"If, in the future, you encounter the successor of the Battle Saint lineage, unless they are a truly vile and evil individual, you must befriend the successor, treat them as an honored guest of the Qin family, and lend assistance when necessary without refusal."
"This is the final instruction left by our Lord for the Qin family, and it must not be violated for generations to come."
As the final instruction of the Sovereign of Formlessness was spoken, the expressions of the Qin family powerhouses immediately turned extremely ugly.
They looked towards the Battle Saint King, their expressions incredibly complex.
One must remember that not long ago, a Great Power of the Qin family had initiated a true great battle, joining forces with ancient Great Sages like Ying Gu and the Slaying Venerable to suppress and kill the Battle Saint King. Although the situation was later reversed, the current scene was still utterly astonishing.
Previously, they had been locked in a life-and-death duel, fighting until the heavens collapsed and the earth cracked, with blood flying everywhere. Now, they were being ordered to befriend the Battle Saint King, treat him as an honored guest of the Qin family, and lend assistance when necessary, without disobedience.
Such a drastic contrast left many people dumbfounded.
Especially the Great Powers of the myriad realms, who, upon hearing this, looked at Qin Ye with a hint of mockery as his face alternated between livid and pale.
It was likely that the Qin family had never imagined that the Battle Saint King they wanted to suppress and kill was actually an important figure whom their founding ancestor had ordered them to treat as an honored guest.
Qin Ye very much wanted to speak of the Battle Saint King's evil deeds, but he opened his mouth only to find himself speechless, unable to utter a single word.
The Sovereign of Formlessness had mentioned 'unless they are a truly vile and evil individual,' but was the Battle Saint King such a person?
Even the Qin family did not believe the Battle Saint King to be that kind of person. On the contrary, the Battle Saint King was merely very forceful and domineering. His actions were all because Qin Yi and the War King were mutually affectionate, which had brought immense scandal upon the Qin family, prompting their furious response.
However, this could hardly be considered 'truly vile and evil.' On the contrary, he was passionate and righteous, acting without regard for consequences for the War King's sake.
But for the Qin family to go from a battlefield of life and death to having to befriend and treat him as an honored guest—such a massive shift was truly difficult for them to accept.
The situation was now extremely awkward and embarrassing, and they did not know how to face it.
Among them, especially the Ying Imperial Clan's Great Power Ying Gu, along with the other two ancient Great Sages, changed color. They looked at Qin Ye, very much wanting them not to listen and to continue the fight, as the Battle Saint King was their common enemy.
But although the weapon deity was not the true Sovereign of Formlessness, its status was equally lofty for the Qin family, just as the imperial weapon deity of the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang was for the Ying Imperial Clan.
Moreover, how dare they interrupt in front of the weapon deity? If they angered it, a single finger from it would be enough to annihilate the Great Powers of the myriad realms.
Qin Ye and the others truly had no choice but to comply. However, facing the Battle Saint King was so embarrassing that they could hardly bear it.
The Battle Saint King's side all looked at the Qin family powerhouses with some mockery, especially Ye Chen, who watched them with a peculiar expression, stroking his chin.
Not far away, the War King laughed heartily and freely, while Qin Yi beside him was filled with joy.
Little Wushuang, holding Yiyi, was overjoyed: "Uncle Qian is too amazing."
Only the powerhouses of the Ying Imperial Clan wore extremely ugly expressions, especially Ying Chen.
The weapon deity looked majestically at the Qin family powerhouses, carrying an incomparable, irresistible majesty. "As descendants of the Qin family, you must remember the founding ancestor's final instruction. Moreover, although I have spent my time in slumber, I followed for a period during that slumber and sensed the blood energy fluctuation of this young friend. I know he is not a truly vile and evil individual."
"This—"
The Qin family powerhouses, led by Qin Ye, opened their mouths, not knowing how to respond.
But the weapon deity's majestic gaze upon them made their scalps tingle. The blood within their bodies resonated with a great hum, and they felt an involuntary reverence, not daring to resist.
Finally, Qin Ye, being a Great Power after all, stepped forward. With an extremely complex expression, he looked at Ye Chen not far away and clasped his fists. "My apologies, Battle Saint King. Qin apologizes for the earlier offense. Please forgive us."
With the Great Power taking the lead, the other Qin family members stepped forward one after another to apologize, leaving many with complex expressions.
Ying Gu and the other two ancient Great Sages were especially so, their expressions very ugly, but facing the weapon deity, they could do nothing.
The Qin family's helpless defection made the situation of this Great Power-level melee even more lopsided.
At this moment, Ye Chen's side, with six Great Power-level existences, watched covetously from afar, looking at Ying Gu and the other two ancient Great Sages with mockery, causing the three of them to change color drastically.
The number of Great Power-level existences on both sides had now dropped to a ratio of three to six, a vast disparity. If a battle started, there would be little suspense.
"Enough!"
At this moment, the ancient one from the other side of the starry sky rift actively walked over. His body was wreathed in hazy radiance as he actually crossed the starry sky rift cleaved open by the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord's sword strike, arriving at the starry sky battlefield, carrying an unfathomable aura.
He first clasped his fists towards the weapon deity, then nodded towards the mysterious Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord. Looking at the two confronting sides, he slowly spoke: "This farce should come to an end now. All of you, cease hostilities."
The ancient one had come to stop the battle?
This surprised the Great Powers of the myriad realms.
"Give me a reason!"
Ye Chen also sensed the newcomer's fearsomeness, stemming from the Battle Saint's sharp intuition. This was an unfathomably ancient existence. Although he was very old, his blood energy dried up, in the twilight stage of life's sunset with not many years left to live, he gave Ye Chen an incomparably terrifying feeling.
