Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

「At the entrance of Black Cloud Valley.」

Jiang Chen, his two companions, and the beast walked abreast. Ahead, the hundred Demon Beasts that had followed the Fiery Fire Sparrow King were in utter chaos.

Lui Yifa quickly said, "Boss, let me take care of these small fry!"

Ever since seeing Jiang Chen slay the Fiery Fire Sparrow King with a single strike, Lui Yifa’s own fighting spirit had been ignited.

He clutched his Combat Weapon, eager for a fight.

Jiang Chen shrugged and chuckled. "Of course you can fight, no problem. But that’s assuming... you can even snatch any prey!"

"Huh? Snatch prey?"

Lui Yifa froze, then heard a series of bloodcurdling screams from the entrance to Black Cloud Valley. He glanced over and was dumbfounded. Little White’s fur was standing on end, every single hair emitting a saintly white glow, as pure and white as jade.

Little White was incredibly fast, and its claws were incomparably sharp.

With a single swipe of its claw, even a thick-skinned, tough-fleshed Iron-Backed Cang Bear couldn’t withstand the blow and was instantly disemboweled.

Amidst the pack of beasts, Little White was like a tiger let loose among sheep!

Its movements were wide and powerful, the slaughter unending!

"Damn it, Little White, leave a couple for me!" Lui Yifa’s expression changed drastically. He kicked off the ground and shot forward, swinging his heavy Tiger Fang Club with all his might.

He was, after all, a master of the Martial Arts Ninth Stage. With one swing of his club per beast, he began reaping the lives of the horde!

"Jiang Chen, can I ask you a question?" Yulan Tianpeng smoothed back his black hair, a hint of confusion on his baby-faced features as he looked at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen slung an arm over Yulan Tianpeng’s shoulder and chuckled. "As long as it’s not too personal, I can answer anything."

"Er..."

Yulan Tianpeng froze. Growing up, no one his age had ever put their arm around him like that; Jiang Chen’s action gave him a novel feeling. He blinked, a dorky smile appearing on his face, and said, "Are you really at the Martial Arts Ninth Stage? You’re not just using some kind of aura-concealing Cultivation Technique to hide your true cultivation?"

Jiang Chen laughed heartily, opened his palm, and activated his Inner Unbreakable Technique.

True Qi, refined to the absolute pinnacle of the Martial Dao, flowed into his palm and coalesced into a True Qi Round Pearl. Jiang Chen grinned. "Take a look at this, and you should understand."

Yulan Tianpeng glanced over.

The moment his eyes fell upon the True Qi Round Pearl, he felt like he was hallucinating. What lay before him didn’t seem to be a pearl of True Qi, but True Essence that had been condensed to the absolute limit!

It was condensed without being chaotic, gathered without dispersing!

Translucent as jade, crystalline and flawless!

This was clearly the quality of True Essence possessed by a True Martial Realm Powerhouse, yet within Jiang Chen’s True Qi Round Pearl, there was still a clear flow of True Qi; it had not fully converted into True Essence. This meant that Jiang Chen’s cultivation was genuinely at the Martial Arts Ninth Stage—he had not stepped into the True Martial Realm!

More importantly...

The degree of condensation of Jiang Chen’s True Qi Round Pearl was actually even greater and purer than the True Essence that Yulan Tianpeng himself could condense.

This meant that the quality of Jiang Chen’s True Qi was even more powerful than the True Essence of Yulan Tianpeng, a master at the Peak of True Martial Realm First Stage!

"Unbelievable. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to believe that a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Ninth Stage could condense their True Qi to such a degree. Although you haven’t entered the True Martial Realm, judging by the condensation of your True Qi, you can already be compared to experts at the True Martial Realm Second Stage or even the Third Stage!" Yulan Tianpeng said, looking at Jiang Chen with a face full of emotion and sincere admiration.

Jiang Chen gave a faint smile and looked ahead. "Huh? Those two have already cleared the entrance. Let’s go in, too."

"Ah? Alright!"

