Chapter 246: Emperor Qing in Seclusion
Qing Capital of the Ancient Flame Kingdom was the most transcendent among all capitals. On the Origin Continent, no matter how powerful the being — even the Three Major Foreign Races — none dared act recklessly here!
Inside Emperor Qing Palace at that moment.
“During the master’s seclusion, no one is allowed to disturb him.” A puppet creature stood outside the palace gate, looking coldly at the eight figures before it.
Di Fu and the other seven Emperors had all gathered here.
“This is a major incident.” Di Fu spoke, “One of the thirteen Emperors of our Ancient Flame Kingdom, ‘Emperor Yuan’, has been killed. This is no small matter — you should report this to your master at once.”
Although they had all sent transmissions to Emperor Qing, he never responded to any of them while in seclusion.
“You servant, go report to your master immediately,” Emperor Yan barked.
“Hurry and report,” Emperor Jiufeng urged as well.
The puppet creature looked at the eight Emperors expressionlessly and shook its head. “The master ordered that no matter how serious the matter, no one is to disturb him during his seclusion.”
“You—” Emperor Chu couldn’t help but speak up, “Did you not hear that Emperor Yuan has been killed?” “Even if all the Emperors are killed, it is still forbidden to disturb my master.” The puppet creature replied coldly. It would follow its master’s orders to the letter — no matter who came!
The eight Emperors were furious upon hearing this.
What kind of nonsense was this?
All the Emperors could be dead, and Emperor Qing still wouldn’t care?
“This puppet servant is too rigid, totally unreasonable,” Emperor Kong remarked from the side.
“Forget it, Emperor Qing must be dealing with something important,” Di Fu said. “Let’s go see the Ancestor.”
Although the eight Emperors were quite dissatisfied, none of them dared to force their way into Emperor Qing’s seclusion grounds — they could only leave reluctantly.
……
Within a hidden world of the Ancient Flame Kingdom, there was a primitive cave dwelling.
The eight Emperors stood respectfully at the cave entrance, not daring to show even the slightest disrespect.
“Reporting to the Ancestor, a black-robed powerhouse accompanied by an old servant attacked and killed Emperor Yuan, forcing him to choose reincarnation,” Di Fu reported respectfully at the entrance. “That black-robed powerhouse was overwhelmingly strong — even the eight of us combined could not match him. He is likely an existence above the Divine King-level. We seek the Ancestor’s instruction on how to respond.”
After Di Fu spoke, the other seven Emperors stood respectfully at the side, patiently awaiting a response.
A long time passed…
The cave remained silent, without the slightest response.
“I’ve reported as well, but the Ancestor hasn’t responded. He must also be in seclusion,” Di Fu looked to his companions. “According to the rules, when the Ancestor exits seclusion, he will naturally learn of everything.”
“Mm.” The other seven Emperors nodded helplessly.
If the Ancestor’s avatar was awake, it would have responded immediately.
But in seclusion, who could say when he would respond?
“Let’s go.”
The eight Emperors could only withdraw — not daring to take a single step into that ancient cave dwelling.
******
All the forces across the Origin Continent could sense that Emperor Yuan’s karmic thread had completely vanished! This meant… Emperor Yuan was either utterly dead — or had been forced into reincarnation. This was an earth-shattering event. ŗάＮօβƐŠ
“Emperor Yuan is dead?” A middle-aged man arrived at the former battlefield. Walking along the past timeline, he easily uncovered the scene before the battle — the Iron Howl Demon Monarch was in a hidden palace, while Emperor Yuan lay in ambush nearby.
Suddenly, the surrounding scene became completely obscured.
“The killer is at least Ultimate Realm,” the middle-aged man was surprised. “The Origin Path fully perfected — not leaving a trace.”
“That battle stirred up massive commotion. From afar, I only saw the Endless Blood River clash with the eight Emperors’ grand formation,” he thought. “Still don’t know who the killer really was.”
