Everyone froze in place. The pores across their bodies went cold one by one, as though icy air was rushing in through them — chilled in an instant from head to toe.

What kind of scene was this? Blood ran across the great earth in rivers, with the fallen numbering in the tens of millions. The fighting went on until mountains and rivers crumbled, sun and moon and stars fell one after another, and the formation marks of Great Emperors were ground to nothing.

At the very center of it all, in the end only a single hazy silhouette remained — one that no one could make out — radiating blazing light, as though ascending to immortality.

It seemed as though ancient holy monarchs had taken part in that great war, yet in the end every single one of them had fallen in a pool of blood. Only one person stood alone on that ancient battlefield and soared up into immortality, shaking the mortal world to its very foundations.

What had happened? Who in the world was that?

Not only were the onlookers left speechless — even An Pu and Shenming were wide-eyed, radiating a light of sheer disbelief. This was overturning everything. It shook them both to their cores.

The fallen were numberless. Even those who had perished — if they were not ancient holy monarchs — were at minimum the most powerful quasi-emperors, those who had reached the final step and were on the cusp of that supreme pinnacle. And yet every last one of them had fallen in a pool of blood.

This only made it clearer how supremely powerful that one person had been — peerless and unrivaled across ten thousand ages, transcending into immortality bathed in light.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Xiao Nannan, and the look in their eyes changed entirely — there was horror, and reverence, and longing. She was too extraordinary. She was just a little girl. Why had such a scene materialized behind her?

At the center of it all, Shenyou covered his head and screamed. A moment ago, the killing intent erupting from his body had pressed down across the nine heavens — enough to chill the hearts of patriarchs from great sects, enough to make them tremble with fear. That had been his true fundamental aura.

Yet when that tremendous pressure surged forward, Xiao Nannan’s body emitted a gentle radiance of light, and this extraordinary vision manifested — exceeding every single person’s expectations.

Shenyou appeared to be in excruciating pain. Especially when facing the light of Xiao Nannan’s ascension to immortality, he trembled all the more. His supremely powerful fundamental essence could look down on the world — yet in comparison to this, it seemed suddenly feeble and pitiful.

His whole body shaking, he retreated step by step, and then suddenly pressed both hands to his head and let out a thunderous roar — shattering the vault of heaven above, dispersing every cloud within a radius of several hundred li.

This spectacle made people’s hair stand on end even more. This child was truly an imperial son — worthy of being Shenming’s elder brother. Even in his broken state, he was still this incomparably and terrifyingly powerful.

In the end, Shenyou went into a frenzy. He stumbled backward, weeping aloud — a fear welling up from the deepest core of his being, as though he had witnessed the most terrifying thing in all of ten thousand ages.

“I concede!” Shenming called out loudly.

This was his elder brother. He could not treat him the way he would treat his own child — he required no tempering. There was reverence in Shenming’s heart, and also something like regret. He swiftly stepped forward to bring his elder brother back.

Yet even before Shenming reached Xiao Nannan’s gentle radiance, just by drawing slightly near, he felt as though the mountains of ten thousand ages were pressing down upon him — he could barely breathe.

Shenming was stunned. He almost could not believe any of this. Who was this little girl? How could she be like this? This level of power had no business being on her person.

He said not another word, and swiftly led his elder brother away in retreat — flying back until they were far from that auspicious light. Only then did he let out a long breath. He had nearly been unable to bear it a moment ago.

It was too overwhelming.

Never in a single day had Shenming experienced such successive waves of shock as he did today. One Divine Child was extraordinary enough — already defying heaven — and now a little girl had appeared whose display was nearly beyond the mind’s capacity to process.

Everyone’s hair stood on end. Every single person was shaken and awed. Only Xiao Nannan, standing at the center, remained blissfully unaware — she had not seen the terrifying scenes materializing behind her. She looked on, bewildered, at the howling Shenyou.

