After that—
Chen Musen faced Chen Qingshuang, and their battle was a spectacular one.
At first, they fought to a standstill, neither able to gain the upper hand. In the end, though, Chen Qingshuang lost by a narrow margin.
It was not that Chen Qingshuang's "Sword, Come!" was too weak. There simply were not enough swords nearby. Had she been able to gather more sword intent, the outcome might well have been different.
And so!
The final showdown was Chen Yuanba against Chen Musen!
It was, without exaggeration, the most thrilling Sequence Ranking Battle in the Chen Family's history!
Chen Yuanba pushed his Azure Heaven Tyrant Body to its limit and unleashed "Ancestor Blesses Me," meeting Chen Musen's "Words Become Law" head-on.
Through "Ancestor Projection," Chen Yuanba could unleash Divine Abilities one after another. But with a single utterance of "Divine Ability Replication," Chen Musen easily reproduced the same effects.
They traded blows, each gaining the advantage in turn.
But—
By the end, Chen Musen could no longer hold on.
Even with a Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart and mental strength far beyond that of ordinary people, "Words Become Law" drained him too heavily. Replicating those Divine Abilities from "Ancestor Projection" was especially taxing.
In the end!
Chen Musen's face turned deathly pale. Unable to utter another word, he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
There was no helping it!
His mental strength was all but exhausted. He had to concede.
Chen Yuanba had won!
Yet he was hardly in good shape himself. Wounds covered his body, and even the hand gripping his staff trembled.
He glanced at Chen Musen and grinned. "You brat... you nearly wore me to death."
Half-kneeling on the ground, Chen Musen gave a bitter smile through his pallor. "Next time, I'll win."
Chen Yuanba did not mind in the least. He chuckled. "You won't get the chance! After all, I'm the one the ancestor protects!"
No matter how powerful your Divine Ability is, can it really surpass the ancestor?
As Chen Yuanba saw it, his choice had put him far ahead from the very beginning.
Around the arena.
The Chen Family Members had watched in a trance. When they finally came to their senses, cheers erupted like mountains roaring and seas surging.
"Holy hell!"
"They're too strong!"
"Greater Divine Abilities are just too strong!"
"If I went up there, I wouldn't last a second!"
These three peerless geniuses had already been far stronger than the rest. Now, bolstered by Greater Divine Abilities, they had risen so far above them that all anyone could do was look up.
Chen Changqing took it all in and nodded slightly.
The outcome of the three-way contest was much as he had expected.
By rights, Chen Musen had the greatest comprehension, and Words Become Law was an outrageously powerful Greater Divine Ability. He should have ranked first.
But there was no helping it. Chen Yuanba's Divine Ability was simply too much of a shortcut!
If the ancestor protecting Chen Yuanba had been anyone other than Chen Changqing, that Divine Ability could never have achieved such results.
Unless Chen Changqing intervened and severed the protection that projection gave Chen Yuanba, the young man would likely remain the Chen Family's foremost Divine Son for a long time.
"Ah, it can't be helped. I'm just too strong!"
Chen Changqing shook his head and laughed to himself.
The Sequence Ranking Battle concluded successfully. Next came the distribution of rewards.
Chen Changqing had little interest in that and was about to leave early.
Unexpectedly—
At that moment.
Chen Yuanba, who had just claimed the position of First Sequence Divine Son, suddenly dropped to his knees. His gaze unwavering, he declared, "Ancestor Changqing!"
"I, Chen Yuanba, am willing to relinquish my place as a Sequence Divine Son and follow you from this day forward. Please grant my request!"
His words struck everyone's heart like a bolt of thunder from a clear sky.
The entire gathering fell deathly silent.
The Chen Family Members present stared at Chen Yuanba, their eyes full of confusion and disbelief.
"Did... did he just say he wants to be a follower?"
One sequence genius swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Brother Yuanba wants to become Ancestor Changqing's follower? Has he gone mad?"
"Under Lineage rules, becoming someone else's follower means automatically giving up your status as a Sequence Divine Son!"
"From now on, the Lineage won't nurture him as a core genius. All his Divine Son resources will be taken back!"
"He only just became the foremost Divine Son! The foremost Divine Son!"
"Do you know how lavish a Sequence Divine Son's resources are? Even Saint King Realm experts would envy them. And that's without mentioning access to the top floor of the Cultivation Arts Pavilion or first choice in the Armory Pavilion... What is Brother Yuanba thinking?"
To the Chen Family Members, Chen Yuanba's decision was a pointless mistake.
Chen Lingfeng's brows had already knotted together.
