The Sun's True Fire was unlike ordinary refined flames; it was the true fire of the sun, capable of incinerating all things, scorching the heavens, and burning through entire great worlds.
That Yang Wushuang could condense a strand of it was enough to demonstrate his fearsomeness.
But Ye Chen was naturally no ordinary person either. Forming hand seals, the Great Dao Treasure Vase Seal rotated, and the dark abyss at the vase's mouth suddenly transformed. It no longer devoured all flames but instead erupted—not with divine light, but with a sky-filling sea of fire.
It was the endless flames it had devoured earlier, now used in reverse, attacking fire with fire.
However, the Heavenly God powerhouses within the fortress were sneering. Although they had to admit Ye Chen was strong—capable of engaging in a series of clashes with a peerless talent sealed from a previous era was astonishing enough to make them marvel—a peerless talent from antiquity was still a peerless talent from antiquity. As the most dazzling prodigy and monstrous genius in the history of a superpower, whose talent even surpassed that of the founding Divine Spirit ancestor and held the hope of transcending the Divine Spirit realm, how could he be so weak? The strength he had displayed earlier was but a small part, far from his true power. The Sun's True Fire before them was a true part of his display.
Even they were wary of this Sun's True Fire; strong as a Heavenly God's body, it would still be incinerated, making it extremely terrifying.
How could Ye Chen possibly resist the true fire of the sun?
The so-called 'attacking fire with fire' was simply impossible; this sea of fire would be completely burned away by the Sun's True Fire.
Yet in the next moment, their expressions all changed drastically with shock. For within the endless flames erupting from the Great Dao Treasure Vase above Ye Chen's head, there was also a strand of Sun's True Fire leaping and dancing, shining with boundless radiance like a small sun, charging forward.
Wherever it passed, the void was burned to the point of extreme distortion, nearly on the verge of collapse.
"Sun's True Fire!? How is that possible!?"
The several Heavenly Gods exclaimed in shock. The powerhouses from Tian Du Academy in the fortress all revealed looks of astonishment, gazing into the distance at this scene.
Yang Wushuang also showed a trace of surprise. "Sun's True Fire... you've actually managed to condense it as well. How interesting."
Ye Chen's expression remained impassive. "What's so surprising about that? If you can condense it, naturally I can too."
Boom—
In the void, the two strands of Sun's True Fire collided, instantly erupting. A boundless, sky-covering sea of fire spread everywhere. In the blink of an eye, vast stretches of sandy ground below melted into magma. All trialists quickly fled.
For if they were even slightly touched, these trialists would immediately be set ablaze, burned to ashes within a few breaths.
Even Yang Shaoqi, no longer suppressed by Ye Chen, fled swiftly, watching everything with shock and awe.
At this moment, he felt that although he was strong, he and the two before him were not in the same world. Their power was such that he could only look up in admiration, far beyond his reach.
Li Sheng, Long Tenghua, Wu Han—the three other prodigies—were also rapidly flying away, not daring to get close in the slightest.
In the end, the sandy ground for dozens of miles around had completely melted into a glass-like substance. The two young supreme powerhouses stood facing each other in the void, their gazes substantial as they clashed, producing metallic ringing sounds.
This peak-level confrontation ultimately ended in a draw.
Yang Wushuang's golden light completely receded into his body. At this moment, he appeared ordinary and unremarkable, no longer in a combat state. He looked deeply at Ye Chen and sighed, "I must admit, Ye Chen, you are strong. Few among the younger generation can achieve this. Your power exceeds my expectations. You will surely become a Divine Spirit of your generation."
His evaluation was high, as if affirming that Ye Chen would undoubtedly become a god. Yet no one could question his words, especially the Heavenly God powerhouses from the four superpowers. For this was the peerless talent hailed as one who could surpass Divine Spirits; he had the qualification to speak thus.
"However, I hope you can become even stronger. As you are now, you still fall somewhat short; you are not yet my true opponent. Currently, my divine power is insufficient, preventing me from continuing the battle. It's somewhat regrettable; otherwise, I truly wish we could fight on." Yang Wushuang sighed softly.
This left people dumbfounded. This was clearly a supreme peerless talent; why would he claim insufficient divine power? Upon reaching the Martial God realm, one could continuously absorb the world's Yuan energy, after all.
In an instant, Ye Chen's eyes shone brilliantly, capable of piercing through everything. At this moment, he completely saw through Yang Wushuang's state and understood. This was indeed a terrifyingly formidable peerless talent; he had almost been deceived.
"The King's Ancient Path will open soon. You are also a peerless talent; you may enter the ancient path. I will wait for you there." After saying this, Yang Wushuang looked deeply at Ye Chen. "We'll meet again on the King's Ancient Path..."
Poof—
Yang Wushuang's figure in the void suddenly dispersed. Under the shocked gazes of countless onlookers, it transformed into a cluster of brilliant, radiant light rain, scattering with the wind, vanishing into the void, disappearing without a trace.
