Chapter 1663 - Everyone Stunned

Everyone was dumbstruck, struggling to digest the reality unfolding before them. Yet the shock did not last long. Reason quickly caught up, forcing them to accept the truth whether they wished to or not. Denial was meaningless. The evidence stood plainly in front of them.

All of a sudden, any doubts about whether Chen Fan had emerged from the Demon Realm Passageway battlefield without completing his mission vanished. With his current strength, top-level Immortal Kings were weaklings in front of him.

Back then, in the eyes of those in the know of this matter, it was the sect leader trying to protect Chen Fan. To most outsiders, however, the mission assigned to him had seemed outright impossible.

Given Chen Fan’s cultivation at the time, killing an early-stage Immortal King alone was already a feat, not to mention surviving while countless experts hunted him down. It was widely believed such a task would require at least a thousand years.

Yet here he was. In just a little over a century, he had returned alive and fulfilled his promise.

The atmosphere turned heavy. The experts of the Demon Suppression lineage looked especially grim, their expressions dark and unsightly. Only the Heavenly Punishment Elder was full of smiles right now.

Chen Fan was his personal disciple. Such a dazzling performance naturally brought him immense pride. His face practically glowed.

Still, beneath the joy lingered a trace of disbelief. Even he had not expected Chen Fan to reach such heights in merely a hundred years. It was simply absurd.

The further one progressed along the path of cultivation, the harder each breakthrough became. Strength had to be accumulated over long periods. The only way to avoid spending excessive time accumulating strength was to have miraculous encounters or repeated brushes with death, forcing one’s potential to erupt under pressure.

From this alone, one could imagine the price Chen Fan had paid over the past century.

Finally, the Featherlight Sect leader said, “Chen Fan, you’ve exited the Demon Realm Passageway battlefield. Have you completed the mission I assigned you?”

He hadn’t said a single word earlier during Chen Fan and Deng Ao’s battle, maintaining a neutral stance. After all, Deng Ao had only lost a primordial spirit incarnation. In truth, that alone did not constitute a major incident.

What truly unsettled him was Chen Fan’s strength.

Even Si Kong, a reincarnated Sage, had only reached his current level through the sect’s full support. Chen Fan’s monstrosity was obvious at a glance. Si Kong merely retraced the cultivation path of his previous life, encountering no real bottlenecks, while enjoying limitless resources. His rapid rise over the past hundred years was only natural.

Yet Chen Fan’s cultivation speed was no slower than his. That fact alone was astonishing.

“I did,” Chen Fan replied calmly. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved several demon heads from his storage ring.

Who were the people seated here?

All of them were pillars of the Featherlight Sect with boundlessly vast insight. With a single glance, they could tell these demon race experts were genuine, and none of them were weak.

Though dead, their heads still emitted immense pressure—a testament to their former strength.

If Chen Fan hadn’t clashed with Deng Ao’s primordial spirit incarnation earlier, some might have suspected foul play. But after seeing him obliterate that incarnation with three punches, doubt was pointless. If even Deng Ao’s incarnation fell so easily, these Immortal King-level demons were hardly surprising.

“Good, very good. In that case, whatever happened in the past, let’s put it behind us,” said the sect leader.

“Thank you, Sect Leader.” Chen Fan let out a slight sigh in relief.

This matter had been weighing heavily on him in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. The rules of the world were set by the strong. Although he could be considered to have stepped into the ranks of the powerful, he was still far from being someone who could write those rules himself.

Now, with the sect leader’s words, the burden on his shoulders finally eased.

Then, the sect leader praised him, “I expected you to take at least a thousand years to reach this level, or even several hundred years at the very least. But just a century? Excellent. Truly excellent.”

“Sect Leader, I wish to ask about the Immortals Assembly.”

“Oh?” The sect leader raised a brow. “You wish to participate?”

“Yes.”

“With your cultivation, you’ll definitely be able to achieve excellent results if you participate in the Immortals Assembly. You’d even have a chance at taking first place.” The sect leader said, acknowledging Chen Fan’s strength, “But you returned a little too late. The window to register for the Immortals Assembly has already closed. Moreover, Hua Yunxiao, Lou Chongxiao, Si Kong, and the others are already on their way to the Heavenly Court. You cannot join them.”

He paused, then added, “If you still wish to participate, your only option is to register as a rogue cultivator. In that case, you will not enjoy the privileges granted to Featherlight Sect disciples.”

Chen Fan was momentarily stunned, disappointment flashing across his face. Yet the moment he heard that participation was still possible, his eyes lit up again. As long as he could take part, status meant nothing to him

After all, at the assembly, everything was decided with strength. Any privileges might help early on, but in the later stages, they would be utterly meaningless.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“It doesn’t matter. If I have to take part as a rogue cultivator, then so be it,” Chen Fan said with a smile.

The opportunity to clash with the most outstanding prides of heaven in the Heavenly Realm might very well open a clearer path toward the Immortal Emperor realm.

“In that case, I shan’t say anything further. Pack your things and depart immediately. If you delay any longer, even the window for rogue cultivators will close,” said the sect leader.

“Thank you, Sect Leader.”

“

Mmm

. I hope you’ll achieve a good result and bring glory to our Featherlight Sect.”

In the past iterations of the Immortal Assembly, the sect’s best achievement had been a mere top twenty, and that had happened thousands of years ago. With Chen Fan and Si Kong, perhaps the Featherlight Sect could enter the top three, or even take first place. The thought alone filled the sect leader with excitement.

After exiting the Golden Immortal Hall, the Heavenly Punishment Elder immediately summoned Chen Fan.

The two of them returned to the Heavenly Punishment Hall.

“Hahaha, you’ve done well this time, blowing up that old fart.” The Heavenly Punishment Elder laughed out loud.

He had felt utterly exhilarated watching Chen Fan crush the primordial spirit incarnation. Earlier, he had nearly intervened himself, only to be stopped by the elders of the Demon Suppression lineage. He had been worried Chen Fan might not withstand Deng Ao, yet not only did Chen Fan hold firm, but he also completely overwhelmed the incarnation.

Although it was only a primordial spirit incarnation, it was no small feat in the Heavenly Punishment Elder’s eyes.

“But it was only a primordial spirit incarnation. Don’t get complacent. If you encounter his true form in the future, avoid him. Otherwise, you’ll be courting disaster,” warned the Heavenly Punishment Elder.

“I understand.” Chen Fan nodded, nodding. He knew his limits.

“Good. Since you’re heading to the Immortals Assembly, I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Then this disciple shall take my leave.”

Chen Fan bade farewell to the Heavenly Punishment Elder, returned to his cavern, and went to find Huang Wuji and the others.

Over the past hundred years, nothing much happened to them, aside from the fact that their cultivation had risen tremendously. Take Huang Wuji, for example, he was already in the Half-step Immortal King realm. As for Di Chen, Duanmu Lingxing and the others, they were in the high-level Immortal Platform realm.

Though their progress paled beside Chen Fan’s, it was still impressive by any standard.

After visiting Huang Wuji and the others, Chen Fan immediately set off for the Heavenly Court.