The protagonist's amplification reached 1 billion times from the Heavenly Dao Scripture, while 100 years of life equaled one-fold power from the Mysterious Tome. Burning 10 million years equated to 100,000 times; the Nine Palaces granted 90 times; Blind Heaven, 10 times; the Blazing Fiend Manual, 100 times; and the Meteorite Secret Art doubled the effect. The numerical base shifted: ten thousand times ten thousand trillion equaled one Zhao, and Zhao-times-Zhao equaled one Jing; above Jing came Gai.

In this virtual space, as the excessive energy caused it to gradually collapse into streams of data, Ye Chen’s figure slowly vanished. Due to the spatial collapse, even the system prompt announcing the victor was drowned out by the massive implosion.

The entire audience stared at the virtual battle stage, which resembled the end of the world, in utter silence. At this moment, Ye Chen removed his helmet, didn't even glance at the completely stunned Feng Wutian across the way, tossed the helmet aside, and floated down outside the stage. He walked over to the Seventh Princess, waved his hand in front of her wide, disbelieving eyes until he managed to bring her back to her senses.

“You—” The Seventh Princess was nearly frantic, her eyes filled with terror.

The moment Ye Chen saw her constricted gaze, he reached out, covered her small mouth, tucked her body securely under his arm, and drifted away toward the distance. With every step, his silhouette flickered momentarily, covering a thousand zhang in an instant.

A short while later, Ye Chen arrived at the entrance to the passage. He darted inside, which stretched endlessly. After several instances of instantaneous movement, Ye Chen reached the exit of the passage. Looking ahead from a distance, a white opening beckoned, through which the blue sky and white clouds outside were vaguely visible.

Just then, an unusual sensation crawled up Ye Chen’s spine. He frowned, his sharp perception, honed by repeatedly walking the edge of life and death, caused him to halt. He stared at the bright white entrance ahead, paused in silence for a moment, then abruptly turned back, speeding back into the pitch-black passage toward the battle stage.

“Where do you think you’re going!” A booming shout echoed. Immediately following, Ye Chen in the passage felt an overwhelming restrictive force squeeze in from all sides, enveloping and binding him, forcibly dragging him out and tossing him outside the passage.

Ye Chen tumbled several times in the air before landing steadily above the void. This was outside the passage, where the massive viewing stands of the front mountain and the arched dome of the circular structure were still visible. At the entrance to the passage, a line of eighteen figures now stood; the aura emanating from each one was at the peak Godly Spirit level!

Hovering above this formidable team was a burly giant. His upper body was bare, his lean muscles exposed to the air, and he wore spiked bracers on his wrists. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, a fierce glint shone from his gaze, making him impossible to look upon directly.

When Ye Chen saw this burly giant, his pupils contracted slightly, and his heartbeat suddenly quickened. The aura surrounding this giant was actually at the God Emperor level!

“Kid!” The burly giant stood casually in the void, turning his head toward Ye Chen, and smiled faintly. “I didn't expect you to be the heir of the Heavenly Dao. You should know what I want, right? Hand over the Heavenly Dao Scripture secret manual you possess, and your Grandpa Wu will spare your life!” Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slightly, then he relaxed, saying indifferently, “You figured it out through the virtual battle stage’s combat computer analysis, didn’t you?” The burly giant smiled. “Even without the combat computer’s analysis, this battle alone has made you famous throughout the entire Ancient Continent. Everyone will know you possess the Heavenly Dao Scripture, because no other secret manual can achieve such terrifying amplification except that foremost ancient wonder!” Ye Chen gently set the Seventh Princess down from his embrace. “Go into the Demon God Palace.”

The Seventh Princess looked at the burly giant opposite them. With her experience, encountering an ordinary Godly Spirit expert wouldn't shock her too much, but her expression showed deep concern. “Can you handle him?”

“Can you?” Ye Chen countered.

The Seventh Princess choked on the retort, then flared up in anger. “I’m worrying about you! You have no appreciation!” “Mm,” Ye Chen waved his hand. “Go in.” The Seventh Princess nearly attacked him with imaginary blades. She glared fiercely at him before angrily leaping into the Demon God Palace. As she entered, she suddenly realized that this man seemed to provoke her anger far too easily? She shook her head, thought no more of it, and walked straight inside.

Ye Chen’s gaze flickered as he looked up at the burly giant. “You came here to intercept me in advance because you wanted to swallow the prize whole?”

The burly giant smiled faintly. “Of course. Don’t try to stall. I’ll give you three seconds to consider. After that, I will personally kill you and then transplant your brain for memory cell extraction. Although this method carries some risk—if even a few memory cells are lost, the Heavenly Dao Scripture manual will be incomplete—the Heavenly Dao had too many enemies back then. If they learn his disciple is here now, they will certainly rush over frantically. By then, I’ll have no hope left.”

Ye Chen nodded slightly, behaving like an old acquaintance who understood the necessity of such actions. He said, “Since that is the case, you may leave.”

Seeing his demeanor, the burly giant assumed Ye Chen would surrender the treasure willingly. When he heard the first half of Ye Chen’s sentence, he felt a slight surprise, but before any joy could surface, it completely transformed into grimness. His face fell, and he stared hard at Ye Chen, speaking in a chilling tone, “Are you messing with me?”

“Yes,” Ye Chen admitted with complete composure, like an obedient student answering a correct question, his earnest and serious expression almost making the burly giant feel that being fooled was his own fault.

