"Sister, no need for you to act. I alone can kill him."
Yun Jinghuai said.
Seeing Yun Liyue's surprised look, he laughed. "This is thanks to the Crown Prince giving me confidence. His sharp eyes noticed that Xiao Jingchuan, son of Xiao Yurong, possessed world-shaking talent."
"Now Xiao Jingchuan has already crafted the Twenty-Four Star Divine Crossbows, powerful enough to threaten a peak Martial Saint."
"And with the Eighteen Star Divine Crossbows that can threaten Martial Saints, once you gather enough of them, even Martial Sovereigns can be slain."
Hearing this, Yun Liyue was shocked. "Jinghuai, when you stormed into Great Yan's capital, did you use the Divine Crossbows?"
Yun Jinghuai rubbed his nose. "Back then, those Divine Crossbows weren't this powerful yet."
"…"
Yun Liyue was speechless. She had already begun mourning for the other nations in her heart.
Even without the Divine Crossbows, Yun Jinghuai had once stormed into Great Yan's capital and captured their emperor alive.
Now with such weapons at his disposal, who in the world could stop him?
No wonder Yun Jinghuai thought the gossip of outsiders wasn't worth a thing.
"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you."
Yun Liyue said.
Three days later.
At the border between Great Zhou and Western Luo.
A group traveled along the mountain path.
"Grandfather, that Crown Prince of Great Zhou is such a monstrous genius. I fear he will not be a good thing for the world."
Li Tingxiao said.
Unlike other regions of the Wasteland Realm, the Central Wastes had never been unified under one country, instead dominated by countless great sects.
But in ancient times, it hadn't been so.
Back then, the Eastern Wastes produced a Human Emperor, who created the Great Wilderness Empire, uniting the Eastern, Southern, and Central Wastes.
Though Yang Cheng could not yet be compared to that Human Emperor, his monstrous talent still posed a threat to the powers of the Central Wastes.
"This matter is indeed not to be taken lightly."
Li Lingfeng said coldly. "I will spread word of this boy to every sect in the Central Wastes, and then throughout the world."
"At that time, any power unwilling to see Great Zhou grow too strong will not allow this child to rise…"
Before he finished speaking, his face suddenly changed. "Not good!"
Rustle, rustle…
Sounds came from the surrounding mountains and forests.
The Sword Pavilion disciples quickly realized they had been surrounded.
A vast number of soldiers with Divine Crossbows appeared.
"I am Li Lingfeng, Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion, gentlemen…"
Li Lingfeng began to speak.
But then a dense rain of arrows poured down like a storm.
His face turned pale with horror as he realized the arrows were terrifyingly powerful.
Careless at the start, he was actually injured by them.
The other Sword Pavilion disciples suffered even worse.
In the blink of an eye, most of them lay dead.
Puchi!
Li Tingxiao's body was pierced through.
"Grandfather…"
He fell to the ground, unwilling and full of hatred.
Soon after, Madam Wang followed him into death.
In less than thirty breaths, only Li Lingfeng was still alive.
His eyes were bloodshot, full of hatred, but he didn't lose his reason.
"Run!"
He turned and fled.
Whoosh!
A long spear pierced through the air, blocking his path.
Seeing the man before him, Li Lingfeng's pupils shrank in rage and horror. "Yun Jinghuai—it's you! So it was Great Zhou that wanted me dead!"
Yun Jinghuai didn't waste words. He launched a storm of attacks.
Even wounded, Li Lingfeng was still a Martial Sovereign with years of battle experience, making him difficult to defeat.
The two clashed fiercely.
Li Lingfeng fought desperately, thinking he could scare Yun Jinghuai off.
But Yun Jinghuai fought even more recklessly.
"Why?"
Li Lingfeng roared. "Yun Jinghuai, you are a peerless talent. Given time, reaching Martial True God would be no problem. Why throw your life away fighting me?"
"No reason. I simply enjoy it."
Yun Jinghuai laughed.
"Madman."
This time it was Li Lingfeng who felt fear.
His so-called desperation had only been an act.
