Chapter 698: Death Approaches

Chapter 698: Chapter 697: Death Approaches

The Divine Land Continent.

The Land of the Far North.

Here lay a vast river of stars.

And within that river of stars was a stretch of Star Palaces.

This place.

This was the Star Emperor’s dojo, the Star Emperor Dojo.

And in the very center of the Star Emperor Dojo, in its absolute core region, a terrifying aura suddenly surged from within an impossibly vast palace.

In that instant.

Every living being in the entire Star Emperor Dojo froze.

It was as if a massive stone was pressing down on their hearts.

Those with lower cultivation couldn’t help but prostrate themselves on the ground.

Even those with higher cultivation couldn’t help but lower their heads.

Only a select few dared to cast their gaze toward the central Star Palace.

A hint of confusion flickered in their eyes.

But not a single one dared to ask questions, even though some among them had already reached the realm of a Great Emperor.

Because they all knew.

They knew who the master of this aura was.

“Damn it! Human Emperor Xuanyuan actually fought me to the death for that little beast!”

Upon the emperor’s throne.

The Star Emperor—impossibly handsome, clad in a green robe, and appearing middle-aged—wore an extremely ugly expression.

Because just a moment ago,

a wisp of his will, one that contained a trace of his soul, had been obliterated by Human Emperor Xuanyuan.

This greatly displeased the Star Emperor, who was also a Top-tier Emperor.

He was furious.

Especially since, in the Star Emperor’s eyes, this was a personal family matter. Human Emperor Xuanyuan meddling in his family affairs was something he absolutely could not forgive.

“Hmph, Human Emperor Xuanyuan! You forced my hand. I’d like to see who’s faster—you at saving him, or me at killing him. This boy, I will definitely kill him!”

With a cold snort,

the Star Emperor’s true body flickered and vanished from the throne.

He had gone to execute Yang Xiao!

For this, he was willing to fight Human Emperor Xuanyuan to the bitter end, even if it meant mutual destruction!

…

And at almost the exact same moment.

In a location south of the center of the Divine Land Continent.

The Human Race Sacred Land.

Within the Human Emperor Palace.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan had been presiding over the Human Emperor Palace, discussing the next major steps for the Human Race’s development with numerous Elders.

Suddenly, his body tensed.

He glanced at the many Elders and other important figures of the Human Race below him and said, “That is all for today’s discussion. I have some business to attend to and must leave the Human Emperor Palace for a short while. I’ll have to trouble the Elders with the daily affairs.”

Human Emperor Xuanyuan said, feigning a calm tone.

But the moment he spoke,

the expressions of the many Elders changed.

They looked at Human Emperor Xuanyuan with some surprise.

Ever since Human Emperor Xuanyuan ascended to the throne over 900,000 years ago, he had always been diligent and conscientious. Never in all those years had he acted as he did today, not only absenting himself from the affairs of the Human Race but also publicly announcing his departure from the Human Emperor Palace.

It was simply too strange.

Instantly,

after the Elders exchanged bewildered glances, one of them stepped forward. He was a highly respected, white-haired Elder whose aura was not the least bit weak, nearly at the level of a Supreme Divine King.

He addressed the Human Emperor, “May I ask what urgent matter Your Majesty has? Could you perhaps tell us a little about it?”

As soon as he spoke,

many other Elders chimed in their agreement.

They stepped forward to inquire further.

Another Elder, whose aura was just as profound and no weaker than the respected one’s, spoke up. “With His Majesty the Human Emperor’s power, even if there is a matter to attend to, you could send a clone. Why is it necessary to go in person?”

His words made everyone in the grand hall nod in agreement.

They were all Elders of the Human Race.

And they were all as shrewd as they come.

If Human Emperor Xuanyuan couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation, they would likely not let him go.

Especially this time,

the few who were Core Elders seemed particularly unyielding.

This gave Human Emperor Xuanyuan a major headache.

He was also a bit baffled.

Moreover, he didn’t quite know how to explain the situation.

After all, the matter concerning Yang Xiao was based on his opinion alone. In the eyes of these many Human Race Elders, the next Human Emperor had long been decided.

It was Gongsun Xuan, the one he himself had previously supported.

And almost everyone here agreed with this.

Ordinarily, their relationship with him was also quite good.

