Chương 834: Chapter 833: The Personal Disciple of the Seven-Crowned King!

Ye Chen turned toward his own Holy Master, wanting to ask who this arrogant figure was. Feng Baiyu simply shook his head, indicating he didn't recognize the man. Saint Kings were far from common. Almost every major faction's Saint King had a renowned name and widespread fame. The only exceptions were people like the Heavenly Desire Ancestor—whose strength was average, who rarely ventured outside, and who had feigned death early to vanish from the world.

Feng Baiyu smiled faintly and asked: "Which faction do you belong to?" The man lifted his chin with extreme pride.

"I come from the Dao One Holy Land!" The moment that name was spoken, the surrounding elders of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land all raised their eyebrows, their expressions turning grave. Clearly, they had all heard of it. The corners of Feng Baiyu's mouth curved upward as he spoke calmly: "The Dao One Holy Land is a reclusive holy land, much like the Heavenly Emperor Hall. It rarely opens its gates to the outside world and does not recruit disciples on a large scale…

It follows a strict master-disciple tradition—typically only one or two successors per generation. And the Seven-Crowned King… is precisely from the Dao One Holy Land!" Seven-Crowned King Qin Chuan? Hearing the name, even Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. To be honest, this man was a true legend. He belonged to the era after the Heavenly Emperor. He was also the victor of the very first Immortal Path opening after the Heavenly Emperor's age. Carrying nothing but a sapling, he had dominated with overwhelming force.

He defeated every rival. Claimed a strand of Immortal Qi. Everyone later assumed he had ascended and left the mortal world. Yet when the seventh Immortal Path opened, he reappeared once more—sweeping through all opposition again. After seizing the Immortal Qi, he vanished without a trace. Qin Chuan had emerged seven times across a span of a million years. With each appearance, his strength grew more terrifying. Yet he never ascended. The divine source could only be used to seal oneself once.

Once awakened and emerged, it lost all effect. Even a True Immortal lived no more than a hundred thousand years. But Qin Chuan had stubbornly endured from the first Immortal Path all the way to the final one. Everyone suspected the sapling in his hand was none other than the legendary World Tree. Only something like that could allow him to slumber repeatedly and traverse the long river of time.

And the reason Qin Chuan could have ascended long ago but chose to wait was most likely because he was using Immortal Qi to cultivate a special technique. When he finally ascended, even in the Immortal Realm he would possess top-tier talent. To deliberately remain stuck at Quasi-Immortal for millions of years was undoubtedly a gamble. If he had ascended early, after a million years, he might already have reached a realm far beyond True Immortal.

The Celestial Prince had been crippled by the Heavenly Emperor back then—forced into a desperate self-sealing for a million years out of necessity. Qin Chuan, however, clearly possessed astonishing confidence. He believed that once his accumulation was complete, he could reach the absolute peak even in the Immortal Realm. That was why he dared squander so many years lingering at Quasi-Immortal. In short, whether Qin Chuan's choice proved right or wrong in the end, his combat power was beyond question.

He was widely regarded as the number one Quasi-Immortal of the current era. Because of him, the Dao One Holy Land's status had risen dramatically. Even though Seven-Crowned King Qin Chuan had always disdained attacking lower-realm cultivators, across seven Immortal Paths, he had never ambushed or assassinated any enemy midway. He always waited until the prodigies of that generation reached Quasi-Immortal and the Immortal Qi emerged—then he fought them openly. Such was Qin Chuan's pride.

Yet even so, no one dared provoke the Dao One Holy Land. Now, everyone understood why this man dared speak with such arrogance. Ye Chen felt no particular emotion. He simply asked with mild curiosity: "Did the Seven-Crowned King Qin Chuan send you to assassinate me?" He did hold some respect for a figure like the Seven-Crowned King. But if Qin Chuan had truly dispatched people to assassinate him, then Ye Chen would look down on him. In Ye Chen's view, a true supreme prodigy must possess an invincible will.

Their gaze should always be fixed ahead. Anyone who feared being overtaken from behind and resorted to underhanded tricks… was simply trash. The Saint King from the Dao One Holy Land immediately shook his head.

"Ever since the Immortal Path first opened, Ancestor Qin has remained secluded in the Ninth Realm, comprehending the heavens and earth, waiting for Immortal Qi to emerge. He probably doesn't even know your name, let alone send me to act. Killing you was my own decision.

"I don't believe you will ever become a match for the Ancestor in the future, but you—with your heavy pupils and Scared Spiritual Root—along with the Celestial Prince and others… if you realize you cannot win alone and band together against him, you might actually cause the Ancestor some trouble. As a junior, it is my duty to clear obstacles for the Ancestor… But since I failed, so be it. I promise that the Dao One Holy Land will never target you again."

With an Ancestor who had existed since the very first opening of the Immortal Path, even while captured, the man carried an air of arrogance and unshakable confidence. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Feng Baiyu smiled faintly and looked toward Ye Chen, silently asking how he wanted to handle this. Ye Chen's expression remained calm. He simply reached out and grabbed toward the man.

They had come to kill him, and now they thought a few words of submission would make everything disappear? What a joke. Forget the Seven-Crowned King. Even if your family had a True Immortal hidden away, today you still die. Seeing Ye Chen's movement and sensing the killing intent radiating from him, the Saint King was startled. He hadn't expected this. He had already invoked the name of the Seven-Crowned King. Yet the Heavenly Emperor's heir still dared to act against him.

