Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

The giant palm was truly enormous, large enough to cover more than half the Martial Arts Arena.

Then, as everyone watched, the giant hand slapped down toward the phoenix manifested from the Empress' Decree.

BANG!

As the giant hand descended, the phoenix manifested from the Empress' Decree instantly shattered.

The attacks from two supreme powerhouses had been dissipated with a mere wave of Elder Ling's hand. Such incredible might stunned everyone present.

"This… How can this old man be so strong? That was the Emperor's Sword, forged from the Emperor's Qi!"

"And the Empress' Decree… I heard it carries the power of the Empress' Seal, yet it was crushed just like that?" An uproar erupted within Celestial River Academy.

The Clan Members were completely dumbfounded.

The Celestial Emperor was said to wield a True Dragon Divine Artifact and possess vast Divine Techniques. The Empress, who wielded the Empress' Seal, was also considered far beyond ordinary.

They had all heard whispers of these secrets, which was why they held the Celestial Emperor and Empress in such profound awe.

Yet now, a Decree bestowed by such legendary figures had been shattered so easily?

This completely upended the cultivators' understanding of the Empire.

"This… Not even the Phoenix's Might from the Empress' Decree could contend with him?" Prince Long was completely frozen, his face a mask of horror as he stared ahead.

"Could that old man be a Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse?" the Marquis of Eatern exclaimed, his face filled with dread.

Marquis Yun, Liu Changyang, and Elder Wang were utterly frozen in place.

Normally, the six Dukes could have easily crushed Celestial River Academy.

That was why they had dared to stand before the Elders of Celestial River Academy and block them from intervening when Liu Yi made his move earlier.

But now, Elder Ling was more than enough to suppress them all by himself. It felt unbelievable.

"I was right to ask Elder Ling to come here." Shangguan Hong's face lit up with joy as he saw Elder Ling casually shatter the attacks from the Marquis of Eatern and Prince Long.

He could finally let out a sigh of relief.

Elder Ling stood tall in the sky, his white hair whipping in the wind. A heroic, martial aura now framed his features.

Though he looked ancient, one could now faintly glimpse the heroic and dashing figure he must have been in his youth.

In his prime, he must have been a prodigy.

"Who is that man?" Within Celestial River Academy, tens of thousands of eyes focused on Elder Ling.

Most people still had no idea who he was.

They had never heard of such a figure within the Empire.

"That's Elder Ling, Ling Fei's adoptive father," Wu Dapang said.

"What?! That's Ling Fei's adoptive father? But isn't he from a Humble Family? How could he have an adoptive father that powerful?" An uproar swept through the crowd.

Everyone was baffled.

"Who ever said he was from a Humble Family? You all just looked down on him and assumed he was," Wu Dapang said with a smug expression.

From the way he acted, you would have thought Elder Ling was his own adoptive father.

Back when they first enrolled, Liu Yuan had heard Ling Fei was from Longtan Town. He immediately put on airs, looking down on him and complaining that Ling Fei wouldn't help him pursue Huang Xiaoman.

Even back then, Wu Dapang had wanted to tell them how formidable Elder Ling was.

However, he didn't know the true extent of Elder Ling's power. Besides, Elder Ling was genuinely injured at the time, so he hadn't said much.

Now, he finally felt gloriously vindicated.

"It looks like these Dukes picked a fight with the wrong person," many of the Clan Members in the academy murmured.

As the murmurs spread, the expressions of Prince Long and the other Dukes in the stands turned grim.

They never would have imagined that Elder Ling was this powerful.

"But wasn't he just a critically ill old man?" Marquis Yun's face was a mask of utter disbelief.

He had investigated Elder Ling when he went to Longtan Town.

In his eyes, the man was merely an injured Primordial Pill Realm expert.

With the Golden Dragon Waist Token bestowed by the Celestial Emperor, he thought he could handle anything.

But now it seemed his trip to Longtan Town had been a death wish!

A chill ran down his spine at the thought.

