The five Ancient Talents emerged from seclusion on this very day, their auras far more formidable than before. In the short span of three months, they had completed their breakthroughs, becoming much stronger than ever.
Each of them now stood at the peak of the Martial God Hall's ninth heaven domain. One more step upward, and they would become true, powerful Heavenly Gods.
It wasn't just Ye Chen who had been in seclusion; the five Ancient Talents had also been in seclusion, releasing their long-sealed accumulations and making corresponding breakthroughs.
The world trembled in awe. Truly worthy of being Ancient Talents, they had broken through once again, actually becoming peak Martial Gods, far more powerful than before. The Great Seer's prophecy that this generation held hope of surpassing Divine Spirits was not just empty talk. Their breakthroughs were too swift.
Anyone who truly understood felt this was only natural. Sealed away for tens of thousands of years, often having Heavenly God powerhouses recite scriptures by their side, and even being taken along by Divine Spirit Ancient Ancestors to comprehend the Dao, they had, imperceptibly, imprinted threads of Dao principles into the hearts of these Ancient Talents, laying the foundation of their Dao.
Day by day, the effect was minuscule, but accumulated over the long years, quantity could trigger a qualitative change. The accumulation over millions of years was terrifying, unconsciously strengthening their Dao foundations.
Moreover, they were originally the most dazzling talents. Digesting and completing a breakthrough within three months was also only natural.
However, this accumulation clearly could not be fully digested in a mere three months. It required the Ancient Talents to digest it in the years to come, becoming even stronger.
Thus, it was evident that for the sake of the Ancient Talents, the five superpowers had, invisibly, paid a great price.
The world sighed with emotion. The five Ancient Talents were already terrifying, matching super Martial Gods of the seventh heaven at a young age. Now they had broken through again, leaping across two heavens to achieve the peak of Martial God.
Perhaps the reason they hadn't stepped into the Heavenly God realm was the worry that breaking through too fast would lead to an unstable Dao foundation and an unsteady base.
After all, millions of years of accumulation couldn't be digested overnight, giving them room for longer-term growth.
"Yang Wushuang, Yuan Jiu, Wu Yunyan... these most dazzling Ancient Talents have all broken through, they've all emerged. But what about that young great demon king who could rival them, Ye Chen? Why haven't we seen any trace of him?"
The five Ancient Talents had successively broken through and emerged, yet the young great demon king who once rivaled them seemed to have completely vanished from the world. After the Trial Gate, he had never again shaken the world, as if he had completely faded into obscurity, no longer able to compete with the Ancient Talents.
However, Xia Teng and others always believed that Ye Chen was never inferior to anyone; he just hadn't completed his breakthrough yet.
Soon, the world received verification from the young elites of the Heaven-tier Academy: Ye Chen was also in seclusion within the most important Sacred Land of Tian Du Academy. And it was astonishing; he was likely not inferior to the Ancient Talents upon emerging. Some young elites had seen Ye Chen madly devouring the heaven and earth energy within the Sacred Land, continuously devouring it without pause, suspecting he was undergoing a very important breakthrough.
This news also spread to Xia Feng Kingdom, causing the entire nation to feel pride, yet also numbness. Because anyone who had learned about Ye Chen understood that his breakthrough speed was too fast. Almost every so often, he would break through, with only a few months in between, never too long.
And with each breakthrough, his strength would increase dramatically, as could be understood from each time he displayed greater power.
Probably this time upon emerging, he should be no weaker than the five Ancient Talents. Even if he surpassed them, the people of Xia Feng Kingdom could accept this fact, simply because he was Ye Chen.
Not long after, the five Ancient Talents gathered together at Tian Du Academy. The moment they appeared, they shook the academy, imposing unparalleled pressure on the students, making it difficult to bear.
The five appeared on the peak of the final mountain before the Trial Gate.
"We're still missing Ye Chen. Is he still in seclusion?" Yang Wushuang frowned.
Yuan Jiu nodded. "Although our accumulation as Ancient Talents is thick, allowing us to build up and release it in a short three months, leaping across two heavens to achieve peak Martial God, don't think that means we can look down on Ye Chen. Whether in this era or throughout history, he is the most monstrous individual. I believe that after he emerges, he won't be much weaker than us."
However, the others were somewhat skeptical. Although Ye Chen was indeed monstrous, he was, after all, of this era. He didn't have their kind of accumulation, and catching up to them within three months was still somewhat difficult.
Yuan Jiu sighed lightly. "Never underestimate Ye Chen. Even though he is young, I have never believed his accumulation is lower than mine."
The group fell into a moment of silence, thinking of Ye Chen's monstrousness. Perhaps it really was so.
"So, should we still wait for Ye Chen?" Wu Yunyan said.
Li Taixu said, "Let's wait. We can't break our promise."
Previously, they had already agreed that after emerging from seclusion, they would gather before the Trial Gate because they wanted to attempt to truly push open the Trial Gate and explore what lay within.
The five Ancient Talents sat cross-legged before the eighth Trial Gate, silently cultivating in seclusion, occasionally sparring with each other to test their strength.
