"M... Emperor-level cultivation! Am... am I invincible now?"
Qin Feng was almost dazed by this sudden, overwhelming windfall.
He had originally expected to compete with all the heaven-chosen prodigies, to suppress all rivals through countless bloody battles, and to eventually prove the Dao as a Peerless Great Emperor!
Yet never did he imagine that he would start right at the finish line as a Great Emperor?
"Hiss! This feels amazing!"
Even as Qin Feng's mind raced, his cultivation realm underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.
Originally an ordinary person without the slightest trace of cultivation, he was now suddenly elevated to the Peak Quasi-Emperor realm. Furthermore, as time pressed on, his realm climbed ever higher until it finally reached the Great Emperor tier!
Qin Feng felt a tingling sensation spread throughout his body as his blood surged faster and his vital essence and spirit reached an unprecedented state of fullness and power.
His ordinary-looking eyes underwent a striking metamorphosis; his pupils now blazed with dazzling divine brilliance, resembling two suns suspended in his eye sockets and radiating scorching light.
Qin Feng's stature grew taller as well. Standing around one meter seventy-five moments before, he instantly shot up to over one meter eighty, a cascade of ink-black hair falling loose about his shoulders. Paired with his purple-gold python robe, the outfit made him look like a Peerless Great Emperor descended to the mortal realm!
He felt as though he had been reborn through fire, the composed and steady aura about him growing richer and endowing him with an unfathomable sense of majesty.
"Is this the power of a Great Emperor?"
Qin Feng raised a hand and gently clenched his fist. Supreme Dao rhythms flowed as a formidable power surged from within him, overawing the heavens and causing the void itself to twist and shatter!
It felt as though with a single punch... this palace, and even the Human Race Imperial Capital... would be reduced to ruins!
This was merely the result of Qin Feng gathering his Great Emperor power with a single thought.
Yet out in the wider world, utter chaos had already erupted!
In the Imperial Capital of the Immortal Qin Empire!
Walking and strolling about, cultivators thronged the bustling streets.
Three days from now was the grand Myriad Sects Recruitment Assembly.
The arriving cultivators numbered in the tens of millions!
This event was not merely about sects taking in disciples; there was also an enormous piece of gossip circulating!
It concerned the rumors surrounding Su Qingwan and Qin Feng, the Sixth Prince of the Immortal Qin Empire.
In the taverns and tea houses, pedestrians gathered in small groups to discuss the matter.
"Have you heard? The Sixth Prince, Qin Feng, forced Su Qingwan to be with him and even humiliated her with resources, yet this little girl endured the humiliation and secretly bided her time to awaken the legendary Phoenix Spirit Sacred Body!"
"Fairy Qingwan is one of our Immortal Qin's four supreme beauties. This Qin Feng is truly vicious, throwing his weight around and acting recklessly simply because of his status and standing. He doesn't have a shred of the responsibility the Qin Emperor possesses!"
"Bah! If you ask me, what kind of damn Sixth Prince is that? Doesn't he just rely on having a good father to run amok? Despicable! He's no real man at all!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk—you people talking like this are just jealous of Qin Feng's high status! But it doesn't matter, Fairy Qingwan has already been claimed in advance by the major sacred lands. No matter how hard Qin Feng tries to force her, it'll all be in vain!"
...
Voices rose in heated discussion as rumors flew through the air, every last person filled with dissatisfaction toward Qin Feng.
Everyone assumed Qin Feng was a toad lusting after a swan's meat.
After all, one of them was the rumored once-in-a-millennia Phoenix Spirit Sacred Body, while the other was a born wastrel and the Sixth Prince of Immortal Qin.
Such gossip naturally commanded universal attention.
Even as people talked, they purchased various spiritual treasures and Cultivation Methods, hoping to boost their cultivation in a short space of time.
Everyone was hoping to catch the eye of some major figure and be accepted into a sect or sacred land to cultivate.
Then, abruptly.
Rumble!
The entire world seemed to grind to a halt, plunging into a dead silence!
A Great Emperor's pressure swept outward, shrouding the entire Imperial Capital of the Immortal Qin Empire!
Everyone was frightened out of their wits, frozen stiff on the spot and utterly unable to move, let alone run.
Over there... a blinding golden beam of light was blooming, shooting straight up into the firmament!
Wherever the beam passed, space splintered inch by inch like a shattering mirror, and the entire vault of heaven was pierced through.
"What is going on?"
"Good heavens, whose aura is this?"
"This... just a wisp of pressure is enough to keep me from moving. What manner of existence has descended?!"
Every heart leaped into their throats as they stared in terror at the sky.
