Chapter 651: Divine Palace Young Master

In the southernmost part of the Profound Sky Continent, there stood a tall stone gate made of Dragon Suppressing Stone. On its left side was etched a crescent moon, and on its right, a blazing sun, both in shimmering gold, their radiance dazzling to the eyes. Before the gate, sixteen figures stood in two lines. Though dressed differently, each bore the same blazing sun and crescent moon symbols tattooed on their backs and chests.

Most astonishing was the terrifying profound energy emanating from each of them. Even the weakest among them had reached the Tyrant Profound Realm.

At that moment, the long-closed stone gate silently parted, and a slender figure slowly emerged. The sixteen peerless experts, mighty enough to look down on the world, all dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in profound respect. "Welcome back, Young Master," they intoned.

Ye Xinghan raised his hands, his eyebrows subtly arched, an arrogant expression on his face as if he were the supreme ruler of this world. He spoke indifferently, "Exactly six months. The time is close to what I estimated. You have all worked hard guarding the gate. You may rise."

The sixteen rose. The one on the far side spoke with a face full of pleasant surprise, "Young Master's profound energy has actually broken through to the eighth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm... and in just six short months! This is truly a great joy for our entire Divine Palace. Congratulations, Young Master."

"The Young Master is truly a heaven-defying genius. I'm sure the Sword Master will be immensely pleased to hear this," another person quickly added, fawningly.

"Congratulations, Young Master, on achieving great mastery. With your innate talent and rapid progress, I believe you will surely reach the Sovereign Profound Realm in another twenty years!"

"Guardian Ao, you are mistaken! With the Young Master's talent, why would he need twenty years? At most, another fifteen years, and he will become a Sovereign."

"Fifteen years..." A slight smirk played on Ye Xinghan's lips. Given his current realm, reaching the Sovereign Profound Realm in fifteen years would be exceptionally fast, even within the Four Great Sacred Grounds. However, if he could obtain a woman with a "Nine Profound Exquisite Body" as a cultivation vessel, why would he need fifteen years?

"Where is the Xia Qingyue I requested? Where is she now?" Ye Xinghan's gaze burned with intense anticipation.

The sixteen instantly fell silent, exchanging glances, with no one speaking. They had found it very strange when he suddenly ordered them to bring back a person named "Xia Qingyue" from the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace in the Azure Cloud Nation. Now, upon emerging from seclusion, his first question was again about Xia Qingyue, proving that his regard for this woman far exceeded their expectations.

Their reactions made Ye Xinghan's face darken instantly. "What? Did you... actually mess this up for me?" he demanded.

"No, no, Young Master, please calm your anger!" the oldest among the sixteen quickly interjected. "The guardians, Qingsheng and Ziyi, whom you dispatched, left for the Azure Cloud Nation three days after you entered seclusion. However, they have not returned to this day."

"Not returned? What do you mean, 'not returned'?" Ye Xinghan's gaze became incredibly grim. "Could those two... actually have been defeated by a mere Ice Cloud Immortal Palace in the Azure Cloud Nation?!"

"Absolutely not," the elder hastily explained. "This old servant knows how much the Young Master values Xia Qingyue, so seeing their prolonged absence, I contacted them multiple times via sound transmission. However, their replies were always evasive and vague. Each time, they claimed that capturing Xia Qingyue would be effortless and that they would certainly bring her back before the Young Master emerged... This old servant even contacted them again three days ago, and their answer was similar. We all suspect that Qingsheng and Ziyi, seeing the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace filled with beauties, took advantage of the Young Master's seclusion to indulge in pleasure there... forgetting all about their duties."

"Heh, how incredibly bold of them!!" Ye Xinghan's eyes narrowed into venomous slits. However, learning that Xia Qingyue might not be unobtainable, his anger subsided considerably. He picked up a profound sound transmission jade, unique to the Sun Moon Divine Palace, and spoke into it with a voice colder than ice, "Qingsheng, Ziyi, you have truly given this young master a huge surprise!"

After a long while, a slightly trembling voice emerged from the sound transmission jade, "Young Master... Congratulations, Young Master, on achieving great mastery and successfully emerging from seclusion. Your subordinates... your subordinates know we have handled this poorly... We will bring Xia Qingyue back to the Divine Palace immediately. Please rest assured, Young Master!"

"Return to the Divine Palace?" Ye Xinghan sneered. "You still remember to return? I think you've been having such a good time there that you've long since cast my orders aside!"

"No, no, Young Master, please listen to your subordinate's explanation!" The voice from the sound transmission jade became even more frantic. "Your subordinate will complete your orders as quickly as possible, even if it means risking my life; I would never dare to be negligent in the slightest. However... it's just that this Ice Cloud Immortal Palace is not as simple as your subordinate imagined. It's strange in many ways. Not only is their overall strength considerable, but they also possess a defensive formation so strong that your subordinate couldn't break through it. By the time your subordinate finally breached the formation, they had all hidden themselves inside a place entirely constructed from Sky Profound Jade. Moreover, that Sky Profound Jade is incredibly thick, and your subordinates simply couldn't breach it in a short period. We also lacked the courage and face to ask the elders for help, and we thought that since the Young Master would be in seclusion for at least half a year, this time would be enough to break through the Sky Profound Jade, so... that's why it has dragged on until now."

