Volume One, Chapter 14: The Desire Realm's Six Heavens—The Supreme Sovereign Huang Zeng Tian!

Piercing through the thick clouds, a brilliant golden light illuminated Chen Yan’s face. At this moment, his body was bound tightly by golden chains, locking his limbs and head firmly in place.

Chen Yan showed no expression as he looked up. Five celestial soldiers clad in armor held the chains steadfastly. Before him stood a heavenly general adorned in golden armor, clearly of a higher rank than the others.

“Quite rare—no one has come up here in millions of years,” the general said, stepping forward with curiosity to examine Chen Yan, yet also stunned by his strength. “You, why?”

“Why?” Chen Yan chuckled softly and took a step forward. The chains around him snapped with a sharp sound. “Because I am different from you.”

He passed by the general, who had been shocked moments before but now turned pale and exclaimed, “You—you are the Human Emperor?!”

Chen Yan offered no reply and continued upward. After a few minutes, the general regained his composure and vanished from the spot.

After walking for ten more minutes, the staircase beneath Chen Yan gradually transformed into level ground, and the surrounding mist slowly dispersed. Before him appeared a town, resembling a small human settlement.

But within this town, there were not only humans but also all manner of strange and grotesque demons.

Chen Yan’s sudden appearance at the town’s entrance went unnoticed. The inhabitants moved like soulless corpses, their eyes devoid of any vitality.

This scene did not surprise Chen Yan in the least.

This was the “Taihuang Huangceng Heaven,” one of the Six Heavens of the Desire Realm.

This heaven was home to many lower-level immortals, including some mortals who had ascended after cultivation. Legend said that the Supreme Elder once lectured here, imparting immortal teachings.

Though they were called lower-level immortals, their powers had been slowly absorbed after ascension, reducing their strength to that of ordinary mortals in the human world.

No matter how much they cultivated here, their own power would dissipate.

Decades, thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of years passed, yet their strength never advanced. With no hope of further ascension, these beings lost all hope, eventually becoming soulless husks drifting endlessly along this grim path.

Walking through the streets, Chen Yan’s eyes held deep compassion.

Once a prodigy of the human world, he never expected the celestial realm to be filled with such desolation.

He had intended to speak with a few of these beings but found that, no matter how he tried, none responded to him.

Clearly, after millions of years of torment, even their humanity had been extinguished.

With no other choice, Chen Yan strode toward the town’s center.

Upon reaching the center, his already heavy heart grew even heavier.

There, a golden light shone upon a circular ascension platform.

Countless beings knelt beneath it.

Their knees battered and broken, yet they did not rise.

Their eyes held no desire; time had eroded their hope of ascension.

They simply knelt, and if one were to ask why, they might not even know themselves.

If those outside the center were soulless shells, then the beings here lacked even complete bodies.

“Celestial Dao!” Chen Yan spat the words with venom, his gaze toward the platform filled with loathing.

He walked among the kneeling beings, each step weighed down with unbearable sorrow.

When he reached the ascension platform, the previously unresponsive beings suddenly lifted their heads, their eyes filled with confusion.

Those hollow eyes bore no trace of emotion.

Unable to bear it any longer, Chen Yan murmured, “Shen Ning, Wang Yinglin.”

“Old one greets the Human Emperor,” came the faint reply.

“Please, I beg you.”

“Human Emperor, you are too polite. This is what I must do,” Chen Yan responded gently.

Human Emperor’s aura slowly manifested, his face growing tender and loving, tears streaming from his eyes.

An invisible book appeared before him.

On its cover, formed from the Human Emperor’s aura, were three bold characters: “Three Character Classic.”

Opening the first page, Chen Yan’s lips moved, and a voice resounded across the entire Taihuang Huangceng Heaven:

“People at birth are inherently good.
Natures are similar, habits make them different.
If not taught, nature will change.
The way of teaching values focus.”

As Chen Yan spoke, every being in Taihuang Huangceng Heaven halted and listened to the sudden voice.

Though their eyes remained hollow, tears began streaming down their cheeks.

Slowly, under the cleansing of the Three Character Classic, the once silent heaven began to fill with sobs.

The cries grew louder.

Only when they nearly drowned out the recitation did they gradually subside.

“Human, Human Emperor, please save us,” they pleaded.

“What did we do wrong?”

“They drained all our strength.”

Around Chen Yan, desperate voices rose one after another.

Tears streaked his face more clearly, yet he remained seated, continuing without pause.

He knew that now they had merely regained their seven emotions and six desires.

Their souls had yet to be fully restored.

“Filial piety to parents, harmony between spouses.
Brothers be friendly, younger brothers respectful.
Order of elders, friendship among peers.
Rulers respected, subjects loyal.”

Gradually, the cries transformed into shouts of defiance, faces filled with unwillingness.

They roared toward the sky with such force that their voices momentarily drowned out Chen Yan’s recitation.

“Damn the celestial realm! They promised us positions here, but this is how they treat us!”

“Just wait! Once I rebuild my cultivation, this celestial realm will be turned upside down!”

“Damn it! Give me back my power!!!”

At these words, Chen Yan noticed the sky above Taihuang Huangceng Heaven darkening.

A tremendous energy tore through the clouds, pulling and twisting.

“What is this?” Chen Yan’s expression brightened. He hadn’t expected these prodigies from millions of years ago to possess such power.

Their lost strength, though absorbed over time, still retained their will, breaking free from the myriad spiritual energies.

Though part had been absorbed, a vast remainder remained.

The power, as if tearing the heavens apart from above, battered the sky of Taihuang Huangceng Heaven with relentless fury.

Each strike was fierce, as if the world might shatter at any moment.

Chen Yan’s voice continued the Three Character Classic without pause:

“Parents leave behind riches.
I teach my child the sole way.
Diligence brings success, play brings no benefit.
Be cautious and strive hard.”

As the final lines fell, a sound like a blade slicing through cloth echoed from the sky.

The heavens could no longer resist the beings’ energy, which poured down.

It returned to their bodies.

Yet at this moment, countless celestial soldiers and generals surged forth from the rift.

The lead general shouted fiercely:

“Impudent ones! Are you rebelling?!”

“What do you think you are, daring to speak to me this way? Brothers, attack!”

At his command, all beings in Taihuang Huangceng Heaven took to the sky, charging upward to confront the celestial soldiers.

The spectacle was so vast that even the human world saw countless figures in the sky.

Chen Yan fixed his gaze upward.

He sensed a figure above watching them, ready to strike.

“Are you sure you want to fight me here?” Chen Yan spoke coldly, eyes filled with disdain.

At his words, the energy in the sky began to dissipate slowly.

“Is it finally beginning?”

In the human world, an old man sat before a chessboard, his skeletal hand slowly placing a chess piece.