As soon as the voice rang out, the imperial capital trembled. Countless buildings shook, and even the city's formation shone with a dazzling light. Rainbows appeared in the sky like auspicious signs.
The various factions and countless experts in the capital all wore solemn expressions. Many of their expressions changed rapidly, and great waves of emotions surged in their hearts.
In fact, Xu Qing's arrival had affected the hearts of too many people in just one day.
In the eyes of others, Xu Qing's strength was astonishing. He had caused the fall of a heavenly king, owned half a major region, formed an alliance with the Sacrificial Moon Region, and had the rare experience of slaying a god.
For an ordinary person to possess even one of these abilities was already extraordinary, let alone Xu Qing who possessed all of them.
In particular, his forceful entrance into the formation revealed his style of doing things. The sun of dawn awed everyone, and then he worshipped the Great Emperor's statue. This was the fourth time in countless years that the Great Emperor of the Sword had awakened.
All these things made it impossible for Xu Qing not to be the center of attention.
At this moment, the Vajra Sect's patriarch was also deeply moved. Although he didn't dare to transmit his voice to Xu Qing at this juncture, the ripples in his heart were also great.
He felt that according to the ancient texts he had read, most protagonists wouldn't act like this. They would usually keep a low profile … Only when the protagonists' opponents, some supervillain in the ancient texts, returned to the imperial court would there be such a shocking plot.
He had studied such plots before. Most of them were used to highlight the terror of the enemy and set a goal for the protagonists. Then, the protagonists would have to overcome it step by step, giving the readers the joy of a minor character defeating a major character.
"This … Master, you've got it backwards …"
The Vajra Sect's patriarch's heart trembled. He felt that what happened to Xu Qing was very different from what he had read in the ancient texts.
If he felt this way, there was no need to mention the other people in the imperial capital who didn't know much about Xu Qing.
Xu Qing's performance was also one of the few people in the history of Xuan Zhan to shock everyone in the capital.
In particular, the Great Emperor of the Sword's awakening was so great that it could be recorded in the history of the human race.
According to the ancient texts, the Great Emperor of the Sword's statue had always been in a state of slumber. Only during the examination of the various sword bearers would a fragment of consciousness spread out to examine their hearts.
Before this, it had awakened three times.
The first time was during the reign of the Dong Sheng Human Emperor. After the human race suffered a great defeat, the Palace Lord of the Sword Holding Palace, Chen Shuyan, summoned the Great Emperor before his death and pleaded for him to awaken.
At that moment, the Great Emperor Holding Sword's statue had awakened for the first time. It was also because of that awakening that the Flaming Moon Mysterious Sky Clan didn't choose to exterminate the clan due to some karma.
The second time was during the reign of the Human Emperor of the Mirror Cloud Realm. At that time, the Palace Master of the Sword Bearing Palace, Wang Ken, had entered the palace with his sword when the Violet Azure Crown Prince was besieged by the myriad races … After that, he never returned.
Meanwhile, Martial Monarch Sword-Grasping woke up on the same day. He glanced toward the south and let out a sigh.
The third time was not too far away. It was when the Human Emperor Xuan Zhan ascended to the throne. The Great Emperor revived and stared at him. His gaze was deep, stern, and expectant.
According to the ancient records, the Great Emperor had sent a voice transmission to the Human Emperor. As for the specifics, only the Human Emperor knew. Outsiders could only see the Human Emperor fall silent for a few breaths of time before bowing to the Great Emperor, his eyes filled with determination.
This was the fourth time.
In an instant, countless gazes and Divine Senses locked onto the Great Emperor from all directions in the capital city. This matter was like a storm that quickly spread across the Great Human Domain.
Discussions and voice transmissions from all directions echoed in the Sea of Souls at this moment.
The information about Xu Qing wasn't a secret to the various forces in the capital city. His Heart Questioning was even more so.
Therefore, everyone quickly guessed the cause and effect.
"There is one important point in Xu Qing's information. He is the first person in the history of Xuan Zhan to reach Heart Questioning with his sword!
Perhaps this is the reason why the Great Emperor revived him! "
In the Phoenix Sun Pavilion, Princess Anhai stood before the window and looked at the Great Emperor Holding Sword's statue. Various images of Xu Qing appeared in her mind. A moment later, she withdrew her gaze and muttered to herself.
"The Great Emperor revived him. This matter … seems like he is taking care of him, but why do I feel like he is entrusting him to me?"
At the same time, in the Seventh Prince's palace, the Seventh Prince closed his eyes and sat silently in his pavilion. There were dozens of cultivators behind him, all of them silent.
The entire pavilion was silent, but if one looked closely, they would see that the Seventh Prince's hands were clenched tightly under his sleeves.
There was also the Tenth Prince's palace. Outsiders thought that the Tenth Prince was arrogant, domineering, and hot-tempered. He lost his temper in front of his servants, but when there was no one around, there was a hint of coldness under his tyrannical expression that disappeared in an instant.
Most of the other princes were in their own places at this moment. They all had different thoughts. As for whether their expressions were the same as their hearts, outsiders didn't know.
There were also some nobles and heavenly kings at the peak, such as the Grand Chancellor and Grand Commandant. Their expressions were much calmer, and there wasn't much emotion on their faces. Most of them stared at the Great Emperor Holding Sword's statue before looking at the palace.
Xuan Zhan ascended the throne and the Great Emperor revived.
After so many years, Xu Qing arrived and the Great Emperor revived once more …
In the Sky Observation Pavilion, the Human Emperor was expressionless. He didn't look outside but instead stared at the chessboard before him. He held a white piece in his hand and gently placed it down.
