A month had passed since Ye Chen entered seclusion. During the time the Huaxia Major Base City was mass-planting grain under the gaze of the Brightness, the coastal Baoshan District of Shanghai City lay in ruins.

A sea of glorious, imposing structures had collapsed into ruin, and the desolate, dead-silent streets were utterly devoid of human presence, save for the occasional zombie shambling aimlessly by.

Deep within a remote mountain range.

Amidst the dense forest, withered trees, and brush, the void suddenly rippled with a shimmering distortion, like refracted light. From within came a grating sound—the crunching of bone—interspersed with distant, phantom roars that seemed as vast as mountains and seas, near one moment and far the next, sending a chilling terror down the spine.

BOOM!

A hoof, black as night, pounded out from the distortion, radiating heat. It was covered in scales, and the edges of the hoof were wreathed in black flames that incinerated the deadwood on the ground, stamping a deep impression into the earth! This was a monstrous figure, ten zhang high, completely scaled, with its four hooves burning with dark, ethereal fire, and eyes like bronze bells flashing with terrifying light.

As the monster emerged, the warped space slowly settled back to calm. The creature, whose form resembled a Qilin, suddenly began to shrink. It rapidly diminished from the height of a ten-story building to a black-clad man about eight feet tall. His eyes were cold as knives, his entire body simmering with latent killing intent, giving the unsettling impression that he could erupt into a killing frenzy at any moment.

“This is Origin Star, is it?” The black-clad man surveyed his surroundings with a flicker of disdain in his eyes. “The gravity is so light; a casual movement could launch one off the planet. I wonder what the fighting strength of the humans here amounts to.”

He twitched his nose, taking a deep sniff. “Hmm, the energy in the air is also so thin… the oxygen is too sparse. Such a low-grade world, barely qualifying as a mid-level planetary classification. Yet, the Master cares so much for this ball of rock. How strange!” Thinking of his Master immediately brought his primary mission back to mind. He swept his gaze around and murmured, “I wonder how large this planet is. The Master said the human stole his treasure… he should be residing around here, not too far away.”

Just then—WHOOSH!

A three-eyed wolf burst from the jungle and lunged toward the black-clad man, jaws wide for the attack.

The black-clad man frowned slightly.

BANG!

The three-eyed wolf’s body froze mid-air as it lunged, pinned by a surge of immense energy. It instantly exploded into a rain of blood—dying without even a whimper—and fell lifelessly to the ground.

The black-clad man glanced dismissively. “A mere scrap with thirty thousand combat power. Hmph!” He stared into the distance and thought inwardly, This planet is recorded in the successive histories of the Black God Stele… I wonder what secrets lie within. I should proceed with caution, gauge the situation first, and then seek out that human for trouble! Besides, having come out for once, leaving so soon would be a waste of a good trip, wouldn't it?

With that thought, a slight curve formed on his lips. He turned and melted back into the jungle, his silhouette vanishing into the shadows beneath the tall trees…

In the Brightness Base City.

The sun beat down fiercely, the earth seeming ready to scorch and crack. A vast expanse of land, like a massive patched quilt made up of countless rice paddies, shimmered with rippling water, reflecting light like a mirror—exquisitely beautiful.

At the center of these innumerable paddies, a magnificent base city towered majestically.

Inside the cultivation chamber.

Ye Chen was enveloped in a shroud of black and red light. Floating before him were nine crimson beads, from which torrents of pure energy flowed slowly into his body, reminiscent of a whale frolicking in the water.

After a month of frenzied consumption, Ye Chen’s strength had undergone earth-shattering changes. The refined crystal cores had barely helped him advance from the early stage of an Eighth-Order Strength Master to the middle stage. It was only after devouring half the physical body of the enchanting woman that his foundation truly stabilized at the Eighth-Order middle stage!

Subsequently, devouring the physical body of the winged man caused his strength to surge, pushing him to the peak of the late Eighth-Order!

As cultivation deepened, advancement slowed. Ye Chen then consumed the physical body of the Dark Prince. The energy contained within those nine masses of flesh was colossal—the Dark Prince alone contained energy equivalent to the physical bodies of one hundred enchanting women.

Under the relentless consumption, the nine pieces of flesh transformed into nine luminous beads.

Ye Chen’s strength soared like a rocket, breaking through two consecutive ranks to reach the late Tenth-Order, just one step shy of breaking through the Strength Master stage and reaching the Source Master realm!

Following the two breakthroughs in strength, Ye Chen’s physique also improved dramatically, reaching Level 6200!

In just one month, his physique increased by 600 levels, and his strength advanced by three tiers—a speed that no one would believe if told.

While devouring the Dark Prince’s body, Ye Chen reflected deeply, analyzing his combat skills, his current power, and projecting future scenarios.

“With my current strength, utilizing the Meteorite Profundity and the Stellar Profundity, I can barely double my attack and defense, but I cannot use them frequently. Coupled with the Divine Sword, I can just manage to kill an ordinary Ghost God Realm expert!”

“If I use combat techniques, the power can increase further!” Current strongest attack is the ‘Xuanyuan Thirteen Swords.’ The first form increases lethality by half a degree; the second form doubles lethality; the third form increases it by 1.5 times!”

“With the physical body alone, using the third form yields 9,300 levels of power. Adding the Meteorite Profundity’s doubling effect gives 18,600 levels of power!”

“With physical strength alone, I can deal with a First-Tier Ghost God Realm expert!”

