The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"Sister, something has happened!" A man rushed down into the distant dungeon, far from Ba Mountain City, with a look of urgency on his face.

When he reached the woman standing by the water prison and saw the condition of the man inside, his expression froze, and he gritted his teeth. "Brother-in-law, how dare they do this to you!"

"It's all my fault. If I had been stronger, you wouldn't be in this predicament."

The woman sighed and gestured for the man in the green robe not to blame himself. "Brother, it's not your fault. You've done everything you could."

"Kid, you've done well," the man in the water prison added, praising the green-robed man.

"But, Sister, Brother-in-law, there's something you should know—the ancestral shrine has reacted. Someone among our descendants has awakened the ancestral-grade Cloud Sword!" The green-robed man took a deep breath, relaying the news.

"What?!" Both the man in the water prison and the woman outside gasped in shock.

Especially the woman, who knew all too well what the awakening of an ancestral-grade martial soul would mean for their family.

"But none of the younger generation in the clan fits the prophecy. Those scoundrels suspect that the one who truly awakened the martial soul is none other than your son, the nephew I've never met."

"Elder Fu has secretly revealed that they plan to use Brother-in-law's blood to activate the bloodline seal to locate Xiao Qian. They fear that Xiao Qian will grow too powerful and become a threat to them, so they plan to eliminate him before that can happen."

Hearing this, the woman's vision went black, and she nearly fainted. Grasping the bars of the water prison, she barely managed to stay on her feet.

"Those bastards! If Father hadn't fallen into misfortune, they wouldn't have the gall to do this!" the man in the water prison roared in fury.

"You two may be unable to move freely, but I can. I've been holding back from bringing my nephew here precisely because I feared something like this might happen," the green-robed man said, his eyes filled with determination. "If the bloodline seal does indeed reveal Xiao Qian's location, I'll immediately head to Ba Mountain City and protect him with my life."

The woman wept silently, filled with regret. "If only I had known Qian'er would awaken his martial soul, we would never have come back. We wouldn't have ended up in this situation, and we wouldn't have dragged you into this mess, Brother."

"Sister, you weren't aware of the clan's situation, and I suspect Father's misfortune is tied to those scoundrels," the green-robed man reassured her, his resolve unshaken. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to Xiao Qian."

After leaving the dungeon, the green-robed man took a deep breath and headed to a tower.

He planned to wait there, ready to act the moment the bloodline seal revealed Lin Qian's location. He was determined to get ahead of the others and protect his nephew.

"My sister and brother-in-law's only son cannot come to harm!"

At the top of the tower, several figures stood around a blood-red array inscribed on the floor.

In the center of the array, a drop of blood hovered, encased in a crimson glow, distorting the light as if trying to reveal something.

Among the group, a robust, white-haired elder with close-cropped hair watched the blood drop, his eyes glinting coldly. "If the young master is discovered, it could be troublesome."

Back in Ba Mountain City, within the Ye family's residence.

"Ha!" Lin Qian, drenched in sweat, suddenly sat up from his bed, his body soaked.

"Phew..." Exhaling deeply, Lin Qian shook his groggy head and sat cross-legged on the bed.

He looked around and realized he was back in his room, surrounded by silence.

Recalling the moment he fainted, Lin Qian guessed it was his future father-in-law who had brought him back and settled him in.

As he pondered the reason for his collapse, Lin Qian remembered a sudden, intense pain in his dantian and a sharp weakening of his soul power, which caused him to lose consciousness.

"Dantian..." Lin Qian murmured, slipping into a meditative state to inspect his dantian.

After a while, his eyes snapped open, and he stared ahead in shock, exclaiming, "Damn!"

During his internal inspection, Lin Qian was astonished to find that within the swirling vortex of white energy in his dantian, two swords had appeared.

One sword had a snow-white blade with light blue cloud patterns etched into it.

The other sword had a pitch-black blade with red-gold thunder patterns engraved on it.

