"Haha..."
A peal of laughter resonated through the clouds, accompanied by a powerful ripple of spiritual power.
A ray of light flashed across the distance and arrived just before Chu Kuangren.
It was an energetic white-haired elder whose physique was radiating with a domineering aura.
Chu Kuangren squinted his eyes. "This aura far surpasses that of a Boundary Emperor. Are you a Sovereign? No, you're more like a Boundary Emperor who's infinitely close to becoming a Sovereign."
"An astute observation! I'm Bai Tianque, the Senior Elder of the Bai clan!"
Bai Tianque laughed heartily as he looked at Chu Kuangren in awe.
Although it was his objective to kill Chu Kuangren, it did not stop him from being amazed by his opponent. Such a sky-pride was just simply unprecedented.
"The Bai clan's here too. Who else is coming? Wang clan? The demons? Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe?"
Chu Kuangren rested his hands behind his back and glanced at his surroundings.
The spectators were trembling at each of the names he mentioned.
These were some of the most influential entities of Emperor Road. Basically, no one had ever dared to provoke them.
"Chu Kuangren, the Sword Tribe's right. Today, you shall die here!"
A cold voice echoed from the void.
Suddenly, a large flock of dark clouds formed in the distance. At a closer look, the clouds were formed by a dense composition of demonic qi.
Below the demonic qi stood a one-horned demon staring deadly at Chu Kuangren with his strange bloodshot eyes that were filled with cold murderous intent.
"It's him! One of the elders left by the demons in Emperor Road, Balha!"
"Just like Bai Tianque, he's infinitely close to becoming a Sovereign. He could perhaps be considered as the strongest demon among those below the Sovereign level."
"Look, Balha isn't here alone..."
Only as the dark clouds approached closer could the spectators observe a horde of demonic soldiers and demonic beasts marching behind Balha.
There was even a three-headed hound beside Balha that was drooling excessively from its jaw. As the hound's fear-striking gaze caught the eyes of the cultivators, they could not help but feel a chill run down their spines.
After the appearance of Balha and his demonic army, the sky began to glow in a rich array of colors.
A resonating squawk was heard, followed by the descent of a beautiful-colored peacock from the sky.
Nestled on the peacock's coverts was a lady in bright attire.
The lady carried herself with the utmost elegance as a crown rested on her head. Within her grasp was the source of magnificent spiritual power.
"I'm the matriarch of the Wang Clan. Chu Kuangren, surrender and you can still die in one piece!"
The Wang Clan Matriarch muttered firmly.
An army of Wang clan cultivators marched majestically from the clouds.
"No one in this world has been able to make me surrender. What makes you think the Wang clan can?!"
Chu Kuangren sneered and directed his attention to the rest of the cultivators. "Is anyone else here to take my life?"
After moments had passed, there was still no response.
Those who did not wish to participate had long distanced themselves from the scene.
"Chu Kuangren, if you're willing to hand over the treasures from the Spiritual Qi Leyline, perhaps there can be room for negotiation. Or if you're willing, you can even consider joining the Bai clan just like Bai Jingchen. I guarantee no one can hurt you. What do you think?" Bai Tianque made an unexpected offer.
The spectators were dumbfounded. They did not expect the Bai clan would offer such a deal to Chu Kuangren at such a crucial moment.
However, it should be no surprise. Chu Kuangren's talents were just too otherworldly. Any orthodoxies that could recruit him would undoubtedly benefit from it.
"Join the Bai clan? Haha, you think I'd want to join those clowns in the Bai clan? Old man, there must be something wrong with your brain. I suggest you rinse it over before talking to me again." Chu Kuangren chuckled.
Bai Tianque's face sunk at Chu Kuangren's response. There was now a cold murderous intent glaring from his eyes.
Bai Hongyu was shaking with anger when she heard Chu Kuangren's remarks from the crowd. How she wished she could just cut Chu Kuangren into a million pieces.
After all, Bai Hongyu was also a member of the Bai clan.
The 'clowns' Chu Kuangren referenced must have included her as well.
Chu Kuangren ignored Bai Tianque's dramatic change in expression and looked across all the orthodoxies that had surrounded him. "Wang clan, Bai clan, the Demonic Tribe, and the Sword Tribe are formidable forces in Emperor Road that date all the way back to archaic times. Yet, these apparently powerful entities are joining forces to destroy me. Heh, it looks like all of your reputations have over glamorized your abilities."
"There's no use taunting us now, Chu Kuangren. Today, your life ends here!"
Balha said firmly, "You stopped the underworld's arrival and took our sky-prides' Opportunities of Fortune. We're destined to be sworn enemies!"
"Chu Kuangren, you must know that excess wealth is bound to bring about trouble. As rich as you may be, you have to be alive to indulge in them."
The Sword Tribe Elder snickered and said.
"The nail that sticks out will always get hammered first, Chu Kuangren. You don't even have any connections nor powerhouses to back you up, so how are you supposed to fight us?!"
The Wang Clan Matriarch said pridefully. To her, Chu Kuangren was just like a minuscule ant that she could easily crush.
"Connections? Powerhouses?"
"Haha..."
Chu Kuangren let out a long burst of laughter. Then, his body released a powerful torrential spiritual power and frightening Daoist Rhymes, which both swept across the entire region.
Those lacking in cultivation were immediately swept away by the spiritual powers and Daoist Rhymes.
The longswords in the Sword Tribe's cultivators began to tremble uncontrollably under Chu Kuangren's Daoist Rhymes as if fear had struck them into submission.
"Allow me to demonstrate today what it means to be an actual powerhouse!"
With a lengthy roar, the momentum in Chu Kuangren increased dramatically, unleashing an even terrifying form of Daoist Rhymes!
Dark clouds accompanied by the rumbling of thunder formed in the sky. After that, the majestic Heavenly Might began to engulf the entire area!
Chu Kuangren stood below the lightning, his body glowing with rays of divine light as if he was an incarnation of a god!
"I can back myself up, for I'm the greatest powerhouse there is!"
Chu Kuangren's expression was unfazed as he stared at the insignificant cultivators before him.
At this instance, the cultivators felt a peculiar sense of pressure.
Some of them even struggled to maintain composure of their bodies as they collapsed over, void of all will to fight.
"Kill!"
The Sword Tribe Elder immediately roared and unleashed a surge of fierce sword qi to mark the beginning of the battle!
Soon, the swordsmen behind him began rushing towards Chu Kuangren, each of them charged up with an abundance of sword qi.
Chu Kuangren lifted his hand and shot out an azure-colored thunderbolt that shattered the Sword Tribe Elder's sword ray before it blasted across the swordsmen. Due to the impact, the bones of many swordsmen were shattered as they were blasted away with blood spewing out from their mouths.
"What in the world?!"
"That's a frightening amount of energy. I think there's something inside that thunderbolt."
The thunderbolt wandered amongst the swordsmen and knocked dozens of them away before finally gliding back into Chu Kuangren's hands.
The lightning faded away, revealing a delicate, azure-colored guqin in its place.
It was the Emperor Weapon, Springtime Lightning!
Chu Kuangren placed his fingers on the plank and plucked a string, playing a single note that unleashed a terrorizing amount of energy.
The swordsmen that were closest to him were blasted away by the guqin note. Most of them instantly exploded into pieces!