When Yuan heard the Celestial Emperor's words, he fell silent for a moment before responding in a cold voice, "I would've lived a fulfilling life with Xiu Mei if you didn't assassinate them."
"I did not assassinate your family. It was General Mo who stained his hands with their blood," the Celestial Emperor said in a calm, steady voice—one that carried the tone of someone who truly believed his own words.
"Are you saying that General Mo assassinated my family on his own accord? That you didn't give him the command?" Yuan narrowed his eyes at him.
"Does it really matter?" the Celestial Emperor said with a slight shrug. "It doesn't change the fact that General Mo was the one who carried out the deed."
"Hahah!" Yuan suddenly tilted his head and burst out laughing. "You want to know why I refused to join you? Alright, I'll tell you."
He stared at the Celestial Emperor in the eyes and continued in a serious voice, "It's because you're a coward."
"What… did you just say?" The Celestial Emperor frowned. "You're a pathetic coward who hides behind others," Yuan spat with disdain. "What did you do during the Heavenly War of Immortals and Gods besides cower in this palace like a rat? From the beginning to the very end, you never showed yourself… You never made a difference."
"How dare you…" The Celestial Emperor trembled in anger.
"However, I don't blame you," Yuan continued with a cold smile. "After all, you were pathetically weak—far weaker than the people you sent to die for you. Even with limitless resources and countless techniques at your fingertips, you couldn't break through to the God Ascension realm and remained bottlenecked at True Immortal."
"What?!" Xiao Hua's eyes widened with shock at Yuan's remarks, looking completely baffled by the revelation.
"No way… was the first Celestial Emperor really that weak? Or is the Young Master simply taunting him?" Feng Yuxiang questioned out loud.
Xiao Hua spoke in a dazed voice, "Now that I think about it, we never actually witnessed the Celestial Emperor's prowess in all the years we served him. His cultivation was always concealed, and everything we heard about his strength came from rumors… or from his own people."
No one had ever been bold enough to challenge the Celestial Emperor, so no one truly knew his real strength—no one except Tian Xian, who stormed the Celestial Palace after slaughtering everyone who could have protected him.
"If the Celestial Emperor was truly that weak, then how did the Young Master die…?" Feng Yuxiang mumbled.
"Shut up!" The Celestial Emperor roared after hearing Yuan's remarks. "So what if my cultivation is a little slow? I am still the Celestial Emperor! I stand above every being under heaven! My status and influence are the strongest!" "Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" Yuan spoke with a mocking smile.
"Courting death!"
Without warning, an explosive aura erupted from the Celestial Emperor before he lunged at Yuan, his gaze burning with killing intent.
Unlike the real one, this Celestial Emperor had the cultivation of seventh-level God Ascension.
"Hmph." Yuan let out a dismissive sneer before clashing with him.
With every exchange, their energies blasted out in all directions, destroying everything in sight and tearing through the Celestial Palace, reducing it to ruins within minutes.
"You're lasting much longer than before, but still, you're far from being able to defeat me," said Yuan.
"Shut up! You're just an orphan raised by bandits!" "You act high and mighty, but you're no different than a dog who only knows how to bark. I'm really curious how you even managed to become the Celestial Emperor."
"You don't deserve to know anything!" The Celestial Emperor exclaimed.
"And you think you deserve the position of Celestial Emperor?"
Their battle raged on for several hours, and throughout the entire clash, the two hurled mockery and insults at each other without pause.
Although the two appeared evenly matched, the truth was that Yuan hadn't been fighting seriously at all.
"I'm sick of seeing your face, so I'll end it here," Yuan suddenly said.
"What?" The Celestial Emperor frowned.
Then, without warning, Yuan's aura skyrocketed as he increased the intensity of his Eternal Essence.
"Let's end this like before, shall we?"
Yuan suddenly began pummeling the Celestial Emperor with nothing but his fists. The Celestial Emperor tried desperately to retaliate, but he was utterly powerless before Yuan's overwhelming might. After beating the Celestial Emperor until his face was unrecognizable—swollen like a crushed blueberry—Yuan shattered his Dantian and tore his arms from his body with brutal force.
The Celestial Emperor collapsed to his knees, staring up at Yuan through the narrow slits of his swollen eyes.
"If you think… that you've won… by killing me—"
Yuan didn't even let the Celestial Emperor finish his sentence. He seized him by the jaw, gripped his head, and tore it from his shoulders with a violent yank.
"A puppet shouldn't talk," he mumbled.
Although Yuan had defeated the Celestial Emperor, the notification confirming he had cleared the trial still didn't appear, even after several moments had passed.
Suddenly, an unfathomable presence descended, engulfing the entire area in a suffocating pressure.
Yuan calmly turned around and lifted his head, gazing up at the sky—where a massive red eye stared down at him like a god.
"I remember now…" he spoke with a slight smile on his face.
"After I stormed the Celestial Palace and dealt with the Celestial Emperor with ease, the true ruler of the Divine Heavens revealed itself to me."
"Let's see… what was your name again? Ah… Ahruk, or some dumbass name like that," Yuan said as he glared fearlessly up at the eye in the sky.
"How dare a mere ant mock a God—much less destroy my property!"
A soul-rending voice exploded within Yuan's mind.
"Upset that I killed your little puppet?" Yuan raised his arm and extended his middle finger toward the eye. "Why don't you do something about it?"