The three walked toward the Imperial Pass. Watching Lin Yue's figure, Yan and Yu let go of their last lingering worries.
"You finally woke up? You really had everyone worried."
Yu spoke!
"From today onward, that won't happen again!"
Lin Yue, too, was filled with emotion. Looking at the countless people cheering atop the Imperial Pass, he knew that if another accident befell him, these people might truly collapse.
"I have never seen such invincible might since the Immortal Ancient Era. You deserve to be called the foremost king of our Nine Heavens!"
The old king walked up to Lin Yue and placed a hand on his shoulder. Filled with emotion, he offered his highest praise.
"You flatter me, Senior. Compared to you great lords, I amount to little!"
"No, this is not flattery, but acknowledgment. Had you appeared sooner, the Nine Heavens would not have fallen so far. Then again, without such adversity, such despair, and such tempering, perhaps you could have become a king, but not necessarily one capable of suppressing heaven and earth. An ordinary king is still not enough for the Nine Heavens. The times forge their heroes!"
As the old king marveled at Lin Yue's emergence, he also felt fortunate.
"You are right, Senior. The radiance of rebirth only shines after destruction."
Perhaps it truly fulfilled that saying: cultivation was bitter, and seeking the Dao was hard.
Those who attained the Dao and became immortals in favorable surroundings could never compare to those who became immortals through hardship.
In later generations, those who became immortals during the Dharma-Ending Era could practically trounce these True Immortals of the Immortal Ancient Era. Some could almost rival peak True Immortals as soon as they entered the immortal realm, while others even approached Quasi-Kings.
"Let's head back first!"
"They're