Chapter 281: Clap Clap Clap!

At the pinnacle of the great tower, Ziyang Shen's violet hair swayed lightly, the surrounding torrent of nether gloom slowly receded; his expression remained calm, as if he had just done something trivial.

He reached out and effortlessly took down the hovering Divine Universe Imperial Crystal.

At that moment.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! ……

A clear sound of applause rang out from somewhere in the Void.

Ziyang Shen turned toward the sound, and when he saw a Black Robe Figure stepping slowly out of the Void, smiling faintly at him, his eyes, deep as the Nine Nether, first widened in surprise, then burst with an unbelievable flash of delight!

"Brother Ye?!!!"

He moved in an instant and appeared before Ye Wuque, his face full of excitement and joy, "Why are you here?!"

But that excitement lasted only a heartbeat before being replaced by an even deeper, limitless shock!

He suddenly realized that Ye Wuque's appearance in this Saint King trial meant that… his current cultivation realm was still… Human King Realm?!

He knows the terrifying true strength of Ye Wuque!

Yet his realm is still the Human King Realm?

The implication, upon close thought, is terrifying!

"It seems your recent fate has been rather extraordinary." Ye Wuque looked at the shock in Ziyang Shen's eyes, smiled faintly, naturally understood what the other was thinking, but he gave no further explanation. Instead, he shifted the conversation and asked the question on his mind: "Brother Zi, after years apart, you have already reached the Eight-step Saint King; such advancement is truly world‑shaking. Where have you been during this time?"

Ziyang Shen suppressed the turmoil in his heart, a trace of sentiment and reminiscence appearing on his face, and replied: "To be frank, Brother Ye, I went… to the Eternal Forbidden Zone, Time‑Space Island."

"Time‑Space Island?" Ye Wuque's eyes flashed, instantly understanding.

So that's where it is!

Eternal Forbidden Zone, Time‑Space Island!

One of the Seven Great Eternal Forbidden Zones, its interior is a chaotic flux of time and space, flow rates abnormal, containing immense opportunities and deadly danger.

Rumor has it the island harbors many lost inheritances and ancient secrets.

For Ziyang Shen, going to a place like Time‑Space Island to temper himself and seek breakthroughs is most fitting.

With his talent and perseverance combined with the island's unique environment, achieving such results within a few years, though still astonishing, finally has a reasonable explanation.

"Time‑Space Island… no wonder." Ye Wuque nodded, genuinely happy for Ziyang Shen. "It seems the regrets and obsessions of your previous life will finally be compensated, even surpassed, in this one. Your Tiandao road remains broad ahead! The future… boundless!"

Hearing this, Ziyang Shen's eyes also flashed with a hint of resolve and fervor, and he nodded heavily: "I will not fail this life!"

The two exchanged a smile, everything unspoken.

They chatted casually, sharing a few experiences and sightings since their parting, while strolling as if in a leisurely garden toward another radiant tower region nearby.

Before they drew near, a strong, domineering, almost omnipotent terrifying aura swept in like a storm, accompanied by earth‑shaking cries and applause.

"Won again!!"

"Ye Beichen! Invincible posture!!"

"Too strong! It's practically defying the heavens!!"

"Where on earth did that monster come from?!"

Ye Wuque and Ziyang Shen looked up and saw at the tower's summit a tall, handsome young figure, face as flawless as jade, eyes looking down like an emperor's, slowly retracting his palm.

Below him, three figures whose auras had once been overwhelmingly strong, now all reached the Seven-step Saint King level, now lay on the ground like dead dogs, their bodies flickering with intense transmission light, clearly having been instantly crippled and eliminated!

It was the youth named Ye Beichen, who, with the force of Lei Dian, overwhelmingly crushed three mighty Seven-step Saint Kings, ascended the tower, and seized the Divine Universe Imperial Crystal!

Ziyang Shen gazed at that figure, a solemn and heavy expression appearing on his face; he inhaled deeply and sighed to Ye Wuque:

"Brother Ye… your Ye Clan truly produces masters aplenty, monsters galore! First we have this monster, now this newcomer Ye Beichen… his terror can be called one of the biggest variables of this trial!"

He added with awe: "Legend says that no matter which stage, he pushes forward unimpeded, never having anyone force a second move! His depth of power is unfathomable! Truly… terrifying!"

