# Chapter 1960: Emperor Omen
"Among the top ten of the Emperor's List, three names have almost become fixed. Additionally, Shi Yunfeng, Xue Shenfeng, Lin Feng, Yin Gutian, and Wang Zhong are likely the five from sixth to tenth place on the Emperor's List. As for Ying Cheng, Ji Shang, Chu Chunqiu, Gui Li, and the Battle Monk, they are the top five experts of the Emperor's List. Only Chu Chunqiu has forcefully stepped in, pushing Shi Yunfeng out of the top five."
The crowd looked at the top ten on the Emperor's List, silently speculating in their hearts. Now, they had to see whether the Battle Monk could shake Gui Li's position, and whether Chu Chunqiu could shake the positions of Ji Shang and Ying Cheng.
"Battle Monk, I'll let you choose." Pei Donglai spoke to the Battle Monk. The Battle Monk was already the fifth-ranked expert on the Emperor's List, with only four people ahead of him. To truly determine the strength of these five, Pei Donglai did not deliberately make things difficult for the Battle Monk, letting him choose. The Battle Monk could pick the opponent he felt most confident in facing.
"Gui Li!" The Battle Monk raised his palm, placing it before him like a high monk, speaking calmly. This did not surprise the crowd. Chu Chunqiu had knocked Gui Li down, making him obviously harder to deal with. The Battle Monk choosing to fight Gui Li first was undoubtedly the best choice. If he won, he could continue to challenge those ahead. If he lost, even if he fought Chu Chunqiu and lost as well, Ying Cheng and Ji Shang, who had already been enfeoffed as kings and ranked above Gui Li on the Emperor's List, occupying the top two positions unchanged for many years, had almost reached a bottleneck—the extreme of the Martial Emperor Realm—and were certainly harder to shake than Gui Li.
Therefore, the Battle Monk's first choice had to be Gui Li.
"The Battle Monk is a member of the Buddhist clan, a battle Buddha. Gui Li cultivates the Ghost Spirit Scripture, skilled in demonic and ghost arts. Their powers are completely opposite. Now, we'll see who is stronger."
The two figures had already arrived at the center of the vast Human Emperor Platform, floating in the void. In an instant, the sound of chanting Buddha scriptures suddenly echoed through heaven and earth, driving away demons and slaying ghosts. The entire world seemed to be covered in a layer of dazzling Buddha light, illuminating the whole void. If not for the special power of the Human Emperor Platform blocking the spread of this force, this radiant glow would have spread far into the distance, like the Buddhist light that saves all living beings.
"Whoosh!" The black robe on Gui Li's eerie body surged. In an instant, strands of pitch-black light spread toward the void, turning this world into darkness, filled with violence, slaughter, and coldness. All kinds of terrifying, chilling intent made it seem as if beneath the Buddha light, there existed a living hell.
Lin Feng's clone observed the battle between the two, feeling the spreading Dao intent. However, Lin Feng knew very well that unless he directly faced these people in battle, he could not experience the purest and most powerful Dao force.
As for Lin Feng's true body, he sat atop the Human Emperor Heavenly Pillar, his eyes tightly shut. A faint aura seemed to emanate from between his brows, containing the intent of life and death. His mind seemed to replay the scenes of battle from earlier. Chu Chunqiu could summon a three-zhang ancient emperor who looked down upon heaven and earth. That ancient emperor was formed from Chu Chunqiu's spiritual will fused with Dao might, and of course, also included the power of his soul. Gui Li and Ji Shang, though different from Chu Chunqiu, could also achieve similar abilities. Lin Feng asked himself whether his current understanding of the Life and Death Dao was inferior to others' Dao. His soul had always been quite strong and formidable, and he could also summon a soul ancient king to aid in battle.
At this moment, in Lin Feng's mind, billions of rays of light seemed to shine, like the starlight of heaven and earth. These lights continuously evolved as Lin Feng's mind operated. Gradually, in Lin Feng's mind, a massive demon sovereign appeared. This demon sovereign image was derived from the Lin Feng he had seen in the ancient bronze mirror—the one who looked down upon heaven and earth with an overbearing aura. In the darkness, he seemed to be the master of the world, like a demon god.
"This is the form." The demon sovereign's mouth opened, emitting a low murmur. Then, he extended his hand, and in an instant, a pitch-black death giant sword appeared in his palm.
"A black giant sword, a death giant sword." The demon sovereign murmured. It was the sword of his martial soul from the past.
"Then, the left hand seems to be missing something." Lin Feng extended his left hand. A cluster of dark flame gathered madly, transforming into a death demon lotus—a demon lotus formed from flame and death fire.
Lin Feng used the power of the Heavenly Derivation Scripture to continuously deduce, deriving the strongest form. Of course, this was only the first step. Whether he could summon it to aid in battle was still unknown.
The Battle Monk and Gui Li had already truly clashed, colliding wildly. Gui Li was skilled in ghost and spirit divine abilities. His attacks were not weak; on the contrary, they were very strong. His ghostly figure appeared and disappeared like a shadow, and his Nether Ghost Claw could tear through the void. At the same time, that ghostly Dao intent corroded people's souls, making it impossible for others to focus. If one was the slightest bit careless, they would likely die at his hands.
