Chapter 161: The Son of Heaven

Unbothered and unhurried, Ye Qiu crossed the sea with a single step, appearing directly in front of Cao He.

Ignoring the young man in the sky, he shielded Cao He behind him.

At this moment, Cao He was covered in varying degrees of obvious injuries, most of which had been inflicted by the young man before them.

"Store Manager, why are you here..."

The moment he saw Ye Qiu, Cao He felt as though he had seen a glimmer of hope, instantly restoring his health to maximum.

Alright, this round was secure! Old Cao figured he probably wouldn't die today...

"Why am I here? Heh, you accomplish nothing, but ruin everything! Without much real ability, you still try to put on airs and act cool?

Do you even know what kind of place this is? How dare you charge in here all by yourself? Should I call you fearless, or just plain stupid?"

Ye Qiu said coldly. If not for his concern for Cao He's safety, he would never have deigned to visit this ghost of a place.

Left speechless, Cao He felt a surge of shame. Hearing Ye Qiu summon Xingtian to protect him, he watched as Ye Qiu ascended into the sky alone.

Gazing at the young man before him, Ye Qiu felt a momentary daze, inexplicably struck by a sense of familiarity.

"Strange, why does this kid give me such a feeling of déjà vu?"

Puzzled, Ye Qiu found himself unable to make out the youth's face through the mask he wore, making it impossible to determine whether they had ever met.

As he observed, Ye Qiu caught a flicker of surprise and confusion in the youth's eyes; perhaps the other was equally perplexed.

"Hey, kid! Judging by your tone just now, you seem quite impressive. Go ahead, state your name and title, let's see if you can scare me..."

Ye Qiu chuckled playfully. He had long since memorized the classic tropes of arrogant villains getting slapped in the face. In this day and age, how could anyone dare call themselves a transmigrator without mastering the art of slapping arrogant faces?

Faced with Ye Qiu's challenge, the youth remained entirely unmoved, maintaining his lofty, superior posture. Looking down from above, he proclaimed with absolute contempt: "My name is the Son of Heaven! Under the bright moon, I am the supreme sovereign..."

"Hah, what a grand boast! This kid talks even bigger than the previous ones. He must count as a pretty hefty boss. Should I just farm him for drops?"

Hearing this, Ye Qiu was almost startled. The title was certainly grandiose; the boy's background must be extraordinary.

Son of Heaven? Claiming to be the son of Heaven itself? This wasn't just talking big—it was sheer, unadulterated arrogance...

"Son of Heaven? The heaven you speak of refers to..."

Ye Qiu smiled faintly, pressing on with his questioning. He was genuinely curious about whose spoiled brat this youngster was.

Damn it, this fellow was even better at acting arrogant than he was!

Extremely pretentious, practically radiating the aura of "my dad is so-and-so," holding the entire world in contempt while treating himself as the sole ruler.

Compared to this guy, Ye Qiu almost felt embarrassed to claim he knew how to act cool...

"Heaven is none other than my father, the master of the forbidden zone! Who are you to dare show disrespect to the might of Heaven?"

Normally, the Son of Heaven would have flown into a rage long ago, but for some unknown reason, looking at Ye Qiu before him, he could not summon a single shred of anger.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before!

Though inwardly bewildered, he kept his doubts strictly to himself.

"The master of the forbidden zone?"

Ye Qiu paused for a second, then realization dawned upon him. "Ah! I remember now, you're talking about that dark overlord, right? No wonder you talk so big..."

It seemed Ye Qiu was beginning to piece things together. Naturally, it was no surprise if this brat turned out to be the son of that supreme disaster.

Since he was the son of that overlord, he definitely couldn't be allowed to leave! This was the ultimate hostage.

"Hehe... Then do you know who I am?"

Ye Qiu smiled mischievously, his expression gradually growing bolder.

Wasn't this turning out wonderfully? Now that the hostage was right in front of him, he would have plenty of leverage when negotiating with those dark giants in the future.

Mm, not bad, not bad! It seemed the monkey hadn't caused trouble this time after all; instead, he had rendered a monumental service.

