"How could there be such a monstrous person in this world?"
The woman muttered.
"Heaven truly is unfair."
Sun Xiangsheng said bleakly. "What we can only reach with a hundred times the effort, such freaks can grasp as easily as breathing."
"For the Crown Prince to kill Chu Xianzhi means, if he wants, crushing me would be even easier."
At this moment, he finally understood how ignorant, how ridiculous it was for him to have spoken harshly to the Crown Prince back at Fire Dragon Mountain.
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of dense footsteps echoed.
The Sect Master of Cangyun Sect appeared together with the elders.
"Sect Master…"
Sun Xiangsheng's heart tightened.
"Third Elder, you will immediately take Pan Yulou to kneel before the Crown Prince and beg forgiveness."
The Sect Master's face was grim. "If you cannot gain his pardon, then don't come back. Just kowtow until you die outside."
The other high-level figures shared the same sentiment.
When they first heard Sun Xiangsheng had offended the Crown Prince, they hadn't thought much of it, even angered that the Crown Prince showed no respect to Cangyun Sect.
But after hearing the news of the Chu clan's destruction, they all panicked like ants on a hot pan.
If the Crown Prince did not forgive them, Cangyun Sect would follow the Chu clan into ruin.
The Chu clan's power far surpassed Cangyun Sect's.
If the Crown Prince could destroy the Chu clan, he could easily destroy them as well.
"Yes."
Sun Xiangsheng replied with a dark face.
There was no room for refusal.
At the same time.
The news from Hetian Town swept across Great Zhou and the entire Wasteland Realm like a storm.
"Breaking news! The Chu clan of Mozhou rebelled and was destroyed by the Crown Prince leading the Western Army!"
"What? The Chu clan stood in the Western Regions for several thousand years, with a history even older than Great Zhou, and now they're gone?"
"They say the Crown Prince personally killed the Chu clan's number one prodigy, Chu Xianzhi. The Chu clan's higher-ups, enraged, went all out, only to be wiped out by the Crown Prince in one strike."
"How is that possible? Chu Xianzhi was a ninth-layer Martial Saint! How could the Crown Prince have the power to kill him?"
"It does sound absurd, like a fantasy tale, but it's true—thousands saw it with their own eyes."
"The Crown Prince of Great Zhou."
"Yang Cheng!"
Every city, every power in Great Zhou was shaken beyond belief.
The nations of the Wasteland Realm were stunned to silence.
That day.
The Crown Prince of Great Zhou, Yang Cheng, with a feat that shattered all common sense, shocked the entire world.
It felt as though everyone was witnessing the rise of a blazing new sun.
Those with foresight had a strong premonition—a new era was about to begin.
Fire Dragon Mountain.
Yang Cheng ignored the uproar outside.
After the Chu clan was destroyed, the Dragon Spear Army discovered the young phoenix's body deep in the Chu clan's treasury.
The young phoenix was presented before Yang Cheng.
But only he knew that the phoenix was not dead. It was merely in deep slumber.
Because of the phoenix's unique nature, its life force sealed itself while sleeping.
Outsiders could not sense its vitality and assumed it had died.
Normally, it would have awakened on its own in another hundred years, at which point the Chu clan would have soared in power.
But now, the Chu clan was gone. There would be no such future.
[Truly, Host is a divine figure. You actually seized the Chu clan's phoenix.]
[Not only that, Host once again surpassed the system's mission requirements. You not only seized the phoenix, but boldly destroyed the Chu clan itself.]
[The Chu clan's phoenix was a Shattering God powerhouse. In addition, the Chu clan had more than 20 True Gods. How did Host manage to annihilate them?]
[The system is evaluating the mission.]
[Evaluation complete. Considering Host's outstanding performance, the mission reward has been adjusted. One drop of ancestral phoenix Dao blood will now be two drops.]
One drop of Dao blood was already more than enough.
Two drops would have almost the same effect.
If Yang Cheng fused both himself, it would be a waste.
He didn't think much about it and simply fused one drop.
Rip!
The phoenix Dao blood was extraordinary.
Once inside, his whole body's blood boiled.
Then, like a phoenix, he began to undergo nirvana.
A quarter-hour later—
Boom!
Yang Cheng's cultivation broke through, reaching the Martial Saint realm.
The breakthrough energy was actually enough to push him to fourth or even fifth-layer Martial Saint.
But the phoenix Dao blood transformed every single one of his cells.
His foundation became even stronger.
Thus, all the vast energy sank into his cells, turning into nourishment for his base.
His cultivation solidified at first-layer Martial Saint.
After that, Yang Cheng looked at the young phoenix.
He had no patience to wait a hundred years for it to awaken.
After some thought, he simply gave the extra drop of phoenix Dao blood to it.
Beforehand, he had branded his spiritual seed into the phoenix Dao blood.
Once the young phoenix absorbed it, it would naturally become his "Dao pet."
As the young phoenix fused the Dao blood, its evolution accelerated.
Its slumber had been its self-evolution.
Now, the phoenix Dao blood saved it a century of effort.
Cry!
Before long—
A clear cry rang across Fire Dragon Mountain.
The Dragon Spear Army outside stared in shock as a phoenix appeared in the skies.
"A phoenix!"
"That's the Crown Prince's tent!"
"Could it be the Chu clan's young phoenix corpse? Did the Crown Prince revive it?"
"No matter what, possessing a phoenix proves the Crown Prince is Heaven's true chosen one."