During this time, they attracted much attention. Both students and elders suspected that these Ancient Talents were preparing, wanting to push open the eighth Trial Gate.
Because now they were more than twice as strong as three months ago, perhaps they had hope of truly pushing open the Trial Gate and entering it.
As for their cross-legged cultivation, although it aroused much curiosity, those who were truly perceptive understood that, in all likelihood, nine times out of ten, they were waiting for another peerless monster: Ye Chen.
Ten days later, the several Ancient Talents in seclusion cultivation opened their eyes, looking toward the distant sky. They saw a tall, slender, heroic figure walking slowly over, his demeanor like jade, black hair cascading over his shoulders, handsome and divine, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. Who else could it be but Ye Chen?
Ye Chen had finally emerged from seclusion.
He descended upon the mountain peak, looking at the group who had been waiting for a long time, and said apologetically, "Sorry I'm late. I just emerged not long ago."
"It's good that you've come."
They didn't mind, but sensing that Ye Chen's aura was still only at the ninth level of Xiantian, they immediately frowned. Wasn't he supposed to be in seclusion to break through to the Martial God realm? Why hadn't he truly broken through yet? Was his realm not sufficient?
But suddenly, the several Ancient Talents felt waves of palpitations, looking at Ye Chen in shock. Because they all felt that the current Ye Chen was different from three months ago. His aura was clearly still only at the peak of Xiantian, yet at this moment, he gave them a terrifying, heart-palpitating feeling, as if a True Dragon was dormant within his body, now awakened and staring at them.
"Brother Ye, you are..." The several Ancient Talents changed color. What kind of breakthrough had Ye Chen made in these three months? Why did he feel so much stronger? This shouldn't be the case.
Ye Chen's expression turned grave. "Actually, I could have broken through long ago, but I didn't want to damage the Sacred Land, so I chose to emerge. Now I can barely suppress it. I'm going to break through here. You all should step back. There might be danger."
The several Ancient Talents looked at each other. Wasn't it just breaking through to the Martial God realm? How could there be any threat? They felt like laughing, but seeing the rare, grave expression on Ye Chen's face, their hearts thumped with unease, a sense of foreboding as if something was about to happen.
At their level of cultivation, they could almost be said to be spiritually attuned, especially these Ancient Talents whose perception was astonishingly sharp, able to sense some things in the unseen.
At this moment, the five Ancient Talents all chose to retreat far away, stepping into the void, at least a hundred zhang away from Ye Chen.
Many people below saw this scene, appearing very perplexed. Why had the five Ancient Talents suddenly retreated far away from Ye Chen?
Ye Chen slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his whole body trembling. From the crown of his head, a divine light pillar suddenly shot out, soaring into the clouds. Then, a vast aura erupted with a boom. The barrier of the ninth level of Xiantian shattered on the spot, unstoppable.
Boom—
A powerful aura erupted. Ye Chen directly shattered the barrier, charging into the domain of the Martial God realm.
At this moment, he had truly become a peerless Martial God. From now on, he was no longer mortal, truly stepping into the world of cultivation.
Whether Houtian or Xiantian, they were only mortal martial artists, at most using internal force, True Yuan, and other such powers. But once one reached the Martial God realm, one could wield powerful heaven and earth energy, transcending the mundane and entering the sacred.
Naturally, Ye Chen had already stepped onto this path long ago because his Primordial Spirit could control heaven and earth energy. And the Primordial Spirit was something that could only be condensed at the Martial God realm, but Ye Chen had achieved his Primordial Spirit back then by relying on Divine Spirit blood.
"Someone has broken through to the Martial God realm, but this aura seems a bit outrageously strong."
Many people in Tian Du Academy were startled, and even elders, including Supreme Elders, were shocked.
This aura was clearly much stronger than that of an ordinary Martial God powerhouse, at least comparable to a Martial God of the third heaven, vast and formidable, extraordinary.
Everyone knew that it must be an extraordinary individual breaking through to Martial God; otherwise, the aura wouldn't be so formidable.
"It's him! The young great demon king has broken through to the Martial God realm. Heavens, wasn't he already a Martial God before?"
Many people below exclaimed in surprise because Ye Chen was too strong, excessively strong, to the point that his original cultivation at the ninth level of Xiantian had been concealed, unknown to anyone. More people regarded him as a super Martial God-level powerhouse.
And at this moment, Ye Chen chose to break through, and everyone truly understood that this young great demon king Ye Chen had previously only been a Xiantian realm expert.
Yang Wushuang frowned. "Just the Martial God realm? Although a first-heaven Martial God realm is strong, it shouldn't give us such a heart-palpitating feeling."
The other Ancient Talents also nodded. That feeling made their hearts race; it was definitely not something a mere first-heaven Martial God could give, even if this first-heaven Martial God's aura was comparable to a third-heaven Martial God.
Boom—
The void trembled. Yet Ye Chen's aura did not stop, rapidly climbing step by step. The clouds in the sky were scattered once more. He had broken through again!