And then, almost instinctively, the names of the swords emerged in Lin Qian's mind.

The snow-white sword was called Cloud Sword.

The pitch-black sword was called Night Thunder Sword.

Sitting on his bed, bewildered by the sudden appearance of these swords, Lin Qian pondered for a moment before speaking aloud, "Return to the empire!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a radiant white light enveloped his entire body, and he vanished from his room.

He found himself in an expansive, boundless space of pure white.

Suspended in this vast space was an impossibly large planet.

Six oceans and eighteen enormous continents spread across its surface.

This entire planet was the Huaxia Empire!

On the largest continent, in the grand imperial capital, a palace stood far larger than anything in Ba Mountain City, guarded by countless armored soldiers patrolling the area.

Inside the central hall of the imperial palace, the Huaxia Hall, Lin Qian appeared out of thin air and took his seat on the familiar dragon throne. He summoned the menu and issued a command.

A flash of white light appeared outside the hall, and Zhao Long materialized, entering the hall and kneeling before Lin Qian. "Your personal guard, General Zhao Long, greets Your Majesty!"

"Hmm, let's wait for the others," Lin Qian said, raising his hand slightly, signaling Zhao Long to rise.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhao Long stood up straight, waiting beside the throne.

Another flash of white light appeared, and a figure entered the hall.

This time, it was a woman, her lithe figure encased in black armor. She had long hair cascading over her shoulders, and she strode into the hall, her knee-high boots echoing with each step.

"Commander of the First Legion, Hua Ling, greets Your Majesty." She knelt on one knee, her bright eyes fixed on Lin Qian as her melodious voice echoed through the hall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground trembled as a towering man over two meters tall burst forth from the white light. He dropped to one knee beside Hua Ling, his massive armor and bulk causing the floor to shake with a heavy thud.

Tears of emotion filled his eyes as he looked up at Lin Qian. "Your Majesty, Second Legion Commander Xu Meng, is at your service!"

"Hahaha, Xu Meng, you're still as reckless as ever. Charging in like this, aren't you worried you'll startle His Majesty?" A man dressed in black suddenly appeared out of thin air, enveloped in a faint mist.

The man quickly knelt before Lin Qian, lowering his head. "Third Legion Commander Ji Qing greets the most supreme existence!"

"Hahaha, you all arrived so quickly," a hearty laugh came from outside the hall as a bearded man clad in armor stepped in, kneeling before Lin Qian.

"Fourth Legion Commander Guan Yi greets Your Majesty!"

Hua Ling, the indomitable commander of the First Legion; Xu Meng, the brave and mighty commander of the Second Legion; Ji Qing, the swift and elusive commander of the Third Legion; and Guan Yi, the righteous and straightforward commander of the Fourth Legion.

Lin Qian was intimately familiar with these four generals, whose characters he had carefully crafted and refined in his past life.

Seeing them alive and well before him, Lin Qian felt a surge of excitement and joy.

Soon, two more figures appeared outside the hall, walking in side by side.

One was a young general with a fair face, clad in soft armor. He hurried into the hall and knelt down. "Fifth Legion Commander Li Rong, I apologize for my tardiness, Your Majesty."

The person beside him wore a feathered cap and a crane cloak, resembling someone with a bird's nest on his head from before.

This man knelt beside Li Rong, bowing deeply before Lin Qian. "Prime Minister Zhuge Ming greets Your Majesty."

After paying his respects, Zhuge Ming quickly raised his head and anxiously addressed Lin Qian. "Your Majesty, you are in grave danger right now—you must act immediately!"

"Grave danger? What do you mean, Prime Minister?" Lin Qian frowned, looking at Zhuge Ming.

"Your Majesty, forgive me," Zhuge Ming said, pointing directly at Lin Qian.

In that moment, a sudden change occurred, and Lin Qian's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the transformation unfolding within himself.