"Are you him?"
As she spoke these words, the young maiden's eyes clearly shimmered with tears, misty and blurred, carrying a trace of hope, a sliver of expectation, and a tremor of emotion. Her delicate voice trembled slightly as she gazed at Ye Chen.
At that moment, a gentle breeze swept by, blowing down the black cloak that had been draped over her head, revealing the young maiden's true visage. A cascade of smooth, dark hair tumbled down.
Just as guessed earlier, this was indeed a young maiden, seemingly no more than sixteen or seventeen years of age—very young. Yet her beauty could be described as one that could topple kingdoms and captivate the world.
Her three thousand strands of beautiful hair were like a waterfall of clouds, dark and lustrous, flowing straight down to her pert buttocks.
The maiden's brows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn waters, her nose delicate and straight, her cherry lips alluring, and her skin like congealed jade. Truly, one could say her spirit was of autumn waters and her bones of crystal jade.
Although her graceful figure was still concealed beneath the black cloak, as the wind stirred it, one could glimpse the slender, elegant, and enchanting form beneath.
She was so extraordinary, wearing no makeup, her skin flawless and translucent, surpassing frost and snow. Moreover, she possessed a unique temperament, one of great nobility, as if she were the most exalted princess of the highest imperial clan of the myriad realms—noble and inviolable.
This seemed like a nobility born of her very life essence, not merely an attitude of aloof superiority.
Compared to the maiden's world-toppling beauty, what surprised Ye Chen even more was her nobility.
Just who was this young maiden? She didn't seem as simple as the little princess of some ordinary Immortal Sacred Land. Especially that noble temperament—even in his past life, he hadn't encountered many who possessed it, and those were all truly supreme and exalted figures.
For some reason, however, Ye Chen also felt a sense of familiarity with this Chen Ruo, as if he had known her before. But he had no memory of the maiden in his mind; perhaps they had met once.
Yet Chen Ruo's words also puzzled him.
"Am I him? Who is 'him'?" Ye Chen asked.
"You are not him. It cannot be him." Chen Ruo was sorrowful, two clear trails of tears falling down her peerlessly beautiful jade-like face. One could sense the disappointment and desolation, a deep sense of loss.
For some reason, seeing the maiden like this made Ye Chen's heart tremble as well, a strange ache arising within him. He wanted to reach out and wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes, but in the end, he did not move.
Finally, Chen Ruo regained her composure and said, "Ye Chen, can you tell me the origin of your movement technique?"
Ye Chen looked at Chen Ruo in surprise, not understanding why she was so concerned about the Reverse Void Eight Steps. It was merely an extreme speed movement technique he had unintentionally obtained during his weak years in his past life. It could only be considered profound for those below the Saint Treasury Realm, but once one reached the Saint Treasury Realm, it became insufficient.
Given Chen Ruo's status, she shouldn't care too much about it; she likely possessed even better movement techniques. However, he couldn't reveal that it was from his past life, so he diverted attention by claiming he had found it by chance in an ancient tomb of a powerful expert.
He could feel the maiden's gaze grow even more desolate.
Ye Chen couldn't help but ask, "Miss Chen Ruo, why are you so concerned about my movement technique?"
Chen Ruo nodded, then shook her head, as if unsure what she meant. Finally, she let out a soft sigh. "It's just that someone I knew once also mastered the Reverse Void Eight Steps. He was a very, very important person to me. He gave me everything, bestowed life upon me, and saved me. But he died."
So there was such a sorrowful past. Ye Chen sighed softly, advising the maiden to accept her grief and move on.
Chen Ruo shook her head, her dark hair swaying in the wind. She sighed lightly, and tears shimmered in her usually optimistic eyes, misty with moisture. "He was immensely powerful. In life, he overshadowed the myriad realms, unrivaled and undefeated, forcing all his great enemies to bow their heads in submission. He was the most powerful person throughout the ages."
"With his own hands, he slew many so-called supreme experts, their blood staining heaven and earth, causing countless people to fear and tremble."
As the maiden described him, Ye Chen seemed to see a majestic, peerlessly powerful figure standing between the vast heavens and earth, overlooking all directions, battling across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, his blood sprinkling the myriad realms, engaging in fierce combat with powerful foes from all sides, carving out a bright and clear world.
"Unfortunately, he had not yet reached complete perfection. He was conspired against and killed by many, including ancient Great Sages of that era, and was buried between heaven and earth."
Ye Chen's heart trembled. Just what kind of powerful figure was this, who forced the great enemies of the myriad realms to bow in submission, whom even ancient Great Sages had to join forces to murder? How domineering and peerless he must have been.
He still remembered that tens of thousands of years ago, a member of the Battle Saint lineage was just as the maiden Chen Ruo described—shattering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, alone entering the vast starry sky with several supreme Great Powers from the myriad domains, shattering star after star, personally slaying several of them.
That was his master, a generation's invincible Battle Saint, who once stood atop the pinnacle of the myriad realms, making even Great Powers wary and joining forces to hunt him down.
He somewhat suspected that this maiden before him was related to his master. Could she be his daughter?
But his master had remained silent about all matters of his past life. Ye Chen had only learned about his master's final battle and some of his glorious past achievements through certain channels, such as his starry sky battle with the invincible king who was the ancestor of Donghua Haoyi.
As for other details, they were unknown. He didn't know if his master had a wife or children.
Perhaps the maiden was his master's daughter, sealed away by his choice. Otherwise, how could she be so noble, possess such high cultivation, and give him such a sense of closeness?
His master was a Battle Saint, and he was also a Battle Saint—in this life as well, though his Saint Body bloodline lay dormant and had not yet been awakened.
But this was merely suspicion; it could also be someone else.
"You resemble him, giving me a sense of closeness. Unfortunately, you are not him. You are powerful, worthy of being called a King, but you are not his equal." Chen Ruo sighed softly, as if recalling the peerless invincibility of the "him" she spoke of in his prime.
Ye Chen fell silent, then said, "Can you tell me more about that 'him'?"
But Chen Ruo gently shook her head, speaking softly, "No, you are not him. If you knew of his power, it would only make you feel inferior, because in the same realm, his strength surpasses your imagination."
"You, as a King, may seem very powerful, like that Scarlet Scale King, quite extraordinary. Perhaps you can dominate across several great domains, perhaps rise above the cycles of Samsara in past eras, becoming an invincible Heavenly King."
"But for a King to encounter him would only be a tragedy. With his own hands, he executed not just one Young King; he was seen as a King-slayer. He once carved out a sky stained with blood, ultimately becoming a generation's True King, finally able to contend with those True Kings of the myriad realms, possessing boundless glory that none could match!"
"Who is he?" Ye Chen asked.
"He is my father!"