The entire assembly held its breath, feeling the three-second countdown stretch out like an eternity. At the sound of "Begin," a collective chill ran through every heart.

On the virtual battle platform, Ye Chen’s expression was as cold as still water. Slowly, he gripped the battle blade in his hand, raising his gaze to Feng Wuji. The boiling yet icy blood within him surged like the demonic fire of the Nine Hells, rapidly consuming him.

"Blood God Mode!"

"Incinerate!"

The 1.05 million years of life force within Ye Chen were instantly consumed, transforming into a surging power that poured into his body like a bursting dam, flooding every bone and sinew. A towering aura radiated from him.

Almost as soon as this might manifested, the amplitude readings on the three-dimensional holographic display beneath them began to fluctuate wildly. Ye Chen’s side, starting at "1000," rapidly climbed tenfold, then a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold, a hundred thousandfold!

It instantly soared past the hundred-million-fold mark!

The audience, witnessing such a rapid rate of amplification, gasped in shock. Just then, Ye Chen raised both hands, fierce flames erupting in his palms, swiftly coalescing into an ancient warhammer and an exquisite shield.

"Blazing Mystery Canon!"

Some of the seasoned Divine Emperor experts immediately recognized the technique, their expressions shifting with emotion, for anyone familiar with the Blazing Mystery Canon knew that its first level could amplify one's own power by a factor of 100!

Indeed, as the ancient warhammer and the exquisite shield materialized, a mysterious magnetic field enveloped Ye Chen. A black hole slowly formed above his head, shooting out a beam of crimson light that enveloped his entire body. Wisps of blood-red vapor rose from his skin, forming an ancient, gigantic phantom behind him.

"Ten Billion!"

The crowd below stared at the amplitude value calculated by the system, unable to suppress their shock at Ye Chen’s terrifying might.

At this point, Feng Wuji opposite him also sensed something was terribly wrong. His expression grew grave, daring not to underestimate his opponent. A flash of cyan light flickered in his eyes, an ancient mark emerged on his forehead, his aura rapidly swelled, and dark, esoteric patterns crawled across his skin.

The combat data below his screen also escalated sharply, climbing from 1000x, swiftly reaching the hundred-million-fold mark, and showing no sign of stopping, still ascending rapidly.

"Activate!"

"Wind God Embodiment!"

He roared softly. His skin turned entirely cyan, covered in intricate mystic patterns, and his own amplitude power rapidly surged to ten billion times, continuing its relentless climb until it quickly reached a hundred billion times!

The white-robed youth in the stands showed a look of utter astonishment, staring blankly at Feng Wuji. After a long pause, he sighed with a bitter expression, "Is this truly your full strength...?"

Feng Wuji's amplification continued to climb past a hundred billion times, finally slowing its ascent only after reaching 238 billion times. His expression turned ruthless as he sneered at Ye Chen. "Die!" With that, his figure moved abruptly, long spear in hand, rocketing forward.

Ye Chen suddenly felt the surrounding space solidifying, as if suppressed by a domain. He narrowed his eyes slightly, surprised that Feng Wuji, merely a Half-God, could comprehend Law Mystic Patterns and manifest his own domain. Such talent was truly the work of a monstrous genius!

A cold arc curved his lips as he gazed down upon the charging Feng Wuji. The energy of 10 billion times his power diffused through his limbs, showing no fear of the domain's pressure. He raised a hand and slowly lifted, murmuring, "Nine Palaces..."

Rumble~~~

The very ground of the virtual battle platform began to tremble and shake. An ancient, majestic palace slowly rose from the platform floor, elevating Ye Chen's body until it towered above the entire arena.

Swish, swish...

The five palace gates suddenly burst open, and several Nine Palace Guardians—creatures with dragon heads and serpent bodies, wielding black-flamed tridents—shot out. The moment they appeared, they exploded simultaneously and automatically.

BOOM!!!

Five simultaneous blasts thundered, deafening, seeming to shake the very virtual platform. Berserk energy surged everywhere, preparing to expand outwards. Just then, Ye Chen lifted his palm. A pitch-black vortex formed in his hand, pulling with intense gravitational force, drawing in all the rampant energy. This power was compressed into the ancient warhammer he held, causing the 108 crystalline points on the hammer to flare brilliantly, wreathed in raging flames.

Ye Chen's blood-red hair whipped backward, his eyes gleaming with cold malice. He raised the ancient warhammer high, the muscles in his arm bulging, and roared, smashing it down directly toward Feng Wuji!

This single hammer strike ripped through the void, tearing open vast swathes of black, extra-dimensional space.

Feng Wuji's pupils contracted. Looking up, he felt as if the world before him had vanished, replaced only by the flame-wreathed ancient warhammer that consumed his entire field of vision. Before the hammer even struck, an oppressive suffocation slammed down, causing the ground beneath his feet to crack and forcing both his legs deep into the stone slab of the platform.

In that instant between life and death, he roared, his long hair flying wildly. His expression was one of agonizing despair as he stared at Ye Chen, howling toward the heavens. He raised the spear in his hand, channeling all his power, including that of his domain world, into the tip, and suddenly thrust it toward the ancient warhammer!

"Meteorite Edict!" Ye Chen's eyes flashed with ferocity. The muscles in his arm bulged further as the ancient warhammer summoned the might of heaven and earth, smashing down with tremendous force!

