Dominator Emperor

”This is impossible—!” The news was too shocking for the elders present to believe. Elder Wu shot to his feet. ”The Patriarch never married. How could he have any descendants?”

”That’s right, it can’t be possible. The sect’s records have never mentioned the Patriarch having descendants,” Elder Qian chimed in.

”It is the absolute truth,” Tu Buyu said from his position behind Su Yonghuang. ”I was entrusted by the Elders to find the Patriarch’s descendants. Although it is not in the sect’s official records, one can still find clues in certain anecdotal tales.”

At this point, Tu Buyu looked at Elder Gu. ”Elder Gu, do you recall an audience with Elder Liu roughly sixteen hundred years ago? You accompanied the Elder Sect Leader. It wasn’t just Elder Liu present at the time; I was there as well.”

Gu Tieshou stared at Tu Buyu. After a long moment, he shot to his feet, his expression moved. ”You... you’re the young man who was helping Elder Liu back then!”

”So Elder Gu hasn’t forgotten,” Tu Buyu said with a nod. ”Correct. I am Elder Liu’s Registered Disciple. I was shouldering a great responsibility and could not reveal my movements, which is why my name was never entered into the registry of the Xiyan Ancient Sect’s disciples.”

’Elder Liu? Which Elder Liu?’ The seated elders were all shaken. It seemed there was only one person in the Xiyan Ancient Sect who could be called Elder Liu.

Gu Tieshou sighed softly and sat back down. ”Elder Liu is our Xiyan Ancient Sect’s first Defender of the Faith, Master Liu Sanjian.”

”Master Liu Sanjian!” The words from Gu Tieshou’s lips left every elder present completely stunned.

After Young Emperor Mu, the most illustrious figure in the Xiyan Ancient Sect was Liu Sanjian. He was the sect’s first Defender of the Faith. When the Holy Heaven Sect attacked the Xiyan Ancient Country, it was Liu Sanjian himself who took command.

”Master Liu is still alive?” The news was so shocking that Elder Qian cried out involuntarily. If Master Liu was still alive, it would mean the Xiyan Ancient Sect still had someone who could stand against the Elder Ancestors of the Holy Heaven Sect.

”That was the last time I saw Elder Liu,” Gu Tieshou said, shaking his head. ”I didn’t know back then that Elder Liu was Master Liu. I was still young and had never seen him before. I was only accompanying my master to an audience with the old master. However, Elder Liu’s condition was not optimistic. His old wounds had flared up, and he needed help just to sit or stand. I never saw him again after that.”

At this, the elders all turned to look at Tu Buyu. If Tu Buyu was Liu Sanjian’s disciple—even a Registered Disciple—his standing in the Xiyan Ancient Sect would be higher than even Elder Gu’s.

As the elders watched him, Tu Buyu shook his head. ”In truth, that was the last time I saw Master as well. I have never seen him since.”

Tu Buyu’s words deflated the elders. Without a doubt, Master Liu Sanjian was no longer among the living.

Tu Buyu said, ”In the great battle thirty thousand years ago, our Xiyan Ancient Sect was utterly defeated and suffered devastating losses. By chance, Elder Liu learned that the Patriarch had once had a descendant. I had just become Elder Liu’s disciple at the time. His condition was highly precarious, so he sent me to find the Patriarch’s heir. The clues were extremely limited, so I’ve been wandering ever since. Due to the weight of my mission, I could not speak of this to anyone, nor was I registered as a disciple. Within the Xiyan Ancient Sect, my only direct contact was the Elder Sect Leader. Elder Gu, you’ve probably seen me a few times.”

Gu Tieshou nodded. He knew Tu Buyu was a disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect, but he had always assumed he was an external disciple responsible for outside communications. Since Tu Buyu rarely returned to the sect, Gu Tieshou only knew of his affiliation, not his specific duties.

”In search of the Patriarch’s descendant, I wandered for over a thousand years. Heaven does not fail those who persevere. In the end, I found the Patriarch’s heir,” Tu Buyu told the assembled elders.

”Then... how does this prove that the Sect Leader is the Patriarch’s descendant?” The elders exchanged glances, and finally, Elder Zhou couldn’t help but ask.

There was no issue with Tu Buyu’s identity, but how did that prove Sect Leader Su Yonghuang was the Patriarch’s descendant? This was, after all, a matter of grave importance.

”The Patriarch’s descendant is returning to the clan to acknowledge her ancestors. I, too, was informed of this when the Patriarch visited me in a dream,” Li Qiye said. ”That is why I asked Elder Gu to bring out the Patriarch’s portrait.”

The elders exchanged glances. Finally, Great Elder Gu Tieshou very solemnly took out an ancient, mottled wooden box, which he held with great reverence in both hands.

”The Empress was Su Divine General, who followed the Patriarch for her entire life,” Li Qiye began solemnly. ”Her contributions to establishing both the Xiyan Ancient Sect and the Xiyan Ancient Country were indelible. After the Patriarch shouldered the Celestial Mandate, so as not to hinder his ascent to the pinnacle and his pursuit of eternal life, the Empress took his descendants into hiding, living anonymously far from him. The world never knew of this. The Xiyan Ancient Sect never knew. Not until last night, when the Patriarch revealed it to me in a dream.”

