The Heavenly Emperor stood without peer — divine might the greatest in all the world, impossible to resist. He looked exactly like Ye Fan: thick black hair spread loose, his gaze like cold lightning, carrying both frigidity and ferocity, blazing arcs of light shooting from his eyes.

He stood like this, supremely aloof and alone, one foot treading upon the Battle Immortal, suppressing him — crying out loud for submission, as that battle-shadow knelt there and shuddered violently.

The majesty of the Heavenly Emperor — impossible to express in words. He looked down upon the mortal world with contempt, shaking all under heaven, sending people into trembling and shaking, their very souls quivering.

“Spit!”

Cang Lan spat a mouthful of blood. His arm let out a cracking snap — he struck it hard with one blow, reconnecting the severed limb. Bone grew back. His face was covered in icy frost.

This was a monstrous humiliation. How long had it been since he last swept all under heaven uncontested, with no rival throughout the nine heavens and ten earths, lonely and undefeated? Yet now he had been reduced to having his divine form pressed into kneeling before a younger generation — something he could not even imagine.

This was worse than being killed. Not only was there the severe physical pain — the sense of humiliation upon his soul was driving him mad. He let out a long roar toward the sky, and throughout his entire body, hegemon’s blood surged straight up to the crown of his head.

To force his ultimate divine form to kneel — was that not the equivalent of making him kneel? With consequences this severe, it was the same as slapping him in the face one slap after another — intolerable.

“Aaaaah…”

That Battle Immortal let out a furious roar and resisted fiercely. The flesh and blood across his entire body split open — bones were exposed. He was trying to shake loose the foot that had been planted on him.

Yet he could not break free at all. That foot clung to him like something affixed, utterly immovable — and the harder it pressed, the more unbearable it became. Even his head was being pushed down under the tread, pressed until it touched his own knees.

“Insolence beyond all endurance!” The Perfected Hegemon Body let out a great roar. He would rather die in battle — he had never in his entire life been so degraded.

“Didn’t you say you enjoy the sensation of bathing in sacred blood? Come and try it for yourself!” Ye Fan roared back.

A surge of rage had risen in his own heart as well. The other had brought it up time and again — that he had once killed a Perfected Holy Body, that he regarded them as nothing but worthless bones, trophies of his glory. Once was one thing, but to bring it up again?

And so — he returned it in kind, blood for blood.

“Kill!”

Cang Lan let out a furious roar, and that Battle Immortal blazed with light across his entire body, igniting divine flame — he was about to self-detonate.

“Spit!”

That Heavenly Emperor — the one who was Ye Fan himself — gazed down coldly from above, and stamped down with one foot, causing his body to shudder violently. Then he pressed one palm downward.

With a resounding crack, Ye Fan smashed the Battle Immortal’s crown apart — blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. The sight was horrifying. For this was the divine battle-form of a supreme exalted being, the equivalent of his own self — and just like that, it was struck dead.

Boom!

The Battle Immortal shattered, carrying a torrent of furious indignation — he dissolved into a surge of essence energy, soaring upward into the sky, transforming into drifting currents of radiant mist that swiftly submerged back into Cang Lan’s true body.

The Perfected Hegemon Body shook violently. Though the divine form’s essence energy had returned, it caused him to suffer serious damage in turn — and simultaneously, the genuinely real sensation of having been pressed down on his knees surged up to fill his heart.

“I was actually degraded like this by a member of the younger generation… Aaaaah!” Cang Lan let out a howl of rage. He thought of long ago — of the Holy Body who had lost his youth, defeated, his desolation in the moment of defeat. Back then, he had been at the height of his vigor, looking down arrogantly upon all beneath heaven, tearing apart that aged Holy Body, bathing in his blood and reveling madly — how domineering that had been.

Now — it was his turn. With an aging body, to face a Perfected Holy Body youthful enough to be shocking — whose vital blood surged like the ocean. Was this truly some kind of cycle?

All of that past had been reversed, turned back upon itself. What kind of sorrow was that?

Yet he did not yield — he refused to accept his age. This was only the first exchange. To fall once did not mean he would truly perish in this divine war in the end.

Who would be the last one standing — it was still too early to say.

Cang Lan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. From within his skull, a dragon soared up, roaring and writhing above his head — his resentment and unwillingness laid bare. Then, one by one: a Vermillion Bird, a White Tiger, a Transforming Serpent — all manner of immortal beasts and auspicious birds appeared.

Within the blood-light, wild beasts and fierce birds soared in great waves, as though one had entered into the world of myth. Any single one of them, if allowed to walk free, would sweep the mortal world.

