Emperor’s Domination

The old Holy City resided next to the Hidden-dragon Mountains. Before this gigantic mountain range, even the huge city appeared to be tiny.

One could feel its prosperity after entering. It was full of people and tall pavilions. Its vibrance would make people forget the way home.

The city could be said to be the largest citadel in the Barren Earth. This place was filled with both mortals and cultivators! Moreover, the mortals here were used to the flying cultivators. Even if a cultivator rode a serpent through this place, the mortals here wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Although the Barren Earth was not the origin land of the human race records state that it was one of the cities with the highest population of humans, and while the Holy City was not humanity’s first establishment it was one of its most ancient enclaves.

There were too many hidden clans in this land to count. Generation after generation, the city continued to produce countless big characters. There were even many Immortal Emperors that were related to the city in one way or another.

At the beginning of the Emperors Era, the city was mainly occupied by humans. As time passed, other races like the Blood Race and Demon Race started to slowly gather at the Holy City as well.

Li Qiye and Si Yuanyuan walked inside the city. The prosperity of this place gave people different feelings. Looking at the streets full of pedestrians was exciting. The temptations of the stimulating mundane world permeated the area.

Li Qiye would become a bit emotional each time he came here. He murmured: “This is a city full of life. It makes people feel younger every time.”

This was also not Si Yuanyuan’s first time here, but alas, each visit left people in awe of this city’s charm and vitality. There were also too many secrets for people to figure out!

This city didn’t only have buildings and pavilions for mortals to dwell in, there were many old courtyards for the ancient clans. Some of these clans were as old as the city itself. These courtyards and mansions had existed since the city’s establishment.

There were even floating mountains and magical temples in the city. A city like this was definitely established on a treasure ground.

Because of its magical properties, many lineages wanted to occupy the Holy City. However, very few sects and imperial lineages were able to establish themselves in the city, even after millions of years. It was even more difficult for non-human sects to build a stronghold in this place.

Experience showed that to a large extent, the Holy City was presided over by its ancient and reclusive clans. Other lineages found it very difficult to enter.

“We’ll go to Tiger Hill.” Li Qiye told Si Yuanyuan.

She was a bit surprised and asked: “Tiger Hill? Does Young Noble want to test your luck?”

Li Qiye was very mysterious in her eyes; it seemed that there was nothing he couldn’t do.

“No, just seeing a friend there.” Li Qiye smiled: “Of course, there is no harm in testing our luck there while we’re at it.”

She stopped asking questions and only quietly followed right behind him. A bit later, Li Qiye turned back to ask: “Have you been to the Thunder Tower before?”

“Just once.” Si Yuanyuan nodded: “I went with an ancestor, but I didn’t climb to the top of the tower.”

Li Qiye smiled: “The Thunder Tower is truly a good location. I must say, Immortal Emperor Chi Ye was quite smart back then. His descendant, Immortal Emperor Chen Xue, also inherited his ancestor’s good qualities. He spent countless efforts so that your Crimson Night Kingdom could have a foothold in the form of the Thunder Tower in the Holy City.”

He paused for a bit at this point before continuing: “If you want to take a look at the top of the tower, I can take you there to show you the ancient magicalness of the heaven and earth.”

She hesitated from speaking her mind. After a while, she finally answered: “I don’t want to climb to the top. Just entering is more than enough for me.”

Li Qiye smiled in response: “I understand what you are thinking. You simply do not want me to fight Crimson Night, or rather, you don’t want its disciples to die at my hands.”

She looked at Li Qiye and spoke with some reservation: “My Crimson Night is a dual emperor lineage renowned in the Barren Earth.”

Li Qiye shook his head gently: “I know that you think I am just boasting, but dual emperor sects are nothing. I have destroyed many sects like that, too many to count, in fact.”

In her view, his attitude held no semblance to that of a braggart. This made her quite confused. How was it that someone who could speak about destroying dual emperor lineages was so unknown?

