Within the Huangji Lingxiao Hall, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes. They were deeper than the starry sky, as if capable of devouring all the Daos of the world, unfathomable.
His Dao attainment had increased by an unknown amount.
He had become even more transcendent, his aura seeming ethereal and illusory, as if he had merged with the entire Primordial Heaven Realm.
A century of seclusion had surpassed the past!
If anyone were present, they would be shocked to discover that Ye Chen seemed not to exist at all; his aura was completely undetectable, only visible to the eye.
This level of attainment was unknown to what heights it had reached.
It could be said that after a century of seclusion, Ye Chen's Dao attainment had grown profoundly deeper.
He had completely refined that Universe Origin of the Primordial Immortal Realm and integrated it into his Source Universe.
Through a century of secluded cultivation, he had gained considerable insight into the various gifts left by the Heavenly Emperor.
In terms of realm, he had reached an unprecedented level.
Vaguely, he faintly sensed a supreme, paramount domain.
The Emperor Realm!
Yes, precisely the Emperor Realm!
One could imagine to what astonishing degree his Dao attainment had grown after a century of seclusion.
Of course, this was merely a vague sensing, not a touch. In truth, there was still some distance.
The Supreme Emperor Dao appeared obscure, lofty and unattainable, as if shrouded in a layer of mist, visible yet untouchable.
Upon reaching this step, Ye Chen did not continue his seclusion to rashly attempt to touch the Emperor Realm.
Because the level of the Supreme Emperor Dao was too high. The slightest misstep, even for someone as powerful as him, could very likely result in backlash, causing his form and spirit to dissolve into the Dao.
He needed to become stronger before he could truly attempt to touch that supreme Emperor Dao level.
"A century of seclusion has been immensely beneficial. A pity, I still cannot truly touch the Emperor Realm; there remains a distance before me. If I were to continue cultivating, I could certainly continue to improve, and perhaps one day directly ascend to become a Supreme One. But that would ultimately not be my own Emperor Dao, but another's, which would greatly limit the path of my Chaos Emperor Dao."
"Moreover, time waits for no one. I wonder how the situation is in the myriad domains of the heavens."
Ye Chen sighed softly. He left the Supreme Seat and bowed deeply towards it, as if paying respects to the Heavenly Emperor.
Not long after, he also left the Huangji Lingxiao Hall. With great power, he caused this main hall of the Heavenly Emperor to slowly sink into the deepest part of the Heavenly Dao Sun, not claiming it for himself.
It belonged to the Heavenly Emperor, to the Ancient Heavenly Court, not to him.
When the Heavenly Emperor returned one day, it should return to his hands. Ye Chen could not occupy it.
"A century of seclusion. I wonder what changes have occurred in the Eight Realms of the Myriad Worlds. As expected, with the Heavenly Dao completed and flourishing, driving the Ten Thousand Daos, it should be even more prosperous and powerful."
With a faint smile, Ye Chen did not merge his mind with the Heavenly Dao Sun, nor unite with the origin to obtain all sorts of information.
He preferred to rely on his own perception to understand the current world.
With a single step, he traversed an unknown number of tens of thousands of li in the blink of an eye. He did not arrive at the location of the Heavenly Kingdom in the central region, but directly came to the Huang Ancient Kingdom in the east of the Primordial Heaven Realm.
Because he sensed that the people close to him were not in the Heavenly Kingdom, but in the lands of the Huang Kingdom.
Before him, a magnificent academy suddenly appeared, exceptionally majestic and imposing. Tall palaces and pavilions stood in rows, with vast training grounds and a continuous stretch of mountain ranges.
From every corner of the academy, surges of vigorous and powerful auras emanated, gathering an unknown number of geniuses and talents.
Such a scale was definitely considered among the top, even within the entire Huang Ancient Kingdom.
Withered State Academy!
Ye Chen was slightly taken aback. This was completely random. He had merely chosen the Huang Ancient Kingdom and arrived randomly, never expecting to come to such an academy, and one he had heard of before.
Back then, after the first Dominator War, he awoke thirty years later, appearing within the Qianwu Ancient Kingdom at the time. The first people he encountered upon waking were the elders and students of the Withered State Academy.
A smile then appeared on his lips. This could be considered a special kind of fate.
Looking around, there were many young cultivators, each with decent talent. Their ages were all under a hundred, ranging from ten to eighty or ninety years old. Their cultivation levels also varied, with the strongest being Saints, and the weakest ten-year-old students just stepping into the Xiantian realm.
In twos and threes, the atmosphere of cultivation was at its peak.
Ye Chen did not leave immediately. A century of seclusion, plus years of warfare, even though he was still very young, most of the enemies he had faced over the years were basically older-generation super-powerful experts, causing his state of mind to resemble that of an elder, slightly aged.
Now, being among these younger generations actually made him feel a bit more youthful.
His aura was contained, undetectable by ordinary people, like a mortal. Yet he was still conspicuous because of his peerless appearance, unmatched in the world, flawless and perfect, attracting the attention of countless people in the Withered State Academy, who exclaimed in admiration.
Ye Chen's mind stirred slightly, and immediately, everyone's perception changed.
Although they still felt Ye Chen was as handsome and extraordinary as before, they no longer had that earlier sense of flawless perfection. From initially feeling dazzled, they later found him increasingly ordinary, gradually shifting their gaze away.
Though they vaguely felt a special sense of familiarity, as if they had seen him before.
However, no matter what, they could not connect him to the contemporary Heaven Realm Dominator. At most, they felt the two were somewhat similar in certain aspects, but their auras were different. A special power altered their recognition, preventing them from believing Ye Chen was the Heaven Realm Dominator.
This was Ye Chen's method, capable of changing others' perception of things.
Strolling leisurely, he traversed the vast Withered State Academy and arrived at the more strictly guarded inner academy area.
The students here were fewer but appeared stronger. Any student encountered casually was at the Divine Transformation realm or above, and there were even students at the Saint Treasury realm.
At this moment, he arrived at a relatively open area within the inner academy—a sufficiently vast training ground from which waves of cheers and applause could be heard.
Raising his eyes to look, he saw a dense, black mass of people on the training ground, three layers inside and three layers out, tightly packed, surrounding the central area.
There, faint strands of radiance flickered, accompanied by fluctuations of the Great Dao, attracting Ye Chen's attention.
As he approached, the dense crowd silently parted a path before him.
Yet this parting went unnoticed by the crowd, as if it had never happened.
Before long, Ye Chen had already squeezed into the innermost part of the crowd.
In the central area, there was a high platform. On it sat a woman of stunning beauty, dressed in light purple, her hair tied up, her figure graceful. She appeared to be only in her twenties, sitting elegantly, exceptionally eye-catching.
Especially beneath the noble light purple attire, her graceful and alluring figure was faintly visible, outlining enticing curves that caused the gazes of the vast majority of male students present to fall upon her, slightly heated.
It was evident that this woman was likely the goddess in the hearts of many within the Withered State Academy.
Of course, what interested Ye Chen the most was that between the woman's slender, jade-like fingers, she held an Autumn Water Divine Sword. Her beautiful eyes were slightly closed, and as if no one else was around, she was waving it towards the void.
The Autumn Water Divine Sword traced through the air, stroke after stroke. It seemed ordinary, as if done casually, yet it was strikingly apparent that with each swing, the void would silently distort...