Chapter 2267: Same Sect Reunion

"Is this the Tidal Sea?" Zhang Xuan asked in disbelief.

He had thought that the center of the spiritual energy tide, for which the Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens had prepared, would be filled with abundant spiritual energy, perhaps even condensed into liquid drops. He never expected it to be worse than even the wilderness of the God Realm.

"Since all nine emperors are interested, there must be treasures here. Let's look around!" After a moment of shock, Zhang Xuan stopped pondering, and taking Luo Qiqi with him, swiftly flew towards the depths of the Tidal Sea.

The scene rewinds to ten minutes earlier.

Before the Tidal Sea, Great Emperor Yunchi and others stood suspended in the air.

"It looks like it's about to begin..." Great Emperor Yunchi's eyes glowed with golden light.

"Indeed!" The other great emperors nodded in unison.

"Before, I always thought that the Emperor realm was linked to bloodline, and once you reached that level, further progress was almost impossible... Only after seeing Great Emperor Tianzong did I realize that even Great Emperors can still improve, and there's vast potential for it!" Recalling the recent competition, Emperor Fumeng of Gengjin Heaven couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Having reached the Emperor realm, they had believed further progress was impossible and had grown complacent... But upon seeing Great Emperor Tianzong, who had been an Emperor for over forty years, prove to be so much more powerful than them, they finally understood the true potential of an Emperor.

"In previous spiritual energy tides, Great Emperor Tianzong's students always relied on their strength to seize countless treasures. Now... without the Great Emperor's help, they can't enter the Tidal Sea or claim treasures, so our chances have greatly increased!" Great Emperor Zhuoyang of Lieyang Heaven burst out laughing.

Previously, his subordinates had always been suppressed and defeated by Great Emperor Tianzong's students, feeling incredibly frustrated. Now that this formidable expert had vanished like a fleeting mirage, it was finally their turn, the other heavens, to have their moment of triumph!

"Our chances have indeed increased significantly, but don't forget that young man beside Emperor Undying... if he participates, it's still hard to say whose treasures they will be," Great Emperor Xuanming sneered from the side. As a Nine Heavens Conferred King, with his soul at the peak of the Conferred King realm, other Conferred Kings might not be able to contend with him on that basis alone.

"He is powerful, but only in his soul. His physical body and true qi are merely at the early stage of an ordinary Divine King. As long as we bestow our successors with soul-protecting artifacts, what can his powerful soul do?" Great Emperor Zhuoyang countered.

Since they all knew of this extraordinary expert in Lingyuan Heaven, how could they not be prepared? Given six months or more, that person could indeed grow to an astonishing degree, but in just one or two days, he could at most consolidate the power of his Nine Heavens title! If his true qi and physical body didn't strengthen, as long as their people's souls were defended, what could his soul do, no matter how strong? After all, battles were ultimately decided by true qi and physical strength.

"Zhuoyang is right. The Nine Heavens Conferred King is formidable, but he's not invincible at this moment. Leaving everything else aside, my newly conferred Divine King, Zhao Ya, can easily defeat him!" Emperor Fumeng smiled faintly, his face filled with pride.

The successor he had nurtured at great cost possessed terrifying talent, especially in combat. Several older Conferred Kings of the same level, even when working together, were no match for her. If she truly exerted her full power, what did it matter if the other was a Nine Heavens Conferred King? The Tidal Sea couldn't harness the power of the Heavenly Dao. No matter how much the Heavens acknowledged him, if his own strength wasn't sufficient, he would definitely not be her opponent.

"I've heard about your Gengjin Heaven's Conferred Divine King Zhao Ya, but my Lieyang Heaven's Zheng Yang is by no means inferior! If the two truly fought, yours might not be a match..." Great Emperor Lieyang retorted with a cold sneer, unwilling to show weakness.

"It's not just you who found prodigies. My Lú Chōng from Youhun Heaven, while not strong in combat, is probably unmatched in collecting treasures and escaping—none of you would be able to catch him!" Demon Lord Qiankun chuckled. He specialized in souls, and though his overall strength wasn't among the strongest of the Nine Emperors, when it came to escaping and finding treasures, no one could compare.

"You each only have one prodigy, but my Xuanming Heaven boasts three: Yuan Tao, Shan Xiaotian, and Bai Ruanqing, giving us much better odds!" Great Emperor Xuanming declared.

"My Yunchi Heaven also has three: Kong Shiyao, Liu Yang, and Zhang Jiuxiao..." Great Emperor Yunchi added.

As fellow Great Emperors, each had their pride. Having finally found powerful successors, they naturally wanted to show them off and suppress the arrogance of others. "Since the successors you've found are all so exceptional, why don't you let them meet and demonstrate their skills to see who is truly the strongest?" Seeing that this group of Great Emperors was still in the dark, the Exquisite Immortal, who was standing nearby, didn't bother to inform them; instead, she chuckled.

"Indeed, there's no harm in letting them meet first!" Great Emperor Yunchi nodded and called out, "Kong Shiyao, Liu Yang, Zhang Jiuxiao, come out!"

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

As he spoke, a man and a woman flew out from behind him, each radiating a sharp aura, as if tearing through space.

"Zhao Ya, you come out too!" Emperor Fumeng waved his hand.

A girl flew over.

Seeing these two emperors bring their cultivated Conferred Divine Kings, the others, unwilling to fall behind, hurriedly called out as well.

Soon, eleven young men and women stood before the assembled Emperors.

"They are indeed all young talents..." Upon seeing the young people before them, the six Great Emperors, though reluctant to admit it, had to concede that the newly conferred ones by the other emperors were no worse than their own.

As they pondered this and were about to urge their own people to work hard and not lose to others, they saw the eleven young people standing at the forefront. Upon seeing each other, they exchanged clasped-fist salutes.

"Senior Sister!"

"Senior Brother!"

"Junior Sister!"

"Junior Brother!"

Excited smiles bloomed on their faces, each displaying an expression of reunion after a long separation.

"Senior Sister, Junior Brother? Senior Brother, Junior Sister?" The five Great Emperors, excluding the Exquisite Immortal, simultaneously widened their eyes, looked at each other, and were utterly bewildered.

"What was going on? We trained you to enter the Tidal Sea, to fight and seize treasures. What's with this 'Senior Sister' and 'Junior Sister' business? Could it be... they already knew each other?" A bad premonition welled up in their hearts.

"Yuan Tao, what is going on here?" Unable to hold back any longer, Great Emperor Xuanming asked. Hearing his question, the others also turned to look, eager to hear his explanation.

"Reporting, Great Emperors, allow me to introduce them. This is Zhao Ya, my Eldest Senior Sister. Wang Ying is my Second Senior Sister. Liu Yang is my Third Senior Brother. Zheng Yang is my Fourth Senior Brother. I am the fifth... Lú Chōng is my Sixth Junior Brother. Wei Ruyan is my Seventh Junior Sister. Zhang Jiuxiao is my Eighth Junior Brother..." Yuan Tao introduced them with great excitement.

Great Emperor Xuanming, Great Emperor Yunchi, Demon Lord Qiankun, Great Emperor Zhuoyang, and Emperor Fumeng stared blankly.

The prodigies they had nurtured at immense cost... were all fellow disciples...

"Can anyone tell me what in the world is going on?!"