Ye Chen, however, smiled. This Ancient Heaven Emperor truly hadn't grasped the current situation.
If Ye Chen's relationship with the Flame Emperor was merely ordinary, he might have been willing to take a step back. Unfortunately, his friendship with the Flame Emperor was profound.
This profound relationship could even directly disregard the vast gap between a Quasi-Monarch and the Strongest Emperor. Ye Chen spoke directly, "Old Yan, I need six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin."
"Agreed!"
The Flame Emperor wasted no words. He simply extended his hand, instantly covering half of the Supreme Domain, enveloping even the Ancient Heaven Emperor beneath his palm.
"You junior—" The Ancient Heaven Emperor stared at Ye Chen with shock and fury, but facing the Flame Emperor's grasp, he was utterly terrified. He immediately turned to flee, knowing full well he was no match for the Flame Emperor, a Strongest Emperor.
If they truly fought, he would only bring humiliation upon himself.
However, when a Strongest Emperor like the Flame Emperor truly intended to act, how could a mere ancient Great Emperor like the Ancient Heaven Emperor possibly escape? He couldn't break free from the Flame Emperor's grasp.
Boom—
Just like that, the Ancient Heaven Emperor was caught in the Flame Emperor's palm.
"No—"
The Ancient Heaven Emperor roared, his entire body erupting with boundless Supreme might that could shake the River of Time and tear apart the myriad realms. Yet, that giant hand remained utterly motionless. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free in the slightest.
Gulp—
Ye Chen couldn't help but swallow hard. Although he knew of the might of a Strongest Emperor—slaying a Supreme One wasn't an issue—seeing a giant hand effortlessly seize an ancient Great Emperor still made his heart race with fear.
The gap between a Supreme One and a Chaos Sea titan like a Strongest Emperor or Immortal King truly wasn't ordinary.
Luan Shen Da Di's heart also pounded with fear. The Flame Emperor truly lived up to his reputation as a peerless titan who swept through the Seven Supreme Domains and subdued the Seven Supreme Ones.
The Flame Emperor looked down coldly at the Ancient Heaven Emperor struggling wildly. His Emperor Flame hand clenched tightly.
Boom—
A power surpassing the Supreme level, the might of a Strongest Emperor, erupted. Even an ancient Great Emperor like the Ancient Heaven Emperor couldn't withstand it. He was forcefully crushed.
The Great Emperor's body shattered into dust, accompanied by unimaginably astonishing phenomena that manifested, sweeping through the entire Supreme Domain.
Naturally, the Flame Emperor didn't deliberately intend to kill the Ancient Heaven Emperor. The latter didn't perish immediately. His Supreme Emperor Body turned to ash, his Emperor Soul was torn, but he began to reform at this moment.
The Flame Emperor watched all this indifferently. With a wave of his hand, he reached into the Ancient Heaven Emperor's body and extracted six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin.
"No—"
The Ancient Heaven Emperor was utterly terrified. The importance of Emperor Dao Origin to an ancient Great Emperor was self-evident. Once he lost six-tenths of it, his strength would drop by more than half.
To restore his Emperor Dao Origin to its complete, perfect ten-tenths would not take a mere decade or century, but endless eons measured in hundreds of millions of years.
"Flame Emperor, you cannot do this to me!"
The Ancient Heaven Emperor was about to go crazy. Losing six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin meant not only needing endless eons to recover but also constantly facing targeting from major enemies.
How many beings who become Supreme Ones don't have true life-and-death enemies, and not a few of those are Supreme-level foes.
The Flame Emperor raised an eyebrow and said indifferently, "Do you want This Emperor to extract all your Emperor Dao Origin, making you fall completely from the Emperor realm and become a mere pseudo-Supreme One?"
The Ancient Heaven Emperor immediately dared not speak another word. If that really happened, he wouldn't even be able to maintain his Emperor Dao Fruit Position, becoming only a pseudo-Supreme One slightly stronger than a Monarch.
