Sovereign of the Three Realms

“Gu Xintang, you stubborn fool. I warned you a long time ago, didn’t I? How dare a mere captain look down on the mighty Ten Ultimates? Do you think that this is a place like anywhere else where you can come and go anytime you want?” The one-eyed man crawled out of his corner again to scold Gu Xintang self-righteously. None of the ten great experts were speaking, but the one-eyed man had spoken up first. This showed that he must be one who held foremost authority beneath the ten great experts. He was likely a butler of some kind.

Gu Xintang cupped his hands together and spoke evenly. “Everyone, I am here to perform an official investigation today, so please bear with me.”

The captain’s words were fair, but he still sounded a bit uncertain. It was understandable, considering he was facing a bunch of ruthless monsters. Another captain might have turned pale and stuttered in fright already.

“Shut it!” An old man with hair as white as cranes’ feathers, but a face as young as a child’s scolded Gu Xintang as his expression darkened. “Who the hell do you think you are? Did the hallmaster neglect to teach you the rules? How dare an insignificant captain like you intrude upon our sanctuary? Do you think so little of the Ten Ultimates? Do you want me to teach you the meaning of the word ‘death’?”

Gu Xintang’s face turned pale and his mouth dry. He forced his own mouth open and tried to say something, but Jiang Chen walked forwards and stopped the captain. “Leave things to us.”

Gu Xintang could only nod in response and mutter, “Stay calm. Let’s see if we can negotiate this peacefully first.”

That being said, the captain himself wasn’t confident that a peaceful negotiation could be carried out in this place. To begin with, the Ten Ultimates wouldn’t be the Ten Ultimates if such a thing was possible. So what if logic was on their side? The experts here worshipped strength only. Those who were strong become the voice of reason, and those who were weak were only served the fruits of ‘reason’.

“Old Brother Mo, would you like to be the one to teach them the rules they speak of? I’ll go search for our man.” Jiang Chen winked at Emperor Peerless.

The great emperor smiled calmly. “No problem. Be careful though. There are no easy pickings around here.”

Jiang Chen nodded. Of course, it hadn’t escaped his attention that the weakest cultivator here was at least eighth level emperor realm, and the strongest cultivator in this place was almost half-step great emperor. That being said, he wasn’t a fledgling who’d just embarked on the journey of martial dao anymore. He likely couldn’t fight a half-step great emperor head on, but when it came to speed? He was fast enough that he dared challenge Emperor Peerless himself, much less these people! Nodding slightly, he activated his arts and transformed into a bolt lightning, cutting through the air. The Kunpeng Meteoric Escape enabled him to vanish instantly in mid-air like a meteor.

“You’re courting death!” The surrounding crowd cursed.

The elder with white hair and a childish face waved them down. “Calm down, no need to get worked up. It’s just a rat we can squash any time we want. Situ Ling, Wu Xutao, go catch that rat. The rest of you, stay here.”

The old man obviously held absolute authority in the Ten Ultimates. His cultivation, experience and knowledge exceeded everyone present as well. He was the closest expert to reach half-step great emperor, and right now he was staring at Emperor Peerless with evident realization that the great emperor was their real enemy today.

He has to be the reason why this ragtag group dared intrude into the Ten Ultimates. Although the old man couldn’t see through Emperor Peerless’ cultivation, his instincts were telling him that this man would be a very difficult opponent.

Emperor Peerless smiled calmly as he glanced at the old man with white hair and a childish face. He said leisurely, “He Fenghui, Ole He. I thought you’d died a long time ago. I didn’t realize that you were imprisoned inside the Ten Ultimates. This is truly surprising. Did you offend Moon God Sect somehow? If not, why would someone like you be imprisoned in such a place?”

The old man’s name was He Fenghui. He was a famous cultivator in the wandering cultivator community. Although his strength was incomparable to Emperor Peerless’, he was on par with the two Geng brothers Emperor Peerless called friends. The old man occupied a high status in the wandering cultivator community, even if he fell short of being the best. 

“You… you know my name? You can’t possibly be a nobody. Why have you disguised yourself as a small Bleakmoon Hall guard?” He Fenghui’s reply was full of wariness.

“Hmph, that’s none of your concern. I will ask you only one question, are you going to fight? Or are you going to stay there like a well-behaved boy?”

The threat made everyone in the Ten Ultimates grow furious.

“Who the hell do you think you are to act like this in the Ten Ultimates?!”

“Old Brother He, this guy’s so full of himself. Let’s teach him a lesson already!”

He Fenghui looked undecided. He had a feeling that this man was no easy picking, and he personally didn’t want to raise a hand against this man until he learned of his opponent’s true strength. However, it was also true that they would be shamed if they allowed this man to act like this without retaliation.

“There’s no need for hesitation, Ole He. I’m giving you all one chance to beat me. All of you, come at me together.” Emperor Peerless cut an impressive figure with this calm response, his hands folded behind his back.