This time, he did not transform into the Battle Immortal — because truly perfected Battle Immortals were nearly impossible to manifest in this world. The divine form he had displayed just now was powerful, but ultimately had flaws. Ye Fan had found them and directly suppressed it.

“Crack!”

The Azure Dragon flew down and merged with his head — granting him a dragon’s skull, like a gleaming azure-gold helmet, flashing with green-gold light.

Then, an Immortal Phoenix swooped downward and sank into his back. A pair of fiery scarlet divine wings spread open from his ribs, blotting out the sky — immortal flame blazing, crimson clouds spreading across the heavens.

Then, the White Tiger roared. A massive tiger as enormous as a mountain came hurtling down from the sky, rapidly dissolving, merging with his four limbs — the White Tiger claws were sharp and ice-cold, capable of tearing apart the universe with ease.

After that, a Transforming Serpent appeared, extending for an untold distance — a single sweep of its tail could shatter stars. It rapidly shrank down, plunged into Cang Lan’s back, granting him a massive tail.

He was undergoing a terrifying transformation. No longer the Battle Immortal — because that kind of being did not exist in this world. Though the offensive power was great, it had a fatal weakness. However powerful he made it, it still could not surpass the Radiant Battle Sage Emperor of history — the father of Monkey, peerless and unrivaled beneath heaven, who had nearly succeeded in ancient times, but in the very instant of merging with his own body, it came apart — still falling just short of perfection.

He employed forbidden means. He dismantled and recombined all manner of divine forms to best suit his own body — it was no longer a pure divine form but had fused together laws, the evolution of a battle-body, all techniques synthesized together — transformed into another manner of being entirely.

This was the Hegemon Body’s Ancestral Form!

This creature — dragon’s head, serpent’s tail, white tiger claws, phoenix wings, qilin armor, black tortoise back — had gathered within itself the finest qualities of all things, supremely firm and powerful, invincible.

Indeed — the moment this Hegemon Body’s Ancestral Form appeared, heaven and earth erupted. It was a great crime of blood and fire — even the heavens would not accept it. Ten thousand rolls of thunder descended.

The moment he took one step forward, the very foundations of heaven and earth collapsed beneath it. His power was incomparable, terrifying and absolute. It was in this Ancestral Form that he had defeated the Perfected Holy Body in ancient times — invincible wherever he turned.

“Young sacred blood — I still crave it. Perhaps it can extend my life once more. Cast into the Divine Furnace, refined into a Nine-Cycle Sacred Elixir.”

Cang Lan let out a roar and came hurtling down. In that moment, he not only used the Ancestral Form — he unleashed all manner of secret arts simultaneously. The center of his brow blazed with light like a dazzling treasure-wheel, splitting this place apart.

Every inch of his flesh was releasing energy. Every single cell was a door to a divine treasury — hegemon’s blood boiling, divine power raging.

Ye Fan’s expression grew solemn. With a great roar, the Heavenly Emperor returned to position and merged with him as one — that was himself. He displayed his full majesty, looking down upon that creature below.

“Pop!”

That creature was truly terrifying beyond all limits. With a casual grab, the entire stretch of the universe was torn apart — one more sweep, and another river of stars in the distance collapsed, turned to smoke and dust.

This was an ancient supreme exalted being. Mortals had no way to comprehend it — a single casual strike could obliterate an entire star domain. Even the most powerful of beings — even quasi-emperors — could not withstand even one such blow.

Crash!

Ye Fan withstood it head-on, meeting the other’s fist with a single palm. Heaven crumbled and earth split — the cries of ghosts and gods rang out, and in this place, shadow after shadow appeared — the heroic spirits of the remote antiquity.

The two collided in a fierce and violent clash. Shouts and battle-cries filled the air. When it finally settled, Ye Fan was covered in blood-marks — wounds everywhere — yet the Perfected Hegemon Body was even more wretched: his phoenix wings had been torn free, several ribs broken, bare and exposed.

And the serpent-tail was severed to pieces by Ye Fan — white bone stark and bare, blood pouring freely. Even that dragon-head was nearly pierced through by Ye Fan, and then nearly wrenched completely off.

There was no avoiding a narrow path. Neither side drew back. They fought with everything they had. What would normally have perhaps required several thousand exchanges of combat was now compressed — a result arrived within mere dozens of strikes.

