Chapter Fourteen: Heroic Spirits of the Imperial Path Bolster the Morale

The Endless Emperor!

The one about to face me in this arena is this supreme, monstrous figure at the pinnacle of the Emperor Realm?

As soon as Wang Fan realized he was about to battle the peerless among Emperors—one who stood at the very height of his era, unrivaled, undefeated all his life—he felt a shiver of dread run through him.

Though Wang Fan had reached the peak of the Sea of Bitterness stage, this by no means allowed him to compare himself to an Emperor. The gap between himself and an Emperor was as vast as that between the ends of the earth and the depths of the sea. If they were to fight, Wang Fan was nothing more than an insignificant figure who could not even withstand a single glance from the supreme Endless Emperor.

His heart pounded in chaos, his expression darkening with anxiety.

If he truly had to face the Endless Emperor, even if it were only a shadow, Wang Fan was certain of defeat—there was not the faintest hope of victory.

But even so, even if it was the Endless Emperor, that unrivaled sovereign who had never met a worthy opponent, who suppressed all worlds and stood alone in his supremacy, I cannot simply surrender without a fight! Strengthening his resolve, Wang Fan lifted his head and clenched his fists, readying himself for the coming duel.

In the next few seconds, that bell-like, celestial voice resounded in his ears again, crashing into Wang Fan’s mind like a surging tide and nearly shattering the unyielding will he had just kindled.

"Testing reveals participant at the Sea of Bitterness stage—adjusting difficulty!"

As this voice faded, Wang Fan suddenly noticed the aura emanating from the figure before him weaken. The oppressive might that once seemed capable of suppressing the world and eternity itself diminished; he was no longer at his peak. His bearing, once majestic and awe-inspiring, now seemed fuller and more youthful.

The resplendent purple robes were replaced by coarse linen.

Wang Fan could sense that the Endless Emperor in coarse linen now possessed a strength roughly at the level of the Sea of Bitterness. Realizing this, Wang Fan exhaled in relief.

So, he only had to compete with the young Emperor of the same realm, not the supreme figure who had reached the summit and suppressed all creation.

The young Endless Emperor in coarse linen turned around, revealing his full, lustrous features—a face as beautiful as polished jade. This was the Endless Emperor.

A young Endless Emperor? I will not fear you!

Taking a deep breath, Wang Fan steeled himself. He began to circulate the imperial technique within his body, pushing the Devouring Heaven Demonic Art to its very limit, refining it to the utmost.

Within his body, the Sea of Bitterness—now expanded—surged with azure waves. These waves were essence energy, rolling and billowing like columns of smoke from beacon towers, or like boiling magma.

After gathering his energy, Wang Fan stamped his feet on the arena floor and launched himself forward with a roar, as fierce as a mountain tiger, his momentum overwhelming.

Facing him, the young Endless Emperor remained expressionless and struck out with a punch. The technique he used was not the imperial art from his later-cultivated Endless Scripture, but the Supreme Fist from the Western Sovereign Scripture—an ancient, supreme technique, brimming with unfathomable mysteries.

Supreme Fist of the Western Emperor!

With a single punch, the air exploded in rapid succession, like strings of firecrackers, and his fist, broad as a millstone, swung powerfully, exuding immense deterrence.

When the fists collided, even the very air and space shuddered. In the next instant, Wang Fan was overpowered, forced back several steps, coughing up blood that splattered crimson on the arena floor.

Why is the young Endless Emperor so strong? Wang Fan wondered in confusion, blood at the corner of his mouth.

Perhaps due to his innate talent, Wang Fan’s mind worked faster under the pressure of battle, and in a split second, he considered a possibility:

The Endless Emperor before him must have mastered the Supreme Fist from the Western Sovereign Scripture, passed down from his mother, the Western Queen Mother (in this setting, the Western Queen Mother—a Dao Embryo—was the Endless Emperor’s mother). Combined with his own innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo constitution, these two advantages allowed him to force Wang Fan back in a head-on clash.

The young Endless Emperor’s cultivation was only at the completed Sea of Bitterness stage, not its peak. Yet, his technique and extraordinary constitution placed him above Wang Fan, who had reached the limit of that realm.

Though Wang Fan had inherited the legacy of the Ruthless Empress and acquired the Devouring Heaven Demonic Art’s Sea of Bitterness volume, he had only cultivated the Sea of Bitterness segment. He knew of the techniques in other minor realms but had not yet trained in them, and the Great Dao Bottle technique remained a mystery to him.

The current situation was far from favorable—indeed, it was quite dire.

The Endless Emperor, with his Sacred Body Dao Embryo and the legacy of the Western Sovereign Scripture, combined his constitution and technique to unleash a terrifying power rivaling the peak of the Life Spring stage.

Wang Fan’s gaze locked tightly on the Endless Emperor, his expression shifting before finally hardening into resolve. He thought to himself, You are truly powerful, but even so, you are not at your peak. Like me, you are a youth, roughly the same age, both with imperial inheritances. In fact, my cultivation surpasses yours by half a step.

Only my constitution lags behind yours!

The Ruthless Empress once trampled all constitutions beneath her feet, and I, having inherited her legacy, must do the same. Young Endless Emperor, I will suppress you!

With this fierce resolve, Wang Fan drove the Devouring Heaven Demonic Art within him to operate faster and faster.

Essence energy surged continuously from his Baihui acupoint, repairing his body. Then Wang Fan charged forward again, attacking the Endless Emperor with military boxing techniques he had learned at university in his past life.

But how could mundane military boxing compare to the extraordinary Supreme Fist of the Western Sovereign? The disparity was immense. Each time Wang Fan approached, he was beaten back, coughing blood. Crimson droplets scattered across the arena, but despite repeated defeats, Wang Fan never fell completely.

Throughout the battle, the Devouring Heaven Demonic Art within Wang Fan ceaselessly absorbed the essence left by those who had failed on the Emperor’s Path, sustaining and healing his body as he fought the Endless Emperor.

The lingering wills of those who had perished on the White Bone Emperor’s Path seemed to recognize that Wang Fan was battling a young Emperor. The essence emanating from those bones grew denser, saturating the trial space, and enabling Wang Fan to recover more swiftly through the Devouring Heaven Demonic Art.

Now, Wang Fan was not fighting alone. Behind him stood countless elites of the human race—the failed aspirants of the Emperor’s Path—providing their essence, hoping Wang Fan would overcome the undefeated shadow of the young Endless Emperor and pass the trial.

Amid the fierce battle, Wang Fan could even faintly hear the voices of these heroic spirits, encouraging him, cheering him on in his struggle for the throne.