"No!"
"The Imperial Seal!"
"My Imperial Seal!!"
"My empire!!"
"Old Ancestor!!"
The Divine Emperor wailed, reaching out to grasp the dissipating golden mist, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control it.
Boom!
In his rage, he roared to the heavens, "Great Han Heavenly Dynasty, Yang Hao, this life, I swear eternal enmity with you! My empire is shattered, my family is destroyed, I will surely annihilate your Great Han's sacred artifact!!"
"Give me back my rivers and mountains!!"
Boom!
He punched out, causing destruction all around!
"Who dares?!"
A furious roar sent the Divine Emperor of the Yaoguang Divine Dynasty flying a hundred miles, blood splattered everywhere, leaving him half-dead.
The Divine Emperor weakly raised his head, looking at the man who appeared before him. That divine power was utterly irresistible.
"Who are you?"
"How dare you disrupt my dao heart and hinder my cultivation!"
The man roared. This place was relatively barren, with few powerful beings. He had an epiphany for a breakthrough and intended to go into seclusion, but the sudden commotion had startled him, causing him to miss a golden opportunity.
Enraged, he came in search of the source, only to see a figure in imperial robes yelling madly at the sky and causing destruction everywhere.
"I..."
"I am the Divine Emperor of the Yaoguang Divine Dynasty, here to pay respects... to Jia Gu Zhe!!"
The Divine Emperor's consciousness was in a daze.
"Jia Gu Zhe??"
The man's expression changed, "What business do you have with him?"
The Yaoguang Divine Dynasty belonged to the Western Hundred Cities, while his Demon Sea Swamp belonged to the Southern Thousand Seas. There was little interaction between them.
"My father once saved Jia Gu Zhe. My dynasty is in grave danger, so I've come to the Demon Sea Swamp to seek an audience with Jia Gu Zhe!"
The Divine Emperor staggered, and the man quickly helped him up, feeding him a pill that allowed the Divine Emperor to recover somewhat.
"Lord Jia Gu Zhe is currently in the Sea of Swamps. Your father's matter has been on Lord Jia Gu Zhe's mind. Follow me!"
The man, supporting the Divine Emperor, sped towards the distant horizon. "It takes ten days to reach the Sea of Swamps from here. Tell me, wasn't your Yaoguang Divine Dynasty always the overlord of the Western Hundred Cities? How did it fall into such a state?"
...
"How is this possible!!"
"Hai Lingyu, Hai Xing'an, nearly two million troops!!"
"Nearly two million troops... how could they be annihilated so quickly!!"
"The elite of an empire, my left and right arms, could not even withstand a single legion of the Great Han Heavenly Dynasty!!"
In the Imperial Palace of the Haiyun Divine Dynasty, Divine Emperor Hai Yao stared at the cracked tokens before him and the urgent reports from the front lines. He slumped powerlessly onto the dragon throne, gazing at the palace's vaulted ceiling.
He simply could not believe that his Haiyun Divine Dynasty, which had repelled the Yaoguang army even when they pressed their borders, was now, in just twenty years, its might utterly destroyed in a single battle.
He had reached the pinnacle of Saint King realm and had been planning to break through the Saint King barrier and become the first Great Saint realm expert in the Western Hundred Cities!
At that time, he would lead the Haiyun Divine Dynasty's army, defeat the Yaoguang Divine Dynasty, sweep through the major powers, and claim all eighty-seven Dao Prefectures of the Western Hundred Cities.
Alas, he remained a peak Saint King, and the Haiyun Divine Dynasty was still the same Haiyun Divine Dynasty. However, the Western Hundred Cities were no longer the Western Hundred Cities he knew!
"Twenty years, only twenty years! The Great Han Heavenly Dynasty has already overturned the Western Hundred Cities and become an invincible overlord!!"
Hai Yao stared at the golden dragon relief on the vaulted ceiling, murmuring.
"No! I cannot stay here any longer! A million troops annihilated! My left and right arms are both dead!"
"If I remain here, I'm just waiting to die!"
"I must leave, I must go to the Thunder Cloud Hall!"
"After seeking help from the Thunder Cloud Hall, I will lead my army to march on the Western Hundred Cities and re-establish the Haiyun Divine Dynasty!!"
Hai Yao's expression, initially filled with extreme terror, gradually regained a hint of color. He threw his head back and laughed, looking at the familiar sky. Hai Yao finally regained some confidence!
"Issue a decree, order the Imperial Guards to immediately empty the Ministry of Revenue's resources and accompany me to the Thunder Cloud Hall."
...
"Bad news!! Bad news!!"
In the imperial capital of the Haiyun Divine Dynasty, within a luxurious inn frequented by the influential youths of the Haiyun Divine Dynasty, several figures danced gracefully. Between the multi-story pavilions sat dozens of young men, their senses hazy, holding wine cups and swaying their heads.
Suddenly, the inn's door was pushed open with great force, and a man in opulent robes, with a portly physique, shouted.
"Oh my! I say, Steward Zhang!"
"What time is it? Bursting in so recklessly, you've truly ruined our elegance!"
From a second-floor pavilion, a handsome young man smiled and shook his head, complaining with a sigh, "Come, come, to be so rash, you must drink three bowls to apologize to us!"
"Esteemed sirs!!"
"Esteemed sirs!!"
"The south... the south!"
Steward Zhang, with his large belly, struggled to speak.
"Come, come, drink some tea and calm down. Speak slowly. This is the imperial capital, what disaster could have you so flustered? Is business too good, or is the woman you fancy not interested in you?"
"Haha!!"
The young man smirked wickedly.
"Hahaha! Exactly, Steward Zhang, have you been rejected?"
At that moment, the entire inn erupted in laughter.
"Esteemed sirs, a urgent report from the south! Prince Chu Hai Lingyu and Prince Xuan Hai Xing'an, their army of one million eight hundred thousand has been completely annihilated, their defensive fortress lost! The Vermillion Bird Legion of the Great Han Heavenly Dynasty is marching north, and the flames of war have already reached the heartland! It's feared that within one or two days, the Great Han army will arrive at the imperial capital!!"
Steward Zhang cried in panic.
"What?!"
"What did you say?"
"The two princes have died in battle??"
"Impossible!!"
"With the million-strong army of our divine dynasty at the border, how could we be defeated like this!"
In the inn, countless men stood up, shaking their heads and scoffing.
"Boom!!"
Another man in armor entered the hall. He walked to a man and whispered, "Young Master, His Majesty is preparing to leave the imperial capital. His Lordship has instructed you to return to the manor immediately and accompany His Majesty in leaving the divine dynasty!"
The young man's face changed drastically, but he suppressed his panic. He glanced at the figures in the hall and hurried out.
As he moved, the other men who knew him immediately felt a sense of dread, realizing the gravity of the situation at the front.
Countless men rushed out of the pavilions. On the streets outside, numerous beings were in chaos. Imperial Guards stormed into shops and residences, plundering vast resources and converging towards the palace gates.
The Imperial Guards' large-scale looting of civilian resources openly signaled Divine Emperor Hai Yao's intentions.
The Haiyun Divine Dynasty was likely at its end!
Countless beings felt the sky collapsing. Their own divine dynasty was in dire straits, and even the Divine Emperor was fleeing.
What fate awaited these ordinary beings?