It just went to prove Ye Qiu's favorite saying: sometimes a bad situation you see before you isn't necessarily a true disaster—there might just be a blessing hidden inside.

Nothing was set in stone yet, so one shouldn't rush to conclusions.

The Son of Heaven felt a shiver run through his heart, sensing something distinctly eerie about Ye Qiu's smile. Shifting his gaze evasively, he asked, "Who are you?"

"Me? My name is Ye Qiu..."

Ye Qiu?

At that instant, the Son of Heaven fell silent. It was as if... a long-buried memory hidden deep within his mind had suddenly loosened, stirring a wellspring of bitter grief in his heart.

Ye Qiu, such a familiar name! It felt as though he had heard it somewhere before...

The Son of Heaven slipped into a trance of recollection, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not recall where he had ever heard the name.

It felt like something from the distant, distant past—something he thought he had long forgotten.

Within the recesses of his mind, only a single silhouette remained. A frail, small figure carrying a tinier version of him on its back, trekking across a hundred-thousand-li plain, enduring countless hardships and endless suffering.

"Young Lord, be careful! Do not let him bewitch you..."

At that critical juncture, the annoying voice of the World-Destroying Old Man rang out once more. He materialized out of nowhere, flanked by dozens of dark giants, forming a protective barrier around the Son of Heaven.

"Hmm? It's you again, you old fossil!"

Glancing sideways at the World-Destroying Old Man, Ye Qiu couldn't care less. Merely a few dozen dark giants—Xingtian alone could probably handle the lot of them.

"What? Planning to bring me another gift this time?"

If he hadn't brought it up, it would have been fine, but the mere mention nearly drove the World-Destroying Old Man to a fit of rage.

"You... Ah, you'll be the death of me!"

The thought of all his prized treasures being completely ruined by Ye Qiu—even his ultimate trump card, Xingtian, having been snatched away—left him seething with indescribable fury.

Observing the arrival of the World-Destroying Old Man, the Son of Heaven made no acknowledgement. Instead, he continued to stare fixedly at Ye Qiu, struggling to force that hazy, fragmented memory back to the surface.

"Little Dong, hurry up and get up. Look what big brother brought back for you—Wangzai spicy beef candies, happy fairy water! Eat them quickly, and you won't be hungry anymore..."

The sudden emergence of these words in his mind scared the Son of Heaven so badly that his face turned completely pale! In his memory, that pitch-black pill that looked precisely like sheep droppings felt as though it had been rolled right off someone's skin...

And that so-called happy fairy water—that color, a murky, nauseating shade of yellowy-brown filled with bubbling gas, looked terrifyingly repulsive.

It was practically the nightmare of his childhood... For a period of time afterwards, the mere sight of that color made his stomach churn.

"Damn it, this guy is definitely no good!"

With that terrifying realization, the Son of Heaven violently shook his head and shot a vicious glare at Ye Qiu, leaving Ye Qiu utterly baffled.

Utterly inexplicable!

"Young Lord, let's leave! This old man will cover your retreat!"

The World-Destroying Old Man stepped directly in front of the Son of Heaven. He knew all too well just how terrifying Ye Qiu was. Forget about their group of dozens; even Emperor Tian, whom he respected above all others, would never dare claim he could easily defeat Ye Qiu.

The previous clash in the Chaotic Heaven had made that abundantly clear! This fellow possessed strength at the level of an Immortal King Giant or higher, and for all he knew... he might even be an Immortal Emperor.

"Leave? Why should I walk away?"

The Young Emperor, the Son of Heaven, replied in an intensely proud voice. Ever since he had stepped out into the world, he had never encountered a match. Now that he had finally crossed paths with an interesting opponent, how could he let him go so easily?

Right then, the World-Destroying Old Man whispered urgently, "Young Lord, this person is the supreme expert the Master warned us about!"

"What?"

The expression on the Son of Heaven's face shifted abruptly. Turning to the World-Destroying Old Man, he announced, "I suddenly remembered I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. Take care of yourself..."