Imperial God Emperor

Ye Qingyu was not surprised. 

He had already figured out that the Sky Emperor could control large hordes of beasts when he realized that the Sky Emperor could control the Invaders and the beast hordes. After the [Ghostly Gate] opened, the creatures that charged out were like the large skeletons that had charged out from the tombstones at the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss. They weren't as strong as the ancient ancestors individually, but they were more numerous in quantity and they were comparable to experts of the fake Emperor realm. They burst forth like a black tidal wave; at first glance, they seemed like an army of ants. 

Under the control of the Sky Emperor, these black skeletons moved like an army in an orderly manner, covering heaven and earth as they charged toward Ye Qingyu. 

"You're not the only one who knows how to rely on winning by numbers," Ye Qingyu said with a cold scoff and exerted his occult technique. Then, the [Cloud Top Cauldron] spun around slowly; wisps of light swirled around another painting on its walls, and this painting started to emit a yellow mist that spread across the area like a large fog. The beat of ancient battle drums could be heard from the fog as it started to bubble and expand, as though something was about to emerge from it. 

The Sky Emperor was shocked for he realized that the drumming sounds from the mist were the military drums that used to echo throughout the various divine courts during the ancient and pre-archean ages. 

Military drums! 

These were the drums of seasoned soldiers. 

The military drums signified that the strongest battle division from the ancient times was about to emerge. 

These battle drums were the beat that soldiers of the divine court had marched to as they vanquished their enemies, and these soldiers had emerged victorious from every battle. Later, after the Divine Light Emperor established the Divine Light Court, the soldiers from his court had adopted these military drums and drawn on their underlying significance. Each time the military drums boomed, the soldiers would feel more motivated, their energy would increase, and their courage would surge, enabling them to overcome all fear and experience a surge in combat strength. 

After that fateful battle, the Divine Light Emperor had gone missing, the Divine Light Court collapsed, while its divine army scattered in all directions. Millions of other forces had risen and fallen over time, but none of these forces had come even close to having the resources to beat the rhythm of these military drums. Not even the Guardians' camp had this ability. Thus, this sound was not heard in that world for the longest period of time. 

Now, he could clearly tell that the military drums that sounded from the yellow fog were indeed the same drums that had disappeared for millions of years. 

"Attack!" 

The voice seemed to come from an ancient past. 

Suddenly, the yellow fog parted and brass divine soldiers riding metallic heavenly horses rode out from within. 

One, two, three... 

Ten... 

A hundred... 

The metallic heavenly horses all gleamed with silver light and the divine soldiers were all clad in heavy brass armor; they charged out from the painting on the [Cloud Top Cauldron] and formed a tidy formation. They continued trotting out from the painting endlessly, as though there was no end to their numbers, and they were like a silver torrent that trampled the void open wherever they passed. 

As the military drums sounded, these divine soldiers completely defeated the deadly creatures. 

What had started as a battle between the Sky Emperor and Ye Qingyu had turned into a massacre involving two armies with thousands of soldiers and horses. Neither the deadly creatures nor the divine soldiers battle division were living, breathing creatures, and while the battle between two supreme individuals earlier had caused a part of the time and space torrent to disappear, forming a true vacuum, the battle between two large armies seemed even more fiercely fought than battles among intellectual creatures. Countless figures entered the battlefield like meat rolling into a mincer; they rapidly fell, died, and broke apart... 

The beat of the military drums, the growls from the battle, and angry yells sounded... 

Figures could be seen falling one after another and they were quickly replaced by others. 

The Sky Emperor had once commanded battle divisions within the Divine Court, had been through countless battles, controlled strong armies, and taken charge of a battlefield. He was incredibly experienced in the art of commanding armies and had powerful leadership skills; he controlled these deadly creatures effortlessly, and his military formations charged and attacked, countered when they fell into the enemies' formation, and lured the enemy deeper into their territory. The Sky Emperor skilfully maneuvered the battle formation, in a way that creatures oblivious to battle formations behaved like a well-disciplined army under his leadership. 

The Sky Emperor was like a War God. 

His military prowess far surpassed that of the War God of the Dragon Human Race, Xu Wuya, who was known as one of the five main War Gods of the Vast Thousand Domains. 

Ye Qingyu had almost no experience in this area. 

He could use his supreme cultivation's perceptiveness to detect the changes in battle formations, but he could not determine what was the most suitable and accurate way of countering this, neither did he know how to control those divine soldiers. 

However, there were military drums. 

The ancient and bleak military drums rang out from the yellow mist. The drumbeats would change, but each time the military drums echoed, these soldiers would rearrange and change their formations. Each time they changed, they targeted the Sky Emperor's soldiers and each time they acted, it was extremely profound. No matter how the Sky Emperor's brilliant army tried to counter, they were completely ineffective and even suffered heavy losses... 

The military drums seemed to have a mind of their own. 

Half a day later. 

The deadly creatures were on the verge of collapse. 

The Sky Emperor could no longer contain his shock. 

He knew that his military tactics were matchless in this world, so how did the military drums manage to defeat him despite his brilliant strategies? Moreover, the sounds that these military drums were making had died out a long, long time ago, but he could vaguely make out that the rhythm to which the drums were beating to bore some similarities to the battle drums of the Divine Light Court... Could there be someone who used to be part of the Divine Light Court behind these drums? 

