In the ancient hall of the Heaven-tier Academy, Ye Chen suddenly appeared, his killing intent surging. With a mere wave of his hand, he sent Yang Hua and the others flying, causing them all to suffer internal injuries and cough up blood incessantly.
The numerous young elites of the Heaven-tier Academy within the hall were all stunned. They hadn't expected this young great demon king to appear. Although they were the top young talents of the Tian Du Continent, they were far inferior to the young great demon king before them.
Ye Chen looked down upon Yang Hua and the others, his voice cold. "Since when have my friends been people that stray cats and dogs like you can threaten?"
Yang Hua and the others were utterly terrified. Even though they were elite disciples of the Heaven-tier Academy, destined to become Martial Gods, they were nothing worth mentioning before this Martial God slayer.
They simply hadn't expected Ye Chen to appear, and at this moment.
"Ye Chen!" Xia Teng and the others were overjoyed, but also ashamed that they needed Ye Chen to step in.
As if knowing what they were thinking, Ye Chen smiled slightly. "No need for shame. We are friends. When friends are in trouble, help is natural. Moreover, you are younger than them, only lacking a bit in cultivation. Given enough time, you will naturally have no fear of them."
Thirteenth Prince and the others then felt relieved, chiding themselves for overthinking. Between friends, there was no need for such formality.
Because mutual help is what defines friendship.
Afterwards, Ye Chen's gaze fell upon the few of them, making them feel a terrifying pressure as if two great mountains were pressing down on their shoulders, making it difficult to raise their heads.
"Alright, hand over all the valuable things on your persons as compensation," Ye Chen said, causing their expressions to change. Wouldn't that make them paupers? And the things they carried were hardly ordinary; they were quite precious treasures. How could they hand them over?
"Ye Chen, you can't do this! Otherwise, you'll be making an enemy of all the elites of the entire Heaven-tier Academy!" Yang Hua, even now, couldn't help but use the Heaven-tier Academy as a threat, hoping Ye Chen would back down.
Unfortunately, he forgot who Ye Chen was—a monstrous talent who wasn't even afraid of superpowers and could escape from them. How could he fear a mere Heaven-tier Academy?
Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged. "Heaven-tier Academy? Ridiculous. What is the Heaven-tier Academy? At worst, we'll fight. But do you think the Heaven-tier Academy has a Super Martial God? Or will a Peak Martial God take action against me?"
These words made Yang Hua and the others pale, and also caused the other young elites in the hall to change color. Was this a provocation against all the elites of the Heaven-tier Academy?
But they dared to be angry, not daring to speak.
Although the Heaven-tier Academy gathered the strongest geniuses of the entire younger generation of the Tian Du Continent, it did not include Ye Chen and the several Ancient Talents. These people had long surpassed the category of geniuses, especially Ye Chen, who had slain so many Super Martial Gods and even Peak Martial Gods just days ago—he was simply a god of slaughter.
No student of the Heaven-tier Academy, no matter how powerful, dared claim to rival a Super Martial God, let alone a Peak Martial God.
Therefore, basically no one could withstand a single move from Ye Chen, much less be his opponent.
Even if they all attacked together, it was unlikely they could harm Ye Chen. Had they not seen how the many Martial Gods of the Tianqi Empire besieging him ended up being slaughtered to the last?
If Ye Chen wanted to take action, he alone would likely be enough to slaughter all the students of the Heaven-tier Academy.
Thinking of this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. This was a true young great demon king, capable of sweeping aside all enemies of his generation.
In the end, they could only obediently hand over all the valuable treasures on their persons. Under Ye Chen's materialized gaze, they didn't even dare to hide anything, feeling as if his gaze could truly see through everything, leaving nothing concealed.
Naturally, Ye Chen couldn't care less about these treasures and gave them all to his friends.
His friends didn't hesitate and accepted them.
"Scram!"
Ye Chen shouted. The few of them, terrified, hurriedly fled outside the hall. Then, Ye Chen's gaze, materialized, swept over everyone present. His aloof yet authoritative voice rang out like thunder. "From today onward, anyone who dares to harm my friends again is making an enemy of me, Ye Chen."
These words made every young elite of the Heaven-tier Academy change color. This was a blatant threat and show of protection.
But no one dared to oppose. Everyone knew who Ye Chen was—a young supreme powerhouse who acted without restraint and was domineering, whom even superpowers couldn't handle, let alone them.
Pausing, Ye Chen withdrew his divine might and stopped one of the elites. The other person panicked and hurriedly said, "Lord Ye Chen, please don't harm me. I have never harmed your friends."
Ye Chen shook his head. "Don't worry. I don't want to attack you. I just want to ask something."
That person immediately breathed a sigh of relief. There was no helping it—a person's reputation precedes them. Even without releasing his pressure, Ye Chen gave off a powerful sense of oppression.
"Isn't there someone named Huang Tianqin in the Heaven-tier Academy?" Ye Chen inquired about Huang Tianqin's information. Regarding this person, Ye Chen naturally wouldn't let him off.
