A deep unease surged in the heart of the black-robed man.
Even the aura released by the demon dragon in the sky made him feel threatened—let alone the man riding it. He couldn’t see through the man’s cultivation level at all, which meant his strength was unfathomable.
At this moment, he didn’t dare to act rashly.
The long-bearded elder and the noble woman also noticed Ye Chen’s sudden appearance. A glimmer of hope flashed in their eyes.
“Senior, please help us! We will surely reward you handsomely afterward!” the elder hurriedly looked at Ye Chen and shouted. Only if Ye Chen intervened could they hope to stop the black-robed man and the other assassins.
Ye Chen didn’t respond to them. Instead, he turned to look at the noble woman. Her youthful face, pure and beautiful, was exactly like the one in his memories…
“Murong Qing’er!”
In his previous life, he had also saved her in this very valley. Murong Qing’er had personally visited the Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect to thank him for saving her life. If not for her duty to stabilize the Blazing Sun Empire, this future Empress had planned to remain on Sword-Hiding Peak to become his disciple and serve him for life.
Murong Qing’er was stunned. She looked at Ye Chen, who stood in the sky, his handsome features unfamiliar, and tried to recall where they had met before.
“Senior… do you know me?” she asked cautiously.
The long-bearded elder beside her tensed up, warily observing Ye Chen’s every move, suspecting that he might be another assassin. This unfamiliar face clearly didn’t belong to their side.
Meeting Murong Qing’er’s gem-like eyes, Ye Chen smiled slightly as memories surfaced. “A long, long time ago, we met.”
“Ah?” Murong Qing’er froze. She was only in her early twenties. If he was talking about a long time ago, she might not have even been born yet… But Ye Chen’s expression was completely serious—he wasn’t joking.
Hearing this, the long-bearded elder finally breathed a sigh of relief. Though he hadn’t met Ye Chen before, if he was an old acquaintance, he naturally wouldn’t harm her.
They were saved!
“Senior, please help us! These assassins want to kill the princess!” the elder quickly said.
Ye Chen glanced at the heavily injured elder, then turned his gaze toward the eager-to-act black-robed man.
“You… don’t interfere!” the black-robed man shouted. “I am a retainer of the Eighth Prince’s Manor of the Blazing Sun Empire! Today’s matter was orchestrated by the Eighth Prince himself. If you act, you’ll be making an enemy of the Eighth Prince!”
The Blazing Sun Empire ruled vast lands across Central State, its influence rivaling even cultivation sects. Ordinary middle-tier sects didn’t dare offend them. The Empire could easily mobilize cultivator armies capable of flattening entire sects.
The so-called Eighth Prince mentioned by the black-robed man was himself a cultivator at the Integration Realm. He had many loyal followers in the Blazing Sun Empire and stood almost equal to the current Emperor—he could seize power at any moment.
To offend the Eighth Prince was to invite the Empire’s ruthless retaliation. Few cultivators dared involve themselves in this struggle for imperial power.
“What bullsh*t Eighth Prince… Who does he think he is? You dare use his name to threaten me?” Ye Chen said with utter disdain, giving the man a sideways glance. “Even if he were here today, I would still kill him all the same.”
Ye Chen naturally knew who the Eighth Prince was.
In his previous life, when the Emperor of the Blazing Sun Empire fell ill, the Eighth Prince tried to usurp the throne by persecuting Murong Qing’er. It was Ye Chen who personally snapped his neck, crushed the rebellion, and helped Murong Qing’er become the first Empress of the Blazing Sun Empire.
“You… how dare you!” the black-robed man shouted in panic. “How dare you insult the Eighth Prince like this?!”
He hadn’t expected Ye Chen to disregard the Eighth Prince completely. Wasn’t he afraid of provoking the Empire’s wrath?
“You dare speak to me like that? Who do you think you are!” Ye Chen’s expression turned cold. With a snort, he raised the Ultimate Emperor Weapon in his hand. The moment his spiritual energy surged, he slashed down with a single strike.
“Buzz—”
A sharp sword aura cut through the air.
“No—!” the black-robed man’s pupils contracted. His face turned pale as he scrambled to block the attack. Spiritual energy surged around him, forming a protective barrier.
“Boom—”
In an instant, the sword aura crushed the barrier. The power of the strike did not diminish—it continued downward.
“Bang!”
Before the black-robed man could even scream, his body was instantly sliced to pieces by the sword strike, reduced to a mass of bloody flesh.
In the next second, a terrified soul form emerged from the broken remains. It looked fearfully at Ye Chen, then tried to flee in the opposite direction.
“Trying to run?” Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and reached out with a grasp across the air—then squeezed hard. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Ah—!” The escaping soul let out a shrill scream before being instantly crushed.
A peak Integration Realm cultivator, utterly destroyed—body and soul!
Everyone present was struck with horror, frozen in place. In their eyes, a peak Integration Realm expert was already god-like—yet Ye Chen had killed him with a single sword strike!
Now they understood how terrifying Ye Chen truly was.
“Such… such terrifying sword intent!” the long-bearded elder’s eyes widened, his voice trembling. “He’s… a mighty figure at the Tribulation Realm!”
Tribulation Realm experts were rarely seen. Even across the entire Blazing Sun Empire, there were only a few, all of them secluded elders from holy sects who never appeared casually.
Murong Qing’er’s heart quivered. She looked up at Ye Chen in the sky, stars shimmering in her eyes. That majestic figure had instantly taken root in her heart.
“Thank you, Senior, for saving us…” she said softly. “May I ask your honorable name? Someday, I will surely come personally to repay this debt.”
Murong Qing’er gazed at Ye Chen with deep emotion, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
Ye Chen looked down at her and memories from his past life surfaced. “Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect, Ye Chen.”
“So you’re a senior from the Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect!” the long-bearded elder exclaimed, suddenly enlightened. No wonder Ye Chen wasn’t afraid of the Eighth Prince.
The Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect was one of the holy lands of Central State, with unfathomable strength. Even Emperor Realm experts resided within it. The Blazing Sun Empire couldn’t hold a candle to it.
Not just the Eighth Prince—even the entire Empire wouldn’t dare provoke the Heavenly Mystic Immortal Sect.
The crowd’s attitude toward Ye Chen immediately turned more respectful.
Recalling the events of his past life, Ye Chen turned to Murong Qing’er and kindly reminded her, “The Eighth Prince is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Show him no mercy.”
“When you return, deal with his faction swiftly. Eliminate the threat before it grows.”
In the previous life, after the assassination attempt, though Murong Qing’er was saved, she didn’t act against the Eighth Prince in time. When the old Emperor died, she was ambushed again. If Ye Chen hadn’t appeared in Yanjing City at the right moment to save her, she would have died.
Ye Chen didn’t want the Murong Qing’er of this life to suffer the same fate. That was why he reminded her to strike first.