The Celestial Court, with the heavens as its courtyard.
It was said to be the supreme imperial court personally established by the Heavenly Emperor, existing through epoch after epoch, its name renowned throughout the Chaotic Sea.
Even in the extremely prosperous and glorious Mythical Epoch, that era of coexisting Emperors, the Celestial Court could be considered a supremely transcendent force, lofty and towering above the Ten Heavens.
In the present age, although a force called the Celestial Court still existed across the myriad domains of the heavens, it would be more accurate to say it was barely a single branch of the Mythical Celestial Court's legacy, far from having the qualification to be called the true Ancient Heavenly Court.
Because, from what Ye Chen understood, the true Celestial Court was a place of coexisting Emperors, with the Heavenly Emperor as its master.
But following the Great Cataclysm of the Mythic Era, the Ancient Heavenly Court had also vanished, unheard of in the world.
Now, he never expected to receive news related to the Ancient Heavenly Court within the Primordial Heaven Realm, and what's more, it was said to be connected to the Heavenly Emperor, with all sorts of astonishing rumors.
It was probably nine out of ten true.
This might be the real Ancient Heavenly Court.
That was rather interesting.
A glint of interest appeared in Ye Chen's eyes.
The Heavenly Emperor was among the strongest individuals throughout history, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Primordial Ancestor and the Cosmic Emperor. Moreover, like Ye Chen himself, he had stepped onto the Path of Eternity during his quasi-Monarch period.
If he had left behind a corresponding imperial legacy, it was most likely the Ancient Heavenly Court.
Ye Chen also recalled that years ago, he had obtained several bronze fragments pointing to a supreme divine treasure, suspected to be related to the Heavenly Emperor. He wondered if that was also connected to the Ancient Heavenly Court.
But regardless, anything involving the Heavenly Emperor would likely stir the hearts of even other Emperors, supreme Immortals, and perhaps even the ancient titans.
The words 'Heavenly Emperor' alone were enough!
Naturally, Ye Chen was also quite moved.
During this process, the elders and students of the Withered State Academy learned his true name, which he didn't bother to hide.
The Primordial Heaven Realm was unaware of his name, so there was no need for excessive concealment.
The Demi-Saint elder Li Gu vaguely felt that the name Ye Chen seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere, and it seemed to involve some earth-shattering events. But he immediately shook his head, thinking he must have misunderstood.
For in the vast world, how many people shared the same name? The name Ye Chen was rather ordinary; there were countless people called that.
"Senior Ye, that thunder tribulation crater spanning a hundred li in area, was that left behind when you underwent your tribulation?"
During the journey, a sixteen-year-old youth named Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask, more out of curiosity.
Hearing this, the other Withered State Academy students also looked over, and even Li Gu was somewhat curious.
Although he suspected Ye Chen was the one who underwent the tribulation, and judging by his appearance, it seemed he had indeed undergone one, what made Li Gu curious was that he couldn't sense the slightest fluctuation of dao techniques from Ye Chen, as if he were an ordinary mortal.
If the other party was truly the one who underwent the tribulation, based on its scale, he could at most be a Saint.
Although Li Gu was only a Demi-Saint, a newly advanced Saint shouldn't be able to completely conceal his aura in front of him.
Ye Chen smiled. "You could understand it that way."
Zhang Fan's eyes lit up. "Senior Ye, your tribulation covered an area of a hundred li. It must have been a massive Saint Realm tribulation, right? Your strength must be super powerful too."
An area of a hundred li might not seem large, but the rules of the Primordial Heaven Realm were complete. Being able to have a tribulation reach that scale indicated considerable talent.
Alas, how could they know that this hundred-li thunder tribulation was merely a wisp of heavenly thunder that had followed Ye Chen after he left the Star Ruins Restricted Zone, and over ninety-nine percent of it had been devoured and refined by Ye Chen.
Otherwise, even a single wisp of heavenly thunder would have been enough to annihilate an area of a hundred thousand li, far beyond their imagination.
Ye Chen smiled without answering, but in the eyes of the others, he appeared profound and inscrutable.
Not long after, the group arrived at a vast lake. As far as the eye could see, it spanned ten thousand li, like a boundless ocean, its surface shimmering under the bright sunlight.
This place belonged to the edge of the Luo River Mountain Range. According to the map, crossing this lake would mean truly entering the Luo River Mountain Range, where the demon beasts and fierce beasts they faced would be much stronger. It was even highly possible to encounter great demons comparable to Demi-Saints like Li Gu.
Therefore, before entering, the group planned to rest briefly and recuperate their energy.
Everyone was a cultivator and hadn't expended too much along the way, so they all absorbed the heaven and earth spiritual energy of the place to recover their losses.
At this moment, Ye Chen walked towards the lakeshore, which puzzled many of the students.
Li Gu also looked over.
Soon, they saw Ye Chen actually jump into the lake, using the clear water to wipe away the charred marks on his body.
This caused many to frown.
The other party was clearly a Saint who had successfully undergone tribulation. With a single thought of divine sense, he should have been able to shake off the charred marks and dust on his body. Yet he was wiping himself with lake water like this, which was somewhat abnormal.
Li Gu also frowned as he watched Ye Chen. He began to doubt whether Ye Chen was truly the Saint who underwent the tribulation; otherwise, he wouldn't be wiping himself with lake water like this.
Moreover, he couldn't sense the other's aura.
However, how could they know that Ye Chen's dao techniques were sealed by the Great Dao Heavenly Diagram, making it impossible for him to use them? He was also worried that if he didn't control his physical strength properly, a simple shake might directly shatter the remnants of his battle armor.
After a simple wash, he revealed his true appearance, though he had long since altered his features using a secret technique from the Battle Saint Art.
He was handsome, tall, and slender. While he could be considered outstanding, he was far from comparable to the perfect appearance of his true face.
Ye Chen didn't wish to attract too much attention, hence he changed his appearance.
"Young friend—"
Li Gu spoke, his form of address having changed now.
If he had been treating an ordinary person as a senior all along, how could he, a dignified Demi-Saint, bear the embarrassment?
He intended to get to the bottom of this.
Boom—
Suddenly, two balls of light abruptly descended from the sky by the lakeshore, faintly revealing two figures within, radiating myriad divine glories like deities.
From their bodies erupted supreme and magnificent Great Dao laws, causing the entire lake to boil and surge with towering waves!
As soon as the battle began, all sorts of divine abilities and secret techniques came to hand, dazzling and brilliant, a riot of colors, extremely spectacular.
Yet within them lurked terrifying danger; every move and action could easily slay ordinary Divine Transformation cultivators.
"Their blood energy is like divine furnaces, at their peak and full of vitality—they are true Heaven's Prides!"
"The battle for supremacy among the younger generation of the Eight Realms has already begun. Heaven's Prides are about to duel here."
"Very powerful auras. At the very least, they are super Divine Transformation cultivators, possibly peak Divine Transformation, or even Demi-Saints."
The eyes of the many students shone with brilliance as they stared unblinkingly at the two figures above the lake.
For them, they naturally yearned for such battles for supremacy among Heaven's Prides, eye-catching and commanding awe-inspiring power with every gesture, the focus of the world's attention, adorned with myriad glories.
Moreover, anyone qualified to participate in the battle for supremacy among Heaven's Prides was undoubtedly a true Heaven's Pride. Any one of them would be enough to rank among the top talents within the Withered State Academy.
After all, across the entire Withered State Academy, only a handful of people had the qualification to become participants in the battle for supremacy.