Standing atop the Pangu Gate, Ye Chen gazed at the ancient gate that had stood firm throughout the ages, then looked at the many Supreme Ones who had once fought alongside him. A faint smile touched his lips. "Everyone, it brings me great joy to see you all again after a separation of a hundred thousand years."
After the hundred-thousand-year blood-soaked epoch, the Pangu Universe had endured, never truly being breached. This filled him with profound satisfaction.
"We greet His Majesty, the Battle Saint King!"
The assembled supreme powerhouses roared in unison.
"His Majesty, the Battle Saint King!"
Those Supreme Ones who had followed him from the Origin Ancient Path also spoke up, their voices filled with deep reverence.
Among them, some had fallen, some had deemed the Pangu Universe too perilous and departed, but some remained.
Ye Chen smiled at them, spotting familiar faces: Quasi-Giants like War Sovereign, Divine Void Great Emperor, and Golden Crow Great Emperor, as well as Kunpeng Sovereign, Mythical Supreme One, Sun Great Emperor, and Supreme One Chi Xue.
Alas, some he would never see again, like Supreme One Asura.
"Little friend, the speed of your growth truly makes this old man feel ashamed," the Cang Xiong Great Heavenly Venerate sighed with emotion. He had experienced an entire epoch before attaining the Dao and becoming a colossus from antiquity.
But how old was Ye Chen? He was already a first-generation Giant, younger and stronger than him.
Hearing this, the Supreme Ones on the Pangu Gate, led by the Profound God Great Emperor, nearly couldn't help but roll their eyes.
*Your growth speed also makes us feel ashamed, old sir.*
Many of the Supreme Ones present were at least two epochs old, some even three or four, yet they remained at the Supreme One realm. You became a colossus from antiquity in less than two epochs—that was also defying the heavens!
Of course, compared to Ye Chen, the gap was indeed vast.
Ye Chen chuckled. "Senior has now achieved complete perfection. Even without relying on the Realm Tower, you can engage in frontal combat with other colossi from antiquity."
The Cang Xiong Great Heavenly Venerate had stepped into the realm of colossi from antiquity not long ago, and initially, all aspects of his cultivation were not yet fully rounded out.
It was akin to the gap between a newly ascended Supreme One like Shen Rong and a peak, perfected Emperor-level Supreme One.
Naturally, with the passage of time, he would inevitably reach a state of comprehensive perfection.
Moreover, with the Immortal King's Cave Abode and the Violet Extreme Lingxiao Palace greatly shortening his cultivation years, the present Cang Xiong Great Heavenly Venerate was a true colossus from antiquity—comprehensively perfected and immensely powerful.
The Cang Xiong Great Heavenly Venerate let out a hearty laugh.
"I greet Senior, the Samsara Great Emperor."
The Human Sovereign smiled. "Little friend, you are too courteous. We are both Giants now; we may address each other as Fellow Daoists. Moreover, I am no longer the Samsara Great Emperor, but the Human Sovereign."
The Human Sovereign—the sovereign of the human race, fighting for humanity, protecting the people of the vast heavens.
This was the Human Sovereign's ideal, not that of the Samsara Great Emperor.
In the past, the Profound God Great Emperor had conveyed the Human Sovereign's words, hoping Ye Chen would become the Human Sovereign.
But Ye Chen had politely declined, expressing his own ideal for the Human Sovereign: that every person could be a sovereign!
Nevertheless, Ye Chen still revered this man as the Human Sovereign!
"Senior Human Sovereign."
Even though they were now both peerless Giants, Ye Chen remained exceedingly courteous and respectful. This was a predecessor and pioneer of the human race. Without their existence, there would be no future for humanity.
This was the first time he faced the Human Sovereign at such close proximity. He could sense that after nearly a hundred thousand years of slumber, the Human Sovereign remained as ever—protecting all living beings, his heart embracing the masses. Yet he was incredibly powerful; even Ye Chen in his current state dared not claim he could defeat him.
In the past, as a colossus from antiquity who had ascended from the peak Quasi-Giant realm, the Samsara Great Emperor had been an invincible existence at the first-generation Giant level.
