Chapter 1015: Becoming Emperor

The Thirty-Third Heavens, the Outer Heaven.

Li Xiaofei sat cross-legged, his eyes closed in silent meditation. His body seemed coated in flowing gold, faintly glowing with a divine luster. Golden radiance illuminated the vast emptiness around him like a blazing sun suspended in the void.

His aura continued to rise steadily, growing more formidable by the moment. Endless torrents of energy surged toward him in the ethereal realms beyond the sky. Faint whispers could be heard, like the murmuring of countless beings. The sound was vast and majestic, sacred and pure, encircling Li Xiaofei in reverence. Many were praising the deeds of Li Xiaofei across several Earth-like planes.

Countless people whispered his name on the distant green continent. After he had overturned the martial arts experts of the immortal sects, statues of Li Xiaofei had long been carved and erected. These people worshipped him day and night, venerating this divine figure sent from the heavens.

Likewise, dozens of experimental continents controlled by the Reapers followed suit. On the human-occupied planets within the Ancestor Court star system, thanks to the efforts of Zhu Zhixun and the support of Brother Ji, Li Xiaofei's name had become a household name.

The more people called upon the name of Li Xiaofei, the more miracles occurred. Whenever someone found themselves in danger and prayed devoutly, golden or silver streams of light would descend from the sky, transforming into shields to protect them.

Thus was born the title: Guardian.

Gradually, even the Reapers came to know the name of the Guardian, Li Xiaofei.

From their initial disdain, to growing surprise, to utter shock, and eventually disbelief...

“A new Emperor is about to emerge among the human race,”

So spoke a prophecy, echoed from within the Reapers' Ancestor Court.

This was by no means good news to the Reaper race. Many Reaper nobles felt the suffocating pressure of an approaching storm. With the sudden shift in the cosmic balance, the Reapers' situation deteriorated rapidly.

Yet at this critical moment, the Ancestor Court, on which they had pinned all their hopes, remained silent with no specific directives. Neither the Ancestor of Wisdom nor the Ancestor of Strength made any public appearances.

Many Reapers initiated petitions, hoping that at least one of these supreme leaders would emerge to turn the tide, just as they had in the past.

But their hopes were destined for disappointment. The disciples of the Ancestor of Wisdom remained obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of evolution.

To them, evolution was the sole meaning of existence. Nothing else, not even the explosion of a star before their eyes, could distract them in the slightest.

In the depths of the universe, a handsome man holding a long spear sensed the shifting tides of cosmic law. A flicker of astonishment crossed his face before it gave way to deep respect.

“There is no greater courage than offering oneself as the price,” he sighed.

Somewhere within the Void Realm, a free-spirited Sword Immortal’s widened in surprise.

“That kid... actually chose such an Emperor’s path?”

Within the Burial Sea, deep inside the Dragon Palace, Priestess Qin let out a sigh.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Binding himself to the human race? A path riddled with flaws, yet a sacrificial road no one else dared to walk. I hope your choice proves right.”

In a mysterious void, a faint sense stirred within a man in a blue robe who suppressed ten thousand demons with twin blades of gold and silver. A smile curved his lips.

“As expected, he is truly the one who possesses the greatest wisdom and courage.”

In the very heart of a vast horde of Void Beasts, a young man with a roguish charm and a crown upon his head rubbed the head of a massive black dog.

“He actually chose that path? That kid is insane... even crazier than you.”

“Woof,” the big black dog barked quietly.

Time flowed on. The years passed like fleeting shadows. The war across the universe raged ever more fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had gone by. The Reapers' situation had grown increasingly dire. They had been utterly crushed on the Star Battlefield. The remnants of their forces had retreated into the Ancestor Court star system.

Yet even the Ancestor Court was no longer secure. The flames of rebellion blazed ever higher, ever hotter. Countless enslaved humans had awakened to their desire for freedom and had taken up arms to join the resistance.

At least one-fifth of all life-bearing planets had now fallen under the control of the human resistance forces. Meanwhile, the victorious human army from the Star Battlefield had launched an assault on the Ancestor Court system. They were on the verge of joining forces with the resistance already within.

The fallen, degenerate Reaper nobles had no strategy to counter this tide.

In the Heavenly Realm, in the Heaven Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, countless streaks of divine light shot forth from every direction in the void. They transformed into scales of golden light, merging one after another into Li Xiaofei’s body.

The aura radiating from Li Xiaofei had continued to rise throughout these ten years. With every golden scale that entered his body, his pressure grew stronger. Now, he shone like a blazing sun, emitting divine radiance too blinding to behold, turning the entire Heaven Beyond Heaven into a golden domain.

Even quasi-Emperors could not glimpse what was happening within.

He exhaled. “Huu—”

The wind stirred with thunder.

He inhaled. “Hmm—”

The world fell utterly silent.

With each breath Li Xiaofei took, the laws of existence were born and destroyed, and all creation rose and decayed.

Time flowed on. Li Xiaofei slowly opened his eyes. His left eye was gold. His right eye was silver. Phosphorescent lights rotated within them; one clockwise, the other counterclockwise.

Li Xiaofei breathed gently, as if sensing and absorbing something profound. The path to becoming an Emperor that he had chosen was simple.

He would gather the faith of all living beings, and turn that into the glory of his Emperor’s ascension. In other words, he had inextricably bound his martial arts journey to the fate of the human race.

If the human race flourished, he would flourish. If the human race perished, he would perish.

This Emperor's path looked like a shortcut. Many had considered it before, but none had chosen it. Countless quasi-Emperors, after deep contemplation, had abandoned this path.

Cultivating martial arts was meant to be a pursuit of transcendence. Especially those who sought ultimate strength did not wish to entrust their cultivation to the will or fate of others. Even if the path to becoming an Emperor remained faint and uncertain, they would rather not walk this particular road.

Yet Li Xiaofei had chosen it without hesitation. It was not because he had no other options. On the contrary, with his martial arts talent and aptitude, becoming an Emperor was merely a matter of time. If he had followed a conventional path, one day he would have undoubtedly left his mark on the Emperor's road.

But that would require time. And Li Xiaofei had long sensed that the final battle was drawing near. Time had become the most extravagant of luxuries.

If he failed to ascend to Immortal Emperor before the Oblivion Cataclysm truly erupted, then everything would be for nothing. Even if he survived and reached Immortal Emperor afterward, the greater situation would already be beyond saving.

Since that was the case...

He would wager everything.

Countless golden scales merged fully into his body.

Li Xiaofei suddenly rose to his feet and the Heaven Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens trembled in response.

An overwhelming pressure, like the tides of the universe, surged outward from Li Xiaofei in all directions. It swept across Heaven, then surged wildly throughout the entire universe.

In that instant, even those who had only just begun to walk the path of martial arts felt the disturbance in the heavens and earth.

It was a sensation that words could not describe. It was as if a divine being had been born, and from the heavens, looked down with benevolence upon all living things.

A wild burst of laughter rang out from beneath the storm-lashed cliffs of the Void Realm. A young man who had been fishing grinned with delight.

“He did it.”

He was thrilled. With a flick of his rod, a plump, fat fish flew out of the pool, despite it being a season when such fish shouldn’t exist.

He packed up his fishing gear and rose to leave. The prologue of the final chapter was finally about to begin.

On that day, Li Xiaofei crossed through time, passed through wind and rain, and achieved the Way in a single night.

He transcended the realm of quasi-Emperors.

And became an Emperor.