In his Bai family, there were only three daughters in total. The eldest married into the Ice and Snow Empire, the second married into the Light Empire. The one you favor, I suspect, is the third daughter—that little girl. I also find her quite agreeable; her temperament and character are quite good..." Bai Ya gazed toward the distant sky, a hint of reminiscence in his expression.

Ye Chen was inwardly shaken. "To keep his dead wife's body from decaying, he actually slaughtered over a hundred Marquis-level experts!!!"

What level were Marquis-level experts? Each one was nearly equal in strength to the Heavenly Witch King! Such figures standing at the apex of the world were slaughtered by the hundreds at the hands of that Bai family patriarch! And the only purpose was to mourn his deceased wife's appearance, unable to bear the thought of her body rotting, leading him to devise such a cruel method! Even the ruthless Ye Chen felt his hair stand on end upon hearing of this horrifying event. What kind of person was this? What kind of family?

Bai Ya glanced at Ye Chen and smiled faintly, "You don't need to worry. The patriarch of the Bai family is not an inherently evil person. If you approach him with proper etiquette, there’s a good chance you might win the favor of the third Miss Bai."

Ye Chen remained silent.

Bai Ya raised an eyebrow, teasing him, "Are you scared? That’s understandable. Having a father-in-law like that puts immense pressure on one. If he ever found out you bullied his daughter, tsk, tsk..."

Ye Chen slowly raised his head, fixing his gaze on Master Bai Ya, "I will not give up!"

Bai Ya narrowed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he nodded, "Good. Worthy of being my disciple. Go ahead. If you need me to be present, just let me know!"

Ye Chen nodded heavily, "Understood!" Having a master who surpassed the divine beings would certainly boost his standing somewhat.

"If you need anything in the future, you can come find me at the Baihong Palace. For this period, focus on your cultivation and strive to enter the Supreme Genius Hall as soon as possible. The resources obtained there far surpass those in your current Second-Grade Genius Hall!" Bai Ya waved his hand.

Ye Chen cupped his hands in thanks, exchanged a few pleasantries, then took his leave, departing from that world.

Upon returning to his residence.

Ye Chen reflected on the mistakes from his previous battles. After summarizing his experience, he plunged back into the God of War Tower, challenging relentlessly within! Across all 20 floors of the God of War Tower, the experts from every major civilization fell before Ye Chen’s challenges, one by one.

Through these battles, Ye Chen began to notice the differences between these civilizations. Dealing with a civilization specialized in healing, like the Bru Civilization, was a simple matter. However, powerful civilizations such as the Zither Civilization, the Chess Civilization, or the Heavenly Tome Civilization demanded extreme caution during combat.

Ye Chen began his challenges from the very last-ranked civilization among the 3000, a civilization named the Star Civilization. The cultivation profession in this civilization was called Star Master, capable of drawing Star Power from the starlight in the sky. In reality, this Star Power was the energy of Star Cores! Fighting by absorbing the power of Star Cores!

The Star Master profession was divided into seven tiers. With each tier cultivated, a joint in the body would be opened, vastly increasing lifespan! During battle, star-like points would appear across their body, constellations would manifest on their backs, and their combat secret arts were all related to the stars. For example, combat secret arts included Sirius, formation manuals featured the Big Dipper, and defensive secret arts like the Heavenly Palace Star, etc.

Regarding this civilization's peculiar fighting style, Ye Chen only registered a slight surprise before obliterating them with a single blow! Although the Star Civilization could harness the power of Star Cores for combat, it was far inferior compared to the Zither Civilization.

Amidst the frenzied fighting, Ye Chen's combat techniques soared, achieving breakthroughs in many areas. Currently, he was primarily cultivating the Nine Palaces Secret Manual! The Yan Scroll contained thousands upon thousands of Fire-attribute secret manuals, countless in number from small to large, yet top-tier manuals were rare. Only the Nine Palaces Secret Manual stood out as the most powerful within it!

In Ye Chen's estimation, since the Yan Scroll was the royal secret scripture of the Yan God Empire, the contents must be exquisitely profound and esoteric. The ultimate combat secret technique likely wasn't just the Nine Palaces Manual; perhaps there were manuals surpassing the divine level above it! However, the Yan Scroll he obtained was likely only a partial copy—a pirated version.

Ye Chen felt only helplessness in his heart. After a period of intense challenging, feeling he had gained substantial rewards, Ye Chen left the God of War Tower, exited his living quarters, and headed to the leisure area of the Genius Hall sector.

Strolling down the street, observing the bustling crowds around him, he felt a sense of being immersed in the mortal world, a stark contrast to his recent frantic combat, causing contemplation to cloud Ye Chen's eyes.

Beep beep!

Suddenly, an email notification sounded. Ye Chen frowned, casually tapped it open, and immediately saw a challenge letter: Dare to accept? Sender: Lan Rou!

Ye Chen raised his eyebrows slightly, stepped into a leisure bar, ordered a bottle of fine wine, and then opened the Virtual Genius Ranking Board, vaguely sensing that this Lan Rou felt somewhat familiar.

Swish~

The Ranking Board window was pulled before him. It displayed many golden names, limited to the top 100. Ye Chen’s gaze swept across it, taking 0.1 seconds to absorb everything, finally settling on the 88th position on the board, where the name Lan Rou was written.