This was actually an avatar!?
The crowd was astonished. The power of this Unrivaled Lord was beyond imagination. Merely an avatar was this strong, capable of condensing Sun's True Fire and clashing with the Unrivaled King Ye Chen. If his true body were to come, how terrifying would that be?
Ye Chen stood silently. The power of these ancient peerless talents was indeed terrifying beyond imagination. Yet he also thought of the Slaying the Heavens Plan. For this plan, those ancient Divine Spirit ancestors had prepared who knew what, nurturing such supremely powerful prodigies and talents. Their aptitude could indeed be called dazzling; at least from his perspective, it was sufficient, enough to reach the Divine Spirit realm in the future.
But the ancient great prophet of Tian Du Continent prophesied that in this era, these peerless talents would emerge, perhaps with the opportunity to transcend beyond the Divine Spirit realm in the future.
Ye Chen felt it was very difficult. Not because of these people's aptitude, but because of the limitations of this world. Apart from the vast, boundless myriad realms, other heavens and earths, dimensional worlds, and other alternate planes all had corresponding limitations. The world would impose restrictions, preventing the birth of excessively powerful existences, as that would be detrimental to the existing world, drawing too much of its Yuan energy.
If the world did not permit it, breakthroughs would naturally be very difficult. In even more worlds, the Divine Spirit realm itself was suppressed by the world, making breakthroughs arduous.
However, since the ancient great prophet of Tian Du Continent prophesied that a breakthrough could be made in this era, it represented a possibility. He just didn't understand how such a breakthrough could be achieved, because his current strength was far from sufficient to perceive the workings of heaven and earth, to see through the origin and comprehend all this.
After the battle concluded, Ye Chen stood silently. The crowd was once again stunned into a daze. Yang Shaoqi, Li Sheng, and the other Self-Proclaimed Kings seized this opportunity to swiftly charge toward the fortress, seeking shelter.
But a golden palm instantly covered the heavens and earth, grabbing all four of them in its grasp in one motion. Golden radiance flowed, causing several bones in their bodies to crackle and break, rendering them immobile.
"Brat, release our clan's prince immediately!"
"The young master of our Martial God Hall cannot be profaned by others!"
The four Heavenly Gods on the fortress roared angrily, their voices shaking the stronghold. Yet they were helpless against this situation. The Great Dao barrier was unshakable. The Unrivaled Lord, the ancient peerless talent, had dispersed his avatar. At the end of the Trial Path in the desert, Ye Chen alone was invincible, unmatched, reigning supreme over the entire world.
Ye Chen looked toward the four Heavenly Gods. Although boundless divine might there was shaking the fortress, even causing the heavens and earth to change color and clouds to scatter, it was all blocked by the Great Dao barrier. Everything was isolated; this place remained unaffected.
Ye Chen said indifferently, "Can you still threaten me now?"
The four Heavenly Gods were left speechless. Though they were Heavenly Gods of their generation, capable of founding dynasties and great nations, enduring for millennia in the world, receiving worship and offerings from countless people, they were still helpless. Because at this moment, no one could suppress Ye Chen.
"Ye Chen, you must understand that while you may be invincible on this Trial Path, once you leave, you are far from invincible. Our three great empires, the Martial God Hall, and other superpowers stand at the absolute peak of Tian Du Continent. Moreover, supreme Divine Spirit ancestors reside above the clouds, overlooking the vast continent, presiding over the world's rise and fall. Although you are dazzling and can even battle the Unrivaled Lord, do you think a mere Martial God like you can contend with superpowers?" one Heavenly God said coldly. He was from the Jiuhua Empire, his expression icy to the extreme, threatening.
The Divine Elder from the Martial God Hall also shouted, "You come from Xia Feng Kingdom, just one of the one hundred and eight minor kingdoms. Having two Heavenly Gods is considered decent. But you must know that no matter how powerful a kingdom is, before our superpowers, it can be annihilated overnight, completely erased from the world, becoming history. Perhaps in a few decades or centuries, it might not even be considered history. Do you truly wish for your kingdom to be destroyed? Here are your parents and clansmen far away in Luo Feng City. Can you bear to see your clan exterminated?"
"Exterminate my clan!?"
Hearing these words, the light in Ye Chen's eyes instantly intensified manyfold, yet his expression turned icy to the extreme.
In his previous life, although he was the invincible supreme ruler of his era, sweeping through his generation unmatched, he could be considered an orphan. Apart from his younger sister who depended on him for survival, he had no other relatives.
In this life, reborn as a human, he had parents who loved and cherished him from the bottom of their hearts, and a younger sister, Ye Zimei, who never looked down on him even before his awakening. They were all people he genuinely wanted to protect from the depths of his heart; he could not tolerate anyone harming them.
If anyone dared harm a single hair on their heads, they would face his endless, terrifying retaliation.
