The challenge having been issued, Ji Ning and Ninedust entered the Cranesoar Mountains and awaited the arrival of the three great clans. In truth, Ning was right to be cautious. This planet held many mysteries within it.

Deep within the planet’s core. There was a bubbling lake of lava here, and there were three figures seated next to it. These three figures all had silver skin, and the auras they emanated were different from the auras of normal cultivators. They were quite bizarre and inscrutable.

One of them, a particularly muscular silver man, let out a growl: “He actually dares to challenge all three of our clans simultaneously. My fellow clan leaders of the Juwah clan and Nonti clan, have either of you heard of this ‘Darknorth’ before?”

“Never heard of him.” “I have no idea where he came from.” the two other silver men responded.

“This ‘Darknorth’ is extremely arrogant, and his heartworld projection is incredibly powerful. In heartforce, at least, he’s reached the utter apex.” The muscular silver man said, “I find it very likely that he’s a supreme Daolord.”

“A supreme Daolord? Haha, after so many years, this planet of ours has finally given birth to yet another supreme Daolord,” the skinnier silver man said.

“The birth of every supreme Daolord is rather diverting to our three clans,” the long silver-haired man said. “To our three clans, there is nothing in this planet that can pose a threat to us. That makes life rather boring. The other six clans are only ‘great clans’ because they have some small portion of our bloodlines and lineage, and so we’ve bestowed the title of ‘great clan’ upon them. If it wasn’t for that… hmph.”

“How can those other lowly clans compare with us, the exalted Sithe?” The muscular silver man said coldly, “Since this supreme Daolord has chosen to challenge us and is an extremely strong Heartforce Cultivator… how do the two of you think we should response?”

“I’ll go personally kill him,” the skinny silver man said.

“Both of us have undergone the ‘Ritual Sacrificium’, making us the only true Sithe in this entire planet.” The silver-haired, silver-skinned man shook his head. “For noble Sithe like us to lower ourselves to fight against these lowly races is demeaning. Sending golems is enough.”

“I also feel that sending golems should suffice. My recommendation is that each of our three clans should send out two Emperor-class golems. What do you think?” the muscular silver man asked.

“Fine.”

“Sending two Emperor-class golems is more than enough.” The other two silver men agreed with this proposal. Their clans possessed exalted power. Even a tiny fraction of their full might was enough to completely dominate this entire world.

Over the course of countless years, their world had actually given birth to an Eternal Emperor. However, that Eternal Emperor had been extremely weak. In comparison, there had been far more supreme Daolords in the history of this world. There was usually at least one in every generation! Some of them dared to try and challenge the status of the three great clans… and all of them died!

Nobody could resist them! They were the true, indisputable, unshakeable rulers of this planet. They always had been and they always would be! In truth, the power they had revealed to wipe out those upstart challengers had always been nothing more than a fraction of their full power.

……

Within a dark room in the Fumo clan. There were six pitch-black figures seated with their eyes shut, completely unmoving. Suddenly, two of the pitch-black figures opened their eyes. Their eyes gleamed with green, crystalline light.

“Master.” both golems called out respectfully.

“There’s a Heartforce Cultivator known as Darknorth. He seems to be a supreme Daolord, and he’s chosen to challenge the Sithe. The two of you shall head to the Cranesoar Mountains and kill him.” The muscular silver man’s voice boomed out, echoing throughout the room.

“Understood,” both figures said respectfully. The other four pitch-black figures opened their eyes as well.

“The two of us are going to go out and have some first, brothers. Hahaha…” The two golems laughed quite smugly.

“Hurry up and kill this Daolord Darknorth, then come back and tell us all about it.”

“Yeah, I’m bored senseless.”

“A pity that Master has only sent the two of you.” The other four golems spoke out as well. As golems, they possessed eternal lifespans. This world wasn’t all that large; they knew every inch of it by now! This was why they normally preferred to spend their time in slumber. Only when the clan encountered some fairly troublesome opponents like ‘supreme Daolords’ would they be sent out.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two Emperor-class golems immediately left the room and soared into the skies.

……

The Cranesoar Mountains. Tianello, Maji, and the others all watched nervously. Ning and Ninedust, however, simply waited patiently.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly as he stared off into the distance.