The Great Emperor's pressure enveloped the Immortal Qin Imperial Capital, making every single cultivator feel the presence of death.
Thunder flashed across the heavens as if the end of the world were at hand; the might of the heavens was so severe it left people gasping for breath!
Some weaker cultivators collapsed straight to the ground, shivering uncontrollably!
"It's... it's the Dao-Proving Thunder Tribulation!"
Dozen terrifying figures stood suspended in the air, gazing up at the purple-black lightning in the firmament, their voices betraying unspeakable terror and panic.
"Someone is proving the Dao to become a Great Emperor right here in the Imperial Capital! Does he not know that the Imperial Capital is the sacred ground and dwelling place of the Human Race?!"
"Dammit, could this be the Demon Race?!"
"Abominable! The Demon Race is too despicable and shameless to undergo a tribulation right in the Human Race Imperial Capital!"
Despair gripped everyone almost simultaneously.
The Dao-Proving Thunder Tribulation—the World-Extinguishing Thunder!
Even if a Great Emperor were to emerge and cover the sky with one hand to block this terrifying tribulation, the mere shockwaves generated would turn the tens of millions of cultivators in the Imperial Capital to ash!
"Activate the Human Race Sky-Covering Great Array!"
"All Human Race heaven-chosen prodigies may enter the array to secure a sliver of survival! Everyone else, follow me into battle! The sons of our Human Race do not fear death!"
An overbearing, icy voice echoed across the Immortal Qin Imperial Capital, carrying an unquestionable command.
Immediately... a towering, muscular giant standing nine zhang tall with bulging muscles like an iron tower stepped through the air.
Within his eyes, two pools of blood-red fire burned, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet abruptly.
He was none other than the Crown Prince acting as regent of the Immortal Qin Empire... Qin Zhantian!
Behind him, ten thousand warships hovered in the void, battle flags fluttering and armored soldiers standing in serried ranks as their killing intent soared into the sky!
"Crown Prince, this World-Extinguishing Thunder Tribulation is too terrifying! His Majesty is suppressing the Forbidden Zone and cannot return—the Human Race cannot do without your leadership!"
A cultivator at the Supreme Realm looked up at the sky, fear flashing in his eyes as he stuttered out his plea.
Beneath this heaven-shaking tribulation, even he, an overlord-tier Supreme, could not help trembling all over, unable to bear the pressure as if touching the tribulation would instantly reduce him to ashes.
"Crown Prince, please leave at once!"
"You are the Human Race's most likely existence to prove the Dao and become an emperor; our Human Race cannot afford to lose you!"
"Crown Prince! Crown Prince!"
Crowds of cultivators knelt on the decks of the warships, wailing and pleading.
Even facing certain death, they wanted Qin Zhantian to evacuate first.
After all, the Human Race was far too weak in the Yanhuang Realm.
As long as a single Great Emperor burst forth into the world, they could help the Human Race cast off its present predicament.
"Silence! I am the Crown Prince; how could I abandon my people and flee?!"
Qin Zhantian roared angrily, his eyes wide with fury like an erupting volcano as rolling heat waves swept across the eight wastes.
"Lawful Heavenly Image!"
With another furious roar, his body rapidly expanded until, in the blink of an eye, it reached a thousand zhang in size, blocking out the sun like a small mountain.
"In a moment, I will hold back this heavenly might first. The rest of you, do your utmost to protect the common people!"
Having said this, he paused and cast his gaze toward a young woman.
"Aoshuang, go find Qin Feng and take him away! Get as far from here as you can!"
Qin Aoshuang was the Second Princess of the Immortal Qin royal family. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with a slender, curvaceous figure, and especially when outfitted in her suit of fiery red armor, she looked just like an peerless warrior god.
"Eldest Brother, Qin Feng is a born wastrel... I want to fight side by side with you!"
"Silence! He is your younger brother! He is our closest and most beloved family!"
Faced with Qin Zhantian's reprimand, Qin Aoshuang turned pale, her fingers gripping her frost-cold sword so tightly her fingertips whitened.
She could not understand why her eldest brother placed such high importance on this useless younger brother.
"Understood, Eldest Brother."
Her cold face filled with reluctance, she turned and flew toward the palace.
......
Inside the palace.
Qin Feng stretched lazily, a flash of brilliant light darting through his eyes.
"System, it's time for me to undergo the tribulation."
[Ding! Please rest assured and undergo the tribulation, Host. As a born Great Emperor who has received the baptism of the Great Dao, you need not fear a mere World-Extinguishing Thunder Tribulation—it dare not harm a single hair on the Host!]