The registration area was essentially a counter, piled high with many rosters. For now, the lists would be kept in this format. Once everyone had registered, the empires would be sorted and categorized for the final battle pairings.

"Xuanling Empire."

Di Cang walked up to the counter and glanced at the clerk handling registrations.

"Xuanling Empire?"

The clerk pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose, looked up at Di Cang, and jotted something down with his pen. "Please state your team name, its members, and the captain."

Hearing the clerk, Qing Lei nodded. "The captain is Mu Chen. The members are, in order: Qing Lei, Little Tiger, Ye Shuangshuang, Xuan Moqing, and Mu Bingling."

With Mu Chen absent, Qing Lei had been serving as the acting captain. For one, being a man, it was more convenient for him to handle such matters. Secondly, he was the oldest among them, which was another reason he had stepped up.

"There are only five people here. Where’s the other one?"

The clerk habitually adjusted his glasses again, his expression unchanging. Having done this job for a long time, he naturally wouldn’t judge others with prejudice.

Hearing this, Di Cang gave a slight nod. "It’s like this—one of our members ran into some trouble on the road and got separated from us for a while. So, we’re registering on his behalf for now. I believe our Empire has that privilege, correct?"

The clerk smiled and hummed in acknowledgment. "I see. In that case, I’ll register him for now. But if he still hasn’t arrived by the time all your other team members are defeated, your team will be immediately disqualified."

The clerk’s attitude immediately improved the sour moods of Qing Lei, Mu Bingling, and the others. This was a major empire, after all; the conduct of its people was impeccable, free from that worldly air of cynicism.

"Then we’ll be in your debt."

Di Cang expressed his gratitude, then turned to Qing Lei and the others. "Let’s go. I’ll take you to your rooms first."

With that, Di Cang led the way upstairs. The layout of hotels on the Extreme Martial Continent was almost always the same. The first and second floors were not the primary living quarters; the higher the floor, the more elegant the accommodations. This catered to the psychology of most people—after all, who wouldn’t want to stand on the heads of others?

...

「That night.」

Inside the Xuanling Empire’s Tower of Calamity, a faint green radiance suddenly enveloped the air before slowly dissipating. But the instant that green light erupted with a fluctuation of Primordial Power, both Elder Mu and Wu Kui’s expressions changed drastically.

"What was that terrifying fluctuation of Primordial Power just now?"

Wu Kui clutched his chest, taking several harsh breaths. The sudden eruption of Primordial Power had nearly forced him to his knees.

Elder Mu gave two dry coughs. Wu Kui wasn’t the only one who had felt the urge to prostrate himself; even someone as formidable as Elder Mu had nearly been brought to his knees. Feeling that heaven-shaking pressure from a moment ago, Elder Mu thought to himself, ’That was definitely the pressure of the Emperor Realm. Otherwise, how could someone at my level be affected like this?’

Meanwhile, inside the Tower of Calamity, a naked man was enveloped in a soft green glow. Within his fair-skinned body, a meridian structure radiating a gentle luster was slowly pulsing. This person was none other than Mu Chen, who had just received the Emperor Vein inheritance.

"Ugh..."

With a soft groan, consciousness gradually returned to Mu Chen’s mind. The instant he became lucid, however, a flood of new information appeared out of nowhere in his head. He didn’t have time to sort through and read it all just yet, so he could only store it in his Brain Realm for later.

As Mu Chen became fully conscious, his translucent, crystal-like body gradually solidified, concealing the strange and complete meridian structure within.

As if revitalized with new life, Mu Chen now seemed to possess the air of a Grandmaster. A single glance could convey an astonishing pressure. However, Mu Chen understood that this was all because the Emperor Vein had just finished merging with him and its power had not yet been fully restrained. Otherwise, his aura would never be so overtly sharp.

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen sensed the changes in his body and immediately felt refreshed and clear-headed, as if he had shed his mortal shell.

’So this is the Emperor Vein...’

A look of excitement appeared in Mu Chen’s fantastical Purple Sky Demon Pupils. ’This old senior not only brought the Emperor Vein inheritance to a perfect conclusion, he even stabilized my cultivation after I consecutively smashed through three barriers.’

His expression flickered. ’My current realm... is Martial Sect!’

BOOM! A huge Primordial Energy Vortex erupted with Mu Chen at its center. With a single thought, the expanding vortex instantly contracted, transforming into a flame-like aura that clung to the outside of his body. A Martial Ring shimmering with a strange blue light materialized and floated slowly at his feet. Gangfeng Vortex!

"Hehe, to advance from a Nine-Ring Martial Spirit to a First-Ring Martial Sect in just a year and a half... what do you think would happen if outsiders found out? Wouldn’t their jaws just drop to the floor?"

A teasing and devilish voice sounded from beside Mu Chen as the Profound Old Ghost’s figure distorted for a moment before becoming clear.

"Master, besides helping one break through to the Martial Emperor Realm, does this Emperor Vein have any other uses?"

Driven by curiosity, Mu Chen voiced the question he had been holding back for a long time. After all, having an entire meridian structure suddenly replaced in his body was bound to feel a little strange.

