The entire Ghost Realm's sky seemed to roar as a streak of brilliant blade-light, like a meteor flashing by, illuminated the vast land.

The Sea of Suffering was shattered.

The cracked Sea of Suffering resembled a broken mirror, splintering into countless ice shards that drifted and scattered across the heavens, eventually raining down upon the earth below.

Supreme Yama stood rigidly, his eyes wide open, disbelief etched deep within his pupils, yet he could no longer utter a sound.

The dead cannot speak.

As a faint breeze swept past, a crimson line slowly manifested across his chest—dense and rich, like blood radiating light—which gradually extended across his entire body before culminating in a sudden, deafening explosion.

Bloody rain dripped from the sky, soaking the earth and chilling the hearts of the Supreme Asura and the Supreme Evil Spirit standing nearby.

The esteemed Sovereign of the Ghost Realm, standing on his own home ground, could not even withstand a single strike from Ye Chen!

"You, you..." Supreme Asura's face turned deathly pale. Her luminous eyes contracted sharply as she stared at Ye Chen as if regarding a primeval beast. "How could you have become so powerful? I witnessed your battles back then; you didn't possess this kind of strength."

"What was then is then; what is now is now," Ye Chen regarded her with indifference, as if looking upon a corpse.

In this world, so many people preferred to view the present through the lens of the past. Was this not utter foolishness? And would foolishness lead to death?

Supreme Asura was rendered speechless, her face ashen.

Ye Chen glanced toward Supreme Evil Spirit. "Although you are within the Ghost Realm and are bolstered by the world's boundless, infinite power, I can instantly sever the connection between your bodies and this realm at extreme speed, and then destroy you. Therefore, do not even consider struggling. I grant you the option of submission as slaves."

In the face of death, relinquishing glory and dignity to become humble slaves was a form of grace.

Supreme Asura and Supreme Evil Spirit remained silent for a long moment, exchanged a glance, and then slowly nodded, bowing their heads to Ye Chen: "We are willing to submit."

Ye Chen snorted coldly. "I shall bestow my Blade Imprint upon you now, making you my Blade Slaves. Should you attempt any resistance during the bestowment process, I will directly shatter your souls!"

Supreme Asura and Supreme Evil Spirit paused briefly before nodding in assent.

Ye Chen raised his index finger and pointed; a sharp blade-light materialized on his nail, seemingly slicing the void into a brilliant, luminous rift. Following this, he swiftly moved his index finger, rapidly coalescing a complex and arcane imprint that shot toward Supreme Evil Spirit's forehead.

Supreme Evil Spirit sighed inwardly and closed his eyes.

The searing Blade Imprint branded his forehead, like an immortal contract embedded deep within his soul.

Moments later, the Blade Imprint on Supreme Evil Spirit's brow slowly seeped into his skin. The intense white light emanating from the mark gradually receded, as if a brilliant, divine eye on his forehead was slowly closing until it vanished completely.

Supreme Evil Spirit opened his eyes again. His entire aura seemed to have gained a sharper edge. His gaze, now gentle yet cold, fixed upon Ye Chen, filled with reverence. He knelt on one knee in the void. "Greetings, Master!"

Ye Chen turned his head toward Supreme Asura beside him, his gaze scrutinizing.

Watching Supreme Evil Spirit kneeling on one knee, Supreme Asura felt a surge of shock mixed with deep discomfort. What figures they once were—standing at the apex of the world, receiving its baptism and acknowledgment, true powerhouses whom others once trembled before. Now, they knelt before Ye Chen, shattering all their past glory and dignity with their own hands!

Ye Chen observed the complex emotions flickering across Supreme Asura’s face, his own expression remaining utterly unmoved, showing no concern that she might resist.

Indeed, after struggling internally for a short while, Supreme Asura finally let out a quiet sigh, closed her eyes as if accepting her fate.

Ye Chen’s expression did not shift. //Fastest text update from Shumi Lou. For world powerhouses like Supreme Asura, they could be considered formidable figures! Such figures shared a common trait: the ability to seize what can be seized and let go of what must be released!

Thus, Ye Chen felt no worry that they would refuse.

Those truly burdened by excessive pride had already perished halfway; rigidity leads to breakage—this was an immutable truth.

"Greetings, Master." After becoming a Blade Slave, Supreme Asura's entire bearing seemed to elevate slightly. She knelt before Ye Chen and spoke with deference and piety.

Ye Chen looked up at the dim sky behind the two figures and stated calmly, "Each of you shall manifest your Internal World and capture every living being in the entire Ghost Realm."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Supreme Asura and Supreme Evil Spirit rose, turning back toward the immense sky. Their figures flashed, disappearing as they entered the most prosperous areas of the Ghost Realm to begin their collection.

Having reached their level of cultivation, they naturally understood Ye Chen's intent. No matter how Ye Chen might slaughter through the Ghost Realm, even annihilating every creature, their corpses would still remain within the realm's boundaries.

This was a definition of conservation of energy.

The core origin of the Ghost Realm only needed to activate certain methods—such as accelerating the flow of time within the world by a hundred million times—and in just a few years, the Ghost Realm would regenerate vitality, birth its earliest life forms, and then rapidly evolve and proliferate.

