Chapter 3095: Heroes Forged by the Era

The heavens rumbled with thunder, and the emperor tribulation loomed vast and mighty. Such commotion stirred all living beings, drawing streams of people from the four seas and eight wastelands toward a desolate star domain, filling the vast starry sky. Gazing upward, the ultimate lightning had gathered into a sea of thunder, its booming echoes resounding through the universe.

"Who is it?"

Too many murmured, straining their eyes to see only a vague figure bathed in billions of thunderbolts, charging defiantly against the heavens.

"It's him."

The one undergoing the emperor tribulation was recognized by most—a man named Li Xiaoyao. He was likely the last remaining young emperor in the current heavens.

"This guy actually achieved dao enlightenment."

The Liehuo Zhan Ti was there too, hands tucked in as he clicked his tongue in amazement. He had already reached the peak of quasi-emperor and understood the invisible pressures well. The dao imprints of the 130 emperors of the Xuan Huang era, though weakened, still lingered. Following them came the Dong Huang Empress, whose imprint was strong, then Ye Chen, even more so than Yao Chi, and the returning emperors, each carrying their own suppressive imprints. Under such conditions, the difficulty of enlightenment was unimaginable, yet this Li Xiaoyao had managed it.

"It's really him."

The Zifu Xian Ti and Jiuyou Mo Ti were present, as were most of the new generation's prodigies. They all muttered to themselves, all being heroes of the same era, yet paling in comparison to him. To this day, they didn't know where Li Xiaoyao had come from. Since appearing in the world, it was as if he had activated a god-level cheat, unstoppable, and now his emperor tribulation shook the heavens and moved the ghosts.

"What a powerful divine punishment."

"That guy is way too heaven-defying."

"The era creates heroes?"

Discussions erupted everywhere, with expressions of shock, doubt, and astonishment in every form.

"Interesting."

The great emperors of the heavens observed from afar, their surprise unending. With the dao imprints suppressing them, and more strongly than in any other era, it was astonishing that someone could defy heaven to achieve enlightenment. Even they might not have succeeded.

"Can you see his origins?"

The Zao Hua Shen Wang asked, glancing at Long Ye.

Long Ye shook his head.

The other emperors were much the same.

Back then, even the Dong Huang Empress couldn't discern it, and neither could the others. The few who knew Li Xiaoyao's identity truly were rare. It wasn't that their vision was lacking; it was that a mysterious force on him concealed it, something related to the empress.

This was all thanks to the Ming Emperor.

That peak emperor had gone to great lengths for Li Xiaoyao, using his emperor dao divine abilities to recast his primordial spirit, recreate his life wheel, select the most handsome body, and borrow the empress's laws to hide his soul and appearance. It took over a thousand years, front to back, to make him completely unrecognizable from his past life.

He did all this for a reason—to claim the little white cabbage from the Sheng Ti lineage.

And the facts proved his thousand years weren't wasted; he had indeed created a heaven-defying prodigy.

"You're something else."

Ye Chen held a wine flask, smiling mysteriously. A quasi-Huang Emperor? He knew exactly who was undergoing the tribulation and couldn't help but want to give the Ming Emperor a thumbs-up. That guy was a real talent.

"He actually achieved enlightenment."

Ye Ling murmured softly, her shock evident. She knew who was undergoing the tribulation but not his origins, and she had asked Ye Chen about it more than once. His response was always just a smile.

And now, Ye Chen was the same.

What could he say? Since it was a fresh start, he wouldn't interfere. Success or failure depended on the kid's own abilities—at least he had to be tough enough to endure.

"Good one, Li Xiaoyao."

At his side, Ji Ningshuang murmured with a light smile. Back then, she couldn't see through it, but now as a heavenly emperor, she could.

But she wouldn't reveal it.

The younger generation's fate was for them to forge.

"Turned young again?"

In the Tian Jie, Dao Zu glanced at Tian Huang, seeing Ye Chen's childlike form, his expression odd. More than that, he was shocked by Ye Chen's advancement speed. When he left, Ye Chen was a great emperor; now back, he was a quasi-Huang Emperor. As a peak great emperor himself, in front of Ye Chen, he felt like a insignificant shrimp.

Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by roaring, the ultimate emperor tribulation grew stronger, the vast sea of thunder engulfing millions of li of starry sky. The rampaging lightning intertwined and danced, one bolt fading only for another to form, its terrifying destructive power spreading endlessly from that desolate star domain, forcing onlookers to retreat again and again.

More people arrived, and just gazing from afar made their hearts palpitate, the thunder light causing blood to overflow from their eyes.

