Chapter 39: How Would I Know?!

Heaven and earth trembled as if some world-shattering anomaly had occurred.

A power beyond imagination, impossible to comprehend, coiled in the sky.

The countless cultivation cities that had just been bustling and prosperous like mortal imperial capitals suddenly shifted in mood. Killing intent saturated the air, spreading in all directions.

One after another, mighty experts released their auras, all locking onto the figure that had abruptly appeared high above.

“What’s going on?”

“Why would a Tribulation-Crossing giant suddenly appear out of nowhere?”

“The aura’s unfamiliar… it should be an ancient Tribulation-Crossing cultivator!”

“How strange. He’s been asleep for all this time, so why come out now? Does he not know that after the Ancestral Emperor of Great Shang used the Law as his Dao Fruit and ascended to immortality, all cultivators have been bound by the law? No more acting with impunity.

“All the high-level cultivators went into hibernation, waiting to awaken when Great Shang declines so they can join hands to overthrow it. Why is he doing the opposite—coming out while Great Shang is at its peak?”

“Who cares why. The more chaos, the better. The more chaos, the better it is for our Demon Path to develop!”

Countless elders in the Demon Grotto were also shocked by this scene, all turning their gazes over to watch the spectacle.

A Tribulation-Crossing cultivator—strongest beneath immortals! In any era, such a person was an unquestioned overlord.

Under Great Shang’s rule, cultivators at that level were all asleep. They were extremely rare, and thus an absolute novelty.

Xu Gu and Huan Caiyi, who had been chatting and joking just moments ago, exchanged a glance.

They both seemed to realize something, and quietly swallowed.

It was over. Things had gotten big.

Xu Gu might act crazy on a daily basis and be fanatically devoted to the Great Cause of Devil Cultivation, but he wasn’t actually stupid.

If that Tribulation-Crossing cultivator ever learned that he was the root cause behind Martial Dao’s decline… he would be done for.

Even if every demon in the Demon Path came out to protect him, they wouldn’t be able to.

Of course, given the Demon Path’s “virtues,” there was no universe in which they would actually protect him.

Demon cultivators had three great virtues:

Surrendering.
Running away.
Filing complaints.

And backstabbing their own.

“What is he even yelling about?”

“What ‘Martial Dao’?”

“Why’d he say he’s going to wipe out my Zhao Family Ravine?”

Li Shaobai and the other three were completely confused.

Zhao Jingang in particular felt his scalp go numb. That was literally his family’s territory.

Then the four of them noticed the slightly guilty looks on Xu Gu and Huan Caiyi’s faces.

“What did you two do to my home?”

Zhao Jingang’s eyes turned red. He grabbed Xu Gu by the shoulders and snarled,

“You went too far!”

“Uh… don’t take this the wrong way. We just casually mentioned an idea. We never thought things would spiral into… this.”

Xu Gu and Huan Caiyi both felt even more guilty.

Who could’ve guessed it would provoke a Tribulation-Crossing cultivator?!

“All excuses!”

Zhao Jingang got even angrier.

“Something this fun, and at my house no less—
And neither of you brought me with you?

“When you went out hunting for fun, you didn’t even think of me!”

“Uh…”

Xu Gu was at a loss for words.

…Was the plot really supposed to go like this?

“Next time, I swear!” Huan Caiyi said quickly.

The corner of Xu Gu’s mouth twitched again.

He could see it now.

Huan Caiyi hadn’t been panicking earlier because she thought they’d caused some terrible disaster.

She’d been panicking because she’d snuck off with him to Zhao Family Ravine to play and hadn’t brought Zhao Jingang and the others—and they’d been busted.

At the same time—

Outside,

It wasn’t just the Martial World in Zhao Family Ravine that had become a boiling pot.

The entire Heavenly Profound Continent was now one big cauldron of chaos.

The heads or ancestral patriarchs of the Five Great Immortal Sects and numerous super sects had all appeared in the imperial court, crowding the throne room and talking over one another at the emperor.

“Your Majesty truly lives up to your name as Sage Emperor!”

“You really are wise and mighty beyond compare—you actually foresaw an ancient Tribulation-Crossing cultivator plotting in secret and prepared for him in advance, forcing him out!”