It was as if within that extremely aged body lurked a peerless great menace. Once awakened, it would be terrifying to the extreme, capable of destroying the myriad realms.
This made him extremely wary. Even other ancient Great Sages had never given him such a feeling.
An Ancient Monarch!?
However, at this moment, he felt no fear and remained very forceful because of the weapon deity's presence. He did not believe this old man could deal with the weapon deity.
The others all slightly changed color, shaking their heads somewhat at the Battle Saint King's actions. The Great Power of Taichu even sent a voice transmission, urging Ye Chen to be more polite in his tone, as the other party was an extremely terrifying existence. In the past, he had once competed with the Human Sovereign of that era, contending for the Human Sovereign throne, only narrowly losing by a single move, peerless and invincible.
Ye Chen was awed. This ancient one actually had such a tremendous background.
The ancient one chuckled, his eyes narrowing slightly. He did not get angry but nodded towards Ye Chen. "You are the Battle Saint King. A very promising young junior, full of potential, qualified to contend for the Human Sovereign throne in this era. You might even have hope to contend for the opportunity to become an Emperor, to become the peerless Sovereign-Emperor of this epoch."
The Great Powers of the myriad realms were all startled. They had not expected this ancient one's evaluation of the Battle Saint King to be so high, beyond many people's expectations.
"Thank you for the praise," Ye Chen said, clasping his fists. He did not become complacent but grew even more wary, yet he did not compromise.
The ancient one sighed lightly. "I knew a forceful successor of the Battle Saint lineage like you wouldn't compromise so easily. Well, I have this."
Boom—
He flicked his sleeve, sending out a streak of divine radiance. Then, boundless light spread across the heavens and earth, accompanied by an Emperor's heavenly might not inferior to the weapon deity's, vast and mighty, sweeping through the boundless cosmos, compelling everyone to submit.
When they truly saw clearly, it was a supreme edict, bearing an Emperor's might—a Human Sovereign's edict. Divine radiance appeared, cleaving the starry sky, separating the two sides.
From within, a voice carrying supreme majesty spoke: "Cease hostilities!"
These were the words of the Human Sovereign, peerlessly majestic and irresistible.
Moreover, the ancient Great Sages on both sides felt a supreme law descending, imposing itself upon them, making it difficult for either side to take action, filling them with terror.
Words Become Law!
This was the might of the Human Sovereign. As the ruler of the Myriad Domains, the Human Sovereign possessed this supreme power of the Great Dao, similar to how Saints were within planar worlds.
But within the vast cosmic heaven and earth of the myriad realms, only the supreme Human Sovereign possessed such supreme power. Even a Sovereign could not achieve this.
Ye Chen sighed lightly. With the Human Sovereign ordering a ceasefire, even with the weapon deity as backup, he dared not resist and could only helplessly give up.
In the end, a Great Power-level melee thus concluded. However, everyone knew that the Battle Saint King's side had achieved a complete victory, while the other side had suffered a crushing defeat.
One had their divine soul blasted apart and fled; one stopped due to their ancestral edict; and the other three only escaped calamity thanks to the Human Sovereign's ceasefire order.
When word spread, the name of the Battle Saint King would shine even more brilliantly and gloriously, shaking the myriad realms more powerfully than ever before.
However, the weapon deity did not immediately return to slumber but nodded towards the Human Sovereign's edict.
From the Human Sovereign's edict also surged forth a majestic, hazy figure, to which the myriad Daos of the realms submitted, supreme and peerless. It also nodded towards the weapon deity before dissipating, wrapping up the edict and departing.
At this moment, the weapon deity looked at Ye Chen. With just a glance, the space within Ye Chen's body blossomed open, and a stone coffin fell out into the starry sky, lying horizontally within it, ancient and unadorned.
"What is this—"
Many Great Powers were stunned, but some of the Myriad Domains' Great Powers who had participated in the Ancient Emperor Realm's great war immediately changed color and retreated far away, as if avoiding a great calamity.
"The Lord's remains!" the weapon deity spoke thus, immediately causing the Qin family powerhouses to kneel, filled with excitement.
After the Mythical War, the Sovereign of Formlessness had fallen, yet his corpse had not been left behind. This was a great regret for the Qin family, unable to bury their founding ancestor.
Now, they could actually see the divine stone coffin in which their ancestor was buried, and they could not contain their excitement.
"Founding Ancestor!"
The Qin family powerhouses were all excited, continuously kneeling and paying respects, filled with emotion. They also spoke: "We never expected to see the founding ancestor's stone coffin today. We hope to take it back to the family ancestral altar for worship."
Ye Chen's expression was complex. He very much wanted to stop them, to keep it by his side, because this was his supreme tool for intimidating imperial clans, the real reason he dared to challenge imperial clans. If it were taken away, he would lack the corresponding trump card for intimidation.
However, this was the Qin family's founding ancestor. By both sentiment and reason, it was impossible.
Moreover, he was also the second generation of the Battle Saint lineage, his senior. He also hoped the Sovereign of Formlessness could receive a proper burial.
But the weapon deity shook its head. "Let it remain with him."
"Why?"
Everyone was very puzzled. Shouldn't it be taken back to the Qin family for a proper burial?
"I suspect that the Lord has not truly fallen. By remaining with this young friend, there might be a sliver of hope for revival in the future," the weapon deity spoke thus.
Boom—
Like a bolt from the blue, the myriad realms were shaken with astonishment!