Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Time passed, one day at a time.

After three days.

The entirety of the Qingyun League was in high spirits. To get ready for the final battle, everyone had been cultivating hard, growing by leaps and bounds. Now that many of them were equipped with Spirit Weapons, the overall combat prowess of the Qingyun League had soared.

It was only a matter of time before Li Tianqiong returned, but the Martial Faction could conquer the Heaven’s Wall City before Li Tianqiong returned to augment his faction’s power.

After all, Li Tianqiong’s return was unavoidable. They couldn’t just sit around waiting and doing nothing.

But that day, at the imperial palace, something happened.

Suddenly, the imperial palace seemed to be brightly lit. The entire palace filled with spiritual energy. The guards raised their heads, and when they sensed the mighty aura, they knelt in respect.

Even Empress Cao, Princess Li Mengli, and Imperial Concubine Qi Ying were alarmed. When they flew out and saw the shift going on at the imperial palace, their expressions changed.

Five figures were flying toward them in the air, the one in the lead was Li Tianqiong, the emperor of the Tianwu Kingdom.

“The emperor has returned!”

“The emperor has returned! This is great! If he waited any longer, the Heaven’s Wall City would have ended up conquered by the Martial Faction.”

“The emperor is at a much higher realm than before. And the four people behind him seem to all be Transcendence Realm experts.”

“With the emperor’s return, the Martial Faction is dead. Even before the emperor’s secluded cultivation, he was already a Transcendence Second Realm warrior. Now, he has probably reached the third realm. But why hasn’t he gone to kill Ye Mo right now?”

“Ye Mo has publicly challenged the Emperor Faction and has even killed Empress Cao’s brother, commander of the imperial guards, Cao Zhengchun. With the emperor’s disposition, a major battle will break out soon.”

“Major battle? What are you saying? Ye Mo stands no chance before the emperor. He’s only strong enough to defeat a Transcendence First Realm experts. The emperor was already in the Second Realm even before his secluded cultivation.”

When Empress Cao saw the emperor arriving, she flew out and stood on the roof. Facing Li Tianqiong and the others who were slowly landing, she bowed and said, “Welcome back, emperor. If you had not returned, the Tianwu Kingdom would have fallen to the Martial Faction before long.”

“I already know what’s happening,” Li Tianqiong said. “I never expected that Ye Mo would grow at such a terrifying speed. But since I’m back, the Martial Faction will no longer be allowed to do as they wish.”

The emperor slowly landed. Looking at the three women gazing at him, he wasn’t the slightest bit astonished when he heard their news. “Mengli, bring these four experts somewhere to rest. They’re all Transcendence Realm experts. Be sure to tell the servants to treat them well.”

When Li Mengli looked at the four, she frowned. The anxiousness on her face grew deeper.

Currently, the emperor and Ye Mo had turned into complete enemies. She didn’t want to see either of them killed. Alas, she was completely helpless in all this.

Li Mengli nodded and brought the four Transcendence Realm experts away.

“My dears, I’ve just returned and have only heard about Ye Mo killing Cao Zhengchun,” Li Tianqiong said calmly. “Tell me, what exactly is his cultivation level right now? And what martial technique is he using? Only a few of you are aware of my return for now. I’m trying to decide if I should head straight to the Qingyun League and kill Ye Mo myself, or should I set a trap for them instead.”

“Emperor, when Ye Mo killed my brother, his strength was only at Energy Burst Realm,” Empress Cao said. “Based on the reports of the imperial guards, his strongest attack was fused with an extremely powerful will where a projection of six gods appeared behind him.” She clenched her teeth and continued, “He’s only at the Energy Burst Realm but he’s already capable of killing a Transcendence Realm expert. Emperor, you cannot leave him alive. The moment he reaches the Transcendence Realm, he will be a threat to even you.”

“Yes, yes,” Cao Clan’s trusty aid, who was standing to the side, also chimed in, “Ye Mo is too powerful. The league war was only a few months ago. Back then, he was still a True Energy Realm warrior. But now, he’s already reached the Energy Burst Realm and Transcendence First Realm experts are no match for him at all.”

“How is that possible?” The emperor’s eyes flashed. At that moment, everyone could feel a chilling aura emanating out the emperor as he spoke, “Killing Cao Zhengchun with a cultivation level of only Energy Burst Realm? How is that possible?”

If they claimed that Ye Mo had reached the Transcendence Realm and killed Cao Zhengchun, Li Tianqiong wouldn’t be as surprised. That was just a fast advancement. But now, they were claiming that Ye Mo had killed a Transcendence Realm expert with a cultivation level of Energy Burst Realm. That was too large a gap to cross, and too inconceivable. That should be totally impossible.

“Emperor, if you find that hard to believe, you can try asking the imperial concubine,” Empress Cao said before looking at Qi Ying with a mocking gaze. “She personally witnessed Ye Mo’s prowess.”

“Imperial concubine, is that the truth?” Li Tianqiong asked.

“Yes,” Qi Ying nodded, an unnatural expression on her face as she answered.

“Fine. Remember to not spread the news of my return around,” Li Tianqiong said. “Just wait for the Martial Faction people to come to their deaths. Imperial concubine, don’t leave the palace for now. Just stay here and, after killing Ye Mo, I’ll organize a grand wedding to formally take you as my concubine.”

After saying all that, the emperor left, leaving Empress Cao and the imperial concubine behind.

“Qi Ying, don’t think that I’m unaware of your relationship with Ye Mo,” Empress Cao spoke gently, but her voice had a dangerous tone. “Since your return to the Heaven’s Wall City, I’ve been sending people to watch your every move. You’re very secretive, but I’ve still managed to find some clues.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Qi Ying maintained a calm expression and asked coldly.

“Exactly what it sounds like. The reason I haven’t exposed you is so you can smarten up. Ye Mo is going to die soon. So long as you listen to me obediently, you will be able to continue being an imperial concubine, while I will continue being an empress.”

“I don’t understand what you are getting at,” Qi Ying insisted. “Empress Cao, although you’re the empress, with the death of your brother, your status has been dropping. You’ve lost your protector. You should know the consequences of offending me.”

“Haha, sure, with the death of my brother who was my main backer, my status has dropped.” Emperess Cao sneered. “But compared to someone who turned the emperor into a cuckold, I wonder who will suffer the worse fate?”

“What? What do you mean by cuckold? Stop talking nonsense.” Against Empress Cao’s allegations, Qi Ying still maintained her calm and spoke confidently, as an imperial concubine should.

“Haha, I have spies in the Qi clan,” Empress Cao spoke mockingly. “I know everything about you. Let me tell you something. The only reason I haven’t told the emperor anything is that I wanted to give you a chance.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Qi Ying asked.

“Nothing. If you want to protect your clan, listen to me carefully. After the emperor has killed Ye Mo, you’ll still get your wedding ceremony so grand even I will be jealous of you.”

After saying all that, Empress Cao sauntered away pridefully.

“That woman is too crafty.”

Gazing at Empress Cao’s departing back, Qi Ying frowned deeply. “No, I need to tell them. With Li Tianqiong’s return, if they attack the Heaven’s Wall City, it’ll be like moths flying into the flame.”

“By the way, don’t bother trying to think of a way to notify them,” Empress Cao added one final sentence before she left. “Don’t you understand the meaning behind the emperor’s words earlier?”

“Is Li Tianqiong starting to suspect me as well?” Qi Ying was greatly alarmed.