Fortunately, the earth-shattering battle took place on the outskirts of Qiuxiu Village.
However, the thunderous force unleashed torrents of destruction, tearing apart everything in its path—from the bamboo gatehouse that separated the village entrance and served as the usual hitching post for horse carriages, to the surrounding groves of towering bamboo that adorned the entire rustic hamlet with their verdant elegance.
"Greetings, mighty Black Thunder Emperor," the vice-leaders of the unorthodox martial artists murmured, cupping their hands in a reverential bow toward a man who towered even taller than Elder Tan and the vice-leader of the Sky Demon Cult, his stature utterly dwarfing them.
The thunderous force had already blown the Elders from the righteous factions off their feet, scattering them asunder.
Standing an imposing 6,67 chi, the Black Thunder Emperor cut an overwhelming figure, a true dragon among men. His broad shoulders strained against the fabric of his robes as he held himself with an indomitable presence.
Wavy raven locks framed his weathered yet handsome face, accentuated by a thick, neatly-groomed beard as black as a moonless night.
"Don't get me wrong! I just wanted some fun!" the Black Thunder Emperor chuckled heartily, waving off the vice-leaders' deferential greetings with an amicable smile crinkling the corners of his piercing eyes.
BANG!
Without warning, he wove his massive halberd in an intricate circle with seemingly effortless grace, the ringing of metal reverberating through the air.
As the polearm's blade met the earth, he tapped it down with controlled might, cratering the ground beneath with a small yet powerful divot. The impressive weapon stood rooted, sparks of crackling lightning following its every deadly movement.
BANG!
Meanwhile, the dust cloud formed by his sudden attack on the righteous Elders began to dissipate, revealing the uninjured but disheveled martial masters.
Their robes hung in tatters, sleeves torn and split by the Black Thunder Emperor's overwhelming force as they rose once more, eyes narrowed in grim determination. A faint bluish Qi, began flickering to life around their bodies like a rippling membrane.
"The Black Thunder Emperor..." most murmured his infamous name in awe-struck disbelief, gripping their weapons tightly as realization sank in.
One of the Five dreaded Emperors, a 9th realm martial artist on par with their Patriarch, had arrived. To face such an unstoppable force would require focusing the full depths of their vigor and skill.
"What is the meaning of this affront, Black Thunder Emperor? Have you sided with these sinners now?" The booming voice belonged to a tall, powerfully built Elder from the righteous Huashan school, his severe brow furrowed as he gripped the hilt of a massive broadsword.
"Siding? No!" The Black Thunder Emperor's deep rumble of laughter echoed like rolling thunder. "Like I said, I just wanted some fun!" His words carried an almost childlike gleefulness at odds with his intimidating presence.
At that same moment, the vice-leaders of the unorthodox martial artists who had been warily holding their stances began emitting shimmering waves of Qi from their bodies in preparation.
The dreaded title "Five Emperors" had been bestowed upon five legendary men who reached the paramount 9th realm of power long ago, either before or during the Great War that shook the Jianghu.
Yet they had chosen no clear allegiance - not to the forces of evil, nor the self-proclaimed righteous factions, nor even the unorthodox paths. Rumors persisted that the rogue Emperors kept no fixed abode like a sect, instead wandering the lands of the Jianghu as fickle free spirits.
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"This is no joking matter!" Elder Fang's gravelly voice cut through the tension like a knife as he narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his jian sword in one fluid motion. The blade rang with a metallic hum as a glaring, crimson Sword Aura bled into existence around its tempered steel.
Following his stance, the other righteous Elders fell in line, unleashing their own radiant Sword Auras. Freedom and the privilege of being unrestrained were hallmarks granted to disciples of the Five Emperors...but such latitude was now threatened.
Then, with no warning at all, the previously clear blue morning sky darkened ominously as rolling black thunderclouds suddenly gathered overhead, blotting out the sun itself in a matter of horrifying seconds.
A resonant boom of thunder shook the earth, each subsequent strike resounding louder than the last in a deafening cadence of pure power being unleashed.
Before anyone could so much as draw a shocked breath, a blinding spear of incandescent lightning pierced the roiling clouds with a deafening crack of purest concussive force that set ears ringing.
"Heaven-Splitting Thunder Strike!"
The Black Thunder Emperor's towering, mountain-like figure loomed over them all, an indomitable bulwark of raw power. His ancient halberd, its ornate surface already crackling with arcing tendrils of Thunder Qi and streaks of radiant violet lightning, swept through the air with devastating, blur-like speed.
