After the white-haired elder had given a few instructions, he permitted Ye Chen to leave the divine hall. (Mobile access)

"How was it?" The leading man watched Ye Chen emerge safely, a wave of relief washing over him. He knew that if Ye Chen harbored even a sliver of malice, it would have been instantly detected, leading to his demise under the Elder's hand.

"Mm!" Ye Chen nodded, looking at the man. "The Elder has allowed me to stay on the island, lodging at your home temporarily. Don't worry, I can help you hunt; I absolutely won't take food for free."

"No problem!" The leading man laughed heartily. "I'm Huang Shan!" His manner showed he harbored no more suspicion toward Ye Chen.

Subsequently, the two descended the hillside together.

In the divine hall, by the window, a calm and profound gaze silently watched Ye Chen's retreating back, revealing no emotion—only the deep serenity of the ocean.

After a long while, the white-haired elder slowly withdrew his sight. Standing motionless for some time, he murmured softly, "The ancestral decree of the tribe: once an outsider is discovered, all divine hall envoys must be notified immediately to convene the highest council..."

"On the entire island, everyone follows the ancestors, bearing the surname Huang. I don't know about other islands, but ours is like this." Along the way, Huang Shan briefed Ye Chen on the customs and life of the islanders.

It was a very simple and honest island. There were three villages in total, each housing roughly 1,000 people. For a place with a village-scale settlement, this was an extremely large population.

The village where Huang Shan resided was called Gaopo Village, named for the many high slopes nearby.

As they chatted, Huang Shan led Ye Chen toward Gaopo Village. Many people stopped to stare upon seeing Ye Chen. This was unavoidable; for a race that hadn't seen a normal human in several millennia, though they had encountered many monsters on the island, they had never seen, nor could they have imagined, a human so physically similar yet so short.

"Hey, Dashan, who is this person?"

"He looks so short, yet quite delicate."

Many villagers who were on good terms with Huang Shan approached out of curiosity.

Huang Shan smiled. "He's an outsider, just returned from the Elder."

"I see."

"Welcome, outsider."

"Hey, what's your name? Come to my house for dinner tonight! I'll give you the most delicious Bei Pig meat!"

Hearing that Ye Chen had come from the Elder, the enthusiasm of many people suddenly soared. It was easy to imagine that on this island, the Elder was a god-like figure.

Arriving home.

Huang Shan looked at Ye Chen and laughed. "These people are too enthusiastic. Those scoundrels, Lao Chou and the others, even tried to drag you to their homes for dinner."

Ye Chen shook his head with a wry smile, slightly moved by the simple sincerity of these villagers. In this apocalyptic age, it was rare to see such genuine and pure eyes...

Huang Shan chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the humble dwelling, yet he couldn't spot his son, looking perplexed. "Where did that little brat go? Did he just pass his assessment and run off to brag to his classmates?"

Ye Chen settled down comfortably, finding a chair at random. "How old is your son?"

"He's already eighteen!" Huang Shan smiled, clearly proud. An eighteen-year-old son reaching the Fourth Tier Warrior rank made him incredibly happy.

Ye Chen suddenly understood, musing inwardly: It seems these primitive humans on the island, for some reason, have experienced a surge in bodily hormones, causing everyone to grow extraordinarily tall and possess formidable physiques. However, their lifespan doesn't seem much different from those in the outside world.

Meanwhile.

Over the vast ocean, three figures materialized out of thin air. The leading Dark Prince swept his gaze across the scene, his eyes gleaming. "What a massive ruin. Its sheer area appears incredibly vast; the prehistoric technology and engineering left inside must be immense!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness," the seductive woman said respectfully.

The Dark Prince's mood greatly improved. Clenching his fist, he sneered, "Now that wretched human has nowhere to escape! Dishao, go out and summon the monster troops we previously recruited and stationed in those regions. Occupy the entire Origin Star and slaughter every human!" As he uttered the word 'human,' his teeth ground together.

"Yes!" The winged man nodded, wasting no time, his figure moving as he turned and vanished.

The Dark Prince looked at the seductive woman. "Wait here. If you spot any trace of that human, intercept immediately! If anything unusual occurs, report it via communicator."

"Yes!" The bewitching woman acknowledged.

Then, the Dark Prince looked out at the boundless sea, let out a cry, and plunged down. "I wonder what treasures are contained within!" His eyes shone. At this moment, he wasn't in a hurry to pursue Ye Chen. In his view, this human was like a treasure bag that had stumbled into a massive vault. As long as the seductive woman guarded the opening, he was a trapped turtle, insignificant. Once he acquired the treasures in this ruin, he could toy with his prey at his leisure!

"My strength has been suppressed tenfold, but I can still undergo Ghost Transformation, haha..." He was thrilled. As long as he could enter the Ghost Transformation state, he wouldn't fear ordinary physical attacks.

