Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"My dear disciple, since you've obtained the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique, you must know how to walk the Path of the Human Emperor, right? In that case, I won't say more. I'll be back in three months to check on your progress. If you haven't succeeded by then, according to the rules, your Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique will be revoked."

Emperor Xuanyuan's avatar laughed heartily. Ignoring Yang Xiao's dark expression, his form transformed into a beam of sword light and vanished.

Leaving behind only Yang Xiao, all of his power sealed away.

He looked completely dumbfounded,

a truly pitiable sight.

'Damn, he didn't show any mercy at all!'

In his second life, Yang Xiao had been the Flame Emperor's son. How could he not understand the Path of the Human Emperor?

Back then, if he hadn't been plotted against, he, as the Emperor's Son, would have been the most qualified person to walk this path.

But now...

Just as Emperor Xuanyuan had said, if he failed to walk this path, the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique would undoubtedly be revoked.

This was because it was a Secret Technique belonging to the Human Emperor and could not be leaked.

Thinking of this, Yang Xiao sighed softly. 'It seems Xuanyuan already has a suitable candidate for the next Human Emperor. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a hurry to make me walk this path, let alone give me only three months.'

Three months to become the Human Race's Common Lord for an entire continent.

Even in the Ancient Era, a challenge of this difficulty would have ranked among the highest.

So, Yang Xiao understood clearly.

This wasn't an opportunity; it was a deliberate predicament.

As for why he was being put in this predicament, it was obvious: Xuanyuan already had his own candidate for the position.

Yang Xiao could understand this.

But he refused to accept it.

Surrendering without a fight had never been his style.

Not even when others deliberately made things difficult for him.

'If you think I'm bound to lose, you are sorely mistaken! I know that as a Human Emperor, you have to consider the big picture. But even if it's just for the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique, I have to win! Besides, the Human Emperor Position... my father emperor in my past life so desperately hoped I could inherit it. Back then, I was plotted against and never got the chance. Now that I'm on this path, how could I, Yang Xiao, give up so easily? How could I shrink back in the face of difficulty?'

Yang Xiao's expression gradually grew resolute.

Although his father from his second life wasn't like his father in this life, who treated him as his everything, that profound love had been the foundation that allowed Yang Xiao to become the Human Race Medicine Ancestor.

Otherwise,

he would have likely fallen to someone's schemes long ago.

How could he have achieved boundless glory and become the Human Race Medicine Ancestor so smoothly?

So, this time, whether for the sake of that past expectation,

or for his own sake,

he could not give up.

He had to win.

Especially now. He had already tasted the power of the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique and was naturally unwilling to give it up so easily. If he gave it up, he would be unable to gather his power, and no matter how strong he was, it would all be useless.

Utterly useless.

'First, I need to find my first Guardian. I hope they aren't too weak. Otherwise, in three months, I probably couldn't even walk from here to the Eastern Domain, let alone become the Human Race's Common Lord. That would be just a fool's dream.'

Yang Xiao sighed softly.

The Path of the Human Emperor was a test of character and ability. Therefore, anyone who wished to walk it would have their cultivation completely sealed to ensure fairness.

However, one was allowed to recruit Guardians.

Because recruiting Guardians was, in itself, a type of ability.

And this path was fraught with danger. As such, the strength of one's Guardians, in a sense, directly influenced one's success or failure on the Path of the Human Emperor.

But right now, all the Immortal Cultivators on the Profound Sun Continent had probably been crippled. The only ones left were either cultivators whose strength was continuously fading, or ordinary people.

For Yang Xiao, this was both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good part was that the resistance he would face would be greatly reduced.

The bad part was that it would be very difficult to find a powerful Preacher.

But just then,

the voice of the Emperor's Weapon Spirit sounded in Yang Xiao's mind.

"'Yang Xiao, those two girls are making a fuss about wanting to come out. What do you say, should I let them out?'"

As soon as the Spirit spoke, Yang Xiao's eyes lit up.

''That's right, how could I have forgotten about them? Those two, while not particularly strong, would be a huge help right now! With their support, I can establish my first base. Once I have a base, I can use it as a pretext to recruit more help, bringing out my Fire God Clone and the people from the Carefree Sect. That would make conquering the continent and becoming the Human Race's Common Lord much easier.''

In an instant, Yang Xiao saw a path forward.

The Path of the Human Emperor had its own procedures.

There were strict rules about what could be done at each stage.

For instance, at his current stage, Yang Xiao couldn't recruit forces he was already close to, like his Fire God Clone or the Carefree Sect.

That was why, from the beginning, he hadn't even considered bringing his Fire God Clone over.

If he summoned them, he would likely be disqualified for breaking the rules and lose immediately.

The Ye Family Sisters, however, were different. Although Grandma Ye Lio's words implied she wanted the two sisters to become his women, as of right now, they had no relationship whatsoever.

They clearly fell within the acceptable range for recruiting Guardians.

"'It's just that girl, Ye Wanyu, has always been rather prejudiced against me. Normally, it wouldn't matter since she can't beat me. But now, with all my power gone, if she decides to cause trouble... that would be a real tragedy.'"

Thinking of that girl, Yang Xiao couldn't help but frown.

However, he didn't hesitate for long.

He ultimately decided to take the gamble.

Because, at this moment, there were no better options.

"'Emperor's Weapon Spirit, let them out.'"

Yang Xiao said, gritting his teeth.

"'Mm, alright. They've been annoying me to death anyway.'"

The Emperor's Weapon Spirit was clearly pleased.

This made Yang Xiao feel utterly exasperated.

He'd had more than his fill of that girl's unreasonable pestering.

Meeting her again under these circumstances was a massive headache.

"'I have to think of a way to win that girl over. Otherwise, letting them out this time will be a classic case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice bait.'"

And just as Yang Xiao was racking his brain,

a Realm Gate instantly appeared.

Immediately after, two figures rushed out.

As soon as they had steadied themselves,

one of the figures spotted Yang Xiao.

She pouted her red lips and said menacingly, "'You rotten jerk! You actually threw the two of us in there for so long and wouldn't let us out! And you even threw in some old thing that we couldn't kill no matter how hard we tried, just to mess with us! Hmph, I'll teach you a lesson!'"

As she spoke, the woman raised her hand. A long, ghostly green sword appeared, and she thrust it directly at Yang Xiao.

Normally, an attack like this

was one Yang Xiao could have dodged with ease.

But this time,

he had no power at all.

He couldn't dodge even if he wanted to.

He could only watch as the sword stabbed toward his throat.

His expression changed in an instant.

"'This girl! She's going straight for the kill! How can she be so vicious?!'"