"However! Please rest assured, Young Master! Perhaps blessed by your emergence from seclusion, your subordinates have been attacking for several months, and just today, we are on the verge of completing our mission! In just a few more hours, we will surely break through this Sky Profound Gate! Although your subordinates have not yet captured Xia Qingyue, she has been like a turtle in a jar for these past months. Once this Sky Profound Gate is breached, we can immediately capture her and present her to you, Young Master... Your subordinate guarantees with my life that every word is true."

"Sky Profound Jade?" Ye Xinghan's brows furrowed tightly. He naturally knew how tough and precious Sky Profound Jade was; even with the power of his Sun Moon Divine Palace, constructing an entire hall from it would be nearly impossible. Though somewhat unbelievable, he could be certain that Qingsheng and Ziyi did not yet have the guts to lie to him.

Ye Xinghan said gloomily, "That Sky Profound Jade had better be breached today, just as you claimed! Do you have any idea how much it cost me to learn of Xia Qingyue's existence? To me, she is far more important than your lives! If my cultivation bottleneck hadn't loosened, requiring me to go into seclusion, I would have gone there myself... I will give you ten more days. After you capture Xia Qingyue, you are to immediately return day and night! If I still don't see Xia Qingyue after ten days... then you will never need to return!"

"Yes... please rest assured, Young Master. Your subordinate has handled this poorly, and upon our return, we will accept any punishment the Young Master deems fit." The voice from the sound transmission jade carried an even heavier tremor.

"Hmph!" Ye Xinghan put away the sound transmission jade and said coldly, "A bunch of good-for-nothings!"

"Young Master, please calm your anger. Those two would absolutely not dare to lie to you. Since they are so confident, I believe they will surely bring Xia Qingyue before you within ten days." The elder stepped forward and said.

Ye Xinghan's eyes narrowed slightly. "A mere Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, to possess so much Sky Profound Jade? Hmph, even if they truly have it, with their capabilities, at most the King Profound Realm, how could they possibly forge it into an entire grand hall... This is indeed intriguing."

"Speaking of which..." Ye Xinghan's gaze shifted. "What is the current situation of the Azure Cloud Nation? Has it not been destroyed by the Divine Phoenix yet?"

"Even if not yet, it's only a matter of time. Why does the Young Master concern himself with such a small, insignificant nation?"

"Hmph, whether the Azure Cloud Nation survives or perishes is a trivial matter. I just can't quite understand why the Divine Phoenix Nation is invading Azure Cloud, and with such urgency," Ye Xinghan said gravely. "The Azure Cloud Nation not only has a small territory but also lacks resources, making it virtually worthless to annex. Yet, the Divine Phoenix Nation has dispatched millions of troops. Even if they completely conquer the Azure Cloud Nation and plunder all its resources, it likely wouldn't cover the expenses of those millions of troops for three years. I absolutely refuse to believe there isn't something fishy going on."

"Over the years, many speculations have circulated regarding the Divine Phoenix Nation's invasion of the Azure Cloud Nation. The most prevalent one is that it's an act of furious retaliation because the Azure Cloud Nation's Prince Consort, Yun Che, severely defeated the Divine Phoenix Empire in the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament three years ago, leaving them utterly humiliated."

"What a joke," Ye Xinghan scoffed. "If Feng Hengkong were such a narrow-minded waste, he wouldn't be the Sect Master of the Divine Phoenix Sect. They must have some other scheme. The Azure Cloud Nation will likely be finished soon. After they conquer the imperial capital, you must send people to monitor their movements closely... especially any unusual activities that don't make sense!"

"Speaking of unusual activities... there is indeed something very strange," the eldest person cautiously stated. "Several months ago, the main Divine Phoenix army was only a thousand miles from the Azure Cloud Imperial City, but then it suddenly dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops directly to Flowing Cloud City, in the easternmost part of Azure Cloud... Flowing Cloud City is the smallest city in the Azure Cloud Nation, barely larger than a town, and quite unremarkable. The Young Master has probably never heard of it. Those hundreds of thousands of Divine Phoenix troops quickly occupied Flowing Cloud City, though they did not kill anyone. But what's strange is that less than half of the troops actually entered the city; the hundreds of thousands of Divine Phoenix troops were all dispersed around Flowing Cloud City, and it has been like this for several months... It seems they are searching for something."

"Hmm?" Ye Xinghan's eyes flashed, and after a moment of thought, he murmured, "Immediately embed a few dozen more people into the Divine Phoenix army... find out exactly what they are doing!"

At this moment, the chief guardian, who was at the forefront, suddenly stirred, taking out a sound transmission jade from his spatial ring, his expression changing slightly.

Noticing his unusual movement, Ye Xinghan's gaze shifted sideways. "Is there something important?" he asked.

