A light, amused voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
Ye Chen had spoken, his smile like a spring breeze brushing across his face, not a trace of tension to be seen.
Such casual ease and composure made him the center of attention.
Many people appeared stunned, while the Thirteenth Prince and Princess Hong Rong finally snapped out of their daze. Looking at Ye Chen, they couldn't help but smile, all their tension vanishing.
This was a true legendary figure. Twelve years ago, he was already a monstrous genius at the peak of the Demigod Realm, capable of slaying Divine Transformation experts from the alien world. Now, after twelve years, who could guess just how powerful this guy had become?
In any case, they all felt that the current Ye Chen seemed even more unfathomably profound than before.
The Thirteenth Prince chuckled. "My apologies. If you hadn't spoken, I almost forgot you were here. Since you've volunteered, please hurry up and deal with this trouble before us."
Ye Chen smiled, rising into the air. "Since you've personally asked, I suppose I have no choice but to act. Have all your people return. They won't need to expend their divine power holding the line anymore. I alone am sufficient."
His casual words left everyone in the city astonished, though many frowned.
Who was this somewhat unfamiliar young man, to be so arrogant as to think he could handle all the demonic beasts alone?
Yet, to everyone's further shock, the Thirteenth Prince actually spoke up, ordering all the combatants to return one by one.
Even the City Lord believed this person's arrogant claim? It was simply madness. Someone stepped forward urgently to stop him. "City Lord, you can't do this! What if the Nine-Spotted Six-Eared Bears all charge over? Please let us act. Give the order!"
However, the Thirteenth Prince shook his head, a confident smile on his face. "No need to worry. Trust him. Everyone, fall back."
"City Lord, just who is he that you trust him so much?" someone finally couldn't help but ask.
Before the Thirteenth Prince could answer, Princess Hong Rong spoke. Her red lips parted, uttering two words. Two simple words that exploded in everyone's ears like thunderclaps—
"Ye Chen!"
These two seemingly ordinary words seemed to contain an invisible magic, causing everyone present to freeze on the spot, their faces stiff, their eyes filled with disbelief and shock.
It was actually him! He had returned to the ancient path!
Despite the passage of twelve years, the tales of that person had never faded from the minds of the masses. On the contrary, with the passage of time, the imprint had only grown deeper.
Because they all clearly remembered, over a decade ago, a myth created by one named Ye Chen. He rose from a crippled physique with lightning speed, dominated the Trial Path, overpowered the many young talents of the Tian Du Continent, stormed the Trial Gate, suppressed the Five Ancient Talents, stood alone as king, invincible among his generation.
That Ye Chen was such a myth, one that forced all his contemporaries—including the Ancient Talents sealed in the ancient era, prophesied to have the potential to surpass deities, the hope of becoming Saints—to be suppressed, to only look up in admiration, never to rival.
Twelve years ago, he could already match, even slay, Divine Transformation experts from the alien world.
Twelve years had passed. Who would have thought he had returned?
No wonder he seemed somewhat unfamiliar yet so familiar with the Thirteenth Prince.
At this moment, after the initial shock, what filled everyone was even greater joy. For true hope had arrived. The myth had appeared.
With his emergence, all crises on the King's Ancient Path could be faced without fear.
Looking at the young man slowly ascending into the air, everyone regarded him with the reverence one would afford a heavenly deity.
The Thirteenth Prince also rose into the air to stand beside him, speaking softly. "Do you need us to help fend off the other demonic beasts, so you can focus on dealing with these?"
Though he knew Ye Chen was powerful enough, he didn't truly understand the extent and worried he might be overwhelmed alone, hence the offer.
Ye Chen shook his head, revealing a smile that could only be called confident. "No need. Just watch."
Then he looked up at the roc circling overhead and frowned. "I detest creatures flying above my head the most."
He extended a large hand, instantly manifesting a shocking dharma form that blotted out the sky and earth, grabbing towards the roc.
The roc was a demonic beast, its perception of danger the sharpest. It immediately tried to flap its wings and soar away, but Ye Chen snorted coldly. "A mere Demigod-level creature, and you dare try to escape from my grasp? If word got out, wouldn't I become a laughingstock across the Myriad Domains?"
The void was directly restrained. The roc couldn't move at all. Then, under the horrified gazes of the crowd, Ye Chen actually grabbed the eighth-level Demigod roc from the sky with one hand. No matter how it struggled, it was useless, letting out continuous mournful cries.
Too powerful! Even though they already knew of Ye Chen's strength, witnessing it firsthand still left them deeply shocked.
With just a casual hand, he had plucked the roc from the sky, rendering it unable to struggle. One must know this was a great demonic beast at the eighth level of the Demigod Realm! Even if they wanted to deal with it, they would need to dispatch at least a dozen Demigod experts. Moreover, the roc was a divine bird of the skies, incredibly fast and difficult to handle.
Truly worthy of being the myth of the Tian Du Continent's younger generation. His strength was indeed absurdly powerful.
Ye Chen did not kill the roc, merely restrained its form so it couldn't move or fly away, then casually tossed it aside. It crashed down, flattening vast swathes of nearby forest, causing the earth to rumble.
Then Ye Chen looked at the other three great demonic beasts and the thousands-strong tide of beasts. "For you all, one move is enough!"
He merely took a single step forward. Immediately, an invisible ripple of spatial power spread out from under his feet with lightning speed.
The Traces of the Dao!
The invisible spatial ripple spread out with a speed too fast for the eye to follow, lightning-fast, reaching the dark tide of demonic beasts. The ferocious beasts, one after another, directly exploded into clouds of blood mist, their bodies shattered, bones turned to powder, blood staining the mountain forest.
In the blink of an eye, thousands upon thousands of demonic beasts had bizarrely exploded. The bloody scene deeply shook the hearts and minds of every onlooker.
The Nine-Spotted Six-Eared Bear, the Three-Headed Lion-Tiger-Wolf, and the Heavenly Demon Snake were sent flying hundreds of zhang away, smashing into mountain peaks.
One move. Suppressing the horde of beasts. Victory!
After his initial shock, the Thirteenth Prince could only offer a bitter smile.
Who could have imagined that Ye Chen, now so powerful, was merely an opponent on par with him over a decade ago?
More than a decade had passed. This monstrous figure, who even back then overpowered all the geniuses of the younger generation, had become even more mythically invincible, leaving others with no choice but to look up in admiration.
Princess Hong Rong also sighed repeatedly, murmuring dazedly, "This Ye Chen... couldn't he be just a little less powerful?"