Therefore, the only solution was to gather all these beings into their respective Internal Worlds.

Ye Chen watched the direction where the two World Sovereigns departed, his eyes cold. He made a grasping motion with his hand, and the fragments of the Sea of Suffering that had fallen to the ground swiftly floated up, coalescing in his palm into a sphere of chaotic color, bearing a distinct, visible crack.

"The Sea of Suffering. Nothing more than this," a slight curve formed on Ye Chen’s lips. He clenched his palm, and the entire Sea of Suffering crumbled into countless shards within his grasp. Like dust, before they could even disperse, they were drawn into his body by the suction emanating from the pores of his palm.

Once absorbed, these fragments of the Sea of Suffering were rapidly incinerated into pure energy by the intense heat raging within his body. Since his body's awakening, the black flames within him had reached an unprecedented vigor, capable of even smelting world-class weapons.

After devouring the Sea of Suffering, Ye Chen felt his body strengthen further, equivalent to absorbing the might of a World Sovereign.

Ye Chen unleashed his Internal World, expanding it ceaselessly outward, swiftly enveloping the land of the Ghost Realm. All inhabitants within—Ghost Kings, Ghost Emperors, or Ghost Gods—saw the color of the sky change. It was like the opening of an interdimensional gateway; an immense, boundless continent became visible in the heavens. They all dropped whatever they were doing and looked up.

"What happened?"

"What is this?"

"What on earth is going on?"

Everyone watched the strange transformation filled with dread, as if an ominous event was unfolding.

When Ye Chen expanded his Internal World to a diameter of about ten light-years, he sensed the Ghost Realm’s world origin resisting his own. He mobilized the vast world power of the Ghost Realm from the void, frantically compressing his Internal World.

Ye Chen frowned. He channeled the profound power within his body into his Internal World, causing its expansion to surge rapidly. It only gradually ceased once it reached two hundred thousand light-years.

Ye Chen did not force any further increase. The Ghost Realm had existed for countless ages, accumulating immeasurably potent world power. A direct clash would only waste effort.

He grasped in the void with his hand. A powerful suction erupted violently from within his Internal World, ravenously swallowing everything within the scope of his world, much like a whale feeding among small fish. Regardless of whether they were God-Emperor level ghosts or Void Heaven Realm phantoms, they possessed no resistance and were absorbed.

In a single thought, the world was rendered desolate.

Within twenty light-years, not a single living creature remained, leaving behind only empty ghost cities, gently flowing black rivers, and dense, silent forests.

The heavens and earth were utterly silent.

Ye Chen immediately felt countless new lives gather within his Internal World, all concentrated in one great continent. The threads of fate emanating from each life form were tightly connected to his Internal World; he could alter their destiny and command their life and death.

A vibrant power of faith radiated from these creatures, enriching his Internal World and causing the world's inner walls to become more robust and impenetrable.

Sensing the earth-shattering transformation within his Internal World, Ye Chen's lips curved into a cold smile. His body flashed, vanishing into thin air, only to reappear two hundred thousand light-years away.

From an optical perspective, a human body exceeding the speed of light by two hundred thousand times was absolutely unimaginable. However, at Ye Chen’s level, every movement was no longer explainable by mere technology, but by spirit, by law, by absolute power.

Appearing two hundred thousand light-years distant, Ye Chen immediately manifested his Internal World and expanded it another two hundred thousand light-years, then proceeded to devour again. His body acted like a gigantic suction cup, ceaselessly drawing all the life from the Ghost Realm's territory into his Internal World.

The Ghost Realm comprised three main continents and countless smaller ones, each minor continent spanning about one light-year in diameter, or even longer.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ye Chen’s body shuttled through the void, continuously harvesting the life from the smaller continents. Occasionally, he discovered ore veins rich in high quality, which he would directly excavate and swallow into his body to strengthen his physique.

In his eyes, all weapons in the world were merely food for him.

Weapons had only one purpose: combat!

Soon, the majority of the Ghost Realm had been stripped clean by Ye Chen. After a short while, he saw Supreme Asura and Supreme Evil Spirit materialize from the void. They knelt on one knee before him, opening their respective Internal Worlds and respectfully declaring, "Master, this is what we have collected."

Ye Chen glanced at them. Both of their Internal Worlds were modeled after planets, floating with numerous celestial bodies, large and small, upon which countless beings resided—viewed from a distance, they looked like tiny black dots scurrying about like ants.

"Mm." Ye Chen made a grasping motion, opening his own Internal World and sweeping every living thing from both of their collected worlds into his own, even incorporating the beings they had cultivated within their Internal Worlds originally.

"Collect the rest, then follow me to the Demigod Realm," Ye Chen stated indifferently.

"Yes." Supreme Asura and Supreme Evil Spirit bowed in acceptance, their figures dissolving like smoke as they vanished.

Ye Chen looked up at the sky. The entire Ghost Realm was nearly scoured bare by him, yet the Ghost Realm's world origin had still not appeared. Ever since the Ghost Realm separated from the Ancient World, its world origin had developed independent thought. Its absence now suggested it sensed him, knowing that even appearing would be futile; it would only result in a battle where nothing could be changed.

Or perhaps... its objective lay elsewhere. (To be continued)

For more novels, visit storyread.net.