Cups were exchanged and raised, goblets clinked together. Jar after jar of fine wine was drained, body after body collapsed, and across the plaza, snoring thundered.
Under normal circumstances, a martial artist drinking would never feel tipsy — circulating their cultivation technique through a few cycles would dispel the intoxication in no time. But this was a time for celebration. The wine didn't make people drunk; people made themselves drunk. Who would do something so killjoy as that?
They drank when they woke, and passed out when they'd had enough. Thousands of martial artists roamed about clinking cups, seemingly having cast all worldly worries aside. Today, right now, their hearts soared — and there was nothing to do but drink until they dropped.
Inside the great hall, Yang Kai sat at the head position as one person after another came forward to offer a toast.
Yang Kai refused no one. Whenever wine was offered, he drank, giving every guest face and driving the atmosphere of the victory celebration and welcoming banquet ever higher.
First came the older generation of martial artists, followed by the younger generation.
He wasn't particularly close with the older generation, but he had crossed paths with many of the younger martial artists present.
Wei Guchang and Dong Xuan'er, the married couple from Shadow Moon Hall; Dai Yuan and Yin Sudie from Glazed Glass Sect; Shen Shitao and Lü Ying from Heavenly Firmament Sect — all of them had shared life-and-death experiences with him, and their bonds were close.
Yet after decades, when they met again, a layer of distance had formed between them, erasing the ease they once shared.
That layer of distance was called *realm*.
The vast gap in cultivation and status made it impossible for them to connect Yang Kai with the man he had been decades ago. Unknowingly, a new sense of constraint had settled between them.
On the path of the Great Dao, one makes friends and walks together with them. But when you look back suddenly, many familiar figures are no longer in sight.
But these are precious memories, buried deep in one's heart, to be occasionally revisited with a proud smile. *Look — that great figure who shook heaven and earth once ran alongside me on the martial path. It's a pity I couldn't keep up, soon left far behind. But no matter what, this experience would never be forgotten. It was destined to become a memory they shared.*
"Sect Master, let me offer you a toast. If it weren't for the Sect Master back then, I'm afraid I would have long been dead. That I'm alive today is all thanks to the Sect Master's guidance along the way. I am endlessly grateful."
Looking at the woman before him, Yang Kai smiled faintly, raised his cup and drained it, then said, "Yun'er is doing very well these days."
Huang Juan's body trembled, and she stared blankly at Yang Kai.
"I met with her just the other day. She's grown up — become an adult." Yang Kai's voice wasn't loud, but he had always been the focus of attention. The moment he spoke, the entire great hall fell silent in an instant, everyone listening intently whether they meant to or not.
"Grown up..." A look of wistful longing appeared in Huang Juan's eyes, as if she were imagining what the little girl who had been so reluctant to leave her side would look like all grown up. Lin Yun'er was not her biological daughter, but the daughter of a close friend. That friend and her husband had met with catastrophe and died violent deaths. Huang Juan had taken Lin Yun'er in and raised her as her own. Later, she had met Yang Kai and been brought into the Lingxiao Sect. And after that, Lin Yun'er had been taken away by Yang Yan.
Huang Juan covered her mouth. "As long as she's safe, that's enough." But tears poured down her cheeks anyway. She wiped them furiously, only for another stream to follow. She was all alone in the world, and the person she worried about most was Lin Yun'er. But in this atmosphere, it really wasn't the right time to press Yang Kai for details.
Yet she hadn't expected Yang Kai to bring it up of his own accord.
"Her strength now is no less than mine!" Yang Kai smiled faintly. "She took a Great Emperor as her master. In that world, there are very few who would dare provoke her."
Great Emperor!
Everyone perked up their ears, not knowing what this title meant.
There had once been a Starry Sky Great Emperor in the Star Field. Many present had even seen her face — she was an extraordinary woman who had roamed the cosmos undefeated. Could it be... that the master Lin Yun'er had taken was her?
Yang Kai lifted a wine jar, rose slowly to his feet, looked around the hall, and declared in a clear voice, "You must all be curious about what cultivation realm I've reached."
It was impossible not to be curious. Yang Kai had already been at the second level of the Void King Realm when he left the Star Field. After all these years of venturing abroad, he couldn't possibly have only reached the third level. There were quite a few Void King Realm cultivators present, yet not a single one could gauge the depth of Yang Kai's strength. This wasn't merely because of his status as a Star Lord — there had to be another reason, a fundamental one: Yang Kai's cultivation far surpassed theirs. By far.
But no one dared ask him about it. Even Ye Xiyun had never asked.
Was the answer about to be revealed now?
Everyone fixed their eyes on him, unblinking, holding their breath. The sound of pounding hearts actually echoed through the great hall.
"Above the Void King Realm is the Dao Source Realm. Above Dao Source is the Emperor Sovereign Realm. I am now at the first level of the Emperor Sovereign Realm!"
Dao Source Realm! Emperor Sovereign Realm! Two brand-new terms crashed into everyone's minds like twin hammers shattering their shackles, opening a new door, revealing an entirely new world.
"The place I've been all these years is called the Star Realm! It's a higher plane than the Star Field. Over there, the Void King Realm doesn't count for much. Only the Dao Source Realm earns you a tentative foothold, and only the Emperor Sovereign Realm gives you the ability to roam freely." Yang Kai's tone shifted. "Of course, if you're too arrogant, you'll still get killed."
Quite a few people laughed, the tense atmosphere lightening considerably. But Yang Kai's few words had stirred up storm surges in every heart. Especially those in the Void King Realm — they had thought that after climbing all this way, they stood at the summit, able to look down on all lesser peaks and survey the world below.
But when they looked up, they discovered two even taller peaks not far away, their shadows casting over them. It filled them with a sense of helplessness, and yet at the same time, an incredible surge of excitement.
Climb them. Reach the summit. Experience that broader world. Behold that more magnificent scenery.
Their throats went dry.
"The Emperor Sovereign Realm is not the strongest. In the Star Realm, there are ten Great Emperors who stand above the Emperor Sovereigns. With a flip of their hand they summon clouds, with another they bring rain — their power is so vast that even I cannot imagine it."
Breathing stopped once more.
The Emperor Sovereign Realm was already an unreachable dream. What kind of majesty must those ten Great Emperors possess, standing above even the Emperor Sovereigns?