Ye Fan’s right hand was like a carved stone monument, covered in golden inscriptions — his Dao, ancient and profound, the eternal enduring principles of existence, unchanging and absolute, emanating a rumbling sound.

Mountains would crumble. Seas would dry. Stones would rot. Beneath this golden-monument palm strike, all would be destroyed — nothing would remain. The void became a black hole. Primordial light burst forth. It was as though the heavens and the earth were being created anew!

This place was on the verge of being completely shattered. Had the Ji Family not had Emperor inscriptions etched throughout the estate — spreading outward in an instant — the vast barren lands ahead, and even the sun, moon, and sky above, might have suffered.

After all, this was a contest between Great Saint-level Emperor-children — the kind that shattered mountains and seas as a matter of course, enough to crack an ancient living star to its core without a second thought.

The only reassurance was that the Northern Dipper was unlike any other place — to truly wound its deep roots was no easy task!

Misty vapor spread in all directions. Ye Fan’s golden palm strike transformed into an ancient monument tens of thousands of feet tall, veined with dense inscriptions, suppressing the sun, moon, and mountains of that entire region!

Shenmíng’s expression turned grave. He had made his move in the very first instant — the divine armor gleaming and translucent, radiating its halo, making him look like an ancient divine being stepping forth from the ages of primordial chaos, emanating a world-engulfing pressure.

Boom!

He struck his palm forward — vermilion birds danced, true dragons cut across the sky, white tigers split the heavens… all manner of divine spirits appeared at once, terrifying beyond measure — like a peerless sovereign in fury, or a Celestial Emperor making his move!

Shenmíng’s aura was overwhelming. Supremely confident, it was clear he had the resources to back those words. He was like an almighty god descending from the heavens.

Everyone trembled. This kind of immense pressure made people feel as though the end of days had come — as though facing an absolute master of all things, something in their bones compelling them to kneel and prostrate themselves in submission.

Ye Fan’s power, people had been mentally prepared for. But Shenmíng — his origins mysterious, his strength now revealed to be this great, emerging to shake the world on this day — naturally set everyone shaking.

Thud! The two forces collided in a violent crash. Inscriptions spun and swiftly erased each other. The ancient monument met all manner of divine spirits — releasing immortal light that swept across the six directions and eight wastelands, swallowing ten thousand miles!

It was an intense contest — terrifying to the extreme — as though the nine heavens themselves were about to be knocked down, the sky trembling, on the verge of falling.

No one had expected that in their very first exchange, both would prove this devastatingly powerful. This was a contest between young supreme geniuses — the kind not seen for ages.

Within the Ji Family estate, layer after layer of void formation inscriptions spread outward, fixing the earth, fire, wind, and water in place, protecting the mountains and rivers, stabilizing heaven and earth. Otherwise, a true disaster might well have descended on the Southern Domain.

After all, these were Great Saint Emperor-children contending — at any moment capable of destroying heaven and exterminating earth, shattering an ancient living star to nothing worth remarking on.

The one comfort was that the Northern Dipper was wholly unlike other places — harming its very roots was immensely difficult!

Pop!

Ye Fan pressed a palm casually into the void — though seemingly offhand, it carried boundless palm force smashing down, and in the end transformed into limitless sword light, spreading through every corner of heaven and earth.

Some erupted from underground. Some cleaved down from the nine heavens. Some were born in the void between…

Sword blades as thick and massive as sky-supporting pillars extended endlessly in every direction, vast and without limit — murderous intent dense enough to make every living being across the ten thousand realms tremble in fear!

This was a supremely terrifying secret art — a single grain of dust sufficient to fill the sea, a single blade of grass sufficient to shatter every star in the heavens. Peerlessly sharp. Resounding through the sky. Dominating all beneath heaven.

The onlookers were aghast. Even those who had retreated far enough still felt their hair stand on end, cold seeping through their skin, a chill running through their bones.

Shenmíng’s expression grew serious. Not a trace of carelessness. Though arrogant and forceful just moments before, once the battle truly began he was exceptionally focused — confident, but not reckless.

His body shuddered. On his back appeared an ancient marking — like a divine form, like some kind of phenomenon, or perhaps a particular Dao law condensed into a diagram.

A crimson vermilion bird soared into the sky — crossing three thousand realms, shattering great swaths of void, carrying an air of ancient wildness and boundless immortal fire, burning heaven and earth to ruin.

