In the world of martial arts, upsets were not unheard of—underdogs defeating those far above their station. Even at the absolute peak of the Royal realm, there existed precedents of defeating a Great Emperor.
Such cases were rare, but the martial arts world was full of wonders. There would always be extraordinary geniuses who could punch above their weight, challenge those in far higher realms, or even steamroll their opponents entirely. History was not without such tales.
That said, by and large, such occurrences were vanishingly few—needles in a haystack. Whenever one came about, it was invariably trumpeted far and wide, becoming grist for the mill of the weak, an inspirational tale repeated by everyone.
As a rule, when such an example surfaced, it was called a miracle.
Now, Hui Dan King was indeed exceptional in his overall strength. But in the realm of martial combat, he was clearly not the sort of person who could pull off such a miracle.
The most critical factor was that the Peerless Great Emperor was no newly ascended Great Emperor. He had been famous for a long time and was among the most seasoned figures in the Great Emperor realm.
As the recognized leader among the rogue cultivators, how could he possibly be taken down so easily?
Before stepping into the arena, Hui Dan King might have harbored some flicker of hope—some notion of creating a miracle of his own. But the moment he actually faced the Peerless Great Emperor, he realized with bitter clarity just how naive and ignorant that "dark horse" fantasy had been.
This was not an opponent on his level in any sense.
Before the battle, the Asura Great Emperor had bestowed upon him both the Emperor's Descent Armor Talisman and the Emperor's Descent True Force Talisman, allowing him to temporarily bolster both his offense and defense to roughly Great Emperor standards.
Yet when the fight actually began, he hesitated.
The Emperor's Descent Armor Talisman and the Emperor's Descent True Force Talisman were far too precious. He had originally planned to use them, but now he reconsidered—was it truly necessary?
Judging by the situation, even if he used both, he could stall for perhaps an hour at most. But the time limit on this martial contest was two hours.
In other words, if he wanted to scrape together even a draw, he would need to hold on for the full two hours.
But could he survive two hours?
Obviously not!
Setting aside whether his body could even withstand the simultaneous activation of both talismans, the optimal duration for each was a single hour.
He might hold on for one hour, but there was still another hour after that. What would he rely on then—his flesh and blood? A peak ninth-level Royal realm cultivator trying to stand against a Great Emperor who had reigned for a thousand years?
It was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Hui Dan King's martial talent was certainly respectable, but he had never been among the absolute top-tier geniuses of combat. He had never possessed the credentials to challenge those above his realm.
Challenging someone above his weight class against the Peerless Great Emperor? Hui Dan King simply did not have that kind of nerve.
In truth, the Asura Great Emperor could see it clearly himself the moment the battle unfolded. Against the Peerless Great Emperor, Hui Dan King's martial prowess, while commendable, offered absolutely zero chance of victory. Lasting the full two hours was itself a fantasy—unless Hui Dan King was holding some heaven-defying trump card of his own.
The battle raged on.
The Peerless Great Emperor did not immediately resort to his most devastating techniques, but his offensive was nonetheless ferocious. Deploying his Great Emperor domain, he seized control of the tempo of the fight in an instant.
After just a few exchanges, the Peerless Great Emperor had completely dominated the battlefield.
Watching the Peerless Great Emperor display such overwhelming power, the four Great Emperors of Peacock Sacred Mountain felt a measure of relief—alongside sheer astonishment.
"A Great Emperor is a Great Emperor. That Hui Dan King looks like a child before him."
"That's to be expected. They've always said the Peerless Great Emperor is one of the leaders among the rogue cultivators. But I never imagined his martial cultivation ran so deep. He hasn't even used his finishing moves, yet his martial prowess seems not far behind His Majesty the Peacock!"
The Peacock Great Emperor—now there was a figure who stood at the absolute apex of the Great Emperors in the Upper Eight Regions.
The Peerless Great Emperor could nearly match him. That was truly extraordinary.
"The Peerless Great Emperor will definitely take this round," Duo Mei Ming Emperor said with firm conviction.
"Once the Peerless Great Emperor wins this one, we'll pull even. Four victories, four defeats, four draws." Zhenyue Ming Emperor smiled as well.
But Wild Fox Ming Emperor shook his head with a rueful smile. "I have no doubt about the Peerless Great Emperor's round. But have either of you considered—even apart from this match, the remaining three rounds, including Brother Yunzhong's, don't offer absolute certainty of victory. Young Master Zhen is a prodigious talent, no question, but against the Asura Great Emperor, in the end…"
Wild Fox Ming Emperor trailed off without finishing. Clearly, even though the score appeared poised to even out, the situation still favored the Asura Great Emperor's side.
Zhenyue Ming Emperor said, "Let's not be too pessimistic. Young Master Zhen looks entirely at ease. Perhaps he still has some hidden card up his sleeve? Perhaps Miss Huang'er can defeat Li Jiancheng? In the martial world, anything is possible!"
Miss Huang'er defeating Li Jiancheng?
Wild Fox Ming Emperor glanced over at Miss Huang'er in the distance, then at Li Jiancheng. No matter how he looked at it, he could not see how Miss Huang'er had the strength to defeat Li Jiancheng.
Even Young Master Zhen himself, in a straight martial contest, was probably not Li Jiancheng's match.
This was not a slight against Young Master Zhen—on the original Young Master Rankings, Li Jiancheng had been first, while Young Master Zhen had placed only eighth.