Hearing this, the crowd finally understood, especially the prodigies of the Human Race, who were astonished to learn such a secret.
No wonder the old man dared not refute—this was the reason!
Next, the fourth match began.
This was the main event: Crown Prince Qin Tianming of the Qin Dynasty faced Hu Qiu Bai, the Holy Son of the Tiger Clan.
Both were among the top prodigies in the Profound Heaven Realm, especially Qin Tianming, one of the three greatest prodigies of the Human Race.
Since their strengths were nearly equal, the outcome remained uncertain.
The battle was fiercely contested from the start, with neither side gaining the upper hand. It was a constant back-and-forth, with each strategist countered by his opponent's counter-strategy.
After two hours of combat, the match ended in a draw.
Thus, after four matches, the score stood at one win, one loss, and two draws—effectively resetting the competition to square one.
The fate of the competition now rested on the fifth and final match.
As soon as the fourth match's result was announced, the Monster Race erupted in excitement.
In their eyes, the fifth match was already won. There was no need to compete; victory was assured.
"The Human Race is doomed to fail this time!"
Hu Qiu Bai's voice was weak, but his words brimmed with excitement.
The fifth match would feature Ao Tianyu, the Holy Son of the Phoenix Clan, representing the Monster Race.
Fang Chen was doomed to lose this round!
Suddenly, a colossal Fire Phoenix materialized in the void, its body ablaze as if it would burn the very fabric of existence.
In the next instant, the Fire Phoenix transformed into a human form—a handsome young man, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed down upon the assembled crowd.
At this sight, the expressions of the crowd shifted dramatically.
"The Holy Son of the Phoenix Clan, Ao Tianyu!"
"One of the most powerful prodigies of the Monster Race!"
"His reputation even surpasses that of the Human Race's Three Great Prodigies!"
"Some even say he's a super-genius capable of suppressing all three of the Human Race's Great Prodigies!"
The Phoenix Truefire-formed Phoenix blazed in the sky, its searing heat warping the void around it.
Even more terrifying was the overwhelming pressure that swept across Emperor's Tomb City and radiated tens of thousands of miles beyond. Living beings within this vast radius felt as if a mountain had been placed upon their shoulders, crushing them with its weight.
A thunderous roar shook the air!
A powerful aura surged forth, and in an instant, a majestic figure materialized above the Phoenix. It resembled a celestial being of supreme authority, gazing down upon all living things with an suffocating presence that left everyone gasping for air.
Even cultivators with weaker cultivation bases collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their bodies too suppressed to stand.
Upon seeing the newcomer, everyone's faces paled. There was no other reason than that the youth before them was the strongest prodigy of the Profound Heaven Realm's younger generation: Ao Tianyu, the Holy Son of the Phoenix Clan!
At just twenty-four years old, he had already reached the Void Return Realm!
In the year he broke through to the Void Return Realm, he single-handedly crushed several experts at the eighth and ninth layers of the Void Return Realm, his power utterly terrifying.
Not long ago, he had even slain a Quasi-Sage Realm expert.
Before Fang Chen's emergence, Ao Tianyu had been hailed as the youngest genius to reach the Void Return Realm in one hundred thousand years.
To reach the Void Return Realm at the age of twenty-four!
It could be said that had Fang Chen not appeared, Ao Tianyu might have been hailed as the greatest prodigy of the last hundred thousand years.
Now, with Fang Chen's arrival, the title of "greatest prodigy" was up for debate.
Only the Dragon Clan's Holy Son could truly suppress him, and that was solely due to his superior cultivation base.
The Dragon Clan Holy Son was several decades older than Ao Tianyu and had cultivated for decades longer, allowing him to suppress Ao Tianyu solely through his cultivation level.
"No wonder the Monster Race was so confident—they've even deployed Ao Tianyu!"
"Now I finally understand why Hu Qiu Bai was only sent in for the fourth match—Ao Tianyu was saved for the final round!"
"We should have seen this coming. How else would the proud Hu Qiu Bai have agreed to fight in the fourth round?"
"Only the Dragon Clan Holy Son and Ao Tianyu could have made Hu Qiu Bai make such a concession."
