Boom—
Deep within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, thousands of miles away from the royal capital, it was the dead of night. All living things were silent, and every creature was still in slumber.
At this moment, a terrifying and overwhelming blood energy surged forth, shaking the heavens and earth, soaring up to the nine heavens.
What was even more astonishing was that this blood energy was not a vivid crimson red, but a brilliant golden yellow, like pure gold, filled with sacredness and unparalleled power, setting it apart from all else.
Terrifying fluctuations churned, the blood energy so potent it shook the world, as if a volcano had erupted, or as if a divine furnace from the heavenly realm had poured down to the mortal world. Golden light illuminated half the sky, turning it golden, shaking a vast area spanning dozens of miles—truly astonishing.
At the center of this sea-like expanse of golden blood energy, a slender figure rose to his feet, standing tall within it. His black hair danced wildly, his divine bearing awe-inspiring, as if a supreme Heavenly God had descended to the mortal world, radiating boundless pressure.
All demonic beasts, wild beasts, and various living creatures within a radius of dozens to hundreds of miles felt immense pressure, trembling and prostrating on the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
This person was Ye Chen.
Ye Chen, who had been in seclusion for a full five months, had finally awakened from his deepest state of cultivation.
Crack—
He abruptly opened his eyes, shooting out two beams of substantial golden light, sharp as swords, illuminating the long night. For a moment, even the void seemed to tremble.
Too powerful.
As Ye Chen awoke, so did his physical body. He could feel an endless, terrifying power continuously welling up within him, as if a peerless ferocious beast from the primordial era, dormant since time immemorial, had awakened at this moment, displaying its peerless might.
This power was countless times greater than before it had reached perfection. Every movement contained transcendent, saintly supreme power. With a single punch, even a mountain would be shattered.
Too powerful. This was the unparalleled divine might bestowed upon him after the Human Yuan Body Art had been completely perfected.
The Human Yuan Body Art had finally been perfected. The blood within his body had completely transformed into a sacred golden color—this was the manifestation of perfection. His flesh was dyed by the golden blood, turning into a glazed golden body, a true indestructible golden body.
From his meridians flowed terrifying and astonishing fluctuations of blood energy. Brilliant golden blood energy continuously surged forth, shaking the heavens and earth, dyeing the pitch-black night sky golden.
Ye Chen let out a soft sigh, feeling the unprecedented power within his body. He couldn't help but sigh lightly. At this moment, he felt he possessed the power to even dare to battle a Heavenly God.
This was the supreme power bestowed by the Human Yuan Golden Body, granting Ye Chen boundless confidence, even giving him the notion of daring to fight against a Heavenly God.
Naturally, this was impossible. Even after achieving the Human Yuan Golden Body, he could not possibly be a match for a Heavenly God-level powerhouse. This was merely the powerful confidence granted by his immense strength.
Ye Chen sighed softly. In this life, he had finally stepped onto this path once again.
Swish—
Ye Chen moved. His entire person vanished from his original spot, moving at an extreme speed, condensing into a dazzling golden streak of light that flashed across the world. It was so fast it was unimaginable, worthy of being called the ultimate speed under heaven, unparalleled.
Moreover, as he moved, mountains and the great earth trembled, dust rose everywhere. This was the sonic boom caused by his extreme speed. A fierce wind suddenly rose, uprooting entire swathes of forest—truly terrifying.
Ye Chen stopped, coming to an instant halt. The transition from extreme speed to a complete stop was executed perfectly.
Finally, Ye Chen threw a punch. With a loud boom, the entire void trembled. The terrifying force directly landed on a distant mountain peak, shattering it with a resounding crash. Half the mountain collapsed, the power so terrifying it could be called world-shaking.
This was the true power of the Human Yuan Golden Body, condensed after the Human Yuan Body Art reached perfection. Toppling mountains was a feat only Martial God-level powerhouses possessed, yet at this moment, it was also displayed by Ye Chen.
After briefly experiencing the power of the Human Yuan Golden Body, Ye Chen's face revealed joy.
Old Yan appeared, also exclaiming in admiration, "Truly worthy of being a cultivation method comparable to the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art. Merely perfecting the first part has reached this level. I truly wonder what level it will reach after all three parts are perfected. I'm afraid it could rival the Tyrant Heaven Venerable One."
Ye Chen shook his head. Regarding this point, he wasn't clear. Moreover, the Human Yuan Body Art was merely his initial body-tempering method. The next step would be to transcend it and re-cultivate the Battle Saint Art to become a Battle Saint once again.
"How much time has passed now? The Trial Path of Tian Du Academy should be starting soon," Ye Chen said. He had fallen into the deepest level of seclusion and was unclear about the passage of time.
Old Yan revealed a somewhat strange expression. "Five months have already passed."