“Interesting.”
“To defy the Ancestors of the Two Kingdoms and kill Emperor Yuan...” The middle-aged man was quite intrigued.
……
The clash between the Endless Blood River and the Primordial Space Eight-Phase Formation had been too terrifying — and equally difficult to spy upon. Across the entire Origin Continent, only a few — the Three Major Foreign Races, the Ruler of the Myriad Realms, the Realm Beasts of the Tianmu Nation, and a handful of others — could glimpse faint traces.
As for Luo Feng’s appearance — no one had seen it.
All sides investigated the truth, and could only conclude—
Emperor Yuan was killed, and the killer was at least an Ultimate Realm existence!
“Emperor Yuan had a full set of immensely powerful secret treasures — and he died within two or three breaths?”
“The eight Emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom joined forces — and still couldn’t save him?”
This news quickly spread among the monarchs of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom.
Even they felt chills.
On the Origin Continent, the two ancient kingdoms appeared to stand equal. But in deterrence, the Ancient Thunder Kingdom was slightly inferior — after all, the Ancient Flame Kingdom had Emperor Qing.
“If that killer targets any of us monarchs — we would die easily.”
“He is likely an existence above the Divine King-level! Just one glance could shatter our minds, drive us insane and out of control.” These monarchs were uneasy — those cultivating the Primordial Bloodline had obvious weaknesses.
When facing an existence above the Divine King, even a look could cause them to lose control.
“For the time being, we must act with even greater caution, and find out the killer’s identity as soon as possible.” These monarchs had grown much more vigilant.
……
In the days that followed, the entire Origin Continent was on edge!
The formerly arrogant royal clans of the two ancient kingdoms toned down their bluster, and the rampant devouring of countless lives vanished completely! Everyone knew — that killer loathed evil to the bone.
“One of our Emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom has been killed — this is a first in history.”
“It’s been over half an epoch since Emperor Yuan was killed. There’s still no word of his return. Could he really be dead for good?”
“The eight Emperors personally tried to save him — they were a bit late. Emperor Yuan had enough time to reincarnate! He’s probably too scared to return to the royal clan, afraid of that killer continuing the pursuit.”
A group of Lords from the Emperor Chu Lineage gathered, chatting about the matter.
Now, at all gatherings of the two ancient royal clans, the hottest topic was Emperor Yuan’s death!
The Emperor Chu Lineage and the Emperor Yuan Lineage did not get along — these Lords spoke with excitement and relish.
“That killer despises evil, but to someone like us Chaos Realm royals — he probably wouldn’t even spare us a glance.” Di Chu Yu joined in with a smile.
The strength gap was just too great.
Ordinary royals were merely spectators.
Those who were truly unsettled — were the royal Divine Kings of the Second Stage, the Emperors and Monarchs, and the royals entangled in deep, grave sins!
******
Emperor Qing Palace.
“Rumble~~~” That ancient palace’s doors finally opened.
The most transcendent among the thirteen Emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom — Emperor Qing — had finally emerged from seclusion. The news instantly spread to the ears of every other Emperor.
Immediately, Di Fu, Di Yan, Di Xi, and others — whether in person or by avatar — all rushed over.
“Everyone, take a seat.”
Emperor Qing sat high upon the main seat.
The eleven Emperors all took their seats, postures noticeably humble.
They understood well — while they were all called Emperors, soon enough, they would have to leave the Origin Continent and venture outward! Their strength was far below that of Emperor Qing — they weren’t even on the same level.
“Emperor Qing, you must have heard what happened,” Di Fu said. “What do you say — how should we respond?”
“Haha…”
Emperor Qing sat there, chuckling. “With Emperor Yuan’s death, our Ancient Flame Kingdom now has twelve Emperors.”
Di Fu, Di Yan, and the others were speechless — how could he be laughing at a time like this?
“Has Emperor Yuan not returned to the royal clan after reincarnation?” Emperor Qing asked again.
