At the same time, Zhou Tianyu's peripheral glance also fell upon Abenue, carrying a hint of smugness.
He had already displayed his extraordinary true identity, and with the hope of becoming the next Patriarch of the Zhoutian Clan, he was outstanding in every aspect. For the vast majority of women, it would likely be impossible to refuse him.
Moreover, his earlier words were deliberate, meant to belittle the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor, making him a stepping stone to make himself appear even more outstanding and eye-catching.
He believed that such a remarkable and noticeable figure as himself would inevitably attract Abenue's attention.
Unfortunately, Abenue seemed not to have heard at all, remaining calm and unperturbed from start to finish. She continued to lower her head, sampling the various delicacies arranged on the banquet table, leaving Zhou Tianyu somewhat disappointed. Yet, precisely because of this, it only intensified his strong desire for her.
If she had fallen so easily, she would likely just be a woman who admired vanity, and that wouldn't be much fun.
The saying that what you can't have is the best held true here.
Zhou Tianyu's heart stirred even more at the thought of obtaining Abenue.
"Zhou Tianyu? Who's that?" At this moment, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor looked at Zhou Tianyu and suddenly uttered these words, then turned to Ye Chen. "Do you know who Zhou Tianyu is?"
Ye Chen shook his head; naturally, he didn't know either.
He didn't know much about the Zhoutian Clan, let alone just a Zhou Tianyu.
However, this scene fell into Zhou Tianyu's eyes like a provocation. His handsome face darkened slightly. Especially since these two were claiming not to know him right in front of Abenue, it was clearly a deliberate attempt to belittle him, to stand out and gain some sense of presence before this fairy.
At this moment, Abenue, not far away, seemed to have also heard everything and couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
Though it was a silent laugh, Zhou Tianyu clearly saw Abenue's delicate eyebrows curve, her eyes holding amusement. This sight immediately filled him with even more anger and jealousy.
He wouldn't let these two off easily.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. The corner of his mouth then lifted into a cold, scheming smile. "You say you don't know this young master? Fine. Similarly, this young master would also like to know exactly who you two are."
"This young master observes that your faces are quite unfamiliar. Even among the Heaven's Pride talents of the younger generation, this young master knows many of those ranked on the lists and is basically familiar with their appearances. But I have never seen your names on the Human List or the Earth List."
Zhou Tianyu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the two with arrogance. "This young master has figured it out. You two must have no invitation, yet somehow managed to sneak in by muddying the waters."
As soon as these words were spoken, many people secretly nodded in agreement, feeling that Zhou Tianyu was probably right. These two most likely had no invitation but had somehow sneaked in.
Because not only Zhou Tianyu, but everyone at the banquet felt they had never seen these two before.
"Heh, daring to enter without an invitation? Do you truly think my Zhoutian Clan's Cosmic Heaven Grand Ceremony is a place where any random riff-raff can casually stroll in?" Zhou Tianyu chuckled coldly, his eyes gleaming with a cold light. "The people checking invitations actually made such a negligent mistake, letting you two pieces of riff-raff slip in. They must be severely punished later."
"But the immediate priority is to deal with you two first."
"Guards!"
Zhou Tianyu flicked his sleeve, and immediately a line of Zhoutian Clan guards entered the banquet hall. They were all experts of the Zhoutian Clan, their bodies exuding a fearsome, murderous intent, clearly veterans of many battles.
"Quickly arrest these two pieces of riff-raff. Break their arms and legs, cripple their cultivation, throw them out of the Zhoutian Palace, and toss them outside Zhou Tian City."
Zhou Tianyu gave the order. The Zhoutian Clan guards swiftly charged forward, each wielding battle spears, erupting with terrifying battle qi as they moved to attack the two.
Seeing Zhou Tianyu resort to force against them at the slightest disagreement, both Ye Chen and the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor's faces darkened. Abenue, who had been motionless until now, did the same.
"I'd like to see who dares to make a move!"
An invisible wave of energy spread out from Ye Chen's body, rolling forth, distorting the void, and sweeping heavily like lightning onto the ten Zhoutian Clan guards who had closed in.
Thud! Thud! Thud!—
In the blink of an eye, the Zhoutian Clan guards came fast and went even faster. Each one spat blood as they were sent flying backward, crashing to the ground.
Instantly, ten defeated in a flash!
The crowd was astonished. Although these Zhoutian Clan guards couldn't be considered extremely strong, they were by no means ordinary, as evidenced by their role in guarding the safety of the Cosmic Heaven Grand Ceremony. Yet now they were instantly defeated here. It was clear that Ye Chen was absolutely no ordinary figure.
Zhou Tianyu's pupils also contracted slightly. He knew this person was likely a rather powerful individual, but his expression grew even more gloomy. He said coldly, "Good, good, good. Daring to make a move at the Cosmic Heaven Grand Ceremony, truly not placing my Zhoutian Clan in your eyes. This young master wants to see what skills you have."
As he spoke, Zhou Tianyu took the initiative to attack. He angrily flicked his sleeve, and a surge of mighty divine might emerged. Naturally, within the Cosmic Heaven Grand Ceremony, it wouldn't be excessively powerful, but it was absolutely extraordinary, capable of easily sweeping away ordinary Heavenly King experts without question.
However, Ye Chen did not make a move. Instead, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor beside him sneered. "Kid, with just this, you dare to size us up? Better size up yourself first. Disperse!"
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor similarly flicked his sleeve outward. An even more terrifying fluctuation emerged, easily shattering Zhou Tianyu's attack. Yet it was perfectly controlled within a certain range, not spreading out. Then, its remaining force, undiminished, rolled and blasted toward Zhou Tianyu.
Zhou Tianyu's expression changed slightly, clearly sensing the strength of the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor's attack. Not daring to be negligent, he immediately raised his hands to form seals, his hands tracing the trajectory of the Dao. One after another, Great Dao runes shimmered into existence, accompanied by intense spatial fluctuations. He softly uttered, "Cosmos!"
An ultimate spatial fluctuation shimmered forth, immediately causing the void to collapse as it collided with the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor's attack.
Many people at the scene exclaimed in surprise.
"The Cosmos Seal, one of the Zhoutian Clan's most powerful divine abilities!"
"Zhou Tianyu was actually forced to employ the Cosmos Seal!"
"Who is the other party?"
The Zhoutian Clan, descendants of an Ancestral God with extreme mastery over space, favored spatial techniques among their divine abilities. The Cosmos Seal was one of the quite powerful ones.
Everyone was surprised that, to cope, Zhou Tianyu had actually employed a divine ability like the Cosmos Seal.
Boom!—
The two fluctuations collided. There was no earth-shattering explosion; instead, they mutually annihilated each other and then dissipated.
This scene, however, made it all the more shocking.
The other party had first shattered Zhou Tianyu's initial attack, then forced him to employ the Cosmos Seal as a second wave of attack. Yet it had only just managed to block it, resulting in mutual annihilation.