The Dragon Spear Army gazed at the Crown Prince's tent with burning eyes.
The phoenix, in its large form, stretched over ten feet.
But in the next moment, it shrank to the size of a sparrow and perched on Yang Cheng's shoulder, rubbing affectionately against his face.
"Go to Chanzhou."
Yang Cheng told it.
He didn't plan to keep the phoenix by his side. Instead, he would send it to Chanzhou's Divine Mountain.
With both the Azure Dragon and the phoenix, the Divine Mountain would become even more sacred!
Seven days later.
In the boundless world.
Three suns hung high in the sky.
This was the Azure Jade Realm.
In one abyss, thunder roared endlessly.
This was the famous "Thunder Abyss" of the Azure Jade Realm, terrifying beyond compare.
Any ordinary martial artist who entered would die instantly.
Yet right now, inside that roaring sea of lightning, a figure sat.
It was a boy who looked only about twelve years old.
No one knew how long he had been sitting there.
If not for the fact that every thirty breaths his chest rose and fell faintly, anyone who saw him would have thought he was already dead.
At that moment, a white crane appeared in the sky.
Standing upon it was a youth in his twenties.
The crane hovered more than ten feet above the ground, and the youth leapt straight down.
When he landed, the ground beneath his feet sank into two deep pits, yet his body stood firm without the slightest sway.
He walked to the edge of the Thunder Abyss and bowed to the boy sitting within. "Master."
The boy remained like a statue, as though he hadn't heard.
The youth did not rush, simply waiting quietly.
His master was extraordinary. Though he looked twelve, he was actually already thirty-seven.
For some reason, his appearance had been frozen forever at the age of twelve.
After thirty breaths, the boy suddenly exhaled.
That single breath shot out like a sword, piercing across more than ten feet and punching through the rock wall opposite.
Breath like a sword!
Such a feat was terrifying.
The young man's face filled with awe. "Master, you are close to touching the legendary Domain."
The Martial Dao Domain was the embodiment of martial truth.
It was said that touching the Domain was the same as brushing against the mysteries of True Gods.
"Not enough. Still far from enough."
The boy's voice was deep and resonant. "The Martial Dao Domain is like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water. The closer you think you are, the further away you realize you've become."
The youth frowned in confusion, unable to grasp his master's meaning.
The boy gave no further explanation, only said calmly, "Speak."
The Domain touched upon the laws of Martial Dao.
Either you understood, or you didn't—no amount of words could change that.
And since his disciple had come here, there must be something important.
He had cultivated here for three years, and anyone who knew would not disturb him lightly.
The youth had been taken in by him seventeen years ago, when he was just six.
As his disciple, he understood this better than anyone.
The youth said, "Master, a few days ago, junior brother Chu was killed!"
He was from the Zhuang family of the Wasteland Realm.
Unlike the rest of his clan, he had been chosen at six years old and taken here to the Azure Jade Realm, cultivating for seventeen years.
Now, after seventeen years, he was already a seventh-layer Martial Saint.
Yet even so, he revered his master beyond measure.
For his master was Su Lingchen.
Seventeen years ago, he had swept through all the prodigies of Great Zhou.
Su Lingchen's face showed neither joy nor anger.
It wasn't that he was hiding emotion.
He truly didn't care much.
He had many disciples—not too many, not too few.
He did value Chu Chen a bit more than the rest.
But only a little.
What he cared most about was always his own cultivation.
"Who killed him?"
Su Lingchen asked flatly.
"The Crown Prince of Great Zhou, Yang Cheng."
Zhuang Lin's voice was solemn.
Su Lingchen felt something was wrong. "Seventeen years ago, when I left the Wasteland Realm, Yang Yuan hadn't even appointed a Crown Prince."
"And back then, he didn't even have a son named Yang Cheng."
"Yang Cheng is only ten this year."
Zhuang Lin said.
Su Lingchen's eyes showed rare surprise.
Ten years old and killed Chu Chen?
He knew exactly how strong Chu Chen was.
Not long ago, after Chu Chen broke through to Martial Saint, he had even come to pay him respects.
He hadn't thought that would be their last meeting.
Nor that Chu Chen would fall to a ten-year-old child.
"Not only that."
Zhuang Lin continued, "Just seven days ago, according to confirmed news, he killed the Chu clan's number one prodigy of Mozhou, Chu Xianzhi."
Su Lingchen's foot struck the ground and his body shot up from the Thunder Abyss.
Boom!
When he landed, the destruction was far greater than Zhuang Lin's.
The ground around sank half a man deep.
"Chu Xianzhi of the Chu clan—I met him before. His talent surpassed even yours."
Su Lingchen said, "Back then, I had wanted to take him as my disciple. Only because the Chu clan refused did I take you instead."
"Seventeen years have passed. What is his cultivation now?"
"Ninth-layer Martial Saint."
Zhuang Lin admitted, unable to deny Chu Xianzhi's frightening talent.
"My eye was not wrong then."
Su Lingchen said, "I only didn't expect that even after becoming a ninth-layer Martial Saint, he would still be killed by a ten-year-old child."
Zhuang Lin added, "It wasn't just being killed. Many people saw it. Chu Chen was crushed from start to finish. When he died, Yang Cheng wasn't even hurt."
His voice went dry as he spoke.
Because this was too unbelievable.
A monster like that—yet it appeared in the Wasteland Realm, not even in the Azure Jade Realm?