Or could this person be within the [Cloud Top Cauldron]? 

That man was the only person who was a better military strategist than him. 

How could this be? 

How could Ye Qingyu be so familiar with the mysteries of that bronze cauldron and how did he manage to control it? 

The Sky Emperor suddenly had a bad feeling about this. 

The deadly creatures had been utterly defeated and beat a hasty retreat. Finally, the divine soldiers chased these creatures back into the [Ghostly Gate]. The large [Ghostly Gate] was also completely destroyed... 

Rousing cheers rang out from the battlefield. 

Countless divine soldiers raised their dragon spears high. 

Then, they transformed into wisps of bright yellow mist and disappeared in the void. 

A tremendous amount of energy was required to sustain these thousands of soldiers and horses from the painting on the walls of the cauldron and it was also taking a toll on Ye Qingyu. He quickly retracted his energy before he completely exhausted himself. 

The sounds of the military drums disappeared. 

"Who are you?" the Sky Emperor looked at Ye Qingyu in surprise and shock, "Are you the successor he handed his legacy to, after several generations? Or are you his descendant?" 

"You'll never find out," Ye Qingyu said as he raised his sword once more. 

Frankly, he didn't know the answer to this himself. 

Evidently, he wasn't the successor who the Divine Light Emperor had chosen to hand his legacy to, but as for whether or not he was a descendant of the Divine Light Emperor... he wasn't sure of that himself, because his background was still a mystery to him. 

"I'll be able to find out everything once I capture you and search your soul," the Sky Emperor said as he held his [Ghostly Blade] with both hands. He raised it high above his head and the dark blue flames traveled down the blade to his hands, arms, shoulders, and instantly covered his entire body. His figure started to change like melted wax. Finally, he transformed into a gigantic dark blue blade that was several tens of thousands meters tall. 

It was a giant [Ghostly Blade]. 

He had transformed his body into a saber. 

He had become one with his blade! 

"With this blade, I will crush the reincarnation cycle and everything under the sky will be in the palm of my hand... [God-killing Slash]!" 

The gigantic blade let out loud and metallic clanging sound and its powerful saber aura exploded out of it. This aura transformed into a ray of flowing light that hurtled toward Ye Qingyu. 

Ye Qingyu could sense how terrifying this attack was from a distance of several thousand meters away. 

The [God-killing Slash] was the most powerful move of the Sky Emperor's soul. 

The honorific title of the Divine Light Emperor had been 'god' and this attack named '[God-killing Slash]' was the most powerful attack the Sky Emperor had painstakingly created after he went to the dark side. This was the strongest trump card he had invented as a safety measure, in case he ever ran into the Divine Light Emperor again in the future. He now felt threatened by Ye Qingyu's prowess and thus he immediately used this move in hopes that the battle would end quickly. 

Ye Qingyu felt as though his body was about to shatter and break apart. 

"[Cloud Top Cauldron]... power of life... One slash from the [Life Sword]!" Ye Qingyu said as he slashed out with his sword. 

The [Cloud Top Cauldron] floated in the void and protected his body, his [Blood Drinker Sword] sent out its most powerful attack, his [Limitless Divine Way] and the sword will from his [Life Sword] immediately unleashed their strongest power, and the life force in his body circulated frantically. This was the moment that he unleashed his strongest attack. 

A huge ray of sword radiance slashed past the void and clashed against the saber radiance from the [God-killing Slash]. 

Rumble!

The torrent of time and space shook violently. 

Ye Qingyu suddenly sensed imminent danger approaching after these two attacks collided against each other. 

"Oh no..." 

He suddenly realized that his strongest attack that had been hastily pieced together with his major trump cards might not be comparable to the [God-killing Slash] that the Sky Emperor had spent millions of years perfecting. 

He was about to hastily exert the one hundred and eight ancient characters to activate the [Cloud Top Cauldron], change to a defensive stance, and pray that the [Cloud Top Cauldron] would be able to handle the strength of this terrifying attack when suddenly, the World Tree that had been quiet in his dantian world started to frantically wave its leaves around as though it had received a stimulant, and exuded an invincible power of life. 

This power immediately spread all over his body and even spilled out into his surroundings. 

"One Slash from the [Life Sword]!" 

He suddenly felt more powerful than ever and this instinctive need to battle immediately prevailed over logic as he slashed out with his sword once again. 

Rumble!

A terrifying sword radiance hurtled across the void and effortlessly destroyed the dark blue saber radiance of the [God-killing Slash]. 

"No...!" the Sky Emperor cried out in despair and rage. 

He could no longer sustain the form of the [God-killing Slash] and reverted back into his dark blue soul state that had a human appearance. Ye Qingyu's sword will circled all around him and madly hacked at him like countless small swords, slowly chipping away at his soul. No matter how he struggled and attempted to use many mysterious and divine techniques to defend himself, he was as helpless as a deer that had fallen into a trap; all his efforts were to no avail in the face of such an absolutely terrifying power. 

"How could this be?" the Sky Emperor was unable to accept this fact. 

The tables had turned on him instantly. 

He saw the shadow of death loom over him. He had once imagined his own death, but he could not accept that he had fallen to a kid who had risen much later in the world, and not to his lifelong enemy nor to the man he both respected and hated the most in his life. He couldn't bring himself to accept this fate, he just couldn't!