The human genius who had attacked possessed an unparalleled, ferocious aura. His black hair whipped wildly as he wielded an Extreme Dao Weapon shaped like a jade gourd. He hurled the gourd forward. It instantly swelled to the size of a mountain, its mouth resembling a black hole that unleashed swirling black winds, intent on devouring the Holy Prince. The winds were extraordinarily violent—top-tier astral gales.

Even onlookers far away struggled to steady themselves, feeling as though their divine souls might be sucked in. This drew sighs of admiration from many. This man's Extreme Dao Weapon was truly terrifying. News of the Holy Prince's emergence had spread far and wide. He had yet to truly fight anyone until now. Everyone was deeply curious about the strength of this Quasi-Immortal's son.

Facing the oppressive jade gourd bearing down on him, the Holy Prince let out a cold snort, clearly not taking his opponent seriously. He didn't even raise his black staff. His body radiated brilliant golden light as he charged straight toward the black-hole-like gourd opening. In the next instant, he plunged directly into the gourd.

A cold smile appeared on the human genius's face. Though his Extreme Dao Weapon was only low-grade, it had refined countless types of astral winds, combined with stellar divine sand. It possessed an unimaginable power of annihilation. Let alone a King—even a Semi-Saint who carelessly entered might suffer grievous wounds and struggle to escape. The myriad races truly were fools.

But in the next moment, the human genius's expression changed. The onlookers all widened their eyes in shock. Thunderous muffled booms erupted from within the gourd. It sounded as if it were being hammered from the inside. The mountain-sized gourd shuddered violently.

The human genius's face turned icy. He opened his mouth wide and spat out another brilliant stream of stellar sand into the gourd. Then he sneered.

"This gourd of mine was forged from Yellow Spring Divine Jade—a Nine Heavens divine jade—supplemented with Phoenix Immortal Gold. Even a Semi-Saint could not shatter it, and it can restore itself instantly. Once inside, don't dream of coming out..."

But before he could finish speaking, a sharp crack rang out. A massive fissure split across the enormous jade gourd. Before the human genius could react, the terrifying jade gourd exploded into fragments. Amidst countless stunned gazes, the Holy Prince burst forth from the endless divine sand and astral winds, appearing right before the human genius. The sand and winds hadn't harmed the Holy Prince in the slightest. Not even a single golden hair had fallen.

In the human genius's incredulous expression, the Holy Prince threw a punch. The human genius immediately tried to retreat explosively, desperate to dodge the blow. His speed was astonishing, yet he was still grazed. And merely being grazed caused his body to explode in a shower of blood that stained the sky.

The Holy Prince of the Victorious Fighting Ape clan was this divine and valiant? He had shattered an Extreme Dao Weapon with pure physical strength?

Under the watchful eyes of all, the Holy Prince opened his mouth and inhaled. The former human genius shrank rapidly and was sucked into his maw. Blood sprayed out.

The onlookers felt chills run down their spines and hastily retreated. The scene was far too brutal. Ever since the human race's rise, few from the myriad races dared to devour humans anymore. The area fell deathly silent. No one else dared step forward.

The Holy Prince's lips were stained with blood as he coldly overlooked the crowd. The onlookers retreated further. They sighed inwardly—the rumors were true. This man's talent was truly supreme. No wonder even a Quasi-Immortal had marveled at him and sealed him in a precious divine source.

Seeing no one else dared challenge him, the Holy Prince returned to the summit of the divine peak to await the ruin's opening. But before closing his eyes, he spoke calmly.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"The ruin may take another year to open. Go inform Ye Chen: before I set out, if he delivers our clan's sacred weapon to me, he may be spared death. Otherwise, after I obtain the Stasis Secret, I will visit him to suppress him—before I enter seclusion to break through to the Semi-Saint realm."

These words caused another uproar across the field. The Heavenly Emperor's heir would obviously never submit. So, once the Holy Prince acquired half of the Stasis Secret. He would surely head to the Great Yan Continent to seek battle with the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Given the terrifying might the Holy Prince had just displayed. It would undoubtedly be a world-shaking battle.