Blood covered Ye Fan’s body — even his chest bore a bloody hole. Yet the price he paid—

The Perfected Hegemon Body fared far more miserably. He was nearly torn open entirely — the Ancestral Form had suffered grave injury and was on the verge of collapse. He could not understand it — with all his long ages of cultivation, his unconventional path to Dao attainment — how had he been unable to defeat a junior like this?

Even his experience and accumulated wisdom were useless. The person before him was a born warrior — truly like a Heavenly Emperor — in the domain of combat, capable of anything. He was being dominated.

In truth, Ye Fan was not at ease. Though he stood at the peak of the ninth tier of heaven and had nearly stepped into another realm entirely, facing this supremely powerful master of hegemon’s blood, he still held nothing back.

After all, the other was a supreme exalted being — one who had shaken past and present alike. Ye Fan deployed every forbidden technique at his disposal, for the purpose of intimidation — to make the other supreme exalted beings lurking in the shadows understand: anyone who sought to obstruct him would inevitably pay with blood.

Of course, whether it would truly have that effect remained to be seen.

For now, he had to strike with overwhelming ferocity. Only by fighting an ancient supreme exalted being to the point of real pain would there be any effect.

Strike hard enough, strike with enough savagery, strike until the supreme exalted beings trembled with fear — to make it unmistakably clear to them: dare to obstruct him, and they would pay with blood and lives.

He appeared dominant now — but in truth, he was in great danger.

“Kill!”

The Perfected Hegemon Body let out a great roar. Grief filled his heart. Never once in his life had he suffered such a crushing defeat. He had walked the world in arrogant dominance, coming here to slay a Holy Body — and yet the result was this catastrophic.

Evidently, another supreme exalted being was rising — who would walk forward over his bones. A new generation replaces the old!

In truth, there were other supreme exalted beings watching from the shadows, their gazes cold and sharp, piercing through endless void to observe the scene here.

All of them were shaken to the heart. Crossing two great tribulation tiers in succession — this surpassed all their predictions. To intervene now would come at great cost.

If it had been a Holy Body at the eighth tier, perhaps a few strikes would have spelled the end for Ye Fan — but now, anyone who came would have to weigh it carefully!

Unprecedented in all of history, never before seen — a Holy Body defying heaven had crossed two full tribulation tiers, silencing all the supreme exalted beings. To intervene or not? To stop him would come at a steep price. Not to stop him — his future accomplishments would be without limit.

“Kill!”

Suddenly, a cold and clear shout rang out — from the direction of the Hegemon Body’s ancestral star, a wave of light came surging. Another supreme exalted being had made a move, refusing to allow Ye Fan to kill Cang Lan.

It was an extremely powerful Dao-wave — its striking force staggering. Every star along its path was extinguished, opening a perfectly clear void channel that reached directly before them.

Cang Lan shifted to the side, preparing to retreat from the life-or-death danger zone.

Never, not once in his entire life, had he felt a sense of defeat this unbearable as he did today. Defeated so utterly for the first time in his life, his very life nearly forfeit — what manner of desolation was this?

“Hum!”

The void trembled — then froze like a painting, motionless. Ye Fan’s physical body moved, swinging the Heavenly Emperor’s Fist — supremely firm, supremely yang, shattering all eternity — rising straight up to the sky, meeting that Dao-wave head-on and blocking it entirely.

At the same time, light blazed from the center of his brow. The golden homunculus strode upward through the sky, his right hand holding a small cauldron as he executed the Movement Character Secret — surpassing the ultimate speed of the world, bringing time to a standstill.

In that same instant, the golden homunculus’ left hand formed a seal — the essence of the “Eternity” character ascended to its utmost sublimation, brought to the absolute apex. And this in turn affected the flow of time as well.

The Primordial Spirit merged with the Dao, driving the cauldron forward in attack. It caught up to Cang Lan — and with a resounding thud, the sheer brutality and ferocity of this attack sent him shattering in every direction. Bones broken, tendons snapped.

Even a supreme exalted being as powerful as the master of hegemon’s blood could not endure it. He was on the verge of disintegrating instantly — covered in blood, white bones shattered, his body on the brink of exploding apart.

One must know: he was a being capable of withstanding blows from emperor artifacts head-on — yet now he was being torn to pieces.

Boom!

In the sky above, Ye Fan shattered that immense Dao-wave with one blow, then turned and came hurtling downward. The Primordial Spirit and physical body merged as one, plunging from above.

“Spit!”

He tore the Perfected Hegemon Body apart into two halves, bathing in his blood, treading upon his dismembered body, gazing down upon him with cold, merciless eyes.

A supreme exalted being had been slain!

The universe shuddered — the ten wastelands erupted!