“What’s wrong?” Ninedust was puzzled.

“The three clans have sent their troops out towards the Cranesoar Mountains.” Puzzled, Ning continued, “But… they each only sent a pair of golems. All combined, there are six of them.”

“Six golems against the two of us?” Ninedust was puzzled as well. “Darknorth, the heartworld projection you revealed should’ve alerted them that you are probably at the supreme Daolord level. Why have they only sent six golems? Based on what I know, most golems are merely comparable to fourth-step Daolords at best.”

“There ARE some golems that are stronger than the Daolord level,” Ning said.

“True.” Ninedust nodded. The major powers of the Endless Territories were only able to create golems comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step at best. However… some particularly dangerous regions sometimes held golems that had been left behind since the Dawn War which surpassed this level. Ning had personally seen those two mighty golems which stood guard over the palace of the Brightshore Imperials. One looked like a humanoid statue while the other was a bestial statue, but both were actually golems which held the power of Eternal Emperors. No one knew where the Brightshore Hegemon had found them.

“You are talking about Emperor-class golems,” Ninedust said. “We Ancient cultivators have some, but they were passed down to us from many, many years ago. The Endless Territories have very few Emperor-class golems, and the number we Ancient cultivators have can be counted on one hand. Are you telling me that all six golems attacking us are Emperor-class? Since when did they become as common as the grass?”

“I find it hard to believe as well,” Ning said with a sigh. Emperor-class golems… they could only be found in truly dangerous zones such as the battlefield of the Dawn War. They were incredibly rare… but now, six had appeared at the same time?

“But if they aren’t Emperor-class, how would the three great clans dare to send just six of them against us?” Ning shook his head. “They should know that I have the power of a supreme Daolord; sending Daolord-class golems against me is tantamount to just gifting me with treasures. Thus… although I still find it hard to believe, it does seem as though these should be Emperor-class golems.”

“Six Emperor-class golems.” Ninedust revealed a wary look. “Can we handle them?”

“There should be differences in power amongst Emperor-class golems; some are strong, some are weak. We should be able to handle them,” Ning said.

The creation of every Emperor-class golem was extremely difficult. The Endless Territories weren’t even able to make them, with only fourth-step Daolord golems being forgeable! Thus, every single Emperor-class golem had their own unique traits. They all had invulnerable bodies, and in accordance with the wishes of their makers they often knew certain ultimate attacks as well! Even Ning felt nervous at the thought of fighting six at once.

If he was still ‘merely’ at the supreme Daolord level, he would probably be even more nervous. However, the Northbow swords and the [Heartsword] art put Ning close to the level of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities. Thus, he still felt fairly good in his chances.

“What’s going on with them?”

“Those two… something seems off with them.” Tianello, Maji, and the others all noticed the somber looks appear on the faces of Ning and Ninedust, who had appeared quite relaxed just a short while ago.

Tianello shook his head and sighed, “None of the three great clans are easy to deal with. Ever since the earliest annals of recorded history, the three great clans have always jointly ruled over our planet together. No one has ever been able to threaten them. Ugh. These two Daolords might be very powerful, but they were too over-confident. They are courting death.”

Ning and Ninedust couldn’t even be bothered to talk to the cultivators behind them. They simply stared into the skies, somber looks on their faces.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The six distant golems soared through the skies, emanating auras of incredible power as they flew towards Ning and Ninedust.

“This level of power…” Ninedust murmured softly, “The aura emanating from them as they are flying is already far beyond what Daolords of the Fourth Step are capable of. They are definitely Emperor-class. Darknorth, this is going to be seriously troublesome. I didn’t expect the three great clans to be this strong.”

Emperor-class golems were far more difficult to deal with than ordinary Eternal Emperors. They were virtually indestructible! Ning had only trained his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, but Emperor-class golems were all top-grade Eternal treasures. The techniques they used were based on the designs of their makers.

“Since the three great clans are connected to the Sithe and even call themselves the Sithe, it’s not that surprising that they have a few tricks up their sleeves.” Ning’s eyes radiated an eagerness to do battle.