On the Celestial Dragon Star's battle platform, countless gazes from across the entire Blazing God Empire were fixed—the populations of a thousand vassal states and hundreds of thousands of great cities were all watching this scene unfold.
Dong...
An ancient bell tolled from the metallic clock suspended above.
Boom!
The entire battle platform instantly erupted with an overwhelming aura, sweeping across the stage. Stones shattered and flew like shrapnel in a gale. Hua Zhan's crimson hair flew wildly upward. His eyes were icy, fixing on Ye Chen with palpable killing intent, lightning crackling in the air around him, as if suppressing a mysterious field of energy.
On the other side, Ye Chen stood with one hand behind his back, his expression detached, watching Hua Zhan, who had activated his Body Strengthening Secret Tome. Slowly, Ye Chen lifted his palm upward.
Poof!
Two orbs of fire ignited spontaneously in his palm. Like mysterious sorcerers, these two fiercely burning flames hovered momentarily before rapidly condensing: one into an ancient warhammer, the other into an exquisitely crafted metal shield.
The instant the ancient warhammer and shield materialized, they were drawn to each other, sparking arcs of electric fire across the void between them. This friction drew the clouds and winds of the heavens to converge, slowly forming a miniature black hole from which a beam of red light shot out, flowing directly into Ye Chen’s Baihui acupoint atop his head and surging throughout his body.
Immediately, fierce flames erupted across his skin, making him appear as a deity of fire. Behind him, a towering, indistinct phantom manifested, mirroring Ye Chen’s stance precisely: left hand gripping the hammer, right hand holding the shield, like an ancient God of War, standing proudly between heaven and earth.
An unrivaled momentum swept out from Ye Chen, kicking up the dust from the surrounding ground. Augmented by this Primordial Blazing God Battle Soul, the demigod power within him boiled like superheated water, causing his aura to surge by a hundredfold, reaching the peak amplitude stipulated by the 100,000-fold Secret Tome power level!
Over these past few days, the third level of the Heavenly Dao Scripture had been fully mastered. Now, his normal strength equaled a thousand times that of an ordinary Demigod Realm cultivator!
“Blood God Mode!” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed, a strange, blood-red glow flickering within them. His long black hair rapidly turned crimson, and a thin blood-membrane covered his skin, radiating chilling killing intent.
This activation of Blood God Mode did not consume his entire lifespan; only 100,000 years were burned. The energy swelling within him rapidly reached a density so profound it was like solidified ink, multiplying his power another thousand times!
At this moment, the raw internal energy alone surpassed an hundred-million-fold multiplier—this was authentic, tangible power. Combat secret manuals like the Blind Sky Battle Technique might enhance moves by ten or a hundred times, but these enhancements only affected tactical variations; they became useless when spatial restrictions were imposed. In contrast, Body Strengthening and Self-Detonation type secret manuals fortified the self, functioning entirely differently from maneuver-based techniques.
“Nine Palaces!” Ye Chen’s gaze turned icy. As his hand lifted, the very earth of the Celestial Dragon Star trembled violently. The vast battlefield shook slightly, stones rattling as if struck by a level-twelve earthquake, and deep chasms cracked open across the ground.
A colossal palace, grander than any seen before, slowly rose from the earth. Dust and debris slid down the gaps between its jade-green tiles and eaves. The entire sky instantly reflected the color of blood under the shadow of this imposing structure, as if the world were on the brink of apocalypse.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
Five figures shot out from within the palace, standing before it. Their massive, powerful frames stunned the onlookers, silencing the howling wind itself.
“Explode!” A curse-like sound resonated. These five Nine Palace Guardians instantly swelled, rupturing in a massive burst that transformed into a hurricane-like storm of energy, threatening to spread outward. However, they were suddenly guided, shrinking back toward Ye Chen atop the palace like whales frolicking in the sea.
Ye Chen’s palm was dark and abyssal, housing a miniature black hole. A turbulent pulling force vented outward, engulfing the savage energy and forcibly drawing it in. It coalesced into a surging tide of power that flowed into the ancient warhammer held in his hand. The hammer instantly hummed and trembled slightly, as if giving a joyous cry of excitement.
“That is the Nine Palaces!” “One of the Royal Family’s Secret Tomes!” “An eternal technique created by the Dao-Treading Great Emperor of ancient times when he surveyed his Imperial Palace!” “Is this kid somehow connected to the Royal Family?!”
Instantly, the eyes of those watching from the skies above flared with sharp light. They stared intently at Ye Chen, standing atop the Nine Palaces, as if attempting to see straight through him.
Ye Chen’s expression remained cold. He held the ancient warhammer, which now blazed with towering flames that scorched the air into visible, twisting black threads, testament to its terrifying might.
Hua Zhan’s face shifted slightly, then a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He abruptly tapped his brow, and an overwhelmingly powerful aura surged from his body. His eyes turned a scorching gold, like twin blazing suns, fixed sharply on Ye Chen. The ground beneath his feet cracked and indented deeply.
“Innate Secret Art!” “Yang God Possession!”
Flames drifted off his skin, coalescing on his arms into golden sheaths that shone brilliantly, as if forged from pure gold. These two arms radiated turbulent energy.
“Look! That’s the innate ability of the Yang Realm Civilization!” “He’s awakened to the second level!” “That kid is finished.”
