Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ye Chen took action in quick succession, targeting Yang Shaoqi, Li Sheng, Wu Han, Long Tenghua—the four Self-Proclaimed King super-powerhouses of the Trial Path. He shaved off a large portion of their Yuan Power essence light, the purest form of energy.
Each person had four whole cultivation levels forcibly stripped away, dropping them to the level of ordinary Hundred Strong Trialists.
It must be said, this was an unimaginably devastating blow for them, a truly immense humiliation.
Especially in front of nearly all the trialists, this humiliation was beyond belief, akin to being slapped in the face before everyone.
Even worse, the four Heavenly Gods atop the fortress were furious, their divine might pressing down on heaven and earth, almost as if they wished to annihilate the world. They stared at Ye Chen with shock, rage, and bone-chilling coldness, filled with endless killing intent.
If not for the Great Dao barrier present, they would have descended immediately to kill Ye Chen, making his blood spill five feet.
But Ye Chen paid them no mind. He opened his mouth and inhaled, directly devouring the Yuan Power of the four. The Human Yuan Body Art circulated within him, his blood energy burning, refining away impurities through thousands of temperings before being devoured and transformed into his own Yuan Power.
Without a doubt, Ye Chen's own True Yuan cultivation soared. Originally only at the fifth level of Xiantian, after successively devouring the cultivation and Yuan Power of the four, it rapidly climbed, leaping a great distance to reach the ninth level of Xiantian.
This improvement was undoubtedly immensely gratifying, as the speed was unprecedented—four levels in one go, something unimaginable under normal circumstances.
Yet Ye Chen slightly frowned, clearly not overly pleased with this degree of improvement. Ultimately, while the ninth level of Xiantian was strong, compared to his own supremely powerful physical cultivation, it was pitifully weak.
Moreover, all four had been at the half-step Martial God level. He had stripped away their strongest four layers of divine power and absorbed nearly all of it, yet could only barely reach the ninth level, not even half-step Martial God. This situation made him knit his brows.
But the surging divine power, roaring like a flood through his limbs and bones, made him realize: the energy his body could contain was destined to surpass ordinary people. Because of the Human Yuan Golden Body, his dantian and meridians were exceptionally vast.
An ordinary person's meridians were like a small stream, but his could be described as a great river, countless times broader.
And broader meridians meant the divine power they could contain in the future would be correspondingly more immense, stronger than ordinary cultivators.
Ye Chen did not kill the four. He simply tossed them to the ground like trash, ignoring them completely after stripping their Yuan Power. He sat cross-legged in the void, closing his eyes to rest.
This inflicted immense shame upon the four. When had they ever suffered such treatment? They wished they could roar at the heavens and attack, but seeing Ye Chen, terrifying and boundless like a god or demon, a sense of powerlessness arose in their hearts. This was a young supreme powerhouse who could rival ancient prodigies, not someone they could contend with, especially not in their current state.
"Ah—"
After letting out a miserable cry, the four rushed madly toward the fortress.
But dozens, even hundreds, of True Yuan power attacks rained down, driving them utterly mad. Ye Chen was one thing, but now even these lowly ants dared to attack them? They were truly seeking death.
"Do you all wish for your kingdoms, your factions, to be annihilated by our four great powers?"
Hai Qingxue's expression was impassive. "Apologies. Compelled by Ye Chen, please hand over all your identity tokens willingly. We are also acting under duress."
"You—"
"Can the four of you, with your current strength, sweep through all of us?" Hai Qingxue added, making the four flush with humiliation. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of trialists, they gritted their teeth and could only hand over all the identity tokens on their persons. Each actually had over five hundred tokens; the four together had more than two thousand.
There were over three hundred trialists who had come to block and kill them. Divided up, each person got six or seven tokens.
This result was pleasing, but the thought that it came from threatening the Self-Proclaimed King super-powerhouses of the four superpowers filled them with even greater satisfaction. As for the consequences... they would push it all onto Ye Chen. Since he had said it, they felt no burden.
"Thank you, you four." Hai Qingxue's bright eyes held a faint smile, dazzlingly brilliant, which only infuriated the four further. They clenched their fists. These bastards...
"Everyone, this is my promise to you." Ye Chen opened his eyes and casually flicked his wrist. A rain of identity tokens flew over, a chaotic mass totaling five or six thousand, an absurdly large number, accounting for one-third of all tokens on the entire Trial Path.
This left everyone dumbfounded. This number was simply too much. How could Ye Chen alone have obtained so many?
The various powerhouses were puzzled, as the rumors from the twelfth checkpoint had not yet reached their ears. They did not know Ye Chen had slaughtered hundreds of trialists and taken their tokens.
Thus, adding the tokens all these trialists had obtained, each had over twenty. Combined with the tokens they had earned themselves, with one token worth two points, the basic fifty points were essentially gathered. They were overjoyed, having finally passed the trial.
