In truth, by the seventh checkpoint, the guardian's cultivation realm had already reached the Divine Transformation Realm.
Theoretically, Ye Chen had been at the Tenth Heaven since the Demigod stage, possessing an innate advantage of being half a realm higher than the guardian. Even if the battle in the Divine Transformation Realm was fierce, it shouldn't have been so difficult, and the price paid wouldn't have been too high.
But Ye Chen, in order to better temper himself, suppressed all his power to the same level as the guardian.
Therefore, each battle was a true fight between equals, incredibly intense, with flesh and blood splattering freely—a truly brutal scene.
In fact, by this point in the battles, Ye Chen could be said to be quite exhausted. The successive great battles had taken a massive toll on his spirit.
Thus, after the ninth checkpoint, Ye Chen rested for a full half month before he was fully recovered.
However, each of the nine battles, from low to high, greatly benefited Ye Chen.
For a Battle Saint like him, battle was the best form of comprehension, allowing him to grasp all sorts of profound mysteries.
After this series of trials, Ye Chen gained a much better understanding of himself, and he also felt that suppressing his own realm was becoming increasingly difficult, almost impossible to hold back.
Forget the three years he had mentioned before; he would probably have to break through and become a Saint within a year.
Fortunately, however, he was within the Human Sovereign Pagoda. This was a suppression-type Dao weapon left behind by a Supreme One Human Sovereign from the Primordial Times, inherently suited for suppression. Legend had it that countless terrifying divine demons were born in the Primordial Times, all directly suppressed by the Human Sovereign Pagoda.
Therefore, Ye Chen's realm could be temporarily suppressed by the Human Sovereign Pagoda, allowing him to continue the trials.
Nine represented the ultimate, the end of all things. Starting from the tenth checkpoint, Ye Chen discovered that what lay before him was no longer a martial arts arena, but a vast, ancient forest spanning a thousand li.
Mountain ranges stretched continuously, towering into the clouds, lush and verdant.
Lakes were also dotted throughout the forest.
The strange scene at the tenth checkpoint surprised Ye Chen, and he involuntarily stepped into this space.
He remained extremely cautious, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent, spreading his spiritual sense out fully.
In the distance, a terrifying cry rang out. A fearsome holy spirit roc appeared, its wings especially brilliant with golden radiance.
From this Golden-Winged Roc, Ye Chen sensed an exceptionally familiar aura—that of the Heavenly Roc King. He felt a similar sensation, and it was extremely similar to the Heavenly Roc King after he became a True King.
Golden-Winged Roc!
Ye Chen immediately understood. Before him was a true Golden-Winged Roc, a pure-blooded holy spirit without a trace of mixed blood, and incredibly powerful.
So this time, he was to face the legendary Golden-Winged Roc.
In the Human Sovereign Trial, there were not only humans but also those invincible holy spirits from the Mythical Era, all selected to be guardians.
Naturally, none of this could be real; they were merely guardians conjured by the rules.
The Golden-Winged Roc was extremely powerful, and it had shrunk to only three zhang in size. Its entire body shone with brilliant golden light, as dazzling as a golden sun, naturally making it even more formidable.
"Facing a mythical holy spirit? Interesting."
A faint smile played on Ye Chen's lips. He also wanted to witness the true power of a mythical holy spirit.
In ancient times, the Golden-Winged Roc could cover one hundred and eight thousand li with a single flap of its wings. At this moment, this ability was fully displayed on the Golden-Winged Roc.
Whoosh—the world's ultimate speed!
Too fast. This was the true world's ultimate speed, reaching the extreme limit of the mortal world.
Even Ye Chen almost failed to react in time, because the Heavenly Roc Movement Technique could only display its true invincible divine speed when performed by a true Golden-Winged Roc.
In the blink of an eye, the Golden-Winged Roc instantly appeared before him, moving at an unimaginable speed. Forget ordinary people; even Ye Chen found it somewhat difficult to react.
Clang, clang, clang—
The Golden-Winged Roc immediately unleashed the most terrifying Thirty-Six Thousand Swords, directly employing the Eighteen Roc Forms. The golden divine feathers on its wings stood erect, shooting forth thirty-six thousand golden divine swords that pierced through the sky, slashing straight at Ye Chen.
Boom—
Ye Chen was sent flying. If not for his Battle Sacred Body being sufficiently firm and indestructible, anyone else would have been pierced through like a sieve by the thirty-six thousand swords.
But even so, Ye Chen was shaken by the thirty-six thousand swords, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood. Drops of brilliant golden saintly blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, dazzling and fiery.
Too fast, too strong. Worthy of the world's ultimate speed, worthy of an invincible mythical holy spirit.
And at this very moment, the Golden-Winged Roc pressed its advantage, transforming into a golden divine sun-like lightning bolt as it chased after Ye Chen, closing in on him. The Eighteen Roc Forms displayed by the Golden-Winged Roc were far more powerful than those of the Heavenly Roc King in the past.
Ultimately, the Heavenly Roc King of the past had only recently become a Golden-Winged Roc, and his bloodline power hadn't been fully unleashed. Moreover, this was the original creator of the technique, naturally making it much more fearsome.
Almost as fast as lightning, the Golden-Winged Roc displayed the first three forms of the Eighteen Roc Forms.
The Eighteen Roc Forms—each form was a world-shaking, great killing move. Three forms unleashed together were almost enough to destroy heaven and earth.
But Ye Chen had already reacted. He no longer suppressed himself; instead, he expanded his Ten Heavens divine nature halo. Immortal mist surged forth, and his Saint Body's blood energy completely boiled over, exploding through the sky—truly terrifying.
Also the Eighteen Roc Forms!
Ye Chen attacked with the Eighteen Roc Forms he had mastered. He had once extorted part of the essence from the Roc Clan, and now he unleashed it. Moreover, he executed it with his Battle Sacred Body, making it equally terrifyingly astonishing as he countered the attack.
Furthermore, he combined the essence of the Heavenly Roc Movement Technique with the Realm-Treading Secret Technique, also pushing his movement technique to its absolute limit, becoming unimaginably fast as he engaged in a shocking collision with the Golden-Winged Roc.
"Cough—"
Ye Chen was sent flying backward. The Golden-Winged Roc was simply too fast. It had long been the foremost swiftest immortal avian. Even the True Dragon and the Immortal Phoenix were slightly inferior in speed; only the Kunpeng, also of the roc lineage, could match it. Moreover, this was the ultimate speed movement technique developed by this very clan, making it the most suitable and compatible, giving it an edge over Ye Chen.
For so many years, this was the first time Ye Chen had encountered a being of the same realm whose speed surpassed his own—the Golden-Winged Roc.
Fortunately, he was not only extremely fast but also possessed the even more powerful, perfect Battle Sacred Body. At this moment, he was merely practicing the Heavenly Roc Movement Technique and the Eighteen Roc Forms, even displaying the Dragon-Slaying Art, hoping to comprehend more profound truths through the collision with the Golden-Winged Roc, and he was currently stealing techniques.
He hoped to completely steal the Eighteen Roc Forms and even the Dragon-Slaying Art. These were the supreme secrets of the Roc Clan, not to be passed on to outsiders. Yet, he never expected that they could be displayed in the Human Sovereign Trial of the Human Sovereign Pagoda.