He would make the person who harmed his family suffer eternally, unable to reincarnate, enduring endless pain akin to the eighteen layers of hell.
Ye Chen stared intently at the Martial God Hall's Divine Elder and said coldly, "If you dare touch a single hair on my family or clansmen, you will die right here. Do you believe me or not!?"
His voice was like spring thunder from a heavenly tribulation, deafening and shocking. Looking at Ye Chen, even though they deeply knew a Martial God, no matter how strong, could not kill a Heavenly God across realms—and Ye Chen couldn't possibly be at the peak of Martial God—for some reason, hearing Ye Chen's words and seeing his furious expression, even the four Heavenly Gods felt Ye Chen was not speaking empty words. He was stating a real, factual matter, absurd yet serious.
Why did such a strange feeling arise?
The Martial God Hall's Divine Elder couldn't help but shudder.
Ye Chen said nothing more. Only, at some point, a token had appeared in his hand—the Slaying the Heavens Alliance Leader's Token!
This was the alliance leader's token bestowed upon him by Great Sage Hong Tian. Holding this token was equivalent to the personal presence of a supreme Divine Spirit. It represented the highest authority; even Divine Spirits would be moved upon seeing it, and Heavenly Gods would tremble with fear upon encountering it. This was one of Ye Chen's trump cards.
If the Martial God Hall's Divine Elder dared to utter more threats, he truly wouldn't mind throwing this Slaying the Heavens Alliance Leader's Token in his face. The other party would likely be immediately frightened into immobility. Who would dare defy the authority of the alliance leader's token? It would be equivalent to challenging a supreme Divine Spirit, resulting only in being suppressed and slain.
Moreover, at worst, he wouldn't mind having Old Yan reveal himself ahead of time, displaying the might of a contemporary Divine Spirit to suppress and kill the other party. He believed even the Supreme Old Academy Head would not oppose Old Yan over a mere Heavenly God.
This was the trump card that gave Ye Chen the courage to confront them. If that still wasn't enough, he would summon the Human Sovereign Pagoda. With this supreme Human Sovereign ultimate divine weapon that once dominated the myriad realms present, it could surely suppress and kill all enemies in the world.
Although he wasn't confident he could summon it.
However, the Martial God Hall's Divine Elder was clearly not threatened by Ye Chen. He merely snorted coldly and refrained from further threats.
The numerous trialists were shocked. Ye Chen was truly too forceful, even daring to threaten a Heavenly God. This was the first time they had seen someone dare to confront a Heavenly God, and the Heavenly God didn't even threaten back. It was all astonishing.
"Brat, if you dare make a move, the moment you set foot on this fortress, we will immediately suppress you and make you suffer endless agony," the Tianqi Empire's Heavenly God roared angrily.
"I'll be waiting," Ye Chen said.
Then, with a direct slap from above, Yang Shaoqi let out a miserable scream. From the crown of his head surged a vigorous, brilliant light—his true cultivation base. Ye Chen, using astonishing means, had forcibly shaved off a large portion of it.
Yang Shaoqi was horrified to discover he was no longer at the Half-Step Martial God stage. His realm and cultivation had dropped by more than one level—a full four levels. Now he only had Xiantian fifth layer cultivation, comparable only to a Hundred Strong Trialist.
Such methods were chilling to the bone, even more ruthless than slashing someone ten times. Shaving off cultivation was equivalent to seizing the power painstakingly obtained in the past.
"Ye Chen, give back my cultivation!" Yang Shaoqi couldn't help but roar furiously, charging madly toward Ye Chen. Ye Chen slapped him away, then, right before his eyes, swallowed that brilliant light in one gulp. Instantly, all the pores on his body overflowed with radiance, and his aura began to climb steadily.
This was the cultivation of his own Dao. His physical body was extremely powerful, comparable to a super powerhouse at the third or fourth layer of Martial God. However, his True Yuan cultivation was pitifully weak in comparison, only at the Xiantian fifth layer.
Now, having devoured Yang Shaoqi's cultivation, his True Yuan cultivation immediately began to climb rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it rose to the Xiantian seventh layer, qualifying him as a super Xiantian powerhouse.
Reaching the seventh layer in any major realm could be considered "super."
"This is... a demon!"
Everyone's expressions changed. The Heavenly Gods of the four superpowers roared angrily, attempting to stir public outrage. The Tianqi Empire's Heavenly God powerhouse roared, repeatedly crashing against the Great Dao barrier, demanding the Tian Du Academy elders open it.
Although the Tian Du Academy powerhouses were also dumbfounded, clearly not expecting Ye Chen to be so savage as to dare devour Yang Shaoqi's cultivation before numerous powerhouses, they did not intervene. Because such was the nature of the Trial Path.
Was it truly just a trial? More importantly, it was to select prodigies and talents who could participate in the Slaying the Heavens Plan in the future. The law of the jungle was the rule.