Wuhe was surprised. Although he got notifications from his system from time to time, it had been a long while since the system had given him a strange task like this.
He looked at Wu Tianji and urged him, "Then? What happened next?"
Wu Tianji gulped nervously. "Our Divine Realm has only seven Divine Sovereigns. Before that day, we didn't even know there was a realm like that. But that day, we learned the secret. Seven powerful Divine Sovereigns, all of them human powerhouses as old as the Divine Realm itself... they all flew up into the sky."
"One of them, known as the Nirvana Fire Lord, a peak Divine Sovereign, sneered up at the sky. His tone was dark and heavy. 'Who are you? Why are you revealing yourself above the Azure Sky Divine Realm? Do you not know that it is forbidden for a Divine Sovereign to show himself like this?'"
"No one could see the face of that person in the terrifying phenomenon. He just chuckled coldly and said, 'I did not come here to show dominance. I am here to find someone. And I can sense his aura coming from this little empire.'"
"Everyone frowned, even those seven Divine Sovereigns frowned together. One of them, a woman as beautiful as white jade known as the Azure Cloud Divine Sovereign, asked politely, 'Your Highness, you are a Divine Sovereign. Please tell us that person's name. If he is here, we will help you find him.'"
"The person in the sky looked down at the empire and said a single name."
"'Yan Wuhe. His name is Yan Wuhe.'"
Hearing this, Wuhe felt a tremble in his heart. Who is it? Who tried to find me even after my death in my past life... is it him? No, he was here in the lower realm at that time... or else when he...
Wu Tianji continued, "The emperor at that time, your cousin, felt his blood turn cold. He tried to flee the country, but the Divine Sovereigns had already locked down the entire area. He was caught in a cage they cast."
"The Azure Cloud Divine Sovereign asked him coldly, 'Where is that person?' Your cousin stammered in reply, 'My... my Lords! He was killed by enemies from the outer realm...'"
"Before she could say anything else, the person above the phenomenon sneered. 'Killed him? Do you really think they are powerful enough to kill him? Tell me the truth, or else...'"
"He released a wave of killing intent that no one in the Azure Sky Divine Realm had ever felt before. The entire Divine Realm turned cold in an instant, and an eerie black aura covered the whole sky. The seven Divine Sovereigns all released their own auras at once to shield everyone below."
"And the Nirvana Fire Lord got angry at that person. 'You!... You dare to show hostility towards us? Our Azure Sky Divine Realm is ancient, and you will die here today for just daring to release your killing intent here...' He took out his terrifying divine flame and tried to attack the person above the clouds. Then... something strange happened..."
Saying this, Wu Tianji gulped down his saliva hard. Wuhe was also trying to process everything in his head when Wu Tianji started speaking again...
"Slap!"
"The person above the phenomenon moved, and a single slap landed across the face of the Nirvana Fire Lord. He fell to the ground like a broken kite."
"His cultivation was injured to the core. With that single slap, he was completely crippled. If he moved even a single step more, he would die instantly."
"Everyone, even the other six Sovereigns, looked at the person who now stood clearly before them, and they looked at him with pure fear..."
"He was not on the same level as them," Wu Tianji whispered, remembering. "Maybe he is at a terrifying stage where he can kill any Divine Sovereign without even using a billionth of his power... For the first time in their lives, the seven Divine Sovereigns felt true fear."
Wuhe could see the lingering fear in Wu Tianji's eyes right now, but he needed to know more.
He said, his voice tight, "You just said he came down before everyone. How did he look? Please, describe him."
Wu Tianji looked at Wuhe for a long moment, then gulped hard. "That person... he was tall. His skin was white as jade. His long black hair fluttered in the air as if caught in a boundless wind... but... he was wearing a long white robe. That robe felt as if it was mourning itself. An aura of death surrounded the person, as if he was death itself..."
Wuhe's blood turned cold instantly. He could guess who this person was. Unbidden tears came to his eyes, and his heart felt heavy, an immense heaviness that covered his entire soul. He murmured to himself, "...why? Why did you go there..."
Wu Tianji continued, his voice shaking, "But what made him even more terrifying was the silver mask on his face. It was completely expressionless... and two trails of blood-like tears were falling from the eyes of the mask. He shouted in agony,"
"'AHHHHHHHHH!'
'Again! He died again! I am late... AHHHHH!'"
"The whole Divine Realm shook with his pain. The sky itself tore open in many places, and all the divine beasts in the phenomenon started crying alongside him. It was a devastating sight. People felt as if the Heavenly Dao itself was mourning with him."
