"You are strong."
Martial God grinned, showing no trace of coldness, appearing very forthright. Yet as he charged forward, his figure moved with extreme speed. His pure physical strength shook the world, tearing through the void like a humanoid tyrannosaurus bursting from its cage.
He threw a fist towards Ye Chen, containing a special trace of the Heavenly Dao.
It was terrifying. This single punch, if it landed, would be enough to blast apart an ordinary Heavenly King.
But Ye Chen showed no fear, similarly swinging his own fist to meet it.
The void tore apart!
One after another, pitch-black spatial rifts appeared, shooting in all directions, showcasing the fearsome combat prowess of both sides.
Both figures shuddered from the impact. Ye Chen remained unharmed, while Martial God's fist was left with torn skin and flesh, blood flowing freely. This shocked all the spectators.
Because Martial God was a descendant of an ancient Great Emperor, having undergone baptism in imperial blood. The strength of his bloodline rivaled that of a second-generation imperial grandson of an imperial clan, and his flesh body was even more terrifying. He was even considered by the imperial clan to be comparable to, if not stronger than, the flesh bodies of Imperial Sons from the outside world.
No one expected him to be no match for Ye Chen.
Though surprised, Martial God was not discouraged. A bloody radiance soared from his damaged fist, rapidly repairing it, demonstrating the powerful bloodline of an imperial clan descendant.
His aura suddenly surged. He unleashed the combat techniques of the ancient Great Emperor. Every movement and gesture contained traces in harmony with heaven and earth. His figure moved like a dragon, striking out like lightning as he raised his fist and once again blasted towards Ye Chen.
There were no weapons, no divine abilities or spells. But the people of the Boundary Desert specialized in cultivating the flesh body; naturally, the flesh body itself was their most powerful weapon.
Especially Martial God, who was among the best of them.
The void shattered. Martial God's imposing aura was astonishing, causing the several Great Powers observing the battle to nod in approval. He was capable of challenging a Great Power-level existence despite being a realm lower.
Naturally, Ye Chen did not let his guard down. He still employed no discernible formal techniques, having learned from heaven and earth and cultivated his own path of flesh body evolution, returning to simplicity. All his attacks were simple and direct, striking at vital points.
The other two seed contestants who had entered the finals could not intervene at all and directly withdrew from the competition, knowing they were no match.
The battle was intense. The two clashed, blood splattering from both sides.
But Ye Chen's flesh body was clearly a notch stronger, gradually gaining greater advantage in the confrontation.
After such a fierce battle spanning over a hundred exchanges, Ye Chen ultimately overpowered Martial God, this descendant of a Great Emperor, knocking him out of the arena and claiming the final championship, winning the cheers and respect of the Seventy-Two Villages clansmen.
The clansmen of the Boundary Desert's Seventy-Two Villages were simple and honest. They held no rejection towards Ye Chen, an outsider, winning the championship. On the contrary, they respected him greatly.
The strong were revered. Ye Chen's ability to defeat a Great Emperor's descendant at the same realm and generation earned him their deep respect as a super powerhouse.
Martial God stepped forward, showing no resentment. Instead, he was quite happy that Ye Chen had claimed the laurels. "Ye Chen, you are strong. Your flesh body is even stronger than mine, a Great Emperor's descendant. If I couldn't confirm you truly have a mortal physique, I'd suspect you were an Imperial Son from a flesh body cultivation lineage from the outside world."
Martial God marveled. He had inherited the supreme bloodline of that ancient Great Emperor. It must be known that that ancient Great Emperor had attained the Paragon Emperor realm through flesh body cultivation. His bloodline was naturally incomparably fearsome, granting his descendants innately transcendent flesh bodies.
Especially him, who carried the high hopes of the imperial clan. He had undergone a ten-year baptism in the imperial blood pool left by his Great Emperor ancestor, making his flesh body even more terrifying. At the Heavenly King realm, he could withstand ancient weapons of the Great Power level. He believed himself not inferior to the bodies of Imperial Sons from the outside world, perhaps even stronger. Yet he was completely suppressed by Ye Chen.
