Best Young Master

A small sun rose, casting purple-gold radiance over the entire Lei Clan settlement.

Smoke gently drifted over the square, with cups and plates scattered about. The crowd had indulged in merriment until deep into the night, most falling asleep beside the campfires. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that they awoke, bleary-eyed.

"Joyful, truly joyful! It’s been so long since I’ve had such a drink."

As soon as Lei Bao opened his eyes, he gulped down several mouthfuls from the wine jar, claiming, "This is called Resurrection Wine!"

Under the heartfelt retention of all Lei Clan members, Ye Fan and Bai Yan Wolf stayed an extra three days.

During these three days, they celebrated and drank daily, discussing much about cultivation and matters on the Xing Kong Gu Road, which greatly benefited Ye Fan.

Over the years, the Lei Clan on this ancient star welcomed and bid farewell to batch after batch of strong practitioners who embarked on this Heavenly Road, naturally learning many secrets.

The path ahead is exceedingly harsh, not only filled with powerful star beasts and countless unknown dangers, but the competition among cultivators is also fiercely brutal.

Each time the Heavenly Road opens, there are quite a few strong practitioners who embark on this strongest trial path, but very few cultivators manage to return alive.

On the fourth day, amidst fond farewells from the entire Lei Clan, Ye Fan, with Bai Yan Wolf, arrived at a secret place in the Lei Clan, ascended the altar, and crossed the void.

As the altar’s light faded and the Domain Gate closed, Ye Fan vanished from this planet, using a killing array to defy the heavens and slaughter the Emperor King Skeleton in the Death Zone, leaving an eternal legend.

"Clan Leader, once I further comprehend the Treasure Technique, I too shall embark on this strongest trial path to follow in the footsteps of Benefactor Ye Fan!"

Gazing at the empty altar, the Lei Clan’s first genius of the young generation, Lei Zhenlong, declared decisively.

"That sounds well. The crisis on this star has been resolved, and the remaining death creatures are insignificant. We can completely wipe them out, and the rules left by the ancestors need to be altered."

Clan Leader Lei Yuanhang pondered for a moment before speaking.

The Skull Venerable is dead, with large numbers of death creatures slain. The remaining death creatures pose no threat to the Lei Clan’s survival.

When the Thunder Venerable left behind this lineage, he asserted that only when the threat of death creatures on this ancient star was entirely eliminated could they freely leave this star.

Now, this condition has been met. With the Skull Venerable dead, the death energy on this ancient star is far less intense than before.

Given time, whether a few years or several decades, the death energy on this ancient star will vanish completely. By then, the entire ancient star will be filled with Thunderbolt Aura, becoming their paradise.

Gazing at the empty altar, the Great Elder Lei Mingxiao murmured, "May your journey along the Heavenly Road be smooth, and may the Thunderclap Treasure Skill once again shine with the glory of the ancestors’ era."

"Great Elder, do you think Ye Fan will encounter the descendants of our ancestors’ old rivals on this Heavenly Road? If he does, as long as he displays the Thunderclap Treasure Skill, it will surely result in an earth-shattering battle." The Lei Clan Patriarch expressed his concerns softly beside the Great Elder.

"Oh no, we forgot to inform him about this." The Great Elder’s face changed drastically, and then he prayed, "I hope he can overcome this challenge. If not, he will ultimately become a stepping stone for others on the Xing Kong Gu Road..."

These words, Ye Fan could not hear. At this moment, he was traveling through the barren Xing Kong Gu Road.

At Bai Yan Wolf’s suggestion, every time they passed an ancient star, Ye Fan would employ the Observing Heaven and Earth Technique to search, which resulted in them finding some precious minerals and Spirit Stones.

In the Star Domain, rare materials are extremely scarce. Across hundreds of stars, not one might contain valuable minerals.

For millions of years, the Xing Kong Gu Road has bid farewell to wave after wave of talented strong people. Even if some divine minerals were left, they were long since claimed.

However, Ye Fan’s Dragon Seeking Formulas truly was a Supreme Strange Skill. Despite the circumstances, it still allowed him to find some overlooked divine minerals and Spirit Stones.

During the monotonous journey, Ye Fan was immersed in cultivation, secretly pondering and comprehending the use of Death Energy. He held an enormous amount of Death Energy within him, and after the battle with the Skull Venerable, it became even more abundant, to the point of being barely contained.

If not for the powerful Thunder Power and pure Pure Yang Qi barely suppressing the Death Energy in the black sphere, he wouldn’t know what he would become.

At the moment, the black sphere within him had turned a deep purple, and the dense Death Energy felt like a ticking time bomb, threatening to explode and utterly destroy him at any unforeseen moment, even the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown might not be able to restrain it.

Upon learning the method to harness Death Energy, it was as if he had obtained a key to a treasure trove, delving deeply into ways to wield it every day.

The operation of Death Energy vastly differed from Divine Power, necessitating the opening of a new meridian in the body, without which it couldn’t be wielded, let alone used in combat.