Reincarnated identities were uncontrollable. Given the vast number of beings on the Origin Continent, being reborn into a tribe in the wilderness was the most likely. Emperor Yuan’s realm meant he could rapidly regain strength.
And he could still be recognized by the royal clan! Identity confirmation was relatively easy — such as by his Ultimate Realm secret techniques, or the exact merit debts he owed the clan.
“He hasn’t returned,” Di Fu replied. “He owed the clan too much and didn’t have enough merit to exchange for resources to reconstruct an Ultimate Realm lifeform.”
“Smart enough,” Emperor Qing nodded. “So long as he doesn’t speak, no one knows his reincarnated identity — which makes it the safest.”
Emperor Yan added, “Emperor Qing, are we just going to let this go?”
“A small matter — why take it too seriously?” Emperor Qing smiled, treating it like a joke.
“A small matter?” Emperor Wu couldn’t help herself. “One of the thirteen Emperors has been killed — it affects the entire royal clan of the Ancient Flame Kingdom.”
Emperor Qing’s gaze landed on Emperor Wu.
She trembled in her heart and dared not speak further.
“No one truly died — they reincarnated. How is that a major matter?” Emperor Qing’s gaze swept across the eleven Emperors. “You’ve lived too comfortably on the Origin Continent. This little setback — what is it?”
Emperor Qing had left behind an avatar on the Origin Continent, but in truth, he had long been venturing outside.
Out there — that was where battles in the darkness took place! That was where true peril lurked at every turn!
Out there, at best your avatar might perish and you’d lose countless precious treasures accumulated abroad. At worst… even the avatar tied to the Source World might be completely annihilated.
Even the Ancestors of the Two Kingdoms, while venturing outside, were cautious and terrified.
To Emperor Qing—
The Origin Continent was too safe! These Emperors had grown too complacent.
“Yes,” Di Fu said. “Compared to venturing outside, this is indeed a small matter. But we still need a response plan.”
“The eight of you together already reach the upper limits of power on the Origin Continent,” Emperor Qing said casually. “Combined with formation arrays and secret treasures, your techniques surpass even Divine King-level. And even so — you were suppressed by that black robe.”
“That black robe — either his realm is exceedingly high, or he used immensely powerful secret treasures. In any case, his Endless Blood River… its level exceeded even your formation,” Emperor Qing shook his head. “Even if I took action, I’d only be about equal to him. Even with an advantage, I couldn’t take him down.”
“Under the laws of the Origin Continent, even the Ancestor couldn’t do anything to him,” Emperor Qing said.
The eleven Emperors fell silent.
“No need to cry out for blood.” Emperor Qing looked at the eleven. “Once you leave the Origin Continent, you’ll meet many powerful figures. Learn to make friends — at the very least, don’t make too many enemies.”
“This black robe — if he has reached above Divine King-level, then he is invincible on the Origin Continent. In that case, we must learn to coexist with him,” Emperor Qing smiled. “If we can’t kill him, then we must adapt to his existence.”
The eleven Emperors understood the logic — but for the Ancient Flame Kingdom’s royal clan, who had always been domineering, adapting to that black robe?
“We’d be willing to befriend him, but what if he stays hostile and strikes at us again?” Emperor Yan asked.
Emperor Qing gave a slight smile. “If we take the initiative to offer goodwill and he still refuses, then we are enemies. In that case — the next time we see him outside the Origin Continent, we kill him.”
Outside, while making friends was important — slaughter was just as crucial.
Strength and status — were earned through killing.
“Our Ancient Flame Kingdom’s foundation lies within the Origin Continent.” Emperor Qing looked to the eleven Emperors. “So we must try to befriend him. If things turn hostile, even if the Ancestor and I can chase him outside, inside the Origin Continent, he could wreak absolute havoc.”
“Mutual destruction — is not worth it.” Emperor Qing concluded.
“Yes.” The eleven Emperors all responded in unison.