Yang Kai's realization dawned suddenly, the confusion that had plagued him for so long finally lifting. No wonder, throughout all of history, there had always been exactly ten Great Emperors — there was a bottleneck imposed by the Heavens and Earth themselves, a limit on how many they could contain. Just as the Profound Realm had once been able to produce only martial artists up to the Sacred Realm, and just as a Star Domain could only give birth to Void King realm cultivators, this was the ceiling set by the world, one that no amount of human effort could overcome.
The limit of the Star Boundary was ten Great Emperors! No matter how many people reached a realm comparable to a Great Emperor, without the acknowledgement of the Heavens and Earth, they could never become true Great Emperors.
The Crown-Wearing Man was one such case. Yang Yan was another. And in truth, many others like them were as well.
And the Sacred Spirits…
Yang Kai had always found it puzzling that the Sacred Spirits possessed strength clearly surpassing that of the Emperor Realm, yet seemed somehow inferior to a Great Emperor. Now that puzzle was finally explained.
The ten Great Emperors were beings acknowledged by the Heavens and Earth — they themselves had become a part of the world's Laws. Even if their cultivation realms were equal, in a real fight, they could never be compared to an ordinary Sacred Spirit.
"There are many people like you?"
"Many and not many," Yang Yan said with a smile. "But most of them don't show themselves, so you don't need to worry too much." Beings like her were rare, but across the infinite sweep of ages, a fair number had reached this level, only to stall because the Heavens and Earth would not acknowledge them. And once one's cultivation reached this point, lifespan stretched enormously long — each of them was practically an ancient immortal, so the numbers were not insignificant.
Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and frowned. "If what you're saying is true — if the Heaven and Earth Flask has a fixed capacity, and there can never be an eleventh Great Emperor — then what happens to me in the future?"
Yang Yan blinked, surprised. "You're thinking quite far ahead."
Yang Kai said gravely, "That day will come." He said it with such matter-of-fact certainty that even Yang Yan was momentarily stunned.
She smiled. "You could always wait for the day one of the Great Emperors dies of old age and then go after the vacant seat."
Yang Kai shook his head. "That could take a lifetime." A Great Emperor's lifespan was staggeringly long — barring accidents, tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand years might not mark the end. He couldn't say they were truly as eternal as the Heavens and Earth or as enduring as the sun and moon, but they were probably not far off.
"Perhaps there's another way," Yang Yan said, noticing his serious expression and feeling a playful urge to tease him.
"What way?" Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
Yang Yan made a crushing gesture with her hand. "Smash one of the stones inside the Flask, and a spot naturally opens up."
Yang Kai paused, then nodded approvingly. "Good idea. Looks like I'll have to find a Great Emperor and kill him sometime."
Yang Yan stared at him with an odd expression. "Are you serious?"
Yang Kai burst out laughing. "I'm joking — relax! A Great Emperor is acknowledged by the Heavens and Earth; do you really think they're that easy to kill? Do I really not know my own limits?" If it were that simple, the turnover among the ten Great Emperors wouldn't be so agonizingly slow.
But he couldn't deny it was technically a method. When the time came and it was a contest over the Great Dao, who could afford to hold back? A Great Emperor couldn't be killed? In the War of the Emperors, excluding Wu Kuang, four Great Emperors had fallen. In a sense, the four Emperors who had ascended afterward owed their thanks to Wu Kuang — if he hadn't killed those four, they might never have had the chance to become Great Emperors.
Seeing the look flickering across Yang Kai's face, Yang Yan knew he was genuinely entertaining the thought. Now was hardly the time to rain on his parade, though — she could only hope he would gradually come to understand the difficulty of it. She smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear and said, "All right, I've said everything I need to say. I should be heading back."
"Why the rush!" Yang Kai grabbed her arm.
Yang Yan glanced at it with distaste. "Speak if you have something to say, and get your filthy paw off me!"
Yang Kai said, "Come visit Lingxiao Sect — Elder Ye misses you very much." Ye Xiyun had a deep connection with Yang Yan; it was the only reason she had emerged from seclusion all those years ago to help Lingxiao Sect. She had shown barely any respect toward Yang Kai as Sect Master, yet she revered Yang Yan deeply.
"I won't go. You're the Master of the Star Domain now — it won't be long before we have a chance to meet again."
"Speaking of which, that reminds me — I want to move the entire Lingxiao Sect to the Star Boundary. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"The entire sect?" Yang Yan was taken aback.
"Can't I?"
Yang Yan frowned. "Isn't that a bit too many people?"
"It's not that many — only a few tens of thousands, really."
"'Only'?" Yang Yan shot him an exasperated look. "Cultivators from across the various Star Domains can only tear open the Void Corridor and enter the Star Boundary through the Star Path once they've reached the peak of their realm. No more than five cultivators from any given Star Domain are permitted entry in a hundred years. And now you want to bring tens of thousands of people into the Star Boundary? Do you think that's reasonable? Do you think it's fair to the cultivators of other Star Domains?"
"Perfectly reasonable, and perfectly fair!"
"Stop spouting nonsense with a straight face!"
"Well, that's what happens when they don't have a good boss."