"My physique has reached the 6 million level now," Ye Chen mused internally. He casually settled onto the sofa, and suddenly, eight golden miniature dragons materialized around his heart within his body. They coiled around the organ, extracting filaments of pure energy which were then refined and absorbed into his bones, cells, and blood.

His physique was transforming at a breakneck pace...

Thanks to the immense digestive power granted by his Devouring Talent, coupled with the support of his mighty heart, his entire physical condition was improving faster than a rocket's ascent. In a flash, he breached the 7 million level!

While refining the energy from his heart, Ye Chen pondered, "The Myriad Heavens God Forging Art I acquired back then can be cultivated now. With my current physique, I can practice the first layer, which allows me to devour ten races and gain ten corresponding Talents!"

A strange light flickered in Ye Chen’s eyes. What was the implication of stacking the Talents from ten different races? Even if each race's Talent only doubled his strength, accumulating ten of them would result in a tenfold increase!

For someone who had reached his level of cultivation, a tenfold amplification was already a terrifying prospect.

And that was a conservative estimate.

"Furthermore, the Divine Blood within me—when I broke through to the Pseudo-God Realm, I only refined 1% of that entire drop. I can now search for a fourth Gene Beast to unlock the fourth Superhuman Mode!" Ye Chen's eyes shone. That Divine Blood had attached itself to his heart in the past. Although he had given the heart to Bai Yijun, the Divine Blood had not left his body; it had settled deep within him.

When this Divine Blood was first being refined, it had fused intrinsically with both his body and soul. It could not be separated unless his soul perished and his body was destroyed.

As Ye Chen was thinking, the hatch hissed open, and Bai Yijun emerged from the Heavenly Dao Mecha, stepping into the Rune Spaceship. The girl looked at the ship with astonishment, then sat down on the sofa in front of Ye Chen and smiled faintly, "You've changed so much over these years."

Ye Chen saw her, and his eyes seemed to brighten momentarily. He chuckled softly, "You too. You are even more beautiful now than when I first met you."

Bai Yijun’s cheeks flushed crimson. She shot him a look of playful reproach. "You are becoming increasingly inappropriate; you’re not nearly as honest as you used to be."

Ye Chen coughed lightly. "I am merely stating facts; you can’t blame me for that."

Bai Yijun gave him an exasperated glance. "Alright, let's talk about serious matters."

Ye Chen looked genuinely surprised. "What I just said was serious!"

"You!" Bai Yijun’s face was flushed. She felt a surge of annoyance mingled with an inexpressible sweetness. She lowered her gaze. "Everyone retreated this time, but now your identity is exposed. The title 'Heir of the Heavenly Dao' will spread across the entire continent. More and more people will hunt you. What will you do from now on?"

"I'll handle it as it comes," Ye Chen shrugged. "If one comes, I kill one; if a pair comes, I kill the pair. If others don't provoke me, I won't bother them. If they rush to their deaths, I can only accept their offering with a smile."

Bai Yijun looked at him sternly, a hint of worry etched on her face. "What if the other Great Emperors and Hall Masters who weren't present today decide to unite against you next time? That would be difficult to manage."

Ye Chen shook his head. "Even if they unite, I can still escape. The tragedy that befell Master Heavenly Dao will not be repeated in my case."

Bai Yijun nodded slightly, her voice possessing a strange allure. "Absolutely not! At the very least, I will never betray you or harm you, no matter the circumstances! Moreover... if something truly happens, I will be with you!"

Ye Chen's heart burned, feeling a surge of hot blood rush up his throat. He gazed at the beautiful woman before him, momentarily lost in adoration.

Time seemed to halt around the two figures.

The tender air enveloped them both.

After so many years, the person deeply etched in his memory stood right before him, gazing at him...

Was that once stirring feeling still present?

When she stood before him, had he drawn her into his embrace?

Clack!

The Rune Spaceship suddenly shuddered to a halt, jolting both of them back to reality. A blush rose on Bai Yijun’s cheeks as she turned away, afraid to meet Ye Chen's eyes. She felt her heart pounding fiercely, her face and ears burning hot, as if the blood in her veins was boiling.

Ye Chen felt annoyed and looked up at the old Green Rune Man. "What are you doing?"

The old Green Rune Man seemed to realize he had interrupted something important and forced a dry laugh. "Uh, we're here."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, stood up, and peered out of the spaceship's viewport. He immediately saw that the Rune Spaceship had docked at an aerial fortress, and eight management robots were hovering nearby.

Ye Chen turned back to the old Green Rune Man. "Just tell him it's me who has arrived."

The old Green Rune Man muttered something under his breath but nodded vigorously with an outwardly joyful expression, sending an electronic signal directly to the space station, announcing his identity.

After he broadcast the message, the eight swiftly approaching robots paused, their optical sensors flickering, before retreating. Immediately afterward, a figure approached from the station, clad in imposing armor, with dark skin that conveyed an aura of steady power and sharpness.

