The moment both sides moved, the world seemed to lose its breath.
Millions of heavenly soldiers descended from above like a silver storm, their weapons glowing with divine laws. On the opposite side, the newly awakened forces of the Ancient Court surged forward without hesitation.
The first collision shook the entire mortal world.
BOOM!
Golden sword qi tore through the front line while crimson flames swept across the battlefield. Moonlight descended like rain, and enormous waves rose from beneath the Sea Sovereign's warship.
Su Chen stood at the center of it all.
His black hair whipped wildly in the violent wind as he held the Heaven Slaughter Sword in one hand.
He wasn't rushing.
He wasn't shouting.
He simply watched.
Every movement.
Every formation.
Every change in the battlefield.
The Primordial Emperor's memories had given him knowledge accumulated across countless battles, but Su Chen didn't allow those memories to replace his own judgment.
"Left side," he suddenly said.
Mu Xue reacted immediately.
"Crimson Legion! Shift formation!"
Thousands of warriors moved at once.
A heavenly formation that had been preparing to attack their flank suddenly found empty space before it.
BOOM!
Mu Xue's spear swept across the formation.
Hundreds of heavenly soldiers were sent flying.
She turned her head toward Su Chen and smiled.
"Not bad."
Su Chen ignored the compliment.
"Behind you."
Mu Xue's expression changed.
An Executor appeared directly behind her with a golden blade already descending toward her neck.
Before the weapon could land—
Su Chen flicked his finger.
Clang!
The golden blade stopped.
The Executor stared in disbelief.
Su Chen's spiritual energy had formed an invisible barrier between the weapon and Mu Xue.
Mu Xue didn't waste the opportunity.
She turned and thrust her spear.
BOOM!
The Executor's chest exploded.
Golden blood sprayed across the sky.
Mu Xue looked at Su Chen.
"You're getting annoying."
"You can thank me later."
She laughed.
"That's definitely the Emperor talking."
Su Chen shook his head.
"No. That's me."
Mu Xue paused.
Then her smile became genuine.
"Good answer."
Across the battlefield, Lin Yanyan fought three heavenly commanders simultaneously.
Her phoenix flames had become more terrifying than before.
Every time she moved, a crimson trail followed behind her.
One commander attacked from the front.
Another came from above.
The third appeared behind her.
Lin Yanyan's eyes flashed.
The phoenix behind her suddenly screamed.
BOOM!
Crimson flames erupted in every direction.
The three commanders were forced backward.
Lin Yanyan raised her hand.
A giant phoenix claw descended from the heavens.
The commanders barely managed to block it.
The impact shattered their defensive formation.
One of them coughed blood.
Lin Yanyan appeared before him.
Her expression remained beautiful and calm.
"You shouldn't have attacked my husband."
The commander's eyes widened.
Before he could respond—
BOOM!
Her fist smashed into his chest.
He was sent flying through several warships.
Lin Yanyan turned away without looking back.
Su Chen watched her from a distance.
A faint smile appeared.
She noticed.
Her lips curved upward slightly.
Even during a war against Immortals, the two still found time to look at each other.
The Pavilion Master noticed it too.
She shook her head.
"Young people."
The Sea Sovereign laughed.
"Let them be."
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"Incoming!"
BOOM!
A gigantic heavenly spear descended from the sky.
The Sea Sovereign raised both hands.
Oceanic laws erupted around him.
A gigantic wall of water appeared.
The spear pierced through it.
Then another layer.
And another.
The Sea Sovereign was forced backward.
His feet carved two enormous trenches through the sky.
He gritted his teeth.
"That's new."
The first Immortal stood above the battlefield.
His hand remained raised.
Around him, countless heavenly laws gathered.
"You have grown stronger."
His silver eyes focused on Su Chen.
"But so have we."
Su Chen raised his sword.
"I noticed."
The Immortal's expression remained cold.
"Then you should understand that resistance is meaningless."
Su Chen looked around the battlefield.
He saw the wounded.
