Ye Chen, a possessor of divine qualification who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Crown Prince, possessed cultivation that was equally peerless and powerful. Whether it was striking the Power Monument to produce seven-colored radiant light, his previous battle with Crown Prince Xia Yang, or slaughtering Xiantian demonic beasts on the Demon-Suppressing Battlefield—everything was enough to prove his true strength.
But today was the day the Trial Path opened, and he was actually absent. This couldn't help but fill everyone with astonishment.
"By the way, where is Ye Chen?"
"Someone as powerful as Ye Chen has no reason to be afraid of this recruitment trial."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, clearly filled with surprise and doubt over Ye Chen's non-appearance. Among those present, perhaps only Yang Yi was the happiest, because she had once made a bet with Ye Chen: if Ye Chen passed the Tian Du Academy's recruitment trial, she would agree to any condition he set.
She had originally thought she couldn't escape this calamity, but unexpectedly, Ye Chen didn't show up this time. While she breathed a sigh of relief, she was also puzzled as to why he hadn't appeared.
But for her, no matter what, not appearing was better than appearing.
Li Yun was also present at the scene, and feeling strange, he immediately tried to contact Ye Chen through that communication token. Ye Chen had said that if there was an urgent matter, he could use this communication token to send a message to him.
But no matter what, there was no response from the other party, which made him quite worried. However, thinking of the mysterious Sir Qian, he believed Ye Chen couldn't possibly be in trouble; he was just temporarily unable to appear due to some matters.
"Who is Ye Chen?"
Seeing everyone so focused on this, the Nine Prefectures Martial God couldn't help but ask the Martial God Elder of Xia Feng Academy. Vaguely, he felt this name was somewhat familiar.
The Martial God Elder said, "Ye Chen is a student of our Xia Feng Academy. Three and a half years ago, he participated in the King's Ancient Path, but was forced to withdraw midway." (Note: In this book, Ye Chen has been awakened for eight months, counted as half a year for easier time calculation. Eight months ago was when he was forced off the Ancient Path two years ago. He participated in the King's Ancient Path three years ago. Mentioned here to avoid confusion.)
"Ye Chen, it's him." The Nine Prefectures Martial God suddenly understood, remembering that peerless genius from Xia Feng Kingdom who achieved Xiantian at the age of thirteen, and then the Ye Chen who participated in the King's Ancient Path trial three and a half years ago and was said to have perished. He said, "You mean that Ye Chen who went from genius to waste? Wasn't his dantian crippled? Why would he also want to participate in the Trial Path? Isn't that seeking death?"
This incident had caused a huge sensation at the time, not only because Ye Chen was a peerless genius, but also because the one who struck was an elite student of Tian Du Academy. The Nine Prefectures Martial God had heard a bit about this matter back then.
"Waste?"
Upon hearing this word, suddenly many students were filled with bitterness, even Xiantian powerhouses like the Thirteenth Prince felt this way. If Ye Chen was a waste, then what were they?
Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, the Nine Prefectures Martial God was quite puzzled. But then, someone suddenly said, "Actually, the possessor of divine qualification isn't just the Crown Prince alone; there's also Ye Chen."
A waste had once again become a peerless genius, and moreover, a possessor of divine qualification. The Nine Prefectures Martial God was shocked, unable to believe it!
Elder Duanmu nodded: "That's right. This was tested not long ago. Ye Chen has not only recovered his cultivation, but is also a possessor of divine qualification."
The Nine Prefectures Martial God's expression turned grave. These elders couldn't be lying. For an important peerless genius like a possessor of divine qualification, Tian Du Academy couldn't possibly miss out. Although this Ye Chen had some enmity with a certain student in the academy—and that student was a member of the Heaven-tier Academy—the most important thing now was to first pull Ye Chen into Tian Du Academy. Everything else could be discussed later.
In an instant, the Nine Prefectures Martial God made a decision: "In that case, where is Ye Chen?"
The Thirteenth Prince hesitated for a moment before saying, "Before Ye Chen left, he told me he needed to go into seclusion for a period of time. He might still be in seclusion now and unable to appear. Martial God Senior, how long will this recruitment trial last?"
"Shortest three months, longest a year. The time is uncertain," the Nine Prefectures Martial God said. "But under normal circumstances, I only stay for one day to let those who want to participate enter the Trial Path. Without this spatial gate, no one can enter the Ancient Path unless it's the academy's higher-ups or a peerless powerhouse who tears through space to send participants in."
"However, since Ye Chen is a possessor of divine qualification, this old man will make an exception this time and stay at Xia Feng Academy for one month—no longer than that. If Ye Chen still doesn't appear after a month, this old man will have no choice but to leave."
Everyone's expressions changed upon hearing this. The Crown Prince, however, was the first to turn and step inside. Before leaving, he said, "No need to worry. Ye Chen will definitely participate. He keeps his word."
As his voice fell, he vanished.
The Thirteenth Prince and the others were taken aback for a moment, then nodded in deep agreement. Ye Chen couldn't possibly not participate. Vivian and the red-clothed woman joined hands and stepped inside together, though before leaving, Vivian took one last look before resolutely stepping onto the Trial Path.
Most of the elite students from the Heaven-tier Academy participated in this Trial Path, with only a few remaining behind, not participating.
