After the passage of several months, the monkey had reappeared in the world — unscathed from any great calamity. He stood there with his pitch-black great staff in hand, every inch of him a picture of divine might.

At this moment, his Fiery Eyes blazed, his entire coat of fur shimmering with golden radiance — as though cast from pure gold — dazzling beyond compare, like a heavenly deity descended to the mortal world.

The black staff dripped with blood. One of the Son of Heaven’s guardians had been beaten into a pool of gore, bones and bloody mist scattered in all directions.

The emergence of the Sacred Emperor’s Son — and his immediate confrontation with the Son of Heaven — was nothing less than an earthshaking development. It stirred a great uproar, and news spread rapidly. Many came hurrying over upon hearing word.

“What is the meaning of this?” The Son of Heaven’s dark hair flew loose around him. He was encircled by five-colored divine rings — nine of them in total — protecting him at their center, a configuration bearing the supreme significance of the nine-five sovereign.

The monkey’s dominance was absolute. Golden holy light surged across his entire frame. He gripped the pitch-black great staff and leveled it forward, gazing down upon all before him with contempt, and said: “No particular meaning. I just want to kill you!”

All around, the expressions of the crowd shifted dramatically. The inheritor of the Fighting Sage Ape lineage had arrived — and this confrontation was one that no one had foreseen.

The Sacred Emperor’s Son against the Son of Heaven — a clash of needle against needle!

Both were of incomparably noble standing, each commanding the reverence of many Ancient Clans. They were the individuals with the purest bloodlines of the age — their origins formidable enough to inspire fear.

The Undying Celestial Emperor needed no elaboration — countless legends surrounded him, a supremely invincible existence transcending all divinity, the highest of the high.

The Battle Sage Emperor was the last Emperor of the Ancient Era. His combat power was ferocious to the point of defying heaven — he took the title of Battle Sage, styling himself Supreme Emperor, the only one of his kind throughout all of history.

For their progeny to come face to face was, in the truest sense, a comet slamming into the earth — a blinding brilliance that forced every eye in the world toward it. This was a collision between the descendants of the mightiest.

“Sacred Emperor’s Son — your recklessness has cost my people their lives before this crowd. Do you take me for someone with too gentle a temperament?” The Son of Heaven stepped forward, his bearing divine and magnificent, flawless and perfect beyond measure — radiant, like the ancient Celestial Emperor reborn.

“I told you — I’m going to kill you. In the past, you instigated many to come after me, and you have the nerve to say such words? Today I’ve come back from my recovery, and I’m prepared to club every last one of them to death.” The monkey’s rough and unpolished edge was fully on display, his golden battle saint energy shaking the nine heavens — like a god of battle incarnate.

Not one of the Ancient Living Beings present dared to open their mouth. Both were held in profound awe — this was a contest between Ancient Emperors’ Sons, and those of ordinary standing had no right to intervene.

Boom!

The black staff in the monkey’s hand swept downward. It was soaked with fresh blood, droplets pattering down, compressing the void until it shook and twisted like a tattered cloth.

One of the old servants behind the Son of Heaven changed expression and stepped forward to intercept, keeping his master from advancing. He raised a bronze lamp — the flame at its wick blazing hot enough to burn a hole through the heavens — pressing downward in suppression.

Crack!

The pitch-black great staff in the monkey’s hand was heavier than a mountain. It pulverized the radiant light, extinguished the divine flames, and with the force of Mount Tai pressing down, shattered the bronze lamp into fragments.

Pff!

Again, without a single moment of suspense — the head of this formidable old servant burst into a bloom of ten thousand flowers. Even his Divine Soul could not escape — it was extinguished within the physical body.

“He’s achieved Kinghood.” One of the attendants behind the Son of Heaven said in alarm, rushing immediately to the very front to shield his master, blocking the monkey’s assault.

Clang!

This old attendant held a Dragon Horn Mace, releasing a cascade of crimson radiance — a red dragon surged forth to meet the great staff, producing a torrent of Dao resonance, radiant colors and auspicious brilliance bursting forth in all directions.

This was a duel between kings!

The crowd behind them was horror-struck, all retreating rapidly. Powerhouses of this caliber were rare even among the Human Clan, enough to make many clan leaders draw sharp breaths.

