Imperial God Emperor

Two hours later—

Ye Qingyu passed the third checkpoint.

His battle with the [Dragonblood War God], Xu Wuya, had come to an end.

He had barely won by one move to move past this checkpoint.

This battle had merely determined the victor, but it wasn't a life and death battle.

The way the battle had ended was completely different from what he had initially expected. He thought that someone as aggressive as Xu Wuya would have borne immense hatred toward him because of the retired Emperor's death and he assumed that a life and death battle was unavoidable. But who knew…

Xu Wuya is a rather remarkable character. I'm surprised he dared to do something like that in the presence of Quasi-emperors.

Ye Qingyu was still extremely surprised when he thought back to what had happened earlier.

Nonetheless, it was still a good outcome.

At the very least, it showed that the situation throughout the Vast Thousand Domains was not as dire as he had thought.

As he continued to make his way up the mountain path, the all-encompassing pressure intensified.

"If it had been any ordinary Great Saint, his bones would've probably been completely crushed in the face of such intense pressure by this point in time," Ye Qingyu speculated. The mighty authority of Quasi-emperors had become unbelievably intense and more astonishing, but this authority only seemed to affect living creatures. The mountains, rocks, snow, and icy rocks remained completely immune to this authority.

Ye Qingyu carefully sensed this authority.

The authority of a Quasi-emperor was a manifestation of the Quasi-emperor's Dao.

If he wanted to go up against a Quasi-emperor, he had to first understand the Quasi-emperor's Dao.

When he told the Third Prince of the Mizar Race earlier that if he rushed over, then he'd be missing out on the many beautiful views, what he really meant was, if he walked too quickly, he would've been unable to truly form an in-depth understanding of the Quasi-emperor's authority.

He finally arrived at the fourth checkpoint after an hour.

The guardians of the fourth checkpoint were three Peak Great Saints from the Four Stars Sect. They looked extremely wizened, as though they had crawled out of their graves, and their bodies swirled with an aura of decay. They looked like exact copies of each other—their sparse and dry white hair covered their dry scalps, and their skin was like a dried orange peel and was weathered with age. They looked as though they could be blown into dust by a gust of wind as they tottered unsteadily on their feet, unable to stand firmly in the midst of the billowing wind and snow. Even their clothes looked very ancient and were not from this era.

These were probably the so-called resources that the Four Stars Sect could have drawn on. They were old monsters who looked like they belonged to a bygone era.

Ye Qingyu did not understand why these old monsters were assigned to this checkpoint. Were they sent here to die? He could not sense any trace of energy that signified that they were stronger than the Third Prince of the Mizar Race or the Dragonblood War God on these three ancient Great Saints, who looked like they had just come out of self-imposed isolation. Their cultivation meant that they were probably only as strong as the highly-skilled knife expert from the second checkpoint, so they were not incredibly powerful either.

The experts who entered self-imposed isolation in a bid to extend their lifespan would find that they would enter a state of self-actualization after they emerged from their period of isolation. Even after they regained their strength, they would only have the energy to fight one last battle. And once their final battle ended, they would definitely perish regardless of the result of the battle.

Theoretically, it did not make sense for the Four Stars Sect to assign these kinds of experts to guard this checkpoint.

After all, these experts were like disposable consumables. Every time an expert was sent out, it meant that they would be down by one.

"Seniors, please let me pass." Ye Qingyu saluted them with both hands. After all, these were the ancestors of the Human Race. They were also ancient Great Saints who lived a thousand years ago, and they might have even once made contributions to the progress of the Human Race. Frankly, these wizened experts had very little to do with the current people in charge of the Four Stars Sect, so Ye Qingyu did not wish to spill the blood of heroes.