He treasured his life more than anyone.
But Yun Jinghuai refused to give him any chance, sticking to him like a shadow.
Driven to madness, Li Lingfeng was forced to truly fight for his life.
Without realizing it, Yun Jinghuai was also covered in blood.
"Yun Jinghuai, if this continues, we'll only die together. Why bother?"
Li Lingfeng said.
"Die together?"
Yun Jinghuai shook his head. "No, you overestimate yourself."
Boom!
His aura suddenly exploded.
He had broken through from Martial Saint to Martial Sovereign!
The very reason he had sought Li Lingfeng was to use him as a whetstone to break through.
"You used me to advance!"
Li Lingfeng spat blood on the spot.
At that moment, Yun Jinghuai didn't keep fighting. Instead, he leapt back.
Shoo, shoo, shoo!
A dense wave of arrows rained down again.
Before long, Li Lingfeng was pierced alive by the Divine Crossbows.
"The Sword Pavilion's wealth will be divided among you all. As for today's events, not a word is to leave here."
Yun Jinghuai ordered.
Of course, such news couldn't stay hidden forever. But keeping it secret for a day was still worth something.
Naturally, he didn't keep it from Yun Liyue and Yang Cheng.
The next day, Yang Cheng learned that Li Lingfeng was dead.
He was stunned.
The future ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, the so-called Sword God, had actually fallen like this.
But he didn't feel much sorrow.
At most, a touch of regret.
The deaths of such two heavyweight figures didn't trigger any task, nor did they bring Yang Cheng any reward.
What mattered more to him was the heavy care and concern shown by his mother and uncle.
To lessen the threats around him, his mother and uncle had gone so far as to ambush and kill a Martial Sovereign.
Even with their noble status, such an act carried tremendous risk.
But Yun Jinghuai had still underestimated the reach of the Zhuang clan.
The Zhuang clan had been watching him in secret all along.
When they discovered Yun Jinghuai had gone to the border of Great Zhou and Western Luo, and that Li Lingfeng had gone missing there, the Zhuang clan immediately pieced together the truth.
The next day.
Zhuang Zhonglang, Zhuang Yi, a core member of the Zhuang clan, submitted an impeachment against Yun Jinghuai.
Back when Zhuang Yi had gone to negotiate with Great Yan, he could have secured great merit.
But Yun Jinghuai stormed Great Yan's capital, ruining everything.
How could Zhuang Yi not hate him?
Now that an opportunity had come, he would naturally seize it.
"Your Majesty, you personally saw the Sword Emperor off, and never gave any order to kill him."
Zhuang Yi said, "Yet Marquis Champion dared to secretly mobilize an army to slay the Sword Emperor. This is blatant disregard for the throne, outrageous beyond measure."
"Moreover, the Sword Emperor held immense influence across the Central Wastes and the entire Wasteland Realm. He came to Fengtian at Your Majesty's invitation, yet afterward was killed by Great Zhou."
"How will the powers of the Wasteland Realm view us now?"
"Marquis Champion's actions have caused terrible consequences. I beg Your Majesty to punish him severely."
"Please punish Marquis Champion severely!"
The voices of many ministers rang out.
For a moment, the imperial court was boiling with anger.
Emperor Qian Yuan's face was grim.
Yun Jinghuai's actions displeased him as well.
Without his permission, Yun Jinghuai had mobilized troops to kill the Sword Emperor—this indeed showed a lack of respect for him as emperor.
At that moment, Zhuang Yi added words that cut to the heart: "If today Marquis Champion could mobilize troops to kill the Sword Emperor without orders, then in the future, if he is displeased with others, does that mean he could kill them too?"
The court instantly fell silent.
Emperor Qian Yuan was startled, staring hard at Zhuang Yi.
His meaning was clear: if Marquis Champion had the power to kill the Sword Emperor, then he had the power to kill the emperor himself!
Zhuang Yi showed no fear.
He met Emperor Qian Yuan's gaze for a moment before bowing. "I ask Your Majesty to decide swiftly."