Smashing down hard!

Smashing down wildly!

BOOM!!!

The entire platform sank slightly. The ground spanning dozens of feet around Feng Wuji erupted, the stone slabs being blasted into the air. A cataclysmic impact reverberated across the entire audience, even echoing throughout White Spirit Mountain!

The spear in Feng Wuji’s hand shattered like straw before the ancient warhammer, offering no resistance whatsoever. Then, in his rapidly constricting pupils, the body of the hammer dominated everything.

CRASH!

The hammer struck the ground! The earth burst open, and countless fissures spread outwards. Where the flame-wreathed ancient warhammer landed, there was only a deep crater, and at the point of contact between the hammerhead and the ground, there was merely a pool of blood!

Dong!

The system instantly declared the victor!

The entire audience nearly bulged their eyes out. Every face was etched with horror as they stared at the three-dimensional holographic display. For a moment, the vast summit of White Spirit Mountain fell utterly silent, so quiet a needle drop could be heard.

Instant Kill!

Feng Wuji had been smashed to death by a single blow!

Especially those who noticed the combat statistics displayed beneath the two combatants’ names choked, feeling as if their throats were being strangled!

Feng Wuji's peak amplitude reading on the left was around 260.3 billion, while Ye Chen’s amplitude on the right was a staggering 1.05 trillion times!

A trillion-fold amplification!

Seeing this value, even the Divine Emperor experts seated in the VIP section changed color, their lips twitching slightly, their shock reaching an absolute extreme.

Bai Tian, who had been silent, could not help but focus his gaze upon Ye Chen on the platform, his expression thoughtful.

On the platform, Ye Chen coldly glanced at the smear of blood beneath the hammer, then slowly raised his fist. He saw only the pool of blood and the shattered fragments of the spear; no skeletal remains were visible. He had likely been pulverized into dust.

Ye Chen withdrew from the virtual battle platform and slowly removed the virtual helmet. He glanced sideways and saw Feng Wuji, on the other side of the platform, slowly removing his own helmet, his fingers trembling. He was drenched in sweat, his face as pale as paper, completely devoid of color, breathing heavily, looking down at the floor and muttering to himself in despair.

Ye Chen spared him another look before turning away, surveying the entire crowd, and directing his gaze toward the competitors' stands. With cold indifference, he asked, "Who else dares to step forward?"

The competitors' stands remained silent. Even the exceedingly powerful white-robed youth’s mouth twitched slightly, his expression becoming extremely unpleasant.

Seeing no response, Ye Chen turned back, looking toward Bai Tian seated on the grand hall steps. He bowed slightly and said earnestly, "Uncle, please grant me the hand of the Third Miss in marriage!"

Bai Tian looked at him steadily, then spoke, "You think this is enough to earn my daughter?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Ye Chen lowered his head and retrieved a delicate small spaceship from his chest, whispering, "This is a low-grade Dao Artifact class vessel, powered by an initial universe core. Please accept it, Uncle."

Hearing this, the entire audience gasped.

How precious was a Dao Artifact? Not to mention a Dao Artifact vessel, which was an incomparable treasure! Furthermore, every Dao Artifact vessel contained an entire universe as its driving force, making them priceless. And now, Ye Chen was offering a universe as a betrothal gift!

Even the nearby Heavenly Witch King was momentarily stunned upon seeing the Dao Artifact vessel. As the ruler of the Heavenly Witch Kingdom, he had forged 49 peaks of Divine Artifact-grade mountains that, when assembled, could craft a few Dao Artifact weapons, but materials were desperately lacking to build a Dao Artifact vessel—and most crucially, there was no way to acquire a universe for the core drive.

Thus, although he possessed several Dao Artifact armors for personal defense, he did not own a single Dao Artifact vessel. Seeing his young disciple now offering such an incredibly valuable item as a dowry, he could only offer a wry, helpless smile and shake his head.

Bai Tian glanced at the Dao Artifact vessel, his expression indifferent. "This gift is adequate. You possess the Blazing Mystery Canon; are you a member of the Imperial Clan of the Blazing God Empire?"

Ye Chen was unsure why he asked but shook his head truthfully. "This junior is not, but I am a member of the Blazing Dragon Hall within the Blazing God Empire!"

Bai Tian frowned slightly, shook his hand dismissively, and said, "You may leave!"

Ye Chen froze momentarily and quickly pressed, "Uncle, what about the Third Miss..."

"Impossible!" Bai Tian’s expression turned cold. "Your appearance here already broke the rules. I only agreed to let you fight; I never said I would marry my daughter to you if you won!"

This statement stunned everyone. No one had expected that at the critical moment, Bai Tian, the head of a great clan, would go back on his word, essentially reneging on the deal!

Most of the Divine Emperor experts in the VIP section looked at him with suspicion, but a very select few glanced at Bai Tian with a meaningful look before remaining silent.

... The above totals 3100 characters. Each chapter is over 3000 characters long and has never been shortened. Now, I have a few words to say.

The third update is complete, and I'm taking this chance to beg for votes. It's been a long time since I last asked for recommendation tickets or monthly passes. I wonder if the stalwart supporters and brothers of Darkness are still following me without abandoning me after all this time...

Old Gu humbly begs everyone to go to Qidian, cast a few recommendation tickets or monthly passes, and offer some support.

Old Gu bows!