The Heavenly Frontline has become an ancient battlefield in the mouths of the cultivators of the Great Heaven. More and more young cultivators are heading to this ancient battlefield, not necessarily to seek opportunities or treasures, but mostly just to see the place where countless great emperors once fell.
As the Heavenly Dao slumbers, the entire Great Heaven seems to have fallen into a deep sleep as well. Conflicts between star domains have ceased, and there are no longer any high-level cultivators invading each other's territories. Everyone is cultivating peacefully.
The Blue Sky Sword Sea is one of the star domains where cultivation is proceeding peacefully. Among them, Chi Yu is one of the most diligent cultivators. However, ever since he forcibly broke through to the Great Saint realm, his foundation has been damaged. Without a great opportunity, he will never have a chance to become a Quasi-Emperor in this lifetime.
But not being able to become a Quasi-Emperor doesn't mean he can't grow stronger. He can still comprehend the Dao. From a two-path Great Saint, he can become a three-path Great Saint, and from three paths to four paths, becoming a four-path Great Saint like Chen Xia. Even if he can't become a Quasi-Emperor, he can still slay an Emperor, can't he?
So he isn't pessimistic, just feels useless. At the same time, he admires Chen Xia's talent even more, thinking that his big brother truly deserves his respect, as becoming a four-path Great Saint is already something he can only look up to.
The other Great Saints are also comprehending the Dao here, but they are not in seclusion. Instead, they are wandering the heavens and earth, seeking their own methods to break through to the next realm.
The Blue Sky Sword Sea desperately needs its own Emperor to hold up its reputation. This is a necessity for the entire Blue Sky Sword Sea and the best proof that it can return to its former glory.
Although Yan Zi, the three-path Emperor from the Heavenly Frontline, is willing to protect the Blue Sky Sword Sea, he is ultimately not a cultivator from the Blue Sky Sword Sea and cannot represent it.
If something happens to the Blue Sky Sword Sea in the future and it has to rely on Yan Zi, an outsider, then the Blue Sky Sword Sea might as well be called Yan Zi's Sword Sea instead.
This would not only humiliate the Blue Sky Sword Sea but also disgrace Chen Xia's name.
All the Blue Sky Saints are holding their breath, knowing that only by becoming an Emperor can they truly stand tall and proud!
The first Quasi-Emperor of the Blue Sky Sword Sea emerged three hundred years later—Emperor Capital.
He had already reached the pinnacle of the Great Saint realm, with only the slightest gap left to become a Quasi-Emperor. With a thousand years of comprehension, it was only natural for him to break through.
However, Emperor Capital didn't gloat too much, only lightly mocking the other Great Saints with a few words like "trash" or "little garbage."
Well, in Emperor Capital's opinion, these weren't harsh words. He even felt like he was just telling the truth. But what could he do? His talent was just that overwhelming, allowing him to be the first to break through to the Quasi-Emperor realm.
He couldn't help but worry, wondering if his extraordinary talent would discourage the other Blue Sky Saints.
Tsk, tsk, that wouldn't be good news.
Emperor Capital's face was practically glowing with joy as he shook his head and said, "Turns out having too much talent isn't always a good thing, haha!"
A hundred years later, Li Yang caught up to Emperor Capital and also became a Quasi-Emperor. The first thing he did after breaking through was to challenge Emperor Capital, who had been showing off for a hundred years, to a fight. It wasn't a life-or-death battle; he just wanted to beat some humility into him.
Emperor Capital, being the kind of person who never backs down from a challenge, immediately agreed. The two of them set off to a remote corner of the starry sky to duel, with the other Blue Sky Saints acting as witnesses.
In truth, their combat abilities were quite similar, and it was unrealistic for either of them to completely dominate the other—after all, they weren't Chen Xia.
So, their fight eventually fizzled out without a clear winner.
Another hundred years passed, and Qiu Li also became a Quasi-Emperor. He, too, wanted to challenge Emperor Capital, with no rules or restrictions.
Emperor Capital frowned at him, confused. "I thought we were brothers. How could you want to fight me?"
"You'd better treat me like a brother. Don't think I don't know that you used to cause trouble and blame it on me," Qiu Li retorted.
Emperor Capital waved his sleeve and declared, "I was just trying to make you famous across the Great Heaven!"
"Famous? You used my name for all your shady deeds and took credit for the good ones. Don't think I don't know what you're up to," Qiu Li shot back.
Emperor Capital scratched his head and quickly shook it. "You must be mistaken. I never do good deeds."
