A divine spear pierced the heavens, thick as a mountain range, standing like a colossal pillar between heaven and earth. Its imposing might surged and billowed, awe-inspiring and heart-shaking.
The entire void trembled, as if on the verge of complete collapse.
This aura was truly astonishing. Faintly visible on the divine spear were strands of chilling blood energy—not belonging to the spear's master, but to those he had slain. Each person represented one strand of blood energy, and there were thousands upon thousands of them. One could imagine just how many people the spear's master had killed; he was a ruthless and formidable powerhouse.
The massive merchant caravan, composed of tens of thousands of people, was forcibly halted there, not permitted to pass. That aura shook the heavens and struck terror into hearts.
A figure flew out from the mercenary group. He was burly and tall, his aura vast and powerful, capable of withstanding the pressure released by the divine spear.
He was the temporary leader of this hastily assembled large mercenary group, named Han Tai. He was also the strongest expert among the mercenaries, and previously the leader of the largest mercenary group in the small city, numbering over a thousand. A top-tier expert at the third level of Divine Transformation, he was considered quite extraordinary even within the Black Sky Plains, possessing considerable fame.
Han Tai cupped his fists towards the divine spear and shouted, "This humble one, Han Tai, pays respects to you, great one. I beseech you to show leniency and allow us to pass. We are willing to pay a tribute of ten thousand jin of spirit stones, solely to leave."
Ten thousand jin of spirit stones!?
Many caravan leaders within the merchant group paled. This was an utterly staggering sum. Their entire round trip combined wouldn't earn that much; earning one or two thousand jin of spirit stones would already be remarkable. Where could they possibly come up with ten thousand jin?
They wanted to speak with Han Tai, but he secretly warned them not to lower the offer, because the other party was absolutely a supreme figure within the Black Sky Plains. Even if not on par with the Eight Great Bandits of Black Sky, his status was certainly not far off.
Offending such a person could very well result in everyone present being slaughtered.
This naturally caused many people to turn pale.
Boom—
Suddenly, the divine spear erupted with dazzling divine radiance. A terrifying divine might billowed forth, its pressure causing the entire desolate plain to tremble. Massive chasms split open, radiating from the spear as the center, tearing the earth apart. Many in the merchant group trembled and collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by this peerless imposing might, as if a supreme deity had descended to the mortal world.
This person was too powerful. Merely through a magical instrument like this divine spear, he was so fearsome. If his true body were to come, one could only imagine how terrifying he would be.
A majestic voice emanated from the divine spear: "The ten thousand jin of spirit stones must be paid, but the people must also be searched. We must find the culprit who harmed Young Master Liu Xia."
"This..." Many in the merchant group paled, because some of the goods were genuine treasures that could not be exposed, lest they attract the covetous eyes of numerous bandits.
Han Tai hurriedly said, "Great one, I dare swear that there is absolutely no culprit you seek within our merchant group. We are merely passing through. I beg you to show mercy and let us leave. The ten thousand jin of spirit stones will naturally be offered—"
Before he could finish, the divine spear erupted with a surging wave of energy, tearing apart the great earth, blasting apart the clouds, and even sending Han Tai himself flying, coughing blood as he crashed into the dust, utterly disheveled. It was shocking—he had no power to resist at all.
A cold snort came from the divine spear, deafening: "How this lord acts, does it need guidance from a mere third-level Divine Transformation cultivator like you? Men, search!"
The crowd was astounded. A dignified Divine Transformation expert wasn't even given a second glance. The other party was truly too powerful.
Immediately, a large group of bandits rushed forward to search, numbering three to four thousand. They wantonly opened crate after crate of merchant goods, discovering quite a few treasures within. Some bandits even brazenly reached in and grabbed handfuls, stuffing them into their own robes.
Some bandits, upon seeing women of decent appearance among the merchant teams, even took the opportunity to grope and take liberties during the search, their hands wandering everywhere, inciting resentment. The master of the divine spear did nothing to stop them.
The people in the merchant group were furious but dared not speak out. If not for the master of the divine spear being so powerful, easily sending even Han Tai, their strongest expert, flying and coughing blood, how could they be so helpless? Now, they could only watch all this happen.
The mercenary group was equally powerless, because the imposing might of the divine spear's master was too overwhelming. Even the strongest Han Tai wasnot worth a single blow / utterly weak, let alone them.
