Best Young Master

"That works too?"

The Bai Yan wolf’s jaw almost dislocated, staring in shock for a long time before coming back to his senses. With a complicated look in his eyes, he warned Ye Fan, "Ye, no matter how you came to use Death Energy, there’s one thing you must remember: unless it’s absolutely necessary, you must never casually use this kind of attack. And if you do use it, you have to kill every last one of them, leave no survivors. Otherwise, once word gets out that you can attack with Death Energy, you’ll be treated as one of those Human-shaped creatures and become the public enemy of all Cultivators on the entire Xing Kong Gu Road!"

"By that time, no matter how strong you are it’ll be useless. On the Xing Kong Gu Road there are far too many people stronger than you. Human-shaped creatures are a taboo—one that must never be touched."

Ye Fan nodded. He certainly knew what it would mean to be taken for a Human-shaped creature—that would make him the enemy of all living beings. The situation would likely be even worse than what the Bai Yan wolf had described.

This time he had only been experimenting, and the result proved that Death Energy was indeed sharper than Divine Power, especially when dealing with living beings. Once Death Energy appeared, it was simply an instant kill.

The Star Beast just now was the example. In terms of strength, this Star Beast wandering in the Cosmic Starry Sky definitely possessed Lord Realm Peak strength, and had almost crossed that final threshold to become a Star Beast of the Venerable Realm.

Once it broke through, it would have been a powerful Star Beast capable of contending with a Saint Master.

However—

Such a powerful Star Beast was instantly killed in a single move by Death Energy in Ye Fan’s hands; that alone showed how terrifying Death Energy was.

If he hadn’t used Death Energy and only relied on his original Combat Power, he could still have killed this Star Beast, but it definitely wouldn’t have been this easy. He might have had to go through quite a bit of trouble to do it.

"It’s over, it’s over. We finally ran into a Star Beast that’s a big tonic, and you let your Death Energy corrode it. Who knows how long it’ll be before we run into another Star Beast."

Staring at the Star Beast’s remains floating in the air, the Bai Yan wolf looked heartbroken. He hadn’t eaten fresh meat in many days and had been craving it badly. They’d finally come across such a good opportunity, only for Ye Fan to corrode it clean with Death Energy.

Fortunately, before this Star Beast died, Ye Fan had searched its sea of consciousness. From it he learned that the next stop on the Xing Kong Gu Road was an Ancient Star of Life.

This news made both Ye Fan and the Bai Yan wolf excited. After traveling in the cold, dark, and desolate Star Domain for over a month, they hadn’t seen so much as a blade of green grass, much less any living beings; they were long since sick of it.

The Elder Gu altar the Bai Yan wolf had found was in a small pocket space. If one were not a lifeform of Linxian Ancient Star, it would have been impossible to find. This was also a contingency left by the sages of Linxian Ancient Star, afraid that this Heavenly Road might be cut off.

Stepping onto the altar, Ye Fan and the Bai Yan wolf once again crossed the Void.

In the Void, Ye Fan continued to bombard his meridians with Death Energy, opening up, bit by bit, another route for Death Energy to circulate.

"Swoosh!"

The Void split open, and Ye Fan and the Bai Yan wolf walked out of it. Beneath their feet was a lush, verdant Ancient Star, brimming with life.

"Damn, we finally see an Ancient Star of Life!"

The Bai Yan wolf let out a long howl, silver Divine Radiance spraying from his four paws as he took the lead, charging toward this Ancient Star of Life.

"Eh, there’s a Stele here!"

Ye Fan saw that not far ahead, encircling this Ancient Star of Life, there was a black Stele about a thousand zhang tall quietly floating in the Void, like an Immortal Stele.

Two vigorous, ancient characters were carved into the black Stele: "Tian You!"

The ancient characters flew like Gray Dragons and soared like a Divine Phoenix, filled with the aura of Dao, making one feel deeply shaken.

By previous understanding, this Ancient Star should be a road marker, and the Ancient Star of Life below should be Tian You Ancient Star.

Although it looked quite close, Ye Fan and the Bai Yan wolf still had to fly for a full two days before gradually drawing near this Ancient Star of Life.

During those two days, they saw dozens of Elder Gu steles. On each Stele were carved ancient characters in iron-stroke, silver-hook style, all pointing toward the Ancient Star of Life ahead.

In this process, they also gradually saw some people and felt a rich vitality; it was no longer that dead, silent emptiness.

"Awooo..."

Xuan Beasts howled—a roar transmitted through Divine Sense, carrying a long, surging blood energy, like a herd of prehistoric Fierce Beasts galloping over, making the entire starry sky tremble.

Ye Fan was greatly surprised. He saw some Human Cultivators coming from different directions and finally converging on this Ancient Star of Life, all of them riding mounts as large as small hills.

Some of these mounts were shaped like Qilin, some like giant elephants, with towering horns, dense Scale Armor, rolling killing intent, and tusks like blades. At a glance, you could tell they had all undergone the baptism of life-and-death battles; every mount was a rare mutant beast.

"Old Bai, let’s talk about something. Look, everyone else has a mount, and I’m the only one who doesn’t. Doesn’t that make our Linxian Ancient Star look shabby? How about you wrong yourself a bit and be my mount for now?" Ye Fan said to the Bai Yan wolf.

"In your dreams. This King will one day Prove Dao as a Demon Emperor—how could I let you ride me? Even if I Prove Dao in the future, that’d be a stain on my life. Don’t even think about it."

The Bai Yan wolf refused Ye Fan’s proposal without the slightest hesitation.

"Don’t be so quick to refuse. There are benefits to being my mount. In the future, when I find some treasure, I can give you a share. But if you don’t be my mount, then we part ways—you walk your broad road, I’ll cross my single-log bridge. We’ll see which of us lasts to the end. Don’t forget, on this Xing Kong Gu Road, there are far too many whose strength surpasses yours. For all you know, one day you might get skinned and turned into an insole."

Ye Fan half enticed and half threatened him as he spoke.

"Ye, you only know how to threaten this King, but don’t worry, this King’s not swayed by soft or hard tactics. If you want this King to be your mount, unless you can prove the Dao and become an emperor, it won’t be possible even in your next life."

The Bai Yan wolf hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Seeing it hesitate, Ye Fan knew there was hope. Looked like he had to sweeten the pot. This guy was the classic type who won’t let the hawk fly till he sees the rabbit—very hard to deal with.

"How do you know I can’t prove the Dao and become an emperor? Don’t forget, I’ve been acknowledged by two Great Emperors and by your master’s Emperor Weapon. If they thought I didn’t have that potential, would they have chosen me as the inheritor of their legacies? So I’m telling you, following me will definitely benefit you. Think about it—other than me, who on this Ancient Road is going to give you any face?"

Ye Fan’s words carried real weight. The Nine Heavens Xuan Emperor went without saying—that was chosen by the Artifact Spirit Xuan Elder of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown; Ye Fan had inherited everything of the Nine Heavens Xuan Emperor. And the Eternal Slaughter Emperor had also recognized his potential. Add to that the approval of the Spear Spirit of the Thunder Venerable master, and the Bai Yan wolf could hardly find a proper excuse.

In the end, the Bai Yan wolf still agreed, temporarily acting as Ye Fan’s mount and giving him this bit of face.

Of course, it wasn’t without conditions. The Bai Yan wolf directly extorted thirty drops of top-grade Dragon Essence from Ye Fan—if it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn’t be able to produce it.

Ye Fan’s Dragon Seeking Formulas were already quite accomplished; as long as he was given time, it was still possible for him to find thirty drops of top-grade Dragon Essence.

Ye Fan readily agreed to its extortion, and only then did he smoothly get the Bai Yan wolf to grow larger, then he rode on its back and charged toward the Ancient Star of Life below.

"Brat, thirty drops, ah, thirty drops—can’t be short by even one."

The Bai Yan wolf howled as it charged toward this Ancient Star of Life.

"Slow down, are you rushing to a funeral?!"

Ye Fan smacked the Bai Yan wolf on the head as he spoke. He needed to observe just who exactly had come to this Ancient Star.

There was no doubt that this had to be an important place on the Xing Kong Gu Road; otherwise there wouldn’t be so many strong people descending here.

The Bai Yan wolf slowed its speed and carefully paid attention. After traveling for several more hours, they could occasionally see such people, and there were also some ethereal, transcendent women, as lively as Immortals, riding spiritual birds like luan and phoenix as they went.

Some of them were of the Human Race, and some clearly weren’t Human, yet they had also arrived on this Ancient Star of Life. Everyone was moving in the same direction.

"Are all these people ones who set foot on the Xing Kong Gu Road, this supreme trial road? Where did they come from?" Ye Fan pondered.

So many people had actually stepped onto this Xing Kong Gu Road; in just a few short hours, he had already seen no fewer than a hundred.

Why were all these people arriving at this moment? Could some special upheaval have occurred?

Even the Bai Yan wolf was shocked. Were there really that many Ancient Stars of Life in the starry sky?

That was unlikely. Along the way, they had passed through many Star Domains, yet hadn’t seen a single Ancient Star of Life; the only one they’d encountered was the Lei Ting Gu Star from over a month ago.

That Ancient Star had no name. Lei Ting Gu Star was the name Ye Fan had given it, because the entire planet was saturated with Thunderbolt Aura.

Of course, before that, the Thunderbolt Aura and the Death Aura had each accounted for half. Only after he killed the Skull Venerable did the Death Aura there gradually dissipate.

After Ye Fan and the Bai Yan wolf descended on this Ancient Star of Life, they casually chose an ancient city to enter, and found that the entire city was filled with a special kind of aura. On the wide streets, people occasionally roared past riding mutant beasts.

After wandering the streets once, Ye Fan quickly learned an important piece of news: floating in the sky above this Ancient Star of Life was a Divine City. It was the First Divine City of the Xing Kong Gu Road, and also the first Heroic Pass. Countless people who came to challenge the Xing Kong Gu Road were blocked outside this Heroic Pass.

If one could not pass this Heroic Pass, it meant they had no qualification to step onto the Xing Kong Gu Road; they could only retreat the way they came, or stay in this First Heroic Pass until they died of old age.

This Divine City revolved around this Ancient Star of Life like a moon, absorbing Sun Essence and Moonlight, bathing in Starlight, never falling.

In a certain sense, this was the true starting point of the Xing Kong Gu Road. What came before was merely the elimination road. If one couldn’t even reach this place from the Weapon Refinement path, then they simply weren’t qualified to step onto this supreme trial road.

The Ancient Road stretched on endlessly, filled with blood and bones, filled with cruel competition. Only those who reached this place were qualified to engage in the battles to come.

Those who were defeated too early along the way and died in the starry sky could never enter this Divine City, never see this Ancient Star of Life.

This was the First Heroic Pass of the Xing Kong Gu Road, and also a critical stronghold. It accepted all rivers and gathered heroes from all sides. Only by entering this city could one continue forward on the Xing Kong Gu Road.

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PS: Third Chapter finished~

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