Chapter 1879 (1/2)
Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble
Shockwaves rippled across the entire God Realm. Nearly every living creature ranging from the upper star realms to the lower star realms could sense the change in the air.
In the past, a grand coronation ceremony only happened when a new king realm God Emperor was going to succeed its predecessor. It was a rare occurrence that was celebrated throughout the God Realm because a god emperor was the equivalent of the heavens in the current world.
This particular grand coronation ceremony was very different from all the coronations that had happened in the history of God Realm, however. It was because the soon-to-be emperor was going to be coronated not the emperor of a mere king realm, but the entire world.
It was something this universe had never seen, and might never see again until the end of time.
Unusually, the organizers of the grand coronation ceremony hadn’t sent an invitation letter to anyone, much less made a public announcement. The star realms had to learn of it via the ancient way of word-of-mouth.
That wasn’t to say that the news didn’t shake the world. Quite the contrary, the resulting pandemonium was unlike anything the God Realm had ever seen. The upper star realm kings engraved the time and location of the ceremony on their brains and made preparations almost as soon as they learned about it. Nearly every man and woman in the star realms was mobilized to prepare for the ceremony as well.
The grand coronation ceremony was given the utmost attention because it signified not just the birth of the first true emperor of the God Realm, but also the turning point of their very universe. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their attitude toward this grand coronation ceremony directly impacted their new emperor’s attitude toward them, and subsequently their fates under the new order.
No one cared about the middle star realms and lower star realms though... After all, since when did the opinions of the weak truly matter?
From the moment the remaining king realms declared their submission to the Devil Master, the upper star realms’ options had been reduced to just one.
As the fated day grew closer and closer, the restlessness of the people grew as well. More and more profound arks began flying toward the Southern Divine Region at top speed.
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This Southern Sea Realm used to be the heart and the strongest king realm of the Southern Divine Region.
However, the king realm had been wiped from the universe, and the magnificent structure that used to be the Southern Sea Capital had been razed to the ground as well. There were practically no traces of the king realm left besides the occasional bit of spirit energy in the air.
On this soil that used to be the soil of the Southern Sea, innumerable profound ships and even more profound practitioners were floating in the sky.
There were all types of auras, and all kinds of attire. If there was one commonality between them all, it would be that they were all staring at the sky in awe, trepidation, and many more complex emotions.
They were staring at the gigantic floating city that was over 150 kilometers long above their heads.
The city was the World Dragon City.
However, they only knew it as “Emperor Yun City”!
The unparalleled city that would soon be elevated to the absolute pinnacle of the God Realm after today’s ceremony!
Everyone knew that the Eastern Divine Region was Yun Che’s starting point. It was also the divine region he had spent most of his time in. That was why they were surprised by his decision to found both his city and his palace in the Southern Divine Region.
No one dared to guess the Devil Master’s thoughts, however.
Everyone who came to this place was either the realm king of a star realm or the ruler of a region. They were all powerful and noble in their own right. Right now though, they could only look up at Emperor Yun City like mortals would look up to their gods. Forget entering the city, they didn’t even dare to get close to it.
The northern region profound practitioners and the king realms were the only ones who were granted entry. Everyone else could only look from below.
Meanwhile, a cold and solemn atmosphere was permeating the air above Emperor Yun City.
To the south stood Cang Shitian, Cang Shuhe, and the members of the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm, Xuanyuan Realm and Purple Micro Realm.
To the west stood the core powers of the Qilin Realm and Blue Dragon Realm, and only them. The representatives of the Hui Dragon Realm, Myriad Manifestation Realm and Emperor Chi Realm were conspicuously missing, and the Dragon God Realm… had its very name changed to “Sinned Dragon Realm” by Chi Wuyao herself.
To the east stood the Brahma Monarch Realm led by Qianye Ying’er, and a star realm no one ever expected to see until recently, the Snow Song Realm.
While Mu Xuanyin and Mu Bingyun looked as unperturbed as ever, the Snow Song Elders and palace masters behind them could only be described as anxious.
Caizhi was nowhere to be seen. The Star God Realm was only a king realm in name after the return of the Evil Infant's Wheel of Myriad Tribulations, but even that was gone after its remaining six Star Gods had perished during the final war against the Western Divine Region. The only reason it was still acknowledged as a king realm today, was because Yun Che had decreed it.
