“If I were to unleash all these Emperor Weapons, how would you even begin to cope?” Ye Chen’s hands were overflowing with Emperor Weapons, each radiating a terrifying Emperor’s might. There were already more than ten, and he continued to pull more from his Storage Ring. He grinned, a taunting glint in his eyes. “Want me to lend you a few?”
Quasi-Emperor Qianyang and the other elders’ faces twisted into grotesque masks of fury. Watching Ye Chen’s smirk widen, one of the Quasi-Emperor elders behind Qianyang finally snapped, his voice a guttural snarl. “I swear, I want to tear that insolent mouth right off his face!” The sheer audacity was too much for any of them to bear.
“A mere Saint King, yet he wielded so many Emperor-tier treasures!” they fumed internally. “And not just a few—a good number of them were High-star Emperor Weapons!” They, venerable Quasi-Emperors, possessed only a single, pathetic low-star Emperor Weapon each. These were artifacts they had painstakingly saved Contribution Points for over hundreds of years, only managing to exchange for them at the Supreme Profound Sect just before entering the Bronze Ancient Palace. And now, Ye Chen flaunted a veritable arsenal! It was utterly unfair! Quasi-Emperor Qianyang and the others were practically consumed by the green fire of envy.
They instantly realized these treasures must have been bestowed upon Ye Chen by the White Robe Great Emperor, who had recently annihilated countless major powers. But even so, this was an absurd amount! Their perceived advantage had evaporated in a single breath.
And Ye Chen wasn’t done. He continued to pull out more items: Emperor-tier Talismans, Emperor-tier Array Plates, and even Emperor-tier Healing Medicine!
Ye Chen popped an Emperor-tier healing pill into his mouth, swallowing it with a theatrical sigh. He shook his head, a picture of mock sorrow. “Though I still have many bottles, each one I consume means one less, alas!”
At his words, Quasi-Emperor Qianyang and the others gnashed their teeth, their rage palpable. This was blatant, unadulterated flaunting!
“Qianyang Peak Master,” a few elders whispered, “are we still going to fight?” Quasi-Emperor Qianyang hesitated, his brow furrowed.
Fight? Ye Chen, with his arsenal of Emperor Weapons and high-tier talismans, could annihilate them all, simply by relying on his profound Foundation. Not fight? Could they even escape?
A profound sense of humiliation washed over them. A dozen venerable Quasi-Emperors, cornering a single Saint King, yet trapped in such an impossible dilemma? It was an absolute disgrace!
Just then, Ye Chen’s lips curved into a predatory smile, and a powerful Battle Intent surged from his form. “Right now, I only want to kill you all, or be killed by you!” he declared, his voice ringing with absolute confidence. “Quasi-Emperor Qianyang, I’ll give you a choice. If you unleash your Emperor Weapons, then I will unleash mine. If you choose not to, then I will fight all dozen of you by myself!”
The moment his words faded, the faces of Quasi-Emperor Qianyang and his elders turned as cold as ice. “Unbelievably arrogant!” they thought. They had cultivated in the Southern Wilds for countless years, yet had never witnessed such unbridled arrogance from the younger generation! He actually intended to use them, venerated Quasi-Emperors, as mere Stepping Stones to sharpen his own skills!
But they had no choice. After a tense moment of silence, Quasi-Emperor Qianyang flicked his sleeve, his entire body trembling with barely suppressed fury, and sheathed his Emperor Weapon. “Fine! Ye Chen, since you’re so utterly confident, then let’s have a fair fight! I’d like to see just how you plan to kill us!” The other Quasi-Emperors, their expressions grim, likewise put away their Emperor Weapons.
Seeing their concession, Ye Chen let out a soft chuckle. He swept all the Emperor Weapons before him back into his Storage Ring, then spoke slowly, his voice carrying an undeniable weight. “My Master once told me that my true opponents are not those of the same cultivation realm, nor merely those of the younger generation. My opponents are those who stand in the same era as me! Now, make your move!”
Ye Chen stood poised in the void, his dark hair whipping wildly around him. Waves of Martial Dao power surged from his form, and behind him, his immense, golden Martial Dao Furnace roared with a thunderous might, subtly manifesting visions of ancient palaces and evolving heaven and earth mountains. His eyes blazed with pure Battle Intent. Facing a dozen Quasi-Emperors, his heart held not a single flicker of fear.
In an instant, Quasi-Emperor Qianyang struck. The overwhelming might of a Quasi-Emperor ripped through the very fabric of space, causing the surrounding fire domain to erupt with towering waves of flame, dozens of meters high. In a blink, he unleashed his most potent technique, hurtling towards Ye Chen. Simultaneously, the other Quasi-Emperors launched their attacks, a coordinated assault of terrifying power.
Ye Chen let out a low roar, his expression hardening into one of grim determination. A combined assault from a dozen Quasi-Emperors was not something he could afford to underestimate. Spirit arts flowed through his hands, rapidly changing.
