Chapter 1880: The Emperor Enthronement Ceremony (Part 2)
Yun Che slowly stepped forward, passing before the knees of all the Divine Emperors, and finally stopped at the edge of the floating city, coldly looking down upon the endless myriad realms of the heavens.
"Qi Tianli, announce." He spoke indifferently, and those three short words exuded a demonic might that covered the world.
"Yes!"
The Qilin Emperor Qi Tianli bowed his head in response, slowly stood up and stepped forward. As he raised his arms, a stretch of pale gray text suddenly spread across the silent sky. Though it was dark in color, every character shone with a dazzling divine light and released a soul-seizing heavenly might.
The Qilin Emperor's expression was solemn, and his aged voice carried a thick imperial power that shook thousands of miles: "Demon Lord Yun Che, age thirty-seven, born in the lower realms, received the inheritance of the Evil God, the legacy of the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor, and the blessing of the ancient Dragon God... His dignity towers over all living beings, his might towers over heaven and earth, his position towers over the Heavenly Dao..."
"...He once saved the world from the Scarlet Calamity and was revered as the Divine Son of Salvation... He freed the Northern Divine Region from its shackles, shattered its unjust laws, and annihilated the clans guilty of countless deaths. However, though wounded and betrayed by all worlds, in the end, his heart remained vast as the myriad seas, granting heaven and earth his forgiveness, pardoning the countless lives of all realms from the crime of death..."
Qi Tianli, currently the strongest Divine Emperor of the Western Divine Region, his voice pierced through layers of star realms, almost engulfing the entire Southern Divine Region. Through countless projections, it resonated through all spaces of the four divine regions.
And with such identity and status, he was now the one who spoke the proclamation for Yun Che, and did so with deep reverence and solemnity.
This Emperor Enthronement Ceremony had set up countless projections across the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Divine Regions. Almost every area in the four divine regions could see it with perfect clarity.
This single scene alone was enough to cause an incomparably massive spiritual impact on countless profound practitioners.
And the Qilin Emperor's divine emperor voice, like indelible inscriptions, hammered deep into the souls of everyone.
In the Ice Snow Realm, the cold wind briefly hid, and snow fell silently. Countless Ice Phoenix disciples and Ice Snow Realm profound practitioners knelt beneath the projection, four parts excitement, six parts daze, watching the Ice Phoenix God Sect standing level with the other king realms above Di Yun City. Even now, they felt as if they were still in a dream.
Back then, Yun Che, as an Ice Phoenix disciple, had ascended to the top of the Divine Phoenix Competition. They had thought that was already a glory that would illuminate the Ice Phoenix God Sect for a thousand generations.
But this time, it was a fantasy that even the most extravagant dreams of their lifetimes could never weave.
"Does our Ice Snow Realm really have the qualifications... to become a king realm?" Mu Tanzhi murmured.
"We do not, but the Sect Master does." Mu Huanzhi sighed deeply. "With one sword, she severed the Fei Mie... Now in the Divine Realm, beneath Yun Che, our Sect Master should be considered the foremost. With the dignity of the Sect Master, wherever she stands, that place has the qualifications to be a king realm."
He turned around, looking at the young Ice Phoenix disciples behind him: "Bathed in the divine radiance of the Sect Master, we should also... be a hundred times, a thousand times more diligent than before, so as not to disgrace this glory!"
As he spoke softly, his gaze finally fell upon his granddaughter.
Mu Feixue's jade-like face was still as exquisitely beautiful and tranquil as ever, standing among the excited Ice Phoenix disciples like a lone, blooming, icy snow lotus.
She stared at the projection, her ice-cold pupils clearly reflecting Yun Che's figure, and besides that figure, there was nothing else... She did not rejoice at his becoming Emperor, nor did she stir at the drastic change in the Ice Snow Realm's fate.
She always liked to watch him like this, from afar, quietly... Yun Che of the Ice Snow Realm, Yun Che of the Divine Phoenix Competition, Yun Che who became the Demon Lord, Yun Che who ascended the heavens and became Emperor...
