Throughout the vast expanse, all the cultivators worthy of note, those at the peak of the King Class, those who were stuck in that stage, unable to understand the reason behind their limitation, behind their inability to advance forward, for thousands of years, stuck on a treadmill moving in place, and worried about the looming approach of death coming to claim their lives.
They struggled and struggled some more, to wriggle into the next step, the Emperor's Rank. However, of those in that rank not more than a dozen exist to this day and most of them are key figures of the vast expanse.
An Emperor Rank even if a low-ranked one can gain enough recognition to be treated as a king wherever in the Vast Expanse they go.
Because those of the Emperor Rank are all leaders and powerful kings.
Every King Class Cultivator wishes to achieve this rank, not only for the prestige it brings, but also for the extension of one's mortal life.
Most cultivators, the geniuses of an era, and the ones with the greatest fortunes among their peers managed to reach the King stage, but they were all stuck at the same point, allowing those of even lesser talent to reach up and stand next to them, just due to the fact that the Emperor Wall was that steep, high and mighty.
And now so many are here, unable to progress, waiting for that opportunity that will present itself to one of them.
And the latest arrival to this steep wall, a man that deals with poison, a quite unique person. He was treated as an extra, a newbie to the King Class when he entered, as many cultivators realized that a new kid joined them. His cultivation age wasn't even a fraction of some of the cultivators stuck at this place. And this child greedily wanted to reach beyond the Realm of a King.
After all, even if they didn't see it, they sensed his rapid progress and attempted to ram himself into the wall of Emperors. He climbed ranks so fast it destabilized the very fabric of the Vast Expanse when he was breaking through rank after rank in the King Class.
But he immediately came to a screeching halt when he was faced with the Emperor's Wall. Many cultivators through the vast expanse spoke of this, over drinks, at bars and taverns. They talked about how this new kid wanted to sneak past all of the cultivators without even putting in effort, and laughed as they saw him stuck unable to progress like the rest of them.
Deep down they felt at ease because they couldn't accept how a young cultivator was able to achieve what none of them could, and how fast he progressed through the King Realm.
"He must have eaten a cultivation-increasing drug," or, "He drew upon his latent Potential destroying his future for immediate cultivation rank increase!"
And many other negative comments all to help them feel better about themselves.
Yet, today something different happened. The Talent that everyone thought was destroying itself for a small and temporary gain in power managed to shatter the wall of the Emperor, breaking through and achieving the Emperor's Rank.
The vibrations created by the birth of a new Emperor Rank shook the Vast Expanse. It was like nothing else, not even the recently ranked up Emperor Dao Shen had this amount of vibration when he achieved the Emperor Rank. It was as if the Vast Expanse itself was welcoming it, wholeheartedly so.
Not only did he break into the rank of an Emperor he also climbed up several ranks in it too at the same time.
The disdain and mockery died in their eyes, leaving nothing but terrified looks of self-loathing and envy, unable to achieve in thousands of years what a child achieved in no time.
"Do you think the Fire Lord will allow him to exist?"
"I doubt it, he's a factor that could cause chaos, I think he'll get rid of him soon."
"But what if…"
"Don't even think about that, if the Fire Lord wasn't as strong as he is, you think anyone else wouldn't have tried to abdicate him."
"The Fire Lord isn't Strong because he is a Ruler, he is a Ruler because he is strong, There is a difference. Thinking that a new fledgling would affect his planning is nothing but blasphemy against the Fire Lord, Don't let any of his followers hear it, or you and nine generations of your family will be sent to the Blood Mines."
The people at the bar quieted down after that discussion.
At another side of the bar, Four cultivators were sitting, sighing as they looked at each other.
"He really made it," the first spoke, the whole air about him was that of danger and menace, thanks to him, no one tried anything against the group of four, even when two of them were beauties that would make kings and rulers come running.
The other cultivator had a grin on his face, "Brother Shen Bao really did grow too strong," he said as he clenched his fist, "I need to reach higher heights," he added.
"Now that you have no fetters, I don't see how you can't," one of the two women spoke, she had fiery red hair, and a bloody butterfly brooch over her head that added to her otherworldly beauty.
The other girl next to her was the calmest and most quiet of the group, as cold as a piece of Ice Jade and as equally beautiful.
"He really made us all worried for years, then he comes back and climb above all of us… I fear that if I were to blink, he'll claim the Vast Expanse under his foot," Dao Shen jokingly said.
"You think he'll be satisfied with the Vast Expanse?" YuYu answered calmly, though Dao Shen's words were nothing but a joke, once she asked that question, they all thought about it once again.
Shen Bao never seemed satisfied with anything given to him, his greed is not for power, but for knowledge, he seeks to see things outside his spectrum, it was as if he was being led by fate itself to seek into something far beyond the reach of any Immortal.
"The Beyond, I heard him speak of it once," Liang Yu said, "He wanted to visit… but, I don't know if that's feasible, even for Shen Bao. No one had ever made it, no one had ever broken through the Vast Expanse. But for some reason… I feel like if Shen Bao wanted… he'll find a way, he always does."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