“What — Saint-Kings?”
“All of these are Saint-King level venerables?”
The Ji Family was utterly stunned. One by one, they stood slack-jawed, staring in disbelief. The sheer impact of it was overwhelming — an almost terrifying assault on the mind. The news had some of them ears ringing with a deep, resonant hum.
Powerful as the Ji Family was, this still felt like standing before a vast ocean, peering down into a bottomless abyss. What immense force was this?
Without drawing upon their clan’s hidden foundations, without the use of their peerless Emperor-level artifacts, they would be utterly helpless before this group of divine birds and beast kings before them — swept away like autumn leaves before the wind.
These were Saint-Kings.
When counted carefully — including the Ancient Golden Peng and the Lightning Phoenix — there were twelve in total. Twelve Saint-Kings appearing together was a sight to shake the soul. Not even the most powerful holy lands in the Northern Dipper, the ancient races included, possessed so many.
And yet these twelve Saint-King level powerhouses were all followers of the young man standing before them. The thought sent a chill down everyone’s spine. Nothing could be more staggering than this.
In his time, Ye Fan had been formidable — throwing the Eastern Desolation into turmoil, and when he finally departed, he had turned all Five Domains upside down. Everyone acknowledged he was exceptionally gifted in the path of cultivation.
But this outcome still left them dumbstruck, every single one of them in a momentary daze. Twelve Saint-Kings together — what an enormous force. Before even drawing upon hidden foundations, how many factions in the current age could stand shoulder to shoulder with this?
“They are all… in the Saint-King realm?!” Some among the Ji Family could hardly believe it. Ye Fan had been gone barely a hundred-odd years, and yet he had already reached such heights, with a host of Saints at his side?
“Yes, all of them are in the Saint-King realm.” Ji Ziyue nodded. Her eyes shone like black gemstones, her fair face glowing, the corners of her lips curved upward in a faint smile.
Ye Fan had once been hunted and driven from his homeland, forced to flee to the outer domains. Yet now he returned with a retinue such as this — it was almost beyond belief.
“Ye Fan… what realm has he reached?” One of Ji Ziyue’s male cousins asked in a low voice.
“Saint-King Grand Completion — only half a step from the Great Sage realm. On par with the ancient races’ Qilin Heavenly King and Nine-Phoenix King. He may rightly be called a Heavenly King.” Ji Ziyue answered.
Half a step from Great Sage… He had truly reached such heights. The revelation struck everyone like a blow to the chest. Every person present was frozen stiff, mouths agape, unable to form words.
They had acknowledged Ye Fan’s extraordinary, heaven-gifted talent — but the contrast between then and now was simply too vast. Back then he was still being hunted by powerful figures on all sides, and now the world had been utterly overturned. This was a transformation of seismic proportions.
The eighth of the Ji Family’s elders felt his throat convulse. He swallowed with great difficulty, his complexion somewhat pale, and once again involuntarily retreated ten-odd steps.
Cold shivers ran up and down his spine. He had heard Ye Fan’s name when the man was still a minor cultivator, and now he had grown to this — someone who could look down upon all under heaven without a trace of fear. If he made an enemy of this man now, he would be no more than an ant to be crushed.
He himself had broken through to sever the Dao after the great transformation of heaven and earth, and might even challenge the Saint realm — but compared to the other man’s cultivation speed, there was simply no comparison, like the difference between heaven and earth. In Ye Fan’s eyes, he was probably no more significant than an insect underfoot. Killing him would require no effort at all.
“Once you set foot on that road, it is hard to turn back. To return, one must at minimum have attained Great Sage-level combat power. Surely Dao-friend Ye Fan cannot already possess such combat strength?” An elder of great age among the Ji Family spoke up — he understood far more than the others.
When those words sank in, everyone’s expression changed once more. That was tantamount to saying a Great Sage had returned. With that level of combat power, no matter where one stood in the world, one could dominate with absolute authority.
Ji Ziyue’s mother wiped the tears from her face and drew her daughter close, as though there were endless words to say, her face overflowing with maternal love. She cared nothing for anything else — only for her beloved son and daughter.
