"Heavenly King" was the highest noble status in the First Central Empire. It represented top glory and authority.
However, there were also three levels of Heavenly Kings: lower, middle, and upper.
Even the world-famous Wan Zhaoyi was only a lower Heavenly King.
As for middle Heavenly Kings, they were all important figures in the imperial court. They were second only to the Empress' authority. Not only did they have powerful cultivations, they also controlled large families. They could stir up a storm in the First Central Empire. Each of their moves could greatly affect the entire human race.
There couldn't be more than ten middle Heavenly Kings who regularly appeared in the imperial court.
The highest level—upper Heavenly Kings—were even more amazing. Most were the pioneer heroes who'd fought alongside Emperor Qing 800 years ago. They'd lived for more than 1,000 years and no longer appeared in court. They just stayed in the background. Even their heirs were now Heavenly Kings.
Of course, some also entered the upper Heavenly King level in recent centuries because of their unparalleled cultivation. These people were even more terrifying. Each one was able to shake the world.
Whoosh
Two ripples appeared 100 meters in the sky. It was like two water curtains were born out of thin air. Next, two figures walked out of the ripples. In that moment, all the beings present felt their hearts tremble. It was like the entire space trembled.
Which two Heavenly Kings were these?
Zhang Ruochen was also curious. Who could they be that even Wan Zhaoyi worshipped them?
One of them was two meters tall. He had a vertical eye on his forehead and wore purple armor. He grasped a battle axe. Hovering dozens of meters high in the sky, electricity poured out of every pore.
Lightning streaked across the sky, turning it into a sea of electricity.
A Saint from the imperial court instantly recognized the man. "He's the Thunder Heavenly King, one of the eight department Heavenly Kings from the Earth God Temple!
The Earth God Temple was divided into eight departments. Each one had a Heavenly King.
The authority and status of the eight were second only to the temple leader. Each of them was revered by Saints.
The Thunder Heavenly King was the most skilled at combat of the eight. His Spiritual Power and Martial Way had both reached extremely advanced states too. He was definitely a legendary figure.
If one must rate beings of Kunlun's Field who cultivated both Spiritual Power and the Martial Way, and were able to reach the highest level, then the Thunder Heavenly King would definitely be included.
"What exactly is under the ice land that even the Thunder Heavenly King has come personally?"
The hearts of the imperial court Saints flipped like tidal waves. They were filled with questions.
Other than the Siming Goddess, Chi Wansui, and Sui Han who knew some details, the other Saints had no clue about the true reason for coming to the Yin Yang Sea. They only thought they were searching for relics of the Divine Dragons.
Who wouldn't be shocked to see the Thunder Heavenly King?
Qi Sheng, Ying Huo, and Crown Prince Motian's faces paled. Even Prince Xia's eyes filled with fear. Only King Zhongying was still composed, standing at the top of the bone altar like a demon lord.
A younger soldier Saint stared at the other man standing beside the Thunder Heavenly King. Voice trembling, he said, "Look who that is… Could it be…"
Everyone looked over. How could a soldier Saint be so terrified? Could there be someone even more frightening than the Thunder Heavenly King here?
The other Heavenly King wore a blood-red robe, standing in a black cloud. No one could see his features clearly, but merely the red robe was enough to instill heavy fear.
It wasn't that the people were cowards. The Heavenly King was practically the physical incarnation of fear. His aura automatically corroded their hearts.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the red robe. He instantly felt cold Qi circulate through his body. He was cold from head to toe as if his heart had frozen.
"Could it be the Kill All King?" Bu Qianfan inhaled sharply. Shock colored his calm eyes.
"The Kill All King of the north night, he kills all at night. Has the most terrifying man of the Ministry of War come?" Wan Huayu's face was bloodless like Bu Qianfan. Her slender figure trembled.
Bu Qianfan and Wan Huayu were both Saints of the Ministry of War. They were on the same side as the Kill All King, but they were still so frightened. So how terrified would his enemies be now?
Huang Yanchen sent a message to Zhang Ruochen. "The Kill All King's name is Ye Bei, which translates to north night. His cultivation isn't number one in the Ministry of War, but he's the top god of death recognized by the imperial court."
"I can see that!" Zhang Ruochen said. "Even strong-willed elites like Bu Qianfan and Wan Huayu are so terrified when they see the Kill All King. He must be infamous."