As the Chen Family's current head, he knew its ancestral rules better than anyone. Any family member who voluntarily gave up a sequence position to follow another lost access to the Lineage's core resources the moment the decision was announced.
After all, "follower" sounded respectable. Put plainly, it meant a servant. A subordinate.
Why would the Longevity Imperial Clan continue pouring resources into such a person?
It was an ancestral decree and a rule. No one was exempt.
Chen Lingfeng opened his mouth, about to speak, but before he could get a word out, an aged yet powerful hand came down on his shoulder.
Chen Haotian!
The Chen Family ancestor said nothing. He merely shook his head and fixed his gaze on Chen Yuanba in the arena.
There was not a trace of displeasure in his eyes. Instead, they held a glimmer of admiration and wistfulness.
He had seen something much like this a million years ago, on the day Chen Changqing claimed the title of Divine Son.
Those who volunteered to become followers had recognized their own limits. Knowing they could never surpass him, they hoped only to follow in his footsteps and perhaps gain a chance to receive his guidance.
What Chen Haotian had not expected was that even a peerless genius of Chen Yuanba's caliber would willingly follow Chen Changqing.
Before the Chen Family Members could give it any more thought.
The next moment!
There came a thud.
They saw—
Chen Musen had knelt beside Chen Yuanba as well. Calm and unhurried, he spoke with clear, resolute eyes. "I, Chen Musen, am also willing to follow Ancestor Changqing. Please grant my request."
Hiss...
Another wave of sharp intakes of breath swept through the crowd.
"Damn it! Has Chen Musen gone mad too?!"
"His Words Become Law is a heaven-defying Greater Divine Ability! He's giving up his place as a Sequence Divine Son too?"
Before anyone could recover.
A third voice rang out.
Chen Qingshuang knelt with one hand on her sword. Her cool face showed no needless emotion; only in the depths of her eyes did unwavering resolve surge. "I, Chen Qingshuang, ask the same of you, Ancestor!"
And so—
In that instant, the whole of Purple Sun Peak fell utterly silent!
Then.
The crowd erupted like a pot boiling over.
"Mad, mad, mad! They've all gone mad!"
"They're all supreme geniuses the ages rarely see, yet they're all giving up their Divine Son positions at once..."
"Sigh. Who among this generation of the Chen Family will carry the banner now?"
Chen Lingfeng could no longer hold back.
He stepped forward, his urgent voice tinged with frustration. "Have the three of you thought this through?"
"Followers can no longer enjoy Divine Son resources. This is an ancestral decree passed down through the Chen Family. No one can change it!"
No matter how gifted they were, without resources, their cultivation would surely slow considerably.
"Family Head, my mind is made up!"
Chen Yuanba raised his head and answered firmly.
Chen Musen raised his head as well. His tone was gentler. "Family Head, I'm not acting on impulse."
"Without the ancestor's teachings, I could spend my entire life without ever grasping the threshold of a Greater Divine Ability like Words Become Law."
"So I only wish to stay by his side and continue studying this path."
"As for a Divine Son position and those resources... to me, they are nowhere near as precious as remaining beside the ancestor and hearing a few more words of guidance."
Chen Qingshuang offered little explanation. She merely bowed her head, hand resting on her sword, and said, "The same goes for me."
On the viewing platform.
Chen Changqing's gaze fell on the three of them, and for a moment, he was lost in thought.
How familiar this scene was.
A million years ago, on Purple Sun Peak.
The same arena. The same sea of people.
Back then, he had swept aside every other Chen Family genius in the Sequence Ranking Battle. With an utterly invincible showing, he became the First Sequence and was named the Chen Family's Divine Son.
Then.
Lin Wan'er had been the first to kneel.
That girl from the Lin Family, blessed with the Azure Lotus Sword Physique, had ranked second only to him in talent among the Chen Family's geniuses.
Holding her purple-green natal sword, she had knelt before him and said one thing.
"I, Lin Wan'er, wish to follow the Divine Son. Please grant my request."
He had been stunned.
Though the Lin Family was attached to the Chen Family, Lin Wan'er's talent ranked among the finest in the entire Profound Yang Dao Domain. She could have walked her own path.
Yet she had chosen to become his follower, giving up her sequence ranking and the Lineage's core support.
He had asked her why.
She had said, "Because I firmly believe the Divine Son's path is the right one!"
After Lin Wan'er, several more Chen Family geniuses had volunteered to become his followers.
The look in their eyes had been exactly the same as the look in the eyes of Chen Yuanba and the other two now.
"Old friends have gone with the passing years, but new flames rise to chase the long wind."
"A million years passed in the snap of a finger, yet when the world's geniuses see me, they still bow their heads!"
Chen Changqing could not help feeling wistful.
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