The Dao of Reincarnation (189-190) (Patreon)

Chapter 189: Emperor's Fate (Part 5)

Ye Clan Square.

Su Chen was already fifteen years old.

The Ye Clan had begun selecting followers for him.

Followers were naturally his future left and right arms. Although their talent could not compare to Su Chen's, they were still outstanding. A monarch who would one day rule the universe would surely have countless followers, build a vast force, and reign supreme over an entire era together with them.

They would block Dark Turmoil, obstruct the Supremes, and protect their lord as he attained the Dao.

Inside the Ye Clan square, a group of young men and women stood waiting.

Terrifying auras intertwined around them, making the scene extraordinary. Among them were even renowned figures from the Myriad Races Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.

"It's the Ye Clan's Emperor Son!"

When the crowd saw a handsome youth in profound black robes appear, surrounded by numerous Ye Clan elders, they immediately understood. This was the Ye Clan's Emperor Son, the monstrous genius who possessed the bearing of a Great Emperor!

Facing the crowd's flattery, Su Chen merely swept his gaze over them indifferently. There were exceptionally talented swordsmen, prodigies with deep and reserved auras, graceful and outstanding beauties, and even foreign race geniuses from other clans who wished to serve as his mounts.

"You are the Ye Clan's Emperor Son? The peerless monster with the bearing of an Emperor?"

A defiant voice rang out from the crowd. A powerful aura surged forth, directly scattering the surrounding prodigies. Divine radiance flowed around the figure. This was a Divine Body, extremely extraordinary. In any other era, he would have been the center of attention and become one of the few great figures.

A Divine Body had the capital to be arrogant!

A white-bearded Ye Clan elder standing beside Su Chen glared with anger. A terrifying aura pressed down as he shouted furiously, "What audacity! How dare you show disrespect to the Emperor Son!"

The figure's body sank, yet he refused to kneel. "Ye Chen! I want to fight you. If I lose, I will willingly serve you!"

The Ye Clan elder beside Su Chen felt his dignity challenged and grew even more furious. He planned to teach this unruly youth a harsh lesson.

The moment that thought arose, the elder suddenly felt an irresistible force envelop him. All fluctuations were erased as if nothing had ever happened. His heart jolted. He turned to look at Su Chen beside him, his eyes filled with horror.

Su Chen said calmly, "This is not how the Ye Clan treats its guests."

The Ye Clan elder lowered his head and spoke respectfully, "Emperor Son, it was my impulsiveness. I will request punishment from the clan."

Su Chen nodded and ignored him. He looked at the Divine Body youth who had challenged him and asked, "Who is he?"

Sensing that Su Chen seemed somewhat interested, another elder quickly answered, "He is a prodigy from the Starfall Pavilion. The Starfall Pavilion's ancestor has fallen, and the pavilion is now facing a great calamity…"

Su Chen understood. They wanted to use the Ye Clan's recruitment of followers to preserve the last spark of the Starfall Pavilion.

A talent at the level of a Divine Body was still considered a genius even in a great era. It was understandable for him to have some pride.

Su Chen felt a slight interest. The successor of the Starfall Pavilion was not weak, and his Divine Body was also quite powerful.

Su Chen lowered his gaze like a god overlooking from the Ninth Heaven and said, "You wish to challenge me?"

The youth looked at Su Chen, his eyes filled with unwillingness and defiance. Although he said nothing, his gaze said everything.

Su Chen found it interesting.

"I will give you this chance. I will suppress my cultivation to the same realm as yours."

Su Chen's words stunned the youth. His expression turned bewildered. He snorted and said, "No need. I am confident that I will not lose to anyone!"

Su Chen merely smiled. Perhaps the youth thought that at only fifteen years old, no matter how high his cultivation was, it could not be that high.

The Divine Body's phenomenon transformed into a vast starry sky as countless stars fell. Back then, the Starfall Pavilion's ancestor had used the Starfall Divine Body to battle countless enemies across the starry skies alone, earning fame among all races. Tens of thousands of years later, this powerful Divine Body had appeared once more. The youth had grown up listening to the mythical stories of the Starfall Ancestor and did not believe he would lose.

However, there were always stronger people beyond the mountains, and heavens beyond the heavens.

Su Chen's figure vanished. A calm voice came from behind the youth.

"You have lost."

Like a final judgment, the youth flew backward. No one saw clearly how he was defeated. Even the many Nirvana realm elders of the Ye Clan could not catch his afterimage or sense any movement. That meant… if the Emperor Son attacked, they would not be his match either!

The Flying Immortal Dao Body was terrifying beyond measure!