The little girl was the picture of innocence. Faced with the scrutiny of the crowd and the fear radiating from the assembled powerful beings, she knew nothing of it. Her big eyes, like black gemstones, looked to Ye Fan for help.

“It’s all right.” Ye Fan, though inwardly shaken, wore a gentle smile on his face, soothing the little girl so that she would not be at a loss.

The radiance behind Xiao Nannan faded away. Every vision disappeared and did not manifest again.

“The more powerful the opponent, the more they cannot harm her…” The Black Emperor fixed its gaze on that fading scene, murmuring quietly to itself, fully confident in its own deduction.

Only then did Ye Fan walk over, taking the little girl’s hand and leading her out from the center, letting her gradually calm down.

“Don’t come near me — I give in!” The Divine Child called out in a tearful voice.

He refused to submit to anyone — he talked back to Ye Fan and even pushed back when the Black Emperor was “disciplining” him — yet he alone was frightened of Xiao Nannan.

Everyone was even more shaken. How were all these children one after another more heaven-defying than the last? Born a saint, having beaten flat the offspring of a Forbidden Zone supreme being, and then nearly being frightened to tears by a little girl — where was the justice in this?

What was most absurd of all was that the little girl herself remained blissfully unaware — which, while causing the onlookers to tremble, also left them utterly speechless and helpless.

“Concede defeat then. Even your elder brother was frightened to tears.” The Black Emperor said.

It was a deeply unpleasant thing to hear, yet it was a plain fact. Shenyou had wept loudly, and had yet to recover even now — his mind somewhat confused and disordered. That such a thing had happened to an imperial son who had once looked down upon the world and dominated all six directions — it was truly a spectacle without precedent in all the ages.

An Pu gave a long sigh. “In this world, there are always existences and forces beyond our comprehension. It was true in the ancient age, and it was true in ages past — always inspiring reverence.”

His words gave people much to ponder. Had similarly incomprehensible divine and mysterious events occurred even in antiquity?

“A single existence like this — does it serve as a reminder to the supreme beings across all nine heavens and ten earths that they still have enemies?” Shenming also murmured to himself. Today had utterly and completely broken him.

It was not because of the Divine Child. Everything had come down to Xiao Nannan’s display.

No one had anticipated it — that a little girl alone could harbor such latent, awesome power. Even the White-Robed Divine King, the Holy Emperor’s Son, Ji Zi, and the others all wore expressions of deep contemplation.

“Crack!”

A crisp sound shattered everyone’s thoughts. Shenming slapped himself directly across the face — clean and decisive, without a trace of shame or rage or turning hostile. The sound left many people startled.

“I take back everything I said. I apologize here to the Divine King Jiang, and to you. My congratulations on your happy occasion!” His words were decisive and unambiguous. Then he added: “Within the next ten years, I will yield and give way before you. Wherever you are, I will automatically step aside.”

The crowd erupted. No one had expected him to truly honor his word like this. Such a proud man had lowered himself to this degree — it was astonishing.

Shenming then turned and departed with his three children, without lingering for even a moment. He bore no air of dejection — he remained as upright and commanding as ever, his presence as overpowering as before, and everywhere his gaze swept, people stepped aside.

As he departed, a cold laugh sounded from the shadows: “What a joke — this Forbidden Zone of Life. They couldn’t even step through the Ji Family’s doors, were stopped outside, and ended up being slapped across the face. If they were truly powerful, they should have slaughtered their way inside, set rivers of blood flowing and left mountains of bones behind. Only that would be worthy of bearing the name of a supreme being’s offspring!”

This voice was so abrupt and jarring that it froze everyone. Who dared say such a thing — were they tired of living?

Yet search as they might, no one could find the source of the voice. The direction could not be determined. This person had mastered some arcane art and used a secret treasure to conceal themselves, which was why they could speak so freely.

Their intentions were malicious — it was evidently no upright individual. The attack on Shenming was clearly meant to deepen his sense of humiliation, so that he might take revenge on Ye Fan and the Ji Family in the future.

“Get out here!” The great black dog barked sharply.