Later, he underwent a cycle of reincarnation lasting an entire epoch, repeatedly re-ascending to the Supreme One realm, becoming the Human Sovereign, life after life.
Now, fully awakened, he was likely even more formidable.
Earlier, his single sword strike that severed the Ten Thousand Ancient Times, blocking the advance of three alien Giants, was a testament to this.
That was a forbidden technique, not something an ordinary colossus from antiquity could casually execute.
Throughout the ages, the Human Sovereign, as a Supreme One, had always been mysterious, with few ever glimpsing his true visage. Of course, now, facing Ye Chen, the Human Sovereign did not conceal his appearance.
It was a very ordinary face, one that would blend into a crowd, plain and unremarkable, yet also very special, extremely eye-catching because it possessed a unique charm, as if he were humanity, and humanity were him.
The Human Sovereign—the sovereign of the human race, the sovereign of the human path!
The Human Sovereign revealed a hint of a smile. "For the human race to have you, for the Pangu Universe to have you, is a great fortune!"
This was the highest of praise.
That day, the Chaos Sea was greatly shaken, all sides astounded.
The Battle Saint King, missing for a hundred thousand years, had defied the heavens and returned, now a peerless Giant. He had single-handedly invaded the Alien Ancient Universe, breached its border gate, slain multiple alien Supreme Ones and Quasi-Giants, and even personally suppressed a colossus from antiquity of a generation—the Silent Abyss Sovereign—bringing him back to the Pangu Universe.
Without a doubt, this caused an uproar.
Although the current Chaos Sea was extremely turbulent and chaotic, with multiple colossi from antiquity having fallen, colossi from antiquity still belonged to the highest echelon of power. If not for the struggle over the Origin Burial Lord's head, colossi from antiquity would not easily erupt into world-shaking battles, let alone perish.
Now, although the Battle Saint King had not slain an alien Giant, suppressing and taking one away was enough to speak volumes. His combat power surpassed that of ordinary colossi from antiquity.
He belonged to the first-generation Giant tier.
Now, although the Pangu Universe had not yet recovered the peak prosperity of the Mythical Epoch, with three colossi from antiquity—the Human Sovereign, the Battle Saint King, and the Cang Xiong Great Heavenly Venerate—stationed there, along with multiple Quasi-Giants and Supreme Ones, suchheritage / foundation placed it firmly among the top ten, even the top five, strongest forces in the Chaos Sea.
Many of Ye Chen's former rivals from the Ultimate Ancient Path and the Ten Heavens Ancient Domain battles were now utterly shocked and dumbfounded.
Over a hundred thousand years had passed. Many of his peers, numerous so-called supreme geniuses, had only become Ancient Sovereigns. Some supreme geniuses like Imperial Sons and Daughters or Immortal Dao descendants, though they had early on become Emperor-level experts, remained stagnant. Few had managed to become Eternal Emperors, let alone Supreme Ones.
But now, looking back, they realized that the Battle Saint King, with whom they could once compete as peers, vying like a hundred boats on a river, had now soared so high they couldn't even see his back, let alone hope to catch up.
Truly worthy of being called the strongest prodigy of the Ten Thousand Ancient Times.
Now, with one ultimate leap, he had transformed into a peerless Chaos Giant capable of suppressing Giants.
These former supreme geniuses all wore expressions of extreme complexity.
They would likely never catch up to his footsteps in their entire lives.
...
Soon, the news also spread throughout the Pangu Universe, shaking the entire world!
In this battle, Ye Chen had truly forged a heaven-shaking reputation. Returning with the stature of a colossus from antiquity, leading the human Imperial Sons and Daughters back, breaching the alien border gate, slaying multiple alien Supreme Ones and Quasi-Giants, and forcefully suppressing a colossus from antiquity of a generation—the Silent Abyss Sovereign—he had shaken the Chaos Sea.
From then on, the supreme powerhouses of the Pangu Gate acknowledged him as the true Battle Saint King.
The entire world erupted in cheers!
For a hundred thousand years of the blood-soaked epoch, the Pangu Universe had almost always been on the defensive, nearly returning to the humiliating era of over a hundred thousand years ago. Now, Ye Chen's triumphant return with illustrious achievements greatly boosted the morale of the entire Pangu Universe.