Best Young Master

"Stop!"

The Ancestor King of the Sky Demon Clan strode forward, releasing a terrifying Saint Lord-level might, trying to force Ye Fan not to deliver the killing blow to the Heavenly Prince.

The Heavenly Prince was the future and hope of the Sky Demon Clan, and also the sole descendant of their forebear. If he were to fall in battle, they would have no way to answer to the spirit of the Sky Demon Emperor in heaven.

"Life-and-death duel—life and death each rest in the hands of fate; no one may interfere!"

At this moment, the Immortal Academy Director Old Immortal stepped out, blocking that Sky Demon Clan Ancestor King, completely isolating his aura.

"If the Heavenly Prince dies, my Demon Clan will never rest until we are dead enemies with your Human Race!"

The Ancestor King of the Sky Demon Clan erupted with a powerful War Intent all over his body.

The Heavenly Prince’s life was hanging by a thread; he could not help but be anxious. However, in terms of strength, he was not a match for the Old Bastard.

He possessed only the power of a Supreme Holy Master, whereas the Old Bastard had already stepped into the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and had even Proven Dao as a Quasi-Emperor after the great change of heaven and earth. His strength was unfathomable.

"Chi Lin, are you just going to watch with your eyes open as His Majesty the Heavenly Prince is slain?"

Knowing he was no match for the Old Bastard, this Sky Demon Clan Ancestor King’s face was ashen as he looked toward the Quasi-Demon Emperor Chi Lin, hoping Chi Lin would act to save the Heavenly Prince.

Chi Lin’s expression flickered again and again. He glanced at Elder Lin in the Human Race’s camp, and in the end, as if making some great decision, spoke in a righteous, solemn tone: "A fair battle—life and death each rest in fate; no one may interfere."

"You..."

The face of that Sky Demon Clan Ancestor King turned deathly pale. He knew the Heavenly Prince was finished.

A life-and-death duel—this had been proposed by the Heavenly Prince himself!

However—

Neither the Heavenly Prince himself, nor any of the Demon Clan including him, had ever imagined that the Heavenly Prince, while holding an absolute advantage, would be reversed by Ye Fan!

"Ah..."

The Divine Soul of the Heavenly Prince let out a resentful, miserable scream, then was suppressed and killed by the Heavenly Dao Seal condensed from Ye Fan’s Divine Soul, completely ground into nothingness.

"I abandoned everything—kin, friends, beloved confidantes—coming alone into this era to Prove Dao, and yet I failed..."

This was the Heavenly Prince’s final wisp of lingering obsession. Then it completely dissipated between heaven and earth, vanishing forever. A gust of wind blew past, and nothing remained.

The strongest among the Demon Clan’s younger generation—the Heavenly Prince—was dead. His ambition, his aspirations, his unwillingness, all dispersed with the wind.

This man, filled with wild ambition, bearing a deep hatred for the Human Race, intent on restoring the Demon Clan’s former glory, in the end had his spear break and sink into the sands, failing to continue the Demon Clan’s splendor.

"You lacked the breadth of an Emperor. You wanted to kill me; I cannot pity you."

Ye Fan shook his head with a light sigh. He did not further erase the Heavenly Prince’s shattered corpse, because it was no longer necessary.

Dawn broke. The surging morning sun illuminated heaven and earth, yet Chi Yue Ridge appeared somewhat desolate and barren. A chilly wind swept over the wasteland-like ground; the curtain had fallen on everything.

Ye Fan had won, yet he felt none of the joy that a victor should. The Heavenly Prince’s final words, that last remnant of his Divine Soul, had deeply moved him.

Strictly speaking, he and the Heavenly Prince were the same kind of person. The Heavenly Prince had been sealed since the Ancient Times, discarding kinship, friendship, and love!

And how was Ye Fan any different?

Alone he came to this utterly unfamiliar world, casting aside kinship, friendship, and love, walking in solitude along this Cultivation path paved with blood and bones.

Everyone is the protagonist of their own life, each with stories unknown to others.