However, they did not know that Su Chen had not used his full strength. He had only revealed Void Refining realm cultivation. He had kept his promise. The youth's cultivation was at the fourth layer of Void Refining, so Su Chen had suppressed his own to the same level. Yet he was simply too terrifying. His combat power far surpassed the realm he currently displayed. If he erupted with full force, he could slaughter the entire Ye Clan in an instant, aside from the Saint realm ancestors.

The youth was heavily injured but remained conscious. His Divine Body phenomenon had shattered into countless specks of light. He raised his head to look at the sky, his face filled with disbelief… He had lost. Defeated in a single move. No, he did not even know how he had lost. The Starfall Divine Body he had been so proud of now seemed utterly fragile.

The youth felt deeply dejected. He had expected a gap, but he had never imagined the gap would be this vast.

Looking at the figure approaching him, the youth said, "I have lost. I will honor the bet and follow you from now on. My name is…"

Su Chen waved his hand, cutting off his self-introduction. "I am not interested in your name. From today onward, you shall be called Ye Da. You are my first follower."

The youth froze.

Wasn't this name a little too casual?

He felt puzzled, but since he had lost the bet so easily, he no longer had the right to refuse. He could only nod and say, "Ye Da thanks Master for bestowing this name."

Mm… Su Chen was very satisfied. Although this follower looked a bit foolish, his strength was decent. He had taken one of Su Chen's strikes without fainting and could still move. Such resilience was already impressive. Once fully trained, he would make an excellent sandbag.

Ye Da hesitated, then, with Su Chen's nod of permission, asked, "May I know what realm Master has currently reached?"

Ye Da was extremely curious.

Su Chen replied casually, "Nirvana realm, fourth layer."

Ye Da suddenly felt a little better inside. However, when he recalled that Su Chen was only fifteen years old yet already at the fourth layer of Nirvana, bitterness crept onto his lips. What kind of monster was this?

Following such a figure did not seem like a waste after all.

Ye Da's mood improved once more.

Su Chen sensed the change in Ye Da and knew he had probably misunderstood something, but he did not bother explaining. Toward the other prodigies, Su Chen felt completely uninterested. He casually accepted two decent-looking girls as his maids, then dismissed everyone and ended the selection of followers.

Su Chen had his sights set on the Jade Pool Banquet. There, he would meet some of the top geniuses of this era.

Chapter 190: Emperor's Fate (Part 6)

Jade Pool Banquet

The Jade Pool Sacred Land was one of the foremost orthodoxies of the human race. Before every great era began, the Jade Pool Sacred Land would invite the most elite prodigies of the human race to attend. Within the Jade Pool Sacred Land grew a divine tree, said to be an immortal tree left behind by a transcendent existence from the mythical era. Only during a great era would it bloom, bear fruit, and ripen. The mature fruit possessed inconceivable wonders, comparable to a divine medicine.

In each great era, the Jade Pool Sacred Land would offer one such fruit to the genius they favored most—the one with the highest chance of attaining the Dao—forming a good karmic connection for the future. Although there were occasional exceptions, the majority of Great Emperors in human history had some ties to the Jade Pool Sacred Land.

Su Chen was very interested in that immortal tree suspected to have been left by a transcendent being.

The Jade Pool Sacred Land was located in an ancient celestial domain called the Origin Prime Celestial Domain. The distance from the Ye Clan's territory was not far; one year was enough to reach it.

Inside the Origin Prime Celestial Domain, countless luxurious carriages, star-sweeping warships, and even legendary divine beast mounts arrived. Successors of powerful forces capable of shaking entire star regions had come with the same purpose: to attend the Jade Pool Banquet and obtain the opportunities of the Jade Pool Sacred Land.

Some sealed monsters had even emerged after fifty thousand years. With the current Great Emperor shining like a blazing sun overhead, many self-proclaimed invincible geniuses could only sigh in despair and choose self-sealing. Among them was even the former number one on the Myriad Races Heavenly Prodigy Ranking—a true prodigy who had been unrivaled in his era.

Su Chen stood atop the highest pavilion on the Ye Clan's warship, looking down at the vast world below, and sighed, "Truly worthy of being the most ancient celestial domain of the human race."

The source energy and laws in the Origin Prime Celestial Domain were slightly stronger than those in the Azure Nether Dao Domain and the Heavenly Profound Domain.

Although no Great Emperor had appeared in the Origin Prime Celestial Domain for nearly a million years, going further back, it had produced no small number of them.

"It's the Ye Clan! I heard that this era they produced an invincible prodigy who wants to sweep through the entire era and become Emperor!"

"Heh, sweep through the entire era? Did he ask me first?"

"He's just a little kid who hasn't seen the world. When I was unrivaled across the starry skies and sweeping through foreign domain prodigies, the Ye Clan's brat hadn't even been born yet!"

"I am also an unrivaled genius. Why should I fear the Ye Clan's Emperor Son?"

"..."

