ISWI Chapter 691-692

Chapter 691: Single Duel

"If you're ready, let's go," Feng Baiyu said with a faint smile. "I've already roused several ancestors from seclusion. In a secret place no one knows about, they've laid down an absolute killing array. I even invited people from the Heavenly Intention Holy Land. That way, if those demons and monsters can't afford to lose and try something dirty, we won't have anything to worry about."

Ye Chen trusted his Holy Master completely. He rose at once, prepared to head for the battlefield.

Luo Bingling had just recovered from the giddy joy of successfully raising Ye Chen's favorability by another point. She insisted on going with him. If any other prodigy jumped in and put Ye Chen in real danger, she could swoop in, save the day, and farm another huge wave of affection. One step closer to the Dao Cauldron.

As for the deeper implications of this battle—the faint shadow of a showdown between the Myriad Races and the Human Race. Whether the myriad races would brand her a traitor for interfering?

Luo Bingling couldn't care less. She knew better than anyone that there was no such thing as true camaraderie among the myriad races. It was nothing more than huddling together for warmth.

Back when the human race had been enslaved, the myriad races tore at each other's throats constantly. They had beaten each other's brains out and exterminated entire clans left and right. So, nothing—no, nothing in the world mattered more than the Dao Cauldron.

Seeing Ye Chen ready, Feng Baiyu said no more. He summoned his towering ship, took Ye Chen and Luo Bingling aboard, and sped toward the Endless Sea. Along the way, Feng Baiyu shared everything he had observed.

"That Holy Prince is no joke. His physique is absurdly tyrannical. Just sitting there, every casual movement warps the void around him. The cave-heaven he has forged must be extraordinary as well. And those eyes—he possesses the extremely rare hidden divine ability of the Victorious Fighting Ape lineage: Fiery Golden Eyes. Only the most heaven-defying talents of their clan, after having their bodies continuously refined by the Three Flavors True Fire, can awaken them. It's a terrifying ability. It sees through all illusions, traces effects back to their source, and wields devastating might. In both power and profundity, I believe it may rival the Heavy Pupils.

"Throughout the entire history of the Victorious Fighting Apes, the ones who successfully cultivated Fiery Golden Eyes can be counted on one hand. For example, the Victorious Fighting Ape from the same era as the Heavenly Emperor managed it—and even forced the Heavenly Emperor himself to suffer a small setback. On top of that, I've heard that an immortal ancestor of their lineage once possessed the Three Heads Six Arms divine ability. Who knows whether this Holy Prince inherited it."

Feng Baiyu spoke with utmost seriousness.

Ye Chen listened intently, nodding gravely and sinking into thought.

Feng Baiyu was pleased to see Ye Chen treating his intelligence so seriously. He gave an approving nod. The boy was teachable. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

What he didn't know was this: The moment Ye Chen heard how monstrous the Holy Prince's talents were, he made up his mind. When the fight came, he absolutely could not go all out. He needed to stage a hard-fought, narrow victory—something that looked like he barely scraped by. Because if a genius this terrifying got one-shotted by a single punch again, no one might dare come play with him anymore. For the long-term health of his cultivation path. He had better drag this battle out for at least a couple of days.

…

Endless Sea.

High above the vault of heaven floated a battlefield of shimmering light, spanning hundreds of square kilometers, dazzling like a second sun. Around it, tens of thousands of towering immortal ships hovered in dense ranks. This single duel had drawn the eyes of half the world.

When the Heavenly Emperor had purged the myriad races in his era, countless clans had suffered unspeakable losses. Even after all these years, hatred still simmered in their blood. Now they all hungered to watch the Heavenly Emperor heir fall, to finally vent that ancient grudge.

Yet the human forces had come in no lesser numbers. No matter their private feelings toward Ye Chen, every human faction acknowledged him as the brightest genius of this generation. Should he lose, the entire human race would be shamed, forced to bow their heads before the myriad races once more. This battle mattered more than pride. It was a contest for face, for momentum, for the future. Every gaze locked onto the battlefield.

There, seated calmly atop a massive black iron staff, was the Holy Prince, his golden fur gleaming as though molten gold poured across his body. His eyes remained closed, his expression indifferent. Above his head hovered a broken, ancient stone tablet, rough and unadorned. An enigmatic aura poured from it, bathing the Holy Prince in faint radiance.

He looked as though he were immersed in sudden enlightenment. Even doing nothing but sitting there, the terrifying sovereign pressure rolling off him made the vast majority of onlookers tremble in their boots.

The Heavenly Emperor heir had yet to arrive. Whispers rippled through the watching crowds.

"That must be the Stasis Secret, right? They say it's the most unique of the Nine Secrets, second only to the Front Secret."

"The Holy Prince was already terrifying. Now that he's obtained the Stasis Secret stele, once he steps into the Semi-Saint realm he'll be utterly invincible."

"Who knows if the Heavenly Emperor heir can win!"

"This is bound to be a battle that shakes the ages. Even the Heavenly Emperor heir… I fear he'll finally taste true hardship today."

"This might be the first real bitter fight of his life!"

"By the way, have you heard? Among those who besieged the Holy Prince on the Immortal Path earlier, a few managed to escape alive, didn't they?"