Inside a spacious carriage sat Ye Chen and Chen Ruo's resting place. They were aware of everything happening outside. At this moment, beneath her black robe, Chen Ruo was extremely indignant, waving her delicate fists and huffing: "These scoundrels have such nerve! If that dark-faced bad uncle were here, this young lady would definitely punish them properly, make flowers grow on their heads, and slap them eighteen big times, so they understand why women are not to be trifled with."
Listening to the young girl's dissatisfied muttering, Ye Chen almost laughed. Fortunately, the carriage was enveloped by a field he had released, preventing external detection. Otherwise, if the divine spear's master heard these words, it would be disastrous.
However, at that moment, a bandit charged onto their carriage. He first swept a glance over them, then pointed at Chen Ruo with a fierce, vicious expression: "Wearing a black robe in broad daylight, all secretive and hidden. Take it off quickly, let this lord see if you're the culprit."
Ye Chen felt disgusted hearing this and very much wanted to slap the other party flying. But the divine spear's master was watching closely outside, and this was the Black Sky Plains. Offending the bandits here would likely invite immense trouble.
He lowered his voice: "This is my younger sister. She is unwell and should not be exposed to light, so I ask for your understanding."
Unexpectedly, the bandit waved his hand with a cold snort: "What 'unwell and shouldn't be exposed to light'? Take it off for this lord now." He reached out to remove Chen Ruo's black robe.
"Who gave you the guts to touch this young lady!" Chen Ruo cried out delicately, directly throwing a delicate fist that gave the bandit a black eye, sending the whole man flying out of the carriage.
"What happened?"
Many people looked over.
The bandit touched his blackened eye socket, then directly shouted with a sinister tone: "Everyone, come quickly! There's a person in a black robe inside unwilling to show their true face. Might be the culprit who harmed the young master!"
"Charge, all together!"
In an instant, all the bandits rushed forward, surrounding the carriage tightly, sealing it off completely, even blocking the air above, making it difficult to break through.
"Next time, could you please wait a moment?" Ye Chen held a fist-sized spirit stone he had been about to offer as a bribe, looking quite helplessly at Chen Ruo. The latter, however, just stuck out her cute pink tongue at him playfully, wearing agiggling smile, not the least bit embarrassed.
He couldn't help but rub his forehead and sigh lightly. What a troublemaker.
"Prepare to break out."
In truth, he had long been prepared for battle. He just hoped to avoid it temporarily if possible, to fight as little as he could.
"Such audacity, daring to resist! Could it be you are the culprits who harmed Young Master Liu Xia? Charge, capture them!" shouted a bandit leader.
"Yes!"
All the bandits swarmed forward.
Boom—
A terrifying divine power erupted. The entire carriage exploded, along with layers of energy waves blasting apart, spreading out in rings that directly sent over a dozen charging bandits flying, coughing blood, each heavily injured.
Ye Chen slowly rose to his full height, standing in the void, speaking coldly: "I am not the culprit, and I do not wish to invite trouble. But I do not fear trouble. If you dare approach, I will not mind unleashing a massacre here today."
"Hmph, just a young brat. Do you really think you're a Young King? Ridiculous. All of you, charge! Capture him, then we'll see just who that black-robed person is," a bandit leader roared.
All the bandits charged forward, but Ye Chen took a single step. Ripples appeared in the void as an invisible trail of the Dao spread out. In an instant, over a hundred bandits were sent flying, all coughing blood as they were thrown back,not worth a single blow / utterly weak.
This scene deeply shocked everyone. Just who was this young man, to be so powerful? He swept away over a hundred bandits in one move. Even Han Tai present would find it difficult to accomplish.
Boom—
The divine spear, thousands of zhang tall, blazed with surging Great Dao divine splendor. Its entire body erupted with beams of soaring divine light, possessing boundless imposing might. Heaven and earth changed color as its pressure bore down on Ye Chen.
"Daring to resist? Today, even if you are a Young King, it won't save you. Die!"
A swath of divine light shot out, sweeping towards Ye Chen, even affecting the merchant group. Anyone touched by it had their bodies explode into blood mist, form and spirit annihilated. In an instant, a full three hundred people were killed—utterly shocking.
This was the true imposing might of the divine spear's master, terrifying and chilling.
Yet, Ye Chen merely pinched his fingers and similarly released a swath of divine splendor, colliding with it. A deafening roar followed as the entire great earth was torn open with numerous chilling chasms.
This scene stunned everyone. Ye Chen's strength was unfathomable; he had actually blocked the divine spear master's attack.
