Three Hundred Years Later

Three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

News came from the depths of the starry sky: Wan Qing, the Demon Race's Heavenly Prodigy, had swept through the Demon Race Ancient Road without a single worthy opponent. He now stood in the Great Saint realm, continuing to break through in an age increasingly unsuited to cultivation, unrivaled throughout the world!

Spirit Platform City, in the central region of the Eastern Wasteland.

It was a medium-to-large city.

"Have you heard? That Heavenly Prodigy of the Demon Race has swept through the Starry Sky Ancient Road without a single worthy opponent!"

"The Demon Race's Heavenly Prodigy? Do you mean Que Yun Jian, the gifted daughter of the Divine Magpie clan who rose to fame a hundred years ago? Or the Heavenly Flood Dragon of the Flood Dragon clan, whose exceptionally strong ancestral bloodline let him fight a young Saint of the Human Race to a standstill a hundred and fifty years ago?"

"Heh... stop guessing, everyone! Those Demon Race Heavenly Prodigies you're talking about are impressive, but they're nowhere near the one from three hundred years ago!"

"You mean... him? If it's him, then it really is possible! Back then, he could already face a Saint King from a Forbidden Zone while only a Half-Saint! It's only natural that he could achieve something like this!"

Inside the Fresh Delicacies House in Spirit Platform City, quite a few cultivators were animatedly discussing the news, talking over every scrap of information that had arrived from the depths of the starry sky.

"Of course. They say he single-handedly slaughtered his way through the Demon Race Ancient Road two hundred years ago, fighting until no one could oppose him, peerless throughout the world among those of his realm! He was only a Saint then! More than two hundred years have passed now. Who knows what realm he's reached!"

"How high could he possibly have gotten? The Dharma-Ending Era is upon us. The golden age of us cultivators is over! If I'd been born three hundred years earlier, I certainly wouldn't have been weaker than those so-called holy sons and holy maidens!

"Even that so-called peerless Heavenly Prodigy of the human and demon races might not have been my match!" a young cultivator said indignantly. This age was drying up, and cultivation had clearly become much slower.

"You? Ha! Just a failure singing songs of doom! Back then, when Wan Qing, the Demon Race's peerless Heavenly Prodigy, faced this great age, he said just one thing-and it has inspired me ever since."

Another young cultivator grew interested. "Brother, what did he say?"

"'Cultivation itself means going against Heaven! You can't attain the Dao in the Dharma-Ending Era? Who says so? What if I defy Heaven-what then?'" he said, his eyes shining, as though he could see the phantom of a green lotus standing between heaven and earth, undying through the ages.

At that, the earlier speaker flushed red. In the end, he managed to squeeze out only one sentence. "Does he really think he's an Ancient Great Emperor?"

Everyone ignored him. With the arrival of the Dharma-Ending Era, there were countless cultivators like him who blamed Heaven and everyone else, believing themselves such geniuses that, if the age hadn't made cultivation impossible, they would surely have rivaled a Young Great Emperor.

People like that simply lacked the necessary temperament, making excuses for their own shortcomings. Their lives would amount to little, spent muddling along without accomplishment.

Even the Ruthless Great Emperor had possessed nothing more than a mortal body, yet she had defied Heaven and attained the imperial throne as a mortal.

"Brother, you're from the Demon Race, aren't you?" someone asked, surprised to notice wisps of demonic aura seeping from him.

"You have a sharp eye, fellow Daoist! I grew up in the east, a member of the Eastern Wasteland's Demon Race! I even watched the Azure Emperor grow every step of the way. Back in the day, I took ten of his moves head-on without losing!" the demon said smugly.

There was clearly some exaggeration involved, but no one called him out. After all, anyone who had exchanged blows with someone like the Azure Emperor could hardly have been weak back then!

Because the Azure Emperor was close to the Human Race, and because Saints of the Human Race and Demon Race had spent a thousand years mediating between the two sides, relations between the races had eased considerably. Conflicts still arose often, but as long as their respective interests and grudges weren't involved, they could generally coexist peacefully.

The others immediately grew interested and crowded around. "Brother, could you tell us about those days when the Azure Emperor burst onto the scene?"