"You are all Dukes, yet you came here to bully my son. Did you truly think him alone and ripe for the picking?" Elder Ling's gaze was like a blade as he stared down at the Dukes. He snorted coldly, and a powerful pressure bore down on them. Under this immense aura, even Prince Long felt his heart pound with terror.

At the sound of Elder Ling's voice, the Dukes fell silent, too terrified to speak.

"Your son slaughtered a hundred people! For such a heinous crime, he deserves death! How dare you kill a Duke in public? If the Celestial Emperor learns of this, you won't escape either!" the Marquis of Eatern blustered.

"The Celestial Emperor?" Elder Ling's gaze turned cold. "What, does he intend to kill me? In that case, I'd like to see just how your Celestial Emperor is going to save you today."

"All who bully my son shall die!" As his deep voice faded, Elder Ling made his move. Forming his fingers into a sword, he pointed into the Void.

SWOOSH!

A piercing strand of Powerful Qi, sharp as a sword, tore through the Void and shot straight for the Marquis of Eatern's heart.

"Your Majesty, save me!" A terrifying presence enveloped him. Panicked, the Marquis of Eatern cried out and hastily crushed the Purple Gold Waist Token in his hand.

It was imbued with Inscriptions that would alert the Celestial Emperor the moment it was crushed.

Among all the Golden Dragon Waist Tokens, only the Purple Gold Dragon Token possessed such Inscriptions.

The moment the Purple Gold Dragon Token was crushed, its signal reached the distant Imperial Capital.

There, deep within the Imperial Palace, in a secret chamber atop a high mountain, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged, dressed in a Dragon Robe and wearing a Dragon Crown.

An air of supreme majesty radiated from the man. Light Patterns swirled around his body as wisps of mystical power gathered from the world around him.

Upon closer inspection, one would see an Array Platform before him. The platform, shaped like a disc and smooth as a mirror, held a True Dragon Seal around which a True Dragon coiled.

He was using this very Divine Seal to draw that mystical power into the spot between his eyebrows.

This was none other than the Celestial Emperor's True Dragon Divine Seal.

He was clearly in seclusion, cultivating.

And this man was none other than the reigning Celestial Emperor of the Great Tang Empire.

Suddenly, his tightly shut eyes snapped open.

'The Purple Gold Dragon Token shattered. Who's in trouble?' The Celestial Emperor's eyes flashed. With a single thought, his consciousness sank into the Dragon Seal before him.

As his Heart Spirit sank into the Dragon Seal, the entire Empire fell under his perception.

'It's the Marquis of Eatern… and so many Dukes have gathered at Celestial River Academy!' The Celestial Emperor's eyes flashed. 'What is going on?'

He had been in seclusion recently, attempting to break through his bottleneck to reach a higher level, so he hadn't paid any mind to such matters.

He was not even aware of the incident at the Xiling Ruins.

When he was in seclusion, no one dared to disturb him.

For an Emperor, Cultivation was a matter of utmost importance.

If his power was insufficient, how could he rule over the land and protect his people?

'First, let's take a look.' With a thought from the Celestial Emperor, the Light Patterns on the Dragon Seal flickered. The Array Disc below it began to ripple, forming what looked like a celestial screen.

The next moment, high above Celestial River Academy, Light Patterns rippled as a vast Celestial Might condensed out of thin air.

"Celestial Might! Is the Celestial Emperor's Dharma Aspect about to descend?" someone's eyes lit up the moment the Celestial Might appeared.

"No one here can stop me from killing the person I intend to kill." However, Elder Ling ignored the suddenly churning Void. His finger-sword flashed, piercing through the Marquis of Eatern's heart. A dignified Profound Pill Realm powerhouse had fallen just like that. Meanwhile, the Qi Vortex in the Void continued to churn as the Celestial Might grew even stronger.

"Who are you, and why have you killed one of my Dukes?" As the Marquis of Eatern fell, a voice filled with majesty boomed from the Qi Vortex in the Void.