Indeed, Ye Chen's current flesh body strength surpassed his past self, having entered another level.
Together with the three other powerful strongest young clansmen of the Seventy-Two Villages, Ye Chen was granted numerous cultivation resources and would be sent to the outside world for experience.
Among them, because Ye Chen had won the championship of the Seventy-Two Villages' young generation grand competition, he received the reward of comprehending the Emperor's Traces of the ancient Great Emperor for a hundred years.
Without a doubt, this was an astonishing reward, at least for the Boundary Desert's Seventy-Two Villages.
Simultaneously, Ye Chen also learned related secrets.
The Boundary Desert was formed in ancient times from the final confrontation between that Flesh Body Great Emperor and another renowned ancient Great Emperor.
Back then, the Flesh Body Great Emperor and that ancient Great Emperor had made a pact: whoever lost would seal themselves in a desolate land until a descendant appeared who could defeat the other's strongest descendant.
However, the Flesh Body Great Emperor lost to that ancient Great Emperor in ancient times. Honoring the promise, he led his seventy-two divisions into the Boundary Desert and sealed themselves there.
The Flesh Body Great Emperor later passed away due to his injuries, hoping that one day, a descendant would rely on pure and matchless flesh body strength to defeat the strongest descendant of that ancient Great Emperor.
"Young man from Huang Village, you have won the championship of this era's young generation grand competition. You may enter the Emperor's Traces land left by the Great Emperor to cultivate for a hundred years."
At this moment, an elderly man on the verge of death appeared, also clad in animal skins like the old clan leader of Huang Village. Yet he was greeted with deep, respectful bows from all present members of the Seventy-Two Villages.
Even the imperial clan powerhouses on site showed sufficient reverence, for this was one of the Divine Generals under the Great Emperor in the past. His cultivation was unfathomably deep. He had been sealed away and was unsealed to emerge in this era.
This old Divine General was very satisfied with Ye Chen's performance. He had paid full attention since the young generation grand competition, able to see that this young man from the outside world was immensely powerful, with heaven-defying flesh body talent. He had even defeated a Great Emperor's descendant like Martial God, deserving to be called a peerless genius.
He also held greater hope than Martial God of fulfilling the ancient pact between the two Emperors.
Led by the old Divine General, Ye Chen arrived at the center of the Imperial Divine City, where there stood a somewhat dilapidated Divine Temple. The old Divine General stated that within lay the Emperor's Traces land left by the Great Emperor, which could be considered a priceless immortal opportunity for the world.
The old Divine General stopped before the Divine Temple, his gaze towards it slightly complex. "Little friend, you may enter. Inside lies an opportunity left for you by His Majesty. If you can properly inherit it, with your flesh body talent, you might also become a peerless Great Emperor like His Majesty in the future."
Ye Chen stepped into the Divine Temple. As space-time shifted, he entered a crimson world, vast and immense, feeling not much smaller than the Boundary Desert.
He could distinctly feel an infinite blood energy boiling within this world, incredibly astonishing, pressing down on him like Mount Tai. However, a special aura continuously flowed from within his body, dissolving this blood energy pressure.
He knew this was the blood left by that Flesh Body Great Emperor. For an Emperor, a single drop of blood could give rise to a blood sea, submerging the starry sky.
Especially for a Flesh Body Great Emperor, who attained the Paragon realm through pure flesh body cultivation—that level of blood energy was incomparably powerful.
Ye Chen was also quite curious. How powerful was that Flesh Body Great Emperor back then? His flesh body was matchless, even stronger than imperial weapons. Yet he ultimately lost to another Great Emperor who specialized in dao techniques.
Logically speaking, the Flesh Body Great Emperor's imperial body was peerless, difficult for dao techniques to decay or destroy. How could he have been defeated?
In the end, he also passed away due to his injuries, which was truly strange.