Stranger Danger

Inside the dark yellow light, the Earthly Sovereign stared at the Four Evils with a wide grin on his face. “An old turtle, a baby phoenix, a big ass face and a nine-headed snake… Everyone’s here, it seems. Good. it is so much easier to eliminate you all in one stroke than seeking you out one by one!”

“Kill all of us? You may be strong, but you are only one man, Hou!” The Eartbearing Dragon Turtle replied slowly, each word sounding like a thunderclap. “The human race is weak and no match for us. It is only a matter of time before they go extinct. Be smart, and surrender while we are still feeling merciful, Hou. If you do, then we will let you and your ilk live.”

“Go fuck yourself with shitty ass turtle! We humans may be born from the humblest, most chaotic origins, but we never gave up, and we’ve overcome all obstacles on our way until now. Anyone with a pair of eyes can tell that we are on the way to become the lords of the world; the wisest of all creatures. Extinction? That is your eventual fate, not ours!” The Earthly Sovereign retorted scathingly.

“Aren’t you afraid of death, Hou?” The Undying Nether Phoenix asked.

“Of course I am,” the Earthly Sovereign admitted without hesitation. “It’s just that some things in life are more important than death.”

“If I can ordain conscience for heaven and earth, secure life and fortune for the people, and establish peace for all future generations[1], then I would have no regrets even if I die.”

“Pigheaded cur. Kill him! Today is the day we wipe out the human race!” The World Ender Jiuying sneered. Its nine heads began spitting floods, venom, hails, poisonous fog and other deadly elements. It charged toward the Earthly Sovereign while eroding everything in its path.

“Hahaha… finally! I was just about to fall asleep from all that chatter!”

The Earthly Sovereign barked out a laugh and took one step forward. He abruptly grew to the height of three hundred meters and shattered the incoming projectiles in one stomp. Then, he grabbed two of the World Elder Jiuying’s heads and let out a roar. The next moment, the gigantic serpent—it must have been over a thousand meters long at least—was thrown into the sky just like that.

The Earthly Sovereign’s aim was true. The World Ender Jiuying wheeled uncontrollably through a swathe of flames before slamming into the Undying Nether Phoenix, sending it careening off the sky.

He was one against four, however. During this short period, the Earthbearing Dragon Turtle had crept up to the Earthly Sovereign with unbelievable speed and knocked him to the ground. Then, it climbed on top of the man like it flatten him like a pancake.

The Earthbearing Dragon Turtle was unbelievably huge and heavy, its whole body stretching thousands and thousands of kilometers at least. Such was its weight that even the Earthly Sovereign could not break free immediately. Not only that, it opened its bloody maw and attempted to rip the Earthly Sovereign’s head off his shoulders.

The Earthly Sovereign quickly grabbed its upper and lower jaw with both hands and pushed as hard as he could. The duo’s contest of strength was earthshaking to say the least.

While this was happening, the Endless Lord of Plagues surged forward like a world-ending flood, killing all life it passed through and eroding massive swathes of earth.

In response, the Earthly Sovereign Bell let loose a loud chime that spread dark yellow qi across the entire area and illuminated heaven and earth with five-colored light. The plague and the fog melted like snow under the bright sun, and the Endless Lord of Plagues’ gigantic face was split apart.

The Undying Nether Phoenix and the World Ender Jiuying chose this moment to return at the same time. The World Ender Jiuying spat floods, venom and wind from its many heads while the Undying Nether Phoenix flapped its wings and unleashed a torrent of flames. The Undying Nether Flames were already deadly to begin with, but the billowing wind caused it to grow even stronger. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it possessed the power to melt the world where it stood.

Yet again, the Earthly Sovereign Bell spun slowly and unleashed its resonant chimes. The windstorm dissipated, the black flames extinguished, and the world returned to calm like a piece of fabric that was smoothed out by an invisible hand.

“Get lost!”

It was at this moment an angry roar cut through the air. As the Earthly Sovereign’s arms swelled a whole size bigger, he forced open the Earthbearing Dragon Turtle’s mouth, snapped a couple of teeth into pieces, pushed it away, and punched it below the jaw.

The gigantic dragon turtle was sent flying into the air just like that. When it crashed, the tremors could be felt throughout the entire world.

“Hahaha… weak! Useless! Not even worth my time!”

The Earthly Sovereign climbed to his feet and shook off the blood on his arms. After he let out a harsh laugh, he charged toward the World Ender Jiuying and the Undying Nether Phoenix once more. Before the two Strangers could react, he stomped the World Ender Jiuying into the ground and grabbed the Undying Nether Phoenix’s wings with his bare hands. With a mighty pull, he ripped the Stranger into two.

But of course, the Undying Nether Phoenix was immortal. It quickly rebirthed from flames and clashed against the Earthly Sovereign once more.