Ji Ziyue’s father was smiling. All those years ago, he and his wife had both been unopposed to their daughter spending time with the Holy Body. It was only the resistance from certain factions within the clan that had been too strong. Today’s outcome was not bad at all.
At this moment, whether they were those who had once looked favorably upon Ye Fan or those who had held prejudice against him, every face bore a complex expression. Before them stood a true and unrivaled Heavenly King. Things were different now. If he were to establish a sect, these twelve Saints alone would be enough to shake the world, to look down upon all eight directions. The fighting strength of this group was formidable in the extreme.
It was a long while before everyone recovered their composure.
“Ziyue, you… what realm have you reached?” One of Ji Ziyue’s great-uncles asked her with a warm and kindly expression.
“Saint-King, Eighth Heavenly Layer.” Ji Ziyue answered honestly.
Everyone was thrilled, and could not help but marvel. That ancient road was truly a remarkable place to forge oneself — facing the most powerful figures of all realms and enduring every manner of ordeal. Those who survived without dying were destined to shine brilliantly.
“Has Haoyue become a Great Sage?” The eighth of the Ji Family’s elders asked hopefully, his voice tinged with longing. He wanted to hear news even more extraordinary — if Ji Haoyue could surpass Ye Fan by even a fraction, he would finally be able to put his mind at ease.
The ancient road was distant, separated by time and space. The section connected to the Northern Dipper had nearly collapsed. In his day, Ye Fan had taken over ten years just to reach the entrance of the first checkpoint, and communication between here and there was almost nonexistent.
Even with powerful beings from beyond the domain descending upon the Northern Dipper, they remained largely unaware of even their own clan’s battles on the ancient road — let alone the circumstances of the human race’s ancient road.
Across the myriad heavens, Ye Fan had been the fifty-fifth person to reach the end of the road and set foot upon the one true heavenly path — and the very first cultivator from the human race’s ancient road to return to the Northern Dipper. No word had come before him.
Ji Ziyue shook her head and shared what she knew of the situation.
“Others spend hundreds of years in battle before returning. Why have the two of you come back so soon?” One of Ji Ziyue’s aunts asked, holding her hand with evident affection.
“Because I missed home,” Ji Ziyue said softly, “and Ye Fan had no more opponents left on the human race’s ancient road.”
“What?!” Even more than Ye Fan’s realm, this news was truly staggering. It moved every member of the Ji Family to their core — this was an earth-shaking development.
Realm — for a genius, that was something that could be ground up over time. For extraordinary figures like Ji Haoyue, attaining the Great Sage realm should not be beyond reach.
But one who had swept across the ancient road without a single opponent — there could only ever be one such person.
The human race’s ancient road was not a road traveled by cultivators from a single star. It was a convergence of cultivators from countless ancient stars and small worlds, all competing together — it encompassed the entirety of the human race.
The emotions of those present shifted once more — from shock, to complexity, to outright astonishment. Heart after heart pounded violently in their chests. In their eyes, Ye Fan was nothing less than the embryonic form of a future Supreme.
In a fleeting trance, they caught a glimpse of a Great Emperor’s radiance beginning to blaze.
Across the myriad heavens, while many ancient roads existed, to be undefeated upon the road of the human race — the greatest of all races — carried a significance unlike any other.
According to the records in ancient texts, in the final Emperor’s Road battle, the human race had never fallen outside the top fifteen. Even in their worst eras, they had held a place among the top fifteen in the entire cosmos.
Ye Fan’s strength needed no further validation. Barring the unforeseen, he would belong to the most powerful tier of figures in the future — anywhere from first to fifteenth was possible.
Everyone’s blood was roaring, almost on the verge of boiling. This man had deep ties to their Ji Family — if they could further solidify that bond, it would be as though he were one of their own.
Whatever the case, a future Supreme of this caliber was someone who deserved to be treated with the greatest possible sincerity.
The eighth of the Ji Family’s elders felt a bitter taste in his heart. That last flicker of hope had extinguished itself completely. He wished he could slap himself across the face. He wanted to go into seclusion immediately and never emerge again.
“This era is different from those before it.” Ye Fan spoke, as though he knew what certain people were thinking.
Everyone grew calm. They understood what he meant — the geniuses sealed away by every clan had all been crowded into this one era: from ordinary physiques to ancient emperors’ descendants, from divine lords to Chaos Bodies and beyond. One could not even imagine the full extent of it.
