97: Chapter 97: The Emperor's Way

High above the Tianyuan Arena, the announcement from the eye of destiny still echoed across the sixty-seven star sectors.

But no one could hear clearly what it was saying anymore.

Because the attention of thirty-two trillion viewers was pinned to their seats by the same image.

Su Bai wins.

Shen Zhao loses.

If you're bad, practice more.

That mouth shape was captured by the eye of destiny's high-definition lens and projected simultaneously onto every light screen, seen clearly by thirty-two trillion people across sixty-seven star sectors and twelve thousand four hundred provinces.

After three seconds of silence, the public opinion sphere of the entire Great Xia Kingdom exploded.

Tianshu Star Sector, Zhongzhou Province.

The viewing platform of the Di Family ancestral land was located on the top floor of Zhongzhou Province's tallest building, "Tianque." At an altitude of over ten thousand meters, a churning sea of clouds lay beneath their feet while a brilliant starry sky stretched overhead.

There were only three people on the viewing platform.

Di Wudao sat in the central seat. There was no light screen before him, only a cup of tea that had already gone cold.

He wasn't watching the match.

Because he didn't need to.

Inside his world core, the twelve main gods of the Mythology World were chanting in low voices. That sound crossed the world barriers and echoed within his consciousness. Every line of the chant was like a hammer, striking his soul and forging his will.

“Young Master,” an old servant behind him spoke softly, “the first round has ended.”

“Mm.”

“Shen Zhao lost.”

Di Wudao picked up the teacup, took a sip of the cold tea, and said nothing.

“The one who beat him is named Su Bai. Tianxuan Star Sector, Qinglin Province. His world type is a Yin Qi World, Rank 6. In less than half an hour, he crushed Shen Zhao's Incense Divine Kingdom.”

Di Wudao's movements paused slightly.

“Incense Divine Kingdom?” His voice was very low, sounding as if it were squeezed from his chest. “The Shen Family's Incense Divine Kingdom, the one passed down for eleven generations?”

“Yes.” The old servant's voice was calm. “Five Rank 6 deities and three million believers were defeated head-on by the opponent's Hero Unit. The God of War, God of Agriculture, and God of Water were slain. The God of Plague was taken into some kind of punishment space by the opponent, and the main god was obliterated with a single sword strike. The entire process took less than thirty minutes.”

Di Wudao set down his teacup.

“What is the opponent's Hero Unit?”

“Public records show it is called the ‘Ghost King,’ at the peak of Rank 6, wielding what is suspected to be a rule-level weapon. The battle recording has been sent over.”

The old servant raised his hand, and a light screen unfolded before Di Wudao.

In the footage, the Ghost King hovered in the void, with the towering phantom of Ghost Gate Pass behind him. Golden vertical pupils looked down upon all living things. Eerie blue light on the ghost king sword intertwined with gray-white Yin Qi. With one downward slash, the main god's body was cleaved in two.

Di Wudao watched the recording and remained silent for a long time.

“What is his world called?”

“Hell.”

“Hell...” Di Wudao softly repeated the word, the corners of his mouth curling up into an extremely subtle arc. “Interesting.”

He stood up and walked to the edge of the viewing platform, overlooking the churning sea of clouds below.

“Send people to investigate,” he said. “I want to know all the data on this Su Bai. Awakening time, growth trajectory, details of every battle, and the abilities of every Hero Unit. Everything.”

“Yes.”

“Also,” Di Wudao paused, “tell the family that I want to face him in the finals.”

The old servant looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Di Wudao had never said “I want to face him” about any opponent.

It had always been “They are not worthy.”

“Yes.” The old servant lowered his head.

Tianquan Star Sector, Guixu Province, Ye Family ancestral land.

Ye Qingxue stood by an ancient well, looking down at her reflection in the water.

She had just finished watching the recording of Su Bai and Shen Zhao's battle.

Not once.

But seven times.

The first time, she watched the overall battle situation. The second time, she watched every move of the Ghost King. The third time, she watched the infiltration route of Black and White Impermanence. The fourth time, she watched how Ox-Head and Horse-Face escorted the God of Plague. The fifth time, she watched the coordinated combat of the five major races. The sixth time, she watched the collective prayer of the human civilization. The seventh time, she watched Su Bai.

From beginning to end, Su Bai had not moved a single finger.

He hadn't issued a single explicit command, hadn't personally intervened, and hadn't shown any expression.

He just stood there, watching his heroes tear his opponent to pieces.