Hearing this, Ye Chen was dumbfounded. He had originally only intended to cultivate for two months, never expecting that five months had passed in the end. This time far exceeded his expectations.
Old Yan said, "There was no helping it. You, kid, have quite the ambition. You didn't just aim to perfect the Human Yuan Body Art and condense the golden body; you also wanted breakthroughs in other aspects. Hence, the time consumed was not insignificant, so it delayed quite a bit."
Hearing this, Ye Chen gave a light smile. Between his eyebrows, a vast radiance suddenly bloomed, revealing an intense oppressive aura. The void trembled slightly before it all withdrew inward.
At this moment, his chest grew warm. It was a token—a communication token—now glowing, indicating a message had arrived. It was from Li Yun.
Without much thought, Ye Chen understood this must be because he had failed to arrive for the trial back then, and Li Yun was contacting him.
Unfortunately, he had entered the deepest level of cultivation and was unaware of anything, so he hadn't noticed Li Yun's communication.
Old Yan naturally knew but couldn't disturb his cultivation.
Old Yan said with a hint of schadenfreude, "You're late, aren't you? I'm afraid you won't be able to enter the Trial Path now."
Ye Chen rolled his eyes at this disrespectful old fellow.
However, the Trial Path was said to be established within a Divine Spirit's minor world, containing many undiscovered secret treasures. Ye Chen naturally was also interested in participating in this Trial Path.
Swish—
Ye Chen's entire person transformed into a streak of golden light, traversing the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains as he hurried towards Xia Feng Academy.
Xia Feng Academy. Since most of the elite students from the Heaven-tier Academy had participated in the Trial Path, the entire academy seemed to have become much quieter.
Because the true geniuses had left, only a handful of people remained in the Heaven-tier Academy who hadn't left to participate.
Most of the others were students from the Earth, Mystic, and Yellow-tier Academies cultivating. If not for the fact that this year's recruitment trial was different, likely more students would have qualified to enter Tian Du Academy.
The Trial Path had now been ongoing for three months and hadn't ended yet. According to worldly estimates, it would probably continue for at least another half a year or more.
At the academy's main gate, several guards were chatting amongst themselves. When the topic turned to the Trial Path, one of them said, "Have you heard? This year's recruitment trial for Tian Du Academy is different from previous years. It's said to be unprecedentedly dangerous."
"You only know now? The Trial Path is full of dangers. Now it's said to be conducted within a Divine Spirit's minor world. Divine Spirits are the supreme existences who rule over the Tian Du Continent. Naturally, the minor worlds they establish also contain dangers."
"It's just unknown how many from our Xia Feng Academy will be able to pass this year's recruitment trial."
"The Crown Prince will definitely pass. He's not only a possessor of divine qualification, but his cultivation is also exceptionally powerful. I hear he's not far from the Martial God realm."
"The Thirteenth Prince, Princess Hong Rong, and Miss Vivian should all be able to pass. It's just a pity about one person."
"Who is it a pity for?"
"It's a pity for Ye Chen. Such a stunningly talented peerless genius, a figure who could rival the Crown Prince. It's a shame he ultimately didn't appear. I heard he's in seclusion, but does seclusion really need to take that long?"
The several guards all sighed. The most regrettable was still Ye Chen. A possessor of divine qualification like him, who should have been dazzlingly brilliant, could have achieved great accomplishments on the Trial Path, running neck and neck with Crown Prince Xia Yang.
Unfortunately, due to seclusion, he missed the Trial Path. Moreover, his seclusion had lasted a full five months to this day, making people wonder what exactly he was doing in seclusion. Could it be he had made a new breakthrough?
If that were truly the case, one could only marvel at this youth's monstrous talent.
"Sigh, if Ye Chen had participated in the Trial Path, the young powerhouses of our Xia Feng Academy wouldn't be in such difficulty. I heard they've encountered crises on the Trial Path."
Everyone sighed lightly. This piece of news was transmitted back by the Martial God realm elder stationed at Tian Du Academy, and it had spread widely. Even the guards knew about it.
"It's said the Thirteenth Prince, Princess Hong Rong, and even Miss Vivian have encountered terrifying dangers, causing worry."
"If the Crown Prince were still here, they wouldn't be in such difficulty. It's just that the two strongest from our Xia Feng Academy aren't present."
Everyone was worried. The current situation for the group of young powerhouses from Xia Feng Academy was quite unfavorable. They were being pursued, and at any moment could fall into a life-and-death crisis.
"What happened to them all?" Suddenly, a clear and bright voice came as someone stepped forward to inquire.
When the several people looked up, they saw a youth with clear, handsome features and black hair cascading over his shoulders, quite handsome and elegant. At this moment, he strode forward, yet he unintentionally gave off a powerful pressure that made people almost gasp for breath.
But when they clearly saw who it was, everyone was stunned, unable to hold back their exclamations: "Ye Chen!?"