"That's no ordinary emperor tribulation."

No one refuted this.

Under the suppression of so many dao imprints, defying heaven to break through wasn't something a normal emperor tribulation could compare to—it had broken some kind of taboo.

Amid the crowd's gaze, the thunder tribulation faded.

However, the ultimate emperor tribulation wasn't over; the tribulations of the emperor dao law bodies had arrived as destined. The first to manifest was Ye Chen's.

Following it was the Dong Huang Empress.

With booming thunder, one law body after another emerged, one after the other, like radiant suns illuminating the world. Each was enveloped in ultimate dao immortal laws, each displaying emperor dao visions, with profound heavenly sounds echoing through the starry sky and world-shattering pressure enveloping the universe.

Gulp!

No one knew how many swallowed hard; the spectacle was just too grand, with these emperor dao law bodies piled up like cabbages.

Li Xiaoyao said nothing, silently watching.

His achievement of dao enlightenment was an accident; a momentary insight in his slumber had unexpectedly shattered the emperor dao barrier. He hadn't even thought about undergoing tribulation in the heavens, as it would attract outer domain attacks. Both the breakthrough and the tribulation happened unconsciously, as if an invisible hand in the dark had pushed him, making everything flow smoothly.

But that didn't matter now.

What mattered was that the true emperor tribulation had come, the dao law bodies had manifested, and he needed to defy heaven to advance.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Before the law bodies could attack, booming echoed from the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity—towering demon pillars from the outer domain, seizing the opportunity. Some belonged to the E Mo, some to the Tian Mo, and some to the Sheng Mo. At a glance, there were over a thousand, making even the emperors raise their brows, and even Ye Chen couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at the massive scale.

But thinking about it, it wasn't without reason. Previously, the Tian Ting Empress had upheld the great array in the dark, followed by Yao Chi, Ming Emperor, and Dao Zu supporting it.

Now, with the Tian Ting Empress absent from the heavens, the former trio reduced to just Dao Zu, the array's divine power had weakened significantly, and its concealing strength was no longer as profound.

So, any disturbance in the heavens, like an emperor tribulation, could be instantly detected by the outer domain. The current demon pillars were proof.

"Have I brought disaster?"

Li Xiaoyao murmured lightly; this mistaken emperor tribulation might spark a war.

"Focus on your tribulation."

Ye Chen's words echoed through the heavens.

"Huh?"

Hearing this, the emperors perked up, recognizing it as Ye Chen. How had he become young again?

"Not tall, but full of presence."

Xie Yun had his hands tucked, sighing in admiration. Though that guy was a child, he stood at the pinnacle of the ethereal, radiating brighter than the sun, with ten thousand dao lights bursting forth, dazzling even the great emperors.

"Is that Ye Chen?"

"The war god of our heavens has returned."

"How did he turn into a child?"

The masses looked up, their expressions dazed. They couldn't remember the last time they'd seen Ye Chen, only knowing that now, he was overwhelmingly powerful. Even emperors seemed like child's play before him.

And indeed, wherever that guy went, he was the most eye-catching, especially with that soul-deep aura.

"Seems like it's none of our business."

Kui Niu sighed, found a spot to squat, and casually grabbed a wine flask, completely ignoring the demon pillars.

The emperors were the same; they had been on high alert, but seeing Ye Chen, they acted as if nothing was wrong. He was a quasi-Huang Emperor, after all. With him at the ethereal peak, not even thousands of demon pillars could get through, and if any did, one slap from him would end them. Unless it was a quasi-Huang Emperor level, they'd all be cannon fodder.

Soon, eternal immortal light bloomed, bathing the three realms and shrouding every demon pillar, instantly erasing the rolling demonic aura.

However, he didn't destroy the pillars.

Gifts from the outer domain had to be accepted—one by one, he'd wipe them out.

No way around it; a quasi-Huang Emperor could be capricious.

"Everyone, stand firm; someone's about to show off."

Si Tu Nan called out.

"Can you get off me first?"

Someone cursed from underfoot.

Looking closely, it was Xiong Er, nearly stomped into a pulp by Si Tu Nan. Ever since that guy returned from enlightenment, he bullied him every few days. Becoming an emperor really thickened his skin.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The three realms hummed as the first batch of demon soldiers and generals emerged from the pillars—not just one or two, but waves upon waves.

Awkwardly, as soon as they exited the demon pillars, they didn't even get to speak before being bathed in eternal light and dragged into illusions. Each one looked dazed, eyes vacant, hands dangling, like soulless walking corpses.

"Lucky break."