"The Divine Sovereigns had already rushed down to the Nirvana Fire Lord to support him. They were helping him heal his injuries... and then it happened."
"The person stopped screaming after a complete half an hour... The sky above the capital started to rain."
"He stretched out his hand while his eyes were still covered with bloody tears, and an invisible force clutched the neck of your cousin, the current Emperor of the Golden Lotus Empire."
"Your cousin thrashed like a dying fish but couldn't get out of his grip."
"The terrifying entity tore open your cousin's soul, pulled out his deepest memories, and then projected them into the sky for everyone to see. And everyone saw clearly what had happened back then..."
"We saw your cousin colluding with powerhouses from the outer realm. We saw him receive support from them... take a poison and a special divine weapon from them... and then we saw him give you that poisoned medicine in that hidden valley and kill you while your cultivation was sealed and you were suffering from the poison."
"We saw him grab your body and take it back to the castle... and seal it inside a glass coffin, where he would go every day just to curse you."
"Everyone saw the corrupted officials of the empire, and every soldier who had been corrupted by the new emperor... they even killed your remaining family members after you died."
"The terrifying entity just looked at your cousin... and his body turned to dust."
"'AHHHHHHHH!'"
"The entire atmosphere in the Divine Realm fell into complete silence..."
"The person was still standing there. Although he had stopped crying, we could all see the trace of his pain in his shaky hands and his messy hair..."
Wu Tianji said this while clutching his own fists in fear, even now. "Then it happened..."
"That person looked out at everyone in the Divine Realm and said coldly, 'You! Divine Sovereigns! You who stand above all.'"
"The Divine Sovereigns felt their souls tremble just from that person's voice."
"They had not felt fear in millions of years, but this time it was different. They were facing a Calamity. A calamity that even they could not stop at all. The Nirvana Fire Lord, who had been so haughty just a few moments ago, was now shaking in fear. Only the Azure Cloud Divine Sovereign truly felt bad for that person."
"She bowed her head toward him and said, 'Your Highness! We know we were wrong... we neglected this little empire even though we knew they were corrupted. They tortured the commoners and everything... but we all signed a contract together... that we would not show ourselves until the Divine Realm itself faced a true calamity.'"
"That person looked down at her and said coldly, 'As human powerhouses... it is your duty to protect the humans. So tell me, what did you do to protect them?'"
"Every Sovereign bowed their head in shame. Yes, they had done nothing. Although these commoners and mortals also lived in the Divine Realm, they had no cultivation. And the Sovereigns had done nothing to help them."
"The person said again, even colder, 'You did nothing. And I cannot let that slide at all.'"
"He stretched out his hand, and a long black sword appeared in his grip. The sky itself screamed loudly. The wind started running wild across the Divine Realm. Even the Heavenly Dao showed fear for the first time. The phenomenal beasts above in the sky all bowed down in deep fear."
"The Divine Sovereigns felt their cultivations being suppressed down to that of a mortal."
"Everyone looked at the person in terror and immediately kowtowed, 'Your Highness! Mercy! Please show us mercy... there are still innocent people living in this realm... please show mercy on us!'"
"The person laughed, a cold, broken laugh. 'Hahahahahaha! Hypocrites. You are all hypocrites.'"
"'Did you show mercy to the people before? Did you even try to save them?'"
"Everyone was silent..."
Wu Tianji continued, "That person stopped laughing and looked out at the silent people. His eyes were still continuously filling with those bloody tears. He said again, 'Now that you neglected them... many of them are dead... so let me judge the culprits.'"
"He waved his sword toward the Divine Realm, and a huge sword slash appeared in the sky above. The Divine Sovereigns saw that sword slash and felt their very souls trembling in fear. The Heavenly Dao itself was already cowering in fear, and the beings in the realm were howling in agony."
"But the slash landed on the ground... and nothing happened for a second. Everyone looked around at themselves, checked their bodies, and scanned through the crowd, but nothing had changed. The Divine Sovereigns thought the being had shown them mercy... just then..."
"'AHHHHH! My hand...!' someone screamed. When everyone turned to check, another scream came from the other direction. 'Ahhhhhh... my... my leg...' Everyone turned their heads toward the sound, and then one person after another started screaming suddenly."
"The Divine Sovereigns gulped hard, their fear growing deeper. What the hell is happening? How did that person do it? They watched as a person's hand first turned into dust, then his whole body turned into dust little by little. Even before he completely turned to dust, each particle disappeared from existence."