Chapter 725

The Ancestor Witch, as portrayed by Li Chen, heard this righteous accusation not with anger, but as if hearing something utterly absurd—he burst out laughing.

He shook his head, then, under the horrified gazes of Romanov and Ivan, slowly brushed away the halo on his face and the illusionary robes symbolizing the Ancestor Witch’s identity, revealing his true face.

The face of TianCe Emperor Li Chen—youthful, handsome, yet radiating an air of supreme dominion over all under heaven!

A sardonic smirk curled at Li Chen’s lips as he calmly regarded the utterly frozen Romanov and spoke softly: “What if the Ancestor Witch is me?”

Romanov was utterly stunned, his mind blank, as if struck by a thunderbolt from the ninth heaven.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Li Chen’s face—the face he had seen countless times in TianCe Empire intelligence files, and even glimpsed from afar himself! There was no mistake!

But how could this be?! The Ancestor Witch, who had stirred the winds of Da Luo and whom he regarded as his greatest threat, the TianCe Emperor Li Chen who had clashed with him across the south—could they truly be the same person?!

A crushing absurdity and unprecedented fear instantly swallowed him whole.

All his calculations, all his reliance, now seemed like the grandest joke imaginable.

Ivan had never seen Li Chen’s true face. Seeing his ancestral elder frozen like a ghost, his expression filled with disbelief and terror, he could not help but feel bewildered and asked: “Ancestral Elder, who is this man? Why are you—”

Romanov’s throat was dry, each word weighing a thousand jin. After a long silence, he spoke in a voice strained, as if drained of all strength: “He is the TianCe Emperor—Li Chen.”

“What?! He’s Li Chen?!” Ivan gasped as if struck by lightning, sucking in a sharp breath and stumbling backward several steps, his face turning as white as paper.

Though he had never seen Li Chen in person, the legends of this TianCe overlord had long since worn thin his ears.

Legends said he attained transcendent cultivation at a young age, his power unfathomable; legends said his beauty was peerless, his bearing unmatched; legends said his talent and strategy were ocean-deep, single-handedly elevating the TianCe Empire to its zenith.

In the past, Ivan had always assumed these were mere exaggerations and propaganda by TianCe to deify its ruler—not to be taken seriously.

But now, the very legend stood alive before him—appearing as the “Ancestor Witch,” the very identity he had once desperately courted, even secretly feared.

His peerless features, his dominion-over-all aura—all confirmed these legends were no empty tales.

Yet more terrifying than realizing Li Chen’s identity was the tidal wave of absurdity and shame that drowned him next.

The TianCe Emperor Li Chen was the Ancestor Witch! Then what had he himself done?!

It was he who, on various pretexts, had sent his palace’s beautiful concubines to the “Ancestor Witch’s” side, letting him indulge freely!

It was he and his Ancestral Elder who had strained every nerve to “bestow” vast war-torn southern lands upon the “Ancestor Witch”—effectively surrendering imperial territory to the enemy monarch!

It was he and his ministers who, against all opposition, had recognized the “Ancestor Witch” as the empire’s divine guardian and new imperial tutor, granting him legitimate authority to meddle in imperial affairs!