"To be honest, Ao Tianyu is still weaker than the Dragon Clan Holy Son."
"But it's not that simple now. The Yun Tian Holy Son and Ao Tianyu have similar innate talents. However, Ao Tianyu entered the Void Return Realm several years earlier than Yun Tian Holy Son. While this might not seem like much to ordinary people, for these peerless prodigies, it's a world of difference!"
"The Yun Tian Holy Son's chances of winning are slim."
"Alas, our Human Race can only rely on the Yun Tian Holy Son now."
"If Yun Tian Holy Son had a few more years to grow, he might truly be able to rival Ao Tianyu. But right now, it's a long shot."
The humans frowned and sighed.
It wasn't that they didn't believe in Fang Chen; it was just difficult to have hope.
If it were any other Holy Son of the Monster Race, they might have had some confidence. But Ao Tianyu and the Dragon Clan Holy Son were the exceptions; they inspired no such confidence in others.
These two were peerless prodigies from the Ancient Royal Family of the Demon Clan, their talent, strength, and methods beyond reproach.
From the moment they were born, they had completely suppressed the young prodigies of the Human Race.
Even Qin Tianming, one of the Three Great Prodigies, might not have been their match.
Perhaps the mysterious Kong Family Holy Son could be their equal, but the chances of defeating either of these two were slim.
As for Fang Chen, his talent was not inferior to theirs.
The only drawback was his short cultivation time, a significant disadvantage.
"Human Race, just surrender! You stand no chance!"
"Haha! They still think Yun Tian Holy Son can win? What a joke!"
"Holy Son Ao Tianyu is a peerless prodigy capable of suppressing an entire era. How could any of the younger generation possibly match him?"
"I told you, how could our Monster Race ever lose!"
"Our Monster Race prodigies sweep through the Human Race's prodigies like wildfire. Did you think we were kidding?"
"Haha! Weren't the humans laughing earlier? Why aren't they laughing now?"
"Haha, I love seeing the humans so defiant! It's so strange to see you all so quiet now!"
With Ao Tianyu here, the Monster Race felt emboldened and didn't hold back their mockery of the humans.
This was especially true after the humans' repeated provocations and taunts, which had left them seething with resentment.
The draw in the battle between Xue Jinglun and Song Que was the final humiliation, stripping them of all dignity.
They never expected the Snow Clan's Holy Son to be so useless, unable to defeat even a prodigy from an ordinary human faction.
What's worse, Song Que might not even be the Song Family's strongest prodigy.
Among the Song Family's known prodigies, two or three ranked higher than Song Que.
The fact that Xue Jinglun had only managed a draw with Song Que was a deep humiliation.
If Xue Jinglun had fought to a draw with the Song Family's Holy Son, they wouldn't have felt so humiliated.
This was why they had been unable to refute the humans' earlier taunts.
Now, with Ao Tianyu's arrival, they regained their confidence and courage.
Weren't you humans so arrogant just now?
Go ahead, keep being arrogant!
"You're Fang Chen, aren't you?"
Ao Tianyu stood atop the Fire Phoenix, gazing down at Fang Chen from his lofty position.
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" The Clueless Girl Gets Fu**ed Every Day (18+) "
" Threatening Heroine at Start—Now the Male Lead Is Wearing the Green Hat (18+) "
" The Succubus Who Just Wants to Slack Off NPH (18+) "
" A Goddess Celebrity Brings Kids My Door, Working Construction Carrying (18+) "
" Houtarou Oreki in the Classroom of the Elite 18+ "
" My Harem of Beauties "
" High School DxD: Endless Plunder "
" Demon King Priest (18+) "
" I Became a Village Chief in the Primitive Age "
" Fantasy: I Claimed a Million Saintesses "
" After Rebirth, I Became the Obsessive Tycoon's Addiction "
" Starting with Catching Ghosts in the Girls' Dorm "
" Smut: Haughty "Husband" (18+) "
" The Prosperous Dynasty (18+) "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
many more are available 80+
patreon.com/RoyalStories
(End of Chapter)