Suddenly, the sea surface bulged rapidly, and immediately, a monstrous maw, three zhang in diameter, shot up from the seabed, snapping toward the Dark Prince. Before the latter could react, he was instantly swallowed, and the creature sank back into the ocean depths. Being quite far away, the seductive woman did not witness this scene.

About ten minutes later, a figure drifted out of the seawater, drenched and somewhat disheveled—it was the Dark Prince, his face filled with lingering dread. "What kind of monster was that? Its attack was so swift! If I hadn't quickly entered Ghost Transformation, I would have been swallowed whole!"

He had every reason to be afraid. Even though his overall strength was suppressed tenfold, he still possessed power equivalent to a Level 7000 spiritual civilization expert! Yet, he failed to react to that hideous monster's attack. Calculating backward, wasn't the opponent over Level 7000? And outside, with the tenfold amplification, wouldn't that monster approach Level 100,000?

Level 100,000—that was a demigod-level powerhouse!

What chilled him was that, for some reason, while the monster possessed such terrifying physical fortitude, its flesh had not evolved to the stage of 'material energy transformation,' which would have made it a Ghost God Realm expert. Otherwise, he would have had no hope of escape...

Having witnessed the terror of that monstrous sea creature, he dared not be careless again. He flew higher above the sea surface. This previously azure and beautiful ocean now appeared to him as a coiled, malevolent beast...

As time passed, it was time for dinner. Although there was no sun in this space, resulting in no discernible day or night, there were light matter elements and so forth, providing temperature and sustaining life forms.

Huang Shan personally cooked, slicing up portions of the monsters he had hunted in the back room to prepare a full table for Ye Chen. Ye Chen noted that there were only three monsters in Huang Shan's back room, and when selecting the meat, Huang Shan chose the fattest one without hesitation!

Seeing this, Ye Chen felt a pang of emotion. In the apocalypse, an era where humans preyed on each other, people as simple and honest as this were truly miraculous.

"Strange, why hasn't that boy returned yet?" Huang Shan finished cooking and prepared some fine wine, looking outside with a hint of worry.

Just as Ye Chen was about to offer some comforting words, a figure suddenly came running from a distance—it was Huang Shan's son, Huang Lu.

"Where have you been?" Huang Shan asked, slightly annoyed.

Huang Lu looked listless and distracted. He didn't seem to hear what Huang Shan said, rushing straight home and bolting the door once inside his room.

Huang Shan stared blankly, taken aback for a long moment, then looked embarrassed. "See this, this child..."

Ye Chen offered a slight smile.

Huang Shan shook his head. "Pay him no mind; let's eat first." He sat down and began eating heartily with Ye Chen, though glances toward the door still betrayed a father's anxiety.

After dinner, they prepared to rest.

Swish! The door suddenly opened, and Huang Lu ran out. He stood before Huang Shan, head bowed, hands clenched into fists. After a long silence, he finally said, "Dad, starting tomorrow, I'm going hunting with you!"

"Hunting?" Huang Shan was startled, then his expression turned serious. "What nonsense are you talkingating? Is hunting a game? Don't think that just because you're a Fourth Tier Warrior you can hunt. It requires profound knowledge of tracking; a novice going out risks death easily. There are many dangers in nature that humanity cannot resist."

Huang Lu suddenly looked up, his voice firm. "I want to go! No matter what, I will redouble my efforts and improve myself! In three months, I must reach the Sixth Tier Warrior level!"

"Sixth Tier?" Huang Shan blinked, then reached out to touch his son's head. "You're not running a fever. Are you crazy?"

Huang Lu pulled his hand away angrily. "Do you not believe I can succeed either?"

Huang Shan asked with genuine concern, "Son, what happened?"

Huang Lu’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, biting his lip. "I... I confessed to Huang Shan yesterday. I thought that now I finally had the qualifications to be her man; I've always worked hard for her sake!"

"But... but!"

Tears welled in his eyes. "She rejected me on the spot. I said my Fourth Tier Warrior status could surely protect her, but she said she had fallen for a God War Candidate from Dongniu Village!"

"So..." He took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth. "In the God War Candidates selection six months from now, I must reach the Sixth Tier Warrior level and become a God War Candidate!"

Ye Chen couldn't help but ask, "What is a God War Candidate?"

Huang Shan looked at his son for a long moment, his eyes filled with a sigh and helplessness. He explained to Ye Chen, "Anyone under the age of twenty who reaches the Sixth Tier Warrior level can become a God War Candidate. They represent this island and travel to the inner sea's divine hall for the martial competition to select the new generation of divine hall envoys!"

Ye Chen's eyes lit up. "Anyone can participate?"

Huang Shan looked at him, "Are you interested too? But you must reach the Sixth Tier Warrior level first, and since you are an outsider, it's probably unlikely." (To be continued) [Text provided by Yan'er of the Qihang Update Group]. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian; your support is my greatest motivation.) Novel reading and download available at Zhongwen Net Novel More: ~~~~