The Bamboo Emperor stood above the cold lake, looking down at Ye Chu, and said with contempt and mockery, “Are you the one who killed my four kings?”
Without a single superfluous word, he came straight to demand an explanation. His imposing aura descended, bearing down on Ye Chu. This posture made Ye Tian and the others clench their fists, their hearts filled with endless worry. Who could withstand the wrath of an emperor?
But Ye Chu’s next words made them stare at him with wide eyes, unable to believe he dared to speak so arrogantly: “I did kill them. What are you going to do about it?”
The Bamboo Emperor had not expected Ye Chu to treat him this way. The anger on his face surged even more, and his majestic pressure crashed down. Staring straight at Ye Chu, he said coldly, “You deserve to die!”
“Whether I deserve to die is not for you to decide!” Ye Chu stared at the Bamboo Emperor. “This is Yao City, and it is not your place to call the shots here.”
Ye Chu’s words thoroughly enraged the Bamboo Emperor. The emperor’s aura erupted without any concealment. As the terrifying aura vibrated, it transformed into a hurricane that swept towards Ye Chu like a physical force. It struck the cold lake below, whipping up waves several metres high. This sight was utterly horrifying. If his mere aura was this terrifying, how formidable must his actual strength be? Everyone watching turned pale, their hearts filled with anxiety as they looked at Ye Chu standing in direct confrontation with the Bamboo Emperor.
“After today, Yao City will vanish from this continent!” The Bamboo Emperor sneered at Ye Chu.
Ye Chu stared coldly at his opponent, a trace of disdain on his lips. “Whether it vanishes is not for you to decide. Do not think that just because you are an emperor, you possess boundless ability.”
As Ye Chu’s quiet words reached the Bamboo Emperor’s ears, the other man’s pupils contracted sharply. Staring straight at Ye Chu, he said, “Very well. I have not taken action personally for a long time. Today, I will behead you. A mere king, yet you dare to show off in front of me.”
As the Bamboo Emperor spoke, his aura vibrated outward, and his power surged. The emperor’s might was fully exposed. As it erupted, it seemed as though all things were being torn apart. The surging power directly whipped up the lake water below, crashing with thunderous waves. The calm cold lake had never been like this, making many people’s hearts pound with fear.
“Just an emperor. Do you truly think you are invincible?” Ye Chu stared at his opponent and raised his arm to block the crashing lake water. The water dispersed from his arm and struck Ye Chu’s body, instantly soaking his clothes.
“I assume the treasure of the Yao Kingdom is now in your hands!” The Bamboo Emperor said, staring at Ye Chu. “But you seem to fail to understand one principle: do not touch what you have no right to touch.”
As the Bamboo Emperor spoke, his terrifying intent vibrated and descended like a blanket covering heaven and earth. The emperor’s might was fully exposed, and he made no reservations simply because Ye Chu was a king.
“I take whatever I want, and it is not your place to question me,” Ye Chu retorted, looking coldly at his opponent with a sneer. “Who do you think you are to judge me? If you have the ability, kill me!”
Although Ye Chu knew the formidable nature of an emperor, having reached his current level, he no longer held such reverence for them. He looked at his opponent with burning eyes, full of fighting spirit!
“Good! Good! Good!” The Bamboo Emperor laughed in extreme anger, staring gloomily at Ye Chu. No king had ever dared to act this way in front of him, and this person was the first. If that was the case, he would teach him a proper lesson. He would make him understand what a true emperor was!
Losing his patience, the Bamboo Emperor roared. His intent vibrated, with patterns flashing within it. Clearly, his intent had also reached the stage of moving with his body. His resilient intent swelled, transforming into a bamboo strip that made a crackling sound as it whipped towards Ye Chu, directly tearing a rift in space.
“I will make you understand right now what it means to respect the strong!”
The bamboo strip quickly reached Ye Chu and undoubtedly struck him. However, there was no sound of flesh being whipped. To everyone’s disbelief, the Ye Chu standing in the distance shattered, instantly turning into starry specks of light and vanishing from their sight.
The Bamboo Emperor’s eye twitched, and his gaze suddenly shifted to a spot. On the lake surface, a youth stood safely, looking at him calmly.
“An afterimage!” The Bamboo Emperor’s pupils contracted. Noticing Ye Chu’s calm gaze made the Bamboo Emperor feel that the other was insulting and despising him.
“Your speed is not bad, but do you think this is enough to challenge an emperor? You are vastly underestimating an emperor!” The Bamboo Emperor sneered at Ye Chu. His arm vibrated, and the vast power within him surged from his veins, striking straight down into the lake below. As the Bamboo Emperor vibrated, the lake water condensed into sections of bamboo strips, suddenly growing from the lake and transforming into sharp bamboo spikes that shot directly at Ye Chu.
Every bamboo spike carried a heart-palpitating force, extremely sharp, and under the Bamboo Emperor’s control, they pierced through space.
Ye Chu did not dare to underestimate them. He moved his feet, dodging most of the bamboo spikes. The power within him also vibrated outward, his sword intent sharp and cold, slashing directly at the bamboo spikes. The spikes shot at Ye Chu were severed, turning back into lake water that fell into the lake, splashing up a great deal of water.
Standing on the lake, Ye Chu sent his sword intent rolling outward, severing the bamboo spikes shooting towards him one by one. He looked at his opponent calmly and said, “An emperor’s methods are nothing more than this!”
Ye Chu’s quiet voice was still heard by many cultivators watching the battle. Ye Tian stared blankly at Ye Chu, feeling that Ye Chu was simply inconceivable. He actually possessed the strength to fight an emperor.
Was he not just a king? The gap between a king and an emperor was vast, yet Ye Chu had blocked an emperor’s strike.
The Bamboo Emperor was also somewhat surprised. He had originally thought Ye Chu would not be able to block this strike at all, as it exceeded the power of a king, and his intent was far beyond that of a king. He had not expected that the other’s intent had also reached the stage of the body moving with the mind. Most importantly, the other’s power was also quite vast, much stronger than an ordinary peak king.
“This kid is a bit tricky!” The Bamboo Emperor looked at Ye Chu but was not overly worried. A king was, after all, a king. There was a world of difference between a king and an emperor. No matter what, he could not possibly be a match for an emperor.
“Not bad! I was afraid you would die in my hands in a single move. Struggling a few more times is also a kind of pleasure!” The Bamboo Emperor licked his lips, looking at Ye Chu gloomily, a cruel expression on his face.
As he spoke, he waved his arm. With his movement, a terrifying force of origin spirit erupted. This origin spirit force vibrated and swept towards Ye Chu, making Ye Chu feel as though his own origin spirit was about to be swallowed and refined by it. This feeling was somewhat familiar to Ye Chu. He paused for a moment and quickly realised where this familiarity came from.
“Soul Swallowing and Origin Transforming Art?” Ye Chu stared wide-eyed at the Bamboo Emperor. He could not understand why the Bamboo Emperor would use such a secret technique. Could it be that the Soul Swallowing Emperor had passed it on to someone else back then?
Ye Chu stared at the Bamboo Emperor, his inner doubts hard to suppress. And when Ye Chu called out the name of the Soul Swallowing and Origin Transforming Art, the Bamboo Emperor’s face changed drastically…