Emperor’s Domination

The legend of Feng Qi, a nine-year-old dao lord. This couldn’t be verified; future generations didn’t know her origin and merit laws either.

Only two points were repeated in the records. First, she was a girl named Feng Qi. Second, she did indeed sweep through the world uncontested at the age of nine. [1]

The other combatant, Jiu Bian, was even more mysterious. People didn’t know if this was the right name. In fact, the correct pronoun remained unknown. Jiu Bian could be a human, a demon, or something else entirely. [2]

All in all, Jiu Bian might be the most mysterious cultivator in Desolaces. No one has seen Jiu Bian’s true appearance or actual form.

One theory dictated that Jiu Bian always appeared in a different form. The question was – was the change happening with every appearance or limited to the changing of eras?

Another theory stated that Jiu Bian could be more than just one person. They could be from a single lineage and would have a different successor appearing in each era.

Perhaps Jiu Bian wasn’t even the correct name. These characters might have been first recorded because the being had appeared nine times with nine different appearances.

The most impressive tale regarding Jiu Bian was how it had devoured a dao lord before. This was also unverified but still served as a testament to its power.

Feng Qi and Jiu Bian were complete strangers with no feud to speak of, at least as far as people knew. However, the battle between them affected all of Eight Desolaces.

Some believed that they were mortal enemies since birth due to their background. Others said that they were competing for a supreme treasure.

Most present-day demons believed that they were fighting over Demon Realm Palace. In this legend, both sides found it at the same time and wouldn’t relent.

Their battle tore the world asunder. Continental cracks became a common sight. Numerous slumbering monsters woke up, even the existences in the forbidden zones. The Supreme Monarch of Lion’s Roar awakened as well and came to see the battle in person.

The ground disappeared and the sky vault was obliterated. It felt like a world-ending disaster.

Future descendants didn’t know much about the details of the battle. One belief was that both combatants perished in the battle. Another stated that slumbering monsters took advantage of their injuries and killed them. The third included a draw and both sides decided to leave.

Ultimately, the two combatants were never seen again afterward. They appeared like meteors shooting across the night sky, beautiful yet ephemeral.

However, the palace also disappeared as well. It wasn’t until Space Emperor Dragon’s emergence and his creation of the City of Demons that it was seen again.

There was one concrete piece of evidence amidst all the rumors. It proved that the battle actually happened and provided a hint to Jiu Bian’s identity – a supreme demon god from the ancient age.

Blood was naturally spilled from the great battle. Their blood affected the animals beneath and this gave them divinity and dao attunement. They then subsequently reached the dao and became great demons.

Thus, two branches were created as a result – the present-day Phoenix Ground and Tiger Pond.

Phoenix Ground inherited the bloodline of Feng Qi while Tiger Pond inherited Jiu Bian’s bloodline. Because of this, the two branches were always at war.

Space Dragon Emperor appeared and changed this. The emperor subdued both branches and created a third – Dragon Platform. This ended the eternal conflict and signaled the start of a brand new sect – Dragon. Henceforth, there were three branches instead of two.

Once again, these legends weren’t verified but, Dragon wholeheartedly agreed with this. The majority of outsiders felt the same way.

Meanwhile, Li Qiye stared at the palace for a while with a smirk on his face.

A disciple nearby asked Elder Hu again: “Elder, what can this palace do?”

“I don’t know.” Elder Hu chuckled: “I heard that it is very important to Dragon, that any disciple capable of entering will go up the ranks very quickly.”

He then waved his hand and said: “I don’t know if this is true or not, this is just what others told me.” He had limited sources due to his lowly background.

“Can outsiders try too?” The disciple had a bold thought.

“It’s useless for you to try.” Li Qiye chuckled and patted Weiqiao’s shoulder: “But Weiqiao can give it a shot.”

“I… Master, I don’t think I can go.” Wang Weiqiao didn’t expect this and smiled awkwardly.

It had nothing to do with lacking confidence. The palace was crucial to Dragon and they wouldn’t let anyone enter outside of their own geniuses.

Plus, he knew that his talent couldn’t compare to theirs in the first place. Even if he were to enter, the benefits would be limited.

“A disciple of mine can do anything.” Li Qiye nonchalantly said.

Weiqiao took a deep breath and solemnly nodded: “Very well, Master, since you’ve put it that way, I’m sure I can do it.”

The others exchanged glances. They didn’t know why Li Qiye was so confident in Weiqiao but still believed him.

“Let’s go.” Li Qiye raised one foot in a natural walking motion.

The moment he lifted his foot, loud metallic clanks happened and shook the entire city. The quakes naturally shocked its inhabitants.

“What’s happening?!” This has never happened before in this region.

“Look!” They looked up and saw Demon Realm Palace being more resplendent than ever. The light pulsed like a tsunami, no longer gentle like before. The unprecedented development frightened them.

The palace started shaking violently, seemingly wanting to leave the chains. This negatively impacted the region’s stability since the palace resembled a foundational pillar.

Experts from the three branches awakened as a result. This included ancient ancestors.

The latter saw the shaking palace and became startled. Even an ancestor inside the palace didn’t know what was going on.

“When was the last time this happened?” One of them wondered.

“Report this to the sect.” An ancient ancestor ordered with haste.

***

“What is happening?!” The members of Little Diamond fell to the ground due to the violent shakes.

Only Li Qiye stood there calmly and observed the changes.

After a while, the palace regained its stability and stopped shaking. This temporarily assured the nervous spectators.

1. Given this context, treating Feng Qi as a name seems correct ☜

2. In this case, Jiu Bian would work better as a title but Nine-changes/transformations/forms don’t sound great. It could also be the actual name so we’ll stick with Jiu Bian. ☜