This was a powerful Martial God of the fifth heaven, extremely formidable. Although not on the level of a Super Martial God, he could still dominate among Martial Gods.
However, nothing could stand before the Heavenly God Spear. His body was pierced through by the spear and pinned to a distant mountain cliff, unable to move.
The unparalleled killing intent Ye Chen had attached to the Heavenly God Spear erupted. It was Ye Chen's killing intent, not just from this life, but also from his previous one—peerless and matchless. It utterly destroyed all of this person's vitality, extinguishing both form and spirit, causing him to perish on the spot. Even his Primordial Spirit could not escape.
Before his death, this fifth-heaven Martial God refused to close his eyes. He stared wide-eyed at Ye Chen, seemingly still in shock and disbelief over how Ye Chen had discovered him hiding in the void. He had relied on a specially bestowed magical artifact to lie in ambush within the void, waiting for the opportune moment to strike with a fatal blow.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten that Ye Chen's achievements in the Void Dao surpassed even those of the Ancient Talent Li Taixu from the Jiuhua Empire. Otherwise, he might not have dared to hide in the void.
After pinning and killing this Martial God with a single spear thrust, Ye Chen obtained a token that emitted fluctuations of void power. It seemed there were also experts within the Tianqi Empire who had mastered the Void Dao, and they were even Heavenly God realm experts. However, it was a pity that their understanding of this Dao was still inferior to Li Taixu's, let alone capable of concealing themselves from Ye Chen. It was simply impossible.
"A mere fifth-heaven Martial God dares to attempt an assassination on me? Even a Super Martial God would not succeed. This void token was truly wasted on this person."
A dragon's roar echoed through the nine heavens as the demonic flood dragon flew over. Ye Chen mounted it and soared into the sky, disappearing from everyone's sight without looking back, leaving only a group of distant experts gazing at his retreating figure with awe and reverence.
He did not take a single Heavenly God Dao Weapon with him, for they were all imprinted with the marks of Heavenly Gods, temporarily bestowed for battle and could be recalled. The current Ye Chen simply could not suppress these Heavenly God Dao Weapons, so he left them on the ground.
"The title of 'young great demon king' is truly well-deserved. The Tianqi Empire may have provoked a peerless great demon king!"
Someone sighed with emotion. Even though the other party was the Tianqi Empire, a superpower that had dominated the Tian Du Continent for millennia, people around the world shook their heads. For anyone could see the terrifying potential Ye Chen had displayed.
If he could already slay a peak Martial God now, given enough time, wouldn't he be able to slay a true Heavenly God in the future?
Just the thought was enough to shock people. Ye Chen was too fearsome.
One battle shook the world!
This battle quickly spread throughout the land. Undoubtedly, it caused the entire Tian Du Continent to boil overnight, startling countless people. Even many older-generation experts who had been in seclusion for years had no choice but to emerge upon hearing this news.
Because the battle achievements were too glorious, simply glorious beyond description.
Ye Chen's combat power was too strong. The pursuit force dispatched by the prestigious Tianqi Empire was incredibly powerful and terrifying: thirty-six Martial Gods, five Super Martial Gods, and even a peak Martial God.
Such a lineup, aside from the lack of a Heavenly God, was absolutely no weaker, if not stronger, than that of any of the one hundred and eight nations.
Only a superpower could dispatch such a terrifying pursuit force. It was almost enough to sweep through a first-rate power. With Heavenly Gods not appearing among the one hundred and eight nations, few major national powers could resist such a force.
And no one in the world believed that a member of the younger generation could oppose such a terrifying pursuit force. Not even the Unrivaled King of the younger generation, nor the most dazzling Ancient Talents could do it.
The gap was too vast. A single peak Martial God coming forth would be enough to suppress all enemies.
Yet Ye Chen performed such a feat for everyone, shattering all expectations. The young great demon king was truly worthy of his name.
He was just a youth. Many only realized afterward that he was barely over seventeen years old—so young, still two or three years shy of twenty. Yet he was not successfully hunted down. On the contrary, he fought and killed all his pursuers. When this news spread, it caused a tremor throughout the entire Tian Du Continent.
What kind of monster was this?
For the first time, all powers felt a chill of fear. This youth alone was enough to pose a threat to a first-rate power.
Naturally, completely annihilating a first-rate power would still be somewhat difficult. Every first-rate power had a Heavenly God expert overseeing it. No matter how powerful Ye Chen was, the difference of a major realm was like an insurmountable chasm.
The entire world was thoroughly shaken. No one was not astounded by Ye Chen's strength, especially the higher-ups of the Tianqi Empire, who were utterly stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
They had dispatched so many experts, yet all were killed by a single person, without a single one escaping.
A rough calculation showed that Ye Chen had slain over fifty Martial Gods from the Tianqi Empire, including more than seven or eight Super Martial God imperial guard captains and one peak Martial God. One couldn't help but marvel at the profound foundation of a superpower, possessing so many experts that nearly doubled the number of any single nation among the one hundred and eight.
But people were even more shocked by Ye Chen's strength. A single person had slain so many experts. For the younger generation, this was an achievement so glorious it defied description. Even among the Ancient Talents, none had ever accomplished such a feat.