At this moment, the clash between the two seemed to pause. However, waves of demons and monsters attacked the Battle Monk. The Battle Monk actually sat cross-legged in the void, chanting a Buddha's name. In an instant, ten thousand Buddhisattvas paid homage. In the void, ancient Buddha after ancient Buddha appeared, superimposing on his body, causing his battle Buddha intent to soar madly. Golden ancient Buddhas from his body blasted toward Gui Li, colliding fiercely with those demonic monsters.
"Buddha light shines everywhere, purifying holy light." Buddha shadows filled the heavens and earth. The darkness gradually dissipated. Buddha sounds continuously spread. The crowd looked up at the ancient Buddha shadows covering the sky, all of them Buddha figures, and couldn't help but feel shocked. The Battle Monk's strength was terrifying. Gui Li was likely in danger and would fall further in the rankings.
Gui Li used all his skills, trying to disperse the light of ten thousand Buddhas with demonic energy. However, the ancient Buddhas in the void seemed to merge into one, enveloping the entire Human Emperor Platform. In the end, Gui Li could not hold on and was struck by the purifying Buddha light, losing another battle. Gui Li, ranked third on the Emperor's List, had lost twice in a row, being squeezed from the third position to the fifth.
The shock of this battle was equally immense. The Battle Monk had won two consecutive battles, defeating Shi Yunfeng and Gui Li, stepping into fourth place on the Emperor's List.
"Phew..." The crowd let out a long breath. After the battle between the Battle Monk and Gui Li, it would be time for the top three to compete. The three ahead of the Battle Monk were Ying Cheng, Ji Shang, and Chu Chunqiu.
"This battle, let Ji Shang challenge Ying Cheng. Chu Chunqiu will not fight for now. How about it?" Pei Donglai looked at the several people and said. Ying Cheng and Ji Shang, two enfeoffed king figures, occupied the first and second positions respectively. They had to fight a battle. Letting them fight first, then asking whether Chu Chunqiu wanted to challenge them, might be a more perfect arrangement.
"That's acceptable." Ji Shang spoke. He had wanted to fight Ying Cheng for a long time. Two enfeoffed king figures, the clash between first and second on the Emperor's List.
Chu Chunqiu also nodded slightly. He had only stepped into third place on the Emperor's List after defeating Gui Li. He would obviously have to fight further ahead later. Letting Ying Cheng and Ji Shang fight first was fine.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was focused entirely on those two. Among the four academies of Holy City Central Continent, they were the only two who had been enfeoffed as kings. The battle between the Chaotic Heaven Dao and the Collapse Dao.
The two stepped forward. Behind Ji Shang, an Azure Dragon Totem coiled, shining brightly in the blue sky, a king descending upon the world. Behind Ying Cheng, a magnificent heavenly wall appeared—a picture of mountains and rivers, exuding a wild and unrestrained aura, as if he were the king of chaos, controlling the mountains and rivers, heaven and earth. He was about to rise, and heaven and earth would fall into chaos.
Ji Shang and Ying Cheng stepped forward. That condensed but unburst terrifying intent emitted a sharp hissing sound. As the two bodies gradually approached, currents of air began to become chaotic. The sharp hissing turned into crackling explosive sounds. Heaven and earth collapsed, laws were in chaos, heaven was in turmoil. It seemed as if a terrible torrent was swallowing the heavens. With the two as the center, terrifying white halos appeared. Within those halos, the contained terrifying force was suffocating.
If anyone stepped into the place where the two clashed, their body would likely collapse and be killed by the chaos in an instant. This pressure was too strong and terrifying.
"Boom!" It seemed as if heaven and earth trembled. The two bodies suddenly accelerated, blasting toward each other. A dragon soared into the sky, war chariots rumbled. The chaotic world, the turbulent mountains and rivers. The entire sky seemed to transform into a void within that picture of mountains and rivers. The torrent of chaos was about to annihilate everything.
This battle shook heaven and earth. The void was silent. Everyone quietly felt the collision of those two, silently comprehending the destructive pressure. Finally, when heaven and earth returned to silence and the chaotic currents became orderly again, the battle finally came to an end.
The outcome of the battle: Ji Shang had lost.
"I still couldn't surpass you in the end." Ji Shang sighed. At this moment, Ying Cheng looked up at the sky. A terrifying current surged upward from his body, seemingly about to break through heaven and earth, rushing toward the sky.
This scene made the crowd's hearts beat slightly. Then, Ying Cheng revealed a faint smile, looking at Ji Shang and saying, "This first place on the Emperor's List will soon fall to you."
Hearing Ying Cheng's words, Ji Shang felt no joy at all. He was just stunned for a moment, looking at Ying Cheng's face. Then, a smile appeared in his eyes, and he said, "I wish you an early ascension to the position of Emperor Venerable."
"Soon." Ying Cheng sighed. He was finally about to become an emperor. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"When I step into the Great Emperor realm, I will definitely seek you out for another battle." Ji Shang laughed heartily, his voice rolling like thunder.
"I'll wait for you." Ying Cheng nodded. The two were like close friends, not at all like enemies who had just fought fiercely. They simultaneously returned to the Human Emperor Heavenly Pillar. The top three positions on the Emperor's List remained temporarily unchanged. Ying Cheng was first, Ji Shang was second. Perhaps it would always be this way!
PS: Beginning of the month, asking for a few flowers!