...

The events on the Immortal Path spread throughout the entire cultivation world in the blink of an eye. In the Myriad Races Immortal City, ever since his crushing defeat last time, Yao Yuekong had completely given up. He no longer went to the Immortal Path. Instead, he lingered in the immortal city every day, eating, drinking. At that moment, he was drinking with a few friends from the myriad races. Upon hearing the news, he immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this guy trying way too hard to act tough? And he's going after Ye Chen? Isn't that just rushing to his own death?"

Yao Yuekong had personally experienced Ye Chen's terror. The most outrageous part was that, on that day, he felt Ye Chen hadn't even used his full strength. Back then, Ye Chen had already been at the late stage of the first heaven of the Mahayana realm. Now, he was likely at the second heaven. Though the gaps between realms grew larger the further one progressed...

Yao Yuekong truly didn't believe anyone could be Ye Chen's match. His friends, however, didn't share that view. After all, the Holy Prince was the son of a Quasi-Immortal. Even a Quasi-Immortal had praised his astonishing talent—that couldn't be false. His gifts might genuinely rival the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Add in his cultivation advantage...

They felt it wouldn't be a problem. They all thought Yao Yuekong's dao heart had been shattered by Ye Chen, which was why he saw him as invincible. But since they were friends, they didn't embarrass him. After humoring him for a bit, they each went their separate ways.

Yao Yuekong also returned to his clan's territory. He happened to run into his younger sister.

Yao Yuezhi had heard the news too. Her eyes lit up. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"The Stasis Secret—one of the human race's supreme space-time arts. Even just half of it would greatly enhance my comprehension of time laws. What a pity. The Victorious Fighting Ape clan has poor relations with our clan! If I went to seize it, I wouldn't fear them, but I might not win decisively. I could end up paving the way for someone else."

The Victorious Fighting Ape clan was a classic faction among the myriad races that sought resurgence. They had always dreamed of returning to the era when the myriad races dominated. Of reducing the human race to slavery once more. The Heavenly Demon clan, by contrast, was more pragmatic. They belonged to the coexistence faction. They had emerged earliest and maintained cooperative ties with many human powers.

"Brother, do you think the Heavenly Emperor's heir can beat the Holy Prince?"

Yao Yuezhi tilted her little head thoughtfully as she asked.

Yao Yuekong nodded upon hearing this.

"I think Ye Chen will win!"

After saying that, he glanced at his sister and spoke earnestly.

"Ye Chen is truly terrifying. Up to now, no one has ever seen him fight a hard battle. So it's best not to provoke him. If you don't like him, just avoid him in the future—but never make an enemy of him."

Yao Yuezhi's beautiful eyes flickered with thought. She shot her brother a playful glare.

"Brother, Ye Chen is the dao companion you chose for me. How could I ever provoke him? On the contrary, I'm going to cheer for my future dao companion. Ye Chen spared you for my sake. Asking him to let me study the Stasis Secret as a betrothal gift isn't too much to ask, right? At worst, I'll just stay by his side from now on."

The corner of Yao Yuekong's mouth twitched...

Their ancestor was far too pragmatic. He believed their generation truly had no chance at immortality and wanted to back the Undying Celestial Phoenix clan instead. The so-called Undying Celestial Phoenix was a type of ancient phoenix with extremely high status. Even among the myriad races, they were considered nobility.

The Undying Celestial Emperor's son had an even more terrifying background. Though he hadn't formally awakened yet, many races had already pledged allegiance. So the ancestor genuinely wanted to marry his sister off to him. But judging by her demeanor, she clearly wasn't willing.

Yao Yuekong, however, felt his sister was being far too optimistic. Ye Chen wasn't an idiot. The Stasis Secret was incredibly precious. Even if he obtained it, how could he possibly share it freely? Let alone offend the Undying Celestial Phoenix's lineage over a woman! Only a fool would do something like that.