"Cough cough cough…" The elderly Great Saint standing in the middle of the trio coughed so hard that it seemed like he was about to cough his lungs out. He looked at Ye Qingyu as though he was looking at their glorious former selves from centuries ago, then he tottered unsteadily toward Ye Qingyu and said, "It's great to be young. Cough cough! We know who you are and admire you for your achievements, but unfortunately… Cough cough! we're already tired of living, and since there are others who want us dead, it would be an honor for us to die at your hands…"

He looked extremely miserable.

He was a hero who was past his prime.

His hair was like snow.

These three elderly men stood side by side in the snowstorm as though they were one entity. They reached back into the Void and suddenly three giant swords made of snow appeared in their hands.

"My brothers, we entered the Four Stars Sect together three thousand years ago and also reached the Great Saint realm together two thousand years ago. Together, we got rid of evil as countless foreign-race experts and nefarious characters were felled by our swords. We then decided to enter into self-imposed isolation together one thousand years ago. Today, we shall experience for ourselves the sword skills of the most outstanding Human Race expert of his generation!" the elderly man at the far left cried out passionately.

The moment these snow swords appeared in their hands, their stooping bodies immediately straightened up and they stood as upright as long spears. Their auras suddenly skyrocketed and all traces of decay and age vanished without a trace. They looked like they had been reborn as their white hair reverted to black, their sparse hair became abundant, their skin tightened, and their gazes became as sharp as swords.

Instantly, the trio turned from tottering elderly men into handsome young men, full of vitality.

They were all extremely handsome and elegant.

They were a trio of matchless swordsmen.

"After sleeping for one thousand years, I truly feel as though I've just crawled out from my grave. If I had known how evil this world would have become, I'd have chosen to die a thousand years ago," the elderly expert on the right said as he flicked his sword, which then released a long howl. He looked like a young man who was about to run wild.

"The Four Stars Sect is no longer the Four Stars Sect that we once knew. We're not only expendable but we would also become a hindrance to them if we continued to live." The swordsman in the middle was unable to hide the despair in his eyes. The hopelessness in his eyes was not just there because his life was about to come to an end, it also reflected how he felt about the current state of the world.

The swordsman on the left laughed loudly as his gaze fell on Ye Qingyu. He nodded approvingly and said, "Brother, the three of us have lived our lives to the fullest and we'll die with no regrets today. Furthermore, now that we've lived long enough to be able to witness the emergence of such an outstanding Human Race expert, who seems to be even more powerful than Li Xiaofei had been back then, why would we die with any regrets?"

"You're right. We'll die without regrets," the swordsman on the right said as his expression calmed and the wildness left his face.

The swordsman in the middle smiled and nodded. "Alright… young man, my brothers and I have developed our own set of sword techniques from the supreme sword manual of the Four Stars Sect—the [Four Stars Heavenly Jade Scriptures]. There are countless divine and mysterious techniques within the Four Stars Sect, but these techniques have all evolved from the [Four Stars Heavenly Jade Scriptures]. If you wish to go against that Quasi-emperor, then we'll have to see how much you'll be able to comprehend from our sword techniques."

Then, his snow sword shook.

Sword light filled the sky, then rained down on Ye Qingyu unstoppably.

The trio attacked at the same time.

Endless rays of sword light covered the sky and sword qi skyrocketed to the heavens.

Ye Qingyu did not dare to hesitate as he transformed the cold ice and green wind into two long swords to counter their attacks.

These three ancient experts of the Four Stars Sect were extremely skilled swordsmen of their era, and although they had been unable to become Emperors and had failed to draw on their way of the sword to reach the Quasi-emperor realm, even a Quasi-emperor might not be able to match their prowess in the way of the sword. By battling these masters, Ye Qingyu found his comprehension of the [War God Sword Mantras] improve tremendously.

Sword qi pervaded the surroundings.

Sword light pierced through the heavens.

This phenomenon persisted for an hour.

Suddenly, the sword light that had filled the air suddenly retracted.

These three master swordsmen retreated as one.

"Hahaha, I've slept for one thousand years for a battle like this. Great, this feels amazing."