"It's not just Bu Qianfan and Wan Huayu," Huang Yanchen said. "Even the middle Heavenly Kings from the imperial court are intimidated by him."
Zhang Ruochen was surprised. "Even middle Heavenly Kings are intimidated? Why does he have the title 'Kill All King'? Is he truly that terrifying?"
"Back when the imperial court attacked the Death God Sect, he was the general. The Death God Sect had promoted a cult in the south. Millions of human cultivators were brainwashed, becoming members of the Death God Sect. Their numbers snowballed bigger and bigger. It was about to move to the central region too.
"The people brainwashed by the Death God Sect there all acted like they'd gone crazy. They set fires, killed, stole, and robbed, creating chaos. According to the Death God Sect, that was following their heart's desires without letting anything restrain them. They could do whatever they wanted. However, when everyone's wishes lost their chains, the world would turn into Hell."
Zhang Ruochen gasped. He could imagine how chaotic the south had been. "The Death God Sect could use Buddhist spells to control the dead. Only the dead could be their most loyal followers."
"Yes," Huang Yanchen said. "The more people who died, the stronger the Death God Sect."
Faced with this kind of situation, even Zhang Ruochen wouldn't know what to do.
If the imperial court wanted to destroy the Death God Sect, they must first fight with the millions of followers. However, they were just regular people who'd lost their minds. It would be impossible to reason with them. Many strong figures of the Death God Sect were hidden among the common folk too.
If the leader was soft-hearted, the result may be that the imperial court's army was wiped out. But clearly, the Kill All King wasn't soft-hearted and merciful. Otherwise, he wouldn't have this title either.
"How did he do it?" Zhang Ruochen already had some guesses.
"In one night, the Kill All King led the imperial court's army to massacre the 19 counties of the south. Everywhere they went, the ground was covered with corpses. No living soul was left behind. In the end, they attacked the headquarters of the Death God Sect, dealing great losses, so the sect escaped overseas."
Zhang Ruochen inhaled sharply, feeling cold shivers. "How many people are in 19 counties? There must have been billions."
"That night, the Empress issued three orders in a row to stop the bloodshed," Huang Yanchen said. "However, the Kill All King just replied that he was outside and wouldn't follow the orders. He was the first one who dared to go against the Empress' orders since the founding of the First Central Empire.
"After that battle, the Kill All King was imprisoned in the Nirvana Prison for 180 years. After his release, he actually improved quickly. When he returned to the Ministry of War, he led the army into the Savage Barren Territory. He forced the beasts back in ten short years, gaining millions more miles of territory for the empire. He also established 19 counties in the territory."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the red-robed figure in the black smoke. "The Kill All King of north night, he kills all at night. The Empress must place high importance on him. Otherwise, he would've been sentenced to death for massacring 19 counties in one night."
"The Empress must've needed someone like him to intimidate the world and maintain the peace and security of the First Central Empire."
Zhang Ruochen chuckled. "You really understand her."
Huang Yanchen turned her snowy-white face and met Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He chuckled. "Haven't you been wanting to train someone like that too?"
The Kill All King's appearance also caused surprise to flash past King Zhongying's eyes. He laughed coldly. "The Thunder Heavenly King and Kill All King have appeared together. It seems like the imperial court will definitely win this time. But don't forget. If I'm here, the strong cultivators of the Ancient Dragon Mountain and Nine Li Palace will be hiding nearby too."
The Thunder Heavenly King was domineering. "If they appear, I'll just kill them."
Qing Mo tugged Zhang Ruochen's sleeves and whispered, "There will definitely be a terrifying battle here. It's literally gods fighting. Let's run away now, or else we won't be able to leave later."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. He didn't want to stay for long either. Even if an extreme treasure were to appear, it wasn't anything they could compete for.
However, just as they were about to leave, the icy ground started shaking violently. More accurately, the entire ice land was shaking.
With a loud noise, the ice under Zhang Ruochen's foot cracked.
The crack kept widening until it was like a canyon that stretched for thousands of miles. The entire ice land was divided into two halves.
Boom.
Fiery-red light shone from the bottom of the canyon. Then the ice land cracked again into dozens of pieces.
A fiery-red mutated bird flew out of the center of the cracks. Its wings had only been 30 feet long, but when it flew into the sky, it had grown thousands of times bigger.
"It still escaped in the end."
Zhang Ruochen looked up to the sky. His entire vision was taken up by the bird's body. He could only see mountain-like feathers. He couldn't see the sky nor the bird's complete body.