In mid-air, Ye Chen's black hair danced wildly in the wind. His gaze was cold and sharp. An astonishing divine might gradually unfurled from his body, reaching far and wide, causing everyone in the region to tremble in horror.
"I only wanted to peacefully cross the Black Sky Plains, not invite trouble. Why can't you just let me be, forcing me to act?"
He sighed lightly, even as he took action. The Heavenly God Spear appeared in his hand, fully awakening within his grasp. It erupted with ten thousand layers of divine radiance, even gathering dark clouds spanning dozens of li across the sky, with streaks of lightning crackling and roaring.
"Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens!"
Ye Chen brandished the Heavenly God Spear. Ten thousand flashes of thunderlight flickered as thousands of thunderbolts descended, each as thick as a water vat, striking all the bandits. In an instant, four to five hundred people were annihilated. Only the truly powerful bandits survived.
This was an area-of-effect attack, utilizing the power of thunder.
"All of you, flee this place quickly."
Ye Chen's voice spread out. Everyone understood—Ye Chen was buying them time, holding off the bandits.
They did not dare hesitate,hurriedly rushing at extreme speed, charging deeper into the Black Sky Plains.
Even Han Tai led numerous mercenaries into fierce battle with the bandits. However, without the divine spear master's assistance, they were merely a motley crew, no match for Han Tai's mercenary group.
The divine spear blazed with divine radiance, intending to act, but Ye Chen blocked the front, continuously unleashing thunderbolts with the Heavenly God Spear to neutralize his assaults.
"So young, yet truly a Young King of this generation. Just who are you?"
No matter how foolish, the divine spear master now understood. So young and so powerful—if not a Young King, who else could accomplish this?
"Who I am is none of your concern," Ye Chen said.
"Hmph, do you truly think a King is invincible? If my true body were here, I could suppress you with a mere raise of my hand." A cold snort came from the divine spear. What had come was merely a magical instrument; his true body had not arrived. But judging from the various displays of imposing might earlier, one could predict the divine spear master was absolutely a top-tier powerhouse, renowned even within the Black Sky Plains.
Simultaneously, the divine spear shot out, under its master's divine sense control, actively attacking Ye Chen.
"True body not here, yet thinking to kill me with just a magical instrument? Truly delusional." Ye Chen sneered coldly, brandishing the Heavenly God Spear, summoning streak after streak of lightning to crash down, bombarding the divine spear. Thus, a great battle erupted.
This stretch of land immediately began to shatter. Thick cracks spread out, and several nearby barren mountains were pulverized by the residual shockwaves.
However, this was certainly not all. This was merely the beginning of the battle. More intense combat unfolded thereafter.
The divine spear pierced the heavens, its entire body transforming to thousands of zhang in size, like a pillar holding up the sky. It shook the firmament, causing the void to tremble, stirring up boundless clouds of dust, sweeping away a thousand armies as it slashed at Ye Chen.
But Ye Chen's treasure body was peerless. His entire form erupted with divine splendor, his golden body indestructible. He actively engaged in close-quarters combat. While swinging the Heavenly God Spear, he also unleashed divine fists. Crimson-gold divine radiance flickered and intertwined on his fists. Each punch carried a peerless force that seemed to tear the void itself.
Striking the divine spear, they clanged metallically. Fist imprints were easily stamped onto the spear, accompanied by cracks spreading out.
The divine spear master was shocked. This mysterious Young King was simply extraordinary, actually able to clash with his Dao weapon using his bare fists, himself unharmed, while his divine spear showed signs of cracking. This made him pale.
This Young King was even more remarkable than he had imagined.
"Just who are you? Although there is a Young King in Qingyang Domain, you are not him," the divine spear master inquired.
"Who I am, you need not know. But you must understand one thing: every Young King is not to be trifled with lightly. Each possesses their own majesty, not to be violated."
Ye Chen shouted loudly. At this moment, he became many times more majestic. Every inch of his physique erupted with indestructible divine light. He unleashed thirty-six consecutive punches, each shaking heaven and earth, causing the void to tremble and the great earth to quake and split. All of them bombarded the divine spear.
Boom—
Finally, even something as hard as this divine spear could not withstand it. It was forcibly shattered into five segments, transforming into five shooting stars that crashed into the great earth, blasting open massive craters.
At this moment, Ye Chen was like a deity descending to the mortal world, invincible, commanding awe and submission from all!