Ye Fan’s battle record on the Human Race’s Ancient Road had been carried back through some of the outer domain’s powerful warriors, but no one had been able to confirm it. Now it was the first time Ye Fan himself had spoken of it, and it immediately set off a tremendous wave — a few words alone were enough to shake the entire world!
What were the Sacred Spirits? Sheltered by heaven itself, invincible among peers, impossible to kill — anyone who killed one would sooner or later suffer misfortune. Virtually no one dared provoke them.
And yet he said he had killed not ten but at least eight — this was truly bone-chilling!
“Heavens — is this true?” The crowd was stunned.
In this moment, the world was rocked. Every clan had already heard some rumors; now it was simply further confirmation.
“The Holy Body of the Human Race is too terrifying. If this continues, who will be able to contain him in the future?” The powerful warriors of every clan were deeply troubled and felt a great headache coming on.
The Moon Spirit Princess’s dark brows knitted slightly. She felt an ill foreboding. She had just established a relationship with the Sacred Spirit lineage from beyond the outer domain, and now they had directly provoked the ascendant Ye Fan — and he had even dared to launch a campaign against Mount Sumeru. What was there he was incapable of doing?
At this point, every powerful warrior could only shake their heads and sigh quietly. Having personally witnessed Ye Fan kill Great Sages as though splitting firewood, anyone who saw such power would have to feel fear.
If there was anyone suffering most, it was naturally Shi Zhongxuan. Ye Fan hadn’t so much as looked up to him — treating him with complete condescension, as though he were nothing at all.
Shi Zhongxuan had imperial blood flowing through his veins and carried a distinguished identity. Wherever he went, people respected him — and yet today he had been spoken of so contemptuously before all these people. What face did he have left?
“Holy Body of the Human Race!” Shi Zhongxuan’s face went ashen. He gritted his teeth and let out a great shout.
His thick, dense hair flew wildly, his eyes cold enough to freeze the vault of heaven. He advanced step by step, each footfall sending tremors through the entire expanse of earth. Though he stood no more than one zhang tall, he seemed like a giant towering into the sky as he passed, driving the ground beneath him into subsidence. His sword-brow eyes, angled sharply into his temples, radiated a murderous air with every expression.
“Set aside your Emperor weapon — do you dare fight me?!” His words were cold and flat, like something transmitted from a ten-thousand-year ice pit, making every person feel as though their very blood had been frozen — and marking their shock at his power.
Ye Fan carried the immortal sword across his back and swept Shi Zhongxuan a cool glance. “In a same-tier battle, I have never used it. Even against an initial-stage Great Sage, it wouldn’t matter — killing you truly would not be difficult.”
Shi Zhongxuan had always been self-confident and proud. How could he endure such words? “You say I’m not qualified — I am more ashamed to stand alongside someone like you than anyone. Today we settle this with a life-or-death contest!”
At this point, there was nothing more to say. If he showed cowardice and fled today, where in this world would he be able to stand in the future? Wherever he went, he would be laughed at and scorned.
For someone this self-assured, setting aside the option of battle left him no choice — he could only use reality to prove who was truly the stronger.
“Stop gilding yourself. You truly are not fit to stand among us.” From behind, Long Ma called out.
“Kill!”
Shi Zhongxuan’s rage reached its peak. His blood boiled, pushing his own combat power to its apex as well. His black hair whipped wildly, lightning flashed through his eyes, and he charged forward to kill.
In this moment, the terrifying nature of his clan was on full display. Nine divine rings appeared on his body, encircling him layer by layer, as though nine celestial gates overlapped with him at their center.
The essence of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers poured toward him like great waterfalls, fusing into one with his body — vast and boundless — transforming into his power.
With every step he took, heaven and earth gave a tremendous shudder. Though he stood no more than a zhang in height, it was as though a giant reaching into the vault of heaven was passing — as though he would drive the very earth into the ground beneath his feet.
And from above, auspicious light descended — strand by strand, beam by beam — all connecting to his body, blazing with the most brilliant radiance.
Shi Zhongxuan’s body erupted with a tremendous aura. The sun, moon, mountains, and rivers seemed on the verge of fracturing. With his every move, he could pluck distant stars from beyond the void. His divine might overshadowed the world.