Years ago, on the King's Ancient Path, he had caused Ye Chen such great harm. Although that was before Ye Chen's awakening, after awakening, he had fully accepted those memories, feeling them as if they were his own.
"Apologies, Lord Ye Chen. Huang Tianqin has been gone for a long time. He became a Martial God powerhouse half a year ago and left the Tian Du Academy. It's said he followed a Heavenly God powerhouse as a disciple for guidance," the elite truthfully reported, not daring to hide anything.
But it was undeniable that Huang Tianqin was also a heaven-defying talent; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a Martial God.
In the Heaven-tier Academy, anyone who reached the Martial God level could leave the academy or stay on as an elder.
Ye Chen frowned. He hadn't expected to come up empty-handed, failing to find Huang Tianqin. But he wasn't in a hurry. As long as Huang Tianqin was still on the Tian Du Continent, he couldn't escape Ye Chen's grasp. Moreover, it was rumored that Huang Tianqin would return on the King's Ancient Path. Their previous grievances could be settled there.
Only after Ye Chen left did the young elites of the Heaven-tier Academy finally catch their breath. The pressure Ye Chen had given them was too overwhelming, like mountains pressing on their shoulders, almost suffocating them, and filling them with awe.
Not long after, Ye Chen ascended a peak in the Tian Du Academy called Clear Snow Peak. It was a rare blessed land, covered in snow year-round, with white snow-capped peaks piercing the clouds, yet under clear blue skies with sunlight shining.
This was Yuan Jiu's residence after his emergence. Previously, it had also been the long-term dwelling of that Great Seer from the ancient era. It naturally possessed a special Dao Rhyme, in harmony with the heavenly secrets, making it a wonderful place conducive to divination and prophecy.
The peak was beautiful, the courtyard elegant. Before Ye Chen even fully approached, the courtyard gate automatically opened—simple yet elegant. Yuan Jiu was in a pavilion over a stream, gently heating wine. He raised his cup towards Ye Chen at the gate from afar.
"Brother Ye, please enter my humble abode."
Ye Chen smiled slightly and strode in, somewhat marveling. "The Great Prophecy Dao is indeed extraordinary. Brother Yuan Jiu actually predicted my arrival."
Yuan Jiu shook his head. "I merely sensed your aura, Brother Ye. As for divination, that's out of the question. Your fate is shrouded in mist—unpredictable, impenetrable, undetectable. I simply cannot divine it."
Ye Chen just smiled and stated his purpose. "Brother Yuan Jiu, I am about to go into seclusion."
Yuan Jiu seemed to have anticipated this, showing no surprise. "I presume Brother Ye wishes to charge towards the Martial God realm."
"Exactly."
His cultivation had reached a bottleneck, both in Dao techniques and his Human Yuan Golden Body. He needed seclusion to charge forward, to advance further and become stronger.
Once he achieved Martial God and his Golden Body reached great perfection, he would become truly powerful, at least fearless below the Heavenly God realm.
Moreover, after reaching the Martial God realm, he would truly refine the Spirit Refining Pill to revive the dormant Saint Body bloodline within him, fully activating it and achieving sainthood on the spot.
Yuan Jiu said, "Actually, it's not just you who needs seclusion to charge forward. Even I, Yang Wushuang, and the others need to go into seclusion."
Hearing this answer, Ye Chen was slightly taken aback.
But according to Yuan Jiu's explanation, these Ancient Talents actually had a very high understanding of the Dao. During their long years of sealing, although their consciousness was still in a hazy slumber, unaware of the outside world, Heavenly God powerhouses often chanted scriptures by their side, and even Divine Spirit ancient ancestors occasionally took them along to comprehend the Dao. This subtly influenced them, deepening their subconscious understanding of the Great Dao and giving them richer accumulation.
Once they emerged, they could break through consecutively in a short time, reaching higher levels.
This was astonishing. This was the treatment of Ancient Talents—even during their slumber, time wasn't wasted. The subtle Dao was long imprinted upon them, imperceptibly assisting their Dao comprehension and laying a profound Dao foundation for them.
Bestowed with hope surpassing that of Divine Spirits, it was clear the various superpowers had invested heavily in them.
"It will probably take three months. We will emerge from seclusion then, reaching the level of the ninth heaven at the Martial God peak. Perhaps you, Ye Chen, will fall behind," Yuan Jiu said with a smile, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Although Ye Chen would reach the Martial God realm, he would only be newly stepping into Martial God. His true invincibility lay in his powerful treasure body; in Dao techniques, he would inevitably lag behind by more than a notch.
By then, the gap between him and the several Ancient Talents would widen.
Seeing this peerless monster fall behind them would be a rather interesting thing.
Hearing this, Ye Chen's expression didn't change at all. On the contrary, he seemed to smile without smiling. "Is that so? Then I truly look forward to meeting three months from now."
Yuan Jiu was taken aback. Why did he have a somewhat bad premonition?