Far away, thousands of miles from the Royal Capital, situated deep within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, it was the dead of night. All spirits were silent, every living being still ensnared in slumber.
At that moment, a terrifying and unparalleled surge of blood energy erupted, shaking the Six Harmonies and Eight Desolates and soaring into the Nine Layers of Heaven.
What was even more astonishing was that this burst of blood energy was not the vibrant color of fresh blood but a radiant golden yellow, akin to gold itself, filled with divinity and supreme power, setting it apart from the rest.
Terrifying fluctuations surged as the potent blood energy trembled the heavens and earth as if a volcano were erupting. It was as though the Heavenly Divine Furnace were pouring down to the Lower Realm, the golden light turning half the sky golden, shaking an area spanning tens of miles—truly staggering.
In the midst of this vast sea of golden blood energy, a tall figure rose to his feet, standing firm, his black hair flying wildly, an awe-inspiring aura about him, as if he were a supreme Heavenly God descending upon the earth, filled with boundless oppressive power.
Every demon beast or wild beast within tens to hundreds of miles, all creatures felt an immense oppressive force, shivering uncontrollably, submitting on the ground, daring not to move.
This person was Ye Chen.
Having secluded himself for a full five months, Ye Chen had finally awakened from his deep seclusion at this moment.
His eyes suddenly snapped open, emitting two solid golden beams, sharp as swords, lighting up the sky, causing even the void itself to tremble.
As Ye Chen awakened, so did his physical body, feeling an endless terrifying power continuously surging within him. It was as if a peerless fierce beast, dormant since the Ancient Times, had awakened at this moment, displaying unparalleled might.
The power he now possessed was countless times greater than before achieving Great Success. Each movement held transcendent strength powerful enough that even mountains could be shattered with a single punch.
Utterly powerful, this was the divine authority bestowed by the full accomplishment of the Human Origin Body Technique.
The Human Origin Body Technique had finally reached complete fruition; the blood within transformed into sacred golden color, a testimony to his achievement. His entire body was suffused with golden blood, turned into a Glazed Golden Body, a truly Immortal Golden Body.
Within his meridians flowed terrifying waves of golden blood energy, continuously emerging, shaking the heavens and earth, turning the dark night sky gold.
Ye Chen exhaled lightly, feeling an unprecedented powerful force within him. He couldn’t help but sigh softly, feeling that even facing a Heavenly God, he’d have the strength to battle.
This was the incredible power endowed by the Human Origin Golden Body, giving Ye Chen infinite confidence, even a mind to battle against a Heavenly God.
Of course, this couldn’t be possible. Despite achieving the Human Origin Golden Body, it still wasn’t possible to match a Heavenly God. This was just the overconfidence brought about by powerful strength.
Ye Chen sighed softly. In this lifetime, he had ultimately embarked on this path once again.
Ye Chen moved. His entire being disappeared from the spot, swift to the extreme, condensing into a bright flash of golden light, darting between heaven and earth almost unimaginably fast, truly the ultimate speed in the world.
As he moved, mountains and earth trembled, dust rose, the sonic booms resulting from his extreme speed, fierce winds abruptly whirling, lifting swathes of forest—an absolutely terrifying scene.
Ye Chen came to a halt, stopping instantaneously, the switch between extreme speed and stillness executed flawlessly.
At last, Ye Chen threw a punch, and with a thunderous boom, the entire void trembled, the terrifying force landing directly on a distant mountain peak, violently breaking it apart, half of the mountain falling down, a power terrifying enough to be termed world-shocking.
This was the true power of the Human Origin Golden Body, refined after the great success of the Human Origin Body Technique, demolishing mountains something only Martial God warriors could do, yet now displayed by Ye Chen.
Ye Chen mildly sensed the power of the Human Origin Golden Body, his face bursting with joy.
Elder Yan appeared, also marvelling, "Truly worthy of a Cultivation Method comparable to the Domineering Refining Saint Technique, with just the first section completed to this extent. It’s hard to imagine what would be achieved after completing all three sections to perfection, perhaps comparable to Venerable Batian."
Ye Chen shook his head slightly; on this point, he was not sure. Besides, the Human Origin Body Technique was just his initial body refinement method. His next step would be to transcend this, restarting the cultivation of the Combat Saint Technique, to become a Combat Saint anew.
"How much time has passed now? The Trial Road at Tiandu Academy must be about to begin." said Ye Chen, having been deeply secluded, he was unaware of the passage of time.
Elder Yan revealed a peculiar expression, "Five months have passed now."