"Reporting to the Young Master, our informant from the Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm reports... the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark just flew out of the Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm!"

"What? The Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark?" Everyone's face showed shock. "Could it be that the Sacred Emperor has moved?"

"No!" The chief guardian shook his head. "Not the Sacred Emperor... there's only one person in the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark! It's that Xia Yuanba!!"

"Xia Yuanba!?" Everyone instantly looked sideways. Three years ago, Xia Yuanba was a completely unfamiliar name, but three years ago, aboard the Primordial Profound Ark, Ye Xinghan discovered the secret of the Tyrant Emperor's Profound Veins within Xia Yuanba, alarming the entire Sun Moon Divine Palace... as well as the Heavenly Sovereign Sword Region and the Supreme Ocean Palace! In the Four Great Sacred Grounds, no one was unaware of Xia Yuanba's name, even though he was less than twenty years old at the time.

Because one who possesses the Tyrant Emperor's Profound Veins, once their bloodline power fully awakens, is destined to become the Emperor of the World!!

"The Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark has always been the Sacred Emperor's personal carriage... and he gave it to that Xia Yuanba!!" a guardian exclaimed in shock.

"The Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark isn't the key. The most astonishing news is..." The chief guardian holding the sound transmission jade sharply drew a breath. "Our informant just specifically mentioned that Xia Yuanba, after three years of seclusion, emerged only two hours ago... And upon his emergence, the profound energy emanating from him was clearly that of the Sovereign Profound Realm!!"

"What!!?" A wave of extreme shock violently shook the entire stone hall. Ye Xinghan's expression also drastically changed. A guardian's eyes widened as he said, "This... How is this possible! Xia Yuanba's current age should only be twenty-one... A twenty-one-year-old Sovereign Profound Realm cultivator is unheard of in the Profound Sky Continent, not just now, but throughout history! Even with the Tyrant Emperor's Profound Veins... it shouldn't be possible!"

Tyrant Emperor's Divine Veins... twenty-one years old... Sovereign Profound Realm!!

Just moments ago, they were astonished that the Sacred Emperor allowed Xia Yuanba to board his personal ark... but now, hearing this earth-shattering news, they no longer found it strange at all. A twenty-one-year-old Sovereign Profound Realm cultivator is a figure that ten thousand "heaven-defying geniuses" couldn't explain! Let alone entrusting him with the strongest profound ark, even immediately naming him the Young Master of the Sacred Realm would not be considered an exaggeration.

The chief guardian cautiously glanced at Ye Xinghan and said, "The Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm is also deeply shocked. But from their discussions, it seems... it seems... the reason for Xia Yuanba's profound energy surge is... because of the Young Master?"

"What do you mean?" Ye Xinghan's face immediately darkened.

The chief guardian took a breath and said, "Three years ago, after Xia Yuanba returned to the Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm, all he spoke of, every day, was... to vow to kill the Young Master. And the awakening of the Tyrant Emperor's Divine Veins requires a desperate desire for power; the stronger the desire for power, the faster it awakens... Xia Yuanba went into seclusion for three years with the obsession of vowing to kill the Young Master... so... so..."

"Is Xia Yuanba truly the only one on the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark? Do we know where Xia Yuanba is going in the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark?" A guardian shouted loudly. As soon as he shouted this, everyone understood his meaning... A twenty-one-year-old Sovereign Profound Realm cultivator, possessing the Tyrant Emperor's Profound Veins, and with boundless potential—just thinking about it was terrifying! And even more terrifying, he harbored a bone-deep hatred for the Sun Moon Divine Palace!!

To grow so quickly... it was clear to what extent his hatred for the Sun Moon Divine Palace had reached!

Such a great menace, no matter what, had to be eliminated as soon as possible!! He absolutely could not be allowed to continue growing.

"It's confirmed that Xia Yuanba is alone! Xia Yuanba is from the Azure Cloud Nation; upon emerging from seclusion this morning, he learned that Azure Cloud was on the verge of destruction and immediately flew into a rage! The direction he's heading in the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark is precisely towards the Azure Cloud Nation! At the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark's maximum speed... it will only take four or five hours to reach the Azure Cloud Nation's border! Young Master, should we..."

"Do you take the Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm for a bunch of idiots!" Ye Xinghan said sinisterly. "The Sacred Emperor has been childless for a thousand years, with only a few adopted sons, none of whom have ever been allowed to touch the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark! Now that there's Xia Yuanba... where do his adopted sons stand in line for the position of future Sacred Realm Master! The Sacred Emperor is even willing to bestow the Heavenly Sovereign Profound Ark upon him... how could he not prioritize his safety! Do you think... now is the time for us to openly confront the Supreme Ocean Sacred Realm?!"

The guardians all immediately bowed their heads, not daring to respond.

"Report this matter to my father in detail immediately. That Xia Yuanba... must die! But his identity is no longer that of an ordinary Sacred Realm disciple. How he should die... can only be decided by my father!" Ye Xinghan said in a deep voice.

"Yes! Your subordinate will go and report to the Sword Master immediately."