The four powerhouses quickly rushed onto the fortress. The numerous trialists no longer stopped them. The four Heavenly Gods received the four experts and immediately examined them. Finding no major issues aside from the stripped cultivation—only Yang Shaoqi had both hands severed—they breathed a sigh of relief.
For cultivators, severed limbs could be regenerated. With the Tianqi Empire's resources, it was simple.
But Ye Chen's actions had truly enraged the four superpowers. They had to retaliate, to warn the world that superpowers were not to be provoked, lest it damage the dignity a superpower should possess.
After taking a pill, Yang Shaoqi quickly recovered some vitality. Shooting a venomous glance at Ye Chen, he said, "Elders, I have something to report."
The Heavenly God from his side shook his head. "Whatever it is, wait until you finish healing."
"Elder, this is a matter of utmost importance. It could make all the major powers under heaven rise up and attack this little beast." Though pale-faced, Yang Shaoqi's expression was extremely ferocious, his eyes flashing with venomous light.
"Indeed, the Heavenly God Elders must know." Li Sheng also spoke.
"Oh? What matter is this?" Several Heavenly God Elders became interested.
"Elders, are you aware of the hidden mysterious realm within the twelfth checkpoint?" Long Tenghua said.
The elders looked at their sudden question, somewhat puzzled, but replied, "We know. It's said to be a realm left behind by a Supreme Divine Spirit famous in this trial world long ago. Didn't you all enter it? Did you gain anything?"
"No gains. And recently, over four hundred trialists gathered and entered that Divine Spirit's small realm. In the end, aside from us four and a few from Xia Feng Kingdom who left, not a single other trialist survived. They were all slaughtered, staining the mountains and rivers with blood. And the slaughterer was him—" Wu Han pointed at Ye Chen on the desert: "Ye Chen!"
These words shocked the entire assembly. Everyone looked at Ye Chen with astonishment, unable to believe what they had just heard.
He had single-handedly massacred hundreds of trialists? And those were genuine trialist elites, including true Hundred Strong Trialists, even princes and princesses from various superpowers. He had carried out a great slaughter.
Even the Divine Elder from the Martial God Hall now had a drastic change in expression, as the matter was of great consequence. A Heavenly God Elder from Tian Du Academy was also alarmed and emerged, descending upon the fortress with boundless majesty. "Wu Han, are these words true? You must not speak falsely."
This matter involved too many parties; it could not be spoken of lightly.
Hundreds of trialists—young prodigies from major powers across the world, outstanding talents—had all been slaughtered? If this spread, it would shake the entire Tian Du Continent, causing an unprecedented immense uproar.
"Elder, these words are true. We can all swear to the heavens. If there is the slightest falsehood, may we be struck dead by five thunders!" The four vowed solemnly.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions darkened. The four dared to swear. One could not swear to the heavens lightly, or they would suffer terrifying punishment, even Divine Spirits were no exception.
However, the Heavenly Gods of the four superpowers now had flickering gazes, for they had learned another astonishing piece of news. They stared deeply at Ye Chen, filled with greed.
Because on this youth's body, there was actually Great Dao Blood surpassing that of a Divine Spirit, contained within a Dao-mark divine bottle.
"Fellow Daoist, please open the Great Dao barrier, enter the Trial Path, and capture this youth for thorough interrogation!"
"Massacring hundreds of trialists—such actions are utterly heinous, unforgivable. Fellow Daoist, please do not hesitate. I believe even the Supreme Old Academy Head would not object."
Several Heavenly God Elders were urging. Once the Great Dao barrier was opened, Ye Chen would have only death awaiting him.
The Supreme Elder of Tian Du Academy pondered briefly, also sensing the gravity of the matter. One or two, even a dozen trialists being killed was normal, unavoidable. But hundreds of trialists being slaughtered alive? That was a terrifying bloodbath that must be dealt with, or it would be extremely detrimental to the millennia-old reputation of Tian Du Academy.
"Very well. I shall open the Great Dao barrier and personally capture this youth."
In the end, he agreed, taking out a Dao talisman. Dao marks flickered on it, its fluctuations aligned with the Great Dao barrier, allowing passage through the barrier at any time to descend upon the Trial Path.
Ye Chen opened his eyes, seeing all this. His expression unchanged, a token silently appeared in his palm—the Slaying the Heavens Alliance Leader's Token!
Holding this Slaying the Heavens Alliance Leader's Token, he believed it could withstand any storm.
Boom—
The Great Dao barrier flickered with brilliant runic light, about to open. The Heavenly God Elders of the five superpowers were prepared, especially the elders from the three empires and the Martial God Hall. Divine power surged within them, for they coveted the extremely precious Great Dao Blood on Ye Chen's body.