Supremely terrifying!

He used this to resist the omnipresent sword energy, blocking Ye Fan’s peerless assault. And within that defense, he counterattacked — at his brow, blazing radiance flashed, condensing into a fearsome talisman that formed into an ancient character the world could barely recognize, pressing down in suppression.

The character rapidly expanded. Every single stroke was as though cast from immortal gold — dazzling, translucent and luminous, radiating an icy metallic quality, heavy beyond all measure of weight.

This was a Dao — the Immortal Script of the Heavens!

The moment it appeared, a few people recognized it and were immediately shocked. It was said to be a Dao law of annihilation employed by ancient supremes when they sought to break through the barrier between mortal and immortal realms and strike into the immortal domain.

A script of this kind — its offensive power peerlessly devastating. How else could it have broken through the barrier separating the mortal and immortal worlds? Most fearsome of all!

Clang!

Ye Fan’s palm struck downward, meeting the blow with his physical body — golden fingers flicking repeatedly, one inscription after another appearing, all striking the ancient character at once. In a blaze of brilliant immortal light, that entire region erupted.

Shocking to the world. Shaking the heavens!

How powerful must the Holy Body of the Human Race be, to dare act in such a way — directly meeting it with palm and fingers — supremely terrifying.

Were any other Great Saint to make even one such contact, it would not merely be their fingers or arm — their entire body, half of it, would instantly crumble into blood and shattered bone.

With a thunderous crash, the two separated, their first exchange concluding.

In truth, only two strikes had been exchanged — happening in the span of a lightning flash, too swift for many to react or even see clearly.

The offensive power was already enough to stun the world, yet it could not yet be called a life-or-death confrontation — these were probing strikes, both holding back their most powerful techniques.

The more peak confrontation was only about to begin — and it would surely be a battle to the death. A peerless battle!

Yet in that moment, both the Holy Emperor’s Son and An Pu suddenly moved — crossing forward to intervene, blocking between them at the same time.

The Holy Emperor’s Son intended to fight in Ye Fan’s place, unwilling to let him strike again — for today was his day of great celebration. The monkey intended to face Shenmíng himself, in a fight to the death.

An Pu also stepped between them, momentarily separating the two, clearly not wishing to let this battle continue.

Almost simultaneously, the void opened without a sound, and Ji Zi appeared in the center of the scene — silent and wordless. Clearly he too intended to intervene. Setting aside his relationship with Ye Fan, this was the Ji Family’s ground — he could not simply stand by.

Yet the moment Ji Zi revealed himself, An Pu’s body jolted. An aura surpassing anything before erupted from him — more terrifying than anything just shown, sweeping through heaven and earth!

“The Void Emperor!” he cried out, his composure breaking for the first time.

Those four words silenced everyone. This name was too distant — how could it be spoken aloud in a setting like this? Even standing at the Ji Family’s gates, it seemed impossible.

Everyone’s expressions shifted sharply, their gazes turning forward.

At that moment, the look of shock on An Pu’s pallid, slightly sickly face was impossible to interpret. He stared at Ji Zi unblinking, his eyes unmoving — as though he had witnessed the most inconceivable thing imaginable.

Everyone was dazed. What was happening?

“Are you speaking of my father?” Ji Zi spoke calmly.

“You are not him? The resemblance is remarkable!” An Pu said, then shook his head. If it were truly the Void Emperor, how could there be no Emperor’s might — even if restrained, it would be enough to make all living things tremble, and before those of their Undying Mountain lineage, it would be even more so.

With that, everyone understood — Ji Zi bore the exact same appearance as the Void Emperor. Looks of surprise crossed every face. For a father and son to resemble each other to this degree was a rare thing.

“The offspring of the Battle Sage Emperor — what do you mean by this? Do you wish to fight me? You may stand to the side. Once I am finished with him, you may come. However many come today, I will receive them all!” Shenmíng spoke — still as supremely confident as before — infuriating Li Heishui and the others until their back teeth itched. Yet they could not deny that he possessed absolute and overwhelming power.

“I’ll send you on your way with one strike of the rod and save everyone’s ears,” the monkey said bluntly, too impatient for further words. He moved first, stepping in front of Ye Fan — intending to duel Shenmíng himself, a fight to the death.

The Holy Emperor’s Son and Shenmíng, brought together — this could only end in a life-or-death battle. Both were supremely dominant and forceful beyond limit.