It was as if his figure had long been solidified into her life, and no matter what he became, it could never fade or be erased.
Sometimes, a single instant becomes a lifetime.
In the past, Mu Huanzhi could never have believed that such a thing would happen to his granddaughter, who was so cold that her emotions were almost frozen.
And yet, this man was the deepest ocean in this world and the most elusive sacred mountain.
"Ah..." Mu Huanzhi let out a faint, short sigh.
Compared to the Ice Snow Realm, the neighboring Flame God Realm was a completely different scene.
The profound practitioners of the Vermilion Bird, Phoenix, and Golden Crow sects all gathered before the projection, witnessing the birth of the first true overlord of the Divine Realm. However, their expressions were mostly clouded with gloom and heavy worry.
The incident where Huo Poyun was almost executed by Yun Che in the Ice Snow Realm, though the three Flame God sects tried to suppress it, had spread to everyone soon after.
The upper star realms of the Eastern Domain had all knelt before Yun Che under his demonic might, seeking survival for their realms and their own lives... but this did not include the Realm King of their Flame God Realm.
At today's Emperor Enthronement Ceremony, under the irresistible general trend, not a single upper star realm dared to show the slightest negligence... But despite the bitter pleas of the three Flame God sect masters, Yan Wancang, Yan Juehai, and Huo Rulie, for months, Huo Poyun still did not come.
The Flame God Realm had risen from a middle star realm to an upper star realm because of Huo Poyun... But this glory, in the hands of Yun Che whose demonic might now covered the heavens, could be completely annihilated in the flick of a finger.
They could not help but worry about the future fate of the Flame God Realm.
In the east, a low-level star realm called Heiya Realm.
On a tall pavilion, a woman bathed in the gentle breeze, staring blankly at the scene in the projection. She wore a purple dress, her long figure exuding enchanting grace. A slight smile played on her lovely lips, and her eyes seemed lost and infatuated, unable to look away even for a moment.
The Northern Domain's invasion, the Eastern Domain's collapse... yet this small Heiya Realm had remained untouched from start to finish.
"That man who once risked himself alone to oppose the entire Black Soul Divine Sect for a Wood Spirit... Even if stained with darkness, even hunted by all worlds, I never believed he would be an evil person, let alone become a true demon."
As she murmured, a middle-aged man slowly approached behind her. After a moment's hesitation, he sighed: "Yan'er, though brief and shallow, back then, you truly stood by his side. Making this public would be a great help and protection for us."
But Ji Ruyan gently shook her head, her eyes gradually blurring through a faint smile: "Let me treasure that too-bright memory just like this. Be it vanity or profit... I, a merchant whose destiny is to seek profit, do not wish to let it be tainted by even a speck of profit's dust."
Even if... he must have long forgotten my existence.
Like accidentally brushing away the dust that one inevitably touches everywhere in life.
…………
In the Southern Divine Region, a star realm called the Seven Stars Realm.
"Sister... from now on... will all of us... have to listen to this great villain?"
The girl clung tightly to a yellow-clad young woman's embrace, her delicate body trembling slightly from fear.
The yellow-clad young woman gently shook her head: "He is not a great villain. He is just... just..."
"He is a great villain! Everyone says he is the most terrifying demon, and he bullied sister... hmm! Hmm hmm!!" The girl, who was always especially dependent and obedient to her sister, shouted in a small but anger-filled childish voice.
The young woman still shook her head. She hugged the girl tightly, her jade hand covering the girl's lips, but for a long time, she could not speak.
On her snow-white neck, a faint demonic light flickered dully.
The existence of the demon mark prevented her from leaving the Seven Stars Realm, and even from touching outsiders closely.
She looked up at the projection, at the pair of cold eyes that looked down upon the world with disdain...
You have become ruthless, cruel, terrifying... your hands stained with countless blood, bringing nightmares and fear to countless star realms and living beings...