The power of the Grand Dao Scripture surged through him! The power of the Desolate Heaven Art erupted! For a moment, two vastly different, yet equally potent, forces began to intertwine within Ye Chen: one, the serene, all-encompassing power of nature, the other, a fierce, domineering might. A blazing Dao Rhyme circulated around his body, and his palms glowed with a crystalline light as he unleashed a devastating strike directly at Quasi-Emperor Qianyang.
“BOOM!” The two terrifying, destructive forces slammed into each other with world-shaking power. Ye Chen was instantly sent hurtling back hundreds of meters, a trail of blood marking his trajectory. His arm was bleeding, and a bone had been violently dislocated. Yet, Ye Chen merely let out a short, almost amused chuckle. With a savage grunt, he forcefully snapped the bone back into place. CRACK! Without a moment’s hesitation, he surged forward, rejoining the fray!
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, one Quasi-Emperor lay dead, obliterated by Ye Chen’s relentless assault. Ye Chen himself was covered in blood, but his posture remained unyielding, a testament to his fierce determination. The intense combat had severely depleted his spiritual energy, but without a pause, Ye Chen pulled out a small jar and took a massive gulp of Azure Nether Celestial Water.
WHOOSH! Instantly, a profound Dao Rhyme flowed around his body, shimmering with iridescent light. A colossal, surging power flooded into his system, violently churning through every limb and bone. Such a massive intake pushed his body to its absolute limit, transforming him into a human volcano on the verge of eruption. He had to immediately expend this power in battle, or risk exploding!
From a distance, Quasi-Emperor Qianyang and the remaining elders stared, utterly dumbfounded. “What in the heavens did you just drink?!” Qianyang roared, his voice laced with disbelief. “How could anything possess such incredibly potent Dao Rhyme?”
Ye Chen casually wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Azure Nether Celestial Water,” he stated simply. “My Master always says, ‘When you’re out and about, there’s no need to make things hard on yourself.’”
With that, Ye Chen lunged forward, a veritable human beast of destruction! At this moment, his only thought was to unleash the colossal power surging within him, or else he would surely explode.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Ye Chen roared, raising his hands as if to tear down the heavens. An endless torrent of power surged from within him, divine light exploding from his fists. His entire body became luminous, crystalline, even his individual strands of hair glowed with an ethereal light. Wherever he moved, a dazzling divine radiance surged forth, overwhelming everything in its path.
The remaining Quasi-Emperors were suffering immensely, pushed to their absolute limits. Though Ye Chen was only a Saint King, the power within him seemed inexhaustible. He continuously devoured high-tier healing pills, transforming into an unstoppable combat machine. They were Quasi-Emperors, yes, but their Dao Rhyme couldn’t compare to Ye Chen’s, nor could their spiritual energy Foundation. Most critically, Ye Chen was fighting as if every moment was his last, utterly disregarding his own life!
Ye Chen’s bones had shattered and reset countless times, yet he fought on, an indomitable force. A wild, domineering aura swirled around him, twisting the very fabric of heaven and earth. The raging sea of fire behind him seemed to mirror his ferocity, and his mighty blows tore through the void.
An hour later, two more Quasi-Emperors were blasted into oblivion by Ye Chen’s relentless assault. Half a day later, several more Quasi-Emperors met a tragic end beneath his unforgiving fists.
The brutal battle raged for yet another full day! Quasi-Emperors continued to fall, one after another, until only Quasi-Emperor Qianyang remained. His aura was flickering, barely a whisper, as he plummeted, broken and defeated, into the endless sea of fire. He was utterly spent, unable to fight another moment.
Quasi-Emperor Qianyang lay amidst the flames, staring up at Ye Chen with an expression of utter despair, his heart a bitter, twisted knot. A dozen Quasi-Emperors had ambushed Ye Chen, and somehow, they had all been annihilated! It wasn’t that they were weak; it was that Ye Chen’s Foundation was simply too vast, too profound. Just the Azure Nether Celestial Water alone—he had chugged several massive gulps of it throughout the day.
And it wasn’t just the Azure Nether Celestial Water; he’d also casually consumed several mouthfuls of All-Reach Profound Powder! Qianyang simply couldn’t comprehend it. Was Azure Nether Celestial Water as common as cabbage in the Grand Dao Sect? How could anyone possibly fight against such an endless supply of heaven-defying resources?
Qianyang was certain: in the entire history of the Southern Wilds, there had never been such a heaven-defying Saint King! So many priceless, world-altering wonders, just casually consumed by a single Saint King? Even their Supreme Profound Sect’s revered ancestor, Liu Ruyan, who had attained the Supreme Realm and left behind an unimaginable Foundation, wouldn’t have dared to be so outrageously extravagant!
Just then, Ye Chen descended from the void, landing directly before the broken form of Quasi-Emperor Qianyang. This day of brutal combat had profoundly elevated him. In this life-and-death struggle, his potential had been pushed to its absolute, infinite limits.
Quasi-Emperor Qianyang painfully dragged himself from the ground, then immediately dropped to his knees, begging for his life. “Ye Shao, please, don’t kill me!” he pleaded desperately. “I can tell you everything about Nangong Baixue. You must be very curious about what’s become of her, aren’t you?”