A 9th realm martial artist's speed was quite literally beyond the comprehension of even peak experts only in the 8th realm.
The sheer gap in their transcendent levels of power and movement was so vast as to be essentially insurmountable. The Elders, for all their vaunted skills honed over decades, had no chance to properly react or defend themselves against the sudden, overwhelming strength of one of the legendary Five Emperors when he deigned to strike.
They could only gape in wide-eyed shock, hurriedly raising their weapons as they attempted to summon their most powerful martial techniques, yet even as their mouths opened to chant the syllables...
"Cloudsoaring Saber Style - Aura Ascension, second move: Secondary Eclipse!"
A tall, powerfully-built figure appeared before them in a blinding burst of speed, noticeably shorter than the Black Thunder Emperor's tremendous height yet broad-shouldered and solidly-built enough to physically shield them all from harm.
He gripped a sleek jian in one calloused hand, the ancient blade wrapped from hilt to razor tip in countless lengths of gleaming steel-hued silken threads - the signature Sword Silks.
In the next fractional instant, those razor-thin threads stretched and spread outward like an intricate, glimmering spider's web instantly materializing between the Elders and the Emperor's halberd. Then, as though ignited by an unseen flame, the gossamer strands began burning with incandescent inner light, swelling with barely-contained energy.
BOOM!
The immense, thunderous explosion that followed sent the Elders of the righteous factions flying once more like leaves caught in a hurricane's blast.
This time, their faint bluish Qi shields managed to absorb most of the devastating impact, shielding their bodies from serious harm. But even those protective energy layers were flickering dimly, growing dangerously unstable from the repeated onslaught.
Meanwhile, the very ground where the Elders had been standing mere moments before was utterly devastated, scoured down to the naked earth itself. Grass, soil, and shattered fragments of the terrain were scattered in every direction like shrapnel from the detonation's epicenter.
And at the heart of that barren, devastated zone, two towering figures were locked in fierce, earth-shaking combat - the Black Thunder Emperor's halberd clashing violently against the very jian that had unleashed the explosive defensive technique with the force of mountains colliding.
And the one wielding that jian, muscles straining against the colossal force of the Emperor's strike, was none other than...
"Well, well, well. The venerable Patriarch of Kunlun has finally decided to make his grand move!" the Black Thunder Emperor declared with a booming laugh rich with dark amusement, his voice ringing out over the shattered battlefield despite his ragged appearance.
His voluminous martial robes hung in tattered, scorched shreds that fluttered with each movement, the very edges still flickering with dying tongues of flame that threatened to consume what little remained.
Even his thick, jet-black beard bore patches of singed hair, the scent of ozone and burnt hair hanging thick in the air. A thin rivulet of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his massive, corded hands visibly trembled as they gripped the haft of his ancient halberd.
"I will deal with this stubborn old bastard myself. The rest of you, ensure that these arrogant intruders never set foot beyond the sacred grounds of Kunlun again!" The words carried the unmistakable ring of commanded authority as they left the Patriarch of Kunlun's lips, his expression one of serene calm that betrayed no hint of strain or exertion despite the apocalyptic exchange moments before.
He then turned his gaze to Elders from various factions, "And to our esteemed guests—you have my earnest gratitude for swiftly coming to Kunlun's defense against such unwarranted aggression."
His deliberate words prompted the Elders of the various righteous factions into action. In eerie unison, each bowed deeply while cupping their hands in solemn acknowledgment before the Patriarch.
...
In the next pivotal moment, both the Patriarch of Kunlun and the Black Thunder Emperor shifted into combat stances, their very beings thrumming with barely-restrained power.
They unleashed a dizzying flurry of strikes, parries, and counter-attacks in a blur of motion too rapid for the naked eye to comprehend. Each thunderous clash between their weapons sent concussive shockwaves rippling outward, the force of their blows meeting with enough seismic impact to shatter the very air itself around them in visible rings.
Meanwhile, the Elders divided themselves into two cohesive groups.
One group immediately engaged the vice-leaders of the unorthodox martial artists, the other group hurried with grim focus back towards Kunlun.
Amidst this apocalyptic turmoil, Ji Wuye observed from the roof with his crimson pupils aglow with an otherworldly, pulsing light.
At the same time, a continuous series of translucent holographic screens materialized before his gaze...
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