This was his Dao — and the Dao of the Sacred Spirits — supremely powerful, fused with the great forces of heaven and earth. He had deployed a true art of unity between heaven and man, channeling the power of the ten thousand Daos of all the heavens toward Ye Fan in his strike.
The strength of the Sacred Spirits was known throughout the world, and there were too many legends about them.
First and foremost was naturally their extraordinary constitution — beyond all peers in the world, incomparably surpassing those of the same stage. And now Shi Zhongxuan was charging in with his bare flesh alone, his palms and fingers splitting the sky like swords, the mountains and rivers all around turning to dust under this mighty shockwave, as though made of paper!
Shi Zhongxuan had heard the legends of Ye Fan in the Northern Dipper and naturally knew how fearsome Ye Fan’s physical body was — yet he deliberately chose to match flesh against flesh precisely to prove that the Sacred Spirits were the unmatched ones under heaven.
His energy pierced the stars. The shockwaves were so intense that meteorites drifting in the outer void trembled on the verge of falling. The force behind his palms and fingers was world-shaking, pressed to the utmost of what he could unleash.
Ye Fan’s expression was cold. He strode forward with great steps and tremendous momentum, domineering and overbearing, pressing down upon his opponent from above — and along the way he adjusted his body to its optimal state.
Boom! He swung his right fist directly outward. Strength against strength, hardness against hardness — he met Shi Zhongxuan face to face!
The Heaven Emperor Fist — displayed before the people of the Northern Dipper, its might suppressing the nine heavens and shaking the nine abysses, boundless golden light surging and sweeping in all four directions, swallowing mountains and rivers.
The crowd was profoundly shaken.
“Holy Body of the Human Race — die! How dare you compete with our Sacred Spirit lineage for supremacy!” Shi Zhongxuan roared to bolster his own will. His entire body’s essence, energy, and spirit boiled and surged. He had nearly become one with the Dao principles themselves, charging forward in collision.
Boom!
The impact shook heaven and earth. Fist met palm — they collided directly and squarely. Enormous beams of light tore heaven and earth apart and spread outward in all directions.
The crowd had retreated far enough away — yet they still felt their bodies sting with pain. The blazing light almost blinded every set of eyes watching.
Enormous cracks spread across the earth in all directions, reaching seemingly into the outer void. The terror of this blow had split open this place.
If not for so many Great Sages intervening and shielding this area, the entire great wilderness would have been reduced to nothing — utterly obliterated.
Ahhh—!
A reluctant cry rang out. Shi Zhongxuan went flying through the air, tumbling out from within the blinding mass of light. His two hands were drenched in blood — one broken, the other reduced to powder.
He staggered backward in the void one step at a time. Enormous cracks formed beneath his feet, spreading outward for tens upon hundreds of li through the void — and that was only the residual shockwave. Given that, one could only imagine what kind of crushing blow he had just sustained.
Crack!
Shi Zhongxuan’s stone arms continued to produce the sound of shattering, beginning from his hands, exploding apart piece by piece. Blood mixed with stone skin flew in all directions.
Pff!
Finally, Shi Zhongxuan coughed up a great mouthful of blood. Both arms were completely broken, leaving only blood flowing freely — imperial blood radiating a glowing radiance, brilliant and imposing.
Powerful as a Sacred Spirit was, his physical body’s toughness still could not compare to Ye Fan’s. Shi Zhongxuan had refused to believe it and had wanted to prove things with reality. The result was a devastating price.
For him, this was an unbearable blow.
He had been so proud and self-assured, always enveloped by those divine rings, respected by all wherever he went — and now he had been utterly defeated before the assembled heroes of ten thousand domains. What face did he have left?
He tilted his head back and let out a desolate howl. His entire body was trembling.
The brilliance dissipated. Ye Fan stood in place — not even a corner of his clothing was torn. He looked transcendent and otherworldly. But people would not forget that tremendous fist of his from moments ago.
Only one fist — crushing the cosmos, shattering the enemy’s most powerful offensive. What kind of terrifying secret art was this?
It was only at this moment that An Pu, who had come from the Undying Mountain, narrowed his eyes for the first time. A look of unusual expression appeared on his face as he seemed to savor the memory of Ye Fan’s fist just now.
