Chapter 1033: The Emperor, Dawn
Actually, when Happy easily cracked through his seventh move and swiftly launched a fierce counterattack, The Emperor already knew Happy’s strength far exceeded his expectations. He also realized that Happy now had the ability to force him to go all out. Especially at the moment of closing in with the Dragon-Seizing Hand, he hesitated no longer, skipping the eighth and ninth moves and releasing his flying sword.
Sword Mastery to Take Lives!
Unlike ordinary sword techniques, this move of The Emperor carried the will to destroy everything—the most domineering and sharp sword intent in the martial world, already very close in strength to the sword techniques of the Yin Empress.
A chill ran through his heart!
Happy quickly spun around to defend himself.
The black flying sword struck the black iron heavy sword with a “ding” sound!
“Ugh!!”
Happy’s body trembled slightly. Although the black iron heavy sword had considerable shock resistance and a high blocking rate, it was still forced to retreat over ten meters under the relentless sword intent.
“Amazing sword skills!”
“You’re not bad either.”
“In the Central Plains martial world, you’re the first to force me to use my tenth sword.”
“It’s an honor!”
Though Happy knew that using his true vital energy field would have been more effective, he didn’t want to reveal his true strength right away, as he wasn’t sure if the Seer was watching. Besides, The Emperor’s eleventh and twelfth swords hadn’t been drawn yet.
“I believe what Bai Xiaosheng told me before.” But to Happy’s surprise, after pushing him back, The Emperor simply retracted his long black sword, sheathed it, and walked over with a smile, signaling an end to the fight.
“The tenth sword already has such power; the next two must be even more terrifying.” Happy pretended to breathe a sigh of relief…
The Emperor stared deeply at Happy and smiled:
“Your strength has exceeded my expectations. Even I’m not entirely sure I can defeat you with the next two moves… Moreover, my twelfth sword is currently reserved for my enemy—the Evil Emperor. When we have enough time and opportunity later, we can fight again!”
“Agreed!”
Happy knew he had gained The Emperor’s recognition and also understood that The Emperor was wary of revealing his strength, which was why he chose to stop first. He nodded with a smile:
“That’s right. Right now, our opponent is the Evil Emperor… After this is over, let me face your other moves!”
“I suddenly feel there’s still some hope for our Central Plains!” With that, The Emperor said nothing more. He picked up his sword, passed by Happy, and left the gang’s prison.
“…”
Kai Xin carefully pondered the last words of the First Emperor, then slowly turned around, staring at the exit of the prison from which the First Emperor had left. His brows furrowed as he racked his brain—had the First Emperor already given up on the Central Plains?
“…It shouldn’t be that bad.”
Shaking his head, Kai Xin put the human mask back on his face and headed toward the cells where prisoners at the Mythical Realm were imprisoned.
…
The main hall of the Xifeng Tower.
Shadow and other high-ranking members of the Xifeng Tower gathered in a tense atmosphere. Many of them remained unusually silent, not saying a word for long periods, looking gloomy with low morale.
Even Shadow stared intently ahead, his gaze flickering, lost in thought…
After what seemed like an eternity, someone finally broke the uncomfortable silence:
“This can’t go on.”
The speaker was a top expert from the Elders’ Hall of the Xifeng Tower, one of the top 100 on the Dragon Ranking:
“Tower Master, as of today, we’ve been surrounded by the people from the First-Class Hall in the city for days. Our brothers don’t even dare leave the city gates; they can’t practice. Those who try to sneak out at night are killed when they return… If we don’t do something, before the Evil Emperor arrives in the Central Plains, our Xifeng Tower will likely collapse first!”
“That’s right.”
Someone sighed gravely:
“If I were Meng Yun, with the current situation heavily in my favor, I would never let the Evil Emperor come to rescue us. If we keep dragging this out, our Xifeng Tower is finished… The resources outside must have been completely divided up by the First-Class Hall and the gangs in the capital!”
Hearing this, Shadow’s brows furrowed even more.
“Tower Master, let’s just fight them head-on.”
Although the Elders’ Hall seemed composed, it was actually made up of a group of powerful and passionate young people. Many of them stood up, fists clenched, expressing their support:
“That’s right!”
“Rather than dying of frustration day by day, we might as well fight the First-Class Hall to the death!”
Many agreed.
Now, many rumors had spread in the capital, claiming that the Xifeng Tower had offended the First-Class Hall and was at odds with all the gangs in the city… Their days were numbered, and many members were leaving the various branches across the country.
On one hand, it was due to the rumors and the lack of hope!
On the other hand, it was because the Xifeng Tower did nothing and stayed hidden, causing great frustration.
However,
the Xifeng Tower still had many people who considered the bigger picture and remained calm:
“How should we fight…”
“All the dozen or so gangs in the capital are now on the side of Yipin Tang. Their numbers are three to four times ours, and the same goes for their top experts. Even if we risk our lives, we can’t preserve our position! It will only benefit Yipin Tang and accelerate our own demise…”
“Everyone, calm down!”
