Imperial God Emperor

‘If Heaven did not send Qin Ming, the ages would have been like a long night.’

When he first saw this sentence, Ye Qingyu did not understand its meaning.

However, he heard the Celestial Phoenix Maiden muttering frostily to herself, “The ages would have been dark? Hoho, this sentence is quite the assessment of the Lightning Emperor... I must say that he’s certainly worthy of it... Hoho, a person who can assess Qin Ming should at least be a martial emperor...  And these kind of words can only be written by a human, for Qin Ming isn’t thought of that highly by other races...”

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden spoke a lot this time.

She appeared to be saying all this for Ye Qingyu to hear.

The latter’s entire body jolted when he heard this and he understood at once.

‘If Heaven did not send Qin Ming, the ages would have been like a long night.’

If a First Human Emperor like the Lightning Emperor Qin Ming did not descend from the heavens, the long ages of the Human Race would indeed have been like a long night in which there was not a glimmer of light.

As the first of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Qin Ming had taken on a life of endless campaigns ever since he became the martial emperor, killing countless foes and adversaries on behalf of the Human Race. Like a mountain-splitting axe, he opened up a living space that belonged to the Human Race in this chaotic world one strike at a time.

Before this, the Human Race merely served as slaves and sacrifices, and could not even compare to crickets and ants. Even when a purely human domain was born every now and then, it would be colonized as soon as its coordinates were known, and the people would be sent to the slaughterhouses and mines... 

This life of campaigning had allowed the Lightning Emperor to overawe the past and present.

However, it also rendered his incomparably glorious era a short-lived one.

It must be understood that the martial emperor’s longevity greatly surpassed that of his contemporaries and was comparable to fiendgods. Unfortunately, over a life of campaigning throughout which he experienced countless battles and encountered countless terrifying enemies, he was injured time and time again and narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions. Despite his amazing cultivation as a martial emperor, the injuries eventually took a massive toll, causing his glorious era to last for only tens of thousands of years, after which he rapidly fell from imperial glory and went missing.

The first of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors was none other than the Lightning Emperor.

The name “Lightning” was not only because this human ancestor cultivated the way of the tempest and mastered the power of thunder and lightning, but more so because he allowed humans to rise up like a thunderstorm in the Vast Thousand Domains.

Ever since his reign, the Human Race stood tall among the myriad races and no longer served as slaves, commodities, or sacrifices.

The seven human martial emperors thereafter carried on his good work in succession and established a massive territory, allowing the Human Race to straighten its back and prosper like never before, thereby outshining the myriad races which trembled under its impressive might. The post-Fiendgod Age virtually became the Human Age.

Unfortunately, perhaps in fitting with that sentence, the Human Race then fell from its zenith. It never produced another martial emperor after the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and gradually sank into decadence and danger. The retaliation of enemy races robbed it of many territories and much wealth, causing heavy losses.

The fall of the imperial city and the banishments that took place represented the end of this glorious period.

After this, the myriad races contended for hegemony while the Human Race, whose yuan qi was badly injured, rehabilitated and licked its wounds. While it was a pity that no human martial emperor emerged thereafter, several Quasi-emperors did emerge, each of them a matchless talent. However, they were always that sliver of opportunity away from becoming a martial emperor.

The most archetypal example was Li Xiaofei.

This Quasi-emperor was the supreme demon-like talent who had the highest promise of becoming a martial emperor. Although he failed three successive times at getting through the pass of the martial emperor's road, he remained unhurt, with each attempt being more refined than the last. He thus could be said to be peerless among his generation.

It was a pity that, for reasons unknown, he never attempted to get through the pass of the martial emperor's road again. Instead, he chose to wander the world, and eventually, in order to find the secret ruins of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, he barged his way into the 18th district of the Black Demon Abyss and never appeared again, leaving behind only a gourd and a drop of blood...

Li Xiaofei was gone, save for a licorice gourd that carried his blood.

The Human Race long awaited the emergence of a second Lightning Emperor and the resurgence of a human tempest in the Vast Thousand Domains.

Therefore, when Ye Qingyu saw this sentence, he could not help becoming excited.

But he soon became puzzled once more.

Does this sentence on the giant tombstone imply that this is the tomb of the Lightning Emperor Qin Ming?

His heart sank.

Although the Lightning Emperor had not been seen for countless years, there had never been confirmation of his death. For this reason, many people firmly believed that he had misstepped but was hiding somewhere out there in this world, waiting for a chance to return to glory...

Moreover, his unknown whereabouts could be intended to frighten the foreign races and ensure that they did not act too harshly toward the Human Race via an invisible form of deterrence.

