Emperor’s Domination

Though the materials weren’t particularly rare and expensive, the craftsmanship was perfect and could be seen in the embroidery.

“Archaic Sun King!” Many became astounded after seeing the old man and started looking around in confusion.

From the beginning, they thought that the man inside the carriage was the guardian of Vajra, not Archaic Sun King.

“Why is he here? He wants to lead the troops?” An expert said.

Others didn’t respect this prominent figure, thinking that he was lucky to win the throne. 

Black Tides was a dangerous playground for tigers and dragons right now. A fool like him shouldn’t be here.

Plus, he couldn’t lead War Camp anyway because of his shallow cultivation. The best-case scenario would be him not holding them back.

“Hahaha.” Five-colored Sacred Sovereign couldn’t help laughing: “Must have been tiring playing two roles. You’re finally dropping the facade.”

“What?!” Most became astounded after hearing this.

“The ki-king is the guardian too?” One guy stammered.

In the last millennium, everyone thought that they were two separate people since there was no resemblance at all.

One was a foolish king while the guardian was a grandmaster - a mighty cultivator of the holy ground.

If someone else were to make this claim, it would be met with doubt and skepticism. However, Five-colored Sacred Sovereign wouldn’t falsely claim this. He was a grandmaster as well and had access to more information.

“He did a good job hiding this for so long.” One ancestor smiled wryly.

“No wonder.” Another suddenly realized that this made sense.

Initially, most thought that it was tragic for Vajra to have such an incapable ruler. However, if this was truly the case, there was no way that Vajra would have been able to maintain its authority for so long.

Thus, the crowd quickly accepted this revelation. It only took them by surprise at first since the king did an impeccable job hiding it.

In fact, some top experts and ancestors have been thinking about this issue for a while. The guardian of Vajra was too secretive and mysterious. Thus, a few actually made the connection. It’s just that they lacked substantial evidence.

“That’s why Sword Hero couldn’t become the king.” An official from the court smiled wryly.

The officials and royal members once felt indignation for Sword Hero. They deemed him to be the superior candidate, whether it be in terms of cultivation talent or ability. Nonetheless, he still lost the competition.

Rumor has it that Archaic Sun King only won because of Sacred Mountain. Now, it became apparently clear that Sacred Mountain had nothing to do with this.

A grandmaster was indeed worthy of becoming the king of Vajra.

“Sovereign.” Archaic Sun King smiled and shook his head: “I never denied this before. People simply misunderstood.” 

This was indeed the case. The king never claimed to not be the guardian and vice versa. Plus, why couldn’t one man be both the king and the guardian?

“I see.” The sovereign chuckled and coldly said: “Treacherous wolf, do you think Vajra can take over the holy ground?!”

Vajra’s goal was as clear as day to the spectators. It’s just that they couldn’t break the veil of pretense, only the sovereign didn’t hold back.

“Sovereign, that’s a close-minded perspective.” The king responded: “Vajra is only thinking about the people. Any source of disaster should be swiftly dealt with, regardless of his status and nobility.”

“Thinking about the people, huh?” The sovereign glanced at War Camp and said: “Missing some personnel, I see.” 

“Few in number, sure, but we make up for it with courage and determination. Blood might spill and heads might roll but not a single soldier will back down when it comes to upholding justice and peace.” The king laughed and rallied his men.

“Eliminating evil is our responsibility!” The members of War Camp roared back.

“Today, Vajra shall fight to protect the holy ground!” The king confidently declared.

The spectators weren’t fooled by his heroic rhetoric. They knew that this was his best chance to kill Li Qiye.

“Amitabha, it’s not too late to turn back.” The Monk of Wisdom placed his palms together and said: “The sacred lord is supreme, he is the guiding light of the holy ground. Your treachery and betrayal will be answered with merciless retribution.”

The monk’s words brimmed with strength and Buddhist affinity. Listeners couldn’t help becoming serious while feeling enlightened.

Heavenly Dragon Temple maintained their historical stance and chose Sacred Mountain. This loyalty earned them great rewards in the past.

“Sacred Monk, loyalty blinds you.” The king said: “You will become a sinner if anything happens to the people. Heavenly Dragon Temple will be condemned by all…”

“Amitabha, turn around to see the shore.” The monk interrupted him and continued: “If you will not withdraw your troops, we’ll have no choice but to consider you as a traitor and eliminate Vajra.”

He made it clear that the temple was ready to defend Li Qiye until the last man standing.

Some members of the holy ground took a deep breath after seeing his firm stance and prayed for his success. They still wanted to support the orthodox branch but were too afraid to speak up before.

“It’s too bad that Elder Samantabhadra is no longer around.” Vajra Saint stared at the monk and said: “Otherwise, the temple would be able to play a main role today.”

Elder Samantabhadra was the strongest monk in Heavenly Dragon, being the master of both the Monk of Wisdom and Untethered Monk.

The temple was indeed weaker compared to the past. They lost their strongest monk and their successor - Untethered Monk. It seemed weaker than Vajra right now.

“Heavenly Dragon, stand with me!” The Monk of Wisdom ignored him and commanded his juniors.