Stay Away from the "Thespian Emperor" Immediately!
These children were mostly suffering from hunger and cold, the ones whose spirits were almost broken by the torture during their escape and plight. They began to pray to the magnificent divine pillar, asking to let them leave here earlier and return home safely.
But there was still a large portion of the children who didn't kneel.
Those who could be attracted by the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path basically all had their own special traits, and their mental fortitude was not ordinary. Even after experiencing the trek through the Gray World and the baptism of wind and snow, they could still persist.
"Is this the power of this Ancient Vault..." The Hemp-Clad Youth muttered to himself while watching this shocking scene.
Just as they were still immersed in the grandeur of the imperial might, an explosive sound closely followed from afar. A howling strong wind instantly swept across, almost blowing them over on the spot!
They saw that the divine pillar that was holy and magnificent just a second ago, shattered with a bang in the next second. Three indescribably terrifying Auras soared into the sky one after another, maintaining for only a moment before disappearing without a trace...
The miracle descended by the Ancient Vault... was shattered??
This thought appeared in the minds of all the children, and they froze in place at the same time.
Lines of golden text frantically appeared before everyone's eyes!
[Four hundred and seventy Emperors issue a warning to you!]
[Stay away from the "Thespian Emperor" immediately!]
[Stay away from the "Thespian Emperor" immediately!!]
[Stay away from the "Thespian Emperor" immediately!!!]
Whether it was the Hemp-Clad Youth, Zhu Zhong, Wu Qiong, or those figures seeing golden text for the first time, they were all stunned for a time... They looked at each other blankly.
"Did you guys see it?"
"I saw it... What are these words?"
"Emperors sent a warning? Stay away from the 'Thespian Emperor'?"
"Who is the 'Thespian Emperor'?"
"..."
The crowd seeing the text for the first time still didn't understand the severity of the matter, but the expressions of the Hemp-Clad Youth and the others immediately changed!
One must know, before this, these texts were only prompting that one had gained an Emperor's attention, and the tone was very flat... But this time, not only did it appear indiscriminately in front of everyone, it even repeated [Stay away from the "Thespian Emperor" immediately!] three times!
This was no child's play, but the Ancient Vault solemnly issuing a warning to them!
"Run!!"
Seeing that the crowd still had no reaction, the Hemp-Clad Youth shouted loudly. Pulling Ah Qian, he took the lead and ran in the direction away from where the divine pillar fell.
At this time, the vast majority of people still hadn't reacted. After all, nothing had happened around them, there was only the vast white wind and snow. The Hemp-Clad Youth abruptly shouting and then running away was undoubtedly somewhat out of place.
But Han Dong and those other youths from District 2 only froze briefly before immediately taking to their heels and following him.
"What are you waiting for?! Run!"
Wu Qiong closely followed by shouting as well, leading a large group of people right behind them... And then, Zhu Zhong also reacted. After gritting his teeth, he inexplicably started sprinting wildly in the snow with everyone!
...
Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path, third layer, "Flying Dragon in the Heavens".
Faint golden blurry figures walked out from the imperial palaces of various dynasties, looking down at the nothingness below with frowns. Their lips parted but no sound came out, as if they were communicating something.
Ultimately, a few figures stepped out from their respective Imperial Palaces. Their figures pierced through the barrier of "Flying Dragon in the Heavens", floating down to the second layer "Leaping Dragon in the Depths"...
The chaotic battlefields were partitioned here. But with the appearance of these faint golden figures, the corresponding battlefields and armies in history were all extracted.
With a wave of their arms, densely packed troops and horses detached from the wars of various dynasties. Stepping on the void, they began to gallop towards the snowfield on the third layer!
...
Golden fragments of imperial might fell silently mixed in the wind and snow.
Three figures stood in a deep pit of melted ice and snow. After a long silence, they finally let out a long sigh of relief...
"Hearts! You really got the two of us in deep trouble this time!" Jian Changsheng spoke displeased.
"You were the one who gave me a title, which triggered the changes in the Ancient Vault. You can't absolve yourself of the blame."
"Then... then what about me?" Sun Bumian spread his hands innocently.
"Neither of us can absolve ourselves of the blame, and neither can you!"
Sun Bumian: ...
Just as Chen Ling was about to say something else, he suddenly seemed to sense something, looking up at the nothingness overhead... In a trance, he vaguely seemed to see golden figures descending to the lower realm, bringing vast and surging troops and horses, charging towards this snowfield!
"They've started hunting us down." Chen Ling spoke in a deep voice.
"No... why? We didn't even do anything after coming in, why are they chasing us?" Jian Changsheng was endlessly indignant. "Didn't you already get recognized by the Ancient Vault?"
"Recognition by the Ancient Vault doesn't mean recognition by the Emperors of past dynasties." Chen Ling said calmly,
"In the cognition of these traditional feudal Emperors, my existence is a Heretic. If they don't kill me, their hearts won't be at peace."
"Then what do we do now?"
"They hunt me down, so I'll hunt down the new Emperor they've prepared."
Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing through them. "Those Imperial Remnants are too many in number and too high in Rank. I can't go up there, and I can't kill them all... But as long as I cut off their new Emperor's path to ascension, the Path of the Sovereign can be considered crippled."
Jian Changsheng immediately gave a thumbs up:
"Ruthless enough. As expected of you, Six of Hearts!"
Those Emperors were already traversing the barrier of "Leaping Dragon in the Depths" and should arrive at this layer very soon. Chen Ling also didn't waste time. He immediately followed the residual footprints on the ground and found the approximate location of those candidates.
It would be best if he killed Ying Fu before the Emperors' pursuit arrived!
"Let's go!"
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe held the Bone-Stripping Knife, flying out in the wind and snow!
Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian closely followed. The three figures were like arrows released from a bow, quickly traversing the distance that took the Hemp-Clad Youth and the others a few hours to cover just now, disappearing at the end of the horizon.
...
The Hemp-Clad Youth was running, his head covered in sweat.
In this freezing environment, the sweat would freeze into ice the moment it seeped out. He was running wildly in the snow with Ah Qian, his cheeks already frozen bright red.
But the Hemp-Clad Youth's stamina was ultimately a bit weaker. Coupled with the fact that he didn't eat a single bite of the flatbread just now, he was already incomparably weak from hunger. Zhu Zhong and several other strong figures quickly overtook him, sprinting madly forward.
During this period, Zhu Zhong even gave him a fierce glare. The Hemp-Clad Youth's physical condition couldn't be faked. He seemed to have noticed something was wrong... But right now running for their lives seemed to be the priority, so he had no time to deal with this guy either.
Just at this time,
Three figures whistled as they swept past above the crowd!
Boom—!!!
The leading figure suddenly plummeted from the sky, directly smashing down in front of the crowd, blocking their path. A terrifying shockwave frantically expanded to the surroundings, and everyone could only stumble to a halt.
Amidst the flying shattered snow, a bright vermilion figure holding a Bone-Stripping Knife, like a demon god, stood at the tip of everyone's terrified hearts...
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe fluttered in the wind, a voice sounding calmly:
"Who is Ying Fu?"