Sovereign Absolution

The one chasing Ji Chen was one of the two mid-stage great emperors leading the cultists. It seemed that they put a great importance on catching him.

However, what could an ordinary mid-stage great emperor do to him? Ji Chen himself was already unbeatable on his own cultivation stage. Only late-stage great emperors and above could give him trouble.

Two figures kept flashing above the battlefield.

Using the Wind Chase Step Art he only comprehended recently, Ji Chen seemed to fade in and out as if he was part of the wind itself.

His chaser became like a homing missile that never failed to tail him. A constant distance formed between the two but Ji Chen swore that he was only using the speed of an early-stage great emperor. His chaser should have already closed the distance between them.

Ji Chen got the intention of his opponent - to exhaust him.

'Is he wary of me?' This was the only reason why a mid-stage great emperor would stay at a certain distance from him.

He wanted to play the game of the cultist but recalling the sorry states of local great emperors trying to defend this city, he couldn't waste much time. 'Do I need to act again?'

Ji Chen did not use his prior tactics of using weaker cultists as a shield, fearing that his chaser would also kill weaker local cultivators on the path.

It was time to reveal some of his real strength.

He stopped running and stood firm in the sky.

"You finally stop your senseless escape." The mid-stage great emperor cultist also stopped on his tracks. His voice was calm and his breathing did not seem disturbed. It was clear that he was treating Ji Chen as a small fry in his last resistance.

"What do you feel killing so many innocent mortals?" Ji Chen asked while unsheathing a pure black sword devoid of any luster. At the same time, a black ominous bell floated beside him.

The mid-stage great emperor cultist became a bit serious seeing the two items. He could feel the extraordinariness of the two and his instinct suddenly alarmed him to be careful.

However, the wariness was quickly diluted with greediness. "You think a bell and a sword can save you from a great emperor?" He scoffed.

"Well, you can try." Ji Chen smiled faintly and pointed the black sword to his opponent.

The mid-stage great emperor cultists suddenly released his earth domain. The sky turned heavier and its blue color turned brownish.

"You're still a kid!" He uttered while his figure flashed and the gauntlets on his hands glowed crimson.

'Interesting, a cultivator specializing in close combat.' Ji Chen did not stay idle and brandished his sword using the strength of a peak-stage emperor.

A sword image streaked and robbed the surrounding energy. The natural process of fundamental elements stopped along its trajectory.

"Good art but you're just too weak." The mid-stage great emperor seemed to appreciate talent even of his enemies.

Bang!

The sword image which should have robbed all energies along its trajectory got robbed of its own by a devastating punch that cut it short.

Ji Chen acted shocked and retreated a distance away before executing another sword slash.

This time, desolation greeted the sky as the vitality of the surrounding area got sucked by his attack.

The mid-stage great emperor dissipated the sword slash just like the prior one, by punching it directly.

"Is that all you got?"

"Eat this." Ji Chen executed the third style, Emperor Absolution, and the sky turned gray as all the elements vanished from the space.

"Kid, you have a great sword art. I'll make sure to read your memories before handing you to Reverend Bishop." The mid-stage great emperor was overwhelmed by his greediness as he punched twice the incoming sword strike.

This time, he didn't stay still after neutralizing the attack. His figure shot straight towards Ji Chen. He couldn't wait to search the soul of his opponent who possessed such superior sword art.

A cunning glint flashed in Ji Chen's eyes before his mind worked endlessly to calculate the best timing for a surprise attack.

'Three, two, one!'

As the figure of the opponent came within a reasonable distance, the black bell beside Ji Chen rang.

Ding!

An invisible wave spread outwards along with the soundwaves.

The mid-stage great emperor cultist had his eyes bulging out after hearing the sound of the bell. It was not because he was an avid fan of ringing bells or a bell enthusiast, rather, he felt his spiritual sea shook momentarily.

Ding!

Before he could react, another wave assaulted his spiritual sea. The shaking became worse and he felt dizzy for a moment.

"Spiritual attack! Kid, you think I don't have something to protect my soul?!" He growled as he activated a secret manual, specifically a spiritual defensive secret manual.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The black bell rang consecutively but failed to shake the opponent again.

"It's really a good item. Don't worry, I'll ask the Reverend Bishop to leave your corpse intact." The mid-stage great emperor cultist shot once again while creating a monstrous fist imprint packed with thick earth energy.

'Tsk. I cannot hide my real strength anymore.' Ji Chen stored the Soulshackle Bell back to his spatial ring. This item was one of the things he got from his wanton shopping session when he reset the Shop of the system more than ten times.

The hammer he gave to Ziye Fengru and the weapons to other elders also originated from that session.

"Be obedient, kid."

"I don't think so." Ji Chen's aura suddenly increased and shot up straight to his original cultivation stage and realm.

'Sovereign Absolution.'

Without skipping a beat, he brandished his black sword vertically. A gigantic distorted sword image flashed out and turned the sky bleak and dark. The cries of death resounded in every direction and the verdant forest quickly withered into desolation.

The space seemed unable to handle the sword image as it distorted along its trajectory. It didn't crack but anyone observant could see how it bent to give way to the executioner.

"Great emperor!" The cultist became horrified sensing the explosion of strength in Ji Chen's aura. It was not just an early-stage but a top mid-stage great emperor.

Seeing the terrifying sword image closing into him, the cultist hastily activated to the maximum his earth domain and bombarded the direction of the sword image with earth-shattering punches. However, why would Ji Chen let him do what he wants?

Ji Chen fought the opponent's earth domain with his own earth domain.

The heaviness of his own earth domain surpassed the normal ones after comprehending a little of gravity aspect of the earth element during his tribulation.

'Meteor Dash Sword Art.'

Another sword image joined the Sovereign Absolution. Ji Chen sealed any routes by making the surrounding sky heavier. The air stagnated and everything came to a standstill for a split second.

"No!" The last despairing scream of the cultist got drowned by endless sand circling the sky. A body turned straight into nothingness. Not even the soul of the cultist was spared.

'Sky grade is really different from earth grade.' Ji Chen realized after seeing his Sovereign Absolution annihilating the enemy. Without wasting more time, he took out the spatial ring of the cultist and flew straight back to the battlefield.

There, he showed his true strength and started a rampage that ended with the death of the Reverend Bishop his prior opponent was addressing. It was a one-sided slaughter conducted by him and even the local great emperors trembled seeing his figure. They recalled this man as the emperor who was chased earlier by a great emperor cultist.

To see him coming back as a great emperor and not just a simple great emperor, they shivered at how shameless this man was. Of course, their gratitude and relief overwhelmed any other emotions.

When they tried to approach Ji Chen, he had already slashed the crimson dome and disappeared without a trace. It was as if he didn't exist in the first place.

"Is that the strength of a mid-stage great emperor? He easily resolved all the cultists." One of the local great emperors muttered in awe and reverence.