2064: The Fourth Stage

The Fourth Stage

"A fourth stage?" Jian Wushuang's were wide open. 2

The Third Stage Great Emperors were terrifying enough, having grasped even a bit of Rules of Order. The elite Ancient God Emperor and Sword Emperor Dugu of the First Era were considered the pinnacle of Third Stage Great Emperors. Now, there was a Fourth Stage?

"A Fourth Stage did not exist during the First Era. I added it at the last moment." Emperor Bai smiled.

"Oh really?" Jian Wushuang was surprised.

"Wushuang, you must understand, the Second Era we live in now, even though there's a vast difference in cultivating environments compared to in the First, one point remains the same. The Cultivators of both Eras were constricted by the boundaries of this Universe. This constriction targets the strongest," Emperor Bai continued.

"The elite Ancient God Emperor and Sword Emperor Dugu of the First Era had most certainly surpassed Great Emperor-levels into something much more, but why do I still regard them as only Great Emperors? The constrictions the Universe places upon us forces all Cultivators to utilise no more strength than a Great Emperor can."

Jian Wushuang was startled.

He knew about a legend of the First Era, an expert above all Great Emperors.

Ancient God Emperor was a Ten-star Ancient God!

According to Ancient God Clan divisions, nine stars would make you a Great Emperor, ten stars therefore naturally surpassedGreat Emperors, ascending beyond the Chaotic Realm.

But now it seemed, even though he was technically stronger than Great Emperors, there was really not much difference.

"Experts stronger than Great Emperors in the First Era remained Great Emperors due to the constrictions, but what about the Ancient Past? There were so many Experts stronger than Great Emperors during that period of time… imagine if those supreme Beings were to awaken. What would happen?"

Jian Wushuang was once again taken aback.

Experts from the Ancient Past...

"Emperor Bai, if these Experts from the Ancient Past were to awaken, would they face the same constrictions the Universe places?" Jian Wushuang asaked.

"Of course, our Universe is special this way. Everyone in this Universe faces the same constrictions, even the Experts from the Ancient Past. Meaning to say, no matter how powerful you were in the Ancient Past, even if you were one of the best, as long as you're under this Universe, you can only be treated as a Great Emperor."

"However, these Experts from the Ancient Past, even though they faced the same constrictions, the myriad of means and Secret Skills they possess, along with their realisation of the Rules of Order, they remained with them. You can only imagine, even if they had Great Emperor-level powers, that explosive energy… how strong would that be?"

"Forget the others for now, let's talk about that Ancient Past Expert who helped you before, Emperor Thirteen, you can tell how powerful he was, right?" Emperor Bai said solemnly.

Hearing this, Jian Wushuang could not help but draw a cold breath.

He understood what Emperor Bai meant.

Under the constrictions of the Universe, they could only use Great Emperor-level powers, but the Ancient Past Experts, possessing realisation of the Rules of Order and other Secret Skills … The First and Second Eras were not even comparable.

The elite Ancient God Emperor and Sword Emperor Dugu of the First Era had only just surpassed the Great Emperor-level, in terms of fighting power they were simply the pinnacle of the Third Stage.

There were so many Experts from the Ancient Past stronger than Ancient God Emperor and Sword Emperor Dugu. Even with the same level of strength constricted by the Universe, the Experts would certainly surpass them in their explosive fighting power. 

Emperor Thirteen belonged to the ranks of these formidable Ancient Past Experts.

'Because of these Ancient Past Experts, especially after my encounter with Emperor Thirteen, came the thought of the Fourth Stage. Without a doubt, Emperor Thirteen is a Fourth Stage Great Emperor," Emperor Bai said.

Jian Wushuang nodded solemnly, and from this gained a whole new perspective of Emperor Bai.

The Three Stages of Great Emperors, if you consider the Ancient Past Experts, would make it Four Stages.

Four Stages, meaning four completely different levels of power. The disparities between each stage was ridiculously huge. 

The reason why there was not much difference between Great Emperors within the Sanctuary Alliance was because they were all First Stage Great Emperors. Even the best of the First Stage Great Emperors, the Abysmal Saint Mster, would find it hard to take down Yan Zun, currently at the bottom of the First Stage. But if a Second Stage Expert were to come in, things would be different. 

A Third or Fourth Stage Great Emperor would take down a First Stage Great Emperor as if he was killing a chicken.

"Emperor Bai, may I know, amongst the Four Stages, at which Stage do you reside?" Jian Wushuang suddenly asked.

Red Dragon King looked over.

They were all curious. As the strongest in the Eternal Chaotic World, which Stage did Emperor Bai belong to?

Of course, Emperor Bai, having easily defeated Demon King Chen Yu of the Third Stage, made him at least on par with the Demon King.

"I…" Emperor Bai took a while to think it through before replying: "My current fighting power places me slightly above Ancient God Emperor and Sword Emperor Dugu of the First Era, but it is limited. When I first faced Emperor Thirteen, I had no idea how nor the necessary confidence to engage him, so I guess I'm at the top of Third Stage Great Emperors, or somewhere between the Third and Fourth." 

"But, even though I'll lose to Emperor Thirteen and the other Experts in terms of fighting power, if I were to fight them face-to-face, with the help of my Inverse Cultivation and other tricks, even groups of Fourth Stage Great Emperors would not scare me."

Emperor Bai was ever so confident of himself, yet he hid nothing in regards to his own limitations.

Jian Wushuang and Red Dragon King having heard this, glanced at each other, astonishment and delight written all over their faces.

The astonishment came from the fact that Emperor Bai's power was much stronger than they expected it to be.

Whereas the delight naturally came from the fact that Emperor Bai was on their side of the battle, and was basically a leader to them. The upcoming battle against the Three-Emperors World with Emperor Bai made them much more confident.

"Jian Wushuang."

Emperor Bai looked towards Jian Wushuang. "I saw the battle you had against Great Emperor Zi Xu. Your ability now should be amongst the best within Second Stage Great Emperors, but not the best. You're still lacking in terms of Dao understanding. If you achieve a breakthrough from that, reaching Doctrine Palace's ninth level, you will emerge as the Second Stage's best.

"If you want to reach the Third Stage, that's fairly simple as well. Continuing to master the final part of Inverse Cultivation's seventh step will suffice, or understand some Rules of Order."

Hearing this, Jian Wushuang shrugged his shoulders.

He had just reached the Second Stage, barely even reaching Doctrine Palace's ninth level. For him to master the final part of Inverse Cultivation's seventh step, or to understand even a bit of the Rules of Order, would take ages.

"Come, let's go back."

Without a word, the three of them made their way back to Thunderbolt Island.

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