Martial Master

The other elders did not dare to defy the words of the Grand Elder and immediately left one after another, while Elder Yunshi shot a fierce glance at Qin Chen before departing.

His face was thoroughly disgraced.

"Grand Elder!"

Once the others had left, Master Muye hurriedly said, "Qin Chen's arrogant demeanor is merely due to his youth. Young people should have some daring; please don’t take it to heart, Grand Elder."

He was pleading for Qin Chen.

"Mm?"

The Grand Elder nodded and smiled at Qin Chen. In that moment, a powerful force suddenly surrounded him, fixing his gaze on Qin Chen.

"Sky Patch Technique, evolve the universe, steal the heavens!"

Qin Chen had already gathered all his sacred energy, concealing his bodily aura, and was striving to condense the essence of everyone's Heavenly Saint Laws, hiding the treasures within the five secrets and stepping into the role of an overbearing and arrogant disciple.

The Grand Elder's gaze held no hint of probing; he was merely observing Qin Chen's power, but it contained a terrifying ability to see through anyone's heart.

"Good, very good. Early stage Heavenly Saint, and you are even a bit shy of the early-stage peak. I heard from Muye that when you participated in my Tian Gong assessment, you were merely a half-step peak Heavenly Saint martial artist. I never expected that without the training from my Tian Gong, you would advance to Heavenly Saint on your own. This has been quite rare throughout the ages."

"Especially you, Qin Chen. I have already seen your suppression of Nantian Yi, Feng Liuyun, and your confrontation with Elder Yunshi. Initially, when I heard from Muye that you had slaughtered the master of Yundongguang in Yunzhou at the half-step peak of Heavenly Saint, I was shocked. Now, after your breakthrough to the Heavenly Saint realm, you can even contend with Elder Yunshi. It seems you must have had extraordinary encounters during this time."

The Grand Elder watched for a long while before retracting his gaze and exclaimed, "If I am not mistaken, the aura on you should be the power of the ancient clan from the ancient ruins in the Dead Spirit Territory, and it is quite refined. You have even refined the legendary ancient body. Did you happen to enter the ancient ruins during this time?"

The Grand Elder's eyes were extremely sharp, able to discern Qin Chen's strength. Particularly because Qin Chen had been able to withstand Elder Yunshi's attacks, his powerful physique bore a striking resemblance to the legendary ancient body.

This was a rumored physique.

"Returning to the Grand Elder, the disciple indeed went to the Dead Spirit Territory and entered the ancient ruins, obtaining some fortuitous encounters."

Qin Chen replied.

"It’s no wonder. You truly went to the ancient ruins and obtained fortuitous encounters there. The historical records of my Tian Gong do have some accounts of the ancient ruins. It is said to be a forbidden ground left by a special race among the myriad of nations in the ancient heavenly realm—dangerous beyond measure. Over countless years, many powerful beings have ventured in, only to return empty-handed or even suffer severe injuries or fall. Even some transcendent experts have entered, yet they could not find the source of the ancient ruins. I never expected that you would obtain fortuitous encounters there."

The Grand Elder sighed.

"Shh..."

Qin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Although he relied on many things now, he remained cautious in front of such a powerful expert as the Grand Elder. If the other party were to discover the anomalies within him, it would bring him considerable trouble, exposing many things.

"Alas!"

The Grand Elder sighed again, "That ancient clan was indeed a powerful race in ancient times, only to be ultimately annihilated. Moreover, the ancient aura in those ruins cannot be absorbed by martial artists. Once absorbed into the body, it could even lead to an explosive death. Not to mention, there are numerous forces and experts in the ancient ruins, and they would not be able to discover the fortuitous encounters within. How could you, a half-step Heavenly Saint, obtain such encounters?"