Ye Chen paused in thought, then clicked on her information. Name: Lan Rou! Strength: Peak Demigod! Manual Amplitude: 5.2 million times! Birthplace: Immortal Realm Civilization! Race: Moon Immortal Clan!

Seeing this information, Ye Chen couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, frowning. Among the multitude of civilizations, the Immortal Realm Civilization, the God Realm Civilization, and the Demon Realm Civilization were all transcendent great civilizations with profound foundations, incomparable to ordinary super-ability civilizations. Even the Zither Civilization paled in comparison to the Immortal Realm Civilization.

"I didn't expect her to be from the Immortal Realm Civilization," Ye Chen frowned. "This is a bit troublesome."

The Immortal Realm Civilization boasted an ancient heritage, rumored to be one of the earliest civilizations. Its people were born with the Human Immortal Physique (equivalent to Level 1000 constitution), and with minimal cultivation, they achieved the Immortal stage (Ghost God Realm), possessing immense lifespans and an inexhaustible supply of bizarre and varied combat secret techniques, specializing most in formations! Furthermore, they engaged in artifact refining technology and alchemy technology, with their cultivation factories capable of mass-producing cultivation weapons, making their combat unpredictable. The Moon Immortal Clan was one of the most powerful races within the Immortal Realm Civilization. Legend had it that the Moon Immortal Clan could borrow the moonlight from the heavens, and every member possessed hair like a waterfall of silver, residing on small moons.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then replied, "Time."

Not long after, the other party replied, seemingly having waited for this moment: "Two o'clock this afternoon, meet at Battle Stage No. 3 Peak."

Ye Chen checked the time—four hours remaining. He sent back a confirmation and stopped dwelling on it. Carrying the wine bottle, he walked out of the bar, returned to his residence, and began to contemplate.

"The Immortal Realm Civilization excels in cultivation weapons, the art of Qimen Dunjia, and various divine secret techniques. Combat will certainly be tricky. I can't bet too heavily this time. Although my full combat secret technique amplitude reaches 6 million times, she is from the Immortal Realm Civilization; one careless mistake could capsize the boat," Ye Chen thought.

He lacked absolute confidence, but he didn't shy away. Every battle was a test; even failure could yield significant experience. Loss and gain were connected by an equals sign; it only depended on perspective.

While he pondered methods for the duel, in the center of the Yan God Empire's capital, no description of luxury or grandeur could capture even one ten-thousandth of its magnificence. The palaces here were masterpieces of craftsmanship, breathtaking to behold. All structures were crimson red, as if cast from molten iron, their surfaces sparkling brilliantly, changing color under the sun to create a stunning, ethereal sight.

Inside a castle to the west of the capital.

In a spacious main hall, a red carpet was laid out, and fresh flowers drifted down from the air. A rainbow bridge spanned the hall, and the dome was studded with twinkling stars, creating a breathtaking, majestic spectacle.

Scattered carelessly on the floor were numerous fluffy little cloth dolls. Some dolls had dark circles around one eye, like a panda's, appearing cute and mischievous. Within the hall, draped in pink, light gauze, was a wide, pink bed piled high with toys and dolls like a sea. Slumped lazily within this ocean of dolls was a slender figure, clad in a sheer, gossamer purple silk garment, her fair skin faintly visible. Her long legs were straight and slender, her jade-like toenails gleaming brightly.

This petite figure was engrossed in reading a book titled Strange Records of the Ancient Continent, turning the pages with keen interest. White-winged angel attendants stood respectfully behind her, not daring to make a sound, fearful of disturbing the exquisitely beautiful and adorable young lady.

Just then, a figure materialized out of thin air in the hall. Dressed in white robes, with skin full and ruddy, and a gentle expression, he approached the pink bed, looking at the girl leaning against the fluffy dolls with a helpless expression. "Little Seven, stop reading that stuff all day. Take a walk in the Imperial Garden when you have time."

The book in the figure's hand stopped turning pages. After a moment, he slowly set it down, and the girl slowly sat up from amidst the dolls.

It was an angel's face of unparalleled beauty that stole one's breath away. She had bright, clear eyes and cherry-red lips, brows like dark jade, and cheeks with skin as white and crystalline as jade, like fine mutton fat, making one yearn to touch it.

"I don't want to go," the girl said, putting down the book and pouting. "I've seen the Imperial Garden hundreds of times; what's there to look at? I want to go out and play, Xiao Bai, promise me, okay? I'm begging you, please..."

She tugged at the sleeve of the white-haired elder, shaking it back and forth, her large, tearful eyes filled with pitiful pleading.

The white-haired elder smiled bitterly. "There are too many bad people outside. Don't go out. Otherwise, if someone captures you, how will they use you to threaten your father, the Emperor?"

Seeing her pleading failed, the girl immediately changed her expression, letting out a delicate huff, and reached out a small, tender hand to grab the white-haired elder's beard, speaking fiercely, "Xiao Bai, stop saying things that fool a child all the time. If you're afraid of bad people, then just come with me! Besides, I am very capable too, hmph!"

The white-haired elder quickly said, "Let go quickly, don't pull."

"Hmph, who told you not to take me out to play!"

"Oh my, my little ancestor, let go quickly."

"Do you promise or not?"

"It's not that I won't promise, it's that your father, the Emperor, hasn't given the order to let you out. Ow, let go quickly, you troublemaker, let go quickly..."

"Do you know how good your beard looks when it's on fire?"

"..."