The battle was swift and fierce. The monkey seemed as though the Battle Sage Emperor himself had been reborn — treading upon heaven and earth, his great staff sweeping in all directions, courage unmatched under heaven, swirling the cosmos!

Clang!

Sparks flew between the iron staff and the Dragon Horn Mace. Wisps of auspicious energy shattered, threads of sacred light burst apart, Dao-traces were cracked and split — the monkey pressed his overwhelming force across all ten directions, driving the old attendant back while spitting blood.

“Truly worthy of being the Sacred Emperor’s own son — renowned for battle and dominance, shaking the world. Having only just taken his first step into severing the Dao, he has already wounded me.” The old servant’s chest heaved violently, radiance flowing across his entire form — deeply shaken.

“Yes!” Ye Fan felt a genuine surge of joy for the monkey.

Not only had the monkey returned alive, he had crossed a threshold that was exceedingly difficult to surmount. One must know that even severing the Dao at the third tier of the Immortal Platform blocked countless individuals, and those of extraordinary talent might face even greater resistance.

The Son of Heaven finally changed his expression. He too had been stalled at this very threshold, unable to sever the Dao successfully. Had he faced the monkey just now, he would most likely have come off the worse for it.

“Divine Son, do not act personally. What you lack is only time — one year of your cultivation surpasses a hundred years of another’s. In the future, none will be able to contend with you for supremacy.” The old servant spoke his counsel.

“Sacred Emperor’s Son — you walk alongside the Human Clan’s Holy Body and strike out against the various clans. Are you betraying your ancestors?” The Son of Heaven demanded.

“Your concern is truly far-reaching. As for who I walk alongside — is that any of your business? And stop trying to pin grand labels on me. In the Ancient Era, the ten thousand clans rose and fell in endless war. The savage wastelands were drenched in rivers of blood. How many clans were annihilated — who can say? The ten thousand clans were never one family. Each clan had its era of glory. Furthermore, the Human Clan is itself one of the ten thousand clans. Whether I walk alongside the Human Clan’s Holy Body or alongside the inheritor of the Blood Phoenix Mountain, it makes no difference whatsoever.”

The monkey’s sharpness was equally formidable. His momentum surging, he gripped his staff and strode forward — still intent on attacking, still seeking to kill the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven sneered: “But this is no longer the Ancient Era. The various clans have re-emerged, seeking to reclaim dominion over the ebbs and flows of the world — yet the original land has been entirely occupied by the Human Clan. Is what you are doing not a betrayal of every great clan?”

“What does it mean for ten thousand clans to coexist? You understand nothing of it — so don’t lecture me on principles. Do you truly believe yourself a son of the gods? I feel nothing particularly remarkable about the Undying Celestial Emperor!”

At these words, many Ancient Living Beings changed color. The Undying Celestial Emperor was a forbidden topic — not to be desecrated.

“Silence! What right do you have to slander the Supreme Ancient Celestial Emperor? This is the gravest crime of disrespect — condemned by all under heaven!” The old attendant who had fought him raised the Dragon Horn Mace high and bellowed.

“A servant dares raise his voice in my presence? Get lost!” The monkey let out a thunderous roar and swept the iron staff outward, sending the attendant stumbling backward, fissures appearing across his body, a trickle of blood seeping down from between his brows.

“Sacred Emperor’s Son — you have gone too far!” The Son of Heaven’s gaze turned dangerous. His black hair cascaded like a waterfall, nine rings of divine radiance manifested behind him in five colors — as if the Celestial Emperor himself had been reincarnated.

The monkey sneered: “When my father attained the Dao, he completely overturned your father’s sacred domain. There were no divine miracles — just a single Sage Emperor’s fist that reduced it to rubble. He was simply deified by later generations.”

At these words, silence fell across the entire gathering. It was a forbidden topic — yet the monkey could not have cared less, speaking it aloud without hesitation, causing many of the Ancient Clans to tremble inwardly.

The Battle Sage Emperor had been an existence that feared nothing in heaven or earth, who never revered any so-called gods of the past — else how would he have dared take such a title for himself? Within him, there was only one belief: none can stand before me!

No matter who the opponent — or what deity the legends spoke of — if they faced him, he would drive a fist through them and grind them to dust.

The Ancient Clans had heard those rumors, yet no one dared discuss them openly. In the final phase of the Ancient Era, the world had belonged to the Battle Sage Ape lineage, with the Sacred Emperor reigning over the great earth. Who would dare defy him?

