Since the founding of the Tiangui Kingdom, there had never been a day as lively as today, nor a day as breathtakingly thrilling.
The entire Royal Capital of Tiangui was like a massive furnace, on the verge of boiling over.
Above the Royal Capital, three cultivators were locked in fierce combat. Every strike from these three seemed to carry the force of mountains crumbling and the heavens shattering.
Below the battle, three more cultivators watched with focused attention, their expressions grave. They appeared ready to join the fight, but their strength simply wasn't up to the task.
These three spectator cultivators were also escorting a woman — none other than Consort Dan. She was clearly restrained, unable to move a muscle, her anxious gaze fixed on the battle raging above.
Of the three combatants in the sky, one was none other than Emperor Canghai. The other two had utterly distinct appearances. One wore a wooden, expressionless face like a mask — a zombie-like countenance devoid of any emotion.
The other had a large fleshy growth on his forehead resembling a single horn, with a face full of coarse meat that made him look thoroughly savage.
These two cultivators attacking Emperor Canghai were clearly also at the Sovereign Realm. The zombie-faced one, in particular, cultivated at a level completely comparable to Emperor Canghai's own.
The horn-wearing cultivator was also at the Sovereign Realm, though not at the high tier — rather, the mid tier, slightly inferior in strength.
However, with two Sovereign Realm cultivators fighting Emperor Canghai together, the latter was clearly under considerable strain.
Fortunately, Emperor Canghai's martial path was particularly suited for defense. Under the combined assault of two Sovereign Realm powerhouses, he was at least holding his ground for the time being.
The horn-wearing Sovereign Realm cultivator cackled: "Canghai, you traitorous dog. If I recall correctly, you were supposed to have returned to the Glazed Glass Royal City with Emperor Shura to assassinate that Young Master Zhen. In the end, you betrayed Emperor Shura and became that Young Master Zhen's running dog? I hear this Young Master Zhen goes by the name Jiang Chen — some nobody from the Myriad Aspects Region?"
The horn-wearing cultivator was clearly trying to provoke Emperor Canghai, hoping to find a crack in his mental defenses and break through in one devastating blow.
However, Emperor Canghai might not have had many outstanding advantages, but his thick skin was certainly one of them. This sort of psychological warfare had always been his specialty — just directed at other people.
So this kind of mind game, when used against him, was simply ineffective.
When Emperor Canghai ignored him, the horn-wearing Sovereign Realm cultivator attacked even more viciously, all the while chattering away: "Canghai, other people improve as they live, but you — you're regressing. This Myriad Aspects Region is nothing but a backwater. You're serving as a lapdog to some country bumpkin, and you don't have the decency to blush? If I were you, I'd have found a quiet spot to kill myself long ago."
The zombie-faced Sovereign Realm cultivator, on the other hand, fought in silence. His attacks didn't look as fierce as the horn-wearing one's.
But this zombie-faced cultivator was clearly the sort of silent, venomous snake. His techniques weren't flashy or imposing. Instead, they were dripping with sinister energy — sudden, unpredictable strikes that nevertheless sent Emperor Canghai scrambling to defend himself each time.
Facing the combined assault of two Sovereign Realm cultivators, Emperor Canghai was hard-pressed, his mind racing.
Truly, fighting two Sovereign Realm cultivators alone, he had no hope of victory. But if he focused purely on defense, he could hold out for a very long time.
If he were alone, he could choose to fight or retreat whenever he pleased, perfectly at ease.
But now, with Consort Dan in their hands, even if he fled and abandoned her, how could he possibly face Jiang Chen afterward?
Emperor Canghai was beginning to regret his earlier hubris. If he hadn't made that grand shout in the sky upon arriving at the Tiangui Royal Capital, these people might never have been drawn to him.
Everything was his own fault — his carelessness, his assumption that in a small place like the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, there would be no trouble.
Yet as it turned out, this tiny Tiangui Kingdom had been harboring opponents of terrifying strength. Two Sovereign Realm cultivators and three Emperor Realm cultivators.
This kind of lineup was practically on par with a first-rate sect.
But first-rate sects in the entire human territory numbered only a handful. These two Sovereign Realm powerhouses — Emperor Canghai had never seen them before, but the fact that they attacked him without hesitation the moment they met, combined with what the horn-wearing cultivator had said, allowed him to roughly guess their identities.
His return to the Glazed Glass Royal City with Emperor Shura had been extremely secretive — only Emberfire City knew about it.
These people were almost certainly from Emberfire City.
But why would Emberfire City, of all things, send so many powerful cultivators to lurk in a godforsaken place like the Tiangui Kingdom?
Emperor Canghai couldn't understand it, and his anxiety only deepened.
The battle itself wasn't going badly for him — he was confident he could keep holding. The horn-wearing brute's foul mouth was a constant nuisance, trying to rattle his composure, but it didn't cause him much real trouble.
What worried him most wasn't the battle itself, but Consort Dan, who had fallen into enemy hands. If they used her as leverage against him, he would be utterly cornered, unable to act freely.
From Consort Dan's words and manner, Emperor Canghai knew she was someone of immense importance to Young Master Jiang Chen.
If he allowed her to be lost under his watch, Emperor Canghai couldn't even bear to think about it. He would never be able to show his face again.