Chapter 1043

At the center of the Imperial Palace.

The palaces here were exceptionally majestic, perpetually engulfed in crimson flames that burned without ceasing.

This was the residence of Flamestone Emperor.

Though he was not here, none dared overstep—even his imperial sons and daughters dared not, for this was the seat of the Emperor's authority, and no one dared to neglect it.

Today, Flameflow Imperial Son entered this palace with reverence and sat uneasily on a smaller flame throne beside the towering Flame Throne.

Upon the true Flame Throne beside him sat a slightly ethereal flame-horned giant.

This was Flamestone Emperor's projection avatar.

Before them, a scene replayed repeatedly: a blood-robed Daoist figure, moving through the Mountain Sect, traversing various minor realms, feigning indifference, stealthily disguising Purplestone True Person as the chieftain of a tiny wood-elf tribe, with flawless identity and memories.

Moreover, the Mountain Sect's penultimate sect master, Stonestone True Lord, had been covertly exiled beyond the Sands Minor Realm and sealed away, to return only after centuries.

All this—clever, hidden, scattered, concealed—would elude even a King-rank Imperial Son personally searching.

Yet every detail was crystal-clear to Flameflow Imperial Son, not a single blur.

If he wished to kill these two last seeds of the Mountain Sect, it would take only a single command, effortless.

This was the Emperor's might!

Wherever his gaze fell, all demons and specters were laid bare, overlooking all human affairs.

"What are your thoughts?"

Flamestone Emperor's voice was deep, echoing like tidal waves through the palace, filling the air with inexplicable heat, turning the place into a death zone for all living beings.

"Merely the delusions of a servant…"

Flameflow Imperial Son spoke instinctively, then immediately corrected himself with sincerity: "Father, Bloodriver King performed adequately. Had you not acted personally, I might have needed to ascend to Emperor realm to find these two ants and torture them to death to satisfy my hatred."

He held grudges tightly, was petty, not generous at all, and had no interest in hiding it—he displayed it openly.

"Good."

"You understand. We may be cruel, we may seek vengeance for the slightest slight, we may disregard kinship, disregard rules… none of it matters."

"But we must acknowledge power!"

The flame giant's voice carried affection; he did not mind his child's nature, for he himself had been the same in youth—sons resembling fathers was only natural.

Morality was merely the self-pity of the weak.

"You were lucky this time."

The flame giant lectured earnestly.

"But it doesn't matter. The strong are forged by their own strength and opportunity—all strong ones are like this, perfectly normal."

"Yet even so, you must remain humble and patient, train harder, and correct these weaknesses of yours. When you receive the Imperial Son's crown, I will send you to the Nether Void Sacred Grounds. Remember to interact often with other Imperial Sons; do not spend all your time among servants, ignorant of heaven and earth, arrogant and conceited…"

The Nether Void Sacred Grounds, founded by the Nether Void Ancient Emperor, lay extremely distant—even farther than the nearest Cangyan Sacred Grounds—because the Flameflow Imperial Son had already fallen out with the Cangyan Clan and was unsuitable to go there.

"Understood, Father."

Flameflow Imperial Son nodded repeatedly, obedient as could be.

As they spoke, the flame giant reached out and summoned a blood cocoon as tall as a man into his hand. The bloodsword qi, so resilient that even a King-rank Imperial Son could not break it open in a short time, melted like snow under his grasp and instantly vaporized, revealing the sleeping Cangkong Imperial Son within.

Cold, furious killing intent blazed in Flameflow Imperial Son's eyes, unmistakable.

This was not merely because Cangkong Imperial Son was his enemy, once hunting him relentlessly across heaven and earth; it was also because only by slaying Cangkong Imperial Son and offering him as sacrifice to heaven could his Imperial Son's crown become complete, without flaw.

And the completeness of the Imperial Son's crown directly affected his chance of ascending to Emperor!

The flame giant studied Cangkong Imperial Son for a long while.

He then stored him away, not handing him over to Flameflow Imperial Son.

"Father,"

"This is unfair!"

Flameflow Imperial Son protested bitterly: "If I lose, I will die—sacrificed to Heaven and the Ancient Gods to complete the Imperial Son's crown. I cannot possibly survive."

"But Cangkong…."

He watched helplessly as the majority of his chance to ascend to Emperor slipped away before his eyes, his eyes turning bloodshot, trembling with fury, nearly driven mad.

"Flameflow,"

"The world was never fair."

The flame giant smiled: "If Cangyan Ancient Emperor didn't care for this son, we could do as we pleased."

"But he does care for this son—that's not allowed."

"We cannot even harm or humiliate him. The higher one's status, the more forbidden it becomes. This is a taboo."

"Because your father cannot defeat an Ancient Emperor—even alone, my chance of escape is minimal. I can only stand a chance against Ancient Emperors by allying with many other Emperors."

"There is no fairness or unfairness. I just told you: respect power, acknowledge power—not just toward inferiors, but also toward superiors, toward yourself."

"Remember this firmly. Never forget."

"I…"

…

Flameflow Imperial Son lowered his head, silent, his mood deeply low.

"Gradually adapt."

"I went through the same once. As time passes, you will eventually understand this outcome."

The flame giant comforted his child, then rose, his form about to vanish—when he remembered something: "By the way, Bloodriver King—you may play with him for a while, then kill him quickly."

If Mountain King and the others heard this, they would be utterly stunned.

Though they disliked Bloodriver King, they could not deny his strength, his potential to ascend to Emperor, nor his possibility of becoming a slave Emperor for the Flamestone Clan, adding bricks to its prosperity.

Deep in their hearts, these Flamestone Clan Kings were actually reluctant to kill Bloodriver King, viewing him as a family treasure.

"Father, is this because of Cangyan Ancient Emperor again?"

The Flame Flow Prince said, heart aching.

Dong Xue He Wang was his treasure. Relying on it, he could rampage beneath the level of ancient princes. He had only wanted to wait until Dong Xue He Wang was thoroughly trapped within the slave seal, then put its clansmen, sect, and kin to death without exception, reducing it to the lowest sort of dog prostrating at his feet — not even permitted to keep a human form, made to bite whomever he was told to bite. He had never once planned to kill it outright.

Because this servant was simply more precious than even a Great Emperor weapon!

Now, to have to destroy this treasure, his heart was instantly filled with a ten-thousandfold reluctance, so much so that he even wanted to defy the Great Emperor's will and secretly keep it.

"It is not the Blazing Flame Ancient Emperor, though he too is unwilling to see a slave emperor appear within the Yan Shi clan."

"It is the Ancestral Clan Pact."

The Flame Giant patiently said to his son: "The Ancestral Clan Pact strictly forbids us from controlling a human slave emperor. Every budding sign must be nipped in the cradle — even a slave emperor ascended through the Dao Heart Demon Planting Slave Scripture is not permitted."

"Violators shall be jointly struck down by all emperors."

"As for why this is so, you will come to know after you ascend to the Emperor realm."

The Flame Giant's figure slowly dissipated.

From beginning to end, the so-called path-seeking of that ant known as Dong Xue He Wang had been a dream — it had never truly existed.