Do you think I'm still the person I used to be

Ye Chen raised his hand. The golden light around his body grew brighter and brighter until it finally condensed into a golden cross, about the size of a human head, floating above him.

The golden radiance shone down like a spotlight, enveloping him completely.

When she saw this, the golden cross reflected in Dorothea’s eyes narrowed into interwoven horizontal and vertical lines.

“The Hymn of Light! Ye Chen, how did you obtain this technique?”

Dorothea’s tone was accusatory.

She was not the only one shocked. Freya beside her, as well as Paul standing behind Ye Chen, all widened their eyes in disbelief.

The Hymn of Light was a Heaven-tier technique of the Holy Light Clan.

As one of the four great races, the Holy Light Clan possessed many Heaven-tier techniques. All three Holy Light Clan members present had learned at least one of them.

But the Hymn of Light was different. It could be said to be the strongest of all the Holy Light Clan’s Heaven-tier techniques—without exception.

That was because it was a state-enhancement technique. Once activated, it would improve every aspect of the user’s body.

In other words, it directly increased one’s overall strength.

For example, if two people were at the same level, and one possessed a Heaven-tier technique with overwhelming offensive power while the other possessed a Heaven-tier technique that enhanced all of their attributes, then their combat power would no longer be equal. No matter how powerful the first person’s attacks were, they could still be blocked.

“Do you think a technique like the Hymn of Light belongs to just anyone? Do you really think I could have stolen or seized it?”

Ye Chen glanced at Dorothea.

Jealousy filled Dorothea’s eyes.

How could an outsider like him possibly learn one of the Holy Light Clan’s ultimate techniques?

She had coveted this technique for a long time, but every one of her applications had been rejected. And now, an outsider had learned it instead.

Paul’s expression gradually turned solemn. The technique was in the hands of the Light Ancestor.

Paul had originally assumed that Ye Chen was an insignificant nobody in the Light Ancestor’s eyes, and that the Light Ancestor had merely mentioned him on a whim.

But the Light Ancestor had actually given Ye Chen a technique of this level. Clearly, the relationship between them was far from ordinary.

A smile appeared on Paul’s face. Perhaps following Ye Chen would benefit him after all.

With that thought, he unleashed his power and charged toward Xu Mu and the others.

“Run! Their main target is me!”

After Xu Mu finished speaking, he switched places with Paul and instantly appeared beside Ye Chen.

He activated both Spirit Vein Armament and Demonic Protection. The black longsword in his hand came crashing down toward Ye Chen.

“Do you think I’m still the same person I used to be?”

Ye Chen let out a scornful laugh. He simply raised his dragon claw and grabbed at Xu Mu’s black sword.

Boom!

The two forces collided in an instant, and golden and red energy exploded in all directions.

The scenery around them remained unchanged, but the formation had transformed. Although the area was still bitterly cold, they no longer suffered the freezing effects when releasing their qi.

Their qi continued to clash for nearly five seconds. Then, the giant dragon phantom behind Ye Chen suddenly opened its jaws.

Whoosh!

A golden beam of light a meter in diameter shot from its mouth.

Boom!

In an instant, Ye Chen’s golden power overwhelmed Xu Mu’s red energy.

Xu Mu immediately retreated. A viscous, dark-gold liquid appeared before him.

All the golden energy surging toward him was blocked and swallowed by the liquid.

Everyone around them was left utterly shaken by the sight.

Dorothea’s expression became extremely grave. Ye Chen had only just reached the Perfection stage of the Transcendent Realm, yet the power he released was actually stronger than hers.

She had not been confident that she could withstand that terrifying attack.

Dorothea was a genius herself, and she was capable of fighting above her level. Yet Ye Chen had surpassed even her.

As for Xu Mu, he was even more frightening. His cultivation level was lower than Ye Chen’s.

On the other side, after witnessing Ye Chen’s strength, Paul was relieved and turned to attack Zilan Yin.

As the Fifth Elder, he naturally knew that he absolutely could not allow anyone from the Black Moon Clan to survive.

Zilan Yin’s breathing gradually grew heavier and slower. The crescent moon between her brows transformed into a full moon at astonishing speed.

Then she collapsed backward and fell asleep.

Boom!

Her body began to change, becoming completely engulfed in purple flames.

The silver circle between her brows, resembling an eye, stared straight at the approaching Paul.

“Moon-Eating Slash!”

A black crescent more than ten meters long swept toward Paul.

Paul raised his hand, and golden light condensed into a massive golden sword.

He swung it down. Golden sword energy soared into the sky, transforming into a huge wave that evaporated the black moon.

The terrifying force burst outward, sending Chen Xuan, Li Hongdou, and Zilan Yin all flying.

“You’d better obediently admit defeat and wait for death. The four great divine clans have known each other inside and out for a long time. Do you really think I don’t know what the Moon-Eating Slash is capable of just because you used it as a surprise attack?”

Paul employed spatial compression. In an instant, he appeared above Zilan Yin and brought his sword down.

Although Zilan Yin quickly raised a defense, her body was still struck with tremendous force and slammed hard into the ground.

“Baptism of Light!”

Paul raised his hand and launched another attack at Zilan Yin.

A massive golden cloud appeared in the sky, and countless bolts of golden lightning rained down toward her.

Zilan Yin quickly climbed to her feet and looked up at the lightning overhead, unsure of how to respond.

At the second stage of the World-Breaking Realm, she was still far too weak compared with an eighth-stage expert. The difference between them was simply too great.

Buzz!

Suddenly, Zilan Yin’s figure vanished beneath the dark clouds, while Xu Mu’s body appeared in her place.

Zilan Yin stared in shock before suddenly looking at Ye Chen in front of her.

She was no match for an eighth-stage expert, but against someone in the Transcendent Realm, her second-stage World-Breaking strength was more than enough.

Even if she could not win, she could still completely withstand her opponent’s attacks.

“Moon-Eating Slash!”

Zilan Yin swung out another black crescent, sending it toward Ye Chen.

“An ant! You’re not even qualified to be my opponent!”

The enormous phantom behind Ye Chen swept out a dragon claw.

Whoosh!

He suddenly realized that his attack had passed straight through the Moon-Eating Slash, sending Zilan Yin flying.

But her attack did not stop. It exploded around Ye Chen.

The scattered black energy was different from ordinary qi. It possessed a corrosive property, and it did not merge with qi and explode.

In other words, the black qi easily pierced through Ye Chen’s defenses and struck his body.

Whoosh!

In an instant, black flames engulfed Ye Chen.

“Our Moon-Eating Flames can ignore qi. They will keep burning until your body is reduced to charcoal!”

Zilan Yin immediately charged toward Ye Chen. “Xu Mu, I’ll kill this enemy of yours for you!”

“Don’t!”

Xu Mu shouted at once.

He was not coveting the Heavenly Mandate power within Ye Chen. He knew that, with Zilan Yin’s strength, there was no way she could kill Ye Chen.

He immediately rushed toward Zilan Yin, intending to activate the exchange technique again.

But in the blink of an eye, countless golden scales wreathed in black flames shot in every direction like the sharpest blades.

Zilan Yin immediately pushed her qi to its limit, but her body was still pierced by the scales.

“Dragon Scale Liberation!”

Ye Chen’s expression remained calm as all the black flames on his body vanished.

“Dragon Scale Infusion!”

The next moment, golden scales appeared on his body once again.