“You are right, Your Excellency. I still have one chance left.” Dao Dragon Heaven Emperor replied.
The tenth world was different since it had seventy-two Heaven's Wills. A Grand Emperor or Immortal Monarch up here could have up to twelve Heaven's Wills. Of course, few were able to shoulder the maximum number.
In the nine worlds, there was only one chance to shoulder the Heaven's Will. This was not the case up here.
In the same generation, an emperor up had a total of three chances to seize the Heaven's Wills, no more. This made the competitions quite long compared to the nine worlds, able to span for nearly ten thousand years from beginning to end.
“Looks like you have a big chance of obtaining nine wills.” Li Qiye looked at the emperor and smilingly said.
Ever since the emperor had created his own grand dao, he had experienced two attainment periods and had six wills. Thus, he had another chance of obtaining another three.
“Thank you, Your Excellency. I only have nine palaces so nine wills are enough for me. After all, not too many emperors can have twelve wills.” The emperor replied.
“Nine is enough to be considered exceptional among the emperors.” Li Qiye nodded approvingly: “An emperor ascending from the nine worlds is considered talented if they were on the same level as a nine-wills emperor.”
In the tenth world, one palace corresponded with one will. Of course, certain emperors broke this law but it was very dangerous to do so.
“Our emperors envy the ones from the nine worlds. At the very least, they do not have the same restraint of the three attainment periods as we do. Endless potential…” The emperor spoke in the same friendly tone.
This was the biggest difference between an Immortal Emperor and a Grand Emperor or Immortal Monarch. After ascending, they had three chances without any restriction. It meant that they could wait till the next generation to try again. This was indeed their greatest advantage and the thing Grand Emperors were envious of the most.
“What is there to be envious about?” Li Qiye shook his head: “It isn't that easy to continue on that path. There are too many twists and turns, making cultivation harder. Moreover, the Heaven's Wills from the two worlds are different. Just one misstep would end in a conflict, resulting in a destroyed Heaven's Will and death. Plus, they can only gain one or two at a time, not as easy as the emperors and monarchs. You gain some, you lose some in this world. The nine worlds' emperors have their own difficulties, just no time restriction.”
When an emperor from the nine worlds ascended, they had two choices. The first was to strengthen their one will. The second was to simultaneously hold wills from both worlds. Both required changes in their cultivation and could result in death.
Those who were capable of taking in a Heaven's Will from the tenth world would find the process exceedingly difficult. It was quite easy for the Immortal Monarchs and Grand Emperors to take in one to three Heaven's Wills, at least relative to their peers from the nine worlds.
Those from the lower worlds could only shoulder one Heaven's Will at a time. The most heaven-defying would be able to take two. Fewer than few could take three each time.
Thus, their limit was eight outside of the one from the nine worlds. This limit was created under the first emperor of the ghost race, Immortal Emperor Wan Gu. This was the person who started the path of holding both types of Heaven's Wills at the same time.
Dao Dragon Heaven Emperor nodded: “You gain some, you lose some… Well put, Your Excellency. However, you are a miracle creator. I'm sure this matter is no problem for you, perhaps you will be able to create a cultivation art that negates the conflict between the Heaven's Wills. If there was someone in the world capable of this feat, it is surely you. The other emperors think so as well.”
The conversation was quite friendly. A passerby would think these two were having a dao discussion without any enmity.
“So after chatting for half a day, I see now, you all are worried about this problem.” Li Qiye smiled and said: “Afraid of a flawless cultivation method appearing, scared of our emperors being able to obtain twelve Heaven's Wills.”
An Immortal Emperor from the nine worlds was comparable to a Grand Emperor with two to six Heaven's Wills.
If fusing the two types of wills was difficult, obtaining eight Heaven's Wills was virtually impossible! However, this still created immense pressure for the upper world's emperors. If a nine worlds' emperor was able to shoulder eight more, they would have a chance to be on the same level as a Grand Emperor with twelve wills. The latter was exceedingly rare as well.
The Dark Crow has been a thorn in the emperors' eyes. There was a certain level of apprehension towards this unkillable roach. If he were to create a perfect art encompassing both the nine worlds and tenth world's wills, it would add immense pressure to the three races. [1]
Just imagine, if someone in the nine worlds could shoulder twelve Heaven's Wills plus their original, the three races wouldn't have anyone capable of stopping them.
Dao Dragon Heaven Emperor wasn't here to have a dao discussion. He simply wanted to find some clues by talking. After all, he was a Grand Emperor, more than capable of reading others.
“Looks like you already have a rough idea, Your Excellency.” Though Li Qiye never answered, the emperor had gotten his answer. Their discerning ability was one of the scariest things about emperors.
“Then you are even more determined to kill me now.” Li Qiye said: “This is indeed a threat to the upper echelons, the existence of an Immortal Emperor with enough Heaven's Wills. However, in my opinion, this is an unnecessary worry. As long as our Heaven's Will from the nine worlds grows, it won't be weaker than a Grand Emperor with twelve wills. Immortal Emperor Jiao Heng's conquest against nine emperors has already shown our boundless potential.”
“One palm against three thousand emperors; two fists sweeping through the thirteen continents!” Even Dao Dragon Heaven Emperor became emotional when talking about Immortal Emperor Jiao Heng: “He was the first who dared to challenge our tenth world's twelve-wills emperors. However, Your Excellency, he is one and only, there's no replicating someone like him.”
He was full of respect and awe when talking about Immortal Emperor Jiao Heng despite being from the Heaven Race. Back then, this emperor fought against nine others by himself before dueling against the Flame Emperor. This battle record shook all the continents.
However, the tenth world wasn't worried about Immortal Emperor Jiao Heng at the moment. A second emperor like Jiao Heng would never appear again; it was the Dark Crow giving them anxiety right now.
This was the only person who could move freely between the nine worlds and the tenth. He was also familiar with the cultivation arts from both worlds. Because of this, he had already created miracles up here before.
If he were to come up with a perfect art that makes both types of wills compatible with each other, that future would be too devastating. It would shake the position of the three races. This was not something they want to see.
1. Three races = Heaven, Divine, Devil.