Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

A hoarse voice drifted from the depths of the great hall, followed by the sound of a cane tapping on the floor. A great shock went through everyone present, and they all turned to stare intently.

Soon, a tall and slender old man appeared before them.

At once, everyone lost their composure. "The Supreme Elder?!"

The old man before them was none other than one of the Saint Temple's most revered Supreme Elders, Master Jingde!

According to rumor, many of the Saint Temple's enlightened monks had long since retired from worldly affairs and gone to Jingkong Temple in the southern part of the Great Hong Dynasty to cultivate in seclusion.

Even most of the disciples had only heard stories of these eminent monks' deeds and had never had the fortune of meeting them.

Only those at the Saint Monk level had ever had any dealings with this previous generation of monks, who were now figures of near-legend.

Who could have imagined that Master Jingde, an enlightened monk of the Supreme Elder's rank, would actually appear in the Saint Temple at this very moment!

"Master Jingde, I can't believe we've disturbed your secluded cultivation!"

Even Lord Shakyamuni showed great respect.

"What choice did I have? Our great Saint Temple is being pushed around by a mere youth, and you juniors can't do a thing about him…"

"Sigh... It seems I have to drag my old bones out for a little exercise, don't I?"

"Am I supposed to just stand by and watch him do as he pleases?"

Master Jingde sounded quite resigned.

However, upon hearing this, the faces of the assembled Saint Monks flushed red with shame.

If they hadn't been so incompetent, would they have needed to disturb Master Jingde and force his hand?

When it came down to it, wasn't it all because they were powerless against Ye Chen?

"Heh heh... So, Lord Shakyamuni, what do you think of our lineup now?"

Master Minghui said with a faint smile.

Lord Shakyamuni was visibly moved by this. He cupped his hands in salute and said, "With Master Jingde's help, the success rate for our operation to eliminate Ye Chen will undoubtedly be much higher."

"However, guaranteeing a one hundred percent chance of success will still be difficult, I'm afraid."

Lord Shakyamuni's words made several people frown in disapproval.

In their eyes, with an enlightened monk like Master Jingde helping them, dealing with Ye Chen should be a simple matter of course.

'Is Lord Shakyamuni deliberately being a wet blanket?'

"Lord Shakyamuni, I know you are meticulous and think things through. Are you perhaps worried because the Cloud Mist Tower Ship is the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce's territory, making it difficult for us to make a move?"

But Master Minghui simply smiled faintly, as if he had already seen right through Lord Shakyamuni's concerns.

"Correct."

Lord Shakyamuni didn't deny it.

It was just as Master Minghui had said. The Cloud Mist Tower Ship was the territory of the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce, the number one merchant guild in the Great Hong Dynasty. One had to show them some face. Causing trouble on their turf would surely be restrictive.

"But in that regard, you are worrying for nothing."

Master Minghui gave a meaningful smile.

"Oh?" Lord Shakyamuni's brow furrowed. He suddenly realized that since Master Minghui had already considered this, he must have made thorough preparations.

He quickly said, "I ask for Great Saint Monk Minghui's guidance!"

Master Minghui shook his head and chuckled. "I resigned from the position of Great Saint Monk long ago. You are the current Great Saint Monk of the Saint Temple; there's no need to address me with such a title."

"In fact, this very operation to eliminate him has already been approved by the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce!"

"What?"

Everyone was stunned. They had assumed this operation would need to be planned in secret, never imagining that the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce already knew about it and had even... given its permission?

Lord Shakyamuni was also stunned.

'What on earth is the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce thinking?'

'Are they really going to let them cause a scene on the ship?'

"In any case, you need not worry about that. You may act as you see fit."

Master Minghui glanced at the sky and suddenly added, "Furthermore, we have other allies who should arrive within three days."

"More allies?" The others were startled.

"The Supreme Elder of the Xu family from Yuan Province, Xu Qianfeng!"

"He is also in the Divine Might Realm, and he's coming to capture Ye Chen as well." Master Minghui stated bluntly, holding nothing back.

"The Xu family of Yuan Province... you mean that renowned Sword Dao clan?"

Lord Shakyamuni mused, "Yuan Province is a considerable distance from our Yan Province. Even for someone in the Divine Might Realm, it's unlikely he could get here in just three days, could he?"

Within the Great Hong Dynasty, every province was vast and expansive.

Even a Great Power of the Divine Might Realm couldn't possibly cross several major provinces in just three days.

Only Void Realm experts, who were above the Divine Might Realm and could travel by tearing through space itself, could manage such a feat!

However, Master Minghui shook his head. "You need not worry about that, either."

"The Xu family's Supreme Elder was recently attending a Sword Dao convention in a neighboring province."

"He isn't far from Yan Province now. After learning that all his family members had perished at Ye Chen's hands, he immediately began rushing here at top speed."

"Before long, we will have another combatant at the Divine Might Realm."

"By then, with the combined might of four Divine Might Realm experts, how could we possibly fail to deal with Ye Chen?"

Master Minghui seemed completely confident.

Hearing this, the others all smiled, relieved.

Indeed. With four Divine Might Realm experts acting in concert, Ye Chen couldn't possibly escape, even if he grew wings!

All they had to do now was wait for the Xu family's Supreme Elder, Xu Qianfeng, to arrive. Then, this death trap, set ten thousand meters in the sky, could slowly be laid.

...

「Two days passed.」

During those two days, Ye Chen had successfully repaired the Profound Armor Combat Puppet to its peak condition!

After all, those three Saint Monks had carried considerable wealth on them, so Ye Chen had long since gathered all the divine materials he needed for the repairs.

Now that he had another ally comparable to the Divine Might Realm, his confidence grew.

'Of course, this is all just external power!'

'Only increasing my own strength is what truly matters!'

Ye Chen slowly exhaled and muttered to himself.

He was completely unaware that a storm centered on him was slowly brewing in the shadows, poised to erupt the moment the Cloud Mist Tower Ship took flight.

Yet, he was also keenly aware that his current situation was perilous and left no room for delay.

After all, he was not far from Dongxuan Province.

Once the Cloud Mist Tower Ship set off, it would only take a few days to reach Dongxuan Province.

By then, he would very likely be intercepted by the Song family, one of the four great clans of Dongxuan Province!

He didn't dare underestimate a behemoth of a clan that stood at the pinnacle of the entire eastern part of the Great Hong Dynasty.

'Speaking of which, the original refinement technique for this Profound Armor Combat Puppet was rather crude.'

'Although its damage has been fully repaired, if I can make some further improvements, I might be able to boost the Profound Armor Combat Puppet's power even more.'