At the same time, Ye Fan, the Holy Emperor’s Son, Ji Zi, Dongfang Ye, and the others all searched for the source, intent on rooting out the person hiding in the shadows.

Shenming’s eyes swept cold and piercing over every face.

“What of it — was I wrong? As the offspring of an ancient supreme being, if you don’t dare bring slaughter and leave a mountain of bones, how do you claim to be supreme…”

A light, clear ringing note struck out. The White-Robed Divine King flicked a finger — no instrument in hand, yet the elevated movement of the divine Prelude of Heaven’s Order unfolded, stirring the fabric of heaven and earth, tracing back to the source, spreading directly through the crowd.

“Boom!”

A magical device detonated there. A great saint-grade protective treasure was reduced to ashes, and another secret treasure concealing both divine sense and location also shattered directly into fragments. The person was exposed.

“A clown.” Shenming gave a cold laugh, and directly extended one great black hand — like a dark cloud pressing down — seizing the person in a single grasp and crushing until bones and sinew shattered, reducing them to a cloud of blood mist then and there.

He didn’t even ask a question before killing — dispatching this initial-stage Great Sage, a patriarch-level figure of tremendous power, with blunt directness.

“If you have the capability, step out openly and face people as I do. Without the capability, lurking in the shadows and stirring up trouble with whispered insinuations — that is purely asking to die.” Shenming said with icy coldness. Then he turned and left, disappearing from sight.

A patriarch-level figure from beyond the domain had perished. The imperial son from the Forbidden Zone did not even register it — he could not be bothered to spare it a glance.

“Congratulations, Brother Ye — may you and your beloved grow old together.” An Pu spoke. His handsome face was very pale, carrying a trace of the sickly, yet no one dared look down on him. A moment ago he had unleashed an aura that made the sun, moon, and stars tremble together.

An Pu offered his congratulations with a gentle smile, and then his expression turned grave. “With this, we part ways. From this day forward, should we meet again, you and I are enemies — and we will fight to the death.”

Everyone was taken aback. One moment he had been offering congratulations, and the very next breath he had become so solemn — completely opposite emotions in an instant, making everyone’s heart clench with it.

This was truly a formidable figure — a peerless prodigy of the supreme generation.

Ye Fan cupped his hands in salute. He had a favorable impression of An Pu. If An Pu had not stepped out to intervene earlier, today would certainly have ended in a life-or-death confrontation with Shenming — a full-on bloody battle. That happening on such a joyous occasion would have been truly ruinous to the mood.

An Pu did not linger. He turned and walked away.

The betrothal ceremony continued. Everyone welcomed the White-Robed Divine King into the Ji Family, and the many guests who had come streamed one after another through that magnificent gate.

“The Sacred Sovereign Wewei of the Yaoguang Sect arrives!”

“The Sacred Sovereign Fenghuang of the Wind Tribe arrives!”

“The imperial carriage of the Ancient Hua Sovereign arrives!”

…

One after another the announcements rang out, and the sect leaders of sacred lands arrived one by one to attend the betrothal ceremony — a magnificent and staggering display.

As the day wore on, an uncountable number of sacred beings from beyond the domain also entered the Ji Family.

The Void lineage feared nothing — this place bore the formation marks of a Great Emperor, and no matter how many came, there was no need for concern. Any who dared make trouble could all be suppressed — such was the foundation of a family that had produced a Great Emperor.

And yet even in this setting, someone entered the Ji Family with considerable arrogance — utterly lacking in deference, to say nothing of awe. A Great Sage stepped out, having come only to deliver a letter, his voice cold as ice.

“Ye Fan, come out and receive this letter in person!”

The letter was emanating a faint, precious radiance, and from within it flowed a single thread of imperial might — enough to shock everyone.

Who was this? For the words written in a mere letter to carry such a terrifying aura — with thread upon thread of imperial might flowing out — though that energy was auspicious and carried no killing intent, it was nonetheless enough to cause one’s soul to tremble with awe.