97: Chapter 97 It is impolite not to reciprocate!

"You, you..."

The Sovereign's voice trembled, his eyes filled with despair.

Shen Qingyuan no longer looked at him, raising his head as his gaze landed on that pitch-black crack.

Within the crack, that pair of silver-white vertical pupils was staring right back at him.

Their eyes met.

"Is it you?"

Shen Qingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

He recognized it.

He had seen these eyes in the footage he witnessed within the secret realm core.

The powerhouse from the Upper Realm who had battled Emperor Tianxuan in the starry sky back then was this very "Emperor" before him.

Although he could not see the face clearly, he would not mistake those silver-white vertical pupils.

"You recognize me?"

The Emperor also spoke, his voice hoarse and low, carrying a hint of surprise.

Shen Qingyuan's lips curled slightly: "I do not. But I have seen you exchange blows with Emperor Tianxuan."

The Emperor was silent for a moment, a strange look flashing through those silver-white vertical pupils.

"You must have seen it from the secret realm core left behind by Tianxuan."

Speaking of this, his tone turned colder, carrying an intense pressure, "How dare you meddle with what I have planned and ruin my great undertaking!"

A cold light flashed through the Emperor's silver-white vertical pupils.

"Do you think that just because you have achieved a Breakthrough to the Emperor Realm, you can oppose me?"

His voice suddenly became chilling.

"I have cultivated for one hundred thousand years, slaughtered Emperors, destroyed ancient powers, and massacred all living things. You, a mere newly ascended Emperor, dare to act arrogantly before me?"

Before the words had even faded—a blinding blood-red light erupted from the crack!

The blood light was as intense as fresh blood, illuminating the entire great hall!

An arm reached out from the crack.

The arm was as pale as paper, devoid of any color, and its surface was covered in dense, blood-red runes. Those runes were profound and complex, with some kind of pattern faintly circulating within them, emitting an eerie aura that made one's heart palpitate.

The five fingers spread open, reaching out to grab Shen Qingyuan!

This grab, while seemingly casual, carried the power to destroy the heavens and the earth!

Wherever it passed, the Void Realm collapsed, time twisted, and even the Laws of Karma experienced a brief disturbance under this grab!

The Sovereign collapsed onto the ground, watching that arm, his entire body trembling.

He could clearly feel that the power contained within that arm was even more terrifying than the Emperor Realm pressure Shen Qingyuan had displayed earlier!

"The Emperor has struck... The Emperor has personally struck..."

His voice trembled, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"Even if you have achieved a Breakthrough to the Emperor Realm, so what? Before the Emperor, you are still but an ant!"

However—Shen Qingyuan did not even move.

He simply raised his hand, his slender fingers gripping lightly into the void.

A long sword appeared out of thin air in his hand.

The sword was three feet three inches long, pitch-black like ink, with a slender blade. The edge gleamed with a cold, frigid light, and a dark red gemstone was embedded in the hilt, with blood-colored light faintly circulating within it.

heaven-slaying sword.

Supreme Emperor Weapon!

Since obtaining this Emperor Weapon, this was the first time Shen Qingyuan had taken it out to use.

Once this sword appeared, the temperature of the entire underground palace seemed to plummet. An incomparably sharp Sword Intent permeated the air, slicing through the Spiritual Qi and causing fine cracks to appear even in space itself.

"A Supreme Emperor Weapon?"

The Emperor's voice came from the crack, carrying a hint of astonishment.

Emperor Weapons also have levels of strength, and the word "Supreme" indicates that a Supreme Emperor Weapon is a top-tier existence among Emperor Weapons.

Experts in the Emperor Realm all forge Emperor Weapons, and Supreme Emperor Weapons are the weapons of top-tier Emperor Realm experts.

He did not expect that a Cultivator who had just achieved a Breakthrough to the Emperor Realm could casually produce a Supreme Emperor Weapon!

Despite being somewhat surprised, the Emperor still did not take Shen Qingyuan too seriously.

"Do you think that with just an Emperor Weapon, you can injure me?"

Shen Qingyuan did not speak.

He simply gripped the heaven-slaying sword in his hand, and the vast, ocean-like Emperor Realm Spiritual Qi within his body surged violently, pouring into the blade.

"Hum—"

The heaven-slaying sword suddenly erupted with blinding black light!