Hearing Mu Chen’s question, the Profound Old Ghost chuckled. "Benefits? Of course there’s more than just that. You have to understand, that’s an Emperor Vein we’re talking about! Every Emperor Vein has its own special characteristics—its uniqueness. A successor can only appear after the previous generation’s has vanished."

"So you’re saying an Emperor Vein can only be inherited by one person at a time?"

The Profound Old Ghost nodded. "That’s right. Even the most renowned Martial Emperor Families on the Extreme Martial Continent can only pass it down to a single true successor. In other words, only one person can inherit the true Martial Emperor bloodline. Of course, the other descendants of the Martial Emperor will still receive a power boost from the Emperor Vein. This type of Emperor Vein, which only provides a boost without the auxiliary properties, is called a Pseudo-Emperor Vein! This is also why members of Martial Emperor Families are a cut above ordinary people."

"A boost from the Emperor Vein... so you mean this Emperor Vein can also amplify my power."

Mu Chen once again sank his consciousness into his body, carefully sensing the changes within. However, aside from the doubled Primordial Power he’d gained from breaking through to the Sect Realm, he couldn’t clearly sense any power granted by the Emperor Vein.

"Silly boy, do you think the benefits of an Emperor Vein can be sensed so easily? If even you could sense it, wouldn’t everyone be able to easily discover its existence? You’d become a true, highly sought-after humanoid treasure." The Profound Old Ghost chuckled, then continued, "Actually, the real benefit of an Emperor Vein isn’t a power boost, but the way it reconstructs your constitution after merging with your body."

"Reconstructs my constitution? What’s that?"

Mu Chen was hearing far too many unfamiliar terms at once, making it difficult for him to fully digest and understand everything.

"Let me put it this way. Every expert who successfully breaks through to the Emperor Realm and becomes a Martial Emperor inevitably possesses their own unique constitution. This constitution might grant immunity to certain Elemental Power attacks, allow one to manifest a certain type of power, or even transform your entire body into a different form. Take the Beast Race’s Beastification, for example. It’s a common Talent Battle Skill, but not everyone can possess it. However, if a Martial Emperor frequently uses Combat Skills of a certain ferocious Beast Type, then when their body transforms upon their ascension, they can alter their constitution to a state that is extremely adapted to their fighting style. That is a constitutional change."

Only then did Mu Chen nod in sudden understanding. "I get it now. Changing your constitution is really about adapting better to your own combat rhythm or making up for your weaknesses."

Hearing this, the Profound Old Ghost suddenly smiled. "Smart boy. But you’ve only described the Transformation and Manifestation types. The strongest of the special constitutions aren’t those two. It’s the Immunity type."

"Immunity type?"

"Simply put, it’s complete immunity to attacks of a certain Elemental Power Attribute. For example, immunity to fire, immunity to ice, immunity to thunder... Someone with this type of transformative constitution is practically invincible when facing an opponent they’re immune to. They can completely suppress their foe, beating them so badly they won’t know what hit them. Do you understand the importance of an Emperor Vein now?" The Profound Old Ghost smiled faintly and went to pat Mu Chen’s head, only to find that he now had to raise his arm much higher than before to reach it.

"Silly boy, you’ve grown up..."

The Profound Old Ghost’s expression grew increasingly fond. Watching a child grow up by his side felt much like being a father. A master for a day is a father for life; he was finally experiencing that feeling for himself.

"So what kind of constitution does the Emperor Vein I inherited belong to?"

Staring at his own hands, Mu Chen looked a little lost. Suddenly, he remembered the extra information in his mind. He immediately sank his consciousness deep into his mind and began to seriously sort through the information that had been carved into it. Sure enough, after careful organization, the information finally became clear to him.

"..."

Passages of ancient text were deciphered by Mu Chen one by one. The further he read, the more shocked he became. The original owner of the Calamity Emperor Vein, the Great Calamity Emperor, was such a terrifyingly Great Power! If this text was a true record, Mu Chen felt he should be prostrating himself in worship right now.

"The Great Calamity Emperor reached the King Realm at eleven, the Sect Realm at fifteen, the Sovereign Realm at seventeen, and the Venerable Realm at nineteen. After reaching the Venerable Realm, he broke through to become an Emperor in just five short years, becoming the most terrifying prodigy after Xingtian to reach the Emperor Realm at such a young age!"

Not only that, but as he reached the end, Mu Chen’s breathing grew rapid. This Great Calamity Emperor had not only reached the peak of the Martial Emperor realm in his cultivation, but he had also relied on his own power to evolve his Fire Attribute Elemental Power to the Ultimate Realm, using mortal strength to make his Fire Attribute ascend from mortal to divine!

’This... just what kind of terrifying Cultivation Talent would that require!’

When Mu Chen finished reading the entire text, a wave of euphoria nearly made him faint. The end of the passage contained a detailed description of the Calamity Emperor Vein’s constitutional characteristics.

"Calamity Divine Body: Immunity to all poisons in the world!"