Chapter 904 - Thrones Occupied

“How could this be? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Chen Fan killed Mu Tianfang?”

After complete silence, the nearby martial artists immediately broke out into a commotion.

No one had expected the battle to end this way—with Chen Fan ripping Mu Tianfang's head off.

The crowd struggled to believe their eyes, feeling as if they'd gone mad or were dreaming.

That was Mu Tianfang—one of the top ten seeds and a second-level Manifestation realm peerless genius. At his level, he stood at the peak, with only a handful capable of defeating him—let alone killing him. Such a feat was unheard of.

The battle had concluded too fast. Most spectators couldn’t follow the action, only catching glimpses of the two at full strength. Moreover, Mu Tianfang even used a forbidden technique in the final moments, doubling his power to rival a third-level Manifestation expert.

When they had clashed for the last time, it was like two meteorites colliding. Each exchange was so fast it seemed they traded hundreds of blows in an instant. The crowd could not even see their figures clearly.

By the time they stopped, the horrifying scene came into focus—Chen Fan gripping Mu Tianfang’s severed head.

The sight was bone-chilling. Watching Mu Tianfang, nearly defenseless, fall to Chen Fan left many trembling inside.

Chen Fan was too ferocious; it would not be too much to call him a man of unmatched ferocity.

“He’s dead! Mu Tianfang is dead, my god! I thought he could take Chen Fan down easily, but Chen Fan killed him unexpectedly. This is too terrifying.”

“How truly unexpected. Even if Mu Tianfang couldn’t match Chen Fan, I assumed he’d escape. After all, he’s a second-level Manifestation realm expert; ultimately, he didn’t even get a chance to run.”

“Run? Hmph, where could he have run to in the Sky Suspended Secret Realm?”

“That’s true. What a pity. The top ten seeds were supposed to become demonic child candidates, but three are already dead. It’s unbelievable.”

“Chen Fan is too scary. I really wonder how he cultivates. He’s clearly only in the peak Heavenly Star realm, but he killed a powerhouse like Mu Tianfang. Even now, it feels unreal.”

“What’s so hard to believe? The world is full of geniuses, and peerless monsters are always blessed with great fortune. Defying the heavens and defeating experts isn’t uncommon for them. You can only say that it’s Mu Tianfang’s fault for being too weak. Chen Fan is just too monstrous.”

“Right, right. Who would have thought that things would end up like this? There’s a huge gap between us and someone like Chen Fan. Even as top geniuses, we can’t compare to such monsters.”

“That’s not right, Manifestation realm experts can use their Martial Soul to suppress their foes and diminish their fighting strength. How come...”

“Idiot, can’t you see? Chen Fan has already condensed his Martial Soul. That’s why he’s immune to its suppression!”

“That must be it. But I’ve never heard of someone condensing their Martial Soul at the peak Heavenly Star realm. It must be the effect of the Heavenly Soul Holy Spring. During the time he disappeared, he must have consumed it to achieve this breakthrough."

“We can forget about the Heavenly Soul Holy Spring. Let alone the fact that he has already consumed it, even if he hadn’t, can you snatch it from him? That’s simply asking to die!”

“The fifth throne now belongs to Chen Fan. With this talent, he’s bound to pass the test on the demonic mountain, ascend to its peak, and inherit the Lord of Myriad Demons’ legacy. His future will be limitlessly bright.”

Discussions buzzed among the crowd. Their faces reflected envy and jealousy, but mostly awe and fear.

Such was the nature of demonic cultivators: they revered strength above all else. Whoever had the bigger fist would command respect.

Chen Fan had displayed incredible strength in his battle against Mu Tianfang, rivaling even Gu Ling and the other demonic child candidates. Who still dared to look down on him based on his peak Heavenly Star realm cultivation?

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Such was the fear and reverence born of overwhelming strength.

Chen Fan scanned the crowd, and many lowered their proud heads, avoiding his gaze. Without a word, he vanished and reappeared before the fifth throne.

Under countless people’s gazes, he sat on the throne. No one dared to object, not even Gu Ling, Cao Shi, and the others.

They, with their higher cultivation levels, understood better than anyone the terror of Chen Fan’s strength.

Although they believed themselves far stronger than Mu Tianfang, none of them felt confident of absolute victory against Chen Fan, who had just killed him. Their wariness was evident.

Chen Fan did not care about the crowd’s gazes and began examining the contents of Mu Tianfang’s storage ring.

Mu Tianfang had betrayed the True Martial Academy and stolen many treasures from the Merit Hall. His ring was a trove of riches—now trophies belonging to Chen Fan trophies.

Inside were numerous elixirs, herbs, and an ocean of primeval stones, alleviating Chen Fan’s urgent resource needs.

He had already condensed his Martial Soul and cleared the path to the Manifestation realm. As long as he had enough cultivation resources, he could step into the Manifestation realm in one go.

His earlier breakthrough had drained his primeval stones, but this haul would support him up to the half-step Manifestation realm.

Aside from the elixirs, herbs, and sea of primeval stones, there were also quite a few martial arts and powerful treasures, all stolen from the academy. However, Chen Fan had little use for them.

If martial arts weren’t of the heaven tier, they held no interest for him.

As for treasures, he already had the Brilliant Blade—a Grade-9 weapon—and his physique itself was a peerless treasure.

He intended to return these spoils to the academy rather than keep them for himself.

After Chen Fan’s battle ended, the crowd, momentarily subdued, erupted into another earth-shaking fight—this time for the last two thrones. While the intensity couldn’t rival the clash between Chen Fan and Mu Tianfang, the sheer number of participants created a massive commotion.

Only first-level Manifestation realm experts were qualified to compete. Half-step Manifestation realm martial artists could do nothing but watch from the sidelines.

The contenders radiated murderous qi that could shock heaven and earth. It would not be too much to say that their qi covered the universe.

But none of this concerned Chen Fan and the others. Seated securely on their thrones, they looked down from above, observing the fierce struggle as if it were mere entertainment. Anyone foolish enough to provoke them would be courting death.

The battle for the final two thrones was brutal, but eventually, two peak first-level Manifestation realm experts emerged victorious—though both were heavily injured.

Even so, no matter how heavy the injuries they received, it was worth it as long as they could become a demonic child candidate.

With this, the ten thrones were all spoken for.