Things could no longer be measured by the standards of the past. Yet even so, Ye Fan’s strength was beyond any doubt. He could absolutely walk through this world with his head held high.
The Ji Family flung open their most magnificent main gate — a gesture of the highest courtesy. It was to welcome Ji Ziyue home and to invite Ye Fan inside. At this moment, anyone who dared to obstruct or speak out of turn would be regarded as a traitor to the Ji Family and put to death.
To have so many Saint-Kings descend at once — if the Ji Family had not possessed Emperor-level artifacts and the hidden “foundations” of reclusive elders, they might truly have felt somewhat inadequate.
Ye Fan asked directly: where was Ji Zi? After more than a hundred years apart, he deeply missed the days of fighting side by side with Ji Zi.
“A hundred years ago, he departed, traveling into the cosmos. It is unknown where he has gone.” The Ji Family members answered.
Speaking of Ji Zi, the Ji Family naturally felt they could hold their heads with pride. He was the son of the Void Great Emperor — one who had fought against ancient emperors’ children, who had participated in slaying the Heavenly Prince. He was of the same mold as Ye Fan, and would surely become a future Supreme.
Ye Fan sighed softly. He did not know how many years it would be before he could meet this old companion again. Ji Zi had not walked the human race’s ancient road — where had he drifted to now? He must be fighting through rivers of blood somewhere, pushing toward the pinnacle of strength.
The Void Emperor Palace was majestic and grand. Ancient and weathered, it carried an air of boundless, primordial magnificence. The more deeply one had cultivated, the more a sense of reverence arose simply from sitting within this place.
At minimum, even the twelve Saints were deeply shaken. They conducted themselves with restraint, not daring to act rashly in this place.
An important gathering of the Ji Family’s key figures took seats together. They ordered the finest tea to be brought forth, and further presented one of their own Saint-Kings — an elder figure of the Ji Family, one who had survived sealed within a divine source during the Archaic Age.
In years past, when Ye Fan and the others had launched their final assault on the two great assassin divine dynasties, this person had participated. They were therefore not entirely strangers. He was greatly surprised by Ye Fan’s return, and after learning the full story, could only sigh repeatedly in admiration.
Through their conversation, Ye Fan learned that the Northern Dipper’s human race’s supreme figures — such as Gai Jiuyou, the Great Sage Wei Yi, and the White-Robed Divine King — had all long since departed, entering the cosmos many years ago.
“I want to know — how fares Tianzhicun? Do any of you know where my friends and disciples are?” Ye Fan quickly turned to what concerned him most.
The faces of many in the Ji Family shifted subtly. Some opened their mouths as though about to say something.
Ye Fan’s heart sank. He had a premonition that something unfortunate might have occurred. Tianzhicun had already relocated to outside the domain, far from the Northern Dipper’s chaos — could they have been caught up in trouble even there?
“Things may not be as grim as you imagine.” Ji Ziyue’s father was the one who spoke. He was a commanding middle-aged man with deep-set eyes, thick dark hair, and vigorous vital energy. Having lived to see this great age of transformation — when the laws of heaven and earth were in violent flux — his cultivation had deepened day by day, and he now carried about him the bearing and authority of a ruler.
“What has happened?” Ye Fan asked, his voice composed.
“Several of your disciples may have run into difficulties — though nothing has yet been confirmed.” The Ji Family Head began.
He first spoke of Ye Tong. Over the years, the Solar Physique had shaken the Northern Dipper with radiance blazing ten thousand zhang in every direction. Not only had he defeated every peer on the Northern Dipper without exception, he had also triumphed over countless young heroes who had descended from beyond the domain.
“To have a son like Ye Tong!” — that was a phrase widely circulated throughout the Northern Dipper. All said he was a second Ye Fan, that Ye Fan had taken on a worthy disciple who carried his legacy forward brilliantly.
Over the years, Ye Tong had fought on his master’s behalf, defeating many of the enemies Ye Fan had made in the past — powerful figures from the ancient races, the invincible Twin Kings of the Central Province, the Underworld Body, and others.
