Chapter 1288: Chapter 1286: The First Encounter Between Two Supreme Lords
After all the major Supreme Lords dispersed, each choosing to occupy a separate spot in the vast crater, as no one liked crowding together, glad to find a place of their own.
"Master, what’s wrong with you?"
Red Jade Saint looked at the Holy Empress curiously. Having been together for many years, she had never seen her master show such an excited expression before.
Fairy Xinluo was equally puzzled.
In public, the master always carried herself with graceful bearing and an air of nonchalance, as if nothing aside from matters concerning the Holy Monarch could affect her, yet the Holy Monarch was right beside them.
Following the direction of their master’s gaze, the two women, being Supreme Lords themselves, instantly spotted a certain youth among the crowd, and their expressions were immediately shaken.
There were many in the world who resembled one another, but the Holy Monarch was a person of great destiny. Such individuals often have extraordinarily transcendent features, especially after becoming a Supreme Lord, their entire bearing becomes truly unique.
Even if they looked similar to others, they could easily be distinguished.
But that youth, at first glance, almost made the two women think he was a younger version of the Holy Monarch. Only with careful observation did they realize there were significant differences.
The Holy Monarch’s eyes were warmer, and the corners of his mouth were always lifted, giving off a benevolent aura as refreshing as a spring breeze.
As for the youth in question, his gaze was undoubtedly sharper, yet not in a way that made one uncomfortable. It was more like the calm of a deep pool, his expression neither joyous nor angry, but graceful and elegant with a disconnected warmth, standing aloof from the world.
This was the first time the two women realized that someone could rival the Holy Monarch in terms of aura!
"He is..."
Fairy Xinluo and Red Jade Saint looked at the Holy Empress in shock, having clearly sensed Shi Xiaole’s bloodline fluctuations.
"Child, will you come here?"
The Holy Empress softly said, extending her hand.
The tenderness and pleading in her voice struck Shi Xiaole’s barriers, which he thought impregnable, and in the moist gaze of the Holy Empress, those barriers collapsed with a roar.
The Holy Empress, who was omnipotent and respected by all, was at that moment just a pitiable mother begging for her child to come closer, so unreserved and even with a hint of helplessness. Shi Xiaole felt a twinge at his nose, emotionally moved.
It turned out he was not without sentiment, not in need of worldly warmth, he just hadn’t had it, so he pretended he didn’t need it.
When enjoying wine and merriment with friends at the Divine Sword Villa, hadn’t he also let down his guard?
As he watched Shi Wuyou crawling on the grass and Xi Xianglei’s eyes filled with tenderness, hadn’t he felt a desire to be a part of the mother and son?
No.
It was precisely because he had grown up without the love of parents that he cherished the friends and family around him even more!
Quicker than thought, Shi Xiaole swooped to the peak of East Victory, only three steps away from the Holy Empress.
The Holy Empress stepped forward and placed her hands on Shi Xiaole’s cheeks, feeling the warmth from them. With tears in her eyes, she smiled, "Child, you’ve suffered these years. Both your father and I have wronged you, we are sorry."
The connection of bloodline allowed mother and son, even without having spent a single day together, to feel a kinship upon their first meeting.
At a loss for words, Shi Xiaole looked into the gentle gaze of the Holy Empress and just reached out to grasp her hands.
A large hand patted Shi Xiaole’s shoulder, and upon raising his head, it was Shi Xuanzhong who smiled, "I hope you don’t blame us. If possible, we will make up for it with the time we have left."
Shi Xiaole opened his mouth, facing the longing gaze of the two, and finally called out, "Father, Mother."
Shi Xuanzhong trembled slightly, while the Holy Empress’s eyes filled with tears of joy.
"Congratulations, Master, congratulations, Ancestor!"
Fairy Xinluo and Red Jade Saint hurriedly offered their felicitations, while also surreptitiously sizing up Shi Xiaole.