The burly giant was so angry he nearly spat blood, his neck flushing red, his mouth twitching slightly. He roared with fury, “You are courting death! You will perish under the baptism of a God Emperor’s wrath!!” As he spoke, he raised his palm and clenched his hand in the air toward Ye Chen.

Boom!

The entire void trembled slightly, and the surrounding space suddenly grew chaotic, solidifying into a single mass that violently compressed toward Ye Chen. In an instant, Ye Chen felt like a single skiff caught in the monstrous waves of the ocean, beyond his control. Even the normally inseparable connection to the sensed laws of his domain seemed to have been severed.

“This is the might of a God Emperor…” A cold glint shone in Ye Chen’s eyes, a slight curve playing on his lips. Anyone familiar with him, like White Dragon and the others, would have smelled a conspiracy and offered silent condolences to his opponent.

Ye Chen spread both hands wide, like a devout believer, his expression calm and composed. His palms slowly opened, and two surging energies condensed from his center, manifesting as the Blazing God Hammer and the Ethereal Flame Shield, empowering both his hands. Simultaneously, the vortex in the sky slowly opened, and a dazzling red light descended, merging into Ye Chen’s body. A film of blood-red fire emerged on his skin. At the same time, an ancient, colossal phantom slowly rose up behind him. This phantom held a heaven-piercing war hammer, imposing and domineering, inspiring awe.

This phantom was immensely tall; under Ye Chen’s full exertion, it reached over ten thousand kilometers, standing proudly between heaven and earth. Concurrently, the ground beneath Ye Chen’s feet trembled slightly, and from it floated up a magnificent palace, establishing itself in this span of world.

Ye Chen stood atop the palace, gazing at the burly giant from afar. His icy eyes held a soaring will to fight. With a cold sneer, he suddenly raised and clenched his hand. The nine great gates of the Nine Palaces roared open, and nine robust figures flashed out from within, only to explode violently before they could even stabilize themselves.

Rumble~

Terrifying energy waves drifted outward. Ye Chen clenched his hand, gathering all the energy at his palm, forcibly pulling it back, and, under the talent of absorption, compressed it fiercely into the Blazing God Hammer.

An unparalleled aura streamed from Ye Chen’s body. His white hair fluttered without wind, and the vast, azure sky suddenly grew dim, taking on a shade of bleakness. Wind that sounded like wailing ghosts swept across the entire world.

The burly giant smiled faintly, watching Ye Chen deploy the ultimate techniques of the various secret manuals, his eyes burning with greedy fervor. He thought inwardly, If I obtain the Heavenly Dao Scripture, combined with my other manuals, who in the entire Ancient Continent could stop me?

He could restrain himself no longer and suddenly charged forward. He recognized instantly that Ye Chen was currently saturated with terrifying energy, and even a God Emperor’s cosmic domain could not extinguish him just yet; action was required.

His movement caused the sky to churn with wind and clouds. The void before him parted like a subservient servant, rippling like water to form a vacuum-like channel. In a single step, he arrived before Ye Chen, his iron-hoop-like palm pressing down towards his head.

A murderous intent surged in Ye Chen’s eyes. Feeling the rampant energy within him being forcibly suppressed, he roared and abruptly swung the Blazing God Hammer upward to smash against the incoming blow!

Boom!

Ye Chen plummeted from the sky, his body convulsing violently, spitting out a large mouthful of blood. He felt as if every bone in his body had scattered, his consciousness nearly shattered by that palm strike. With a thud, his body smashed violently into the roof of the Nine Palaces and fell inside.

“He actually didn’t die.” The burly giant looked somewhat surprised, then his eyes lit up, and he praised, “Worthy of the eternally renowned Heavenly Dao Scripture. To resist my strike with the power of a Demigod—a span of three realms—is truly terrifying!” He moved, diving downward.

Just then, the magnificent Nine Palaces shuddered violently, and the surrounding ground shook intensely, as if a magnitude twelve earthquake had struck; the earth swayed, and the forests cracked open.

Boom!!

The entire Nine Palaces exploded outward, and a black shadow shot up into the sky, accompanied by a loud, passionate roar, ascending against the heavens.

He shouted to the heavens!

Heaven and earth responded!

The entire sky seemed to detonate with a massive clap of thunder, echoing with booming sounds. Streaks of space tore open, becoming a mesh-like pattern. Sky and earth appeared to disintegrate, becoming distorted.

The burly giant’s pupils constricted, and he stared at Ye Chen in shock. Ye Chen’s white hair had now entirely transformed from the roots to bright crimson locks, whipping wildly against the wind. His icy eyes held coldness and overwhelming battle intent as he lunged directly forward. The space he cut through along his path was being ripped apart by the terrifying aura emanating from his body.

1800 Zhao amplification!

It must be known that judging purely by divine power conversion, the compression of half-divine power from one trillion to ten trillion was comparable to the strength of a primary God Emperor. Ye Chen, at this moment, solely based on the energy within his body, was already millions of times stronger than the burly giant!

“What a terrifying self-detonating secret art…” The burly giant’s mental state reached its origin point. He immediately discerned the life force rapidly draining from Ye Chen’s body, realizing this was the activation of a self-destruct type of manual. A streak of bloody light flashed in his eyes. He abruptly took a great stride forward, roaring as the energy within him boiled. A war-hammer-like mark appeared on his forehead, and he shot skyward, his imposing aura in no way inferior to Ye Chen’s! (To be continued.)

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