Chapter 2177: Another Millennium—Is There Even a Need to Compare?

Middle Realm, Falling Maple Mountain Range.

This place was blessed with divine beauty, with immortal mists curling upward; the entire mountain range was hidden within the clouds and fog, impossible to see clearly.

Powerful spiritual energy, like spring rain, nourished everything in the mountains.

On a narrow winding path, a man and a woman walked side by side, ascending the steps.

"Young master, is Sister Li really here?"

"Yes! I asked Jian Sushou, and Lin Changqing is indeed from Falling Maple Dojo!"

"Is this Falling Maple Heavenly Emperor very strong?"

"Falling Maple Heavenly Emperor is at the fifth level of the Heavenly Emperor realm, a renowned powerhouse in the Middle Realm!"

"Then... what if he turns against you?"

"He... wouldn't dare!"

This man and woman were none other than Ye Yuan and Lü'er, who had traveled from afar.

After leaving Tianlong Mountain, Ye Yuan had returned to release Long Xiao and the others, signing soul contracts with them and taking them as servants.

Then, he ordered Ning Tianping to lead Long Xiao, Gu Hong, Long Xun, and the others to the Tianying Imperial City.

As for himself, he brought Lü'er and came directly to the Falling Maple Mountain Range in the Middle Realm.

Now that his strength was sufficient, Ye Yuan could not wait a single moment longer; he charged straight to Falling Maple Dojo to retrieve Li'er.

After infusing the divine stele with spirit, Ye Yuan's cultivation level had surged again.

Now, his realm was comparable to the second level of the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

After the Chaos realm, Ye Yuan's cultivation was completely different from before.

The Chaos realm was divided into early, middle, and late stages; before reaching the middle stage, he would encounter no bottlenecks.

But according to the Heavenly Sovereign realm divisions, he was now roughly equivalent to the second level of the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

And his Chaos World had also expanded to a range of five hundred zhang.

"Stop!" As the two were walking, two figures suddenly leaped out from the mist, blocking their path.

One of them said in a deep voice, "This is not a place for you. Leave at once!"

Ye Yuan said calmly, "Ye Yuan, the Vice-Saint of the Demon Race's Priest Temple and the Chosen One of the Dragon Race, has come to fulfill his appointment with Lin Changqing!"

Hearing this, the two men's expressions changed.

Either of these titles could frighten anyone to death.

The Demon Race's Priest Temple was one of the most顶尖 forces of the Demon Race.

The Saintly Ancestor High Priest was second only to the Medicine Ancestor in the Tongtian Realm.

The Vice-Saint of the Priest Temple—what kind of existence was that?

As for the Dragon Race, it was even more terrifying!

Although the Dragon Race lived in seclusion, the Tongtian Realm was never short of legends about them.

This race produced many great figures and was a true peak race.

The Dragon Race's Chosen One... even a fool could tell he was extraordinary.

"This guy looks pretty ordinary. With such a grand background, could he be bluffing?"

"You idiot! We can't see through his depth at all; he's probably at least a Heavenly Sovereign-level expert! We can't handle this; let's ask Lord Yufeng to decide!"

"Right, right, you're right!"

After whispering to each other for a moment, they said to Ye Yuan, "My lord, please wait a moment. We'll go in and announce you!"

Ye Yuan nodded slightly, unconcerned.

Before long, a middle-aged man in a coarse linen gown walked slowly out of the mist.

He looked Ye Yuan up and down, frowning. "Young friend, you say you have an appointment with Junior Brother Changqing?"

Ye Yuan looked at him and nodded. "Yes, a life-and-death appointment!"

At these words, Zheng Yufeng and the guards' expressions changed drastically.

None of them had expected Ye Yuan to be here to pick a fight!

Zheng Yufeng said in a deep voice, "You have quite the nerve, sir, to come and cause trouble at our Falling Maple Dojo!"

Ye Yuan turned his palm over, and a token appeared in his hand.

A profound and ancient aura rushed toward them.

Zheng Yufeng's expression changed greatly; he could feel that the aura on this token was even more powerful than his master's—it was no ordinary object!

On the front of the token were two ancient, weathered characters: "Vice-Saint."

This Vice-Saint token had been brought by Ji Mo, personally crafted by the Saintly Ancestor High Priest to mark Ye Yuan's identity.

Unique!

"This token was a gift from the Saintly Ancestor High Priest. I think few in this world could imitate it, right? If you still have doubts, take a look at this."

With that, Ye Yuan opened his collar, revealing the golden dragon mark on his chest.

Seeing this golden dragon, Zheng Yufeng's expression turned even uglier.

The golden dragon was extremely ferocious, as if alive, as though it would pounce and bite him to death at any moment!

He didn't know about the Dragon Race, but he had heard that the Demon Race had a new Vice-Saint who had solved the eternal chess game "Ask Not."

He had previously thought the Demon Race had produced some great figure, never expecting the so-called Vice-Saint to be so young!

And even more unexpected, the Demon Race's Vice-Saint was actually a human!

Zheng Yufeng's heart shook violently. When had Junior Brother Changqing provoked such a powerful existence?

Now, Zheng Yufeng no longer doubted. He clasped his fists and said, "Zheng Yufeng, disciple of Falling Maple Heavenly Emperor, pays respects to the Vice-Saint! I don't know how Junior Brother Changqing offended the Vice-Saint, but Yufeng apologizes on his behalf!"

Behind the Vice-Saint stood the Saintly Ancestor High Priest.

Even Falling Maple Heavenly Emperor had to show respect.

Moreover, this guy also had the Dragon Race behind him!

Ye Yuan had revealed his identity so prominently from the start precisely to make Falling Maple Heavenly Emperor cautious and fear the forces behind him.

Presumably, the power of the Saintly Ancestor High Priest and the Dragon Race was enough to intimidate all sides.

Heavenly Emperor fifth level—so what?

Ye Yuan said calmly, "No need for apologies! Over a thousand years ago, Lin Changqing suddenly appeared in Tianying Imperial City and made a two-thousand-year life-and-death appointment with me! We signed a soul contract—to the death!"

Zheng Yufeng's expression changed again, cursing inwardly.

Had Lin Changqing lost his mind, to go and sign a soul contract with the Vice-Saint, to the death?

He suddenly sensed something off and asked doubtfully, "Since it's a two-thousand-year appointment, the time shouldn't be up yet. Why has the Vice-Saint come now?"

Ye Yuan laughed at this. "Another millennium, and I could kill him with a single breath. Is there even a need to compare?"

A thousand years ago, when Lin Changqing descended on Tianying, Ye Yuan was only at the Divine Lord realm, not even reaching the True God realm.

A thousand years later, Ye Yuan was already a Heavenly Sovereign, overlooking the world!

A thousand years, to others, was very short.

But to Ye Yuan, it had been a transformation from Divine Lord to Heavenly Sovereign!

Surely Lin Changqing would be shocked when he saw him?

Zheng Yufeng, of course, knew nothing of this. He frowned and said displeasedly, "The Vice-Saint is of noble status, but you underestimate our Falling Maple Dojo too much! With Junior Brother Changqing's talent, in another millennium, he might not be inferior to the Vice-Saint!"

He felt the Vice-Saint was too arrogant, so his tone turned harsh.

But Ye Yuan waved his hand and laughed. "Whether I underestimate him or not, just let Lin Changqing come see me, and you'll know. I think, even if I lent him a few guts, he wouldn't dare to drag this out any longer."