Hey, everyone, all here

Time passed minute by minute, as the Quasi-Emperors emerged one after another from the fifth trial, arriving at the end of the Emperor's Path.

Yet, they came brimming with confidence, only to perish as that confidence shattered.

To the Heavenly Emperors, the prodigies of this era were nothing more than ants.

The actions of the Heavenly Emperors could be seen as clearing obstacles for the Flame Heavenly Emperor.

After all, only through a decisive battle could the strongest be chosen to bear the Mandate of Heaven.

Of course, in the eyes of the Flame Heavenly Emperor, these Quasi-Emperors could hardly be considered obstacles.

A Heavenly Emperor and a Quasi-Emperor were not on the same level—it was akin to the difference between an immortal and a mortal.

The main reason was that the Heavenly Emperors did not wish to waste time. They wanted the Flame Heavenly Emperor to seize the Mandate of Heaven as swiftly as possible, return to his peak, and use the Life-Death Mystic Flame to fully resurrect themselves.

They had waited far too long, their patience utterly exhausted. Not a single moment more could they endure.

The dawn of immortality was right before them—even Heavenly Emperors could hardly restrain their eagerness.

"Why hasn't the Flame Heavenly Emperor arrived yet?" Soul Heavenly Emperor grew increasingly displeased. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable aversion toward this Heavenly Emperor he had never met, as if the two had some unresolved enmity in a past life.

The other Heavenly Emperors also began to grow restless.

"Could something have happened?"

"Unlikely. The old ghost is watching over the outside world. Nothing should go wrong."

"Let's wait a little longer..."

Three days later, just as the Heavenly Emperors were on the verge of losing their patience—

Suddenly!

Boom—!

The Emperor's Path trembled violently, as if some colossal entity were forcing its way in, threatening to burst it apart.

"He's here!"

The Heavenly Emperors sensed it simultaneously, their gazes turning toward the entrance of the Emperor's Path.

There, they saw a figure—one who seemed to stand above all living beings.

Bathed in immortal radiance, his form was peerless. A white robe fluttered in the void, and his mere presence caused the myriad dao to tremble, shaking billions of stars.

"It's the Flame Heavenly Emperor. He's finally arrived."

Standing at the entrance of the Emperor's Path, the Flame Heavenly Emperor cast a calm gaze across millions of miles, landing upon the gathered Heavenly Emperors at the end of the path.

"My apologies for the wait," he said lightly.

His voice, as serene as an imperial decree, carried unimaginable authority, reverberating throughout the entire Emperor's Path.

Every Heavenly Emperor who heard it stiffened slightly, their expressions turning grave.

"So this is the Flame Heavenly Emperor? No wonder the old ghost chose him as the core of the Heaven-Slaying Plan."

"What a terrifying junior," murmured some of the ancient Heavenly Emperors, their voices heavy.

The Emperor's Path was a place of chaotic laws, with countless spatial barriers. Yet, the Flame Heavenly Emperor's voice had traveled from the entrance to the end without hindrance—a feat not to be underestimated.

Even these self-proclaimed invincible Heavenly Emperors couldn't help but regard him with newfound respect.

In the next moment, the Flame Heavenly Emperor took a single step forward.

His foot landed upon the Emperor's Path, and the entire path churned like an ocean, sending up boundless waves.

He shone like a deity, his saintly radiance akin to an eternal sun in the cold cosmos, instantly dispelling the darkness and chill of the Emperor's Path.

With that step, the Flame Heavenly Emperor traversed the Emperor's Barrier!

A barrier towering billions of feet high, bearing the pressure of ten thousand dao—one that countless Quasi-Emperors had spent months climbing—yet he crossed it in a single stride.

This feat made the Heavenly Emperors' pupils contract. Some were awed, while others dismissed it, believing they could have done the same had they been at full strength.

Next, the Flame Heavenly Emperor arrived at the Emperor's Sea.

Again, he took a single step—crossing it effortlessly.

This time, even the dismissive Heavenly Emperors fell silent. The Emperor's Sea was far more formidable than the barrier. Even at their peak, they could traverse it with ease, but never in a single step.

Then came the Forest of Mortals.

The Flame Heavenly Emperor walked in without pause, as if untouched by its illusions, and emerged just as swiftly.

The Heavenly Emperors were utterly stunned.

While any Heavenly Emperor could swiftly navigate the Forest of Mortals' illusions, it still required a process.

Yet, to them, the Flame Heavenly Emperor had bypassed that process entirely.

"How did he avoid being drawn into the Forest's illusions?"

In truth, not only were the Heavenly Emperors puzzled—so was the Flame Heavenly Emperor himself.

Why had the Weak Water lost its pull? Why had the Forest of Mortals become an ordinary grove?

Had the influx of Heavenly Emperors disrupted the laws of the Emperor's Path?

He could not find an answer, but it mattered little. Such trivialities were not worth his attention.

Next, he entered the Abyss of Eternity—only to find that its projections had diminished significantly.

Unfazed, his calm gaze pierced through the abyss, locating a fragment of his own projection. With a casual motion, he seized and absorbed it.

Finally, the fifth trial: the Emperor's Shadow.

He stepped into the Path of Darkness, where he faced the projection of his own peak self.

...

Outside, the Heavenly Emperors waited. The fifth trial was the only one the Flame Heavenly Emperor could not cross in a single step—for he needed to reclaim his dao from his shadow.

He had once mastered both the Dao of Life-Death and the Dao of Flames to their limits. When he fell into the cycle of reincarnation, the Dao of Flames had been seized by Heaven as a decoy.

Now, he would take it back.

The Heavenly Emperors assumed he would need days to emerge, so they closed their eyes to meditate and prepare.