Indeed, without suffering a proper beating, no one would believe anyone else could be stronger than themselves.

A faint smile hung on Su Chen's lips. He did not take the voices coming from all directions to heart. Ye Da, seeing his master's calm demeanor, could not help but silently mourn for those arrogant "unrivaled" geniuses. People who couldn't even beat him still wanted to compete with his master. Weren't they simply courting death?

From the direction of the Jade Pool Sacred Land, multicolored light bloomed within a small world. Then, groups of women as beautiful as celestial fairies flew out from the Jade Pool Sacred Land to receive the representatives of the various orthodoxies and guide them into the banquet. Every woman from the Jade Pool Sacred Land was an absolute beauty, causing many prodigies' eyes to shine with golden light. Each of their movements was like a peerless dance, making it impossible to look away.

"The Jade Pool Sacred Land has flourished across era after era for good reason."

Su Chen admired the succession of beauties from the Jade Pool Sacred Land. Appreciating beauty was human nature. Even though his state of mind was as firm as a mountain, he still appreciated beautiful things and would never be stingy with praise.

The small world inside the Jade Pool Sacred Land was extremely vast. Outstanding prodigies, each accompanied by their followers, took their seats one after another. On the tables before them were placed the finest wines in the world—flower wines from the Flower God Pavilion. Su Chen took a small sip and sighed in admiration, "Truly worthy of the Flower God Pavilion's wine. Only one or two catties are produced every thousand years. The aftertaste is truly endless."

Time flowed endlessly, old friends passed away, and Su Chen finally tasted the wine of the Flower God Pavilion. Only then did he truly understand why Li Shenhua had remembered it with such longing until his death.

The sound of a zither drifted into his ears. Immortal mist curled through the banquet hall as everyone closed their eyes and listened, feeling as though they were about to shed their mortal forms and ascend to immortality.

Fine wine and exquisite music were enough to make anyone linger and forget to leave. Unfortunately, this was not the purpose of Su Chen's visit.

All the prodigies present had sunk deep into the zither music, unable to free themselves. At that moment, the music abruptly stopped.

Everyone opened their eyes, anger flashing within them. At the highest climax, when they were most immersed, the wondrous melody had suddenly ceased. No matter how proud the prodigy, none could tolerate it.

However, a single figure instantly drew all their attention, and every trace of anger vanished in that instant.

What a figure it was.

Her white clothes were purer than snow, her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and a vermilion mark adorned the space between her brows. Dignity and holiness intertwined with seductive charm. She descended barefoot through the air, lotus flowers blooming beneath her feet with every step. Her flowing skirts seemed to carry rivers of stars. Every inch of her skin flowed with the charm of the Great Dao, as if she were the most perfect creation sculpted by heaven itself. No one could harbor any profane thoughts toward her, and any woman would feel ashamed before her beauty.

In her hands, she held an ancient zither, making it clear to everyone that the peerless music earlier had come from her.

The Sacred Maiden of the Jade Pool Sacred Land!

Su Chen felt both admiration and amazement. Across the long river of years, the number of women who could compare to her could be counted on one hand.

"Charm perfected, skill stealing the work of heaven. This woman is extraordinary!"

While Su Chen observed the Jade Pool Sacred Maiden, she was also looking at him. Curiosity and surprise flickered in her eyes as she asked, "Young Master of the Ye Clan, could it be that the music I played did not suit your taste?"

The gazes of countless prodigies instantly turned toward Su Chen.

"It was you who disrupted the Jade Pool Sacred Maiden's performance? Apologize to her at once!"

From the crowd, a figure emitting a terrifying aura stepped forward to face Su Chen directly. He wore luxurious robes with a sword hanging at his waist. This was a formidable prodigy of the new generation, just like Su Chen. He thought highly of himself. The world claimed that the Ye Clan's Emperor Son would reign supreme in this era, but he refused to accept it.

If he could defeat Su Chen in front of everyone, he might also win the Jade Pool Sacred Maiden's favor—killing two birds with one stone. But the script did not unfold as he imagined.

"Ye Da, go and defeat him. Let me see the results of your year of cultivation."

Ye Da nodded, his heart surging with excitement. There was no shame in being defeated by his own master. In the past year, he had glimpsed only the tip of the iceberg of his master's strength. A single year of guidance had caused his combat power to soar, and his comprehension of the Starfall Divine Body had far surpassed what it once was.

"Rest assured, Master. I will definitely defeat him!"

Ye Da attacked directly. He knew Su Chen was giving him an opportunity!

A Divine Body! A genius at the Divine Body level had willingly chosen to follow another!

The Emperor Path had not even opened yet, and someone had already subdued a Divine Body genius and made him submit wholeheartedly!

"Hmph! Ye Chen, you underestimate me too much!"