"Congratulations to the Holy Sovereign, the Holy Empress, congratulations to the Holy Young Master!"
The twelve Holy Envoys also bowed in unison, their emotion palpable.
In the days of the Holy Palace, countless powerful beings wished for the Holy Monarch to leave a descendant to carry on the glory of the Holy Palace. Now their brothers had long perished in battle, but those survivors finally saw their dream realized.
When Shi Xiaole first entered the Life-and-Death Unfounded Cave, the world of East Victory couldn’t even accommodate the soul bodies of the Supreme Lords, so most of them were immersed in deep cultivation and missed the chance to see him.
As for the Supreme Lords from other hazardous environments, most of them had met Shi Xiaole and were not surprised. For those who hadn’t met him, they merely expressed admiration. After all, with their status, they weren’t startled by the identity of the Holy Monarch’s son.
The Holy Empress found a beautiful forest environment and began to inquire about Shi Xiaole’s past years in detail. Shi Xiaole recounted his experiences, and naturally there was an outpouring of warm concern.
For the warriors stationed in East Victory City, today’s events were just too bizarre.
They had seen ancient Supreme Lords, witnessed the Holy Empress deploying an array, and lastly, they found out that the grand master of the villa was the son of the Holy Monarch—this was extraordinary news indeed!
No wonder, no wonder the grand master, not yet seventy, could defeat the world’s invincible hands. How could the son of the Holy Monarch be mistaken?
Peaceful times lasted for merely three 2-hour periods.
After three 2-hour periods.
A black fist covering the sky crashed down towards East Victory City with the speed of thunder. The experts on the city walls felt as if the whole world was collapsing around them.
Boom!
An array system light screen appeared. The fist struck it, like hitting an iron wall, instantly emitting a tremendous dull sound. The shockwaves disseminated, shattering the shadow of the fist.
In the distance, someone hmphed.
Immediately following were sabers, spears, swords, halberds, staffs, and various other weapons that surged like the storm of apocalypse, slamming viciously onto the surface of the Array System’s protective barrier. Each strike made the warriors of East Victory tremble in their hearts and souls, feeling as though they would be scattered to the winds.
Without the Array System established by the Holy Empress, East Victory City along with everyone stationed there would have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
However, at this moment, as the Array System operated, the powers from the Ten Great Dangerous Places were extracted and transformed into a barrage of azure waves, rushing towards the figures that appeared on the other side.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth shook and the sky trembled, and the chasm on the other side expanded greatly in the blink of an eye.
"Such a tough shell, could it be your Witch Queen’s doing again?"
A cold voice transmitted over.
"Outer Heaven Demons, you’ve finally come again."
Over a hundred Supreme Lords of East Victory simultaneously appeared atop the walls.
In the distant sky, the silhouettes gradually became clear, towering like mountains that could crush heaven and earth, making it suffocating for anyone who laid eyes upon them.
The souls of countless warriors of East Victory trembled.
For the Supreme Lords from beyond the heavens were not just a hundred strong, but numbered in the hundreds, several times more than those of East Victory, especially since the aura of some made them feel that only a few on their side could match them.
It was not only the common warriors; even the faces of the Supreme Lords were difficult to look at.
Knowing that the Supreme Lords from beyond would bring more numbers than before, no one had imagined they would increase to such an extent. With their superior numbers and without the support of the Array System, the world of East Victory would quickly be breached.
"Dao Jisheng, you must die!"
The cold and resolute Sorcerer Lord suddenly glared at a Taoist elder on the other side and let out a sky-shaking roar, while other Supreme Lords also showed faces filled with hatred and disdain.
Dao Jisheng, the second-ranked overbearing Supreme Lord in the world of East Victory, second only to the Holy Monarch in prestige, was the absolute main force of the grand army of East Victory at that time.
Who would have expected that this very person would betray East Victory, colluding with the Outer Heaven Demons and trapping the Witch Queen, the Boundless Sword Emperor, and several elites like the old Ancestor Tianyu, leading East Victory to a disastrous defeat.