"I've cultivated the way of the sword for four thousand years and once killed many enemies in dangerous situations. I was worried that I'd be unable to impart my knowledge, but today, I've finally found a successor. Hahaha, I've fulfilled my wishes and will die without regrets."

"Young man, you've already witnessed the mysteries of the sword method of the Four Stars Sect. It's up to you now to wield this knowledge effectively. The three of us have dedicated our entire lives to the way of the sword and had once dreamt of drawing on this sword method to become Emperors. Unfortunately, our efforts came to naught. We've done our research on you, and if we were to judge you purely based on your swordsmanship, we would consider you to be the best this world has to offer. Perhaps you might be able to achieve what the three of us have failed to do."

These three master swordsmen piped up one after another.

A terrifying change occurred after they spoke.

Their handsome and young bodies suddenly aged incredibly quickly and they instantly lost all their luster, collapsing like sand sculptures that had been blown by the wind. Their skin scattered across the sky, their hair fell off their heads, and the muscles in their bodies scattered like sand in the wind, revealing their bones underneath.

"If you are truly able to become an Emperor one day by drawing upon the way of the sword, then a tiny part of the Four Stars Sect would continue to live on."

The elderly man in the middle had turned into dust before he could complete his final sentence.

Ye Qingyu remained quietly where he was.

He had to pass through five checkpoints on the way to the peak. The first was the Third Prince of the Mizar Race; then the [Dragonblood War God]; followed by these three ancient experts of the Four Stars Sect… He had assumed that there would be enormous bloodshed and fierce battles to be fought, but now that things had turned out this way, he felt as though it was more taxing on his spirit rather than the fierce battles he had been expecting.

"Many thanks for your tutelage."

Ye Qingyu turned to the Void and bowed respectfully.

These three people had once been matchless swordsmen of their era but were now forced to be the guardians of a checkpoint by their own kind.

The people who had put them in this position only cared about their final value and merely wanted to send them to their deaths. It did not matter to these people whether these swordsmen lived or died since they would ultimately die anyway. These swordsmen were part of an alternative voice of the Four Stars Sect, and this was a voice that those who controlled the sect no longer wished to hear.

These three elderly men were forced to appear.

After all, they were forever recognized as disciples of the Four Stars Sect.

Some might have already forgotten the vows they had made when they first entered the sect four thousand years ago, but they had always kept their vows close to their hearts.

However, they used their swordsmanship skills to show that they were not on the side of the current Quasi-emperor of their sect and used their lives to prove their loyalty to their sect. More importantly, they showed through their actions that not all hope was lost for a top-level Human Race sect like the Four Stars Sect. At the very least, they had once been part of the golden age of the Human Race.

Most importantly, they displayed the true martial way of the Four Stars Sect through their swordsmanship skills.

This was what affected Ye Qingyu most.

How much boldness and courage did it take for them to do that?

Ye Qingyu suddenly felt more heartened about the fate of the Human Race.

Men could fall and so could entire sects.

If men could realize their mistakes and turn over a new leaf, then the same could happen to sects.

Ye Qingyu came to the sudden realization that it wasn't only the venerable and godly Li Xiaofei who guarded the morals of the Human Race, but there were also thousands of others who shared a similar mindset. He did not realize it before because he had yet to encounter these three venerable elderly men. The fact that he kept encountering evil characters did not mean that everyone in the world was evil. If he continued to walk forward, he would ultimately meet those who were upright and righteous.

These three seniors had torn a crack through the gloominess in his heart to reveal a tiny glimmer of sunlight.

A tiny part of the Four Stars Sect would live on!

I will.

Ye Qingyu made a silent promise to these three elderly men.

There were five checkpoints and he had already made his way past four.

There was one remaining checkpoint left.

Who could it be?

After Ye Qingyu finished bowing, he continued to make his way up the mountain path.

He could already make out the outline of the top of Capital Sky Peak in the distance.