“Impossible in this age!”

Hua Hua was firmly convinced that in this era, with all the Imperial Princes emerging together, no one could possibly steamroll through the path to emperorship as if it were a flat road.

“This age is too difficult. No one can truly stand above everyone else — it is many times more terrifying than the era of Emperor Wushi. There are simply too many individuals of Imperial Prince caliber.” Yan Yixi also shook her head.

The so-called Golden Age was no mere phrase. It gathered the most powerful bloodlines from across all of history into a single era of contention, where no one could truly transcend the world and reign supreme above all kings.

The Black Emperor bared its teeth and said, “Do you think it was easy for Emperor Wushi to achieve his Dao? He also went through countless great battles, and he faced absolutely terrifying enemies of peerless caliber.”

It was indignant and corrected them: the idea of steamrolling referred to ordinary circumstances, but Emperor Wushi had once faced bloodlines from the Immortal Realm, and he had fought until the heavens collapsed, the earth split, ghosts wailed, and gods howled.

“Pfft!”

Everyone simultaneously showed their contempt. In the past, even the existence of the Immortal Realm had not yet been confirmed — how could such bloodlines have existed?

“I’m not talking nonsense. There really was such a great enemy. Based on my speculation, even if it wasn’t an Immortal Realm bloodline, it was most likely an Ancient Emperor who had severed their own cultivation and come personally, or perhaps a Chaos Physique, or an offspring of an Emperor Venerable — whatever it was, their valor was unrivaled under heaven, their potential limitless. Even Emperor Wushi paid a bloody price.” The Black Emperor said.

Everyone raised a middle finger at it. This bastard’s words were utterly unreliable. Yet in their hearts, they couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled.

People unanimously agreed that in this age, no one could steamroll through. After all, each of them was the descendant of an Ancient Emperor — all concentrated in a single era — their potential was bound to shake the past and illuminate the present.

“It is not simply a matter of Imperial Path blood. There is an additional prerequisite: they must be the individual with the greatest potential in an Imperial Path lineage!” Dongfang Ye said.

This was a fact. The Imperial Princes had been chosen through a process of selection before being sealed away. Every Ancient Emperor had more than one descendant, and they had preserved the child with the greatest potential.

This served two purposes: one was to achieve immortality in this age, and the other was to settle accounts with other ancient supremes and conduct an unconventional great decisive battle.

The Flawless Emperor was rarely seen; they could not encounter each other, and so who was stronger, who was weaker — no one knew.

One era, one person becomes Emperor — this restriction weighed heavily, leaving those former supremes with lingering regret. How could their contest be carried out? How could their Daos be measured against one another? This was difficult to verify through their own persons, and so they left behind their most powerfully-gifted children — it was not without the wish to resolve the regrets in their hearts.

“Strange — the outside world is quite unsettled. Two divine generals have appeared, sending word to the heroes of the battlefield that they intend to strike down Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s Son. How arrogant.”

They received such a piece of news.

At the same moment, in an ancient city, a silver war god who had descended from the heavens was patrolling. The aura of a supremely powerful being was oppressive, with moonlight flowing all over his body.

“You need not be cautious. So long as there is a clue, build an altar and inform us, and we will kill our way there and take the Holy Physique’s head.”

The solemn voice resounded through the sky, filled with a terrifying aura. The silver war god stood like a fearsome monument, towering there, overawing later generations, beyond transcendence.

Everyone was shocked. This person was far too powerful. The fluctuations cascading down nearly made even great saints go limp — just what level of cultivation did he possess?

Over the past several days, news had shaken all four directions, and the entire battlefield was in turmoil. It was said that the powerful figures intent on killing the Holy Emperor’s Son and Ye Fan were not people of the current age — they hailed from the Ancient Era.

Some said with great certainty that they had once followed a true supreme of the Imperial Path!

Each of these individuals had a history that made one’s hair stand on end — they had survived the most terrible of tribulations, survived a hundred battles without dying. Their appearance in this age meant that gods who stood in their way would be slain, and Buddhas who stood in their way would be killed. Few could match them.

Compared to them, many people felt as though they had been raised as bean sprouts in a greenhouse. Anyone who had personally experienced it and been struck by that killing aura felt a deep terror in their hearts.

“Should the Holy Emperor’s Son or Ye Fan dare appear, they will be killed without mercy!”

“In battle, we always conquer; when we kill, we leave nothing behind!”