These were all cultivators who had emerged within the last three hundred years. By the time they were born, Wan Qing had already ventured into the starry sky, leaving only a legend behind. They were intensely curious about this man, hailed as one of the most gifted Heavenly Prodigies in the entire history of the Demon Race.

They had also heard that the powerhouses of every faction of the Demon Race unanimously believed the Azure Emperor would surely attain the Dao in the future, which was why that title had already spread throughout the race.

Throughout history, figures like him had always drawn the most attention, especially the stories of their past. To female cultivators, those tales were like a deadly poison, leaving them enthralled and unwilling to let go.

Indeed, quite a few female cultivators had already cast furtive glances their way, quietly waiting for him to continue.

The Demon Race cultivator spoke unhurriedly. "Very well, I'll tell you! They say the Azure Emperor was actually brought to the Big Dipper by a Human Race powerhouse..."

"You there! Stop listening! Get over here and clean the private room!" Luo Yan was listening with rapt interest when a voice came from behind him.

He had no choice but to tear himself away and step forward. "Coming, coming!"

"Nannan, stay here and listen. Don't run off. I'm going to clean the private room!" Luo Yan lowered his head and spoke to the little girl beside him.

"Mm-hmm! Okay! Go ahead, Big Brother!" The little girl sat obediently to one side, quietly listening as the man continued his story.

Several other waiters at the Fresh Delicacies House grumbled:

"I really don't know why the manager hired him in the first place! Bringing a child along is one thing, but he keeps running into the crowd to listen to stories! He's just here to sponge off us!"

"Exactly. He gets the same wages as us, yet spends all day doing nothing. Anyone who didn't know better would think he owned the Fresh Delicacies House!"

"You'd better stop talking. The manager might dock your Source!" another waiter warned them kindly.

"I'll say what I like! What of it? He's just here to freeload and disrupt business at our Fresh Delicacies House!" But just as he finished speaking, he felt an icy gaze from behind him. He hastily turned and saw a plump cultivator standing there, staring at him without a word.

His expression changed sharply. "Manager..."

"Pack your things. Don't come back tomorrow! Get as far away as you can!" The plump cultivator's face was dark, and he immediately threw him out of the Fresh Delicacies House.

"I won't accept this! I've worked here for five or six years! Why should you throw me out over a couple of remarks about him?" he demanded, unwilling to accept it.

The Fresh Delicacies Pavilion offered better treatment than other places. Cultivators without backing, like them, dreamed of working there. Not only did it pay twice as much Source as elsewhere, but it also had powerful backing-supposedly, a Great Accomplished King had established it! Few dared cause trouble, which meant their lives were protected as well. Otherwise, given their status, any ill-tempered big shot could crush them to death with ease.

"What do your five or six years count for? Before I even came here, that man was already working here as a permanent hand! Never mind me-even Boss Jin would have to show him some respect!" he said, making no effort to soften his expression.

"Get out! Get as far away as you can!"

Then he turned to the little girl and took out an exceptionally vivid red fruit. "Xiao Nannan, would you like a spirit fruit? It was delivered just today!"

Xiao Nannan thought for a moment, then answered obediently, "Yes!"

"Here you go!"

Xiao Nannan cradled the bright red fruit, bit into its juicy flesh, and happily held it as she munched away.

The plump cultivator's eyes narrowed to slits. This child had looked exactly like this when he first joined the Fresh Delicacies House. Decades had passed, yet she hadn't changed at all. There was absolutely no way nothing strange was going on!

He had no intention of capturing her to study her. Supposedly, that waiter surnamed Luo had worked here as a permanent hand for a hundred years, without his appearance changing in all that time. Even thinking with his toes, he knew the man had to be a formidable expert-the sort who could thrash him with one hand.

He had heard that even the owner of the Fresh Delicacies House, that Great Accomplished King, treated the man with great courtesy. Someone like that was a person you wished you could enshrine and worship. Who would dare offend him?

He turned back to the others. "I'm warning you one last time. Don't wag your tongues behind people's backs again, or else... heh!"

The others immediately panicked and hurried off to work.