Chapter 168: The Lion Emperor Is No True Emperor

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Divine Emperor! Hail to the Lion Emperor!"

The Howling Moon Wolf Lord, the Star Leopard Divine Lord, and the Blazing Flame Divine Lord bowed respectfully to Nan Luo and the Lion Emperor.

Before the three divine lords stood a stone table and two stone stools. The Divine Emperor Nan Luo and the Lion Emperor were seated on the stone stools, receiving the salutations of the three.

The only difference was that the Divine Emperor Nan Luo sat at the northernmost position, while the Lion Emperor sat to his lower right.

Logically speaking, since both the Divine Emperor and the Lion Emperor held the rank of emperors, they ought to sit side by side to show due respect and courtesy.

Yet, as things appeared now, the Lion Emperor looked rather like a subordinate to Nan Luo, positioned beneath him.

The Howling Moon Divine Lord, the Star Leopard Divine Lord, and the Blazing Flame Divine Lord all kept their heads lowered, while an incredible thought silently blossomed in their minds: *Could the Lion Emperor have also sworn allegiance to the Divine Emperor?!*

*If that is indeed the case, just how powerful must the Divine Emperor be to suppress the Lion Emperor? With the aid of the Lion Emperor and the lion clan, the day the Divine Emperor and the divine race unite the Primordial World cannot be far off.*

Countless speculations swirled in the minds of the three divine lords, yet they could never have imagined that all of this was merely a facade.

The Divine Emperor Nan Luo sat at the northernmost seat, and the Lion Emperor sat to his lower right. There was no special significance to this arrangement, nor did it mean the Lion Emperor had surrendered to Nan Luo.

The truth was that when Nan Luo conjured the stone table, he had intentionally created only two stone stools.

Nan Luo had taken the northernmost seat first, leaving the Lion Emperor no choice but to sit to his lower right.

This had inadvertently created the illusion that the Lion Emperor had submitted to the Divine Emperor.

Of course, the Lion Emperor was well aware of Nan Luo's intentions, but because he had come to discuss matters of great importance with him, he simply chose to overlook Nan Luo's little trick.

Sure enough, upon seeing the seating arrangement, the three divine lords could not help but let their imaginations run wild.

If the three divine lords were to make their conjectures public, the entire Primordial World would undoubtedly be shaken to its core once again.

For even the Lion Emperor to submit to the Divine Emperor—did that not mean the Divine Emperor truly stood far above all other emperors?!

"Rise!"

Seated upon the northern stone stool, Nan Luo accepted the obeisance of the three divine lords with a calm expression and said in a majestic tone.

"Many thanks, Your Majesty the Divine Emperor!" the three divine lords chorused, bowing once more in gratitude.

Sometimes, such rituals were truly tedious, yet they remained entirely unavoidable.

No matter who one might be—even a lofty sage-immortal—one could neither avoid nor reject these ceremonies.

For these rituals represented strength and weakness, nobility and humility, rank and order.

The strong might disregard etiquette, but the weak must constantly heed it, mindful of hierarchy and station.

Later on, when Nan Luo attained the supreme realm of the Hunyuan Sovereign and Sovereign Heavenly Emperor, he would push this ritualistic system to its absolute peak, using a strict hierarchy of rites and music to define the order of heaven and earth and consolidate the rule of the Heavenly Court.

Under this rigidly stratified system of rites and music, the Heavenly Court firmly governed the Primordial World, and the Divine Path completely suppressed the Immortal Path.

Faced with this stringent system of rites and music, the Three Pure Ones suffered no small amount of hardship, and their grand enterprise of opposing heaven was even brought to a grinding halt for a time.

Well, enough of idle chatter; let us return our gaze to the present.

"The purpose of your coming is already known to this Emperor!"

"As long as you truly pledge your allegiance to the divine race, this Emperor will naturally grant you protection."

Nan Luo’s twin purple pupils locked onto the eyes of the three divine lords, as if piercing straight into their hearts, and he continued, "Of course, this Emperor does not require you to raise the banner of the divine race. You need only transmit news of the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans to this Emperor in a timely manner."

Hearing this, the three divine lords maintained looks of utter loyalty on their faces while quietly breathing sighs of relief inwardly.

When it came to sheer strength, the current divine race truly could not compare to the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans.

Had the Divine Emperor demanded that they raise the banner of the divine race, the three divine lords would likely have feigned compliance while acting otherwise.

Displaying looks of profound agitation and fierce loyalty, the three divine lords bowed respectfully and said, "This subject is willing to die in Your Majesty's service!"