Yet, just half an hour later—

The Flame Heavenly Emperor stepped out!

With both daos restored, his aura grew even more terrifying, exuding an air of supremacy—as if he alone ruled heaven and earth.

Soon, he reached the end of the Emperor's Path. From start to finish, less than an hour had passed.

The Heavenly Emperors stared at him in shock. None had expected his mastery over his own dao to be so profound—far surpassing theirs—else he could not have cleared the fifth trial so swiftly.

"Greetings, fellow daoists," the Flame Heavenly Emperor said indifferently.

The others responded with nods or faint smiles, none daring to ignore him.

"Now that all are present, let us begin," the Flame Heavenly Emperor declared, his tone subtly commanding.

Though some inwardly bristled, none voiced dissent—both out of fear for his strength and their own need for his aid.

"Very well. Begin."

"We've already dealt with the Quasi-Emperors who cleared the fifth trial. Now, if we all forfeit, you will be the final victor—worthy to wield the Mandate of Heaven."

The Flame Heavenly Emperor nodded faintly, as if the Mandate of Heaven were but a trivial matter.

With a single step, he strode into the depths of darkness at the path's end, his form swallowed by the void.

Then, light flickered within that darkness, revealing a realm of nothingness.

This void, though seemingly close, felt as though it existed in another world entirely.

It was the final battleground—a space isolated to protect the Emperor's Path, where all entrants would be paired to duel until only one remained.

The Flame Heavenly Emperor stood silently within the void, watching the Heavenly Emperors outside.

Unable to wait any longer, they raised their voices in unison, announcing their forfeiture.

As they did, light shattered within them—the mark of qualification for the final battle, the key to entering the void.

After completing all this, they turned their eager gazes toward the Flame Heavenly Emperor, waiting for him to seize the Mandate of Heaven, be crowned as the Heavenly Emperor, and then resurrect them.

Since the Mandate of Heaven could only be borne by the one who triumphed over all others, once the other Heavenly Emperors withdrew, the Flame Heavenly Emperor naturally became the final victor and would thus wield the Mandate.

However...

The Heavenly Emperors watched with bated breath for a full quarter of an hour, yet nothing happened.

The Flame Heavenly Emperor frowned, equally puzzled.

"Could there still be someone on the Path of Emperors? Who could it be?"

The Heavenly Emperors were stunned.

"Impossible! It's been months—how could anyone still be challenging the trials?"

"Exactly. If they weren’t dead, they should’ve cleared it long ago."

"Could someone have been hiding in a safe zone, cultivating without attempting the trials?"

"That’s impossible. Once someone enters the final Void Battlefield, anyone lingering on the Path without actively challenging the trials would be forcibly expelled."

"What!? Then does that mean someone really is still fighting their way through?"

The Heavenly Emperors immediately activated their divine senses, sweeping through the Path of Emperors with meticulous scrutiny.

The Emperor’s Pass—no one!

The Emperor’s Sea—no one!

The Emperor’s Forest—no one!

The Emperor’s Abyss—also no one!

As for the fifth trial, the Emperor’s Shadow, it was shrouded in darkness, veiled by immensely powerful Dao principles, making it impossible to perceive.

"If the first four trials are empty, that person must be in the fifth one."

"How is that possible? Could they have been battling their own shadow for months? What kind of monster does that?"

At this moment, the Soul Heavenly Emperor’s expression shifted slightly as he murmured, "Everyone... have you forgotten someone?"

"Who?"

"The one who sent us into the Path of Emperors."

The group instantly realized: "Gu Qingfeng!"

"Oh no!" someone exclaimed.

"Gu Qingfeng is the Supreme Calamity—indestructible and immortal. His shadow must be the same. Neither can defeat the other."

"What do we do now? Does this mean we’ll never be resurrected?"

"Not necessarily," an elderly Heavenly Emperor interjected. "While indestructibility is rare, it’s not unheard of. In ancient times, there was an Undying Daoist who, aside from the limits of lifespan, was truly unkillable.

"Later, this Undying Daoist entered the Path of Emperors and got stuck in the fifth trial for three whole months, unable to proceed to the final battle. Eventually, he was expelled.

"So, we just need to wait patiently for Gu Qingfeng to be kicked out."

Hearing this, the group finally relaxed.

And so, they waited...

A month later.

"Why hasn’t Gu Qingfeng been expelled yet?" an impatient Heavenly Emperor grumbled.

"Just wait a little longer. It won’t be much more," someone reassured.

Another month passed.

"It’s been two months now. Shouldn’t he be gone by now?"

"Just wait a little longer..."

Three months in total.

"Three months! Three whole months! Didn’t you say he’d be expelled if he couldn’t win in three months?"

"Just wait a little—"

"Wait for your grandmother’s sake!"

Half a year later...

The Heavenly Emperors sat like petrified statues, utterly drained. Even the most hot-tempered among them had nearly withered into silence.

Just as they reached the brink of numbness—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted from the darkness of the fifth trial. A massive black hole tore open, and a figure stepped out.

The Heavenly Emperors jolted as if electrocuted, leaping to their feet, their eyes blazing with desperate hope—like travelers in a desert spotting an oasis.

The figure was none other than Gu Qingfeng.

Emerging from the fifth trial, Gu Qingfeng froze at the sight before him. The sea of eyes gleaming with fervent anticipation—some even glowing green—made him wonder if these people, like him, had a system.

Perhaps one called "Grow Stronger When Attacked by Gu Qingfeng."

But his daze lasted only a moment before his own eyes lit up with equal excitement.

How could he not be thrilled to see so many dear family members gathered in one place?

"Well, well, well! Look who’s all here, family!"