“That’s right. The forum owner and Bai Xiaosheng will surely come up with a solution.”
As the group tried to comfort each other, their confidence was lacking, as Xifeng Tower was indeed facing an unprecedented crisis. Even with the help of the Emperor, there was no sign of hope for a turnaround.
And this was only what Yipin Tang had brought them…
The Evil Emperor had yet to truly arrive in the Central Plains!
“…”
Just as the group fell into silence again, depressed, a tall figure with a dazzling aura slowly walked in from outside the hall.
Everyone sensed it immediately!
“The Emperor!” “The Emperor!”
The Shadow, who had remained silent until then, finally stood up from his seat, forcing a smile as he greeted the Emperor, who entered with steady steps:
“You’re here.”
“So everyone is here.”
The Emperor glanced around calmly, his tone relaxed.
“I heard from my subordinates that you came and went alone to the gang prison, so I didn’t disturb you… Emperor, is there a plan for this visit?”
Over these days, the Shadow had been quite exhausted. Seeing the Emperor felt like finding a pillar of support.
Hearing the Shadow’s question, the senior members of Xifeng Tower looked at him eagerly.
What they wanted most now was news of a turnaround!
But under the strict blockade by Yipin Tang and the dozen or so capital gangs, it was impossible for Xifeng Tower to break through in any way…
The only thing that could bring them good news and relieve their frustration was the Emperor’s revenge plan.
The Emperor’s gaze lingered on the Shadow’s blurred face for a few seconds.
“No plan. I came mainly to meet that person.”
“…”
Everyone looked disappointed.
They weren’t interested in who the Emperor met.
Only the Shadow stared intently into the Emperor’s eyes. For some reason, he felt that the Emperor seemed very cheerful, and his sharpness seemed even greater than yesterday!
“Did you meet him?” the Shadow asked.
The Emperor nodded with a smile:
“It was beyond my expectations.”
“The situation is good?” The Shadow’s eyes lit up.
“Mm.” The Emperor continued with a smile, “Very good.”
The group of high-ranking members around them finally sensed a sense of joy flowing between the two from their somewhat mysterious conversation. Unconsciously, their curiosity was piqued, and they developed some interest in the person they were talking about.
“Lord, who are you talking about?”
Although they knew there was an important figure in the gang’s prison, arranged personally by Shadow, they had no idea who it was.
But!
Since even the First Emperor had been drawn in and was given equal importance by both him and Shadow, this person must surely not be an ordinary individual.
“A hope,” Shadow did not answer immediately. After happily entering the main hall of Xifeng Tower, he had said that he didn’t want anyone else to know about his arrival, except for the First Emperor, Bai Xiaosheng, and himself. As for keeping it secret, Shadow could still do that.
The First Emperor’s reply lifted Shadow’s depressed mood considerably. The fact that he received such a positive response proved that what Happy had said earlier was true.
However…
In this struggle that determined the survival of Xifeng Tower and the fate of the Central Plains in the future, the strength of one person often couldn’t decide the outcome of a war.
After his joy subsided, Shadow regained his composure and silently sent a message to the First Emperor:
“I know Happy is very strong. What do you think? If the two of you team up to deal with the Evil Emperor, what’s the chance you can hold him off? Or rather, how long can you hold him off?”
Shadow’s initial plan had been for the First Emperor and Happy to work together to confront the Evil Emperor, then unite all the forces of the Central Plains to resist the First-Class Hall Alliance. If the First Emperor and Happy didn’t collapse quickly, perhaps the Central Plains still had a chance—after all, Xifeng Tower’s gang warehouse contained many Life and Dream Pills. As long as the two could hold out for a while and delay the Evil Emperor, preventing Xifeng Tower from suffering immediate destruction, reinforcements from the Central Plains would eventually arrive.
“…”
Hearing this, the First Emperor stared at Shadow’s face for several seconds before answering seriously:
“I’m not sure about that either. I can’t give you an exact answer because we don’t know to what extent the Evil Emperor’s strength has reached.”
“I see.” Shadow was slightly disappointed. He had thought that since the First Emperor was so enthusiastic about Happy being a great help, there might be a turning point.
“Don’t worry,” the First Emperor immediately noticed Shadow’s concern and calmly sent a message back: “We can’t make any guesses. On one hand, it’s because we don’t know the Evil Emperor’s current strength. On the other hand, it’s also because I still don’t know Happy’s limits…”
“Hm?”
Phantom raised his head in shock, staring at the Emperor in disbelief: “You didn’t fight him?”
“It’s precisely because I fought him that I couldn’t uncover his full strength…”
The Emperor’s casual reply sent Phantom into turmoil!