If not for the Holy Monarch who exerted his force at the last moment and narrowly reversed the situation, East Victory would have long been fallen.
"Gentlemen, it was not that I wished to betray East Victory; I simply saw more than you did! After all, East Victory is just a corner of the world. The beyond possesses a superior martial civilization. Only through unification can a more complete world emerge, offering us the opportunity to shatter the void and wander the universe!"
Dao Jisheng, looking sincerely at his former comrades, said, "Heaven is heartless, using all things as straw dogs. The strong thrive at the expense of the weak; this is the natural order of the world. Why should all of you struggle against the current for some irrelevant weaklings? It would be better to cooperate with the lands beyond and together explore this universe!"
The Chaotic Age Knife Lord shouted angrily, "You traitor, unrepentant to the end, deserve a thousand cuts and a myriad of slices!"
Dao Jisheng shook his head; "It is a pity, as our paths do not align, we do not plan together."
Suddenly, from among the hundreds of Supreme Lords from beyond, six individuals stepped forward, each taking their place around a hexagram, wielding array disks, and unleashing their enormous might to bombard the Array System repeatedly.
These were the Array System Supreme Lords from beyond, and there were six of them. Five of them had previously clashed with the Holy Empress, and there was one who appeared to be a recently-promoted Supreme Lord, but clearly not less skilled than the other five.
"Laughable! This is the grand array that the Holy Empress spent 160,000 years setting up; it is not something you can break in just a moment."
One of the East Victory Supreme Lords jeered.
But some noticed that the face of the Holy Empress was extremely grave.
"Holy Empress, is there something wrong?"
A follower asked.
The Holy Empress replied, "They have no chance of breaking it with mere skill, but if they find even a slight flaw and several hundred Supreme Lords from beyond join forces in their attack, that would be somewhat dangerous."
The ’Seal Heaven Array’ was undoubtedly one of the most top-tier Array Systems of the age, but it was still a Sky Origin level construct and could not harness the full power of the Ten Great Dangerous Places—not even one ten-thousandth.
So this array was not indestructible. Otherwise, the Holy Empress would not have been so pessimistic.
Hearing this, everyone’s heart sank, but they had prepared for the worst before leaving seclusion, and in comparison, things were already a lot better now.
The Dream Emperor smiled and said, "If that is the case, then let’s not give them any chance. Having been trapped for so many years, I’m truly itching for a fight. Please, Holy Empress, activate the Array System and let me eliminate the demons!"
"Be careful, Dream Emperor."
As a leader of East Victory, the Holy Empress was certainly not indecisive. With a wave of her hand, a pathway opened in the Array System, and the Dream Emperor swiftly flew out, laughing loudly, "Who dares to battle me?"
"A fool seeking death, I’ll take you on!"
From among the Supreme Lords from beyond, a muscular old man stepped forward, who was none other than Yan Zhizun of the Shi tribe. With a sweep of his hand, he wielded a long saber and charged at the Dream Emperor, and the two instantly engaged in a battle that darkened the skies and obscured the sun.
"Kill!"
"Outer Heaven Demons, come face your death!"
One after another, the Supreme Lords of East Victory flew forth to meet their respective opponents.
As the leader of East Victory, the Holy Monarch naturally took the lead. As soon as he appeared, he attracted the attention of over a dozen of the most powerful Supreme Lords from beyond heaven, who teamed up to attack him.
The rest were not unwilling to fight; they simply could not keep up with the pace and had to choose other opponents.
Boom!!!
This battle could only be described as the heavens losing their color and the sun and the moon losing their light.
The entire chasm grew from tens of millions of meters to more than ten times its size. The Holy Monarch, facing more than a dozen top-tier Supreme Lords, was not at a disadvantage, his extraordinary figure inspiring everyone who witnessed it.
