The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

Seeing that Lin Qian agreed, Zhang Nianxin breathed a sigh of relief, feeling immensely grateful.

"According to the message from the main clan, only those under sixty years old from the younger generation are allowed to enter that ancient human relic, and the minimum cultivation level required is Nirvana Realm."

"Emperor Lin, given your youth and already being at the Void-breaking Realm, your potential is extraordinary. You must be the strongest human genius in Linhai Prefecture. For this journey, you are undoubtedly the best candidate."

After saying this, Zhang Nianxin's expression became somewhat awkward. Lin Qian noticed and chuckled, shaking his head. "I suspect, Chief Zhang, that your reasoning comes more from my status as the Emperor of the Hua Xia Empire than anything else."

"After all, you likely intended to send Zhang Qi, the grandson of Elder Zhang, who, at just twenty-five, has already reached the Life and Death Realm. In comparison, my Void-breaking Realm cultivation seems rather insignificant, doesn't it?"

"I imagine your intention is to use this opportunity as a way of repaying me for my help, offering me this valuable opportunity as a token of gratitude."

Zhang Nianxin's face turned a bit more embarrassed when Lin Qian laid out his thoughts so plainly. He quickly waved his hands in denial. "Emperor Lin, you misunderstand. Being an emperor, you must be incredibly busy, so it's understandable that your cultivation may not have progressed as quickly."

"I'm twenty years old and only began cultivating five years ago," Lin Qian said suddenly.

Hearing this, Zhang Nianxin's expression changed drastically.

Zhang Qi, his younger brother's grandson, and the top talent of their younger generation in the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe, began cultivating at the age of five. It took him twenty years to reach the Life and Death Realm.

In comparison, when Zhang Qi was ten years old, he had just reached the Formative Energy Realm, and at twenty, he had only just broken into the Void-breaking Realm's Airborne Stage.

Even though Zhang Qi might seem more powerful now, he had cultivated for fifteen years longer than Lin Qian.

Given Lin Qian's cultivation speed, it was likely that within another two years, he would reach the Life and Death Realm himself!

"Emperor Lin, I never expected your talent to be so extraordinary," Zhang Nianxin sighed deeply, apologizing sincerely. "My previous words were truly a disservice to your potential."

"It's fine. You couldn't have known," Lin Qian replied nonchalantly, waving his hand dismissively.

"What a pity. If Emperor Lin had five more years to cultivate, I'm sure our branch's performance in this assembly would be far better," Zhang Nianxin lamented.

According to Zhang Nianxin, after their branch arrived at the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe's main clan, there would still be an internal assembly with competitions.

The main clan would distribute rewards and resources based on each branch's performance.

This time, because of the ancient human relic, the human partners invited by each branch would also be allowed to compete, and their results would count towards the branch's total score.

Since the human partners represented the branch's allies, their strength was also a reflection of the branch's overall power.

Thus, Zhang Nianxin regretted that if Lin Qian had just a few more years to grow stronger, their branch's performance would greatly improve.

After the meeting concluded, Zhang Qi proposed a suggestion: a sparring match with Lin Qian.

According to Zhang Qi, since they would be partners going forward, it was essential to understand each other's strengths.

"Although I'm not human, I believe I can teach Emperor Lin a lot about battle experience," Zhang Qi said earnestly, genuinely wanting to help Lin Qian improve his combat abilities.

Upon hearing Zhang Qi's suggestion, Lin Qian remained calm, but beside him, Ye Xin couldn't help but show a strange expression.

Soon after, everyone gathered at the sea tribe's training ground within the Sacred City, including Zhang Nianxin, Zhang Nianyi, and the other high-ranking elders of the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe.

They were all curious to see how strong the Emperor of the Hua Xia Empire truly was.

While they could tell that Lin Qian was at the first stage of the Void-breaking Realm, they were eager to see how much power he could actually wield.

"As humans advance from the Formative Energy Realm to the Nirvana Realm, there are nine stages of Nirvana. How many stages do you think Emperor Lin has reached?"

"At least eight stages, I'd say."

"I bet nine stages!"

As the group gathered and discussed, they eagerly awaited the upcoming spar.

Once they were ready on the training ground, Zhang Qi suggested creating a barrier to block the seawater and chose to fight in his near-human form, with three of his four arms folded behind his back.

"No need to block the seawater, Zhang Qi. Use your full strength. No need to hold back," Lin Qian called out.

Zhang Qi was surprised by Lin Qian's request.

Without blocking the seawater, Zhang Qi would suffer no power loss. If he fought at full strength, he'd be using all eight arms and fully transforming into his true sea tribe form.

In this true form, his skin would turn a pale pink, smooth and elastic, allowing him to move swiftly underwater.

To Zhang Qi, as someone in the Life and Death Realm, going all out against Lin Qian seemed like overkill.

"Please, do as Lin Qian asks. Otherwise, you won't stand a chance against him, and you might not even get a chance to strike back," Ye Xin suddenly said from the sidelines, where she stood beside Zhang Nianxin. "As an emperor of an empire, you can't simply judge his strength by his cultivation level."

Ye Xin's words made several of the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe members nod in agreement.

However, most of them still believed that even if Lin Qian had some hidden strength, he wouldn't be a match for Zhang Qi at full power.

After all, the gap between the first stage of the Void-breaking Realm and the initial stage of the Life and Death Realm, the Body Realm, was too vast.

But out of respect for Lin Qian's request, Zhang Qi transformed into his full Eight-Armed Sea Tribe form, preparing to fight at full strength.

"That's more like it. Now let's see if I'm qualified to teach you," Lin Qian said with a smile, seeing Zhang Qi ready himself.

"Teach me?" Zhang Qi's first thought was that the Emperor of the Hua Xia Empire must be joking.

Not long after, Zhang Qi was certain: the Emperor wasn't joking at all. He really was qualified to teach him.

"Emperor Lin... are you even human?" Zhang Qi asked in shock, a teacup's time later, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.