“Regarding strength energy, using the ‘Nine Palaces Secret Codex,’ the maximum amplification is nine times. Currently, with my power, I can only achieve a three-fold amplification! After employing the ‘Nine Palaces Secret Codex,’ I can contend with a Third-Tier Ghost God Realm expert. However, my strength energy cannot inflict damage on a Ghost God Realm expert unless my physical body reaches ten thousand levels, allowing the flesh and energy to merge and transform into Ghost Qi—at that point, strength energy will equal Ghost Qi!”

“This way, upon entering the Ghost God Realm, my strength energy can convert into vast amounts of Ghost Qi. With a First-Tier Ghost God body, I could kill a Third-Tier Ghost God expert! And before that happens, I can continue to improve!”

“Furthermore, I still have the Blazing God Hammer and the Ethereal Flame Shield. After so much contemplation, I have completely mastered the Ethereal Flame Shield in my mind; I can unleash it effortlessly!”

“These two techniques are true ultimate skills—once cultivated to their peak, they can summon the might of ancient divine weapons to possess my body, rendering me unstoppable! The Blazing God Hammer is currently at the first layer; there are five layers in total. The first layer amplifies strength energy lethality by three times! The second layer, six times! And so on. The Ethereal Flame Shield operates the same way!”

In these past days, Ye Chen had acquired a great deal. A careful inventory showed that with his current strength energy, utilizing his full power with the three-fold amplification of the ‘Nine Palaces’ layered with the Blazing God Hammer, he could unleash sixty thousand levels of combat power! However, this was only effective if the opponent was not in Ghost God Mode; otherwise, he would have to rely solely on the Divine Sword!

“Peak combat power: sixty thousand levels. This is my true body!” Ye Chen noted silently. He always placed great importance on the strength of his main body, as in some ruins, the superhuman mode could not be activated, forcing reliance on his base capabilities.

Moreover… if his true body wasn't strong enough, the embarrassing situation he faced against the Dark Prince—possessing immense power yet being unable to inflict any damage—could recur.

Hoo!

Ye Chen inhaled sharply, swallowing the nine soybean-sized flesh beads floating before him. Forcibly refining them, surging energy flooded every part of his body, instantly boosting his strength energy to the peak of the Tenth-Order Strength Master, with subtle signs of imminent breakthrough.

Ye Chen quickly settled into a cross-legged position, urging the energy within him, striking while the iron was hot to force open that final layer!

Two days later.

Ye Chen opened his eyes. The energy within his body had completely calmed, stirring no ripples. This time, the breakthrough attempt failed; he remained at the peak of the Tenth-Order, that final layer tantalizingly close!

Ye Chen sighed softly, stood up, and left the cultivation chamber.

Pushing open the door, sunlight streamed down from the sky, enveloping Ye Chen.

Ye Chen spread his arms and took a deep breath.

In that instant, it felt as if he were embracing the entire world!

Ye Chen moved, rushing out of the Ancient Martial Civilization city and soaring above the base city established on Earth. Glancing around, he immediately spotted the beautiful, serene terraced fields outside the magnificent city walls.

As Ye Chen appeared, the guards protecting the base city immediately spotted him. Recognizing the figure, they all exclaimed in joyous surprise, their expressions filled with awe.

Ye Chen selected the largest building and dashed inside.

At the entrance of the building, several guards stood together.

“I heard Evan killed an injured Reverse-Horned Beast.”

“Then he’s rich. What incredible luck.”

As the men chatted, they suddenly heard a whooshing sound and quickly turned their heads. Their hearts leaped in shock, and their eyes widened in disbelief: “The, the Guild Master?”

Ye Chen swept past them. “Go summon Xu Tianguo and the others.” The men remained stunned for a long moment before snapping back to reality, nodding quickly, and rushing out, eager to obey.

Ye Chen proceeded into the main hall as if strolling through his own garden, found a chair, and sat down casually.

Not long after, Xu Tianguo, Bai Long, and others rushed in from outside. Each person who entered looked at Ye Chen in surprise, not expecting him to conclude his seclusion so soon. Moreover, from Ye Chen, they felt an extremely subtle sense of pressure that they had never sensed before.

Ye Chen inquired about recent events from Xu Tianguo, and upon learning that the large fields were being planted with rice, he nodded with slight satisfaction, then stated, “Distribute the spring water from the Earth Spirit Spring to everyone. Reward all those who have performed meritorious service! Strive to create more Hundred-Level experts and accelerate our development!” Xu Tianguo hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Understood.”

After giving some instructions, Ye Chen remembered the many small ruins Xu Tianguo had been ordered to excavate and asked, “How many of those previous ruins have you finished excavating?”

Xu Tianguo’s eyes brightened considerably. “There were a total of twelve ruins there. We have finished excavating eleven; only the one belonging to the Dou Tian Civilization remains untouched.”

“The Dou Tian Civilization?” Ye Chen was slightly taken aback. After a moment of thought, he understood. “When entering that civilization’s site, there are three virtual checkpoints. Only after completely passing all three can one gain recognition rights to the ruin—there is no other way besides passing those three checkpoints.”

Xu Tianguo gave a wry smile. “Precisely. Those three virtual checkpoints are extremely troublesome; it’s like a virtual combat tower. Once inside, one’s physique automatically drops, and victory can only be achieved through combat technique! Many people in the Guild, who were Grandmasters of martial arts or assassins, or international mercenaries in the peaceful era, have tried, but all have failed!” Ye Chen frowned slightly. That ruin was only uncovered three years after the Dark Era began, a time when the Ancient Martial Civilization was flourishing and many experts in combat techniques had emerged; therefore, obtaining it shouldn't have been difficult back then.