“What?”

“This arrogant bastard!”

“Brothers, let’s cut him to pieces together and ask questions later!” The cultivators of the Ten Ultimates were all ferocious fugitives. They were usually the ones who held the power and looked down on others, not the other way around. Therefore, when they saw how cocky Emperor Peerless was and wanting them to all go at him together, their inner savagery immediately came to the fore.

He Fenghui himself narrowed his eyes slightly. It was obvious that Emperor Peerless’ words had enraged him greatly as well.

“I don’t care who you are, but you’re not getting away with that taunt in the Ten Ultimates. Brothers, since he wants us to attack him at once, there is no need to be courteous. Do it!” The moment He Fenghui waved his hand, eight figures pounced on Emperor Peerless with surprising rapport.

Emperor Peerless didn’t look worried at all by their charge. After gently pushing Gu Xintang out of the circle of battle, he activated his great emperor domain and instantly transformed the radius of thirty meters around him into his own world. The powerful great emperor domain immediately transmuted into a zone of both offense and defense.

The eight figures who charged forward immediately felt like they had run into an invisible wall and were forced to slow down. Speed and strength were both absolutely necessary in a battle between experts. When they noticed that theirs were completely countered, they realized that they’d run into a deadly opponent.

Inside his own domain, Emperor Peerless was free to do whatever he wanted. He quickly reached his maximum speed. He pointed with his finger repeatedly as he moved. These high level emperors might look fierce and intimidating, but they were like lambs to the slaughter the moment they entered the emperor’s domain. Their speed was completely suppressed and their strength fell below ten percent of their usual.

However, Emperor Peerless’ speed was completely unaffected. The only thing the eight noted was a blur before their eyes and a sudden coldness pricking against the center of their forehead. Their hearts pounded. We’re so dead!

He Fenghui, the only cultivator present whose strength far surpassed his peers, forcefully twisted his body and barely broke free of the domain’s restraint when he noticed the situation had taken an unfavorable turn. Then, he flew backwards like his life depended on it.

Emperor Peerless was faster than him though. Like a giant roc, he instantly caught up to He Fenghui despite setting out later. The great emperor pointed. “What’s the rush, Ole He?”

He Fenghui instantly fell from the air like he’d been electrocuted by the gesture. He landed beside his fallen companions.

Thump thump thump! The eight cultivators who attacked Emperor Peerless were taken out in practically a single move. The lackeys of the Ten Ultimates were so terrified by these turn of events that their legs trembled like leaves. They’d fawned on the experts of the Ten Ultimates and gained a sizable amount of authority as a result. They were able to strut around with authority normally because they had the Ten Ultimates on their side.

However, the man before them had completely upended their notions. The near invincible Ten Ultimates had actually failed to last more than a single move… What a frightening opponent!

Gu Xintang was just as stunned when he witnessed the heart pounding scene from outside the ring. It was obvious he hadn’t anticipated that the battle would end in such a simple manner. Every expert in the Ten Ultimates were diabolical criminals and masters of their generation. However, they were as weak and flimsy as a piece of paper before Emperor Peerless.

Gu Xintang couldn’t even begin to describe his feelings. Is this a great emperor? Is this a peak expert’s strength? Is this the gap between emperors and great emperors?

The captain seldom felt his blood thrum in his veins, but he did feel it today. In fact, he felt like his blood was boiling! He hadn’t participated in the battle, but he almost felt like he was the one who’d taken them all out in a single move.

Emperor Peerless wasn’t planning on taking lives and didn’t overdo things. As the experts groaned and scrambled back to their feet, they looked as dispirited as a defeated cock. All traces of ferocity and resistance had vanished from their faces.

Yes, they had submitted to Emperor Peerless. It was hard not to when he had taken them all out in a single move. He Fenghui gloomily made his way to Emperor Peerless before bowing respectfully. “I wasn’t aware that a great emperor has graced us with his presence. The fault lies in my ignorance. Please forgive us, senior.”

“We were blind and foolish to have offended you, senior. Thank you very much for showing us mercy.”

“Thank you very much for not killing us.” These people might be diabolical and fearless, but they weren’t nearly stupid enough to not realize that the great emperor had shown them mercy. If Emperor Peerless had wanted to kill them, that one exchange was enough time for him to kill them more than ten times over.

It was true that upper rank emperor realm was an impressive cultivation level that enabled them to call themselves kings and lords inside the Sable Cells. However, this strength was only built on the common sense that their opponents were either at the same level or lower. In the end, an emperor realm cultivator was a joke before a great emperor. The gap between the two was like heaven and earth.

Even the weakest great emperor could easily crush an emperor. This difference in power wasn’t something most could overcome, unless the emperor happened to possess an unnaturally powerful artifact that could reduce the odds. However, it was obviously impossible for these death row criminals to be in possession of such an artifact.