"Well, afterward… every last one of them vanished. Their soul tablets shattered. They're all dead…"

"The Immortal Path this generation truly is a deathtrap!"

Chapter 692: Yao Yuezhi

Heavenly geniuses had gathered in droves. Aboard the countless towering ships, groups of two or three sipped tea and wine while awaiting Ye Chen's arrival.

Prince Lu Ya and the Little Peacock King stood at the center of admiring crowds. Both were peak existences among the myriad races. Neither was necessarily inferior to the Holy Prince. If Ye Chen somehow defied the heavens and defeated the Holy Prince against all odds, they would step in without hesitation.

Prince Lu Ya's golden hair fluttered in the wind as he stared toward the Great Yan Continent, killing intent blazing in his eyes. Ye Chen had wronged his little sister. Several nights, she had raged in private, gnashing her teeth at the mere mention of Ye Chen's name. Fortunately, his unique constitution had protected him from real harm.

Beyond that, Lu Ya strongly suspected the newborn Fusang Divine Tree was now in Ye Chen's possession. The Heavenly Emperor had been utterly wicked and incomparably cunning. He would surely have left countless contingencies for his descendant.

If the tree truly lay in Ye Chen's hands, Lu Ya had to seize it. To the Golden Crow clan, the Fusang Divine Tree was priceless. If he obtained it, he could borrow its divine power to raise his talent yet another level. So if the Holy Prince failed, he would personally take the field.

As these thoughts churned in his mind, a bronze war chariot thundered across the horizon. Two figures atop it instantly seized every gaze in the Endless Sea.

The first, naturally, was the Heavenly Emperor heir himself. Unrivaled in bearing, his handsome face showed not the slightest trace of tension before a life-and-death battle. Instead, he looked positively delighted. His arm was casually wrapped around the slender waist of the War God Clan's princess, Luo Bingling, who stood beside him.

Luo Bingling's violet hair whipped in the wind, her battle intent surging like a storm, making onlookers sigh—how could the world produce such a fiercely magnificent woman?

The Heavenly Emperor's heir had finally arrived. The entire battlefield fell deathly silent. Every eye locked onto Ye Chen. Even the Holy Prince, who had been seated in meditation beneath the stone stele, slowly lifted his eyelids and rose to his feet. He did not retract the tablet; it continued to hover above his head. Anyone could see that the stele bearing the Stasis Secret was no mere inheritance—it thrummed with profound and terrifying power.

Ye Chen's gaze first fell on the Holy Prince. Just by standing, the monkey's flesh alone warped the void around him.

Ye Chen's eyes brightened. Then he spotted the stele. His mood improved even further. Sweeping his gaze across the crowds, he instantly picked out the Little Peacock King and Prince Lu Ya, both surrounded by fawning admirers.

The arc of his smile grew wider. And when his eyes landed on an old acquaintance—Yao Yuekong—a flicker of genuine delight flashed through them.

Of course, it had nothing to do with Yao Yuekong himself. That guy had once been an enemy; being spared was already his good fortune. He didn't deserve a smile. What truly thrilled Ye Chen was the female cultivator standing beside Yao Yuekong.

Graceful as a jade willow, delicate and refined, her exquisite features and gently arched brows evoked. Her figure wasn't overly voluptuous, but when judged by the ratio of that tiny waist, it was more than respectable.

Of course, Ye Chen wasn't the sort to fixate on such things. What truly mattered was the system prompt that rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Matched Gift Target Detected!]

[Yao Yuezhi: 5,000x!]

Five thousand times. And from the name alone, she was clearly Yao Yuekong's younger sister. To be honest, this multiplier caught even Ye Chen by surprise. He had always assumed the upper limit for a Heavenly Demon Body was around four thousand times.

Yet Yao Yuezhi had actually hit five thousand. She now surpassed both Lan Nuo and his fiancée, sitting firmly as the undisputed number one beneath Yan Qingcheng. What was even better—her cultivation had reached the absolute peak of the Third Heaven.

Ye Chen had already been wondering who he should gift the Stasis Secret to once he obtained it. The Nine Secrets were precious beyond measure and almost guaranteed critical returns.

Breaking through from the Third Heaven to the Fourth required comprehending the Laws of Time. Gifting it to a woman already at the peak of the Third Heaven would clearly yield far richer feedback. Talk about perfect timing.

Yao Yuezhi clearly sensed his gaze. Their eyes met for a brief instant. Her lovely face flushed crimson at once, and she lowered her head, refusing to look at him again.

Ye Chen's smile widened. He couldn't yet tell if she was the teasing type or genuinely innocent. But five thousand times was more than enough to make him want to find out—thoroughly. He shifted his gaze and glanced at Yao Yuekong once more.

Yao Yuekong was staring back, his expression complicated. He had escaped with his life, true, but because of Ye Chen's infamous reputation, he had been branded a sister-selling coward. Even the Little Peacock King mocked him for it. He could barely hold his head up these days. Still, when their eyes met, Yao Yuekong forced a stiff smile and gave Ye Chen a small nod from afar.

Ye Chen immediately returned a warm, friendly smile and nodded back.

Yao Yuekong was instantly flattered beyond words. But the very next moment, he realized something and turned to look at his sister. Seeing her shyly hiding her flushed face, the corner of his mouth twitched violently. He suddenly didn't feel like speaking anymore.