This man stopped before the Rune Spaceship, bowed slightly, and asked, "Are you General Ye Chen?"

"General?" Ye Chen’s gaze flickered. He walked to the cabin door and opened it, looking at the man. "What General?"

The man replied respectfully, "Just a short while ago, the Clan issued an order, announcing the addition of a new General among the 36 Disk War Gods. That new Disk War God is you!"

Ye Chen froze for a moment. Though uncertain of the exact situation, he nodded. "Understood. Please inform Great Emperor Haotian that I am here to see him."

"Yes, General!" The man nodded respectfully, then activated the electronic communicator in his hand. After a moment, a deep, authoritative voice answered on the other end. "What is it?"

"Yes, Director, General Ye Chen has returned and requests an audience with Great Emperor Haotian," the man reported respectfully.

Silence followed on the other end of the communicator for a moment, then the tone immediately shifted, becoming gentle. "First, escort General Ye Chen to the Pangu Nation Headquarters. Someone will meet you there."

"Understood." The man nodded, then saw the connection on the communicator go dead. He immediately looked up, regarding Ye Chen with deference. "General Ye Chen, I will take you to the Pangu Nation first. That is our Clan's Imperial Capital."

"Mm," Ye Chen nodded immediately, adding, "Provide me with some basic data about our Clan. I've just returned and am unfamiliar with many things."

"Certainly," the man nodded respectfully. He had already heard that this newly promoted General had not yet undergone the Clan's Spirit Cleansing Pool awakening, and he held Ye Chen in the highest esteem. Without further delay, he pulled out a finger-sized light card. "General, some basic matters concerning our Clan are recorded here. However, with your clearance, once you return and bind your virtual account, you will be able to read classified Clan documents and advanced continental data directly."

Ye Chen nodded, took the light card, and slotted it casually into the communicator embedded in his arm. During his previous plundering, this communicator had long since evolved from the rudimentary device he obtained from the Atlantean civilization on Earth into a supremely refined Divine-grade communicator.

Standard communicators had a limited range, perhaps only tens of thousands of kilometers at most. A communicator like the one in Ye Chen's hand could communicate across a distance of one light-year.

After inserting the light card, Ye Chen immediately felt the communicator's intelligent connection system send a system request to his brain. With a mere thought, he projected the notion of "Confirm."

The request was immediately approved, and a flood of data appeared in Ye Chen's mind.

"The Spiritual Civilization consists of 108 races!"

"The powerful factions: One Ancient, Three Sovereigns, and Five Emperors! The One Ancient is Great God Pangu. The Three Sovereigns are Sovereign Fuxi, Sovereign Nuwa, and Sovereign Xuanyuan! The Five Emperors are Great Emperor Haotian, Great Emperor Shennong, Great Emperor Zhuanxu, Great Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun!"

"Beyond the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the 36 Disk War Gods, the 72 Heavenly Stars, and the 108 Earthly Fiends!"

"The 108 Earthly Fiends are the leaders of the 108 races! The 72 Heavenly Stars are retired Earthly Fiends who have entered the Pangu Temple to become the core strength of the Spiritual Civilization!"

Seeing this information, Ye Chen began to roughly calculate his own status. He was deeply shaken; he hadn't realized the overall strength of the Spiritual Civilization was so terrifying!

It was important to note that these 108 Earthly Fiends were each at the level of a Minor God Emperor!

A force like the Spiritual Civilization, which could only be classified as a civilization-level power, possessed over a hundred Minor God Emperors. To other civilizations, this was already incredibly formidable.

As for the 72 Heavenly Stars, they were generally at the level of a Middle God Emperor, possessing transcendent cultivation. The 36 Disk War Gods needed no further mention; each was a paragon among Middle God Emperors, capable of barely escaping even a High God Emperor.

"I wonder what the strength of the greatest among us, Great God Pangu, is?" Ye Chen's blood surged with excitement. He had witnessed the power of Sovereign Fuxi in the past; merely using an Eight Trigrams Mirror, he commanded heaven and earth with supreme arrogance, his strength fully reaching the level of a Peak God Emperor!

At this moment, the man made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation. Ye Chen looked back and called out to Bai Yijun. He then retracted the Rune Spaceship and followed the man onto an airborne yacht, settling into the VIP seat. They immediately departed the space station, soaring toward the vast continent below.

Passing through the artificial atmosphere, surrounded by swirling clouds, they soon arrived before a colossal city after traversing several short-range spatial jumps.

Stepping off the airborne yacht, Ye Chen looked up at the massive city, his eyes gleaming. Just then, a long laugh echoed through the sky, followed by a figure swooping down. The figure roared with laughter, "Brother Ye Chen, you've finally arrived!"

"Haotian!" Ye Chen looked up, his eyes shining brightly.