Nine Divine Points... The entire Stage Eight battle platform fell into a profound silence, even the fierce wind blowing from outside seemed momentarily choked into breathlessness. Read the latest chapters of Ming Jia //

In the recreation areas, places like bars and restaurants, an absolute hush descended.

Tian Long froze, staring at Ye Chen's cold, detached expression. A surge of anger welled up in his heart; his face turned ashen. "Good, very good! Arrogant enough! I will let you understand what the Hall of Geniuses truly means!!"

One draw of nine points was equivalent to one opportunity to observe the Heavenly Dao Stele!

Only beings bordering on the monstrous would dare wager such a high stake; in the entire Second-Tier Hall of Geniuses, there could be no more than five such individuals!

Everyone in the leisure section stared at Ye Chen on the screen, a flicker of shock crossing their faces, before they shook their heads slightly, murmuring inwardly about his rash impulsiveness.

"A newcomer actually dares to stake nine Zi points against Tian Long in one go!"

"Tian Long might not be the strongest, but he is still a genius listed on the Heavenly Ranking!"

"Tian Long has struck gold this time; ah, I envy him. If only I had been the one to challenge him."

All eyes were fixed on Tian Long displayed on the screen, filled with envy, silently lamenting that they had been a step too slow to act.

Ye Chen looked calmly at Tian Long. "Let's begin!"

Tian Long gave a cold sneer, a hint of mockery in his smile. Although he knew this was a heaven-sent opportunity to rake in a massive profit, the feeling of being looked down upon still stoked his anger.

"I will show you that the people here are entirely different from those you've dealt with before!" Tian Long extended his hand, gripping the massive battle saber behind him. The hilt featured a spiraled carving, exquisitely detailed, ensuring a firm grip that prevented slippage during combat.

Ye Chen’s expression was icy as he tightened his grip on his own battle saber.

"Battle, commence..."

The intelligent system of the battle platform announced in a loud voice.

"Nine Palaces!" Ye Chen hissed. The surrounding battle platform vibrated faintly, the earth and stone beneath cracking open as a majestic palace erupted from the ground, piercing the surface to stand tall amidst the sand and dust. It glowed a deep crimson hue, its eaves tiled in red, and the stone pillars at the entrance were carved with strange, primordial beasts, exuding an ancient, weathered aura.

This palace was startlingly lifelike, standing proudly in the center of the entire platform, and atop its highest point stood a lone figure—naturally, Ye Chen.

Tian Long’s pupils constricted upon seeing the towering Nine Palaces. He gasped out loud, "Imperial Family Divine Codex Secret Art!"

In the entire recreation area, every gaze was fixed upon the imposing Nine Palaces. Its vivid depiction stunned most observers, causing their brows to furrow and their expressions to turn grave. 【High-Quality Update】

Ye Chen stood poised atop the Nine Palaces, his expression remote, looking down upon Tian Long. His blood coursed through his veins, channeling power into his fists.

Amplitude-type secret arts were divided into several categories: Body Strengthening, Self-Destructing, Combat, Auxiliary, Defense, Profound Mystery, Illusion, and so on.

The Heavenly Dao Scripture was a Body Strengthening secret art!

The Bloodline Secret Codex was a Self-Destructing art, fueled by burning one's own blood!

The Nine Palaces was a Combat and Auxiliary art, also possessing a defense system that could be configured into the Nine Palaces Great Formation to lock down an enemy's movements, though Ye Chen had not yet had time to learn the defensive formations to deploy them.

The amplitude provided by every category of secret art could be stacked!

However, if the arts were of the same type, they could not stack.

Although the Nine Palaces Secret Art, when fully mastered, only offered an amplification factor of 100 times—compared to the Nine-Layer amplification of the Heavenly Dao Scripture—among the combat-oriented secret arts, Nine Palaces was already considered a peak Divine-tier manual!

As for the Heavenly Dao Scripture... in the entire Ancient World, only one person knew the complete set—the original Heavenly Dao Being who created it! Currently, Ye Chen had obtained an opportunity to possess the full set, though he had only mastered the second layer so far.

Ye Chen even suspected that the reason his Heavenly Dao Teacher perished was because of this very scripture, highlighting how heaven-defying it was, a miracle among Body Strengthening secret arts!

An ordinary deity creating a Body Strengthening art could, at best, amplify their strength tenfold—and that was considered the absolute limit!

Tian Long's expression turned serious. He stared at Ye Chen for a long moment before coldly sneering, "So you are from the Imperial Lineage; no wonder you are so arrogant. Even if you are royalty, I will ensure your defeat today!" With that, he abruptly clenched the battle saber in his hand. His muscles bulged, his eyes burned blood-red, his long black hair stood on end, and his skin seemed to thin, becoming as sharp as blades.

"Frenzied Transformation!"

Tian Long’s aura exploded violently; his bones cracked audibly, his skin turned crimson, making him appear as robust and fierce as a coiling dragon, radiating a savage and brutal aura.

The Frenzied Transformation Secret Art originated from the top-tier techniques of the Beastman Civilization. It was Self-Destructing, similar to the Werewolf Transformation of the Celestial Wolf Civilization, capable of dramatically boosting output power. Basic Frenzy amplified tenfold! Intermediate, one hundredfold! Advanced, a thousandfold!

Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected Tian Long to possess the Beastman Civilization's Frenzy technique. Judging by his aura, it surpassed the ten-fold mark, likely meaning he was using the Intermediate level!

On the entire Ancient Continent, few deities could afford to acquire the Frenzied Transformation Secret Art.