’Back then, I failed to give Su Woman the recognition she deserved. She gave so much in her life, only to end up living in a distant land, seeking neither title nor credit. As the Yin Ya, I have always carried guilt over this. Today, I’m using this method to finally set the record straight for her. It may be far too late, but at least her descendants can return to their clan and acknowledge their ancestry!’

Li Qiye’s words left the Elders staring at one another. Finally, Gu Tieshou nodded gravely. ”I have read the Patriarch’s historical annals. The Su Divine General who served under him was a peerless female general. She was also the first to aid him, following him even from his youth. After the Patriarch shouldered the Celestial Mandate, all his generals were granted titles, with the sole exception of Su Divine General. Records of her became scarce after that, and her whereabouts became unknown. To think that Su Divine General was the Empress all along!”

Li Qiye said slowly, ”Words alone are not proof. Since you elders say we have the Patriarch’s self-portrait, we can simply compare it. Let’s see if the Sect Leader bears a resemblance to the Patriarch. The self-portrait was painted by the Patriarch’s own hand and contains his Emperor’s Immortal Power. The Sect Leader can use a drop of her blood for recognition!”

Hearing Li Qiye’s words, the elders were all shaken. ’How did we not think of that?’

Finally, with great solemnity, Gu Tieshou opened the Ancient Box. He took out a portrait from within. The rolled-up scroll was extremely old; there was no telling how many ages it had passed through.

As the portrait was unrolled, a WHOOSH sound was heard as a surging aura flowed out. It was an Emperor’s Breath, an aura that only an Immortal Emperor could possess!

The portrait was unfurled, revealing the image of a middle-aged man. Though painted with few strokes, those spare lines were enough to sketch out his peerless Emperor’s Force!

A torrent of Emperor’s Breath poured out from the portrait. Though it wasn’t aimed to suppress anyone, its very flow made one’s soul tremble, creating an irresistible urge to prostrate in worship. This was a reverence that came from the depths of the soul!

The elders once again gazed upon the Emperor’s likeness, feeling the Patriarch’s Emperor’s Breath, and they couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of piety. Amidst this piety, they began to compare the Patriarch’s face to Su Yonghuang’s.

Su Yonghuang was a woman of stunning beauty. Without the portrait for a direct comparison, it would be difficult for anyone to see the resemblance between her and Mingren Immortal Emperor.

Li Qiye had seen Mingren Immortal Emperor more than anyone; he had watched him grow up with his own eyes. That was why he had been so startled the first time he saw Su Yonghuang. The moment he saw her face, he knew her origins!

”The... the resemblance is too strong! Especially the eyebrows... The spirit in those brows is identical to the Patriarch’s!” Upon careful comparison, the elders were stunned, finding it incredible. Su Yonghuang’s sword-like brows, in particular, were a perfect match for Mingren Immortal Emperor’s.

This was what had left the deepest impression on Li Qiye as well. Su Yonghuang’s eyes resembled Su Woman’s, but the spirit of her eyebrows was a perfect copy of Mingren Immortal Emperor’s!

”The Sect Leader can offer her blood for recognition,” Li Qiye said slowly. ”This is the Patriarch’s self-portrait. The Patriarch told me in my dream that if the Sect Leader is his descendant, she will be acknowledged by the Emperor’s Immortal Power.”

Su Yonghuang glanced at Li Qiye. ’I don’t believe his story about the Patriarch visiting his dreams for a second,’ she thought. ’But besides that, what other explanation is there for how he knows so much about Mingren Immortal Emperor and the Tianya Su Family?’

Looking at her ancestor’s portrait, Su Yonghuang couldn’t contain her excitement. Her Su Family also possessed a portrait of Mingren Immortal Emperor, but it wasn’t painted by his own hand. Though it was a good likeness, it lacked this kind of Emperor’s Breath—an aura that only a self-portrait by an Immortal Emperor could possess!

Finally, Su Yonghuang pricked her finger. A drop of fresh blood fell upon the portrait, and in the blink of an eye, it was completely absorbed.

BOOM! In that instant, a terrifying Emperor’s Immortal Power erupted. A shadow stepped out from the portrait. The moment it appeared, it reigned over the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, sweeping away gods and devils!

An invincible shadow emerged, and in that same instant, a terrifying Emperor’s Power surged through heaven and earth! Beneath such invincible Divine Power, the sun and moon dimmed, and the world itself lost its color!

In that moment, countless great figures throughout the Great Middle Realm sensed this invincible Emperor’s Power. The fleeting wave of power instantly alarmed a multitude of people.

”Emperor’s Power—!” Innumerable ancient beings opened their eyes at once, but the wave of power vanished too quickly for anyone to trace its source.

As for the Xiyan Ancient Sect, when the Emperor’s Power swept over, all the disciples were terrified. In an instant, every disciple of the Xiyan Ancient Sect was forced to their knees beneath the Emperor’s Power!

Inside the Ancestral Hall, Gu Tieshou and the others were slammed to the ground. They could not afford the slightest disrespect in the face of such Emperor’s Power!