"Your Majesty, I have already answered your question, but you still haven't told me what the Great Emperor Holding Sword said to you when you ascended the throne."
On the other side of the chessboard, the Imperial Advisor placed a black piece with a smile.
The Human Emperor raised his head and looked at the Imperial Advisor calmly.
"The Great Emperor told me that he regretted what happened to Crown Prince Zi Qing. He asked me to return the skull that was taken away by Jingyun if I ever meet him again."
"Didn't you receive it?"
The Human Emperor said casually, but each word contained deep meaning.
The Imperial Advisor was silent for a moment before a smile appeared on his face again.
"I won't be lonely meeting someone like Your Majesty in this life."
The Human Emperor ignored him and picked up a white piece. Just as he was about to place it down, a vast voice echoed in the capital city.
"Little friend, come to the Sword Holding Palace. I will wait for you there."
As soon as this voice came out, the Human Emperor's hand that was holding the chess piece paused and he slowly raised his head.
The Imperial Advisor's eyes lit up and he also turned his head.
The hearts of all the people in the capital city trembled violently once more.
That was the voice of the Great Emperor. The awakening of a Great Emperor was different from a summon.
Especially in the Sword Holding Palace. From the Palace Master to the ordinary Sword Holders, everyone's expression changed.
Under the statue of the Great Emperor, Xu Qing raised his head and looked at the statue of the Great Emperor. His heart was in turmoil. After a long time, he took a deep breath and bowed again. Then, he got up and walked in the direction of the Sword Holding Palace.
Xu Qing had seen the location of the Sword Bearing Palace on his way here before, so he knew where it was. All the patrolling Sword Bearing Guards on the way also performed the special etiquette of Sword Bearing Guards when they saw Xu Qing and led the way for him.
Xu Qing was also a Sword Holder.
Just like that, he walked forward. Two hours later, a special building entered Xu Qing's eyes.
It was a group of palaces that looked like two large swords.
One was placed on the ground and the other was pierced into the ground.
The area was large enough to accommodate millions of people. This was the headquarters of the Sword Holding Palace of the Human Race's Five Palaces.
When Xu Qing arrived, most of the Sword Holders were waiting outside the Sword Holding Palace's headquarters. The current Sword Holding Palace Master and one of the Heavenly Kings, Zhou Hengzhi, was also standing there.
The Sword Holding Palace had always strictly followed the rules of the Great Emperor's summons. No one dared to slack off.
In the crowd, there was another figure who had seen Xu Qing before. He was Huang Kun from the Seventh Prince's banquet. Back then, the Seventh Prince had introduced Huang Kun's family ancestor as the Great Deacon of the Sword Holding Palace.
At this moment, Huang Kun's heart was in turmoil. As one of the few people in the Royal Capital who had seen Xu Qing before, he felt incredulous about what had happened in the Grand Sacred Wave Domain.
Especially with the awakening of the Great Emperor and the solemn atmosphere of the entire palace, he felt the strong gap between them.
Back then, when everyone sat together, he had a certain attitude in his heart. After all, in his eyes, Xu Qing was just a Sword Holder from a remote place. Although Xu Qing had a special status in the Sea Sealing County, it had nothing to do with him.
As for whether Xu Qing could really grow in the future, that was an unknown.
But now … he looked at his colleagues and sighed.
Right now, he could only stand together with countless others and look at the figure walking over from the distance.
Xu Qing didn't notice Huang Kun. His emotions were surging. Although he tried his best to calm himself down, the reverence he felt for the Great Emperor was extremely strong.
Therefore, when he saw the Sword Holding Palace and the numerous Sword Holders outside, Xu Qing's footsteps came to a halt. He took off his green robe and took out the Sword Holder Daoist robe from his bag of holding and put it on.
When he put on the white Daoist robe that was exactly the same as everyone else's, Xu Qing stood there and became one with everyone else.
The gazes of countless Sword Holders changed. Even the Palace Master and the upper echelons of the Sword Holding Palace nodded slightly.
Xu Qing took a deep breath and stepped forward. Under the gazes of all the Sword Holders, he arrived in front of the palace. His expression was solemn as he saluted the Sword Holding Palace Master.
"In response to the Great Emperor's summons, Sword Holder Xu Qing has come to meet the Great Emperor."
The Sword Holding Palace Master, Zhou Hengzhi, was a middle-aged man. His expression was solemn as he looked at Xu Qing. After a long time, he nodded.
"You may enter."
As he spoke, he raised his right hand and waved. Immediately, the palace door behind him turned into a vortex. Sword Qi lingered inside, causing the Emperor Swords of all the Sword Holders to resonate.
Xu Qing walked toward the vortex with a solemn expression. The moment he stepped into the vortex, he did not appear in the palace door. Instead, he appeared in a top-secret forbidden area of the Sword Holding Palace.
It was a cave. The layout inside was simple. There was only an altar and a withered person sat cross-legged on the altar.
This person was old and withered like a mummy. He gave off a strong sense of decay. Only his heart was beating occasionally, and there was still a trace of vitality.
There were countless scars on his body. They were densely packed together and were a shocking sight.
Those were the scars left behind from protecting the human race for countless years.
Every single one of them contained divine might. They were all scars of the gods.
And he was the clone of the Sword Holding Great Emperor. He was also the last Great Emperor in the history of the human race. He was also … the only Great Emperor who had not left and was still protecting the human race!
Looking at the Great Emperor and the scars, the respect in Xu Qing's heart grew stronger. He knelt down and bowed.
The Great Emperor's closed eyes slowly opened.