Crackle!
Bolts of lightning danced across the Prince of Yan’s Heir’s palms, the terrifying thunder seeming poised to reduce Su Chen to ashes in an instant.
“The Thunder Sect’s ultimate technique, Rushing Thunder Hand!”
Beside the Duke of National Defense, a white-robed scholar shot to his feet, staring at the Prince with disbelief.
“What? The Prince is a prodigy of a top-tier sect?”
At that moment, the Duke and other officials were equally stunned.
The Thunder Sect was one of the top-tier sects, its prodigies renowned for their formidable combat prowess.
The Rushing Thunder Hand the Prince now wielded was one of the sect’s signature techniques!
“This is bad!”
Some officials who had cheered for Su Chen now wore bitter expressions.
Su Chen had already achieved something remarkable.
But his luck was poor—the Prince not only mastered the Yan King Mansion’s techniques but was also a prodigy of the elite Thunder Sect.
The Rushing Thunder Hand was terrifyingly powerful, mastered by only thirty percent of the Thunder Sect’s prodigies due to its immense difficulty and devastating might.
“Su Chen’s done for. This strike will leave him no chance of survival.”
“I wonder if, for the Empress’s sake, the Prince will spare his life.”
“Even if he survives… it’ll be a fate worse than death…”
One official shook his head, sighing deeply.
Hearing this, the other officials fell silent.
Indeed, whether Su Chen died or not, this strike would leave him in ruins!
“Su Chen, meet your end!”
On the stage, the Prince had no intention of holding back.
With a thunderous shout, he unleashed his full power.
In an instant, his spiritual energy surged to its peak, amplifying the already fearsome Rushing Thunder Hand to twelvefold its power.
Boom!
As the Prince struck, countless lightning bolts wove into a shimmering blue thunder tiger, lunging to devour Su Chen.
The terrifying force shattered the stage’s surface inch by inch, sending dust billowing into the air.
Seeing this, the officials shook their heads—Su Chen was doomed.
They had seen clearly: faced with this devastating strike, Su Chen seemed frozen in shock, not even attempting to dodge.
Since he didn’t evade, his death was certain.
But just as everyone was convinced of Su Chen’s demise, an unexpected turn occurred.
A deep, domineering dragon’s roar resounded.
Following the roar, an overwhelming dragon aura surged skyward.
Under this fearsome dragon might, the thunder tiger was blasted back.
In an instant, the dragon aura dominated, sweeping across all directions, suppressing the entire arena.
Boom!
With a thought from Su Chen, the towering dragon aura crashed down toward the Prince.
The Prince’s pupils contracted in terror. Without hesitation, he summoned all his strength, urging the thunder tiger to resist.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the terrifying dragon aura collided with the thunder tiger in a cataclysmic clash.
Though the thunder tiger was formidable, it was no match for the dragon aura.
After holding out for a few breaths, the thunder tiger shattered explosively.
Having poured most of his cultivation into it, the Prince was nearly killed by the backlash.
Though he survived, the devastating recoil left him gravely wounded, his aura plummeting to the brink of collapse, teetering on the edge of death.
And this was with Su Chen holding back.
He hadn’t expected his full strength to be this overwhelming.
Hum!
At that moment, Su Chen’s physique resonated faintly with the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
With a tremor in the void, a grand and majestic stone stele manifested between heaven and earth.
It was the Origin Heavenly Dao Stele, coveted by countless prodigies!
Then, beneath the inscription for the Body Tempering Realm, Su Chen’s name was etched onto the stele.
Seeing the stele appear, Su Chen had no idea what it signified.
But the surrounding officials, and even Wangqing Ge in the void above, were stunned beyond measure.
The Origin Heavenly Dao Stele was the manifestation of the will of the Heavenly Dao.
Its greatest purpose was to record those who were invincible within their realm—peerless prodigies, symbols of unmatched dominance!
It represented reaching the absolute pinnacle of a realm, standing atop the mountain, looking down on all.
This was known as the Extreme Realm.
And Su Chen had ascended to the Extreme Realm of Body Tempering!
Reaching this state meant dominating peers and even crushing opponents across major realms was no longer a dream.
Their power far surpassed their current cultivation level, perhaps compressed countless times into an ultimate form.
Was it strange to crush opponents of ordinary realms?
Not at all—it was perfectly natural!
Yet, in all of Great Qin, even Empress Ying Qingge had never summoned the Origin Heavenly Dao Stele.
It was practically a divine miracle.
At this moment, ninety percent of Great Qin’s officials held Su Chen in the highest esteem.
“Heavens! Su Chen summoned the Origin Heavenly Dao Stele!”
“A peerless prodigy, like a blazing sun!”
“Unbelievable, unimaginable—Su Chen summoned the stele!”
“What a monstrously terrifying talent!”
“Great Qin’s fortune, Her Majesty’s fortune, the fortune of all beings!”
Many officials couldn’t stop praising him.
Every prodigy who summoned the Origin Heavenly Dao Stele was a dazzling existence, destined to dominate an era.
Across millennia, every true titan had resonated with the stele at some point in their journey, early or late.
But someone like Su Chen, achieving this in the Body Tempering Realm, was exceedingly rare.
Thus, Great Qin’s officials spared no praise.
Why hold back now when they could curry favor?
Even Wangqing Ge, high above, was astonished.
“An unexpected outcome.”
“Chen’s cultivation talent is so extraordinary… it’s a good thing, but why does it feel so similar to her physique?”
“Senior Sister, what have you done during this time?”
After a soft murmur, Wangqing Ge gazed at the youth below, her indifferent eyes rippling with emotion.
Her Path of Forgetting Emotions was showing signs of collapse!
As expected, this was the result.
But why did she feel a hint of joy?
Meanwhile, Ying Qingge, having recovered from her earlier humiliation and fully prepared, made her triumphant return.
Time to crush that little wench!
But then…