54 Sudden End

However, none of that registered with the Emperor, he was too distraught over this. His own uncle, the one whom he had the greatest relationship with, wanted him dead. He could not believe but at the same time, his head was right there. Undeniable evidence right in front his eyes.

"Give me your Phoenix Dragon Seal and I will leave you all for good", he repeated, "If you make me wait any longer, I don't mind getting it myself."

"This..this", the emperor was at a loss for words.

"I would rather you give it", the avatar added, "It would be annoying to have to kill everyone."

"Why do you want it?" Sky asked, "Why is it that the seal is the only thing you want? It is merely a symbol, a decorative piece."

"That is something you do not need to know. All there is to be said is I will no longer bother you, once I gain the seal. Furthermore, it will not be used for evil", he answered.

"Evil...not be used for evil. You, the Lord of Azure Souls promises that my Phoenix Dragon Seal will not be used for evil. HahahahahaHAHAHAHA", Sky laughed hysterically, "What you had just done can only be considered evil. The past hundred years of you terrorizing my country is PURE AND UTTER EVIL! AND NOW YOU TELL ME THAT THIS WILL BE FOR GOOD? What have you done to deserve our trust?! Tell me how exactly are you going to do some good with that seal?!"

After his outburst, Sky looked straight at the avatar, he stared into the faceless being with a furious expression.

"ANSWER ME!" he screamed. A powerful shockwave rumbled through the arena.

The Lord of Azure Souls's avatar stared back at him.

"A war may come within a hundred years", he said, "In our vast world, we have three races: humans, beast men, and demons. Separated by our own continents and connected through numerous teleportation channels, there was a common ground between all of us. However, that was over a several hundred years ago, a peace broken through trial and tribulation, as you may know, it was what brought about the end of the Warlord Age. The great destruction of the land did not affect just our continent but theirs as well. We do not know the current state of the other races and so we can only prepare for the worst. A council was formed, created for the sole purpose of guiding our race to prosperity or rather, survival. I am a messenger from that council, sent to do their bidding. While I do not know exactly how it will be used, your seal will be among several others to protect our race."

The emperor pondered this information while everyone else felt shock. Something like the beast men and demons were old legends, races that no longer existed. None of them would've expected this.

"Why do all of this then? Terrorize us for century", he asked.

"Your nation is considered one of the weakest, using force and fear felt like the better option than diplomacy. Destroying your nation would diminish our power as the human race, so I went for less bloody options. Hence, I used soul attacks, gaining the name, Lord of Azure Souls. Furthermore, this is information that generally the strongest kingdoms know. Although one hundred years was a fairly short time to obtain your seal. Besides I did you a favor by giving you one less enemy and a traitor no less", he said, a slightly proud tone could be heard in his voice.

"Haah, as much as I do not want to believe you, I do not have a choice. You are most likely at the Sky Realm. No one here could beat you", the emperor said dejectedly, "Take it and leave us for good."

Throwing out the golden seal, he left the arena and retreated into his palace.

The blue avatar held the seal in his hand, opening a portal and leaving. The oppressive energy left and everyone could finally breathe, but worried thoughts and expressions showed on their faces.

A war? Beast and demon races still existed? What would this mean for our kingdom? What will we do now?

Seeing the turmoil within the people and with the Emperor still distraught with all of this, Tang Guang took it as his responsibility to calm them down.

"Everyone please listen, the only thing that thing needed was the seal. He did not ask for manpower or anything else. Most likely there is already a plan in place. Everyone should just carry on with their lives. As for the tournament, It will officially end today. We will proceed with rewards and celebrations once my lord brother has rested", he announced.

Everyone exited slowly, many of the competitors went back to their sects and families, still stuck on the Lord of Azure Soul's words.

Ming Yue left as well, curiosity filled her more than dread. She was not very bothered by this news, she was only a small character in this after all. Instead, she wanted to know what the other races looked like, what the other continents were like. She had only ever known about the human race, it would be amazing to learn more about the others. After all, the avatar did state that a war could happen, there was a chance that war may not occur. If it did not, it would be easier for her to travel between continents.

But for now, she only needed to focus on her own strength. Lei Jiang's performance cemented the her thoughts, she still had a long way to go. If she was to fight against him, 99 out of 100 battles would end in her loss. Leaving for the inn, she was met by Xiao Yin and Hei Yue, who were quite happy to see her, oblivious as to what had happened today. She smiled at their company and rested for the night.

The next following weeks was nothing more than tense and gloomy, everyone was quite worried about a possible war. The emperor had yet make an appearance, some say he was bedridden both from the shock and grief of what the Lord of Azure Souls had said. However, this was dispelled when he made an announcement addressing everything.

With it, he had done extensive investigations, finding more evidence of his uncle's treachery. As for the news of other races and continents, he has begun contacting other neighboring nations conversing with them about this topic. Bits and pieces of information began to coalesce.

What he had gained from these talks was somewhat relieving, the continent's teleportation channels have yet to be fixed and will most likely take time to do so. Therefore, this "council" made up of Heaven Realm cultivators were preparing for the worst, it was likely that the demon and beast races would not be hostile.

He apologized for his inability to act as their leader, asking his citizens for forgiveness.

His actions were able to dispel the tense atmosphere, with many believing that it was not his fault. In due time, the country went back to its normal ways, with talks of war happening every once in a while. The tournament that ended so abruptly continued once more, with the rewards and such. Ming Yue at rank 58, gained several thousand gold, to which she put into her spatial ring.

After several festivities, she met with Yu Yao Xian and conversed for a bit.

"After this, You should come with me to the Yu Family, Fengtian has wanted to see you ever since he saw you at competition", she said.

Ming Yue accepted her invitation, after all she did promise to visit and this was as good a time as ever.

High above the land, within the skies and among the clouds, a large mass floated about. If one was to see it clearly, they would be shocked! For it was a fortress! With 8 spires surrounding a large castle, connected by stone walls, it was ancient and toughened by countless ages. What ability was needed to create this?

Inside its large halls was a kneeling figure, it was the Lord of Azure Flames, looking down before 8 thrones. Each one shaped differently, with seven seats filled and one empty.

"I have retrieved the seal from Red Lotus Country, High Council", he said.