“We truly are fortunate. His Dao Fruit was far too powerful.

“If he’d remained asleep and Martial Dao continued to evolve, he would have become an immortal one day.

“At the moment of his ascension, Martial Dao would have undergone a qualitative transformation and could very well have devoured or even replaced the Immortal Dao!”

“When that happens, all cultivators will face the end of days. The world will become a world ruled by martial artists alone!”

The representatives of the Five Great Immortal Sects all wore solemn expressions, genuine fear lingering in their eyes.

Then came wave after wave of praise for the current emperor.

“What fortune? This is all the result of Your Majesty’s strategies and heroic efforts in turning the tide!”

“Everything was within Your Majesty’s calculations!”

“Your Majesty is wise and divine!”

Compliments rained down without end.

“Am I really that amazing?”

Sitting on the dragon throne, the Emperor of Great Shang was utterly confused.

As he listened to all this, he only grew more lost.

What are you people even talking about?

He’d been in the harem playing party games with his concubines when he was suddenly summoned out here, and then these old monsters had just started firing off all this stuff one after another.

“I’m that amazing indeed!”

The Great Shang Emperor burst out laughing.

Even if he hadn’t really understood what had happened, everything they just described was his plan!

“How do we capture that Tribulation-Crossing cultivator?”

He asked the most important question.

“Huh? Your Majesty, didn’t you already arrange that?”

All the sect leaders looked puzzled.

“Ah?”

The emperor drew a deep breath.

His face remained completely expressionless, but inside, he was panicking.

Arrange what?

What did I arrange?!

“We understand now—Your Majesty, you must be testing us!”

“Your Majesty has gravely underestimated us!”

“Your Majesty’s intentions were so obvious! How could we possibly fail to see them?”

“Although that Tribulation-Crossing cultivator is an ancient monster, with a foundation of who-knows-how-many tens of thousands of years and terrifying power… an ordinary Tribulation-Crossing cultivator really might not be his match.”

“To suppress him, at least two Tribulation-Crossing cultivators would ordinarily need to take the field. But that would be too wasteful.”

“And so, Your Majesty made preparations well in advance—drawing that ancient Tribulation-Crossing cultivator to Zhao Family Ravine while at the same time disguising the move as ‘business warfare’ and abducting every master chef in Zhao Family Ravine, thereby enraging Zhao Futu.”

“Zhao Futu is the strongest body cultivator alive. His techniques are fully updated; he holds a massive technical advantage over ancient body cultivators.

“On top of that, his talent and cultivation method are unique. The angrier he gets, the stronger he becomes!”

“With this chain of schemes, that Tribulation-Crossing cultivator is now walking right into the trap.

“He’s already throwing himself into net!”

“Your Majesty, did we guess correctly?”

The sect leaders spoke smoothly and confidently, their admiration for the emperor growing again.

Before today, they hadn’t looked down on the Emperor of Great Shang exactly.

But with laws this strict, you could’ve put a pig on the throne and it would’ve stayed in one piece.

Now, they were revising their evaluation.

…just a little.

Hiss… was it like that?

Did I arrange all that?

The emperor kept his face calm and unreadable, but inside he was in absolute turmoil, his emotions shifting rapidly—

Until finally, he became very firm:

Yes, that’s exactly what I arranged.

“Of course it didn’t stump you all. Very good. Everything is within My plans.”

The Emperor of Great Shang said majestically, full of imperial gravitas and maximum style.

He felt unbelievably satisfied.

To be admired like this by the leaders of all the great immortal and super sects—this was treatment not even his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, or any of his ancestors had ever enjoyed.

So damn satisfying.

Even though he still had no idea what was actually going on.

Meanwhile—

The battle at Zhao Family Ravine had already begun.

“So it was you… who ruined my plan to ascend?”

“Today, I’ll tear you to pieces. I’ll forge divine weapons from your bones and refine an artifact spirit from your soul!”

The ancient Tribulation-Crossing body cultivator descended over Zhao Family Ravine, his aura surging skyward.

Blood-soaked killing intent blasted out in all directions, his pressure so immense it crushed the very sky.

He wasn’t a demon cultivator, yet he crushed every demon in existence.

His eyes locked coldly onto Zhao Futu.

(End of this Chapter)