Hearing this, Ye Chen was stunned. He had originally intended to cultivate for just two months, but unexpectedly, it had turned out to be five months, far exceeding his initial expectations.
Elder Yan said, "There’s no way around it. You, my boy, have no small ambitions. It’s not just about achieving the Great Human Yuan Body and refining your Golden Body, but also seeking breakthroughs in other aspects. Hence, a significant amount of time has been consumed, causing several delays."
Hearing this, Ye Chen smiled faintly, and a magnificent aura of light suddenly burst from his brow, along with an intense oppressive presence. Even the void trembled slightly before it was reined in.
At that time, a heat rose from his chest, from a Communication Token, which was flashing with an incoming message from Li Yun.
Without much thought, Ye Chen understood that this must be Li Yun trying to contact him about the trial he had failed to reach in time.
Regrettably, he had been deeply engrossed in the most profound level of cultivation, unaware of anything else, not even noticing Li Yun’s communication.
Elder Yan, of course, knew this but would not possibly disturb his cultivation.
With a somewhat schadenfreude tone, Elder Yan said, "You are late, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to enter the Trial Road now."
Ye Chen rolled his eyes at the disrespectful old man.
However, Ye Chen had heard that the Trial Road was established within a small divine world, packed with many undiscovered secret treasures. Naturally, Ye Chen was also interested in participating in this Trial Road.
Ye Chen transformed into a streak of golden light, spanning across a hundred thousand great mountains, rushing towards Xia Feng Academy.
Xia Feng Academy had grown considerably quieter ever since most of the elite students from the Heavenly Level Academy had joined the Trial Road.
Because the real geniuses were gone, only a handful of people in the Heavenly Level Academy remained who had not departed to participate.
The rest were mostly students from the Earth, Xuan, and Yellow level academies still engaging in their cultivation. Had this year’s recruitment trial not been different, probably more students would have been eligible to enter Tiandu Academy.
The Trial Road had already been underway for three months and was still not over. By people’s estimation, it would probably continue for at least another six months.
At the academy’s front gate, a few guards were casually chatting, and when the topic of the Trial Road came up, one said, "Have you heard? This year’s recruitment trial at Tiandu Academy is unlike any previous year, rumored to be fraught with unprecedented dangers."
"People are just realizing it now? The Trial Road is brimming with dangers. The rumors suggest it’s conducted within a small divine world of a deity. Deities are sovereigns ruling over Tiandu Continent, and naturally, such beings’ small worlds are fraught with peril."
"I just wonder how many from our Xia Feng Academy will manage to pass this year’s recruitment trial."
"Crown Prince undoubtedly will, not only does he possess divine qualifications, but his cultivation is also extraordinarily strong. I heard that he is not far from attaining the Martial God Realm."
"Thirteenth Prince, Princess Hong Rong, Miss Vivian—they all should probably make it. It’s just unfortunate for one person."
"Unfortunately for Ye Chen, an unequaled genius, a breathtaking talent able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Crown Prince. Everyone thought he would have appeared at last. It’s said he is in seclusion, but does seclusion really need to take this long?"
The guards all sighed, feeling the most regret for Ye Chen. As a bearer of the divine qualifications, he should have been sensational and could have made significant achievements on the Trial Road, moving alongside Crown Prince Xia Yang.
Sadly, due to his seclusion, he missed the Trial Road, and his seclusion lasted a full five months, making people wonder what he was doing during that time. Could there be another breakthrough?
If true, that would only astound people with this young prodigy’s miraculous aptitude.
"Alas, if Ye Chen had participated in the Trial Road, our young talents from Xia Feng Academy wouldn’t have struggled so much. I heard they encountered a crisis on the Trial Road."
Everyone sighed softly. This piece of news had been relayed back by a Martial God Realm elder stationed at Tiandu Academy and had spread widely, becoming common knowledge even among the guards.
"Reportedly, Thirteenth Prince, Princess Hong Rong, even Miss Vivian have encountered terrible dangers, causing concern."
"If the Crown Prince were still here, they wouldn’t struggle this hard. But the two strongest from our Xia Feng Academy are absent."
The crowd fretted, as the situation for the young elites of Xia Feng Academy was quite precarious, being hunted down, constantly on the brink of life and death perils.
"What happened to them?" Suddenly a clear voice rang out as someone approached to inquire.
When the group looked up, they saw a youth, with a clear, handsome face and long black hair draped over his shoulders, strikingly handsome and elegant. He stepped forward confidently, exuding an imposing aura inadvertently, almost leaving one breathless.
But upon recognizing who it was, everyone just stared, unable to help but exclaim in surprise, "Ye Chen!?"