Ye Chen said, waving his small hand to pull a powerful demon lord from the soldiers and generals. It was a reincarnated being; if he remembered right, in a past life, it was an elder from Tian Xuan Men.

Unfortunately, it was the only one.

Ye Chen cast a spell to remove its Tian Mo bloodline and memories, then casually placed it into Tian Xuan Men.

As for the remaining demon soldiers and generals, he instantly obliterated them, turning blood, bones, demonic light, and aura into ash.

"Just as I thought, he's serious when he needs to be."

Zao Hua Shen Wang stroked his beard. Letting the outer domain in was secondary; finding reincarnated souls was the main goal.

"After thousands of years, he still remembers his mission."

Xiao Chen smiled.

That mission was to seek reincarnated beings. As long as he lived, he wouldn't forget his original intent.

"I have a lingering doubt that no one's explained."

"The dead reincarnating into our heavens, I get that, but how can they reincarnate into the outer domain?"

Many of the younger generation looked to the emperors.

"The way of heaven has reincarnation."

Ren Wang stroked his beard, his five words a perfect explanation. Whether common mortals or outer domain demons, all were within the heavenly dao.

Reincarnation existed, no doubt.

But that didn't mean everyone could reincarnate; fate in the dark held variables, and some things were inexplicable, just as with the heavenly dao—aloof and supreme, it controlled some things but not others.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

As they spoke, more demon pillars hummed, with demon soldiers and generals surging out from nearly every one. In their eyes, exiting the pillars might mean a slaughter paradise.

In reality, it was no different from the gates of hell.

They probably never imagined that the heavens had a god guarding it, just waiting like a hunter.

"None here."

Ye Chen scanned with a glance and shook his head quietly.

Since there were none, what was there to say?

A single thought from a quasi-Huang Emperor could destroy heaven and earth.

Naturally, he treated the Sheng Mo specially; he wouldn't kill them. Each Sheng Mo was eternally purified, their origins extracted, and then used as nourishment for the Sheng Ti.

"A supreme has arrived."

As he spoke, a demon pillar hummed, and a majestic figure stepped out—a genuine emperor, exuding presence with overwhelming demonic aura.

Unfortunately, exiting the pillar led straight to the yellow springs. Even as an emperor, he couldn't withstand it, getting dragged into the illusion.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

From the first outer domain emperor descending upon the heavens, it triggered a chain reaction, with many demon pillars humming. Emerging now weren't soldiers or generals, but emperors one after another—from great emperor beginner stage to heavenly emperor peak—all radiating demonic aura.

"Little darlings, welcome to the heavens."

Ye Chen's words were ethereal and ancient.

That "little darlings" amused the masses.

Clearly, even as a quasi-Huang Emperor, that guy hadn't changed his nature—no supreme dignity, just an ever-growing presence.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The scene that followed was utterly lawless; quite a few outer domain emperors arrived, but one after another, they were wiped out, even the heavenly emperor peak ones.

Coming to the heavens meant suppression.

Most crucially, they faced a quasi-Huang Emperor from the Sheng Ti lineage. Though only at eighty percent strength, he still dominated the universe. Without a quasi-Huang, who could challenge him?

However, among the descending outer domain supremes, some stood out, like a E Mo heavenly emperor who actually broke the eternal illusion and instantly fled back into the pillar, quick on his feet.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ye Chen said, reaching his small hand across the sky into the pillar, pulling out the E Mo heavenly emperor who had just escaped, and smashing him with a palm.

The first batch of emperors was completely annihilated, but that was just the first; more would follow.

No one worried.

Ye Chen was the pillar of strength; with him there, aside from outer domain Huang Emperors, no one else stood a chance.

"Heaven has unforeseen storms."

"The moon has waxing and waning."

High in the ethereal, Ye Chen kept speaking, waving his small hand left and right, wiping away in the void like a dedicated painter.

He was still the chatterbox.

Every wipe came with a word, though no one knew if he was reciting poetry or making rhymes.

But from his vivid expression, it seemed he was constantly proclaiming an ancient truth: I am who I am, a legend unlike any other.

This might be for amusement.

While amusing, he was doing serious work. That waving hand wasn't painting walls; it was erasing the outer domain's lingering traces.

Yes, traces.

Each outer domain arrival was cannon fodder, but not for nothing; every fallen emperor left some trace behind. When these traces accumulated, they formed imprints, which the outer domain could use to locate the heavens. Erasing traces was skilled work; previously done in secret by the empress, now it was out in the open.

In the game against heaven, one had to think ahead.

The heavenly dao had no consciousness, but that didn't mean it was foolish; before the great battle, it was unconsciously scheming too.