The two headed for Tiger Hill. There were many people heading there, including groups of cultivators and even mortals.

The Dragon Platform on top of Tiger Hill was a popular landscape in the Holy City. It could even be considered a sacred ground that many cultivators wanted to visit.

There was a particular belief passed down in the city — the two best treasure grounds in this place were the Dragon Platform and the Thunder Tower.

The Dragon Platform had no owner at this moment. It belonged to the Holy City, so anyone could climb it. On the other hand, the Thunder Tower belonged to the Crimson Night Kingdom! Moreover, not just any disciple could enter.

In the past, the tower used to belong to an old clan in the city. Later on, when Immortal Emperor Chi Ye was still in this world, he paid a sky-high price for the tower. Later on, after many generations of business and effort, the kingdom was finally able to use the tower to expand its foothold in the city.

There were many legends about the Dragon Platform at Tiger Hill. One stated that the end of the dragon vein from the Hidden-dragon Mountains was at this platform. Another one stated that during an ancient era, a Golden Dragon fought against an Immortal Tiger in this place. In the end, the tiger bit the dragon’s neck while the dragon coiled around the tiger.

Ultimately, both creatures died and their bodies turned into the two places eventually known to future descendants as Tiger Hill and the Dragon Platform.

None of these legends could be verified. Nevertheless, many people believed the legend of the two mythical beasts because the geographical shapes of this location were too fitting for the story.

Tiger Hill was a mountain inside the Holy City. From the base to the peak, it truly resembled the image of a dragon fighting a tiger, ending in their deaths.

Stone stairways reached all the way to the top. They circled around the peak, making the mountain look even more like a dragon coiling itself around a tiger. As for the peak, it looked like a dragon’s head. It had its mouth open and was screaming from being bit in the neck by the tiger.

As a result, this location was divided into two parts. Everything below the summit was considered Tiger Hill while the very top was called the Dragon Platform.

Li Qiye took Si Yuanyuan to the mountain, but they were stopped at the base. Only certain cultivators were allowed to climb.

It was not just Li Qiye’s duo that was stopped. Many cultivators weren’t happy, but after seeing the clothing of those cultivators, they didn’t dare to voice their dissatisfaction. This was because all those cultivators guarding the mountain base belonged to the great sects of the Blood-devil Tribe, such as the Half-moon Blood Tribe, the Grand Palm Ancient Court, the Pureblood School…

The cultivators who were stopped, unhappy as they may be, didn’t want to offend the Blood-devil Tribe. In the southern Barren Earth, Blood-devil was the strongest tribe among the Blood Race. Outside of the human race, no other tribes were stronger than them. They were also very united; offending this tribe was the same as offending the thirty-five great lineages behind them. This even included some imperial lineages!

“Today, we have booked the place. Our sect masters are debating the dao on the Dragon Platform. Please return.” A disciple immediately stopped Li Qiye and Si Yuanyuan.

Li Qiye glanced at the disciples here and asked: “Since when did Tiger Hill and the Dragon Platform become the Blood-devil Tribe’s property?”

“This dao discussion taking place at the Dragon Platform was agreed to by the Bai Clan from the Holy City.” The disciple coldly leered at Li Qiye and uttered: “Even if this place is not our property, if we Blood-devils want to use this place for one day, who would dare to show dissent?!”

This declaration greatly annoyed the cultivators who wanted to climb to the Dragon Platform. However, they didn’t say anything. In the end, the tribe had the power to be this arrogant.

Li Qiye didn’t bat an eye at this threat. He declared: “There is no place that I can’t go. A good dog does not block the way, scram for me!”

“Ignorant fool! Who do you think you are?! You dare to bluster in front of our Blood-devil Tribe?!” The disciples guarding the path were enraged. The rest of them were about to surround him for a beating!

Li Qiye acted as if it was no big deal to face off against the aggressive crowd forming around him. He smiled and asked Si Yuanyuan sarcastically: “Yuanyuan, how do you think I feel about the Blood-devil Tribe?”