Afterwards, the Nine Prefectures Martial God truly stayed at Xia Feng Academy for a full month, all for the sake of waiting for Ye Chen.
But unfortunately, a month passed, and Ye Chen still hadn't appeared. No one could find Ye Chen, as if he had vanished from the world, leaving no trace, causing even the Nine Prefectures Martial God to shake his head and sigh.
Finally, the Nine Prefectures Martial God left.
Where exactly had Ye Chen gone? This left everyone shocked and puzzled.
At this time, everyone was more concerned about matters on the Trial Path, because this Tian Du Academy's Trial Path was extraordinary, gathering young geniuses from the three great empires of Tian Du Continent, the one hundred and eight kingdoms, and even countless large and small powers. It could be called the peak gathering of the younger generation.
This trial was unprecedented. It didn't seem like Tian Du Continent's typical recruitment trial; perhaps from many aspects, this was a peak contest of the continent's younger generation to determine their relative standings.
Because based on information from certain sources, on this unprecedented Trial Path, perhaps in the end, a King of the younger generation for the entire Tian Du Continent would be decided.
King represented the strongest, the supreme.
Only the strongest young prodigy had the right to be called the King of Tian Du Continent's younger generation!
Tian Du Continent, with its three great empires and one great academy, a hundred kingdoms standing tall, and thousands of powers existing, had young geniuses beyond count, spread across the vast continent.
But the true King was only one, standing above tens of thousands, like the supreme sovereign, looking down upon the world, high and mighty, with none to rival him, unmatched.
Who didn't wish to become the strongest King? Who was willing to willingly submit to another?
Precisely because of this crown of the strongest of the younger generation, the situation on the Trial Path became unprecedentedly intense. It wasn't just an ordinary contest; it would even be filled with death.
Although true death was rare—after all, these were geniuses from various kingdoms, and Tian Du Academy would give each young genius entering the Trial Path a spirit talisman that, when activated at a critical moment, could protect them. Unless a Martial God made a move, they could safely remain until the Trial Path ended, though their qualification would also be canceled.
But there would always be some unpredictable situations, and death was unavoidable.
Every day, various news from the Trial Path would be transmitted back, monitored by the powerhouses of Tian Du Academy. All young powerhouses would be closely watched by their respective powers.
In just the first two months, the competition on the Trial Path had reached an unprecedented peak. Geniuses from various kingdoms rose together, outstanding talents emerged, everyone wanting to compete to be the sole King.
Moreover, the elimination rate on the Trial Path was too high. In just two short months, over half of the young geniuses had been eliminated—a full seven hundred people, basically all young Xiantian powerhouses.
This grand spectacle grew more and more intense. Every day, large numbers of young powerhouses were continuously eliminated. However, everyone knew that in the later stages, this elimination rate would slowly decrease, because those who could remain later were the true young powerhouses.
At this time, slowly, a few individuals rose from among the many of the younger generation, becoming strong candidates for the title of Young King.
Each of these individuals was peerlessly powerful, standing at the pinnacle among the many trial participants, hailed as the strongest few. Each had earned over four hundred points on the intense Trial Path and possessed the formidable power to sweep through the combined forces of all young geniuses of an entire kingdom.
They possessed the qualification to be called Kings. One of them was Crown Prince Xia Yang!
He was too strong. Although he came from Xia Feng Kingdom, ranked in the middle-lower tier among the one hundred and eight kingdoms, this didn't mean his strength was weak. On the contrary, for many, his strength was overwhelmingly powerful. He reigned supreme on one segment of the path, so dominant that he swept through all the young powerhouses of three great kingdoms, establishing a mighty reputation that shook the entire Trial Path, looked up to by countless young powerhouses.
He had even defeated a powerful prince from a certain empire, and even faced off against a peerless prodigy from that same empire who also possessed the qualification to be called a King, nearly sparking an unprecedentedly intense great battle.
But in the end, the two young prodigies with the qualification to be called Kings faced off from a distance for a moment before separating without fighting, leaving many filled with regret.
Not long after, Xia Feng Kingdom received news about that batch of young powerhouses from Xia Feng Academy, causing great shock.
Out of the twenty-eight elite students from the Heaven-tier Academy who participated, in just five short days, over half had been eliminated. This shocked the entire Xia Feng Academy.
Because Xia Feng Academy had Crown Prince Xia Yang, although the kingdom was ranked in the middle-lower tier among the one hundred and eight kingdoms, it was extremely prominent on the Trial Path, with not a single person eliminated, even achieving glorious results.
Everyone had been wary of Crown Prince Xia Yang, so why had they suddenly plummeted, with over half eliminated?
Something had suddenly happened, catching many in the academy off guard.
Finally, rather bad news arrived: Crown Prince Xia Yang had disappeared. Afterwards, the young geniuses of Xia Feng Kingdom were targeted by a prince of the Tianqi Empire and several great kingdoms working together, currently being hunted down, in quite a critical situation.
At the same time, on this day, deep within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, terrifying blood energy suddenly surged into the nine heavens, shaking the six directions and eight wildernesses.
Amidst the boundless, ocean-like vast blood energy, a slender figure stood up tall—
Ye Chen, emerged from seclusion!