Through all these years, Ye Fan’s name had continued to be celebrated throughout the Northern Dipper. The whole world knew it, precisely because of Ye Tong’s rise — having attained the Saint realm, he had sustained and extended Ye Fan’s brilliance, fighting across the world, truly without peer among those of his generation.
Hearing all this, Ye Fan could not help but nod. This disciple had truly blazed with extraordinary brilliance, destined to stand above the crowd.
“Thirty years ago, Ye Tong killed the young prince of the Golden Crow Clan from Huosang Ancient Star. It brought catastrophic disaster upon him. He was hunted relentlessly and suffered terribly. Whether he lives or dies now remains unknown.”
“The Golden Crow Clan…” Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with fierce intensity. He himself had slaughtered no small number of that clan’s members, and he had never imagined his disciple would also become entangled with them — drawn into a life-threatening calamity.
“Ye Tong’s genius is ancient and rare. Under the pursuit of several of the Golden Crow Clan’s elder ancestor-level beings — far above him in realm — he has been in constant flight. It is only in the past decade or so that things have quieted down, and his life or death remains unknown.”
“Several of the Golden Crow Clan’s ancestors came out of seclusion to hunt one of my disciples — the Golden Crow Clan has truly made quite the display of power!” Ye Fan’s voice was ice-cold, his gaze bearing a killing intent that suffused the air.
Everyone present felt as though their bodies would crack apart under the pressure — but he swiftly pulled it back in, and asked: “What about the Black Emperor? With its infinite formations, did it not intervene to protect him?”
“According to reports, that… dog, that… Black Emperor has disappeared.”
For a long stretch of time in the past, the Black Emperor had terrorized the world, for its mastery of formation arrays had reached great completion, making every powerful figure wary of it.
During that period, it had been extremely strict with Ye Tong, Xiao Que’er, Hua Hua, and the others — bringing them from beyond the domain into the Northern Dipper, essentially leaving them to fend for themselves, forcing them to undergo a baptism of blood and battle.
Without question, the geniuses who had come from Tianzhicun were formidable beyond compare — one by one, they were extraordinary without equal.
The Black Emperor had secretly set up countless ordeals and obstacles for them, cultivating them exactly as one would forge young supremes — sometimes even using deadly killing formations to test them.
Training forged through hellish conditions naturally caused them to improve at a breathtaking pace.
But once the Black Emperor vanished, things took a turn for the worse. These geniuses, left to roam freely on the Northern Dipper — a place full of danger — found themselves in terrible trouble, as people began to deliberately target them.
It was said that the Slaughter Sage Qi Luo stepped forward to help, but was struck down with serious injuries by powerful Saints from beyond the domain, nearly losing his life.
“What exactly happened to the Black Emperor?”
“Some say it unearthed a relic site and obtained a set of character-based secret arts beyond anything the world had ever seen. It went into seclusion to study them, but something went wrong in its comprehension, and it has been in a comatose state for dozens of years. Others say it was studying a five-colored sacrificial altar built by a Great Emperor, and after grasping most of it, attempted an experiment — only to accidentally teleport itself away, and it may have been sent to the other side of the cosmos.”
Ye Fan’s brow furrowed. As for the first explanation, he had nothing to say. As for the second — that wretched dog had truly never outgrown its old ways, unreliable to the last. Time and time again it had accidentally teleported others away; it seemed this time it had finally done it to itself.
“Your other disciple, Hua Hua — equally brilliant,” one of the Ji Family’s elders added. “Given a few more years, he was certain to become another undefeatable figure. It is a great pity that he too has met with calamity.”
“What has happened?” Ye Fan felt his heart drop.
“He was suppressed, then converted — made to forever abandon the Heavenly Court. In all likelihood, he can never return.” The Ji Family Head sighed.
Ye Fan shot to his feet. He was even more furious than when he had heard of Ye Tong being hunted. Someone had actually converted his disciple — this was more grievous than simply killing him outright.
“Have I truly been away from the Northern Dipper for so long? Hunting my disciples, leaving their lives hanging by a thread. Converting my disciple, drawing him into another’s fold. What extraordinary boldness, every one of you. I will pay each of you a personal visit. Perhaps this world has been too peaceful for too long — Ye Fan has come back.”