19: The Peerless Emperor (The End)

As the clamor of the coronation ceremony faded, the weight of the dragon robe pressed tangibly upon Wu Yun's shoulders.

He sat in the empty Golden Throne Hall, his fingers brushing over the cold armrest of the dragon throne.

Supreme power intoxicated the world, but for Wu Yun, it was equally a cold shackle.

On the night of his coronation, three elders with profound auras summoned him to the imperial secret chamber.

They were the true Foundation of the Shenwu Empire's imperial Family, the three Imperial Old Ancestors. The weakest among them possessed a cultivation base at the Spirit King Realm Eighth Level.

“From today onwards, you are no longer the Thirteenth Prince, Wu Yun. You are the Emperor of the Shenwu Empire.” The leading Old Ancestor's voice was cold, as if devoid of emotion.

His strength was terrifyingly immense. Even Wu Yun, whose cultivation base had reached the Spirit King Realm Fourth Level, could not discern it clearly; he was likely at least at the Spirit King Realm Ninth Level.

The Foundation of the Shenwu imperial Family was indeed deep, no wonder they could deter the four great families.

Wu Yun was secretly astonished in his heart.

“The Emperor's duty is to protect and strengthen the 'National Luck.' From now on, everything you do must serve this purpose.”

“The resources you can mobilize are directly linked to the growth of Luck you bring to the Empire. If the National Luck prospers, you shall gain supreme power; if the National Luck declines, you will have nothing.”

Wu Yun listened in silence. He understood; this dragon throne was a trade. He was exchanging his own Dao path for the glory of the Empire.

Now, he had no other choice.

Not long after becoming Emperor, he had Xiang Tong and all three clans beheaded. Then, with thunderous methods, he initiated an era of iron-blooded governance.

His title was “Emperor Yunwu.”

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

The name of Great Emperor Yunwu made all sides submit. He suppressed rebellions internally and deterred powerful neighbors externally, causing the Shenwu Empire's national strength to climb at a terrifying speed.

However, Wu Yun's own cultivation base seemed to have fallen into a quagmire, progressing very slowly.

Cultivation in the Spirit King Realm required not only Aptitude and resources but also a vast amount of time.

But the mountain of national affairs exhausted his mind. In ten years of bitter cultivation, he had only moved from the Spirit King Realm Fourth Level to the Fifth Level.

Late one night, after finishing a mountain of memorials, Wu Yun tried to enter meditation. The sluggish feeling of Spiritual Qi circulating through his Meridians made his chest feel tight.

He snapped his eyes open and slammed a fist onto the desk.

This dragon throne was the peak of his power, but also the prison of his Dao path.

Under the immense pressure, his relationship with his beloved Princess Taiping was his only consolation. They had several children together.

Looking at the baby boy in swaddling clothes who closely resembled him, a thought took root and sprouted in his heart.

To nurture an heir.

Someone who could take his place in carrying these shackles.

Over the next twenty years, Great Emperor Yunwu poured his heart and soul into two things.

One was expanding the territory, completely annexing two neighboring countries including the Langxu Kingdom, pushing the Shenwu Empire's national prestige to its zenith and its National Luck to an unprecedented level.

The second was to nurture his eldest son with Princess Taiping according to the strictest imperial standards.

Another twenty years passed. With the support of the resources of an entire nation, Wu Yun's cultivation base had only arduously climbed to the Spirit King Realm Sixth Level.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince was already capable of standing on his own.

During a court assembly, Wu Yun publicly announced his abdication.

The entire court was shaken, and even the three Old Ancestors appeared for this.

“My mind is made up.”

Wu Yun looked at the stunned Crown Prince with a calm gaze. He was still in his prime, but he could wait no longer.

The new Emperor ascended the throne, and the Shenwu Empire underwent a smooth transition.

Wu Yun became the “Retired Emperor” and retreated behind the scenes.

The moment he broke free from the constraints of national affairs, he felt the invisible shackles on his body shatter inch by inch.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged toward him with an unprecedented affinity.

He had reclaimed the purity of being a Martial Artist.

A hidden dragon emerging from the abyss.

In just twenty years, Wu Yun successfully broke through to the Spirit King Realm Eighth Level, standing on equal footing with the three Old Ancestors.

Throughout the Empire, he was respectfully called the “Fourth Ancestor, Ancestor Yunwu.”

However, fifty years of aggressive expansion finally brought trouble. The three surrounding powers of the same caliber could no longer tolerate such a behemoth existing by their side.

The three countries formed an allied army and, with the full strength of their nations, launched a war of annihilation.

The hidden old monsters of the enemy nations also took action; the brutality of the war far exceeded imagination.

For a time, the Shenwu Empire fell into the greatest national crisis in its history.

Wu Yun and the three Old Ancestors, joined by Prince Taiping—who had already reached the Spirit King Realm Seventh Level—and the Foundation Old Ancestors behind the four great families, fought a bloody battle.

This battle was extremely tragic. Not a few Spirit King Realm experts fell, and those in the Spirit Transformation Realm were merely slightly larger ants, dying in batch after batch.

In a decisive battle, in order to kill a Spirit King Realm Ninth Level Old Ancestor from an enemy nation, Wu Yun took the opponent's suicidal “Life Source Curse” head-on.

He won, slaying the powerful enemy with thunderous momentum and turning the tide of the war.

However, a cold Death Qi henceforth entrenched itself upon his life wheel, impossible to eradicate. His Lifespan was drastically reduced.

Another thirty years passed.

Relying on a frantic cultivation that was like burning his very life, Wu Yun's cultivation base reached the Spirit King Realm Ninth Level Peak.

But he could clearly feel that his end was near.

The “Life Source Curse” was devouring his vitality.

He had no choice. Even if he was currently ill-prepared, he had to forcibly charge at the Earth Spirit Realm.

This was his only path to survival.

Imperial Forbidden Ground.

Wu Yun sat cross-legged while the three Old Ancestors stood in three directions to act as his Protectors.

He channeled the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to launch an assault on that invisible threshold.

“Roar—!”

The majestic National Luck of the Shenwu Empire transformed into a massive golden dragon shadow, encircling him to assist his Breakthrough.

The barrier of the Earth Spirit Realm began to show cracks under his assault.

Just as he was about to cross the threshold, the latent “Life Source Curse” suddenly erupted.

A pitch-black vortex formed within his body, frantically devouring the Golden Dragon of National Luck that was augmenting him.

The Golden Dragon of National Luck let out a shrill cry of sorrow, its massive body torn to pieces by the power of the curse.

Wu Yun's body decayed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Breakthrough attempt fell short.

In the final moment as his vitality dissipated, he looked at the vanishing National Luck and the curse rampaging inside him, and suddenly he understood.

“So the most important thing for breaking through to the Earth Spirit Realm isn't Aptitude, but that elusive Luck...”

“At this moment, Wu Yun finally understood the importance of the last attribute on the Reincarnation point allocation panel: 'Luck.'”

“National Luck is not my own Luck. In the end, it is borrowed power...”

“My Foundation and my own 'Luck' were simply not enough to break through to the Earth Spirit Realm, nor were they enough to withstand the backlash brought by this immense undertaking...”

“In the next life, I will not only control power, but I must also control my own 'Luck'!”

With this final realization, Great Emperor Yunwu, Wu Yun—the iron-blooded monarch who had pioneered an era—passed away peacefully.

His Reincarnation mark, carrying a brand-new understanding of “Luck,” vanished into the Void Realm.