Behind him stood the Zhuang clan, and behind them the alliance of great clans.
This power was in truth greater than the imperial clan itself, so he had nothing to fear.
Right now, Marquis Champion's influence was too strong, posing a serious threat to the great clans.
They had long been waiting for a chance to move against him.
Now that the chance had come, they would not miss it.
"This matter shall be discussed later."
After a long pause, Emperor Qian Yuan finally spoke slowly.
He had not yet decided.
Though he was displeased with Yun Jinghuai, he also knew that the Zhuang clan was deliberately targeting him.
"Your Majesty…"
Zhuang Yi pressed again.
"Court is dismissed."
Emperor Qian Yuan declared.
Inside Splendid Radiance Hall.
'By calculation, in three months the Azure Emperor's tomb will emerge. Preparations can begin.'
Yang Cheng thought to himself.
This would be the greatest event in the Wasteland Realm since the Qingqiu Secret Realm.
The Azure Emperor, Su Qing, was a figure shrouded in mystery.
His tomb lay within Spring Lake of Chanzhou.
Yang Cheng passed this information to Lin Xinglan, instructing him to mobilize his forces to Chanzhou first, to gather intelligence and prepare for what was to come.
'And as for Teacher and Tangtang, they went to Chanzhou half a year ago. I wonder how they are now.'
Half a year earlier, Cheng Junyi had learned of possible ruins related to Ancestor Taizhen appearing in Chanzhou.
Ancestor Taizhen, Wang Xianluo, was the founder of the Taizhen Sect and creator of the Tai Sui Breathing Technique.
Such ruins were of immeasurable importance to the descendants of Taizhen Sect.
But Yang Cheng had no memories of this matter, so he couldn't help much.
At that moment, news from the imperial court reached Splendid Radiance Hall.
Hearing it, Yang Cheng's brows furrowed slightly.
As expected, the fallout from his uncle killing the Sword Emperor had arrived.
And it was indeed a thorny problem.
Yet before one wave settled, another rose.
At that moment, a challenge letter arrived at the palace.
"A challenge letter?"
Yang Cheng looked at the envelope Hu Po handed over, his face showing surprise.
Opening it, he read:
"I have heard of Crown Prince Yang Cheng of Great Zhou, the number one prodigy, though still young, his name shakes the world, suppressing all directions, hailed as a peerless genius.
But the Wasteland Realm is but a speck, a mayfly world, a mere grain of dust among the Myriad Heavens. The title of 'peerless genius' is laughable."
"I, Chu Chen, hereby challenge Crown Prince Yang Cheng of Great Zhou. First, to decide victory or defeat. Second, to avenge my younger brother, Chu Han."
"In three months, at Spring Lake of Chanzhou in the Wasteland Realm, I shall await your arrival."
It was indeed a battle letter.
And it hadn't even been sent by someone of the Wasteland Realm, but by a genius from the Azure Jade Realm.
Chu Chen openly declared in the letter that he looked down on the so-called peerless genius of the Wasteland Realm, and intended to slap the entire realm in the face.
"Who is this Chu Chen?"
Shen Muxue asked, puzzled.
"This man is no warrior of the Wasteland Realm, but of the Azure Jade Realm."
Yang Cheng replied.
Not long ago, he had slain a silver-eyed youth named Chu Han.
He hadn't known Chu Han, but he was all too familiar with Chu Chen.
This man was one of the geniuses from the myriad worlds that he had encountered in his previous life.
'At this time, Chu Chen should be nineteen years old, with cultivation likely at the Martial Emperor realm, though I don't know which level.'
Yang Cheng thought to himself.
[The host has received a challenge letter from Chu Chen?]
[Chu Chen is shameless. A mighty Refining God expert, and yet he sends a challenge to the host, who is but a Martial Saint.]
[As a Late Bloomer, how can such shameless behavior be tolerated? Please accept Chu Chen's challenge.]
[This is an achievement task. The greater the result the host achieves in this battle, the richer the reward.]
[Task Reward: Blade Dao from Initiation to Perfection.]