But if the Lightning Emperor was truly dead, then...

With a heavy heart, Ye Qingyu raised his head and looked at the words on the giant tombstone. Every word was engraved using great magical power and contained an extensive aura which imbued it with a sense of inviolability.

However, Ye Qingyu did not know why, at second glance, he suddenly felt that these words were rather familiar, like he had seen that handwriting and brushwork somewhere before.

Where have I seen this before?

Ye Qingyu was somewhat puzzled.

Just then, his peripheral vision skimmed over the area below the last word and spotted a motif. His entire body immediately turned stiff as he revealed a disbelieving look.

That motif... is the symbol of the Formation Emperor Luoso. Ah, I've seen it before in that suspicious palace. No wonder these words seem similar. If I'm not wrong, these words were written by His Highness Luoso.

Ye Qingyu suddenly became enlightened as he looked at the formation motif.

He could by now confirm that these large ancient characters were left behind by the Formation Emperor Luoso.

Given the latter's status and background, it was indeed understandable and befitting of him to write such words.

There was some history among these two martial emperors and Ye Qingyu.

He had entered the suspicious palace of the Formation Emperor and obtained a few inheritances and books, and also obtained the power of the chaotic thunder liquid from the Lightning Emperor. As a result, he had immense respect for them.

Given what he had seen so far here, he suddenly became calm and ceased regretting coming here.

Li Xiaofei's guess back then turned out to be right -  the 18th district indeed contained the ruins of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ye Qingyu badly wanted to venture below this giant tombstone and take a good look.

By this time, the Celestial Phoenix Maiden's mask returned to normal.

After glancing thoughtfully at Ye Qingyu without saying anything, she turned into a flowing light and flew in front of the giant black tombstone.

Ye Qingyu followed closely behind.

In his heart were riddles and worries, but still more, hope.

He arrived at the base of the giant tombstone in a twinkling.

It was as if a majestic ancient divine mountain was in front of him.

A fierce blackness bore down on him, full of a sense of oppression.

It seemed as though this giant black tombstone would collapse the very next moment and destroy the entire world.

What astonished Ye Qingyu like never before was a door he spotted at the base.

To be exact, it was something that seemed like a door.

It looked as if it was depicted with highly stereoscopic lines on the black rock using a carving knife. The door was ajar, leaving a half-palm-wide gap that revealed a bright luster. It was approximately two meters high and one meter wide, and could accommodate two people entering shoulder to shoulder.

There was a pool of blood right at the door.

A pool of black blood.

"Someone from the Black Demon Race was injured?" The Celestial Phoenix Maiden revealed a surprised look on her face as she crouched down slightly in front of this pool of black blood and examined very carefully. Eventually, she stood up thoughtfully and glanced at Ye Qingyu, saying, "Let's go. We'll be late if we waste any more time..."

Ye Qingyu, "..."

"Are we entering this door?" he asked.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden nodded. Then, as if she thought of something, said, "You should go first."

Seeing that her gaze was pure and bore no malice, Ye Qingyu walked toward the small and strange stone door while clutching the military medal.

The closer he got, the hotter the military medal became. It reached such a scorching hot extreme that he was practically holding a sun in his hand.

He inhaled a deep breath.

What exactly could be hiding behind the stone door of the tombstone?

A palace?

A grave?

A corridor?

While visualizing all of the possible scenes, he walked toward the door and inhaled another deep breath. Placing both of his palms on the door, he pushed it inward with all of his might.

Boom!

The entire black tombstone rumbled and shook.

It was as if a chain of mountains was collapsing.

However, the small stone door opened upon a gentle touch.

"Huh? What's going on..."

Ye Qingyu stared blankly in astonishment.

He had thought that it would require a force of at least three thousand tons to open the giant stone door. Instead, like a bamboo door in a farmyard, it opened upon a slight touch, revealing an opening which could accommodate two or three people walking side by side.

When the Celestial Phoenix Maiden behind him saw this scene, a hint of amazement flashed across her eyes.

Subsequently, the duo entered the tombstone through the stone door opening one after the other.

After entering the stone door.

Ye Qingyu suddenly felt his vision blur as an extremely strange power passed through his entire body.

The next moment.

Light was restored.

Opening his eyes wide, Ye Qingyu saw that he was standing stiffly on the same spot.

In front of him, a bright and radiant brilliance bore down on him.

His sight became clear again.

"How could... How could the interior of the giant tombstone be like this... Is this... a small world?"

He was wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

The gloomy and dark environment he had imagined did not transpire, and instead what he saw was a picturesque land of idyllic beauty.

He was standing on a hillside which was carpeted with green grass and luxuriant flowers.