The black light was as intense as ink, yet it lost none of its sharpness. The dark red gemstone on the sword seemed to come alive, emitting an eerie light.

A Sword Intent, ten times, a hundred times more terrifying than before, swept out from the sword!

The entire underground palace shook violently. The formation patterns on the walls began to shatter, the ground cracked into bottomless fissures, rocks flew, and dust filled the air!

The Sovereign's face turned deathly pale, his entire body pinned to the ground by that Sword Intent, unable to even lift his head.

"W-what kind of sword is this?!"

His voice trembled, his eyes filled with horror.

He had lived for thirteen thousand years and had seen countless Emperor Weapons; he had even personally used the tianyuan sword of Emperor Yuanlian.

But compared to this sword before him, those Emperor Weapons were simply scrap metal!

The aura emitted by this sword was more terrifying than any Emperor Weapon he had ever seen!

Even—it was more than one level stronger than Emperor Yuanlian's tianyuan sword!

The Emperor also felt that something was wrong.

Those silver-white vertical pupils narrowed slightly, staring fixedly at Shen Qingyuan.

"This is definitely not the strength one should have after just entering the Emperor Realm..."

His voice remained hoarse, but with a bit more caution.

"This is... a High-level Emperor?!"

Before the words had finished, Shen Qingyuan had already moved.

He took a step, his figure appearing like a ghost before that pale arm, the heaven-slaying sword sweeping out horizontally!

This sword strike, seemingly simple, contained the full strength of Shen Qingyuan's Ninth-Level Emperor Realm, as well as the terrifying power of the heaven-slaying sword as a Supreme Emperor Weapon!

The sword light was like a bolt of silk, pitch-black as ink. Wherever it passed, the Void Realm completely collapsed, revealing a patch of pitch-black Void Space, and even light was swallowed!

"Slash!"

Shen Qingyuan gave a soft shout, and the sword light had already slashed onto that arm.

"Clang—!!!"

The sound of metal clashing exploded, sparks flying everywhere!

On the Emperor's arm, those blood-red runes suddenly erupted with blinding light, desperately resisting the sharpness of the heaven-slaying sword.

However—"Crack."

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

Those blood-red runes, under the sharpness of the heaven-slaying sword, were like paper, shattering instantly!

The sword light did not diminish, slicing directly into the arm!

"Puchi—!"

Blood sprayed wildly!

That pale arm was severed at the elbow, the severed limb tumbling in the air, blood gushing like a fountain, staining the entire great hall red!

"Ah—!!!"

From the depths of the crack came a shrill scream from the Emperor.

The Sovereign was completely stunned.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the severed arm, his face full of disbelief.

"Impossible... This is impossible..."

His voice trembled, his whole body shaking violently.

The Emperor... was actually cut off at the arm by someone with a single sword strike?!

How is this possible?!

The crack trembled violently, those silver-white vertical pupils filled with rage and disbelief.

"You... you dare to injure me?!"

The Emperor's voice trembled, carrying uncontrollable anger.

"You, a mere Emperor of the Lower Realm, actually dare to injure me?!"

Shen Qingyuan sheathed his sword and stood, his green robes motionless amidst the blood-red light, his expression remaining indifferent.

"Lower Realm Emperor?"

He chuckled, his tone understated.

"You cannot even enter this world, and can only extend an arm to test the waters. What qualifications do you have to look down on the Lower Realm?"

The Emperor's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Those silver-white vertical pupils stared fixedly at Shen Qingyuan, filled with wariness and shock.

He indeed could not enter.

Although the Heavenly Dao of this world was incomplete, the rejection of outsiders still existed.

Every time he descended, he had to pay a great price, and it could only be maintained for a very short time.

This was the reason why, even though he had been planning for tens of thousands of years, he rarely acted personally.

It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not.

"Just you wait."

The Emperor's voice was hoarse, carrying an intensely suppressed murderous intent.

"A hundred years from now will be the day I descend, and when that time comes, you will be the first one I kill!"

Before the words had finished, the pitch-black crack began to shrink rapidly, the blood light dimmed, and the severed arm turned into a mist of blood, dissipating into the air.

The crack was about to close.

Shen Qingyuan watched that crack getting smaller and smaller, his lips curling slightly into a smile.

"Wait? Courtesy demands reciprocity!"

"Today, I shall pay a visit to the Upper Realm!"