He has been reincarnated through countless worlds, adorned with billions of mythological terms!

Yun Yi's lips twitched, but he didn't dwell on the matter for too long.

"So, with their sudden attack, were all the preparations around the country in place?"

"After all, the Yunming Empire is still somewhat abnormal - we don't lack high-level power, but at the bottom level, because of the rapid development, there are not many strong people."

"Perfect, absolutely perfect." Yunling nodded. "Ji Wujiu's clones were arranged in advance. Tens of thousands of martial arts level five or six clones guarded all the key nodes outside the imperial city."

"Some of the local forces' troops have also been redeployed; the rest can be left to Old Deng."

"As for those two Martial Emperors—"

Yun Yi stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the deep night.

"I'll handle it."

……

The grand ceremony was scheduled for the early morning three days later.

For the next three days, everything inside and outside the imperial city operated as usual.

The Imperial Household Department arranged the ceremonial guards and decorations for the ceremony, the Ministry of Rites rehearsed the procedures and positions for the day, and the congratulatory messages and tributes from various prefectures filled the side hall storerooms.

No one panicked, and no one sent extra people.

Everything looked no different from an ordinary celebration.

But the covert arrangements were already taut like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

On the morning of the third day, before dawn, lanterns inside and outside the imperial city were already lit.

The main road from the palace gate to the altar of Heaven was covered with a brand-new red carpet, and banners fluttered on both sides.

The officials' court attire was more formal than that of the day of their coronation, with more intricate patterns and more orderly ranks.

Standing at the front were not only the original members of the Yunming Empire, but also many new faces—representatives of the small and medium-sized forces that had submitted to the empire, dressed in the attire of their respective sects or families, making them particularly eye-catching in the crowd.

The entire imperial city was shrouded in a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

The Altar of Heaven is located in the center of the square in front of the Taiji Hall. The altar is three zhang high and is made entirely of white marble. Its surface is engraved with intricate celestial runes, which gleam with a pale golden hue in the morning light.

At the center of the altar, the jade seal that Yun Yi had personally polished lay quietly in the middle of the altar. The light flowing inside was even brighter than in the previous days, like a light egg that was contained by a stone shell and was about to break out.

Dressed in a bright yellow imperial robe and wearing a crown, Yun Yi ascended the steps to the altar of Heaven.

With each step he took, the runes on the altar surface glowed faintly, as if awakened by his footsteps.

He stood at the top of the stage and turned to face everyone below.

The process of ascending the throne is more complicated than that of the coronation ceremony.

The prayer for the Heaven Offering must be recited in nine sections, each corresponding to one of the following regions: Eastern Wilderness, Western Desert, Southern Region, Northern Cold, Central Plains, Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and the Way.

After all, they have many ways to gain access to the imperial court.

But the best approach is to first inform the Heavenly Dao of this world that you wish to ascend to the throne, and then demonstrate your achievements.

Only lastly does action come into play.

At first, Yunling's idea was to force the court to proceed, but she later discovered that this method was surprisingly effective.

Therefore, the original, more radical approach was abandoned.

The master of ceremonies stood to the side of the altar, reciting the text in a loud and steady voice, section by section.

The officials and representatives from all sides bowed their heads and listened attentively; the scene was solemn and quiet.

As the seventh paragraph was being read, the first strange sound came from the sky.

The sound came from the north, like distant rumbling thunder, or the roar of something heavy tearing through the air as it fell from the sky.

Immediately afterwards, the same sound rang out from the southeast.

Two figures appeared simultaneously at opposite ends of the sky, one to the north and one to the east, like two dark stars suddenly shining in the daytime.

It was moving so fast that it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye it had moved from the edge of the horizon to the outskirts of the imperial city.

They were two old people.

He was a man with white hair and beard, thin and frail, wearing a faded gray Taoist robe.

His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, but his eyes burned with a kind of almost insane brightness, unique to those who had been forcibly given a longer life.

The other was shorter, with dark skin, a bald head, and a bare upper body covered with dark brown old scars, each as thick as a finger, like centipedes crawling all over his body.

Their auras were completely unleashed, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on the entire imperial city.

The space around the altar was slightly distorted, and officials and servants with lower cultivation levels knelt on the ground, unable to even raise their heads.

Even with only 50% of his combat strength remaining, the Emperor's oppressive aura was still far beyond what a ninth-level martial artist could withstand.

Yun Yi stood at the top of the altar, the jade seal beside him still absorbing the nation's fortune, its surface becoming increasingly radiant.

He didn't turn his head; his gaze remained fixed on the bowed figures in front of the altar.

"They're here."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

Yunling stood in the ceremonial procession to the side of the altar and nodded:

"Yes, it's here."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two figures from the north and east broke through the first line of defense outside the imperial city.

The runic arrays and restrictions set up outside the city walls crumbled like paper before them, unable to even delay them for a moment.

Ji Wujiu's clones kept appearing along their path, trying to entangle them using the old methods.

But this time it didn't work.

The two old men didn't even glance at them. Their qi and blood radiated slightly outwards, and the clones that had been trying to entangle them crumbled into powder like dandelions scattered by the wind.

Ji Wujiu has too many clones; he wouldn't even flinch if hundreds of them died.

However, his various secret techniques could only stop people below the ninth rank. Against a Martial Emperor, those clones were as good as nothing.

The two old men had already crossed the outer city wall of the imperial city, one on the left and one on the right, like two sharp blades thrown at the same time, and were closing in on the altar of heaven.

Yun Yi finally withdrew his gaze, turning from the stage to the sky, looking at the gray Taoist robe and the naked body covered in scars.

He glanced down at the jade seal in his palm, and spoke, his voice not loud, yet clearly carrying throughout the entire square:

"Yunling, you finish reciting the remaining rituals for me."

After saying that, he released the jade seal and took a step forward.

His figure disappeared from the top of the altar.

When he reappeared, he was already standing in mid-air, right between the two encircling auras.

The gray-robed old man and the bald old man stopped in front of him almost simultaneously, like two surging tides crashing into the same reef.

The bald old man grinned, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth:

"Little brat, your enthronement ceremony is off."

Yun Yi glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He raised his right hand, his fingers slightly spread, as if sensing something.

Then he clenched his fist—a very slow movement, like someone who hasn't moved in a long time checking if their body can still move.

The first seal has been broken.

The second layer.

Third floor. Fourth floor. Fifth floor.

This time, he broke all five seals.

This was the first time he had loosened so many layers at once since he was six years old.

It's a realm that's been elevated to mythical status in this world, so as long as we're careful, there shouldn't be any major problems.

The power that had been suppressed within him for nearly ten years surged forth from the depths like a magma chamber being pried open, flowing through his meridians and throughout his body.

A very faint, warm white halo appeared on the skin's surface, so faint as to be almost invisible, but the surrounding air began to hum slightly the moment the halo appeared—as if space itself was being squeezed by some force in protest.

The expressions of the two old people changed at the same instant.