Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Celestial Relief City.

Sima Qingling, Xu Canghai, Xing Haisheng, and Shaoyang Yu were sitting together, each with a grave expression.

A trace of anger was in Xu Canghai’s eyes as he looked at Shaoyang Yu. "Shaoyang, what is wrong with your men? How could someone from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect enter Celestial Relief City without anyone noticing?"

"Brother Canghai, you can’t blame me for this!"

Shaoyang Yu looked at Xu Canghai with a wronged expression, shrugged, and said, "That guy from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect had secretly hidden some Cyan Radiance Stones. To avoid handing them over to Shan Yanlin, he snuck into Celestial Relief City while the main force was out searching for Brother Jiang. By the time our men captured him, he had already sent the message out with a Communication Order."

Xu Canghai snorted coldly. It was clear he was in a terrible mood.

Xing Haisheng tried to smooth things over. "Canghai, don’t blame Shaoyang anymore. The most important thing now is to figure out how to deal with Dugu Xue and his people."

"With our current strength, Dugu Xue and the Ghost Emperor aren’t too much of a concern. Haisheng and I can handle them. But they have four other experts: Shan Yanlin, Mengg Wanqing, Wum Jiuling, and Zhou Dong. Any one of them is at least as strong as Shaoyang. And on top of that, their forces are a coalition of experts from the Seven Great Dynasties..." A shrewd light glinted in Xu Canghai’s eyes as he thoroughly analyzed the combat strength of both sides.

Although the three of them had received Jiang Chen’s Mixed Element Golden Pills and their strength had increased dramatically...

However...

The enemy, after all, was a gathering of experts from the Seven Great Dynasties.

They were somewhat isolated and outnumbered.

After a moment of silence, Xing Haisheng looked at Sima Qingling. "Princess, can you contact Jiang Chen?"

"I can’t reach him at the moment."

Sima Qingling gave a wry smile and shrugged. "Master is still in deep seclusion. He hasn’t responded to the Communication Order, and I don’t dare to barge in and risk disturbing his cultivation."

"It seems we’ll have to be the ones to hold off Dugu Xue and his group first."

"Sigh. If I’d known, I never would have boarded this pirate ship with you. Now we haven’t gotten any benefits, and we’re stuck dealing with this huge mess," Xu Canghai said, looking exasperated.

Shaoyang Yu also gave a wry, helpless smile. "What’s the use of saying that now?"

Xing Haisheng chuckled. "Weren’t you two pretty eager when you took the Mixed Element Golden Pills? Don’t dwell on it. Let’s discuss how we’ll deal with Dugu Xue and his people."

"Here’s what we’ll do..."

And so, the four of them discussed their plan.

Several hundred kilometers from Celestial Relief City, the experts of the Seven Great Dynasties—more than fifty thousand strong—had gathered, led by Dugu Xue and the Ghost Emperor.

Fifty thousand people flew across the Celestial Vault, a dense, dark mass like a storm cloud blanketing the sky.

The terrifying Evil Qi was so dense it seemed to become tangible.

Dugu Xue’s face was grim. The fierce winds from their rapid flight whipped his long hair about as he looked to Shan Yanlin of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. "Shan Yanlin, can you contact that man from your sect?"

"I can’t reach him."

Shan Yanlin said, his face dark.

The Ghost Emperor gave a sinister sneer. "Why bother trying to contact him? He’s definitely been captured by the Star Pavilion. I was wondering why that bastard Jiang Chen wasn’t robbing the Star Pavilion’s people. Turns out they’re all cut from the same cloth."

"When we get to Celestial Relief City, we’ll make Xing Haisheng hand over Jiang Chen. If he dares to refuse, we’ll wipe his Star Pavilion from the face of the Sixteen States!"

"The Female and Male Thieves... and that Sima Qingling. I’m going to fucking kill her!"

"Me too! The hundreds of thousands of Cyan Radiance Stones my experts worked so hard to collect were all stolen by him..."

