The Inheritance of Empress Hongtian

Chapter 33: The Inheritance of Empress Hongtian

Ancient Great Emperors, Vast Great Emperor,

Soaring Great Emperor, Enlightenment Great Emperor...

As he looked at these Great Emperors who would be revered by later generations, Xu Zimo's expression did not change. He said calmly, "What crime have I committed? Even if you bear the Heavenly Mandate and stand in for Heaven's Will, so what?"

At that moment, Xu Zimo truly wanted to roar, "We cultivators were born to defy the heavens! Who dares stand high above us? Today, I will shatter these heavens beneath my feet! My fate is mine, not Heaven's!"

But after giving it some thought, he felt that sounded a little too childish and edgy. His gaze narrowed slightly as he drew Overlord Shadow from his back. His slender figure faced the ten Great Emperors in the sky, and he grinned. "So what if I drag you down from your divine altars?"

He strode through the air, Overlord Shadow in his hand reflecting a boundless radiance as he roared and charged at those Great Emperors.

"The winds and clouds beneath heaven rise from our kind.

Once we enter the martial world, the years drive us on.

Imperial ambitions and hegemony are spoken of with laughter.

Life is but one drunken dream."

Qi Shan waved both hands, and the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Array gradually dissipated. The mist dispersed, while a smile hung on Xu Zimo's lips.

The Seven Emotions and Six Desires Array could stir up a person's most primal desires. Whatever one desired most, it would create it within the illusion.

Power, wealth, beauty, or strength.

Many of the youths in the arena were already disheveled, their clothes in disorder and their hair hanging loose. They looked utterly miserable.

Even those in relatively better condition were either pale or flushed, their entire bodies covered in cold sweat.

"Ruhu, what did you see in the illusion?" Xu Zimo asked with great interest.

"I saw lots of women without clothes on, but I wasn't interested, so I blew them all up," Lin Ruhu said. "I also saw myself bearing the Heavenly Mandate and becoming a Great Emperor."

"But I knew that this generation's Great Emperor would definitely be Brother Zimo, so I killed all those people worshipping me too."

Xu Zimo suddenly realized that such illusions merely drew out the desires buried in one's heart. But someone like Lin Ruhu had no desires or wants at all.

"Ruhu, what do you like?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.

"I just like following behind Brother Zimo," Lin Ruhu said with a simple, foolish smile.

"Let me make this clear first, my personal tastes are completely normal," Xu Zimo hurriedly explained.

"That's not what I meant," Lin Ruhu quickly said. "I already have someone I like."

"Who?" Xu Zimo froze. Lin Ruhu usually seemed so quiet and unremarkable. Who would have thought that beneath those thick brows and big eyes, he was the secretly flirtatious sort?

"The Seventh Elder's daughter," Lin Ruhu muttered softly.

Xu Zimo drew in a sharp breath. "That's terrifying indeed!"

Xu Zimo had met the Seventh Elder's daughter before. He had never expected Ruhu's tastes to be so heavy.

"What do you like about her?" Xu Zimo felt it was necessary to get to the bottom of this.

"I think she has a pretty good personality," Lin Ruhu said with a silly grin. He seemed to recall something, and his smile blossomed like spring sunlight.

"My apologies for disturbing you," Xu Zimo said, nodding silently without another word.

"What a wolf of a man."

At this moment, the Inner Sect Elder had begun reading out the names of the hundred disciples with the highest total scores.

The youths whose names were called were all wildly excited, looking proudly around them with their heads held high and chests puffed out.

As the hundred slots were gradually filled, the remaining youths' faces darkened. Their expectations for the entire year had been utterly crushed.

"Youths who failed to join the Sacred Sect should not give up either. The path of a martial artist is filled with setbacks to begin with; how could everything go smoothly?" the Inner Sect Elder said from the front, offering consolation. "You may return next year, or choose to join another sect. That is also a good option."

In the Far West Land, there were many other sects besides the True Martial Sacred Sect.

However, no matter how one compared them, the True Martial Sacred Sect was the strongest among them.

Afterward, the Inner Sect Elder delivered an impassioned speech to the remaining hundred youths who had joined the True Martial Sacred Sect.

The general meaning was, "The sect is for me, and I am for the sect."

When the speech ended, the Inner Sect Elder took out a hexagonal crystal.

Its surface had been polished as smooth as a mirror, and it glimmered with specks of starlight.

The Inner Sect Elder did not tell them what the crystal was for. He merely had everyone line up and try placing their hands upon it one by one.

"What is that for?" Lin Ruhu asked curiously from afar.

"An Inheritance Crystal," Xu Zimo replied with a smile.

He had already foreseen the outcome. This would be a moment that could be recorded in the history of the True Martial Sacred Sect, and the moment when Baili Xiao truly crossed the Dragon Gate.

But Xu Zimo did not stop it, because everything seemed so interesting, so beautiful.

So beautiful that he could not even bear to destroy someone else's hope.

The youths placed their hands upon the crystal one after another, yet the crystal showed no reaction.

The Inner Sect Elder's expression remained calm. He had long expected this. "It is not so easy to find someone chosen by an Empress."

The line gradually shortened. Yan Buhui, Gao Xiong, and even the pair of twin sisters all failed one after another.

Only when Baili Xiao stepped forward with a nervous heart in her chest and placed her hand on the crystal did she feel a stream of warmth flowing from it.

Then the entire crystal suddenly burst forth with dazzling silver light.

"Th-this is..." The Inner Sect Elder standing nearby stared at the crystal in shock, so stunned that he could not speak.

Not far away, Xu Zimo's lips curled into a smile. "Tsk, tsk, what a historic moment. What a pity there's nothing to record it with."

When the crystal emitted its dazzling radiance, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared in the sky, stepping through the air.

Every one of those figures radiated a heaven-shaking aura. As they appeared together, their auras faintly connected into one, as though the surrounding air had frozen solid. Their overwhelming momentum surged like an ocean, capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas.

Among those figures were the seven great elders of the True Martial Sacred Sect, as well as the Vice Sect Master.

This crystal was a supreme treasure of the sect. Naturally, it would not be handed so casually to an Inner Sect Elder.

In truth, whenever they searched for an inheritor, these powerful figures had hidden in the shadows. They simply had no wish to reveal themselves.

"Brother Zimo, what's happening?" Lin Ruhu asked in astonishment as he looked at the sect's upper echelons in the arena.

The crystal slowly rose into the sky, radiating brilliant light, as if something were about to emerge.

Xu Zimo smiled and said, "Before the four Great Emperors of our True Martial Sacred Sect ascended, they each left their inheritances within the sect.

They hoped that one day, a suitable candidate would obtain their inheritance and lead the Sacred Sect toward an age of prosperity.

The inheritance of the Divine Movement Great Emperor was obtained by the Sect Master of our generation, while the inheritance of the True Martial Great Emperor was obtained by my father.

Now, only the inheritances of the Three Blades Great Emperor and Empress Hongtian remain unclaimed.

And today, the inheritor of Empress Hongtian has appeared."