Ye Fan immediately summoned the Yuanhong Sword, unleashing two powerful bursts of Sword Qi.

The two powerful slashes of Sword Qi struck their mark, instantly severing several feathers from the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy’s wings. It was only his swift evasion that saved him; had he been any slower, Ye Fan would have undoubtedly slain him.

At that moment, Ye Fan sprang into action, giving the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy no time to react. In terms of raw strength, the two were nearly equals. However, Ye Fan held a distinct advantage when it came to his weapon. With this advantage on his side, he seized the initiative from the very beginning and fought the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy for several rounds.

The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy was seething. He couldn’t believe that as a mighty Holy Envoy, he was unable to take down Ye Fan. Being one of the leaders of the European Church Court, his anger only intensified.

"Fire Cloud Roar!"

Empowered by the Holy Light of the Church, the Fire Cloud Roar became terrifyingly powerful. Like a wild beast wreathed in flames, it charged toward Ye Fan with a ferocious howl.

Ye Fan bellowed, "Nine Yang Power!"

The two forces collided in mid-air, triggering a massive explosion. The surrounding air itself boiled with scorching heat. The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy was about to make his next move, but Ye Fan had already burst through the epicenter of the blast, rushing him with his sword.

"You’re courting death!" the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy sneered, disdainfully watching Ye Fan approach as he brought his own sword swinging down.

CLANG!

When the swords collided, the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy’s arm went numb and even began to drip blood. He stared at Ye Fan in shock, unable to believe what was happening. At this, Ye Fan lunged forward again, clashing with him once more.

After their third collision, the Fire Cloud Sword snapped in two.

The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy stared in disbelief. His power was immense, and combined with the Fire Cloud Sword, he was a formidable force. Yet, his sword had been shattered. He simply couldn’t accept it. The Spiritual Artifact personally forged by the Pope had actually broken.

Ye Fan struck again with two more slashes, injuring the Saint Envoy’s body.

With a look of dread, the Envoy asked, "Is that the Heavenly Inquiry Sword?"

"What do you think?"

"This isn’t the Heavenly Inquiry Sword!" the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy exclaimed in shock. Although he had never seen it in person, he had seen illustrations of it. It was a world-renowned sword from Divine Land, famous for its kingly might—the complete opposite of this viciously sharp blade.

Ye Fan said teasingly, "You’re right, this isn’t the Heavenly Inquiry Sword. But it’s the very sword that severed the Heavenly Inquiry Sword!"

"Impossible!" The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy refused to believe him; to him, it was utter nonsense.

They clashed again. The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy was severely wounded by the Yuanhong Sword and shouted at Ye Fan, "Boy, I’ll remember this grudge! The next time we meet, I will kill you! You and Divine Land will not escape the Pope’s judgment!"

"The Pope? He puts on quite a show of power. If he dares to come to Divine Land, I’ll be the one to kill him!" Ye Fan retorted mockingly.

At this moment, valuing his own precious life, the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy quickly drew a circle of light—a portal leading back to the European Church Court.

Just then, Ye Fan shouted, "Trying to escape? Where do you think you’re going?"

"Slaughter Sword Dao!"

As he brought his sword down, he shattered the portal of light.

"Ah!"

A scream echoed from the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy on the other side of the portal before it broke apart completely.

Ye Fan knew the Saint Envoy had escaped, but not before he had been heavily wounded. There was a reason Ye Fan didn’t pursue him with all his might. The Fire Cloud Saint Envoy’s strength was formidable. If he were to truly force a battle to the death, the Envoy would fight with desperate abandon, and they would both end up severely injured. Although he could kill the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy with the Yuanhong Sword, the Envoy’s dying blow would undoubtedly teach him a painful lesson. Risking a fight to the death at this point wasn’t worth it.

Therefore, Ye Fan didn’t give chase. He knew that once his strength took another step forward, the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy would be no match for him. That would be the perfect time to end him.

The members of the Heavenly King Hall, who had been lurking in the shadows and recording the battle, were all in a state of disbelief.

Although Ye Fan had won, no one could feel happy. The feud between the European Church Court and Divine Land was now set in stone. The European Church Court was pushing things too far.

At this moment, Ye Fan said, "Skyremnant, release the transcript of my conversation with the Fire Cloud Saint Envoy. It is time for the Shen Zhou Martial Artists to unite against a common foe!"

"Yes!" Skyremnant immediately accepted the order.

Indeed, Divine Land has always been the birthplace and strongest domain of the Martial Arts. You never know how many incredible Martial Artists are hidden there. However, the Shen Zhou Martial Artists did not unite against a common foe, which was precisely why the European Church Court dared to bully them. Ye Fan hoped this incident would awaken the fury in their hearts. Once united, he wouldn’t fear an invasion from the European Church Court.

For now, though, the European Church Court was unlikely to invade. Their primary adversaries were the Vampire Clan. Until the Vampire Clan was dealt with, the European Church Court could not rest easy. Heather hadn’t sent any distress signals, so Ye Fan didn’t plan on going to help. Of course, while it seemed they didn’t have much of a relationship, they actually had a silent alliance: if one was in trouble, the other would provide support.

With a rare moment of rest, Ye Fan spent a day studying the Divine Talisman but made no headway at all. Perhaps he would need his strength to increase further, broadening his understanding and allowing him to uncover its secrets. For now, he decided to keep it hidden. If it were discovered, he might end up targeted by a Divine Pet, just like the Feather Immortal Sect of old.

It had to be said, the Divine Talisman was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could benefit him; on the other, it could bring disaster. But since he had made his choice, he had to keep it with him.

After handling some important matters for the Heavenly King Hall, Ye Fan returned to his villa. It had been a long time since he’d seen Su Qingxue, and he missed her dearly.

Since he started cultivating Martial Arts, Ye Fan felt more and more that Su Qingxue’s personality was becoming uncannily similar to the Flame Witch’s. His Qingxue hadn’t been like this in the past. Back then, although she would get jealous sometimes, she was still incredibly gentle with him. Now, however, the girl’s temperament had become more and more forceful and domineering. Still, thinking about his own increase in strength, Ye Fan felt much more confident.

「Back at the villa.」

Su Qingxue was online, browsing for baby products. Ye Fan felt a wave of exasperation. He knew Su Qingxue had talked about having a baby with him recently, but their relationship hadn’t even progressed to that stage yet. It seemed far too early to be looking at these things!

He walked over and asked, "Honey, what are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing! I was just curious, so I took a peek!" Su Qingxue replied hastily. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

At this, Ye Fan grinned mischievously. "Honey, isn’t it time to make good on that promise you made me?"

"What promise?" she asked.

"Before my fight with the Divine Dragon, you said that if I came back safely, we would... you know," Ye Fan said. "It’s been a long time since then! You have to make good on that promise tonight!"

But Su Qingxue replied, "Absolutely not!"

"Why not?"

Ye Fan grew more and more frustrated. Dealing with this ice-queen wife is just too damn suffocating!