Ye Chen actively released his most fearsome aura, his gaze fixed on the Blood-Robed Heavenly King as he prepared to make his move against the latter.
This Heavenly King-level combat imprint was quite special. Unlike other combat imprints that, despite possessing a trace of sentience, would immediately unleash their strongest divine abilities upon meeting, this one displayed a bit more of the thinking and liveliness characteristic of living beings.
However, the other spectators were already utterly astonished. They had thought Ye Chen was merely using the martial arts imprints to temper himself, utterly unqualified to obtain many of them. Yet now, his ability to withstand the Blood-Robed Heavenly King's methods and the peerless aura he released clearly proved he was far stronger than even a Saint Lord.
All along, they had considered Ye Chen nothing but a madman. But starting today, they finally understood that he was no madman, but an insanely powerful, top-tier expert.
In other words, all the imprints he had challenged so far had been successful; he had obtained all their martial arts divine abilities.
What astonishing news this was.
Over two thousand Saint-level divine abilities had been learned by Ye Chen. No wonder he had persisted in challenging them relentlessly for the past two years.
But none of that mattered now, for what lay before them was about to be a terrifying Heavenly King-level battle.
The Blood-Robed Heavenly King versus the Madman!
The Blood-Robed Heavenly King smiled, a very eerie smile, as he slowly released a world-shaking Heavenly King-level pressure that filled every corner of this starry battlefield. Entire swathes of asteroid belts exploded.
"Not bad. You are truly strong. Not at the Saint Treasury Realm. You should have reached that level above Saint Treasury but below Heavenly King. That level of power should be called Samsara."
"You may think so," Ye Chen said, his gaze calm and unperturbed, actively admitting it. This also allowed the others in the Ancient Divine Palace to learn for the first time that this madman was one of the few Samsara-level powerhouses throughout history.
There was shock, for Ye Chen was far too young, having reached this step so early while still on the ascending ladder of human potential. He still had a long, distant path ahead. Barring accidents, becoming a Heavenly King would not be a problem, and he was very likely to climb to the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
Such a figure could not be found even within the entire Ancient Divine Palace. Where on earth did he come from?
"Today, I want to obtain your strongest martial art, and I also want to see for myself the gap between me and a true Heavenly King," Ye Chen said.
"The gap is like that between heaven and earth!"
The Blood-Robed Heavenly King sneered mercilessly, and at this very moment, he had already begun to act.
No need for further words. It was still a single finger pointed out. Upon reaching this Heavenly King realm, everything naturally became transcendent, far surpassing the Saint Treasury Realm by many times.
That single finger was like an immense, blood-red pillar holding up the heavens, spanning the starry land, entwined with surging blood light, all formed from the interweaving of endless Great Dao runes.
Boom—
The endless starry sky was instantly annihilated, completely transformed into a vast vacuum where everything turned to dust.
Only that finger remained, filled with supreme Great Dao true intent, descending from the heavens to press down upon Ye Chen.
This was a Heavenly King, an invincible Heavenly King!
The supreme Great Dao artistic conception seemed to transmit through the starry void to the minds and bodies of the spectating powerhouses, giving them an intense sense of awe.
Unstoppable!
This time, Ye Chen did not utilize the ocean of Faith Power. Instead, he wanted to see for himself the true gap between him and a Heavenly King. He exerted his utmost strength, unleashing his full power. It was as if a million volcanoes were erupting simultaneously. Golden blood energy surged to the heavens, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, inundating the starry sky, causing the stars to tremble, imparting an unparalleled sense of shock.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if an ancient Divine King had awoken from within, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Ye Chen's entire body was bathed in endless golden blood energy. With a light shout, facing the Heavenly King's finger, he directly swung out his most powerful Heaven and Earth Creation Fist.
Primordial chaos first appeared, heaven and earth were created, all things were born...
Astonishing scenes manifested one after another, accompanying the swing of this fist as it collided with the Heavenly King's finger.
An immensely powerful fist, absolutely capable of sweeping away all enemies below the Heavenly King level, making even ancient recluses at the peak of Saint Treasury feel a sense of certain death.
Even the Blood-Robed Heavenly King's gaze flickered.
Boom—
The two collided completely. Blood light and golden light clashed, entwined, soared skyward, affecting the vast starry battlefield.
In that instant, countless stars exploded, and entire meteor showers and meteor belts were annihilated, turning the starry land within a radius of thousands of miles into a vacuum zone where nothing remained.
However, the Blood-Robed Heavenly King's figure remained unmoved, while Ye Chen's figure was sent flying thousands of miles away, even smashing through a meteor, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.
Indeed, in this exchange, Ye Chen was defeated!
A Heavenly King was ultimately far too powerful. Even a peerless genius like Ye Chen at the Samsara level was no match when contending with one.
Without crossing that threshold, one remained an ant in the eyes of a Heavenly King, even a Samsara powerhouse was no exception.
But for many, it was still utterly astonishing. At the very least, this Ye Chen, whom many regarded as a madman, had ultimately managed to withstand a single finger attack from the Blood-Robed Heavenly King with his own power. Anyone else, even an ancient recluse at the peak of Saint Treasury, would have been utterly pulverized.
Rumble—
Ye Chen activated the Saint Body Regeneration Art, instantly healing all his injuries. He then executed the Battle God Seal, causing his entire aura to suddenly surge by a large margin. The aura he released became even more peerless and supreme, enough to make the six directions and eight wildernesses tremble.
However, he still had not reached the Heavenly King level. There was a barrier there, blocking all those below Samsara from breaking into that realm. Even using enhancement secret arts was futile, because the Samsara major realm spanned too vast a gap, impossible to surpass.
But currently, Ye Chen could be considered infinitely close to this level.
"Blood-Robed Heavenly King, you are indeed powerful, but wanting to kill me isn't that easy either. I'd like to see just how powerful you Heavenly Kings truly are."
He soared into the sky, launching the most forceful assault.
Roar—
Growl—
Screech—
Hum—
The Azure Dragon let out a long cry, the White Tiger roared, the Vermilion Bird cried, the Black Tortoise bellowed. Four immense, sky-piercing phantom figures stood at the four extremities around Ye Chen—above, below, left, and right—even merging as one with his two hands and two feet, the Four Extremities.
Rumble—
Heaven and earth both crumbled. The four holy spirits merged with Ye Chen. The powers of earth, water, fire, and wind mutually generated and restrained each other. Even wisps of primordial Chaos Qi overflowed, capable of creating heaven and earth, destroying everything, shaking the nine layers of the heavens.
At this moment, Ye Chen's Supreme Dao Body seemed to transform into an invincible Battle Immortal descending upon the mortal world, immensely powerful. Furthermore, the Five Elements origin world behind him condensed into the Five Elements Divine Swords, interweaving with each other, clanging and ringing, manifesting streaks of multi-colored Five Elements sword radiance that shot forth.
However, the Blood-Robed Heavenly King was truly too powerful. His body merged with the Great Dao of heaven and earth. He directly traced out Dao Traces, affecting the entire starry land, blocking all attacks. He said, "Little fellow, you are ultimately still too weak, unaware of the gap between a Heavenly King and a non-Heavenly King. But I will show it to you."