Chapter 1221.1: Fall of the Sky Empire (Part 1)

As the battle at the capital of the Sky Empire ragged on with the powerful Soul Ascension Realm cardinals from the three religions focusing all of their strength into defending themselves, the remaining Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Sky Empire were quickly pushed to the brink of death by the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the invading empires.

Although they were also in the Soul Ascension Realm, the strongest among them had only reached the Peak of the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm. Making it impossible for them to hold on against the large number of Soul Ascension Realm Experts like the cardinals of the three religions could. Especially considering that they didn't have any special divine technique to enhance their strength.

Boom!

"Nooo-!"

And it was in this kind of dangerous situation that the first Soul Ascension Realm Expert from the Sky Empire, the old ancestor of the Earth Dragon Clan, one of largest powers in the Sky Empire, ended up being struck down and killed under the combined attacks of three cultivators at the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

I-I have to escape! I can't die here!

Seeing this as he himself was being suppressed by two people at the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm, the old ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family who had just recently managed to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm could not help feeling any will to continue staying to fight for his family's survival disappearing.

Although the three cardinals had informed him and the rest of the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators that they had managed to get support from their higher ups and that they would just have to hold on until they appeared, he understood that he might not be able to hold on for much longer with his current strength.

Even if it meant that he would have to give up on his family still located in the capital city below, he didn't want to die just after he had broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm. Finally achieving his dream of becoming a true powerhouse in the world. Respected even in a place like the core region of the continent.

I can always rebuild my family again in the future. Not to mention, now that I'm in the Soul Ascension Realm, I might be able to do so in the core region and try to see if I can reach a higher realm in the future...

Whoosh-!

Having come to a decision as he felt it becoming increasingly hard to defend against the two people relentlessly attacking him, the ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family didn't think twice as he turned around and escaped from the capital. Directly choosing to burn part of his own lifespan to increase his speed far beyond the limits of someone in the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

"Sto-"

Boom!

Jumping out to stop him as he reached the encirclement formed by the more powerful cultivators, a Soul Ascension Realm cultivator at the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension didn't even have time to finish his sentence as the ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family took out a talisman and threw at him. Exploding in a brilliant display thunder that pushed him back, while giving the ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family a chance to escape the enrichment.

"Huh? This..." Recovering the next second, the cultivator at the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm could only look of into the direction that the old ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family had disappeared in. Already having left the range of his divine sense by the time he recovered from the thunder talisman.

"Don't bother about him, he is too cowardly to think about revenge." About to give chase to prevent possible future trouble from emerging, the Soul Ascension Realm expert was stopped by an even more senior figure at the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

"But... That talisman earlier-"

"It's the hollow thunder talisman, an ancient talisman that has been the inheritance of the Hollow Thunder Family in the Sky Empire for generations. If I'm not wrong, the person in question should be the ancestor from the hollow thunder family who just recently overcame the first tribulation and broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm. Given his talent and the fact that he only broke through close to the end of his lifespan, I doubt he will be able to survive the second tribulation.

Not to mention the hollow thunder talisman that was the inheritance of his family was used just now to stop you. Meaning that it will be hard for him to rebuild his family in future... And that is without accounting for the fact that he used a technique to burn his lifespan during his escape..." Patiently explaining the reason why he didn't worry about future trouble from the ancestor of the Hollow Thunder family, the senior slowly turned his attention back to the fight between the three cardinals and the group of weaker Soul Ascension Realm cultivators.

Compared to those three, the rest of the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators still left in the Sky Empire was simply not worth mentioning in his eyes.

Outside of that, there was also the fact that the imperial family of the Sky Empire was still around and hidden somewhere inside the Sky Empire.

Although the old ancestor of the imperial family had been injured, he was still someone at the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm with a terrifying mastery over formations.

One of the reasons why he and the rest of the more powerful Soul Ascension Realm cultivators didn't join in on the fight that was taking place between the three cardinals and the weaker Soul Ascension Realm cultivators was because they worried that the old ancestor of the imperial family had left behind some kind of hidden killing formation in the capital city.

Though the chance of something like this was low, the chance still existed, and the different powerful Soul Ascension Realm cultivators didn't want to end up in a situation where they had to rely on the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators from the other empire for help.

After all, if they ended up trapped inside a killing formation left behind by the ancestor of the imperial family of the Sky Empire, it was more likely that the others would take the chance to kill them and set their sight on their empire next.

It was in this kind of situation that three days passed, the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators still left on the side of the Sky Empire either dying or using some kind of secret trump card to escape from the encirclement like the ancestor of the Hollow Thunder Family had done.

In the end, the only people left around the capital of the Sky Empire were the three cardinals from the three religions and the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators fighting them.

Of course, there were also the large number of people living in the capital of the Sky Empire hiding away inside the capital city, but these people were far too weak to influence the outcome of the battle and were thus ignored by the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators above.

In the eyes of everyone at the scene, the only threat was the three cardinals and the possibly hidden killing formation hidden around the capital city.

After these two were dealt with, it would be rather simple to take care of the remaining people inside the capital city of the Sky Empire, be it killing them to prevent any possible future problems or recruiting the more talented ones to increase their own strength.

...

Observing the battle taking place above the capital city of the Sky Empire with the help of a special artifact from a hidden place far away from the capital itself, a handsome middle-aged sighed sadly to himself upon seeing the three cardinals about to lose.

If the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators fighting above the capital city and those watching the battle from afar were to see him, they would instantly recognize him as none other than the Great Emperor of the Sky Empire, a powerful cultivator at the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

However, different from his normal heroic and awe-inspiring appearance, his current appearance was filled with sadness as he understood what was about to happen.

"Those three won't be able to hold on for much longer. Looks like the war is about to reach a conclusion..." Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself, he prepared himself for what was about to come. Understanding very well that when the three cardinals fell, the Sky Empire would have officially come to an end as those invading empires would begin dividing up the territory of the Sky Empire among themselves. Ending the legacy of Sky Empire that had stood for over ten thousand years, while at the same time destroying the hope he had of rebuilding his empire in the foreseeable future.