Never could anyone have imagined that today, the monkey would speak it all aloud without reservation, leaving many of the Ancient Living Beings too frightened to make a sound.

Now Ye Fan understood why the Son of Heaven had devised scheme after scheme against the monkey since his emergence, seeking to end his life. So there was this kind of hidden history.

“Even if you carry the bloodline of an Ancient Emperor, you cannot desecrate the supreme Celestial Emperor. Today we will end you!” The wounded old servant raised the Dragon Horn Mace and struck again — Dao resonance rising like the ocean, auspicious sacred light sweeping through the heavens, slashing down toward the monkey’s head.

At the same moment, an even older Ancient Living Being surged forward, charging at the monkey.

Ye Fan’s expression shifted. He could sense this person’s terrible power, and fearing the monkey might be endangered, the unmatched Sacred Shell blazed with brilliance — yet concealed its mysteries — and plunged forward in an instant.

Bang!

He drove a fist outward, colliding with that older old servant. A spray of blood burst forth — the old servant’s hand exploded first, then his entire arm blew apart, and finally his body cracked and fractured, sending him flying horizontally. He barely survived annihilation.

At the same moment, the monkey’s staff shattered the Dragon Horn Mace into dozens of fragments, splitting the other old servant’s arms open, causing them to fall away and drop to the ground.

Around them, every being — Ancient Living or Human Clan alike — was shaken beyond measure, yet not one dared step forward. The grudges between Ancient Emperors’ Sons were not disputes they wished any part of.

In the field, Ye Fan and the monkey stood shoulder to shoulder. Duan De strode forward with large steps, and the three of them advanced together, pressing forward like three gods of war — their golden blood energy merging into a single surging tide.

“Sacred Emperor’s Son — even if you’ve severed the Dao, do you truly think I cannot deal with you?” The Son of Heaven was frigid. The nine rings of divine radiance behind his head rapidly expanded, releasing a terrifying wave of power.

“Divine Son, contain your anger. Do not force your hand — your gifts are without equal in all time, and when you complete the severing of the Dao, none in your generation can oppose you. You will become a being like the Celestial Emperor himself. Please enter Yaochi first — we will deal with him.” His guardian spoke.

“Sheer arrogance!” The monkey let out a cold laugh and said: “The greatest regret my father carried was never sharing an era with the Undying Celestial Emperor — never being able to reduce him to rubble. Now you and I exist in the same world. It falls to me to face you and fulfill my old father’s heart’s desire!”

These words were thoroughly treasonous — yet not one of the Ancient Living Beings present dared say a word. Every single one of them acted as if they had heard nothing.

The monkey’s father was the last Sacred Emperor of the Ancient Era. Many of the Ancient Living Beings had personally lived through his era of dominion over the world. His battle-prowess could crush the heavens themselves!

Even now, the very mention of his name filled people with dread and reverence. In those days, the mightiest from every clan had been compelled to prostrate themselves in worship before him — none could approach him, for he was a living Sacred Emperor — a being even more real than the legendary Undying Celestial Emperor, the divine figure of legend.

It was precisely because of this that no matter how domineering the monkey was, no matter that he disrespected even the Ancient Celestial Emperor, those assembled found it unsurprising. This was simply how the Battle Sage Ape lineage had always been — fearing nothing in heaven or earth, cutting down every myth!

At this moment, Ye Fan, the monkey, and Duan De pressed forward together, forming a mighty storm of blood energy that drowned out the surrounding area in golden holy light.

“Who dares stir up such violence here, showing contempt for the rules of this gathering?!” A great shout rang forth from within Yaochi, and a powerful figure emerged — many figures came surging out.

One of the Seventeen Mountain Lords of the Blood Phoenix Mountain, one of the Thirteen Cave Lords of the Fire Kirin Cave — all of them arrived. Each was a royal clan representative. When they saw it was the monkey doing the shouting, every one of them felt a jolt of apprehension.

This was not a straightforward situation. The monkey’s current standing was far too sensitive — if he truly chose to cause chaos, anyone would think twice before interfering.

“I have not yet set foot inside Yaochi — and therefore I have not violated the gathering’s rules. Today I intend to kill the son of the Undying Celestial Emperor right here!” The monkey gripped the pitch-black staff, his killing intent towering, his dominance without limit.