These were the words they cried when they appeared, shaking those crumbling city walls until they could bear it no longer and collapsed in great numbers. Two great war gods were patrolling every land, intent on eradicating Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s Son.

“That is absolutely brazen — are they trying to sweep us away? We were just talking about steamrolling, and now someone is actually doing it — but in reverse. We’ve become the targets!” The Black Emperor was deeply displeased.

They knew the origins of the other party — they came from the Phoenix Nest. In the past there had been doubts, but now it was confirmed. Those forces had truly appeared, and this era was destined to face boundless catastrophe, a shocking great battle.

The other party’s high-handed posture infuriated everyone. No matter how powerful you are, this is no longer the Ancient Era — do you still think you can command all under heaven?

Several days later, the silver war god swept across the heavens, patrolling numerous vast battlefields, calling out the names of Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s Son, demanding they come forward and submit to punishment.

This posture, this dominance — it was as though an Immortal Dynasty’s sovereign state was facing a foreign territory, carrying an ineffable air of superiority. In this day and age, who dared act like this?

“We have spent so long that our bodies are fully tempered, and we have almost completely absorbed the treasures of the near-Emperor cache. Let us take the initiative and go kill them!” The Black Emperor and the others decided to strike.

“Correct — a proactive hunt!” The Old Man Demon also spoke.

A course of action was decided upon. They disliked being passive. Since they were destined enemies, there was nothing to hesitate over — they would simply kill thoroughly.

The city of Bai Li — yet another ruin. The city was in a state of utter disrepair, the walls having long since mostly collapsed. This was the second city Ye Fan and his companions had encountered.

A crimson mist blanketed the city. The cultivators coming and going were not numerous, but it was enough for news to circulate. Everyone who came here was extremely powerful.

Without surprise, on the city gate there was a bounty notice targeting Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s Son. Anyone who could provide information on their whereabouts would receive an ancient scripture — an enormous temptation.

“How arrogant!”

Pang Bo and the others all wore unfriendly expressions. They tore down the bounty notice and shredded it to pieces, causing a look of awe to appear on the faces of those around them.

After they left, someone immediately built an altar, chanting incantations to establish contact with the two war gods — they wanted to claim the staggering reward.

In truth, Ye Fan and his group had not left at all. They waited in ambush not far away, intending to settle this matter completely.

The altar was assembled, and wisps of strange fluctuations spread outward, entering the cosmic starry sky like starlight illuminating the world, like ripples spreading across water, astonishing to behold.

The Black Emperor said, “In ancient times, people nourished altars with the blood of endless living beings to summon ancient holy ancestors. Perhaps that is the principle at work here — so long as those from the past have not yet perished, they can sense through such means and descend.”

Suddenly, the sky fractured, and silver light radiated everywhere. It was still that war god, radiating terrifying brilliance, pressing down over the cosmos.

Everyone’s hearts leaped. This person was unquestionably a near-Emperor — and moreover one who had been baptized by endless great battles and crawled out from a pile of corpses. That killing aura was even denser than the Old Man Demon’s!

“My heavens, just how many living beings has he killed?” Li Heishui exclaimed.

“Even ants cling to life — to think you would come and deliver yourselves to death!” Evidently, he had discovered Ye Fan and the others. His entire body erupted with sacred radiant light, like a divine moon hanging in the sky, dyeing the surrounding landscape in a layer of white radiance.

Against such an opponent, hiding was useless. He was far too powerful — a single sweep of his divine senses covered hundreds of thousands of li, as if he were someone descended from the Immortal Realm.

“Stop putting on airs!” The Old Man Demon erupted, the first to strike. Clutching a bone club, he soared into the sky, clashing head-on against the powerhouse in the high heavens.

At the same moment, Ye Fan also ascended into the sky. Pang Bo, the Black Emperor, and the others boarded the Black Pearl, prepared for battle. It was an exceptionally powerful near-Emperor vessel capable of unleashing ferocious attacks.

Boom!

High in the heavens, silver radiance exploded, like a moon detonating — a vast expanse of white, scattered across hundreds of thousands of li.

Everyone was shocked. The newcomer was far too powerful. Even someone as strong as the Old Man Demon seemed to be at a disadvantage in brute force. The sky was filled with the opponent’s Dao patterns intertwining.

“This terrifying…” People were utterly stunned.

