eyes.
Because once he arrived here, he could summon his imperial father at any time.
Mu Chen, however, simply ignored Xia Hong's venomous gaze. As for that so-called Xia Emperor, he had long since made ample preparations.
That dismissive look made Xia Hong's face twist. His expression turned savage, and a jade talisman appeared in his hand.
"Mu Chen, I'll make you kneel and beg me soon enough!"
Xia Hong growled and crushed the jade talisman in his hand.
Boom!
The jade talisman shattered, and powerful spiritual energy erupted. It gathered together and tore through space, forming a spatial passage roughly ten feet wide.
The instant the passage formed, an imposing figure slowly stepped out of it.
As that figure emerged from the spatial passage, vast, majestic spiritual energy swept out like a storm. The nearby mountains floating in the sky were forcibly shaken into clouds of dust by that tremendous power.
"So this is the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum? Xia Hong, you've done well." Upon arriving, the imposing figure glanced around before nodding in praise.
"Where is Xia Yu?"
After offering his praise, the Xia Emperor suddenly asked the question. He could not sense any trace of Xia Yu's spiritual energy here.
At his words, Xia Hong immediately turned a venomous gaze toward Mu Chen. "Imperial Father, my elder brother has fallen. He's the murderer!"
In midair, the Xia Emperor seemed to pause. Then a pair of emotionless eyes looked down and settled on Mu Chen.
Hum!
When the Xia Emperor's gaze fell upon him, Mu Chen immediately felt a terrifying pressure surge toward him, powerful enough to topple mountains and overturn seas. It seemed intent on forcing him straight to his knees.
Shrouded in that terrifying pressure, Mu Chen's expression darkened. But in the next instant, violet-gold light suddenly erupted from within his body, forcibly resisting the pressure of an Upper Earth Sovereign. Only the ground beneath his feet cracked apart, inch by inch.
At that very moment, an enormous dragon of spiritual energy tore through space, rampaging over everyone's heads. Savage spiritual energy began wreaking havoc with its appearance.
Even here in the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum, the enormous spiritual-energy dragon continued battering through space.
Its terrifying spiritual-energy fluctuations struck fear into everyone within the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum.
Beside Mu Chen, a woman in a red dress saw the enormous spiritual-energy dragon, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
The dragon looked very familiar. She had seen it not long before.
The woman in red was Xiao Xiao, whom Mu Chen had reunited with inside the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
"Someone extraordinary has arrived," Xiao Xiao murmured under her breath. Her gaze remained fixed on the spatial breach the dragon had smashed open when it appeared.
A few breaths later, a man clad in black battle armor and holding a spear stepped out of that spatial breach.
Six people followed him, one of whom had the appearance of a little girl.
"Bullying the weak while their elders are away?" The man's calm voice rang out. Standing high above, he looked down at the Xia Emperor, and the terrifying spiritual pressure emanating from him actually made the emperor grit his teeth.
Under this man's hand, the Xia Emperor, who had been so lofty upon his arrival, now resembled a defeated general, his imposing aura ruthlessly suppressed.
"This man killed the crown prince of my Great Xia Dynasty. Surely we're owed an explanation?" The Xia Emperor clenched his teeth, his expression dark.
"How about your life?" Futu Yijing stared at the Xia Emperor, his tone somewhat icy.
Mu Chen looked at Futu Yijing by the passage overhead, his gaze complicated.
The man belonged to the Futu Ancient Clan, which had imprisoned his mother, yet now he was standing up for him.
It was a complicated feeling, like someone you had hated for a long time decisively taking your side when you needed help. But he had to admit, having someone powerful watching over him felt wonderful!
At those words, the Xia Emperor's expression grew even uglier. Behind him stood two Lower Earthly Sovereigns, who were also enduring Futu Yijing's spiritual pressure.
The terrifying pressure sent cold sweat down their backs. Their lives and deaths rested on a single thought from the man above.
Just moments earlier, they had sensed the threat of death from that enormous spiritual-energy dragon as it pierced through space.
While they confronted one another, numerous spatial fluctuations suddenly rippled through the surroundings. The experts of the various factions who had arrived one after another took out their Spatial Marks, summoning their factions' strongest experts into the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum.
For a time, powerful spiritual-energy fluctuations continually shot into the sky within the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum. Boundless spiritual energy filled heaven and earth as Earthly Sovereigns descended into the mausoleum one after another.
Immediately upon entering, these Earthly Sovereigns sensed the terrifying spiritual pressure filling the surroundings.
Futu Yijing had not directed his spiritual pressure at any single person. Instead, he treated everyone equally, enveloping them all.
In this world where martial strength reigned supreme, the fist was the only argument that mattered.
And within this space, Futu Yijing had the hardest fist.
Even if all these Earthly Sovereigns joined forces, they would merely be serving themselves up on a platter.
"Sir, please withdraw your spiritual pressure. We came here with no intention of offending you, only to seek an opportunity." The leader of one faction spoke while enduring Futu Yijing's pressure.
Judging by his spiritual-energy fluctuations, he was an Upper Earth Sovereign.
But he had entered after Futu Yijing and his companions, and had naturally witnessed the man blast open space with a single strike.
These faction leaders had not reached their current realms by being fools. They had no desire to offend Futu Yijing, so their voices carried respect when they spoke.
Hearing this, Futu Yijing withdrew the spiritual pressure he had released.
Only then did those faction leaders breathe sighs of relief.
Fortunately, the man was still fairly easy to reason with.
But just then, another person entered, and that person's voice made the hearts of the many leaders of the top factions jolt.
This was going to end badly!
"Mandala, to think you've been hiding in the Northern Realm all these years. You certainly made me search hard for you." Clear laughter suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.
Before you continue