As for everyone else — they had already been stunned long before this. One fist to shatter a Sacred Spirit’s pair of arms. This was truly beyond belief. With battle power this extreme continuing to grow, truly no one in the future would be able to restrain Ye Fan.
Feng Huang showed a look of astonishment. Just one fist — it made her let out a quiet sigh against her will. Looking at things as they stood now, there was simply no way to surpass him.
Others felt the same. For many, it was a battle record that approached despair.
“I refuse to accept this!” Shi Zhongxuan’s black hair stood on end, strand by strand writhing like ghost hands in motion. His expression was filled with grief and fury. His bloodline was extraordinary — he was the product of a union between an imperial-blood member of his clan and a Great Sage of another lineage.
He had been born with a special significance — to cast off the shackles that prevented the Stone People from ever being fully complete. And yet to be defeated so thoroughly was like having a hundred worms gnawing away at his heart.
His entire body blazed with light. The blood throughout his body ignited. The bones at his broken arms let out cracking sounds and began to regrow — this time emerging as arms of flesh and blood, powerful and strong, flowing with precious brilliance.
Clang!
At the same time, a halberd appeared in his hand — a great square-sky halberd, its enormous blade gleaming with an icy edge, cold light scattering in all directions, a frigid aura so intense that the boundless trees of distant mountains shed their leaves, as though autumn had arrived.
With a swish, he cleaved downward. A bolt of lightning split the sky — it was the flash of the halberd’s edge, world-shaking and mind-shattering. Even all the Saints attacking at once would have been split apart by it.
The Sacred Spirits were already powerful enough on their own — their physical toughness extraordinarily high — and a weapon held in such hands was naturally no ordinary thing. It was a rare and exceptional sacred weapon.
Ye Fan had no desire to drag things out for fear of unexpected complications. He charged directly forward, bare-handed once again. This time the crowd could see clearly: two golden fists trailing ten thousand threads of Dao light, pressing down in suppression.
Crack!
A large chunk was smashed off the halberd blade. With a clang, the great halberd changed owners — seized by Ye Fan. This rare and exceptional weapon had found a new master.
“You—!”
Shi Zhongxuan was both ashamed and furious. Even the first time hadn’t been enough — the second time was the same, falling behind in an instant, unable to resist.
A dazzling arc of radiance flashed past. Ye Fan swung the square-sky halberd and slashed it back down the way it had come. Shi Zhongxuan’s expression turned ghastly as he dodged rapidly.
But it was futile. He had dodged one strike — yet he could not dodge Ye Fan’s attacks that came like a raging storm. For combatants of their caliber, laws and order-chains flew in every direction. The slightest shockwave alone was enough to tear heaven and earth apart — to say nothing of a full-force assault.
Pff!
In the end, Shi Zhongxuan was severed through the middle by Ye Fan, letting out a wretched scream as his lower half exploded. He roared in fury, his upper half trying to flee. But there was no longer any opportunity. Ye Fan swung the great halberd once more — blood burst forth — and his head was severed, balanced on the tip of the halberd blade.
“Show mercy!” The Moon Spirit Princess called out.
And Shi Zhongxuan’s servants turned their eyes blood-red and charged forward one after another, trying to rescue their master.
Ye Fan gave them all a cold glance. With a flick of the great halberd, there was a light pff — and Shi Zhongxuan’s head exploded, flesh and blood pulped, his primordial spirit extinguished.
Suddenly, a surge of dangerous energy erupted — the sacred weapon attempted to backlash against Ye Fan. He coldly shook his arm, and with a thunderous boom, the divine entity within the weapon was shattered.
Then he flung the great halberd outward, tossing it to the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.
Pff. Pff…
At the same time, Ye Fan swung his Heaven Emperor Fist and shattered all the Sacred Spirit clan’s servants who had charged forward — blood flew, bodies and spirits obliterated.
This scene shook everyone present. Just like that — so simple. Ye Fan, having returned from the Ancient Star Road, was near-invincible, and no peer could match him.
“On the Ancient Road, there were no fewer than eight hundred if not a thousand people just like you.” The plain voice made many people’s very souls tremble.