The Heavenly Prince could hardly be called weak. Not to mention among the younger generation—even among the Emperor’s sons, he was one of the strongest existences. It was only because their stances differed, their paths diverged, that he and Ye Fan fought a life-and-death duel.

There was no talk of right or wrong. In the end, he merely became one more scattering of bones along the Emperor Road. His love and hate, his joys and sorrows, all his aspirations, ended there.

This is the merciless road of Proving Dao—abandoning, letting go, casting off kin and true feelings, yet in the end possibly achieving nothing, gaining nothing, using one’s own blood and bones to fulfill others, making wedding clothes for another, leaving behind only a song of sorrow.

In this very same place, during the Ancient Times, a similar event occurred. Two heaven-defying prodigies fought a life-and-death duel, a Peak battle between Young Saint Emperors, causing the myriad heavens to boil.

In that battle, the Sky Demon Emperor won, defeating the strongest enemy of his life, and from then on walked the road of Proving Dao. A million years later, a new cycle began, yet his descendant was defeated, body perishing and Dao extinguished.

The road of Proving Dao is just this cruel. If you cannot become the strongest of your realm, you have no right to step onto this path filled with blood and slaughter!

"Heavenly Prince..."

After a brief stupor, a wail of grief erupted from the Demon Clan’s camp.

The Heavenly Prince was the spiritual leader of the Demon Clan’s younger generation; now he had been slain by Ye Fan, causing the Demon Clan youth to feel their faith collapsing in an instant.

For a time, the entire Demon Clan’s momentum dropped to freezing point. Every Demon Clan cultivator felt ice-cold throughout their bodies.

In contrast, the Human Race’s morale soared, yet the Human cultivators did not cheer aloud.

Because they were worried. The Sky Demon Clan held immense influence within the Demon Clan as a whole. Now that the Heavenly Prince was dead, how could they possibly let this matter rest?

It had to be said, in this battle Ye Fan had once again won honor for the Human Race, upholding the dignity of Human cultivators. Many Holy Lands and the Wu Shang Sect felt deeply grateful to him.

However—

The Gu Family, and certain clans and Sects from the Northern East Domain such as the Li Family and Zhou Family, who had irreconcilable hatred with Ye Fan, all wore expressions so dark they could no longer be described.

What shocked them most was that Ye Fan had actually unleashed the Eternal Slaughter Emperor’s secret technique; this made them restless and ill at ease.

Originally, Ye Fan had already obtained the inheritances of the Nine Heavens Xuan Emperor and the Thunder Venerable master—that was already a heaven-defying stroke of fortune—now he had gained the Eternal Slaughter Emperor’s deadly techniques as well. If he were allowed to grow, he would surely bring them a catastrophic disaster in the future!

What scared them even more was Ye Fan’s speed of growth. In just a few short years, he had advanced from an ordinary Little Cultivator to this level; his rate of advancement was simply terrifying.

"This youth cannot be allowed to live!"

The Clan Leaders and Sect Saints who bore hatred toward Ye Fan all secretly made up their minds at the same time: no matter the cost, they had to kill him before he fully matured; otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Kill him and avenge the Heavenly Prince!"

At the same time, the entire Sky Demon Clan let out unwilling, furious roars. Many figures shot into the air, killing intent soaring to the heavens, surging toward Ye Fan like a great torrent; Chi Yue Ridge was filled with a grim chill, like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves.

Demon Energy pierced the sky, murderous intent rolled like thunder!

Many within the Sky Demon Clan felt their hearts dripping blood. The Heavenly Prince was the own son of the Sky Demon Emperor, sealed into this era only to Proving Dao and become Immortal, yet he had died just like this. They felt as if they had lost a priceless treasure, as if ten thousand years of fortune had slipped from their grasp.

"The Heavenly Prince cannot die in vain; this Human Race ant must pay with his life!"

A roar burst from the Demon Clan’s camp at Chi Yue Ridge, clearly trying to incite some Saint Lord Level strong people to strike and annihilate Ye Fan in order to avenge the Heavenly Prince.

"Buzz!"