He was both shocked and furious, especially when he looked at Ye Chen, his boundless hatred almost completely unconcealed.
Ye Chen, however, showed no fear. He glanced at him coldly and said, "Ancient Heaven Emperor, if you keep looking at me like that, I'll have Old Yan extract the rest of your Emperor Dao Origin. Do you believe me?"
The Ancient Heaven Emperor nearly went crazy.
Being targeted by a Strongest Emperor and having six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin extracted was one thing.
The strong were respected; a Strongest Emperor indeed had that capital.
But now, a mere junior who wasn't even an Ancient Monarch, a tiny Quasi-Monarch like an ant in his eyes, actually dared to threaten him like this, making him want to roar and vent his fury.
Yet, he was utterly helpless. By this point, if he still couldn't see the profound relationship between Ye Chen and the Flame Emperor, then he truly wasn't fit to be an ancient Great Emperor.
The Flame Emperor's giant hand grasped the Ancient Heaven Emperor's reforming Supreme Emperor Body. With a flick of his finger, the massive Emperor Body tore through the Supreme Domain, flew out, appeared on the Primordial Path, descended from the sky, and landed in the Ancient Heaven Imperial Domain.
A voice filled with absolute indifference and killing intent echoed in the Ancient Heaven Emperor's mind: "Leave. Before Little Chen becomes an Ancient Monarch, you absolutely cannot trouble him. Otherwise, next time I'll make sure you can't even reincarnate."
Hearing the Flame Emperor's completely unconcealed threatening words, the Ancient Heaven Emperor was so furious he almost roared to the heavens. But he deeply knew this would only bring humiliation upon himself. He turned and returned to the Ancient Heaven Imperial Domain.
He swore that once Ye Chen became an Ancient Monarch, he would spare no effort to attack him.
Because he understood that after Ye Chen became an Ancient Monarch, the Flame Emperor would no longer protect him.
He couldn't defeat the Flame Emperor, but dealing with Ye Chen should be possible, right?
Within the Supreme Domain, Ye Chen looked at the Flame Emperor with a bitter smile. "Old Yan, are you setting me up to be hunted by the Ancient Heaven Emperor after I become an Ancient Monarch?"
The Flame Emperor glanced at him. "Little Chen, you are, after all, a figure of the Eternal Path. Once you become an Ancient Monarch, you'll naturally be an Eternal Monarch. Moreover, that fellow Tian Gu had six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin extracted by me. His strength has greatly diminished; he's only slightly stronger than a Monarch now. If he hunts you, it could count as a form of tempering, very beneficial for you."
Ye Chen curled his lip disdainfully at the Flame Emperor's earnest advice.
Tempering?
You call having an ancient Great Emperor hunt you tempering?
Even with six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin extracted, an ancient Great Emperor was still an ancient Great Emperor, far beyond what a Monarch could compare to.
But he could see the Flame Emperor's mind was made up. He couldn't resist and could only accept his fate.
The Flame Emperor looked at Luan Shen Da Di in the distance.
"Flame Emperor, Your Excellency!" Luan Shen Da Di, this ancient Great Emperor, was also somewhat flustered.
As an ancient Great Emperor, he shouldn't be so flustered. But the Flame Emperor before him was a famous Strongest Emperor. Not long ago, he had witnessed the Flame Emperor's peerless methods as a Strongest Emperor right before his eyes. The dignified Ancient Heaven Emperor was caught effortlessly with a single hand and had six-tenths of his Emperor Dao Origin extracted—the price paid was undeniably huge. This made Luan Shen Da Di revere the Flame Emperor from the depths of his heart.
The Flame Emperor smiled faintly. "You needn't be so flustered. You helped Little Chen. In the end, This Emperor could see you intended to help Little Chen, collecting part of the soul fragments to aid in resurrection. Little Chen is a friend with whom This Emperor shares a profound relationship. Since you acted this way, This Emperor naturally won't treat you poorly."