This art was similar to the Bloodline Secret Codex, but the latter had no upper limit—power could surge wildly as long as lifespan permitted. In contrast, the peak version of the Frenzied Transformation Secret Art could only amplify power by ten thousand times!

That was the absolute ceiling!

"Frenzied God Saber Technique!" Tian Long roared, his entire being resembling a rampaging, irrational wild beast. He gripped his battle saber, pouring his half-god power into it. The energy slowly compressed and condensed at the blade’s tip, causing the entire saber to gleam with golden light, its saber energy solidifying into a protective barrier as he cleaved down toward Ye Chen!

This strike threatened to cleave the heavens and earth apart!

An incomparably crystalline jade-green saber light descended from the sky, aiming directly at Ye Chen atop the Nine Palaces, intent on splitting the entire palace in half!

Ye Chen felt the soaring battle intent radiating from the saber light and a tremor of fear shot through him; his consciousness was completely seized by the attack. He frowned suddenly, clenching his fist, and activated the Bloodline Secret Codex within his body!

"Burn!"

Ye Chen’s robes fluttered without wind, and his black hair began to change color from the roots, turning blood-red. His mass of bloody hair whipped wildly behind him, his dark eyes filled with chilling coldness, glowing with an eerie, seductive light as he stared fixedly at Tian Long. His entire body’s aura skyrocketed, multiplying by 110 times! 1,100 times! 11,000 times!

Ten thousand years of lifespan instantly transformed into energy as tumultuous as a great river, surging into his fists and then flowing through his feet into the entirety of the massive Nine Palaces!

Hummm—The entire Nine Palaces suddenly blazed with intense light, towering flames sweeping outward, and the aura intensified tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold! Around the Nine Palaces, the flames seemed tangible, forged from the essence of pure divine power, carrying a soul-stirring, immense force. Within the several side gates of the Nine Palaces, they boomed open, and three clusters of deep red energy drifted out, coalescing into three Nine Palace Guardians!

"Explode!" "Explode!"

"Explode!"

Ye Chen pointed a finger, his expression ice-cold. The three Nine Palace Guardians roared and charged headlong into the descending saber light.

Tian Long’s face shifted upon sensing the sudden upheaval. "His aura—how could it increase so much? A newcomer actually possesses an amplification of three million times!"

He felt a stir of alarm, but seeing Ye Chen’s indifferent demeanor only fueled his rage. He grinned viciously, "So that's your reliance. Heh heh, three million times is nothing. I will let you recognize what the true level of a four-million-times amplification in the Half-God Realm looks like!"

He clenched his fist, letting out a roar to the sky. His unruly hair danced wildly, veins bulging across his body, and his internal power surged once more. Through some mysterious means, he forced his power—which had already hit a bottleneck—to break through yet again!

"Frenzied God, Fourth Saber!" Tian Long bellowed.

The battle saber in his hand suddenly whipped up a dust storm that churned the clouds and wind above the world. All the thunderclouds hovering above the battle stage seemed to swirl into a vortex, lightning crackling within, drawn by Tian Long’s immensely powerful magnetic field.

One strike transformed the world!

Tian Long gripped his battle saber, his entire being resembling an unrivaled overlord. He raised his arms, veins bulging, blood seeping faintly from his pores with a hint of grimness, and brought the saber crashing down!

This strike seemed to sever the very fabric of space and time, tearing a large swath of darkness across the void, splitting space itself!

This was power that surpassed the peak of the Pseudo-God level, second only to true divinity!

This golden saber energy threatened to cleave the entire enormous mountain battle platform, Ye Chen included, into two halves. It rushed forward with the momentum of a tidal wave, overwhelming Ye Chen's entire field of vision.

Heaven and earth vanished before his eyes... only that arrogant, incandescent saber light expanded in his pupils... The fierce wind suddenly held its breath.

Something deep within his core seemed to be boiling and churning?

The blood residing in the deepest recesses of his being seemed to awaken from its slumber... He suddenly clenched his fist, facing the downward-plunging saber light, roaring against the heavens as he ascended!

"Ahhh! Ahhhhhh..."

He roared!

Heaven and earth responded!

The entire world's winds and clouds shifted, and the atmosphere of the entire mountain battle platform seemed to be lifted by Ye Chen. He reached out toward the sky, and the dense energy shockwave from the explosion of the three Nine Palace Guardians retracted violently like a whale diving, converging onto his battle saber, causing the hilt to turn blood-red, bearing the sinister grin of a demon.

In the flow of time, that faint, blood-red saber glow slowly began to emerge from the battle saber, wisp by wisp, until it erupted into a thousand feet of scarlet light, dazzling the entire world.

One saber strike unleashed!

All the lightning moving through the world seemed to freeze; the clouds ceased their churning under the glare of the crimson light, and even the howling, sweeping gale choked itself into silence.

This brilliant, blood-red saber light, like a lover's lips or putrid fresh blood, possessing a mesmerizing, eerie glow, swung toward the massive golden saber light!

BOOM!!!

The entire mountain battle platform shuddered with a deafening roar. That massive saber light shattered like glass, the sound heartbreakingly loud! It completely drowned out the thunderclaps even in the sky.

Beneath the encompassing golden light, the crimson glow—like a demon emerging from the abyss—pushed back the golden saber energy bit by bit, illuminating the entire world!

CRASH!

The entire mountain battle platform shook violently downward. Dust and debris flew up, countless shattered stones shooting outward. From a distance, the entire platform was shrouded in mist, submerging the eerie red light.

Everyone in the recreation area craned their necks to peer through, their patience wearing thin, wishing they could simply blow a breath to clear the fog from the battle platform and see the result within.

(To be continued) l;/divg;T