Shi Yan felt a mix of emotions and a secret anticipation for meeting his father.

The royal warships slowed down, and Shi Yan flew into the air, where he could vaguely see the outline of the royal battlefield.

Shi Yan carried the Tai Wuji on his back, knelt in the void, and awaited the arrival of the Great Ming Emperor.

The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty saw a person kneeling in the void in the distance. With the Emperor's eyesight, he naturally recognized at a glance that it was the Crown Prince Shi Yan, whom he had been longing for, and the Tai Wuji on his back!

However, the Ming emperor, who had long held a high position, had naturally mastered the art of concealing his emotions. He only showed a slight hint of surprise before returning to normal.

Even the princes who were constantly watching the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not notice this slight change in him.

The Emperor waved his hand to put away the royal warship, and he and his princes floated in the void, flying towards Shi Yan.

Finally, one of the princes recognized Tai Wuji, and even with the Emperor of the Great Ming still present, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

"The Tai Wu Halberd! That man is carrying the Tai Wu Halberd!"

However, because Shi Yan had lived in the Lesser Demon Realm for so long and his strength had improved, not only had his appearance changed, but even his temperament was different from before. Therefore, not a single prince recognized that the person kneeling in the void was their elder brother, Crown Prince Shi Yan!

Just as the princes were still speculating about the identity of the person before them, Shi Yan finally spoke:

"Father! Your son has brought back the Tai Wuji!"

The princes froze on the spot. The Crown Prince had returned? Yes, that familiar voice—the Crown Prince had returned!

Emperor Da Ming walked up to Shi Yan and helped him up. Although Emperor Da Ming appeared calm on the surface, Shi Yan could feel that his father's hands were trembling slightly as he helped him up!

The Emperor helped Shi Yan up, but his hands lingered on Shi Yan's shoulders, looking him up and down with undisguised affection in his eyes.

"Good! Good! Good!"

The Emperor uttered three "good"s in succession, then could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter. This laugh stunned all the princes. When had their father, who was always aloof and stern, ever laughed so uncontrollably?

"My son is back! And he's even broken through to the mid-stage of the Integration Realm! Excellent!"

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty looked at Shi Yan and became more and more satisfied, praising him endlessly!

The other princes felt bitter. Emperor Ming only addressed Crown Prince Shi Yan as "my son." He addressed the other princes as "second son" or "third son."

However, upon hearing that Shi Yan had broken through to the Integration Stage, the princes were all surprised by the Crown Prince's strength, but they also knew that they would never have a chance to ascend the throne again!

Shi Yan presented the Tai Wuji with both hands, but the Emperor of the Great Ming waved his hand and said:

"My son has reached the Integration Stage. This is the Great Halberd. Today, I will formally pass it on to you. In the future, my son must strive hard and not disgrace the wisdom of our ancestors!"

Shi Yan excitedly accepted the Taiwu Halberd. As the imperial weapon used by every emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, this was the first time it had been directly passed on to the crown prince!

Shi Yan invited the Great Ming Emperor into the Immortal Sword Sect. Everyone in the Immortal Sword Sect knelt down to the Great Ming Emperor, but the Great Ming Emperor waved his hand to stop them!

The Emperor and his princes had just entered the Immortal Sword Sect when they saw thunderclouds suddenly gathering in the sky, dark clouds pressing down on the city as if to crush it!

"Huh? What's this?"

The Emperor of Ming was slightly surprised, but quickly recovered and exclaimed in astonishment:

"Is this a tribulation of lightning? Who is undergoing this tribulation?"

However, Emperor Da Ming quickly shook his head again. Although thunderclouds were dense, he could not sense the aura of the cultivators. If it were a tribulation of lightning, the aura of the cultivators would inevitably be exposed between heaven and earth and could not be hidden.

"It's Big Brother!"

Shi Yan knew that Chen Tianwen had been in seclusion, so this commotion must have been caused by Chen Tianwen!

Shi Yan looked at the thunderclouds in the sky. Although he had also survived the heavenly tribulation, it was nothing compared to the tribulation clouds in the sky now!

"Big brother's big brother?"

The princes, unaware of the reason, were all confused by the title of Crown Prince!

Shi Yan hurriedly explained to the Emperor that he had already sworn brotherhood with Chen Tianwen.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was slightly displeased that his own son, the Crown Prince, had become sworn brothers with someone of a different surname and even recognized that person as his elder brother, but he didn't say anything!

The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty looked at the calamity clouds in the sky and asked Shi Yan:

"What realm is this Sect Master Chen at? Why would he attract tribulation clouds? Moreover, these tribulation clouds don't seem like those of a cultivator undergoing tribulation; it's rather strange!"

Shi Yan answered truthfully:

"When my elder brother returned, he had already reached the peak of the Void Refinement stage. However, just as Father said, these tribulation clouds should not have been attracted by my elder brother's entry into the Tribulation Transcending stage!"

The Emperor could no longer hide his astonishment. How many years had it been since a Void Refinement stage expert had appeared on the continent? This Chen Tianwen was actually at the peak of the Void Refinement stage? Didn't that mean he could reach the Tribulation Transcending stage at any moment? It seemed that Shi Yan's decision to acknowledge this elder brother was not a bad one!

Then, as if remembering something, the Emperor asked again:

"It is said that Dan Sheng Gu Changxuan was a disciple of Sect Master Chen! This Sect Master Chen must also be a master alchemist. I once read in ancient books that some immortal pills, when they are born, will attract tribulations of lightning! I originally thought it was a fabrication by the ancients, but now it seems that the ancients were right about me!"

Shi Yan nodded. It seemed that Chen Tianwen's seclusion this time was for refining pills. Moreover, Shi Yan had already witnessed Chen Tianwen's pill refining skills. Shi Yan was already resistant to anything that happened to Chen Tianwen and was not too surprised.

Then Shi Yan spoke up:

"Father, you may not know this, but my elder brother has long been able to refine elixirs of the highest quality. Moreover, his achievements in weapon crafting and formation are on par with his achievements in alchemy!"

The Emperor was truly shocked by this incident. Could someone not only possess extraordinary strength, but also be so exceptionally talented in alchemy, weapon crafting, and formation techniques? Did this person have limitless energy? Moreover, according to rumors, this Chen Tianwen was only in his early twenties! Could this person be a reincarnation of a Celestial King? No, even a reincarnation of a Celestial King couldn't be this monstrous!

Regardless of how surprised the people outside were, Chen Tianwen was speechless. He never expected that his simple alchemy would attract a heavenly tribulation!

Chen Tianwen waved his hand, teleporting himself and the pill cauldron out of the spiritual energy space. Looking at the tribulation clouds in the sky, Chen Tianwen couldn't help but frown!

Although he knew that the elixir given to him by the Dragon Emperor was a rare treasure even in the Immortal Realm, and that the pill formula recorded in the Qilin Undying Divine Art was absolutely earth-shattering, Chen Tianwen never expected that refining the pill would attract a heavenly tribulation!

Chen Tianwen watched as the alchemy cauldron pulsated slightly, clearly because the elixir was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth too intensely within it.

Meanwhile, the storm clouds in the sky grew heavier and heavier, threatening to strike down at any moment!