The Brief History Lesson You Didn't Ask For
*To be read after Chapter 51 - The Low; Logean Wuji's Mercy*
Many years ago...
"Jue Haotian! This is your last chance!"
Fiery pits imploded, scattering fragments of furnished terrain in every direction. The Proud Heaven Empire had been assaulted- all but destroyed- by a single elite unit. Citizens wailed, trapped in harm's way. Massive debris flattened whatever structures were still standing. A merciless demolition.
Those that watched from beyond the capital's walls were the lucky few that managed to evade the disaster. Whatever was left behind was forever lost to them. So, when their shock and terror from the most recent attack faded, they wept.
All were filled with negative emotions of various natures when they looked at the figure above them. His green robes fluttered and flapped, falling far and long behind him like a cape. His hairs blew gently, virtually unaffected by the powerful winds. As for his eyes, they glared down at the wreckage of a certain pagoda that had been decked in precious metals.
As a stronger, more furious wind blew, the verdant locks were finally pushed aside, revealing pale, pointed ears. Feeling the opposing force in that wind, the elf's eyes narrowed slightly. Searching the mess, he found his target and slipped into an off-putting, even more rageful expression.
"Jue Haotian!"
Bobbing and weaving as he tried to navigate the rubble, a middle-aged man in white and gold robes approached. His eyes were a deep gold, his hairs as black as the night sky above him. He looked up to find the elf in the sky, stumbling as he shifted his focus.
He had been caught off guard, and thus had received severe injuries. Even so, he calmly approached while catching his breath. His energy flowed, becoming a mass of aura that spilled out of his pores and lingered on the surface of his body. That aura assumed the form of a thin cloud garment, which covered him and slowly healed him.
"Patu-Wind Han! Are you here for your daughters? Or perhaps for your wife?"
The elf's rage bubbled and he waved his hand. A golden wind blade severed the spatial laws between him and Jue Haotian, causing it to arrive at its target the moment it was unleashed.
Jue Haotian, Emperor Proud Heaven, did nothing in the face of that attack. His cloud garment expanded into a shield that blocked the attack, then absorbed a portion of the energy. The cloud then attained a slight gold color, which led to Jue Haotian using it to sever the spatial laws and arrive before the elf.
Expecting this, Patu-Wind Han raised his hand to meet Jue Haotian's fist. The collision emitted a shockwave so poweful that it killed many of the bystanders, even though they were miles away.
Their battle raged on and on for hours, but Jue Haotian's abilities enabled him to remain on equal ground. Thanks to his special technique, Abstract Cloud, he was able to steal aspects of certain things. For instance, the golden wind that could sever spatial laws. His cloud absorbed it, and gave him the power to use his cloud to sever spatial laws as well.
Even though he could only hold one aspect at a time, his experience and ingenuity made him a difficult opponent to handle. As such, Patu-Wind Han had no choice but to take drastic measures.
In the middle of the match, he used a spirit link to transmit a message to his most trusted aide: Patu-Oak Jing. Patu-Oak Jing and a number of other elves in the elite unit had retreated to the outskirts of the Proud Heaven Empire so as not to be caught up in the battle.
"Jing!"
"Yes, my liege!"
"Take care of our people! Make the right decision!"
Those were the last words Patu-Wind Han left for his people. After that, in a mad, suicidal attempt to kill Jue Haotian, he perished. Jue Haotian would have died as well, but his special technique gave him another way out. He quickly absorbed the remainder of Patu-Wind Han's source, and used it to prolong his life.
"If only I had a complete elf source," Emperor Proud Heaven said," then I could have 100% assurance in condensing a second smog-body. I will have to kill the others and hope their cultivation levels are high enough for their sources to benefit me. Heh, what a bother."
Even so, he never found a single elf besides the ones he kept captive. After killing them and absorbing their sources, he still did not have enough to guarantee him a second smog-body. So, he spearheaded the renovation of his empire and then went into closed-door cultivation within his reconstructed pagoda.
There he would remain for more than 500,000 years.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone