Ye Chen had already stepped into the vast sky battlefield. A majestic voice boomed across the heavens. "Will the two of you completely seal the grand array, or permit entry to all cultivators at or below the Third Heaven of the Mahayana Realm?"

The Holy Prince had risen to his full height, the massive black iron staff now gripped loosely in one hand. He did not deign to speak. Clearly, he cared nothing about the prospect of being swarmed.

Ye Chen shook his head at once. "No need to seal it. Allow entry…" If the array were fully sealed, how were the Holy Prince's good friends supposed to come deliver their gifts?

At his word, experts from both the Victorious Fighting Ape clan and the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land stepped forward. Each side held half of the array discs. Together they activated the formation.

In an instant, the entire sky battlefield erupted in gentle azure radiance. Countless divine runes flowed like living rivers within the blue light. This was an absolute world-severing array. No expert above the Third Heaven of the Mahayana could interfere. Short of a Quasi-Immortal making a move, the duel was untouchable.

Once everything was ready, every spectator's pupils contracted. No one dared blink.

The Heavenly Emperor heir had entered alone this time, without even bringing a woman. Evidently, he regarded the Holy Prince as a true rival. This might be the most evenly matched battle since Ye Chen had risen to prominence.

Inside the array.

The Holy Prince stared impassively at Ye Chen. "Did you bring my Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod?" His voice rang like a great bronze bell, vast and domineering, carrying the unmistakable flavor of "none can stand before me."

Ye Chen smiled. His gaze drifted to the stone stele still hovering above the monkey's head. The Holy Prince was a man of honor; he had openly revealed the stele bearing the Stasis Secret.

Naturally, Ye Chen couldn't be stingy. With a casual wave, the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod appeared in his palm. A supreme Extreme Dao Weapon possessed its own spirit and will. The instant it sensed the Holy Prince's aura, the staff vibrated violently, as though eager to fly back to its true master.

Ye Chen immediately struck it with the Armament Secret. The staff instantly calmed. The Holy Prince paid it no mind. To him, merely seeing it meant the clan's sacred weapon had been returned. He only gazed coolly at Ye Chen. "I had intended to spare your life, since you are merely the Heavenly Emperor's descendant. It is a pity I could not live in the same era as the Heavenly Emperor himself. But no matter. Once I ascend to the Immortal Realm, should he still live, I shall surpass him all the same…"

The moment those words left his mouth, expressions across the watching ships turned strange. The Holy Prince actually regretted not being born in the wrong generation to fight the Heavenly Emperor? Even many among the myriad races thought the monkey was getting a little too full of himself. The Heavenly Emperor was an eternal trauma etched into the bones of every non-human clan! Yet this calm, almost casual arrogance was still shocking enough to make hearts tremble.

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Ye Chen's lip twitched. He almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Who the hell are you posturing for?

However, Ye Chen's true goal in this battle was to appear strong—just strong enough to awe the world, but not so overwhelmingly strong that no one would dare come knocking again. So letting the Holy Prince posture a little was perfectly fine.

With that in mind, Ye Chen gave a thumbs-up as earnestly as he could manage. "You're absolutely right. Even if the Heavenly Emperor were reborn at the same realm, he'd be inferior to you!"

The moment the words left his mouth, every spectator's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Everyone knew the Heavenly Emperor heir never wasted breath in battle—unless he was facing a female cultivator. Take the Firmament Overlord Body, for example. They had clashed twice, yet Ye Chen had spoken fewer than ten sentences combined. Now he was openly mocking his opponent? Clearly, the Holy Prince had truly made him feel threatened.

The Holy Prince's face darkened at once. He wasn't one for idle talk either. He had only spoken out of faint regret because of Ye Chen's lineage. Since the man insisted on courting death, then death it would be!

In the next instant, the Victorious Fighting Ape blood in his veins boiled. Battle intent detonated like a volcano, soaring into the heavens. His golden fur stood on end, crackling with threads of lightning—terrifying beyond words!

Despite his towering, muscular frame, the Holy Prince's speed was blinding. In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly before Ye Chen. The massive black iron staff whistled through the air, smashing down toward Ye Chen's skull with mountain-splitting force.

The moment the strike landed, the heavens themselves seemed to crack. Even the space reinforced by the grand array tore open with mournful wails. That extreme destructive power turned countless onlookers pale in an instant.

Clearly, the Holy Prince had never gone all-out in his previous battle. This—this was his true strength. Under this one staff strike, the vast majority of Third Heaven kings would be pulverized. Even Extreme Dao weapons might shatter.

Ye Chen watched the golden-furred, lightning-wreathed monkey charge at him like a Super Saiyan, his expression perfectly calm. He activated the Battle Secret and met the attack with a single staff of his own. He deliberately held back the Multiplier Secret. If he accidentally smashed the Holy Prince to death in one blow, Prince Lu Ya and the Little Peacock King might lose their nerve and refuse to enter.

When the two staffs collided, a deafening boom shook the battlefield. The Holy Prince's expression changed. The rebound force sent him staggering back a full hundred meters. Golden blood dripped from the torn webbing between his thumb and forefinger. His stern, thunderous face turned grim. His physique—how terrifyingly domineering it was! Yet in that pure clash of flesh and strength, he had actually come up short by three points?

The watching crowds erupted into uproar. In a direct contest of physical power, the Holy Prince had actually lost ground? How was that possible?

As for Ye Chen, one collision felt like nothing at all. But he absolutely could not let that show. This had to look like a struggle.

With what he believed was Oscar-worthy acting, Ye Chen allowed himself to be hurled backward two hundred meters. Then he turned a solemn, admiring gaze on the Holy Prince and sighed dramatically. "The Victorious Fighting Ape clan's physique truly is astonishing. Even my sacred body falls slightly short…"

Ye Chen felt he had delivered the praise with perfect sincerity. Yet the moment his words faded, every spectator's expression turned strange.

The Holy Prince's sharp fangs ground together audibly. His physical strength surged another level higher. Roaring with murderous fury, he swung the great black staff and charged once more…