"Hundreds of thousands is nothing! He stole over two million from me..."

One after another, the experts showed expressions of fury.

Dugu Xue and the Ghost Emperor watched the enraged crowd, then exchanged a glance, a venomous look appearing on both their faces.

Dugu Xue’s face was calm, seemingly focused only on their journey, but he was secretly sending a transmission to the Ghost Emperor. "Ghost Emperor, how are the arrangements coming along?"

"Don’t worry, everything is in place!" The dense black qi around the Ghost Emperor pulsed, like a bloodthirsty demon. He cackled coldly, "After today, in the entire Sixteenth State, only you and I will be revered!"

"Hahaha..."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed.

...

For experts at the Heavenly Destiny Realm, a few hundred kilometers was a journey of no more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

By the time the fifty-thousand-plus experts converged on Celestial Relief City,

Xing Haisheng and his allies had already received the news and were waiting in formation, holding their position atop the western city gate.

They faced each other from a distance.

The experts from the Star Pavilion, the Fiery Sun Sect, and the Sun and Moon Pavilion numbered a full twenty thousand. Every one of them wore a grave expression, for opposite them were the gathered forces of the Seven Great Dynasties—more than fifty thousand experts in total.

In a contest of numbers, it was clear at a glance who held the advantage.

Atop the city wall tower.

Xing Haisheng, Xu Canghai, and Shaoyang Yu stood shoulder to shoulder. Surging True Essence Light pulsed from their bodies, radiating a fiery battle intent as they stared at Dugu Xue and his group in the air. Xing Haisheng said coolly, "Dugu Xue, what is the meaning of this?"

"No wonder your Star Pavilion dared to oppose us. So you pulled in the Sun and Moon Pavilion and the Fiery Sun Sect. However... you don’t really think the three of you alone can stop us, do you?" Dugu Xue said with a look of pure arrogance.

The Ghost Emperor said sinisterly, "Xing Haisheng, hand over Jiang Chen and Sima Qingling. We can spare the people of your Three Major Sects. Otherwise, after today, the Star Pavilion, Sun and Moon Pavilion, and Fiery Sun Sect will be wiped from the Sixteenth State!"

Shan Yanlin, Mengg Wanqing, Zhou Dong, and Wum Jiuling all watched Xing Haisheng’s group with cold sneers.

Xing Haisheng replied coolly, "Apologies, but we don’t know where Jiang Chen is. As for Her Highness the Ninth Princess, even if I knew where she was, I would never hand her over to you!"

"Kekeke, it seems you’re really looking to die!"

"Why are we wasting our breath on them? Let’s just attack, kill them all, and their points will be ours!"

"That’s right, kill them!"

The numerous experts behind Dugu Xue all wore cold, hard expressions, shouting arrogant taunts one after another.

The Ghost Emperor grinned, his white teeth looking particularly terrifying amidst the gloomy Ghost Qi. "Xu Canghai, is your Sun and Moon Pavilion really determined to protect those vile Female and Male Thieves?"

Xu Canghai shrugged. "Can’t be helped. Who told me I could never get along with a guy who’s neither human nor ghost?"

"Kekeke, your mouth is as foul as ever. In a moment, I’m going to rip it off your face and let you taste the agony of ten thousand ghosts devouring your heart!" The Ghost Emperor’s eyes gleamed viciously. He clenched his hand, and it was as if ten thousand vengeful souls were roaring within his palm.

Dugu Xue’s gaze was icy as he stood suspended in the air. He announced proudly, "Xing Haisheng, Xu Canghai, Shaoyang Yu... I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over the Female and Male Thieves, and we can spare your Three Major Sects. Otherwise, after today, there will be no place for your three sects in the Sixteenth State!"

"Handing over Jiang Chen and the Ninth Princess is impossible!" Xing Haisheng said, shaking his head.

Xu Canghai and Shaoyang Yu’s eyes were firm and resolute. They didn’t move.

Dugu Xue sneered. "If that’s how it is, then let’s fight!"