Chapter 1480: Four Emperors

"The heavenly tribulation has ended, kill." The profound silence of all things was finally shattered by the furious shout of the Jiutou Niao Clan's Great Saint. He could no longer hold back and charged in, intent on slaying Ye Chen to extinguish the overwhelming rage in his heart.

Like him, the Great Saints of the Kunpeng Clan, Jinwu Clan, Baqi Dashe Clan, and Jiuyi Shenpeng Clan also sprang into action. Each one had bloodshot eyes, radiating bloodlust and savagery, their killing intent impossible to suppress.

However, a bizarre scene unfolded. The Jiutou Niao Clan's Great Saint, who had rushed in first, hadn't even had a chance to strike before he was reduced to ashes by a sudden bolt of lightning.

Hiss! Everyone who witnessed it gasped in shock, and the group of Great Saints abruptly halted.

The crowd stood at the edge, their expressions changing drastically. A Great Saint had been instantly obliterated—if they had been any slower, they too would have been turned to dust.

The Great Saints were terrified. Not only did they dare not step forward, but they even retreated a step, fearing that the strange scene might repeat itself. After all, they were Great Saints too, and one misstep could lead to their demise.

"What happened? The heavenly tribulation has ended—where did this lightning come from?" Voices of astonishment echoed everywhere.

"A Great Saint! He was killed in a single instant." Shocks and horrors rose one after another, leaving everyone feeling a chill run through their bodies. If they had recklessly entered, they would surely have been reduced to ashes.

"How truly bizarre." Figures like Yuan Huang and Kui Niu Huang furrowed their brows, unable to fathom the reason.

"Grandfather, what's going on?" On one side, Xuanwu Taizi looked at Xuanwu Wang in confusion.

"The heavenly tribulation isn't over yet." Xuanwu Wang replied calmly, his aged eyes narrowing into slits as he stared intently at that patch of sky and earth, filled with profound meaning and doubt.

No sooner had Xuanwu Wang spoken than the heavens and earth began to shift dramatically. Thunderous rumbles resounded once more, shaking the eternal blue sky.

Centered on Ye Chen, the four directions—southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast—of the heavens were ravaged by lightning. Strands upon strands wove together, forming four vague human figures.

This strange phenomenon left all the observing cultivators in awe, their eyes narrowing as they fixed on the four directions. Those four shadowy figures each emitted an aura that made the heavens tremble.

Ye Chen stood silently, his Xianlun Tiansheng spinning rapidly to heal his wounds and restore his sacred body.

He knew that the so-called heavenly tribulation was not truly over. What followed was the real divine punishment, even more terrifying than the lightning—it was the principles of the Emperor Dao. He would have to battle against the youthful Great Emperors.

This kind of tribulation was not new to him. When he advanced to the Huang realm, he had fought the youthful Donghua Empress. When he reached the Zhun Sheng level, he had battled the Dou Zhan Sheng Huang and the Taixu Long Di.

But what made his face darken was that this heavenly tribulation for advancing to Sainthood had summoned the principles of four Great Emperors. In other words, he would have to face four youthful Great Emperors alone.

Under the watchful eyes of all, the shadowy figure in the eastern heavens was the first to take clear form.

It was a towering figure, radiating golden light like a blazing sun. His divine eyes were vast as the starry sky, with suns and moons evolving within, encompassing the heavens and earth. Every wisp of his aura felt as heavy as a mountain.

He stood like the ruler of the world, overlooking the eight wastelands. Ancient visions intertwined behind him, manifesting a Jinwu that spread its wings across the nine heavens. The Emperor Dao principles danced around, each strand surpassing the Great Dao itself.

"Is that the Jinwu Dadi?" The Jinwu Clan's Great Saint stumbled back a step, his eyes bulging in disbelief. That figure was identical to the towering stone statue of their clan.

"The Kunpeng Dadi?" Shouts of shock came from the Kunpeng Clan's side.

