Ye Da made his move. The phenomenon of the Starfall Divine Body condensed at his fingertip as he pointed forward. Killing intent surged like frost—he was determined to make this arrogant fool pay the price.
The prodigy who dared challenge Su Chen was naturally no ordinary character. Since his debut, he had never met a match. Even some sealed monsters from previous great eras had fallen to him. He drew the sword at his waist, gathering a sharp Heaven-Severing Sword Intent that left the crowd gasping in admiration. This sword strike was truly stunning.
"So it's the successor of the Heaven Severing Sect. This is going to be a good show!"
Someone recognized the youth's identity. The Heaven Severing Sect was also an orthodoxy that had produced an Emperor, and the Heaven Severing Sword Classic ranked among the top ten sword classics of the current era.
Ye Da and the Heaven Severing Sect successor clashed fiercely. Their battle shook heaven and earth, enough to shatter mountains and rivers, yet the collision of their forces did not spill over to disturb the banquet. Their control over power had already reached a pinnacle.
Su Chen felt quite pleased.
The Jade Pool Banquet was indeed an excellent place. The Heaven Severing Sect successor would qualify as a genius even on the Emperor Path, possessing the potential to reach the Heavenly King level. Such talents were rare even among the myriad races. If he could be recruited, he would surely become one of Su Chen's strongest aides in the future.
Under Su Chen's guidance for a full year, Ye Da's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds and his combat strength had doubled. However, facing one of the top prodigies of the human race, he still fell short. Covered in wounds, he refused to retreat. This scene moved many onlookers.
In the end, Ye Da lost. He stood before Su Chen with a face full of shame and said, "Master… I have lost…"
Su Chen nodded. His eyes remained calm and unruffled, showing neither joy nor anger. He said indifferently, "If you lost, then you lost. Failure is not shameful. The current Great Emperor has experienced hundreds of defeats yet still became Emperor. Learn from your failures, temper your heart and will. Only then will failure cease to be failure."
Su Chen did not punish Ye Da. He knew Ye Da was not the Heaven Severing Sect successor's opponent. He had merely used the opportunity to temper him. A good blade required careful sharpening. Su Chen was the whetstone handler, and the Heaven Severing Sect successor was the whetstone he had chosen.
Ye Da felt deeply moved.
On the banquet, the gazes many prodigies directed at Su Chen shifted from calm to shock and admiration. A true seeker of the Dao never feared failure. Not every Great Emperor had dominated their path unchallenged. The majority had archrivals and had been defeated by them multiple times.
The Jade Pool Sacred Maiden's eyes rippled with surprise as she looked at Su Chen. This Emperor Son of the Ye Clan… was not simple. His understanding of the path of seeking the Dao far surpassed his peers. Before stepping onto the Emperor Path, no one would believe he could fail. Someone who could see through the concepts of victory and defeat would achieve great things.
Unfortunately, the Heaven Severing Sect successor could not see through the notion of victory and defeat, nor did he care to. His Heaven Severing Sword Intent reached its peak as he pointed directly at Su Chen and declared, "Victory is victory, defeat is defeat! I am unrivaled and will battle every enemy in the world until I reach the supreme realm!"
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Facing the young, aggressive, and overbearing words of the Heaven Severing Sect successor, Su Chen merely smiled faintly. Over a hundred thousand years, he had been a spectator, full of youthful vigor, and had even dominated an entire era. He had witnessed too many changes in the structure of the myriad races and seen far too many geniuses like the Heaven Severing Sect successor.
Su Chen did not argue with him. People who had experienced different spans of time naturally possessed different mindsets; neither was superior nor inferior. Everyone simply walked from youth toward maturity.
But in the eyes of the Heaven Severing Sect successor, Su Chen's casual smile looked like mockery. His Heaven Severing Sword Intent unsheathed at its absolute peak.
It carried the spirit of a mortal drawing his sword to question the heavens. That was the thought in the minds of everyone present. They did not know why such a notion had arisen.
Facing this sword from the Heaven Severing Sect successor, Su Chen remained completely motionless. The aura around him surged like a terrifying torrent, blocking the successor's advance.
Here, one could see a supreme prodigy reduced to the likeness of an ordinary mortal, sword in hand, struggling to take even a single step. And Su Chen was the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao itself.
The Heaven Severing Sect successor stepped before Su Chen and thrust his sword lightly toward the space between Su Chen's brows. That unparalleled spirit condensed into a single sword strike.
"What a fine sword!"
Su Chen praised sincerely.
Under the gaze of his Myriad Laws Heavenly Eyes, he could clearly see the spirit behind that sword. What kind of person must the Great Emperor who created the Heaven Severing Sword Classic have been?
In Su Chen's eyes, the sword dao dissolved, revealing a golden sword hovering in the air, formed from countless runes. The Heaven Severing Sect successor suddenly shuddered, overwhelmed by an unparalleled terror. Those golden pupils were like the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao itself—sacred and inviolable.
He… felt fear. He felt dread. How could a mortal defy the heavens?
"Strike."
A majestic voice, like a heavenly decree, exploded in the Heaven Severing Sect successor's mind, jolting him out of his hesitation. Without further thought, he drove the sword forward. The blade disintegrated into dust inch by inch, and every trace of his Heaven Severing Sword Intent was ground away. The scene left the successor collapsing powerlessly to the ground, his eyes vacant and lifeless.
"If you can one day comprehend your own Dao, you may come seek me."
Su Chen looked at the belief-shattered Heaven Severing Sect successor and spoke calmly. This defeat was both an opportunity and a tribulation.
Talent was not what the Heaven Severing Sect successor lacked. What he lacked was his own Dao and time. A great era would not wait for him to grow. If he could comprehend it, the human race would gain another Heavenly King-level monster—a future Quasi-Emperor seed.
Many prodigies watched as the Heaven Severing Sect successor's Dao heart nearly collapsed. They did not know what he had seen in that final moment, but at this instant, the strength of the Ye Clan's Emperor Son was beyond doubt, even though he was still young.
Su Chen remained calm. This state of mind caused the Jade Pool Sacred Maiden to glance at him repeatedly.
"Chi Yao knows that everyone came here not for me."
The banquet quickly returned to its lively atmosphere. One prodigy laughed playfully, "Fairy Chi Yao, what are you saying? Perhaps we came for the divine medicine at first, but now, how can the divine medicine compare to Fairy Chi Yao?"
Another prodigy added, "So that's how it is. Does this mean one less competitor for the divine medicine?"
"Cough… actually, one can have both the fish and the bear's paw."
"..."
Laughter and banter filled the hall. The Jade Pool Sacred Maiden pursed her lips, then smiled and said, "I am delighted that everyone values Chi Yao so highly, but I still know my own limits. This is a leaf from the immortal tree."
The Jade Pool Sacred Maiden held out her palm. Strands of law threads intertwined above it, condensing into a leaf that shimmered like emerald jade, filled with the power of laws. She continued, "All you need to do is gain recognition from this leaf, and you will qualify to approach the immortal tree and obtain the fortune of the divine fruit."
Many prodigies exclaimed in surprise, "Is the legendary test of the immortal tree really this simple?"
The Jade Pool Sacred Maiden merely smiled without answering.
Whether it was simple or not… that depended on the person.
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