A huge azure hand reached out from the Void, emanating a trace of a Saint’s pressure, slapping straight toward Ye Fan, intent on wiping him out.

Ye Fan’s hands moved, unleashing the Ten Thousand Transformation Saint Technique; two Dao Transformation Divine Swords manifested and slashed toward that azure hand, blocking it while he himself stepped on the Chasing Star Step, retreating at high speed.

That azure giant hand was also wary of the Dao Transformation Divine Sword—after all, this was the Sky Demon Emperor’s Forbidden Secret Technique—but what shocked its owner most was that Ye Fan actually knew it as well. This... how was this possible?

"What are you still dazing around for? Cut down this Human Race ant and avenge the Heavenly Prince!"

In the Demon Clan’s camp, Cultivators from many powerful battle races all shouted loudly.

At the same time, Holy Might descended. Several giant hands thrust out from the Void, each carrying the fluctuations of the Saint Lord Level, sealing off the Void, attempting to utterly kill Ye Fan.

"I fought a life-and-death battle with your Heavenly Prince; life and death were left to fate. What is the meaning of this from you?"

Ye Fan swept a cold gaze over the giant hands emerging from the Void and asked.

"You dare kill the heir of the Sky Demon Emperor—ten thousand deaths would not atone. How could you possibly be allowed to live? Use your lowly life to repay it!" In the end, a total of eight giant hands descended. They were not true Saints, but were already infinitely close.

"How bold!"

The Old Bastard and the Treasure Pavilion’s Sloppy Elder struck at the same time, blasting out a field of Mystic Light that shook all eight giant hands back.

Then, the Old Bastard took his stand in front of Ye Fan, coldly sweeping his gaze over the Demon Clan’s camp as he said, "The fair duel has already concluded. Do you truly wish to tear up the agreement and go to war with our Human Race?"

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

...

The Sloppy Elder was even more straightforward. His fingers flicked repeatedly and streaks of Mystic Light pierced through the Void; dozens of people in the Demon Clan’s camp screamed as they exploded into blood mist, body and soul annihilated. These were precisely the ones who had just been fanning the flames in secret; not a single one was left alive.

This move made the Demon Clan involuntarily suck in a cold breath. When a Quasi-Emperor struck, who could resist? Although the Demon Clan also had a Quasi-Demon Emperor, with the Old Bastard eyeing him like a tiger, he did not dare act rashly.

"Is the agreement that both sides must not strangle each other’s geniuses going to become nothing but a scrap of paper?"

The Old Bastard stared fixedly at the Ancestor King of the Sky Demon Clan, his eyes blazing with light, and then said, "If so, then don’t blame our Human Race for being rude!"

"Rude? What can you do? At worst, we’ll fight a war!"

The Ancestor King of the Sky Demon Clan let out a cold laugh; he had already prepared himself to go to war with the Human Race at any cost.

"This battle is over. Let everything end here."

Chi Lin, the Quasi-Demon Emperor leading the Demon Clan, opened his mouth and spoke.

"You say it’s over and it’s over? Is the Heavenly Prince to die for nothing? My Sky Demon Clan absolutely will not agree. If we cannot cut down that Human Race ant who harmed the Heavenly Prince, my Sky Demon Clan will go to war without hesitation!" The Ancestor King of the Sky Demon Clan shouted loudly, his words filled with iron resolve.

"You dare!"

Chi Lin’s eyes blazed with Golden Light as he stared fixedly at that Ancestor King, saying, "The life-and-death duel was agreed upon beforehand; life and death are decided by fate. Do you intend to drag the entire Demon Clan into the quagmire of war?"

"The peaceful coexistence of the Demon Clan and Human Race was agreed upon long ago. Our Demon Clan will never be the first to tear up the agreement!" Representing the entire Demon Clan, Chi Lin spoke with Zheng Zhong gravity.

Then he sighed softly and said, "This world belongs to the young. We old undyings should just enjoy our twilight years. I don’t wish to stir up any more storms."

The world of the young, is it?

The next instant, everyone’s gaze converged on Ye Fan.

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