The Kunpeng Clan's Great Saint, like his counterpart, narrowed his pupils and stared fixedly at the western heavens. The lightning-formed figure had fully manifested, with eyes like stars and black hair cascading like a waterfall.

It was the Kunpeng Dadi—or more precisely, the youthful Kunpeng Dadi. His form was as unyielding as a massive mountain, as if nothing in the world could shake him. He was a supreme sovereign, gazing down on all under heaven, his radiant divine light too dazzling to behold, instilling terror in the soul.

"Look to the south—is that the Qilin Dadi?" Someone cried out, their lips trembling and voice shaking as they stared in shock at the southern direction, where the figure had also taken form.

Indeed, it was the Qilin Dadi, a being who shook the ancients and illuminated history. Though he stood there, it felt as if he were on the river of time itself, distant and ancient. His divine eyes could pierce through eternal vicissitudes with a single glance.

Behind him stretched a vast primordial land, with Emperor Dao principles weaving together to nurture all beings. A towering Qilin roared at the heavens, its cry shaking the eternal vault of the sky.

"The Xuanwu Dadi." In the northern heavens, cries of horror erupted simultaneously as all eyes locked on the lightning-formed figure. His appearance and stature were etched in the memories of the world.

It was the Xuanwu Dadi, the ancestor of the Xuanwu Clan, one of the 130 emperors of the Xuan Huang era, renowned for his unparalleled defense. His legends were nothing short of myths, enduring through endless ages without fading.

This was another emperor who shook the ancients and illuminated history. His form was majestic, his physique powerful, his divine eyes as still as an ancient well, yet within them, the Great Dao evolved in a heaven-defying manner, making time itself seem to freeze.

"It's the Xuanwu Dadi! It's the Xuanwu Dadi!" Xuanwu Wang was overcome with emotion, dropping to his knees as tears streamed down his aged face and he wailed. His frail, elderly body trembled uncontrollably.

Perhaps no one knew that he was from the era of the Xuanwu Dadi. In that time, he had chosen self-sealing, and when he did, the Xuanwu Dadi was still alive in the world.

Self-sealing meant slumber, and after this long dream, he had no idea how many epochs had passed. Now, after endless ages, to see the Great Emperor of his youth again—this state of mind was beyond words.

As Xuanwu Wang wept, the entire heavens were engulfed in waves of shock. "The Kunpeng Dadi, Jinwu Dadi, Qilin Dadi, Xuanwu Dadi—four Great Emperors! Heavens, what have I seen?"

"How could this be? Why does the divine punishment heavenly tribulation of the Huang Gu Sheng Ti summon four Great Emperors?" Everyone was baffled, clueless about the cause.

"It's because the sacred body is too extraordinary." An elder cultivator trembled as he spoke. "He's too much of a prodigy, too heaven-defying. He's touched the Emperor Dao principles, drawing their manifestations into the world."

"Why isn't there our clan's Dou Zhan Sheng Huang?" Yuan Huang asked with a mix of hope and regret. He longed to see the imperial demeanor of his ancestor, a deep wish as a descendant of the Dou Zhan Sheng Yuan.

But how could he know that the Dou Zhan Sheng Huang's Emperor Dao manifestation had already appeared during Ye Chen's advancement to Zhun Sheng, alongside the Taixu Gu Long's manifestation?

"And no emperor from our line either—this is truly regrettable." Kui Niu Huang sighed, and others from clans that had produced Great Emperors echoed his sentiment in hushed tones. Though they witnessed these four emperors, their own ancestral emperors were absent, a genuine regret for their descendants.

"It's just that astonishing." For the first time, figures like Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang fell silent. The fact that Ye Chen could summon four Emperor Dao manifestations was proof of his unparalleled prodigy—they couldn't compare.

"He has the qualifications." Qian Shang Yue smiled faintly. Having once slain a Great Emperor, there was nothing he couldn't achieve. He was born to forge immortal legends.

"I've been so wrong." Even the eccentric Kongque Daprinses lifted her gaze in a daze. The person she had once underestimated had shattered her limits of shock time and again.