Chapter 2008 - Goodbye, Sun Emperor (1)

The blazing meteor split into three parts, falling apart in fragments. With the final strike, only Tianming knew who lived and who died. That roaring wave of a sword still hung over the heavens and earth like the soul of an emperor, its power unrivaled. As the sword pierced the ground, the mountains shook along with the hearts of people.

"Father.…" Qingyu didn't dare leave the tomb, as she wasn’t certain of the sun emperor’s death. When the enormous coffin crashed to the ground abruptly, all she could do was grab hold of Yin Chen to ask about Li Wudi.

“I am… not sure… about that… right now," Yin Chen helplessly said amid the chaos.

With red eyes and heart pounding against her chest, Qingyu clasped her hands together and prayed. Beside her, Lingfeng and the Soulfiend were both still unconscious. Despite being physically unharmed, their breaths were very weak. Whether or not the wounds on their souls would heal still remained a mystery.

At that moment, the force of the sword finally dissipated. A deep pit appeared in the center, at the bottom of which soil and rock had been reduced to ashes, revealing the shell of the Flameyellow Fusion Formation. It really was a gold and red ancient wonder. Inside the formation was a nova source grown to five times its original volume. On the surface of the formation, a huge gold and red coffin was almost forced into the celestial patterns. What was even more frightening was the gold and black sword pierced through the giant coffin. The tip of the sword had actually punctured the Flameyellow Fusion Formation. It was the Grand-Orient Sword and the Flameyellow Coffin.

Scorched black from head to toe, a young man trampled on the coffin, the Grand-Orient Sword in hand, his eyes like gold and black flames. Resonating with the world, he bore all of the luck and power of the entire sun. His pulse beat with the sun’s nova source and his each and every move could stir up a storm. It was the best proof that he had at least defeated the Flameyellow Coffin. More importantly, the attack he had used to defeat the coffin was the last strike of the Ninedragon Tribulation, an ancient technique born from the denizens of the Flameyellow Imperial Star. How could the Flameyellow Coffin be unaware that the young man shared a common origin with this world? Perhaps the Plundering Arm had awakened the memory of the divine artifact. At the time, the sky plunderers were distinguished guests that had been invited by the flameyellow divinities.

"The impetus of the sun has gathered around me. It’s the Flameyellow Imperial Star’s decision!" Sword in hand, Tianming looked ahead. Not far from him, a golden-haired man struggled to stand among the debris. His body was covered with bruises and cuts, blood dripping from his wounds. Despite stretching his body, he failed to clear the dark red portions of the Flint Infernal Pulse that corroded his wounds. It penetrated into his bones, burning his internal organs and even his brain.

"What’s this?!" He grit his teeth and looked up at Tianming with mixed feelings. With the impetus of the sun, Tianming was like the son of destiny. He had taken everything away from the sun emperor. The sun emperor had already had a premonition of this scene when the Flameyellow Coffin had failed to kill Tianming with his final blow, so he wasn’t as despondent as one would imagine.

"Cosmic impulses contain power greater than a grade-eight divine hazard's. There’s only one in the core of a deific-class nova source world.” Tianming pulled the Grand-Orient Sword from the Flameyellow Coffin. Like a subdued beast, the pierced coffin lay beneath his feet, too afraid to move. This ancient artifact wasn’t without dignity, but Tianming had used the flameyellow divinities’ sword art, owned the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, and was also a descendant of its creator.

"You’re merely a child. How do you know more than me?" Voice hoarse, the sun emperor shook his head.

"I’ve traveled around, and the universe is enormous, so of course I’ve seen more than you." Though Tianming spoke, he wasn’t idle. Transforming into a black shadow, he shot toward the sun emperor. The Grand-Orient Sword whizzed through the air, its Flint Infernal Pulse forming shockwaves. Although the sun emperor wanted to resist and escape, his body was severely injured so he was unable to dodge the attack. Tianming had lifebound beasts to block a fatal blow for him, but unfortunately, he didn't.

The sword pierced through the sun emperor’s torso. Eyes wide, he witnessed the sword-shaped symbol on the Grand-Orient Sword enter his body, invade his limbs, bones, and internal organs, then attach to his albi, which was equivalent to having a sword hang above every part of him. The process lasted about twenty breaths. Powerless to resist, he shook his head and took it all in with a bitter smile.

"Just be done with it. What’s the point of this? I’ve said it before—I regret nothing, as long as I’ve been defeated fair and square. I’ll be at peace even in death. I’ll have nothing to worry about if I leave the future of the celestial orderians to you. You’re a resolute man. You won’t treat them poorly!" he laughed. In the face of death, the sun emperor could still laugh. Why was he so callous? In such a situation, there were few who could laugh instead of begging for mercy on their knees.

"I understand now!" The sun emperor's laughter turned cold. "It looks like you’re still hopeful about my other self. Didn't I say it before? You can deprive me of everything I created, but I’ll make sure to leave you with a lasting regret. You can win, but your godfather must die." He shrugged, stretched out his hand, and patted Tianming on the shoulder. "Young man, you mustn’t be greedy. You can’t have all the good things. I’ve lost everything, but I can still hurt you and make myself happy. What do you think?"

Tianming drew his sword.

"Uh...." Crouching on the ground, the sun emperor covered his stomach with his hands as blood poured out, yet he laughed heartily. His laughter was harsh to the ear. Even if Tianming hacked him to death it would be useless, because the sun emperor’s soul was still in the coffin. Without this body, the sun emperor still had his red-haired clone. If Tianming were to also kill that clone, the sun emperor would be left with the coffin and he wouldn’t be able to do anything. It was indeed equivalent to death, but Li Wudi would still be gone. By using the Imperial Sword Prison on the sun emperor, Tianming could essentially kill him at any moment. Thus, he wouldn’t be concerned with the sun emperor any longer.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Tianming returned to the Flameyellow Coffin. There was still a man standing behind the coffin. He was also seriously injured. Through the messy red hair, his crimson eyes stared at Tianming. "It's me. You might as well do the same to this body. Don't just kill one. If you’re going to do it, hurry up. Don't be so indecisive. I’m annoyed just watching you. You’ve benefited from me, now kill me and get out of here. That’ll be the end of it." The red-haired man revealed a mocking smile. "So what if you’ve won? You can’t save him anyway." He seemed to accept the outcome. Even if he was defeated, Tianming would be devastated.

But amidst the laughter, the man’s expression froze. “Tianming." After a drastic change in his expression, he looked solemn. "Good job... I’ll take it from here. He’s fucked me over for so long. It's my turn now."

Tianming was stunned, then overjoyed. In truth, he wasn’t affected by the sun emperor’s words. Instead, he asked Yin Chen if Feng had regained consciousness. To his surprise, he finally heard Li Wudi’s voice.

"Godfather!" Patience and fortitude, followed by an explosive move and that cocky attitude—that was the real Li Wudi! Upon hearing his words, the golden-haired sun emperor’s expression turned ugly.