However, what followed was even greater fury. Because Prince Stone Sword was no ordinary Martial God expert; he was a peak Martial God, an important member of the imperial family, the younger brother of the current Emperor, possessing immense potential to achieve the Heavenly God realm. In the future, he would undoubtedly have become another powerful Heavenly God for the empire, part of its indispensable foundation.
But now, he had been suppressed and slain.
Moreover, the words Ye Chen had someone convey also spread throughout the world. Was this an open declaration of war against the Tianqi Empire?
All under heaven couldn't help but admire Ye Chen's audacity.
These words naturally reached the Tianqi Empire's imperial palace. While they filled everyone with anger, they also instilled a greater sense of apprehension. Because Ye Chen had now grown into a force to be reckoned with, unlike in the past. If he could already slay a peak Martial God, what couldn't he do? Unless a Heavenly God made a move, no one in the world could restrain him.
And once Ye Chen reached full maturity, achieving the status of a Divine Spirit supreme expert...
Just the thought made the higher-ups of the Tianqi Empire shudder with fear. Such a figure, if allowed to grow, would undoubtedly become the most terrifying entity, perhaps truly capable of becoming a generation's Supreme Divine Spirit.
If that were to happen, then the Tianqi Empire would have truly provoked the most fearsome future enemy.
Immediately, the imperial family's higher-ups were filled with apprehension and wanted to dispatch a true Heavenly God expert to attack. They did not wish for Ye Chen to truly grow, fearing that one day he would return with great achievements and exact terrible vengeance upon the Tianqi Empire.
But the Emperor emerged from seclusion. Previously, he had been in brief closed-door cultivation and was unaware of any external events, including the pursuit of Ye Chen. Upon emerging, instead of sending troops to chase Ye Chen, he sternly questioned the imperial family higher-ups who had ordered the pursuit, asking why they were hunting Ye Chen.
The current Emperor was filled with great righteousness. He berated these higher-ups, saying that if Ye Chen died, he died. The impending Slaying the Heavens war, the most terrifying in all eternity, required true super experts, especially supreme experts of the Divine Spirit realm, who were indispensable.
The more powerful the combat power Ye Chen currently displayed, the greater his potential. As long as he did not fall, he would undoubtedly become another peerless Divine Spirit in the future, a crucial force for the Slaying the Heavens war. How could they harm him for the sake of mere Great Dao Blood?
Moreover, judging from his current performance, Ye Chen's potential might not be inferior to that of the Ancient Talents; it might even be higher. The Slaying the Heavens war precisely needed this type of super expert, and no harm should come to him.
The Emperor immediately prevented the Heavenly Gods from making a move and punished all those involved. Some even had their authority stripped and were exiled to the borderlands as punishment.
If not for the ancestor who had issued the orders on the Emperor's behalf appearing at the last moment to dissuade the Emperor, taking all responsibility upon himself, the consequences might have been even more severe.
This matter naturally caused an immense uproar throughout the world. No one expected the Emperor to emerge from seclusion not to pursue Ye Chen, but to forbid others from taking further action. Such great righteousness was truly admirable.
However, some discerning individuals speculated: Was that really all there was to it? Or was the Tianqi Empire truly afraid of Ye Chen?
This incident also served as a warning bell for other superpowers: Ye Chen was not to be provoked, unless they were truly prepared to tear off all pretense and take action.
From that day onward, no one within the territory of the Tianqi Empire caught sight of the young great demon king Ye Chen.
He seemed to have completely vanished from within the Tianqi Empire's borders. Afterward, even when people searched for him, they never truly found him.
Three days later, someone discovered Ye Chen's figure in the ungoverned zone at the junction of the three great empires. From then on, the young great demon king Ye Chen had completely left the territory of the Tianqi Empire.
Upon learning this news, although the Tianqi Empire did not truly dispatch troops to pursue him, and other superpowers made no overt moves to chase Ye Chen, one day, a fearsome fierce battle erupted in the ungoverned zone, taking place within the famous Chaoyang Mountain Range.
Someone coveted the Great Dao Blood and pursued Ye Chen.
In that battle, there was in fact a true Heavenly God expert who blocked Ye Chen's path. No one knew which power this expert belonged to. Some speculated it was a Heavenly God from the Tianqi Empire; others guessed it came from another superpower. Yet others believed it was some ancient recluse with dwindling lifespan, desperate for a breakthrough, who had emerged without regard for consequences to pursue Ye Chen solely to obtain the true Great Dao Blood.
There were many such rumors, but they all pointed to the true objective: the Great Dao Blood.
However, on that day, Ye Chen finished his business and departed without a trace, as if he knew a Heavenly God had appeared to block and kill him. He did not appear on that path, causing that Heavenly God to completely miss his target.
Five days later, Ye Chen rode the demonic flood dragon through the skies, entering a vast region at the border junction of the three great empires.
This was the ungoverned zone, but it was actually more accurately a key territory under the jurisdiction of the Tian Du Academy, the world's sacred land of cultivation.
Ye Chen stood tall in the high sky. Even from a vast distance, he could faintly make out that majestic giant city standing at the edge of the earth. From afar, it looked like an ancient True Dragon coiled and lying in wait there, emanating a formidable presence that deterred all external enemies.
Tian Du City!