“This person...” Ye Qingxue said softly, her left eye pitch black as ink and her right eye pure white as snow. “Just how much is he hiding?”

Behind her, an old woman's voice sounded: “Miss, the Family Head says this Su Bai is not worth paying attention to.”

Ye Qingxue did not speak.

In her Chaos World, countless Chaos Beasts were slumbering. Those beings, condensed from pure Chaos Power, each possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth.

But she knew that Chaos Power might not necessarily be able to suppress Yin Qi.

Because Yin Qi was neither order nor chaos.

It was death.

It was the end.

It was the final destination for all living beings.

“Tell the Family Head,” Ye Qingxue said softly, “I want all the information on this person. Also, if he enters the finals, I want to have a match with him.”

The old woman was stunned.

“Miss?”

Ye Qingxue did not explain, only looking down at her reflection in the well.

In those heterochromatic eyes, a gray-white world was reflected.

Tianji Star Sector, Liehuo Province.

Yan Pojun stood in the world pod, having just finished his first-round match.

His opponent had been a mechanical civilization, which was burned into a pile of scrap metal by his one hundred and twenty thousand Flame Warriors. The entire process took less than ten minutes.

Just as he was about to leave the world pod, his communicator suddenly vibrated.

It was a push notification.

[Shocking Upset! Su Bai from Qinglin Province, Tianxuan Star Sector, Crushes Shen Zhao from Kaiyang Star Sector in Thirty Minutes!]

Yan Pojun raised an eyebrow and clicked on the video.

After watching it, he grinned.

“This Ghost King is intense!” He slapped his thigh. “Slaying a main god with one sword, how satisfying!”

Outside his world pod, a burly middle-aged man was waiting for him. That was the president of the Liehuo Province Creator Association and Yan Pojun's father, Yan Lie.

“Finished watching?” Yan Lie asked.

“Finished.” Yan Pojun stepped out of the world pod. “This Su Bai has some skill.”

“Do you think you can win if you meet him?”

Yan Pojun thought for a moment and answered seriously: “I don't know. But his Ghost King is very strong; my Fire God might not be able to suppress it. His Yin Qi is countered by my flames, but the quality of his Hero Units is too high. A peak Rank 6 Ghost King, plus those Ox-Head and Horse-Face who can drag deities into hell, and those two Impermanences who can infiltrate three million believers for silent harvesting...”

He paused, a hint of battle intent flashing in his eyes.

“But if I meet him, I will give it my all.”

Yan Lie looked into his son's eyes and nodded.

“Then fight well. The second round of matching is about to start.”

Tianxuan Star Sector, Qinglin Province.

Unlike the calm analysis of the major families, the celebration in Qinglin Province was frantic.

On the central avenue of the Chu Family Main City, thirty million people flooded the streets. No one organized it, no one directed it; everyone gathered spontaneously, holding up Su Bai's name and shouting Qinglin's slogans.

The alcohol in the bars was drunk dry, the fireworks in the stores were emptied out, and even the musical fountain in the square was changed to gray-white lighting.

Because someone had hacked into the municipal system and changed the fountain's colors from rainbow to gray-white.

“Gray-white! The color of Hell!”

“Long live Su Bai! Long live Qinglin!”

“If you're bad, practice more! Hahahahaha!”

In the crowd, a youth wearing a school uniform was being jostled around, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

His name was Zhou Ming, a senior at Qingshi City No. 1 Middle School and Su Bai's junior.

Two months ago, when Su Bai was mocked by everyone at the awakening ceremony, he had been there. He remembered that thin youth standing in the awakening formation as a gray-white world appeared before him, with nothing in it.

The entire venue had roared with laughter.

“A trash world!”

“A Yin Qi World? What can this thing evolve? Ghosts?”

“Hahaha, another one just to make up the numbers.”

Zhou Ming still remembered those laughs.

Because he had been laughing too.

It wasn't a malicious laugh, but simply laughing along with everyone else. At the time, he felt that this senior was truly pitiful, having awakened the most useless world and surely destined for a mediocre future.

Now, standing in the torrent of thirty million people and looking at Su Bai's name on the light screen, his eyes grew red.

“Senior...” He clenched his fists. “I'm about to awaken my world too. Even if it's the most useless one, I want to be like you and turn it into the strongest.”

Behind him, countless students from Qingshi City No. 1 Middle School were making the same gesture.

Clenching their fists.

Looking at that name on the light screen.

Silently repeating the same phrase in their hearts:

“A trash world can also defy the heavens.”