"Ye Beichen? A member of the Ye Clan?" Ye Wuque heard this and slightly furrowed his brows, a hint of doubt in his eyes, "I have never heard of an ancient freak named Ye Beichen within the Ye Clan."

His knowledge of the Ye Clan is not extensive.

The name Ye Beichen is very unfamiliar to him.

Ziyang Shen was also taken aback: "What? Isn't he a Ye Clan member?"

He subconsciously thought that such a dazzling talent, bearing the surname Ye, must come from that family that shakes the heavens, the Undying Aristocratic Family.

Ye Wuque shook his head: "I'm not sure."

He did not close the matter, for the Ye Clan's inheritance spans millennia, branching thickly; the emergence of one or two peak Heavenly Prides he does not know is also normal.

And Ye Beichen's dominant ascent instantly sparked heated discussion among other Heavenly Prides.

"Damn! The three Seven-step Saint Kings, united, were crushed by this Ye Beichen!"

"How many steps Saint King is he? Eight? Or the legendary Nine-step?!"

"Terrifying! Which faction does he belong to? Besides the Undying Ye Clan, what other Ye‑surname faction could nurture such a monster?!"

"Surely he is the supreme monster hidden by the Ye Clan! Never before seen!"

Clearly, in the perception of most beings across the Zhutian Wanjie, the surname Ye is almost synonymous with the Undying Clan of the Boundless Heaven's southern realm.

Yet they do not know that Ye Beichen indeed has countless ties to the Ye Clan, but he is not some hidden ancient freak; his true identity and origin trace back to far older, more ancient times… secrets that even the oldest Ye Clan scriptures might not record.

At this moment, Ye Beichen, who had seized the Divine Universe Imperial Crystal, seemed to sense something; his eyes, bearing millennia of change and endless transcendence, slowly turned, crossed the Void, and landed on the direction of Ye Wuque and Ziyang Shen.

His gaze lingered on Ziyang Shen for a heartbeat, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Then his sight locked firmly on Ye Wuque!

In his perception, this Black Robe youth was like a bottomless Chaos abyss, appearing calm yet harboring a terrifying force that even made his heart flutter.

Its life level, its Dao foundation, were simply beyond imagination!

"Hm?" Ye Beichen's heart trembled slightly, "Just this battlefield, and already two such defiant youngsters appear? Looks like this epoch's waters are deeper than I imagined, truly interesting…"

His gaze especially roamed over Ye Wuque, as if piercing layers of mist, touching a resonance from deep bloodlines; a faint curve lifted his mouth, and in a voice only he could hear he murmured:

"This bloodline aura… it cannot be mistaken, it is my Ye Clan descendant…"

"It seems that after that great calamity of ages ago, the Ye Clan bloodline has never been broken, still capable of birthing such a Qilin Child, standing atop the Zhutian Wanjie… Good, very good…"

His tone carried a trace of relief and sentiment.

However, he did not go to meet him; instead, from a distance toward Ye Wuque's direction, he gave a faint, approving smile and a slight nod.

Then he closed his eyes again, sitting upright atop the massive tower, as if his spirit roamed beyond the heavens, calmly awaiting the trial's end, detached from all worldly disputes.

Ye Wuque, upon receiving Ye Beichen's profound gaze and nod, felt his heart shaken.

The other's unparalleled bearing, which suppressed everything with every gesture, seemed innate, a transcendent aura that towered over all things, something no ordinary Heavenly Pride could possess.

This Ye Beichen is undoubtedly one of the most unfathomable, most terrifying Dark Beings in this Great Thousand Divine Universe Saint King trial!

His future is destined to shake Zhutian and stir the winds of ages!

Moreover, Ye Wuque's extremely keen spiritual sense faintly sensed that between himself and this Ye Beichen there seemed to be an ineffable, trans‑temporal… mysterious Causality link.

He also recalled that the other also bore the surname Ye, and that gaze, as if it had seen the very source of his own bloodline…

A speculation quietly surfaced in Ye Wuque's heart.

He did not reveal much, merely returning a calm nod to Ye Beichen, as a greeting.

Immediately, he turned together with Ziyang Shen, left the area, and continued toward the other towers, eager to witness more spectacular duels.