And you even killed the master I most revered, and humiliated me, defiled me...
I fear you, hate you...
But why...
I still cannot forget... those eyes that easily imprinted themselves into the depths of my heart back then...
…………
"...Today, we do not sacrifice to the heavens, do not bow to the earth, do not follow the will of heaven. We only follow our own will, declaring ourselves the Great Emperor of All Heavens, with the title 'Evil Cloud Great Emperor', and the reign title as 'Yun Mo'."
"From this day, the first year of Yun Mo, the myriad realms of all heavens shall be the land beneath the Great Emperor's feet. All beings of heaven and earth shall be the souls beneath the Great Emperor's reins."
"The Great Emperor once saved the world from peril and will protect the world for all eternity. Those who obey shall receive the Great Emperor's eternal protection; those who defy shall be utterly erased without a trace! Even if heaven and earth dare to defy, they will be annihilated!"
These words could be described as shocking the world and shaking the soul with every character.
Since the dawn of the Divine Realm, from the rulers of mortal kingdoms to the Divine Emperors of king realms, their coronations always first involved sacrificing to heaven and earth, comforting the Heavenly Dao and human hearts.
But Yun Che's Emperor Enthronement Ceremony offered no sacrifice to heaven or earth, no comfort to human hearts. Instead, it placed his own stature above heaven and earth. The final few words even nakedly proclaimed to the world: "Those who obey prosper, those who defy perish."
At the same time, this enthronement ceremony did not resemble a ceremony at all. There were no rites, no grand celebrations, and not even a coronation.
There was none of the customary rules and etiquette passed down through generations—only the most direct and overbearing declaration!
It declared not only that Yun Che had become the first Great Emperor in Divine Realm history, but also that his position as Great Emperor was not a gift from heaven's mandate, requiring no proof from heaven and earth, no submission from all beings, and no adherence to any past rules or rites!
After the proclamation, Qi Tianli knelt heavily on the ground. Above Di Yun City, a shout that shook heaven and earth rang out:
"Pay homage to the Cloud Emperor!"
"The Cloud Emperor's sacred heart saved the world; his merits are vast and cover the heavens. He annihilated evil and punished sin; chaos is pacified. He rules the ages for a thousand autumns; he treads the heavens for ten thousand eternities!"
The world-shaking cries, through the projections, caused endless turbulence and ripples across Divine Realm space.
"Pay homage to the Cloud Emperor!"
With heavenly might seizing souls, below Di Yun City, the upper realm kings and profound practitioners of the three divine regions all knelt in worship.
For a long time they bowed their heads. When they looked up again, the figure of that man high in the sky seemed to be on unreachable clouds.
In the million-year history of the Divine Realm, not to mention king realms, any overlord's rise required, beyond sufficient fortune, a long accumulation of time.
But Yun Che, at barely thirty-seven years of age, having only set foot in the Divine Realm for a mere ten-plus years, had completely overturned the structure solidified over a million years, unified the four divine regions, and suppressed all realms, becoming the first Great Emperor in Divine Realm history.
What fate the Divine Realm would face in the future under the rule of the Cloud Emperor was unpredictable.
But without a doubt, Yun Che was the most dazzling miracle in Divine Realm history, and also the most terrifying anomaly.
There had never been one before, and perhaps there would never be one again.
His name, and the name of the Cloud Emperor, would be eternally engraved in even the most distant future ages.
The Qilin Emperor suddenly shifted his position, standing at the edge of Di Yun City. He flicked his hand, and a pale gray streamer fell straight down, spreading out a curtain of light reflecting heavenly might and divine aura.
"Those willing to follow the Cloud Emperor, pledging eternal loyalty under his command, carve your names upon this curtain."
"Once carved, it means eternal loyalty, with no step back! The loyal shall receive the Cloud Emperor's protection and peace; the betrayers shall be guilty alongside the Dragon God and Nanming!"