Yulan Tianpeng faltered for a moment, then nodded and followed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He watched Jiang Chen walk ahead, skillfully harvesting the Demon Cores from the Demon Beasts and carving off their most valuable parts. A complex, unreadable expression flickered across his eyes.

With Little White and Lui Yifa leading the charge, Jiang Chen had a much easier time, freeing up his hands to harvest Demon Cores and Essence Blood.

From the entrance of Black Cloud Valley into its depths, the path was littered with the scattered corpses of Demon Beasts.

Rivers of blood flowed.

"ROAR!"

"Damned humans! You dare to slaughter the people of my Black Cloud Valley! This King will tear you to pieces!"

"MOOO... You all deserve to die!"

"JIE JIE JIE... So there’s a True Martial Realm powerhouse among you. No wonder that Blazing Fire fellow died at your hands. What a pity. You passed up the path to heaven and dared to venture deep into my Black Cloud Valley instead. Today, none of you will leave!"

The entirety of Black Cloud Valley began to tremble violently.

The mountains on both sides hummed and trembled, and massive boulders tumbled down from above.

Loose stones on the ground leaped into the air with a deafening rumble as the Green-eyed Tiger King, the Tuo Mountain Bull King, and the Black Widow Spider King emerged from the depths of the valley. Each Beast King radiated boundless killing intent. The Tuo Mountain Bull King was especially imposing; its body, over sixty meters long and twenty-some meters tall, was a powerful visual shock.

Its very appearance felt like Mount Tai Pressing Down, exuding immense pressure.

"All three Beast Kings are out. Brother Jiang Chen, pick one!" Yulan Tianpeng said, poised and ready for battle.

Jiang Chen slowly shook his head, took a step forward, and flicked his sword with a smile. "I’ll take these three. You can make your move later, when the Black Cloud Demon Bear appears... This Black Cloud Valley gives me a bad feeling. The depths where the Black Cloud Demon Bear resides, in particular, give me a sense of mortal danger. You stay on the sidelines and guard against any surprises."

"Mm, I’ve also heard my father mention it. The Black Cloud Demon Bear in Black Cloud Valley is extremely strange. He warned me not to provoke it," Yulan Tianpeng recalled, offering a word of caution.

Jiang Chen nodded, his sharp gaze sweeping over the three Beast Kings. He licked the corner of his mouth with a scarlet tongue. ’The Green-eyed Tiger King, the Tuo Mountain Bull King, and the Black Widow Spider King... The Demon Core of every single one of them is priceless! If I take you all down, I should be able to become a millionaire...’

Several dark lines appeared on the forehead of the nearby Yulan Tianpeng. ’He killed the Fiery Fire Sparrow King in a single blow, and his True Qi condensation rivals that of a True Martial Realm Third Stage powerhouse, yet he’s getting this excited over a mere million silver taels?’

Unaware of Yulan Tianpeng’s thoughts, Jiang Chen wore a cold smile as he flashed forward, charging toward the three Beast Kings.

The Tuo Mountain Bull King snorted coldly. Two streams of scorching hot air blasted from its massive nostrils, so powerful they blew apart a giant rock in front of it, reducing it to dust. "Don’t any of you interfere! This brat is mine! I’m going to swallow him whole and grind him into delicious meat juice with my two iron stomachs!"

"Haha, then he’s all yours!" the Green-eyed Tiger King rumbled with laughter.

The Black Widow Spider King waved its eight giant legs, brandishing its fangs. "Old Niu, don’t you go and capsize in the gutter!"

"MOOO! You ugly crawler, open your eyes and watch carefully! This King will crush this ant with a single hoof!"

The Tuo Mountain Bull King grunted, its giant, bell-like eyes fixing on Jiang Chen. "Brat, if that True Martial Realm expert next to you were to fight, this King might be a little wary. But you? Haha, this King can crush you with a single hoof!"

With a low roar, the Tuo Mountain Bull King raised a hoof as thick as an iron pillar and slammed it down toward Jiang Chen...