The death of the six Star Gods left a huge impact in Caizhi’s heart and restored her determination to return the Star God Realm to its former glory. However, she neither wanted nor needed Yun Che’s grand coronation ceremony to accomplish her goal.
On the other hand, the Northern Divine Region group was far bigger than all the others. The profound practitioners of the Yama Devil Realm, Burning Moon Realm, Soul Stealing Realm, and every other star realm who had participated in that fate-defying battle were standing together, looking down on the people of the three divine regions with impunity and basking in the sun that had been denied them for a million years.
Time and again, they couldn’t help but look in the direction of the palace with indescribable excitement and feverish emotions. Half a year had passed since the final battle, and still they felt like they were in a dream.
“Finally,” Chi Wuyao murmured with wet eyes. She no longer had any regrets in her life.
“Finally,” Mu Xuanyin murmured the same words at nearly the same time.
“Is Blue Pole Star… really unharmed?” Mu Bingyun whispered in a nearly imperceptible voice.
“Mn. It is why he set this place to be his capital city. He may not look like it, but the past half a year hasn’t been easy on him,” Mu Xuanyin replied.
“Despite carrying a blessing that even the gods would envy, he has had to spend half his life treading every step like he was on thin ice. Time and again he yielded to the greater good, but the people he saved still pushed him into the deepest abyss… but no longer. Everything has fallen into his control, and all threats big or small have been eliminated. He may finally be able to lead a life without shackles, worries or fear after today.”
A small smile sprang to Mu Bingyun’s face. “You too will finally be able to lay down your worries, sister.”
Unfortunately, her half-joke failed to elicit the response she had expected from Mu Xuanyin. The latter slowly looked at the blue sky above their heads and murmured, “Now that the Dragon God’s lineage has been severed, there should be nothing left in the world that can threaten him anymore.”
“There are some regrets that can never be made up for, but… may the crises and calamities finally come to an eternal end…”
If a new crisis did appear in the future, she would make sure to snuff it out at the first sign of it.
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Inside a dark, cold and silent underground space beneath the halls of Emperor Yun City.
Tap… tap… tap...
The footsteps weren’t heavy, but it felt especially loud in this dark, eerie place.
Cling cling cling...
It also caused a weak rustling of chains.
Zhou Xuzi raised his head little by little within the near lightless space. The movement was very simple, but it pained and exhausted him greatly to do so.
His eyes looked like pits of dead water. They only shuddered a little when his gaze met the approaching figure.
His skin was caked with dry blood, his face looked as haunted as a monster’s, and his body was skin and bones. No one would believe that he was once the venerated Eternal Heaven God Emperor if they saw him right now.
His bones were crushed, his veins were severed, and his profound energy was completely dispersed. He should be deader than dead a long time ago, but a few wisps of aura that felt like maggots on his bones kept him alive against his will. It was as cruel as it was chilling.
The chains wrapped around his person were nothing special, but they were enough to trap the former god emperor in this inescapable purgatory.
“Yun… Che…”
He had no profound energy and his murky eyes couldn’t penetrate the darkness. However, he would never forget his aura even in death.
His voice was weak, pained and raspy. His body started shivering involuntarily and caused the chains to rustle a bit more. Forget standing though, he didn’t even have enough strength to raise a single arm.
“Do you know why you’re still alive, Zhou Xuzi?”
Yun Che asked slowly and emotionlessly. The former god emperor was in the pits of hell, but still his hatred burned as brightly as the day Jasmine had died.
Even if he had reclaimed everything, even if he had inflicted millions and millions times more punishment upon the man who had started it all… Jasmine still wouldn’t return to his life.
“You will… be punished… by heaven!”
Just like Yun Che could never forgive Zhou Xuzi, Zhou Xuzi could never forgive Yun Che. Instead of begging for Yun Che to let him go or kill him, he spent all his energy cursing him instead.
“Punished by heaven? Hehehe…” Yun Che let out a contemptuous chuckle. “If the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor hadn’t left, the heavenly law would’ve crumbled to her presence a long time ago. You think a thing this weak has any right to punish me!?”
Zhou Xuzi’s facial muscles shuddered as he spat out more hateful words. “The worst… will.. visit... you… one… day… devil!”