If he were to reveal Yang Xiao’s true identity, he was afraid these Elders would start getting other ideas.

Not to mention, the news would inevitably reach Gongsun Xuan’s ears.

At that point.

‘What would happen then?’

Human Emperor Xuanyuan’s head throbbed.

This was also why he hadn’t wanted to fight the Star Emperor to the death before—he couldn’t afford to.

As the Human Race Emperor, his position seemed glorious. While seated in the Human Emperor Palace, his power was almost comparable to a Saint Emperor’s.

Even outside the Human Emperor Palace, he was still the most powerful existence among the Top-tier Emperors.

But the restrictions on him were too great.

So much so that he couldn’t come and go as he pleased without any scruples, unlike the Star Emperor.

Because if he really did that,

these Elders before him would inevitably become displeased.

At that time,

a loss of morale and unity would be unavoidable.

This would cause Human Emperor Xuanyuan’s power to fluctuate.

What was even more terrifying was that…

…as the Human Emperor, if he could no longer maintain a power level at or above that of a Saint Emperor, he feared that not only he himself, but the entire Human Race would be in peril.

Because among the All Heavens and Myriad Races, many Top-tier Emperors, and even Unparalleled Emperors, had long been covetously eyeing the Human Race’s current status, lying in wait.

The moment they learned that Human Emperor Xuanyuan had made a mistake or had left the Human Emperor Palace,

an onslaught of assassinations would surely follow.

Even Human Emperor Xuanyuan would be in danger of falling.

And if he were to fall,

the Human Race would be in peril.

This was the current state of the Human Race.

Seemingly glorious beyond compare,

but in reality, treacherous undercurrents were surging.

If these Elders weren’t so insistent, Human Emperor Xuanyuan felt he could make the trip in the blink of an eye. At worst, he would just bring Yang Xiao back to the Human Emperor Palace.

That would solve the whole matter.

‘Presumably, the Star Emperor wouldn’t dare charge into the Human Emperor Palace.’

‘Even if he did, I wouldn’t be afraid.’

‘I could suppress him with a flip of my hand.’

But now,

these Elders were being unusually insistent, demanding that he give them some kind of explanation.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan

was instantly cornered by them.

On his face,

an incredibly bitter expression appeared.

‘Little one, you have to take care of yourself!’

Human Emperor Xuanyuan smiled bitterly in his heart.

Meanwhile, outside the Human Emperor Palace,

inside the largest Saint Prince’s Hall,

a handsome young man was staring at a giant golden mirror before him.

Inside it,

was the very dispute between Human Emperor Xuanyuan and the many Elders.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan in particular.

Every flicker of expression on his face was reflected in the young man’s eyes.

Seeing that unconcealable trace of bitterness on his face,

the young man began to laugh.

It was a triumphant laugh.

And behind him,

stood nine middle-aged men.

The aura of every single one of these nine men was above that of a Peak Divine King.

Their strength was extraordinary.

One of them, in fact, was the Divine King who had once made a trip to the Profound Sun Continent.

That time,

he had discovered the Nine Nether Earth Rift and used the Thousand-Heart Illusionary Demon-Attracting Grass to lure out the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable.

This had brought a deadly tribulation down upon Yang Xiao.

Among the nine Divine Kings,

he, more than anyone, understood what the young man before him had done.

‘The Saint Prince truly is extraordinary. He manipulated the entire Elder Council without batting an eye, and now even the Human Emperor is being held in check by him. That brat actually dares to compete with the Saint Prince for the Human Emperor Position? He really doesn’t know what’s good for him. This time, I’m afraid the Star Emperor is going to kill him, isn’t he?’

The Divine King sneered inwardly.

He found the young man before him to be increasingly profound and inscrutable.

And he felt increasingly fortunate.

He had followed the right master.

Not only had his cultivation and strength broken through to the level of a Peak Divine King in one go,

but in the future, he would also have the chance to become an Elder of the Human Race.

‘That was a position I never could have even dreamed of before.’

But just as this man was reveling in his own success,

in a great hall countless thousands of miles away,

Yang Xiao

suddenly tensed up completely.

Because an aura, the likes of which he had never encountered in this life,

descended from the heavens.

He didn’t need to look.

Yang Xiao knew.

The true body of the Star Emperor.

had arrived!