Ch. 46 - Grand Emperor Tun Ri

“You’ll stay by Situ Yunqing’s side from now on,” Xu Zimo said.

Vastsky nodded but asked, “Are you really going to hand your power over to a little girl?”

Xu Zimo smiled. If his memory served him correctly, Situ Yunqing was not someone to be underestimated.

In his previous life, she had turned the Situ Enterprise into a dominant force across the entire Eastern Continent in just a few decades. It had become one of the most influential powers in the region.

If she wasn’t truly capable, Xu Zimo wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to bring her under his command.

“Two years,” Xu Zimo said. “If she can spread her influence across all of the Western Region, then I’ll believe in her.”

“And if she fails?” Vastsky asked.

“What’s the point of keeping someone alive if they’re worthless?” Xu Zimo replied with a smile.

Vastsky went silent for a moment, thinking to himself, “He’s really cold-blooded.”

...

With the Imperial Gate City situation resolved, Xu Zimo and his companions decided it was time to move on. After all, the sect mission he’d taken on when he left the mountain still wasn’t complete.

They rode off on horseback under blue skies and white clouds. Verdant hills rolled in the distance as their fierce steeds galloped swiftly.

Birds flew overhead, circling above them. The breeze stirred up dead leaves, sending them swirling through the air.

The sun blazed high overhead as they rode, when suddenly, an explosion rang out from the sky.

A powerful presence descended from above, pressing down on them.

Two figures walked through the air above them. One was an elderly man in a gray robe, holding a heavy five-foot sword. The invisible pressure radiating from him rippled through the air, causing the sky to thunder and crack.

The other was a middle-aged man wreathed in blazing fire. His flames were scorching and dazzling, as if they were about to consume the very space around him.

The gray-robed elder’s expression was stern. When he spoke, his voice boomed like thunder, shaking the skies.

“Ren Pingsheng, hand over the Grand Emperor Tun Ri’s legacy, and I’ll spare your life.”

The man wrapped in flames gave a disdainful laugh. He looked pale, clearly injured, and sneered, “Yue Buli, someone like you, a scheming coward, dares call yourself a sect master? What a joke!”

Lying back casually on his horse, Xu Zimo watched the battle unfold with interest.

Next to him, Little Gui looked nervous. Seeing Xu Zimo so calm, he asked, “Senior Brother, do you know them?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? No one dares touch you while you’re with me,” Xu Zimo replied with a chuckle.

“That gray-robed old man is Yue Buli, leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect,” Lin Ruhuo explained from the side. “As for the man in white, I don’t know.”

“Ren Pingsheng,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “The man who walks calmly through wind and rain. A descendant of the Grand Emperor Tun Ri.”

“Grand Emperor Tun Ri?!” Xiao Guizi exclaimed. That was a legendary Emperor from the Imperial Era, a name known far and wide.

“Yue Buli is at the Paragon Meridian Realm, while Ren Pingsheng is only at the Desolate Meridian Realm. He doesn’t look like he can hold on much longer,” Xiao Guizi observed.

“Never underestimate the means left behind by an Emperor,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand. “Let’s go. This has nothing to do with us.”

...

In the sky above, Yue Buli gripped his greatsword tightly. Endless swordforce gathered on its blade, condensing and then erupting. Cracks formed in the fabric of space.

This sword strike brimmed with murderous intent. Violent winds howled around him as he raised the massive sword above his head, ready to tear the sky in two.

“Yue Buli, are you really willing to fight to the death?” Ren Pingsheng asked grimly.

“Hand over the Grand Emperor’s artifact, and I’ll spare your life!” Yue Buli roared.

Power continued building in his blade. His face distorted under the pressure, this was clearly the attack meant to end it all.

“You forced my hand,” Ren Pingsheng coughed a few times and slowly drew a flute from his waist.

In the distance, Xu Zimo’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the flute. Then he smiled. “Looks like the real show is about to start.”

“Is that flute powerful?” Lin Ruhu asked curiously.

“That flute is tied to a love story from the Grand Emperor Tun Ri’s youth,” Xu Zimo said with a grin. “Want to hear it?”

Little Gui looked puzzled. The Grand Emperor Tun Ri lived several eras ago, how could his senior brother know about his love life?

Still, gossip about an Emperor’s romantic past? That was too tempting to pass up.

“It’s said this story took place when the Grand Emperor Tun Ri was still young,” Xu Zimo said with a hint of amusement. “Back then, he had a childhood sweetheart. They were engaged from a young age and deeply in love.

“But one day, the girl fell seriously ill. Before she died, she gave him her most beloved flute as a keepsake, to remember their short but precious time together.

“After that, every time he missed her, he would play the flute alone.

“He kept that habit even after ascending to become a Grand Emperor. The flute itself was made of ordinary materials, but inside, it was engraved with Imperial Runes.”

As Xu Zimo recounted the tale, Ren Pingsheng cut his finger and let a drop of blood fall into the flute. Then, slowly, he brought it to his lips.

The moment his blood touched the flute, his face grew even paler.

The clear, flowing sound of the flute began to play. It was slow and gentle, like a peaceful stream under a small bridge.

Yet as that simple melody echoed, the entire world seemed to freeze.

All sound vanished. Whether it was the raging rivers in the distance or the gentle wind on the horizon, everything stilled.

Even Yue Buli’s sword strike, poised to split the sky, suddenly froze in place.

The flute continued to play. Yue Buli’s face twisted in shock.

A black sun began to form at the edge of the sky, rising with terrifying force.

The space around it crumbled. Natural laws warped. Power beyond imagination gathered in the heavens.

“Is… is this the power of an Emperor?” Lin Ruhuo and Xiao Guizi stared in awe. “If just a used flute with Imperial Runes can do this… what must the Grand Emperor himself have been like?”

“Ren Pingsheng, you got lucky this time!” Yue Buli roared, unwilling to give up. “But that artifact hasn’t accepted you yet. How many more times can you use your blood to activate it?”

With that, he turned and fled like a madman.

The black sun above was nearly complete, like a vortex about to consume all. Yue Buli felt as if invisible hands had gripped his heart, on the verge of crushing it.

He didn’t dare stay. No one defies the majesty of a Grand Emperor.

As Yue Buli fled frantically, Ren Pingsheng finally lowered the flute.

The black sun slowly faded away.

His body swayed and nearly collapsed from the effort.

He gently descended, casting a glance at Xu Zimo and the others.

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