"Very well! You may proceed to the City of Gods and seek out the Exalted Celestial Mighty Word. Once she sees this token of trust, she will make the necessary arrangements for you. You are dismissed."

Nan Luo flicked his right hand through the empty air, projecting three streaks of purple-gold light that penetrated directly into the bodies of the three divine lords.

With expressions of pleasant surprise, the three divine lords bowed respectfully and said, "As you command!"

Watching the departing figures of the three divine lords, the Lion Emperor suddenly spoke up, asking, "Nan Luo, tell me, why are they willing to risk their lives so desperately to seek you out? All for such an illusory promise."

"If you fail to achieve ultimate victory, won't their efforts amount to nothing more than drawing water with a bamboo basket?"

"Hahahaha..." Hearing this, Nan Luo burst into hearty laughter, throwing his head back as he replied, "Oh, Lion Emperor, Lion Emperor! You yourself just said that their actions carry immense risk."

"Have you never heard the saying: *The greater the risk, the greater the reward!*"

"If this Emperor sweeps across the realm and unites the Primordial World, they will be counted among the earliest ministers to follow the mandate of heaven."

"Tell me, what kind of bountiful rewards do you suppose they will receive?"

"Ministers who follow the mandate of heaven!" The Lion Emperor softly repeated the phrase, a trace of understanding dawning upon him as he said, "A well-chosen phrase. Those who submit to you, the Divine Emperor, are conforming to the will of heaven; naturally, they are ministers who follow heaven's mandate."

"Even so, to stake the very survival of one's entire clan on a so-called mandate-following minister is far too exorbitant a gamble."

"A gamble?" Nan Luo gazed at the Lion Emperor with cold, merciless purple pupils and sneered, "There is no such thing as a risk-free endeavor in this world! It is merely a question of the magnitude of the risk versus the gains and losses of the stakes."

"If they pledge allegiance to this Emperor, they stand a chance of becoming ministers of the heavenly mandate and reaping rich rewards; if they submit to the other four emperors, they would merely be adding flowers to a brocade, a token gesture at best."

"As for the risk—submitting to this Emperor naturally incurs the danger of offending the other four emperors, but would submitting to the four emperors carry no risk of offending this Emperor?"

"Since risk is unavoidable either way, why not choose the allegiance that offers the greater reward?"

"That is what they are thinking in their hearts!"

*Clap, clap, clap...*

After listening to Nan Luo's insights, golden light flashed in the Lion Emperor's golden feline eyes as he began to applaud, praising, "The Divine Emperor is truly possessed of peerless intellect and understands the hearts of all living beings to the core! I am filled with admiration! Truly impressed!"

Nan Luo accepted all of the Lion Emperor's praises without a shred of modesty or reservation.

In truth, the Lion Emperor understood this principle just as well. It was simply that the Lion Emperor had yet to break through the mental barrier in his own heart.

Now, the struggle among the five emperors was reaching its boiling point, and every clan in the Primordial World faced the pressing question of which side to choose.

The Lion Emperor was no exception, unless he was willing to abandon his clan and content himself with becoming a reclusive hermit of the mountains.

Nan Luo had known the purpose of the Lion Emperor's visit all along.

By deliberately speaking those words and receiving the three divine lords right before the Lion Emperor's eyes, Nan Luo had hoped to awaken him.

Judging by the current reaction, the Lion Emperor had indeed grasped his meaning; otherwise, he would not have broken into applause and praise.

At that moment, Nan Luo also carefully appraised the Lion Emperor before him.

Nan Luo never ignored any powerful being who could prove useful to him.

The Lion Emperor possessed a heroic and masculine countenance, brilliant and sunny golden hair, and wore a suit of golden lion battle armor, with a golden lion cloak draped over his shoulders that swept the ground, radiating a true imperial bearing.

His given name was Shi Xiongshi, Lord of the Lion Clan. Originally the master of the Eastern Wastelands, he had for unknown reasons ceded the authority over those lands to the Dragon Emperor, leading his clan into a semi-retireive existence and withdrawing from the hegemony of the Primordial World.

It was precisely by acquiring the territorial rights to the Eastern Wastelands ceded by the lion clan that the dragon race had been able to unify the lands and seas of the east, becoming the sole imperial clan of the Eastern Wastelands.

Only after becoming the imperial clan could the Dragon Emperor truly be called a true emperor.

Strictly speaking, the Lion Emperor was not a true emperor in the traditional sense, for the lion clan did not hold sway over an entire desolate region as an imperial power.

The title of Lion Emperor was bestowed upon him more in recognition of his semi-sage cultivation and as an expression of regret over the lion clan's withdrawal from the struggles of the Primordial World.