His voice grew urgent, laced with threat: "When the Ancestor emerges this time, I was fortunate enough to meet him once and asked him a question—whether his battle power had already surpassed the limits of Quasi-Immortal. The Ancestor only told us one thing. After obtaining his second strand of Immortal Qi, in the next Immortal Path opening, at the very end of that path, the Ancestor emerged wielding an immortal artifact. He fought a newly ascended True Immortal deep in the cosmos for an entire battle…

"A newly ascended True Immortal can only remain in the cultivation world for seven days before being expelled. Seven days passed, and neither side gained the upper hand. The new True Immortal was forced to leave. Moreover, the Ancestor is not a Seven-Crowned King. He is an Eight-Crowned King.

"In one of those generations, the Ancestor never revealed his true form. He simply defeated all the Quasi-Immortals, seized the Immortal Qi, and departed. I don't know why the Ancestor needs so many strands of Immortal Qi, but I do know this: with every additional strand, his strength grows exponentially more terrifying…" The moment those words left his mouth, an uproar swept through everyone present. After the Immortal Path opened, it was true—not every generation's victor had a famous name.

In several generations, all the publicly favored prodigies had been defeated, and the Immortal Qi had been taken by mysterious powerhouses. Qin Chuan… was actually an Eight-Crowned King, possessing eight strands of Immortal Qi. And nine was the number of extremity. Clearly, Qin Chuan had been waiting for that ninth strand all along. In short, everyone felt a chill. A Quasi-Immortal who, with only his second strand of Immortal Qi, could already fight a True Immortal to a stalemate for seven full days.

Now he had eight strands. His strength had increased by who knew how much. Perhaps even a newly ascended True Immortal was no longer his match. The pressure this fact created was immense. Yet after listening, Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged. Impressive… but not that impressive. A Quasi-Immortal fighting a True Immortal? I could do that too. Seven days? He might have hammered several of them to death in that time. So Ye Chen didn't hesitate for even a moment.

Under the man's stunned, incredulous gaze, he tossed him straight into the cave heaven. Moments later, the corpse was spat back out. Ye Chen's complete lack of fear left everyone present dumbfounded once more. The Heavenly Emperor's heir… wasn't the slightest bit wary of the Seven-Crowned King. He showed zero concern about provoking such a figure! But then, everyone burst into laughter. The stronger Ye Chen's invincible will proved to be, the greater the benefits for all of them who had placed their bets on him.

With everything settled, only the female Saint King remained. Feng Baiyu asked whether Ye Chen planned to leave now. Ye Chen shook his head. He would wait another week. After one week, he would see whether he could present the Saint King as a gift and trigger another reward. Feng Baiyu wasn't in any hurry either. He went off to catalog the corpses, preparing to visit each faction personally and demand compensation.

After all, the unspoken rule of the cultivation world was clear: the older generation was not allowed to act against the younger generation. If they were caught breaking that rule—even after the target was already dead—they would have to pay a heavy price. Ye Chen first returned to his cave heaven. The Demon-Exterminating Great Saint was still standing obediently in the exact same spot. He hadn't dared move a single muscle, afraid that this was some kind of test from Ye Chen.

Even his eyeballs remained perfectly still. High above in the cave heaven's sky, a massive cyan stone stele had appeared at some point. Its material resembled flawless jade—smooth, translucent, and impossibly hard. It towered a full hundred meters tall. On all four sides, auspicious clouds, dragons, and phoenixes were carved in exquisite detail. With a thought, Ye Chen instantly understood its function.

As long as the target's divine soul was cast into it once, their name would be permanently inscribed upon the stele. From that moment on, betrayal became impossible. Any violation of an order would result in immediate soul annihilation—complete and irreversible death. Moreover, once a name was recorded on the Conferred God List, escape was impossible—even if the master of the stele wished to release them. Should the name ever be erased, the person would perish along with it.

Beyond enslavement, the Conferred God List could also be used as a weapon, possessing profound and mysterious power befitting an immortal artifact. However, aside from imprinting names, Ye Chen was currently unable to access any of its other functions.

"Offer your divine soul." Ye Chen spoke calmly to the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint. The old man did not hesitate for even a heartbeat. He immediately released his divine soul, leaving it completely undefended. Ye Chen willed it. The Conferred God List erupted with divine radiance. Terror flashed across the face of the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint's divine soul. In the next instant, he was irresistibly drawn inside. Only a breath later, the old man's divine soul reappeared.

And slowly, upon the surface of the stele, a new name began to form. It was the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint's true name. He stared at the towering stele in utter shock and awe. His divine soul had already been marked; he fully understood what had just happened. This was undeniably an immortal artifact—one capable of enslaving even True Immortals. Yet he had never heard of such a thing existing in the cultivation world. Moreover, this stele hadn't been here before.

Where had the Heavenly Emperor's heir suddenly acquired another immortal artifact—one specifically designed to enslave cultivators? When had immortal artifacts become so cheap? As shock coursed through him, the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint's reverence for Ye Chen deepened to a new level. Ye Chen, sensing the connection through the Conferred God List, confirmed that with a single thought he could annihilate the old man's divine soul. He could even faintly perceive fragments of the Great Saint's thoughts.

Only then did he fully relax. In a calm voice, he issued his first command: "After you return, find an opportunity to assassinate the Alkaid Holy Son… Also, order the Devouring lineage to immediately cease harvesting and ambushing prodigies! For now, remain dormant. Your only task is to collect intelligence related to me and those around me." That was Ye Chen's first order. Alkaid was far too slippery and utterly shameless in his methods.

At the same time, he did not deserve to be treated as a worthy rival whom Ye Chen had to personally eliminate. If he could be dealt with early through someone else's hand, there was no need for Ye Chen to dirty his own. Hearing the command, the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint immediately bowed his head in obedience.