"Enough talk. I'm definitely going to teach you a lesson today," Qiu Li said, raising an eyebrow. Ever since Emperor Capital became a Quasi-Emperor, he had called Qiu Li a "little trash" countless times. Although Qiu Li didn't say much at the time, he had remembered every word.
Emperor Capital shrugged nonchalantly. "If you insist, then I have no choice but to fight."
Once they had made their decision, Emperor Capital and Qiu Li headed to a remote star domain. They got into position, but before they could start, Li Yang stepped out from behind Qiu Li, looking at Emperor Capital with a cold smile.
"What's the meaning of this?" Emperor Capital was stunned.
"Gang fight," Qiu Li said with a grin.
"Oh..." Emperor Capital finally understood and asked, "So it's two against one?"
"Smart," Li Yang replied with a smile, then suddenly lunged forward, not giving Emperor Capital a chance to escape. Qiu Li followed closely behind.
The other Great Saints found the whole situation amusing, thinking that Emperor Capital deserved to be taught a lesson. It was less of a serious fight and more of a playful scuffle among the Blue Sky Saints, which made it all the more entertaining.
In the end, Emperor Capital wasn't too badly beaten, just a bit disheveled. He tugged at his torn robe, looked at the gleeful crowd, and then at the triumphant Li Yang and Qiu Li, grumbling,
"You two really aren't afraid of my big brother Chen Xia, huh? When he comes back, I'll call him over, and we'll have a rematch."
"No thanks, no thanks," Li Yang laughed.
"I surrender. I can't win," Qiu Li said with a cheeky grin.
"Damn it, you two are such cowards," Emperor Capital complained, feeling even more aggrieved.
"I can help out," Li Yue suddenly chimed in.
Emperor Capital quickly smiled. "See, little Li Yue is the sensible one. You two old men are just wasting your years!"
Li Yue shook her head and clarified, "You misunderstood. I meant I'd help Aunt Li Yang beat you up."
Emperor Capital was stunned.
Lies don't hurt; the truth is the sharpest blade.
The onlookers, Jia Bai, Huang Can, and Hu Linye, were laughing hysterically. It was rare to see Emperor Capital get the short end of the stick, and it was absolutely hilarious. They felt that this trip was worth it.
Emperor Capital shook his head in resignation, lamenting, "The bonds of friendship have weakened."
This only made everyone laugh even harder, filling the remote star domain with a joyous atmosphere.
This was just a bit of playful banter among the Blue Sky Saints. It wasn't meant to target Emperor Capital; in fact, it was because they were close that they could joke around like this. It added some fun to their otherwise uneventful days.
In the years that followed, more and more Great Saints of the Blue Sky Sword Sea became Quasi-Emperors. When the last Great Saint finally broke through, they looked back and realized that ten thousand years had passed since Chen Xia's disappearance.
The Blue Sky Sword Sea now has no master, and looking back, ten thousand years have flown by.
How unpredictable the world is.
The conflict between the Immortal Realm and the Divine Realm gradually escalated over thousands of years.
The Divine Realm had learned its lesson. Knowing that the East Jia State was under the protection of the Lord of the Ten Thousand Mountains, they decided not to provoke it. Instead, they left two Emperors to guard the East Jia State, allowing them to retreat if their lives were in danger. This was to prevent the Lord of the Ten Thousand Mountains from attacking again.
The Divine Realm now held the Ten Thousand Mountains in high regard, ranking it as extremely dangerous, second only to the Nine Mountain Lords. Moreover, the Ten Thousand Mountains didn't even belong to the Immortal Realm, meaning the Lord of the Ten Thousand Mountains could act as he pleased, making him even more of a threat.
For safety's sake, the Divine Realm stopped trying to conquer the East Jia State and instead turned their attention to the Treasure Ring Scale State in the southwest of the Immortal Realm.
This state was home to an interesting sect called the Fuyao Immortal Sect.
What made this sect interesting was a cultivator named Xu Zhen, the strongest prodigy of the previous era in the Immortal Realm, whose reputation rivaled that of the Divine Realm's Divine Son. Her talent was among the very best in all the realms.
Xu Zhen's personality was fierce and unyielding, and she stood out in the battles of the Treasure Ring Scale State, even matching some Emperors in ferocity.
The Emperors of the Divine Realm had high praise for Xu Zhen, declaring:
"Fierce and unyielding, brutal in battle—the greatest woman under heaven!"