An Pu came to his senses and stepped forward again — placing himself between them once more, blocking Shenmíng. “If speaking of urgency, mine surpasses yours. The grudge between my Undying Mountain and the Ji Family is known throughout the world. The appointment we made is nearly due. But even so, there is no rush for this moment. To decide everything here at an engagement ceremony — that would be going too far.”

“The way you put it makes me seem petty.” Shenmíng withdrew the foot he had been stepping forward with. “I said what I said — I am a direct person. What I think, I speak. No pretense. Those were my true intentions — I simply wanted to fight.”

The divine armor draped over his body shimmered with dark light, flames roiling within, yet held tightly inward — still with a halo around him, no different from a divine warrior of battle.

“Very well — let this moment pass. I will experience everything one by one.” His eyes blazed as he spoke: “Today — let there be no bloodshed. More celebration than this.”

“You think you can simply say ‘very well’ and that’s the end of it?!” The Holy Emperor’s Son sneered, unwilling to let him off.

Li Heishui, Dongfang Ye, and the others were seething with anger as well. This kind of setting — come as he pleases, leave as he pleases — and after stirring everything up, he thought one sentence would settle it all? Their fury refused to be extinguished.

“Honored friend Huntuo — it’s your turn to make a move!” In the distant sky, powerful beings of formidable standing called out in jest.

“Quite right — please, honored elder Huntuo, step forward to persuade them. If you speak, surely this battle will ignite all the faster.” Others were even more direct — hoping the God of Misfortune would step in and fan the flames, and a Forbidden Zone Emperor-child would fall — which might rouse an ancient supreme sovereign from the depths, sweeping through the Northern Dipper!

“My fellow friends jest. This old one has been feeling somewhat unwell today and prefers not to get involved.” Huntuo said.

“How could we do without you, dear friend? This is a contest of supreme geniuses — you are the very one who ought to go and mediate them! We need you to make your move.”

“Heaven holds life precious. This old one need not intervene today — there will be no calamity of blood for them either. The heavens cannot bear it. In all things, harmony is the highest virtue. Those two — within ten years, they will have harmony as their guiding word.” Huntuo said this with great gravity.

Everyone: “……” Even Huntuo was backing away — afraid of stepping on iron, afraid of tarnishing the gold signboard. Of course, what was meant by “tarnishing the gold signboard” might need to be read the other way around.

Before the Ji Family’s gates, the Holy Emperor’s Son was ready to fight. Shenmíng’s stance was uncertain — if the monkey wanted to fight, nothing would please him more, but having just said what he had said, he could not very well change his mind.

“The engagement takes precedence. Let this be where we stop for today.” Both Ji Zi and An Pu spoke these words.

Ye Fan’s expression was cold. He stared at Shenmíng — he wanted nothing more than to drive a fist straight through him. But today truly was not the right time to strike again, and he had no wish for the monkey to act in his place either.

“The more is said, the more it seems I am exploiting numbers to bully the few. Let me put it this way — today, let us forgo matters of life and death. A hundred lives would not justify breaking apart one union. So today, let us settle things with a contest of scholarship and skill instead. Leave it to the younger generation to contend. Consider it my gift to enliven this engagement ceremony.” Shenmíng said.

“Let it be so.” The Divine King Jiang Taixu spoke.

Ye Fan nodded his agreement upon hearing the Divine King’s words. He did not wish to go against the White-Robed Divine King — all of this could be deferred to another day.

In truth, had this confrontation continued, it might have grown truly fearsome — an Emperor-child could fall, blood spilling across the Southern Domain, perhaps even drawing out one of the ancient supreme sovereigns from within the Forbidden Zones!

Shenmíng gave a wave of his hand. From a distance, several small figures poked their heads out — peering about cautiously, each one wreathed in primordial chaos energy, every one of them extraordinary.

“Mingren, come here.” He called one small child forward — a boy of only six or seven, with a remarkable bearing and exceptional features between his brows, the chaos light contained within him striking awe into the heart.

“This is my child. If any of you can find someone in this world of similar age to defeat him, I will consider that my loss.” Shenmíng said.

“And if you lose — what then?” The Black Emperor, which had not spoken until now, asked.

“You still require some gesture?” Shenmíng’s eyes blazed. “If I lose — I will slap myself once, take back what I said, and apologize to all of you. And for ten years, should we happen to cross paths, I will yield three paces. Should we unavoidably meet, I will apologize again.”