A gentle breeze stirred, ruffling Ye Fan’s long hair. The desolate ancient star finally exhibited some signs of life, breaking the deathly silence.

He had sat cross-legged on this ancient star for nearly a month, and aside from using the Observing Heaven and Earth Technique to scour this star for resources, he quietly meditated, operating the Death Heart Scripture to blaze a channel for Death Energy within.

As for the work of locating the altar, it was left to Bai Yan Wolf. This fellow’s nose is unrivaled; as long as the altar existed on this ancient star, it would surely find it.

In half a month, Ye Fan’s body bore a new black meridian, incongruous with the rest, where pure Death Qi circulated unceasingly.

This was the result of his half-month endeavor, of relentless persistence through unknown suffering, finally opening this meridian.

Death energy, after all, is fundamentally different from that of living beings. When absorbing it, there is no particular feeling, but while opening the death energy’s route within the body, he suffered excruciating pain.

The pure death energy contained strong corrosive properties, nearly corroding one of his arms completely. In the end, Ye Fan relied on immense willpower to get through this stage. When he came to, he was almost completely exhausted, his whole body feeling like it just emerged from water.

"Swish!"

Ye Fan opened his eyes, shooting out two beams of dragon-shaped Divine Light. He noticed the Bai Yan wolf rapidly approaching him. Clearly, it had found the teleportation altar.

"Old Bai, can we leave now?"

Looking at the Bai Yan wolf running swiftly from afar, Ye Fan asked softly.

"I suppose we cannot leave!"

The Bai Yan wolf said in a dejected tone, "I’ve searched the whole planet and almost dug to the Earth Core but still haven’t found the teleportation altar. Could it be that the altar on this Ancient Star has been destroyed, severing our path forward?"

"Impossible, the Great Demon and others passed through just a year ago. If the path was severed, where did they go? Keep searching, there must be an altar; perhaps it’s hidden in a small space," Ye Fan said.

"You might be right. The ancients might have hidden the altar to prevent invasion or destruction by human-shaped creatures or other creatures from other planets, possibly in a small space."

The Bai Yan wolf, as if suddenly enlightened, quickly left to continue searching.

Ye Fan resumed meditating and continued to open the death energy’s route within. Despite the immense pain, he needed to go through this to use the death energy in battle.

"I found it! I found the altar!"

Just then, Ye Fan suddenly heard Bai Yan wolf shouting energetically, followed by a loud roar and Bai Yan wolf’s curses.

"Damn it, how is there a Star Sky Profound Beast here? Ye, quickly, help!"

The sound of a fierce collision accompanied Bai Yan wolf’s cries for help, reaching Ye Fan’s ears.

"Swish!"

With a flash of light, Ye Fan suddenly disappeared from his original spot, reappearing thousands of miles away in the sky. He saw Bai Yan wolf battling fiercely with a Star Sky Profound Beast.

What kind of Star Beast is this! A hundred-zhang long, covered in black scales, each as large as a basin, as if forged from Black Gold, glinting with metallic shine.

This Star Beast was massive and agile, with a head like a tiger-leopard, majestic deer-like antlers, eagle-hawk-like steel claws, and a Scorpion Tail pointing skyward.

This was definitely a Lord Realm Peak Star Beast, exuding an overwhelming aura, each attack leaving Bai Yan wolf scrambling defensively, in a miserable state.

"Ye, stop watching, hurry and help!"

In the blink of an eye that distracted Ye Fan, Bai Yan wolf was harshly struck by the Star Beast’s Scorpion Tail, sent rolling far away, shouting desperately for help.

"Old Bai, step aside, I’ll handle it!" Ye Fan had just opened the right hand’s death energy meridian and wanted to test the power of death energy. He stepped in front of Bai Yan wolf and punched at the Star Beast’s Scorpion Tail.

"Hiss..."

Death Aura burst forth, as if Divine Power, a splendid purple color, not like the Thunder Power’s raging purple, but a cold, death-infused purple.

"Crunch!"

With a crisp sound, Ye Fan punched the Star Beast’s Scorpion Tail, breaking it. Death Aura instantly invaded, rapidly corroding its body and vitality.

"Oww..."

The Star Beast let out a wretched scream, its eyes shooting fearful light, then gradually dimming, finally shattering with a "boom", its body disintegrating. A strand of death aura silently merged into Ye Fan’s body.

"Is this... is this the power of death energy?" Bai Yan wolf’s eyes widened in astonishment, looking at the destroyed Star Beast, then at Ye Fan’s composed face, stammering.

"Yes, it is the power of death energy!" Ye Fan answered calmly.

"But wait, how can you absorb and use death energy? You’re not a human-shaped creature, nor a death creature." Bai Yan wolf widened its eyes in disbelief.

"I don’t know, but I can absorb and use it. In my dantian, there’s a black sphere; it’s what grants me the ability to absorb death energy."

Ye Fan said, "Using death energy is even simpler. Isn’t there a section in Skull Venerable’s lair about how to wield death energy? After Lei Mingxiao’s explanation, I learned it."

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