"Creating a Sovereign of Battle?" The air seemed to solidify instantly under Cukun's single sentence, even ancient Yuan was left gaping, staring in astonishment at Cukun before him. The stillness lingered for a while before gradually easing, and after recovering from the initial mental paralysis, everyone became aware of a growing sense of absurdity. Creating a Sovereign of Battle? Even spoken by Cukun, it sounded utterly unbelievable. Over tens of thousands of years, not a single Sovereign of Battle had emerged across the entire realm—this clearly demonstrated that the legendary tier was far more elusive and intangible than ever imagined. "Are you jesting?" Yanjin opened his mouth, his voice slightly dry, though he fundamentally doubted the claim. Yet, inexplicably, as he asked the question, a faint sense of hope stirred within him. The current situation of the allied forces is nearly desperate—they are at the point of having no choice but to fight to the last. Once Lord Houn successfully ascends to the level of Battle Emperor, they will lose every chance of advancement, for that level cannot be resisted by human effort alone. Should Lord Zhuo Kun's words indeed be true, then this impasse will be resolved! Zhu Kun slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed upon the strange fire plaza that he had brought out from the ancient emperor's abode. After a moment of silence, he said, "In truth, the imperial-grade embryonic pills are not the most precious items within the ancient emperor's sanctuary." Zhu Kun stood with his hands behind his back, lifting his head and gazing at the majestic ancient emperor statue with a complex expression, saying, "Do you know the origin or identity of the Emperor Tu She?" "It's said that when Tu She Gu Di ascended to the Battle Emperor rank, the sky displayed two suns, the heavens and earth collapsed, and an endless sea of fire poured down from the heavens, engulfing nearly half of the Battle Qi Continent—so profound was the event that it stirred every single powerful being." "Following this spectacular ascension, Tu She Gu Di vanished once more. According to expectation, once he reached the Battle Emperor level, the members of his family bearing the same bloodline should have instantly awakened their innate powers, surging their strength to an astonishing level within a very short time." "Those who inherited the bloodline of the first-generation Battle Emperors enjoyed the greatest advantages. Therefore, if a new ancient race emerged, it would undoubtedly cause a tremendous stir across the Battle Qi Continent. Yet—such a phenomenon has not occurred." "That is to say, Tu She Gu Di had no family members at all, and not even a single person possessed a bloodline comparable to his?" Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, saying. On the Dou Di Continent, the continuity of bloodline has always been of great significance—especially for such world-class masters, whose strength must be passed down through bloodline. Yet, how is it that the ancient Emperor Tu She stands alone, with no such lineage? There were twenty-three unique flames on the List of Unique Flames, yet the first position remained entirely blank! No one knew what the top-ranked unique flame truly was—though it was strangely evident that many alchemists possessed an intuitive sense, as though something definite indeed existed beyond that void of consuming fire, even if they couldn't quite name it. The first-ranked flame remained an enigma, unseen and mysterious. "Everything in nature is born with its own spirit—so too is the case with these rare fires..." Zhukun, sensing the stir in the hearts of the listeners, spoke gently. "As far as I know, there once existed a rare fire born between heaven and earth, taking a thousand years to take shape, ten thousand years to gather its spirit, and ten thousand years to quietly cultivate. In this long journey, it subtly evolved, becoming somewhat distinct. Generally, most rare fires, once formed, rarely leave their birthplace of their own accord. Yet this one was different—after attaining spiritual awareness, it journeyed through the earth's molten magma, wandering beneath the surface for a thousand years, feeding on the fires it encountered. "The fires it consumed were all those ranked among the twenty-one on the list of rare fires—each one of them, in turn, became its meal." "Its ability to consume such fires... seems to be something only Xuzhui Tanyan could achieve, doesn't it?" Xiao Yan hesitated. "Among the hetero-flames, it is as though a miniature human empire—no matter how wealthy you are or how high your office, you may still be overthrown and consumed by your rivals. For the hetero-flames, this is instinctual, though typically, the stronger always absorb the weaker." Zhu Kun sighed lightly, saying, "This is precisely what makes this flame unique: it consumes flames not merely through strength, but with an awareness of fortune and safety, always prioritizing the weaker. After expending countless generations, when it has absorbed twenty distinct hetero-flames, even the natural rulers among them—such as the Void-Consuming-Inferno and the Pure-Lotus Demon Flame—must kneel and submit before it." Hearing this, Xiao Yan could not help but draw a sharp breath. Hetero-flames were exceedingly rare throughout the heavens and earth. To absorb twenty of them—what a feat! If this were human affairs, even if one could locate such flames, who would dare to absorb twenty of the most powerful and intense ones, already at their peak? For someone like Xiao Yan today, this might well be a difficult task. "Senior Zhu Kun means that the first rank on the Unusual Flame List doesn't have a specific name—whichever flame manages to break free from the constraints and emerge victorious from the brutal process of devouring other flames, that flame shall be recognized as the first on the Unusual Flame List," Xiao Yan explained. "The logic makes sense, yet the process of flame consumption often results in significant counter-pressure between two flames, potentially triggering an explosion. Therefore, only those who successfully consume the remaining twenty-one unusual flames and still survive unscathed qualify to be recognized as the first among the Unusual Flames," said Senior Zhu Kun. Xiao Yan nodded silently. Simply using the Burned Technique to absorb and refine the hetero-flames was already quite dangerous, let alone the absorption between hetero-flames, which relied entirely on instinct—such a failure rate was immense. Yet this hetero-flame, which survived after absorbing twenty-one others, was itself an utterly unbelievable miracle. Such an occurrence might well be found only a few times throughout the entire history of the Qi Continent. "Never knew that the first-ranked hetero-flame held such a secret," the crowd murmured, clearly having learned for the first time that the so-called premier hetero-flame was not a specific flame, but rather a supreme hetero-flame formed by the fusion of twenty-two distinct hetero-flames. "As for that hetero-flame, after achieving its full potential, it claimed the title of 'Emperor's Flame,' and only after further cultivating for a thousand years did it finally emerge onto the world stage," said Zhu Kun, his eyes reflecting a mixture of complexity and admiration. "After the Imperial Flame broke forth, he also acquired another title across the Continent of Qi." "Hmm..." Taking a deep breath, Zhu Kun stared at the ancient imperial statue towering over a hundred thousand feet before him. The soft murmurs he made, however, echoed like thunder in the ears of Xiao Yan and the others, instantly silencing them. "At that time, people called him... the Dhesha Emperor."