Li Qiye’s victory didn’t only shock them but also gave them a clear idea of Li Qiye’s power. He became the biggest obstacle on the dao lord path. They needed to eliminate him in order to have a chance.

“Brothers, what do you think is Li Qiye’s probability of becoming the dao lord?” The emperor stared at the two.

They exchanged glances. Both are confident but only when the conquerors were involved. They thought that they could beat any of the other four members.

Sure, the path would be arduous and full of turns. Nonetheless, they still saw hope regardless of their enemies’ power.

Alas, this Li Qiye came out of nowhere and painted a considerable power gap. They felt that they had a long way to go before catching up.

“Currently, I believe that his chances are far greater than ours. If he keeps on walking this road, he’ll leave us behind in the dust.” Five-sun King said.

“There is no chance to beat Li Qiye, at least for now.” Shen Juntian shook his head.

“The dao enlightenment matter is another matter, it might take a thousand years or just one decade.” Five-sun King continued: “Peerless talent and a solid cultivation aside, fortune also plays a part.”

“None of us can control fortune, only do our best to filter out certain things.” The emperor said.

“I suppose you have a plan.” Five-sun King smiled.

The emperor earnestly responded: “We should put aside our differences and walk hand-in-hand as of right now.”

The two exchanged glances, having already expected this before coming. This was obviously the reason for the invitation.

After all, Li Qiye’s heaven-defying ability caused all of them to feel immense pressure. They needed to get rid of Li Qiye first due to his paramount dao attainment.

This issue was rather urgent because Li Qiye might prove his grand dao at any second and become the dao lord. At that point, all of their effort would have been for naught.

“You wish to form an alliance against Li Qiye?” Five-sun King wanted a clear response.

“Not just that, we should also train and learn the mysteries of the grand dao together. That’s the best method to catch up to Li Qiye.” The emperor added.

As supreme geniuses, they all had a unique understanding of the grand dao. If they were to reveal their gained knowledge and spar with each other, the benefits would be immense. It would accelerate the process of understanding the dao fruit.

“It’s fine to spar and learn from each other.” Five-sun King nodded.

This had happened before between them but only for brief periods and including surface-level content.

“We learn together until the last moment before the dao fruit. We’ll see who will be the first pluck one and become the dao lord. It is up to our own ability, effort, and luck.” The emperor said.

“It’s fair.” Shen Juntian said.

As the saying goes - two heads are better than one. Despite their personal talent and achievement, working together was still rather beneficial and helpful. It would be foolish to refuse.

“I’m sure this is not your only goal, Brother.” Juntian went on.

“Right. Our foremost goal should still be eliminating Li Qiye. His very existence kills our hope.” The emperor paused for a bit and said: “Otherwise, he’ll be one step ahead of us in taking the dao fruit. Our whole life will be meaningless then.”

Shen Juntian and Five-sun King pondered silently. If Li Qiye kept on improving, it wouldn’t be long before the end of the competition. At that point, their grand dao would be wasted.

For Shen Juntian, he came out in this generation in order to become a dao lord. He was confident enough that victory would be his. Otherwise, further hibernation was acceptable.

The same applied to the others. The winner of the competition would take everything and leave only despair for losing competitors.

“Brother, True Immortal is unbeatable once your ancient ancestors and Immortal Monarchs come out.” Five-sun King said.

This was indeed the truth, not mere flattery. True Immortal was the closest sect to being described as “unbeatable”.

Many believed that they had a good chance of taking Li Qiye down if they wanted to. Its monarchs should be able to do so unless Li Qiye had capable dao protectors.

“This is the time for us to be honest.” The emperor said: “I’m sure you two understand that when the sandpiper and clam go to war, the fisherman catches both.”

He implied that True Immortal wouldn’t be the only one to act against Li Qiye. After all, the losses might be heavy. They weren’t foolish enough to do so.

“Our alliance will not only take care of Li Qiye but also the rest. The next dao lord will be one of us.” The emperor continued.

Outsiders would be startled to hear this. The emperor wanted to eliminate Firmament Mortal King and Tian Feng as well, causing the duo to exchange glances.