The fallen.
The Ancient Court warriors fighting despite knowing they were facing enemies far stronger than themselves.
He saw Lin Yanyan.
Mu Xue.
The Sea Sovereign.
The Pavilion Master.
People who had every reason to flee.
Yet none had.
Su Chen's eyes became sharper.
"No."
His voice wasn't loud.
But it traveled across the entire battlefield.
"Resistance is the reason we're still alive."
The Heaven Slaughter Sword suddenly released an enormous golden pulse.
Every Ancient Court formation reacted.
Golden pillars rose from the ground.
Ancient symbols appeared beneath the feet of the warriors.
The entire battlefield transformed.
The first Immortal's expression changed.
"What's that?"
The white-haired woman inside Su Chen's consciousness spoke quietly.
"The Ancient Court's Battle Formation."
Su Chen's eyes narrowed.
"You remember it?"
"I helped create it."
Her voice carried a trace of nostalgia.
"Ten thousand years ago, the Emperor used it to unite the power of an entire civilization."
Su Chen looked at the millions of warriors surrounding him.
"Can it work again?"
The woman smiled.
"With you at the center?"
"Better than before."
Su Chen raised the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
"Then let's finish this."
BOOM!
Golden light erupted.
Every Ancient Court cultivator felt their power increase.
Saints.
Kings.
Sovereigns.
Even ordinary Body Tempering cultivators.
Their strength connected into one enormous network.
The power of millions flowed toward the center.
Toward Su Chen.
His aura began rising.
The first Immortal's eyes narrowed.
"Stop him!"
The heavenly army charged.
But the Ancient Court army moved first.
Mu Xue led the Crimson Legion.
The Sea Sovereign unleashed a tsunami that stretched across the heavens.
The Pavilion Master summoned countless silver moons.
Lin Yanyan transformed into a gigantic crimson phoenix.
And Su Chen—
Raised his sword.
The accumulated power of millions of cultivators gathered within the blade.
The golden light became blinding.
The first Immortal finally attacked personally.
BOOM!
He crossed the battlefield in an instant.
His fist struck toward Su Chen's chest.
Su Chen blocked with the sword.
CLANG!
The impact exploded outward.
The two figures remained suspended in the center of the battlefield.
The Immortal's expression was cold.
Su Chen's expression remained calm.
Then the Immortal attacked again.
One punch.
Two.
Ten.
A hundred.
Every strike contained enough power to destroy a continent.
Su Chen blocked each one.
The Heaven Slaughter Sword moved faster than thought.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Every collision caused space to collapse.
The two figures disappeared from the battlefield.
Then reappeared thousands of kilometers away.
Then millions.
They moved so quickly that even Sovereigns struggled to follow.
The first Immortal suddenly kicked.
Su Chen crossed his sword before his chest.
BOOM!
The impact sent him flying.
His body tore through several layers of space before finally stopping.
Lin Yanyan's expression changed.
"Su Chen!"
He raised his hand.
"I'm fine."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he smiled.
The Immortal stared at him.
"You should be dead."
Su Chen looked down at the blood on his hand.
Then back at the Immortal.
"Unfortunately for you…"
Golden flames began appearing around his body.
"…I'm very difficult to kill."
The Third Imperial Seal inside his soul suddenly trembled.
A fourth golden mark appeared faintly.
The white-haired woman's expression changed.
"Su Chen."
He looked inward.
"What?"
"Don't unlock that."
His eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
She looked toward the fourth seal.
"Because the moment you unlock it…"
Her voice became unusually serious.
"…the entire mortal world may discover what you really are."
Su Chen fell silent.
Outside, the first Immortal attacked again.
Su Chen raised the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
The fourth seal continued glowing.
And somewhere beyond the battlefield—
Something ancient had awakened.
Something that had been watching Su Chen since his first day in this world.
A presence even the Immortals feared.
A presence that whispered only one sentence through the darkness.
"The Emperor has returned."
Then the fourth seal opened by itself.