The battle, no, the war between the Earthly Sovereign and the Four Evils had no technique to speak of whatsoever. It was a clash of brute force and pure strength through and through: primal, barbaric, and crude. And yet, Ye Qing’s blood boiled with unbridled passion and excitement just watching it.

The war lasted nine days and nights, and in the end, it was the Earthly Sovereign who emerged victorious. It cost him an arm, but he was ultimately able to defeat the Four evils and sealed them at the four farthest corners of the world.

The scene began changing rapidly after that. One time, he saw the Earthly Sovereign defeating the Heavenly Demon from beyond and protecting the human race from its insidious influence. Another time, he saw the Earthly Sovereign shattering the Nine Nethers and annihilating countless demons and monsters in the process. There were also mundane scenes—relatively speaking, of course—where the Earthly Sovereign quelled all sorts of natural disasters and returned peace to the lands, or outlandish ones such as the Earthly Sovereign embracing the nine skies and the celestial bodies and creating new frontiers…

It was a video biography of the Earthly Sovereign. It was a life of never-ending hardships and trouble, but it was also a life full of passion, fearlessness, struggle, and determination. It was a reflection of the undying spirit of the ancient humans.

“May humanity always prosper and flourish. May humanity always be blissful and at peace. May the world stand foreverlong…”

At the end of the projection, Ye Qing saw the Earthly Sovereign in his twilight years standing atop a mountain and looking down on the world and people he gave his all to protect. A bell rang, and the dark yellow light holding the projection finally faded into nothing. And so the old but everstraight back of the Earthly Sovereign was etched permanently into Ye Qing’s memories.

“It’s the Earthly Sovereign. It cannot be anyone else.”

Ye Qing found it difficult to calm down even though the projection had come to an end. How could he not, when he just experienced the life of the Earthly Sovereign?

In ancient times, the Heavenly Sovereign, Human Sovereign and Earthly Sovereign were known together as the Three Sovereigns. Legend had it that they were almighty, immortal beings who were born from the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. In ancient times, the world was dominated by Strangers, and evils and monsters were a dime a dozen. The human race was weak, which was why the Heavenly Sovereign, Earthly Sovereign, and Human Sovereign were born to act as a counterbalance against the Strangers.

The Heavenly Sovereign ruled the Heavens, the Earthly Sovereign supervised the earth, and the Human Sovereign straightened out the human race. Together, they slew the Strangers, repelled the evil, and killed the demons and monsters. Despite being born in a barbaric world that knew only violence and death, they were able to ordain conscience for heaven and earth, secure life and fortune for the people, establish peace for all future generations, and create a future that belonged to humans and humans alone.

The Three Sovereigns were undoubtedly the heroes of humanity; the sages of the world. Out of all the gods and deities out there, none were as revered as them. Today, Ye Qing was, for whatever reason, given the honor to witness the life of the heroic spirit known as the Earthly Sovereign with his own eyes; experience the journey of the man who strived unyieldingly to create a prosperous era for mankind that would last for thousands and thousands of years. How could he not be excited? How could he not be moved?

At the same time, a realization was slowly but surely growing inside his heart as well. If the man in the dark yellow light was the Earthly Sovereign, then what on earth was this item that was giving off the light and projecting his life experience?

To be honest, Ye Qing already knew the answer. He just could not bring himself to believe it.

Finally, the rust and dirt covering the object in front of him came off completely. It was… a bell. A dark yellow bell with the sun, moon and stars; the earth, water, fire and wind adorning its exterior, and mountains, rivers, and myriad races adorning its interior. It looked both ancient and profound.

“It really is… the Earthly Sovereign Bell?!”

Ye Qing’s eyes widened in utter shock and disbelief. The bell before his eyes looked exactly the same as the one he saw in the projection. It just wasn’t as colorful, bright, and powerful for some reason. Perhaps it had grown weaker with the passage of time.

One thing was certain, it really was the artifact of the legends, the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

“Gulp…”

Ye Qing swallowed as he fought to steady himself. He was so shocked that he actually blanked out from time to time.

It couldn’t be helped. It was the Earthly Sovereign Bell, the artifact that forged his Dao. It was said that the Earthly Sovereign Bell was a font of endless mysticism and miracles. It could supposedly stop time, restrict space, and quell the earth, water, fire and wind. It could supposedly reflect any physical attack and ignore all Magia and spells. It was an all-rounder artifact so powerful that just wearing it on one’s head was enough to make them invincible.

In ancient times, the Earthly Sovereign Bell was at least half the reason the Earthly Sovereign was never defeated and able to suppress countless Strangers and evils. Such was its power that they praised it to be the, “Five-colored light that illuminates the heavens, the sacred might of Primal Chaos that shakes the universe.”

1. Famous quote by Zhang Zai. ☜

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