Unbeatable! Invincible! Unparalleled!

"You are Na Zem Xi? Is it true that you are working under Duan Li?" Xu Rong doubtfully asked as she looked at the person in front of them with a frown .

"Y-Yes, I am him!" Na Zem Xi nodded with a little fluster before bowing a bit. "The Lord has tasked me with collecting treasures and antiques from ruins across the continent, and we managed to pinpoint a location with extreme value not too long ago, just that..."

"Just that?" Xu Rong said impatiently.

"The location cannot be traversed on foot nor by normal flight.. we need.. an Airship!" Na Zem Xi answered while feeling nervous.

Frankly, he had never thought that his 'Esteemed customer' that wanted to be identified as Elderly Junior turns out to be Duan Li. That was a name that resounded very clearly in his ears!

When he first received the task via Shen Lu and Guo He, he was surprised to learn of the name Duan Li in it. Being part of the Treasure Hunt Sect, he would be a total fool if he could not piece together Duan Li's name with the recent rumor of the newly appointed Imperial Overseer..

They both had the same name!

Thus, he swiftly went into action and resurrected the ancient sect he was in. After all, being directly commanded by the Imperial Overseer himself was a very tremendous honor!

That was why he went to extreme length to study all the places they've uncovered before to pinpoint their exact value, because he did not want Duan Li to be disappointed!

After reading through all the scrolls without sleep, he finally found one. The only problem that he faced was that the location was in the middle of the Great Yonglang River!

Specifically, it was an Island!

Although the name made it officially a river in view of the gargantuan size of the Tian continent as a whole, it was far more accurate to call it as the Eastern Sea of the Jiu Empire as it was tens of thousands kilometers wide!

Furthermore, normal flight method was close to impossible due to the Eastern Sea possessing its own harsh climate separate from the land.

Tropical cyclones and massive water sprouts were common sight, and that the tsunamis were said to be up to ten kilometers in height as well as colossal sea monsters that could instant kill even Nascent Soul realm experts!

Against such natural forces of disaster, the Treasure Hunt Sect would soon found their demise before even seeing the shadow of the Island if they were to fly there normally!

It would be an act of sure suicide!

"An island in the middle of the Eastern Yonglang Sea huh?" Xu Rong cupped her chin as she gave the matter a deep thought while closing her eyes after listening to Na Zem Xi's explanation.

"As far as I know, even an Airship would be unlikely to survive if it were to traverse deep across the Eastern Yonglang Sea.." Di Rou by the side said.

As a former close aide of the Emperor, she was well versed in the arsenals and methods of transportation in the Jiu Empire as well as their capabilities.

Even the rugged Phoenix Cradle used to transport military personnels during wartime would have trouble if it were to fly across the Eastern Yonglang Sea!

"I'm surprised that you know her to be the daughter of the Xu Clan Matriarch.." Xiahou Yu said as she stared at Na Zem Xi.

The Airships were exclusive property of the Xu Clan except those that were sold to the Jiu Empire, and there were many people unrelated to the Xu Clan in the Jiu Empire with their first name being Xu.

Hearing this, Na Zem Xi scratched his head feeling a little awkward before he answered, "Well, after I know that the Lord actually holds the highest position under the heavens of the Jiu Empire, I did my homework to study his followers.. so yeah.."

Xiahou Yu and the rest nodded. It made sense for the other party to do a background check on them since that was the case.

"Here is what I think.. we do have an airship that could traverse the Eastern Yonglang Sea with no problem, but there is no way that our Xu Clan would lend it to you." Xu Rong answered.

Na Zem Xi was disheartened by the answer before Xu Rong continued, "However, we do have a water transport that we have been developing in secret in the recent years."

"Xu Rong, you can't be meaning..." Di Rou frowned. The existence of the water transport the Xu Clan was developing was a secret of the Jiu Empire and shouldn't be mentioned carelessly.

"It's fine. It's only a finished prototype anyway and we have to test it sooner or later on how it could fare underwater.. since he is here, he could test the prototype for us." Xu Rong replied before turning to Na Zem Xi.

"We have what we call as.. a submarine!"

...

Inside the Imperial Palace of the Liu Empire located in the Ethereal Winter city, two figures could be seen staring at each other face to face with the atmosphere around them growing tension.

The Liu Emperor was a woman with majestic disposition similar to the Jiu Emperor. The lofty air exuded from her was cold but gentle like the calm breeze from the glaciers by the sea. Her long pale blue hair draped her shoulders down to her waist, and her Imperial robe was white gold indented with mysterious depictions of the history of the Liu Empire..

In essence, she was the core of the Liu Empire herself!

"Your Majesty..." Liu Sheng Duhai said worriedly.

He knew full well that their Emperor wasn't really keen on Duan Li no matter how legitimate Duan Li got his position from.

After all, the title of an Emperor was always crowned at the very top of the power ladder in every empire since time immemorial. It was a lofty position where one could command where the rain should fall!

Now, such privilege was dethroned by Duan Li, and although this did not affect any of the other Emperors, they still felt some of the ripple effect and their prestige as the Emperor being stained as a whole!

The Liu Emperor was also not an exception to this, thus she was a bit unfriendly with Duan Li the moment he and Shen Lu arrived.

"I heard that you are an exceptional individual, but... to think that you are this young. Do you really have what it takes to sit above the Emperor?" Liu Gongsun Xiaojian asked as she walked forward to meet Duan Li.

Normally, she would be sitting on her high throne upon meeting people, but it would be disrespectful to do the same with someone of Duan Li's status. So although she was a bit unfriendly, she was not hostile to Duan Li.

Realizing that the other party held no bad intentions to him, Duan Li scratched his head, "Well... I was actually, kinda forced by the Emperor.. because the Jiu Empire have some debts with me.. so.."

Hearing his answer, Liu Gongsun Xiaojian was agape for a moment.

That bastard!

He dared sold the seat like that!

I'll teach him the lesson when we meet the next time!

Hais!

Seeing the helpless sigh from the other party, Duan Li could only give a stifled chuckle.

They were both helpless with the way the Jiu Emperor does his things. But Duan Li could also not tell her that there was another reason to it;

The fact that it was all to save them 8 years later, this was a truth that he could not tell anyone carelessly!

"But I am really interested to affirm the rumors circulating that you defeated an immortal during your coronation? If not for my Imperial Advisor here witnessing it himself, I would not have believed even an ounce of it as the truth. Would you be willing to show me your true power?" the Liu Emperor said, her gaze full of force despite the gentle tone she was using.

Hais!

Liu Sheng Duhai cupped his forehead in a headache. He knew that unless Duan Li were to show her, she would remain forceful until the end.

"Your Majesty, I'm not saying that you are not a match for him.. but he really is in a different category!" he said, trying to convince the emperor.

After all, if Duan Li were to really unseal his cultivation aura here, he was a 100% confident that everyone would have to kiss the ground with their face!

Even their emperor would be no exception and all that would leads to would be humiliation!

"It's fine. You can start now." the Liu Emperor replied as she ignored him.

Seeing that the other party was adamant in her decision, Duan Li stared at her for a while before nodding.

"Very well!"

...