The onlookers outside stared, their gazes locked, refusing to blink away from the battlefield.
“Die!” Ye Chen looked down from his superior height upon Hua Zhan, his composure unshaken. He suddenly shot forward, plunging from the sky like a falling star, gripping the ancient warhammer.
Raised high!
Slammed down with crushing force!
The ancient warhammer whipped up a gale that snatched away the very momentum of heaven and earth. Before it even struck, the violent shockwave whipped Hua Zhan’s hair around him, and the ground beneath his feet groaned under the pressure, cracking with a sickening sound.
“Battle!” “Battle!!” “Battle!!!”
Hua Zhan saw the black spatial rifts grinding around the ancient warhammer and felt a tremor of shock, which ignited a furious, arrogant rage. He roared upward like an enraged lion. Facing this earth-shattering blow, he stamped his feet three consecutive times, each stomp accompanied by a shout of "Battle!" By the third stomp, his aura peaked. The hard battle platform was pulverized into ruin beneath his feet. He raised his metal longsword and charged skyward.
Shouting wildly to the heavens! Winds howled in response!
In that lethal instant, everyone in the audience widened their eyes. They had not expected these two to launch into a full-power confrontation right at the start!
“Meteorite Profundity!” Ye Chen’s arm muscles bulged. His eyes were cold as swords as he swung the ancient warhammer down with a mighty smash.
CRASH!!!
The entire sky trembled violently, sounding like countless mirrors shattering. A shockwave erupted outward from the point of collision.
Hua Zhan’s metal longsword fractured at a speed visible to the naked eye. In Hua Zhan’s stunned pupils, the ancient warhammer rapidly expanded before slamming squarely into his chest. A bone-shattering sound, enough to make one’s scalp tingle, echoed across the world, making onlookers’ jaws twitch.
Boom!
Hua Zhan’s body was blasted out of the air like a cannonball, slamming back down onto the platform. He gouged out a massive crater spanning several dozen feet, the hard flooring reduced to rubble, broken fragments, and ruin.
The entire Celestial Dragon Star instantly fell silent, a frozen tableau around the battle stage.
Dust hung thick above the platform…
Ye Chen snapped back through the air, landing atop the towering palace. The phantom behind him dimmed noticeably, looking as if a single breath could dispel it. Standing at the pinnacle of the Nine Palaces, the Blood God Mode receded; his blood-red hair returned to black, and the savage, brutal gleam in his eyes settled back into a profound gaze.
“Match end!” The metallic clock overhead announced directly: “Ye Chen wins!”
Those few words echoed throughout the entire venue…
Everyone seemed frozen in place, staring blankly. The automatic declaration by the metallic clock signified something profound that everyone understood: Hua Zhan had been defeated before he even had a chance to concede!
And the rule of the arena match was victory only achieved upon the death of the opponent!
Hua Zhan was dead!
The crowd was bewildered. The renowned, peerless genius of the Blazing Dragon Hall, capable of unleashing over a hundred million times his own power—such dazzling talent—had been extinguished so easily! And that, without even uttering the word 'concede,' demonstrated the sheer, terrifying power of that single hammer blow!
It also proved that Ye Chen’s strength far, far surpassed Hua Zhan’s!
Ye Chen stood upon the Nine Palaces, radiating imposing confidence. He swept a cold glance across the faces of the Blazing Dragon Hall geniuses in the distant sky, then withdrew his gaze. The light of the Nine Palaces beneath his feet flickered, instantly contracting into two streaks of red light that drilled back into his body through his soles. With a swift movement, he shot out toward the distant sky, vanishing from sight.
Whoosh!
In the outside world of the Blazing God Empire, an uproar of shock erupted instantly, filled with cries of disbelief. Those watching the giant screens in the main squares of every city sucked in a collective, sharp breath.
A reversal! A complete counter-crush! A member of the Supreme Genius Hall had instantly executed a genius from the Blazing Dragon Hall—the highest institution of the Blazing God Empire—in a single strike! Without even an opportunity to beg for mercy!
What terrifying combat strength was this! It must be remembered that Hua Zhan was considered an upper-middle-tier genius within the Blazing Dragon Hall, not one of the ordinary members who barely reached the hundred-million-fold amplification threshold.
Above a certain city in a vassal state, a figure existing between the spectral and the real watched the scene on the grand screen with some surprise, seemingly unprepared for Ye Chen’s immense power. But this surprise vanished in an instant, replaced by two sharp, bright glints in his eyes. He laughed heartily, “Good kid, you kept your secrets well. This talent, tsk tsk. I wager that within the entire Blazing Dragon Hall, you rank among the very best, a peerless genius! If you do not perish halfway, you are destined to achieve the path of the Divine Emperor in the future!”
“This master will certainly assist you with all his might! Haha…” He laughed aloud, moved, and vanished from that patch of sky.
In the Imperial Capital of the Blazing God Empire, within a palace as crystalline and cold as white ice, a white-haired elder sat composedly. He suddenly opened his eyes, a look of profound shock flashing across his serene expression. “He actually turned defeat into victory! How is this possible? In such a short span of time, how did this boy become so terrifying!”
……………… Recommending a friend’s excellent book. Title: Ancient Golden God. Synopsis: Bloodline, where liquid gold is noble! Gods, respected by the ancient ages! Gods and demons across the heavens, the Ancient Golden God!
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