“This is no freshly-advanced near-Emperor. He has an extraordinary origin!” The Black Emperor’s expression was grim as it spoke in a heavy voice.

Boom!

Another tremendous shock rang out. This time, black and white dual qi surged upward, transforming into a swath of chaos that came crashing out. The Old Man Demon was furious, striking with everything he had. Primal Yin and Primal Yang working together, he struck with both palms simultaneously, sending star after star crashing down. The white bone club hovered above his head, condensing the dual energies of yin and yang, merging them into one, attacking forward.

Heaven and earth erupted. That brilliant silver radiance dimmed. The newcomer was forced back from the onslaught, revealing an expression of shock.

“Incredibly powerful!”

Whether from those aboard the Black Pearl or the other cultivators watching from the sidelines, every face changed color. This confrontation far exceeded their imagination, and they all retreated as far as they could.

The several cultivators who had just built the altar to summon the Phoenix Nest forces turned pale with fright, filled with deep regret, fearing that Ye Fan and the Old Man Demon would settle accounts with them.

In truth, those aboard the Black Pearl paid them no attention whatsoever. Such is human nature — even without these people, they would have built the altar themselves, proactively summoning this person.

Suddenly, a cold and chilling snort rang out. In another direction, a golden war god appeared — his entire body enveloped in radiance, blinding beyond measure.

This person was like a blazing sun, impossible to look at directly. His near-Emperor aura erupted, cutting off the Black Pearl’s retreat.

Another near-Emperor? An attack from front and back!

Everyone was stunned. When had powerhouses of this caliber become so numerous? It was simply incomprehensible — and both of them had come from the Phoenix Nest! Just what kind of power had the Immortal Heaven Emperor left behind?

There was no need to doubt it. That Phoenix Nest surely harbored the slumbering Immortal Heaven Empress. She was an unimaginable enemy — her hatred of Ye Fan and the Holy Emperor’s Son was so deep, her drive to eliminate them undoubtedly meant to avenge the Heaven Emperor’s Son.

The Sun-and-Moon Dual near-Emperors — their appearance made everyone feel as though they had been plunged into an ice cellar. One alone could match the Old Man Demon — and might even outrank him, holding an absolute advantage and upper hand.

Now a second one had come. What was to be done?

The enemy’s strength had exceeded all expectations. Who could have imagined that the war gods who had once followed the Immortal Heaven Emperor would still emerge into the world — of absolutely terrifying peerless caliber — their killing aura more intense than anyone in this current world.

Forged through the baptism of war, the war god emanating solar radiance came to kill. He intended to join forces with the powerhouse enveloped in moonlight to completely sweep Ye Fan and his companions away.

Boom!

Ye Fan struck. His palm and fingers sliced through the air, each one like a short halberd. With every tremor, the void collapsed, and the sun, moon, and stars trembled.

The newcomer showed a look of surprise but gave it no particular concern. With a clear whistle, chains of order divine light erupted all over his body. Like a golden immortal phoenix, he blazed brilliantly, immediately pressing down on Ye Fan with the force of his laws.

This was a forceful and domineering attack — the kind typically used by a senior confronting a junior, striking from a position of superiority and applying comprehensive suppression.

Ye Fan’s expression was cold and calm, neither anxious nor agitated. His palm and fingers were like heavenly blades, cleaving through the cosmic void, breaking through all techniques and shattering every chain of order divine light.

His physical body was extraordinarily powerful — capable of withstanding the assault of near-Emperor laws!

“What a powerful physique. Compared to a descendant of the Heaven Emperor, purely in terms of raw physical strength, the gap is not that large.” The newcomer exclaimed with surprise, then said: “Had the Prince lived to this day, he should have long since unlocked the treasures of his body and would be even stronger than you.”

“Once again putting on airs!” From the Black Pearl, Hua Hua was displeased. The Buddhist Lion’s Roar resounded forth — his bearing was solemn and magnificent, his words rolling like thunder.

This left people dumbfounded. Such a Buddhist tone was supposed to be majestic and supreme, yet he was using it to hurl insults. Everyone froze, caught between laughter and tears.

“Kill him!” The Black Emperor was also displeased, for Emperor Wushi also carried half of the Holy Physique’s bloodline — how could it allow others to show such contempt?

“Putting on airs!”

From the Black Pearl, a group of people used the Buddhist Lion’s Roar to shout in unison — solemn in bearing, perfectly synchronized in their insults. The scene left people in a stupor.