Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1910 - 512: Emperor Dao Prototype (3)

Bang!

Shen Jueling’s form was hurled backward while the realm flickered and fractured. Though he escaped grave harm, defeat had claimed him.

"You."

Shen Jueling glared at the girl with fury and astonishment, meeting only her impassive stare. A sudden chill gripped him as he realized neither had unleashed their utmost power—he hadn’t, and she hadn’t either.

Her command over the Time Dao... it surpassed the Tenth Layer, ascending to that fabled realm!

"How could this be? That stage demands the Emperor Road’s unveiling, yet she hasn’t unlocked it—how does she wield such mastery? Could she be the king who endured the ancient calamity from ten thousand years past?"

Shock overwhelmed Shen Jueling. Within his clan, he had dominated every rival and triumphed over countless geniuses, yet now an overwhelming sense of powerless despair washed over him.

"Shen Jueling, defeated."

With serene poise, the Star Empress declared the outcome and swiftly transported them both away from the battle platform.

Shi Miao arrived beyond the battle stage. As her energy restored to its zenith, she advanced once more to issue a challenge.

Witnesses beheld Shi Miao’s formidable presence, and their expressions shifted subtly. Was this young woman intent on sweeping through opponents all the way to confront the reincarnated Emperor?

Li Hao felt stunned as well. Though aware of Shi Miao’s prowess, he had apparently undervalued her strength—she exceeded his expectations.

As Shi Miao launched another challenge, the remaining top ten competitors abandoned their own ambitions and decided to test themselves against her first, gauging the field through her encounters.

These clashes determined True King ranks and clan benefits, far from mere sentiment. Fighters would seize every opportunity to ascend higher.

"So formidable—who is that woman?"

"I’ve heard she’s a Quasi-Emperor who outlasted the ancient demon disaster ten thousand years ago!"

"I recognize her; clan archives mention her as the Time Saintess, the cherished direct heir of the Heavenly Calamity Immortal Emperor!"

"Heavenly Calamity Immortal Emperor? Rumors say an Immortal Emperor turned traitor against humanity ten thousand years back—something about Heavenly Calamity..."

Elders from minor clans murmured among themselves, eyeing Shi Miao with wary curiosity and doubt.

In contrast, numerous elders from mighty clans—most veterans of the calamity ten thousand years ago—recalled how that disaster hadn’t escalated to today’s horrors. Innumerable great families had stayed sidelined from the fray, owing to the heroic Immortal Emperors’ sacrifices.

The Southern Domain Venerable had shrouded the calamity’s secrets, fooling only lesser clans and the masses. Prestigious houses, of course, grasped the full truth.

Watching this woman battle onward and vie for True King status filled their faces with intricate emotions.

Ten thousand years prior, she had clashed valiantly alongside her master against the ancient demons, courting oblivion and shattering the Heavenly Calamity emperor lineage. Now, reborn, she reemerged on the warfront.

And this round, it stemmed from her own resolve.

"Perhaps it’s due to ’fools’ like her that the rest of us get to draw breath and smile."

A white-haired, bearded elder murmured with a sigh, then edged forward gradually to the cliff’s brink. Slowly, his hunched posture straightened, evolving from aged frailty to vigorous middle age, and finally to youthful vigor.

"Better to... fight than merely endure survival."

"I’ve cultivated for 120,000 years, yet alas, I never forged my personal Emperor Road... Still, beyond that lies the path I tread today!"

Beyond the realm, countless concealed elders from great clans observed in quiet vigil. Some, ancient and sealed in bronze tombs or entombed as Quasi-Emperors, had roused anew.

Oblivious to these undercurrents, Shi Miao targeted the ninth rank, held by the Divine Venerable himself.

"Little junior sister..."

Upon spotting Shi Miao’s challenge, the Divine Venerable locked eyes with her, instant mutual recognition sparking between them.

"Our soul hearts endured unbroken back then, and reunion now brings joy."

The Divine Venerable ascended the battle stage, his gaze riveted on Shi Miao, whose emanating pressure far outstripped her Immortal King Realm days.

"It’s karma’s thread. My reborn form emerged from your reincarnated lineage, forging an inescapable bond, yet senior brother, you..."

Shi Miao spoke with steady calm. Her visage first echoed Ying Xiaoxiao of the Divine Clan, then Su Muqing from the Northern Domain Su Family, but ultimately settled as Shi Miao, her eyes gleaming like seven-hued amber—icy, ethereal, akin to the Empress ruling over time.

"The master perished, Emperor Dao in ruins, revival impossible. Would you court that same hopelessness once more?"

The Divine Venerable replied icily, "I seek only to reclaim the master’s legacy—what claim does that youth have upon it?"

"The master’s possessions pass to whomever the master designates. As a senior brother, why turn against your fellow disciple?"

Shi Miao’s eyes chilled, invoking Li Hao struck her deepest nerve.

"Hmph, you and the master both dote on him. The boy boasts immense talent, true enough, but what of it? Peaking out means merely becoming an Emperor! In this calamity, even Emperors tumble—can he rescue the whole True Realm? In this existence, survival is all I crave!"

The Divine Venerable balled his fists, golden divine flames erupting across his body, as All Heavens Star Veins and the Dharma Aspects of All Saints gathered around him.

Shi Miao’s stare turned frigid, her realm unfurling abruptly. Within the Time Dao Realm, a dark whirlpool materialized, brimming with dread might—like fate’s whisper and reincarnation’s force!

"You!"

The Divine Venerable detected the two veiled forces within the realm, his expression twisting at once. This transcended simple Time Dao—was this her realm’s authentic essence?